one
to help look after Fred at times when other duties would monopolize his
attention. He himself picked out an imp of mischief whose tribe I
never ascertained, but who called himself Simba (lion), and there and
then Simba departed up-stairs to steal for Fred whatever was left of
value among Will's effects and mine.

We had scarcely got used to the idea of once more having a savage
apiece to wait on us when Kazimoto turned up at the door with a string
of porters and a Goanese railway clerk. We had left our tents and
heavy baggage checked at the station, but had said nothing about them
to our new headman; however, he had made inquiries and worked out a
plan on his own account. The railway clerk asked to know whether he
should let Kazimoto have our things.

"Why?"' demanded Fred.

"This hotel no good!" announced Kazimoto. "No place for boys. Heap
too many plenty people. Pitching camp, that good!"

"All right," said Fred, and then and there paid our baggage charges.

Presently Brown of Lumbwa, who had spent most of the daylight hours in
the little corrugated iron bar run by a Goanese in the bazaar, came
lurching past the township camping ground, and viewed Kazimoto with his
gang pitching our tents. He asked questions, but could get no
information, so came along to us.

"Where you schaps going?" he demanded, leaning against the wall. Fred
took advantage of the opportunity and examined him narrowly as to his
knowledge of German East and ways of getting there. He was in an
aggravating mood that made at one moment a very well of information of
him, and at the next a mere garrulous ass.

"Come along o' me t' Lumbwa," was his final word on the matter. "I'll
put you on a road nobody knows an' nobody, uses!"

We spent that night under canvas and talked the matter out. The usual
way to reach Lumbwa was to wait for a freight, or construction train
and beg leave to ride on that, for as yet, no passenger trains were
running regularly on the western section of the line. But there was no
rule against traveling anywhere south of the equator, and it was our
purpose to march down into German East without any one being the wiser.

The next morning we imagined Brown was sober and sorry enough to hold
his tongue, so, without going into details with him, we agreed to go
with him "some of the way," and Fred spent the whole of that morning in
the bazaar buying loads of food and general supplies. Will and I
engaged porter