ook precautions.

Kazimoto ran back to bring our party, and we took a coil of iron wire
from Schillingschen's trade goods and fastened every prisoner's hands
firmly behind his back, including the unconscious German's. That done,
we ate the meat, beans and vegetable supper that the ten had cooked.

Brown and Coutlass found Schillingschen's whisky after that, and under
its influence again swore ceaseless friendship beneath the
non-committal stars. While they feasted we took Coutlass' rifle away
as a plain precaution.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

PARCERE SUBJECTIS?

'When the devil's at bay
Ye may kneel down and pray
For a year and a day
To be spared the distress of dispatching him,
But the longer ye kneel
The more squeamish ye'll feel
'Cause the louder he'll squeal,
And at brotherly talk there's no matching him.
Discussion's his aim,
And as sure as you're game
To give heed to the same,
You regarding extremes with compunction,
You may bet he'll requite
Your compassion with spite,
Knifing you in the night
With much probonopublico unction.

For a while we looked like having trouble with Coutlass. We gave Brown
a rifle, and distributed the other Mausers among Kazimoto and our best
boys, but we did not dare trust the Greek with a weapon he might use
against us, and he resented that bitterly. He had an answer to Fred's
subterfuge that as a white man he would need a license before daring to
carry firearms. "I dare do anything! I care nothing for law!" he
argued, and Fred nodded.

That night we reveled in luxury, for after the life we had led recently
it took time to reaccustom any of us to the common comforts.
Schillingschen traveled with every provision for his carcass and his
belly; and we plundered him.

We put the prisoners and our own porters in a hut in the nearest native
village (less than half a mile away) under the watchful eye of Kazimoto
and the shot-gun, dividing Schillingschen's two large tents between
ourselves. The others offered me the camp-bed as a recent invalid, but
I refused, and Will won it by matching coins. We divided the blankets
in the same way, and all the spare underwear. Brown and Coutlass had
to be satisfied with cotton blankets from a bale of trade goods; but
when they had rifled enough to build up good thick mattresses as well
as coverings, there were still two apiece for our boys and all the
porters.

The chop-boxes were a revelation. The