ike a hyena.

"If the men weren't so dead beat I'd be for carrying on, said Fred.

"What's the use?" argued Brown. "We can't catch the bally launch, can
we? Soon as it's daylight they'd see us, like as not. I hope to get
drunk once more before I die! Schillingschen 'ud run us down, an'
good-by us!"

"I'd say follow them if the men could make it," Will agreed. "But
what's the odds? It's us they're after. They'll dare do nothing to
the women on the dhow--in British waters."

"That's so," I agreed, not believing a word of it, any more than they.
One had to calm one's feelings somehow; the men were too weary to
drive the canoes another mile at anything like speed. Coutlass, who
had heard every word of the argument, burst out into such yells of
laughter that Fred threw a rock at him. "Curse you, you ghoul!"

Coutlass changed his tone from demoniacal delight to quieter, grim
amusement.

"They will do nothing, eh? It is I, Georges Coutlass, who need do
nothing! I have my revenge by proxy! Wait and see!"

Fred threw a second rock, and hit him squarely.

"Gassharamminy!" swore the Greek. "Do you know that rock is harder
than a man's head?"

Fred let the boys light a fire when the sun had risen high enough to
make the little blaze not noticeable. Most of the men were asleep, but
though our eyes ached with the long vigil we could not have copied
them. About three hours after daylight we breakfasted off slices of
hot boiled hippo tongue and cold lake water, without salt or condiments
of any kind, and with discontent increased by that unpleasing feast we
aroused the boys and drove them into the canoes.

We forced the pace again, and picked up smoke on the sky-line an hour
before noon, but it was not from a steamer's funnel. It was lazy,
flat-flowing, spreading smoke with a look of iniquity about it that
sent our hearts to our mouths. We paddled toward it with frenzied
energy, and long before any of us could make out details Coutlass,
standing balancing himself amidships, told us what we knew was true and
flatly refused to believe.

"It's the Queen of Sheba burning to the water-line!"

"Sit down, you fool, or you'll upset us!"

"She's gutted already--the flame is about finished! nothing now but
smoke!"

"Sit down, you lying idiot, and hold your tongue!"

"I can see the smoke of the German launch now! Don't you all see it?
Straight ahead beyond the smoke of the dhow! They've burned the dhow
and s