on his own terms is a
delusion--a busted flush--smashed--exploded--pfff!--so--evanesced
before the start! My address is Zanzibar! Every street child knows
me! When you wish to know my terms, tell the first man or child you
meet to lead you to the house where Georges Coutlass lives! Good
morning, Lord Skirtsshubrish! We will no doubt meet again!"

He turned his back on us and strode from the room--a man out of the
middle ages, soldierly of bearing, unquestionably bold, and not one bit
more venial or lawless than ninety per cent. of history's gallants, if
the truth were told.

"Let's hope that's the last of him!" said Monty. "Can't say I like
him, but I'd hate to have to spoil his chances."

"Last of him be sugared!" said Yerkes. "That's only the first of him!
He'll find seven devils worse than himself and camp on our trail, if I
know anything of Greeks--that's to say, if our trail leads after that
ivory. Does it?"

"Depends," said Monty. "Let's talk upstairs. That Syrian has long
ears."

So we trooped to Monty's room, where the very cobwebs reeked of Arab
history and lawless plans. He sat on the black iron bed, and we
grouped ourselves about on chairs that had very likely covered the
known world between them. One was obviously jetsam from a steamship;
one was a Chinese thing, carved with staggering dragons; the other was
made of iron-hard wood that Yerkes swore came from South America.

"Shoot when you're ready!" grinned Yerkes.

I was too excited to sit still. So was Fred.

"Get a move on, Didums, for God's sake!" he growled.

"Well," said Monty, "there seems something in this ivory business. Our
chance ought to be as good as anybody's. But there are one or two
stiff hurdles. In the first place, the story is common property.
Every one knows it--Arabs--Swahili--Greeks--Germans--English. To be
suspected of looking for it would spell failure, for the simple reason
that every adventurer on the coast would trail us, and if we did find
it we shouldn't be able to keep the secret for five minutes. If we
found it anywhere except on British territory it 'ud be taken away from
us before we'd time to turn round. And it isn't buried on British
territory! I've found out that much."

"Good God, Didums! D'you mean you know where the stuff is?"

Fred sat forward like a man at a play.

"I know where it isn't," said Monty. "They told me at the Residency
that in all human probability it's buried part in