corner, and we sat down at the table again.

"The whole thing's getting ridiculous." he said.

"Why don't we hunt up some official in the morning," I proposed, "and
simply expose her?"

"No use," said Will. "She never followed us up here and tried that
game without being sure of her pull. Besides--what kind of a tale
could we tell without letting on we're after the ivory? I vote we see
the game through to a finish."

"Good!" said Fred. "I agree!"

"The only clue we've got," said I, "is Courtney's advice about Mount
Elgon."

"And what Coutlass said in Zanzibar about German East," added Will.

"Tell you what," said Fred, rapping the table excitedly. "Instead of
falling foul of this government by slipping over the dead-line, why not
run down to German East--pretend to search for the stuff down
there--and go from German East direct to Mount Elgon, giving 'em all
the slip. Who's got the map?"

"It's up-stairs," I said. "I'll fetch it."

There was nothing like silence in the rooms above. Men were smoking
and drinking in one another's rooms. Some doors were open to make
conversation easier across the landing, and nobody was asleep. But I
was surprised to see Georges Coutlass leaning against the door-post of
the room he shared with the other Greek and the Goanese, obviously on
guard, but against whom and on whose behalf it was difficult to guess.

"Are you off to bed?" he asked, piercing me with his unbandaged eye.
"Why don't the others go, too?"

It dawned on me what he was after.

"Take the wine if you want it," I said. "None of us will prevent you."

He went down-stairs in his stocking feet, leaving his own door wide. I
glanced in. The other Greek and the Goanese were asleep. Hassan lay
on the floor on a mat between their cots. He looked up at me. I did
not dare speak, but I smiled at him as friendly as I knew how and made
a gesture I hoped he would interpret as an invitation to come and
attach himself to our party. Then I hurried on, for Coutlass was
coming back with a bottle of wine in each hand.

I was five minutes in our bedroom. In a minute I knew what had
happened. We had left the door locked, but the lock was a common one;
probably the keys of other doors fitted it, and there was not one thing
in the room placed exactly where we had left it. Everything was more
or less in place, but nothing quite.

I returned empty-handed down-stairs, locking the bedroom door behind me.

"Listen,