ell
refuse me a private audience. I should get a contract with the Congo
government satisfactory to all concerned. He's rapacious--but I think
not ninety per cent. rapacious."

"Good," said I, "but why separate?"

"If we traveled toward the Congo from this place in a bunch," said
Monty, "we should give the game away completely and have all the
rag-tag and bob-tail on our heels. As it is, our only chance of
shaking all of them would be to go round by sea and enter the Congo
from the other side; but that would destroy our chance of picking up
the trail in German East Africa. So I'll go to Brussels, and get back
to British East as fast as possible. Fred must go to British East and
watch Schillingschen. You two fellows may as well go by way of British
East Africa to Muanza on Victoria Nyanza, and on from there to the
Congo border by way of Ujiji. Yerkes is an American, and they'll
suspect him less than any of us (they'd nail me, of course, in a
minute!) So let Yerkes make a great show of looking for land to settle
on. We'll all four meet on the Congo border, at some other place to be
decided later. We'll have to agree on a code, and keep in touch by
telegraph as often as possible. Now, is all that clear?"

"We two'll have all the Greeks of Zanzibar trailing us all the way!"
objected Yerkes.

"That'll be better than having them trail the lot of us," said Monty.
"You'll be able to shake them somewhere on the way. We'll count on
your ingenuity, Will."

"But what am I to do to Schillingschen?" asked Fred.

"Keep an eye on him."

"Do you see me Sherlock-Holmesing him across the high veld? Piffle!
Give America that job! I'll go through German East and keep ahead of
the Greeks!"

But Monty was firm. "Yerkes has a plausible excuse, Fred. They may
wonder why an American should look for land in German East Africa, but
they'll let him do it, and perhaps not spy on him to any extent. It's
me they've their eye on. I'll try to keep 'em dazzled. You go to
British East and dazzle Schillingschen! Now, are we agreed?"

We were. But we talked, nevertheless, long into the afternoon, and in
the end there was not one of us really satisfied. Over and over we
tried to persuade Monty to omit the Brussels part of the plan. We
wanted him with us. But he stuck to his point, and had his way, as he
always did when we were quite sure he really wanted it.

CHAPTER TWO

THE NJO HAPA SONG

Gleam, oh brighter