to make sure nothing was left between the
leaves.

They even took away our writing material in their zeal to find
information likely to prove useful to their masters. But they forgot
to search our pockets, so that they overlooked the letter we had
written in code to Monty and had not yet sent away by messenger.

That letter became our most besetting problem. How to find a runner
who would take it to British East and mail it for us up there without
betraying us first to the Germans was something we could not guess.
Even Fred grew gloomy when we realized there was probably not a native
on the whole countryside with sufficient manhood left in him to dare
make the attempt. The first overture we might make would almost
certainly be reported to the commandant at once.

"What fools we were not to send Kazimoto with it when he begged us to!"

"What worse than fools!"

"What brutes! Think what we might have saved him!"

We were unanimous as to that, but unanimity brought no comfort, until
we all together hit on a notion that did ease our feelings a trifle.
Coutlass and his two friends were sitting on camp-stools in the open
where they could have a full view of our doings. Assuming the
camping-ground to be equally divided between their party and ours, they
were well within our portion. We decided their curiosity was insolent,
declared inexorable war, and there and then felt better.

Fred went out with a tent-peg and scored in the sand a deep line to
denote our boundary, the Greeks watching, all eyes and guesswork.

"Over the other side with you!" Fred ordered when he had finished.

They refused. He charged at them, and they ran.

"Whichever of you, man or servant, sets foot on our side of that line
shall be a dead-sure hospital case!" Fred announced. "We'll
reciprocate by leaving your side of the camp to you!"

"Who made you men rulers of this rest-camp?" Coutlass demanded.

"We did," Fred answered. "We've lost our rifles just as you have.
We'll fight you with bare hands and skin you alive if you trespass!"

"Gassharamminy!" shouted Coutlass. "By hell and Waterloo, you mistake
me for a weakling! Wait and see!"

We had to wait a very long and weary time, but we did see. In the days
that followed, when my wound festered and I grew too ill to drag myself
about, Fred and Will were able to leave me alone in the camp without
any fear of a visit from the Greeks. It was not that there was much
left worth ste