her Coutlass nor Brown had had a drink of whisky that day, so it
was all the more remarkable that Coutlass lay down early in a corner of
the tent and fell into a sound sleep almost at once. We were
thoroughly glad of it. Our plan was for two of us to creep out of camp
when it was dark enough, and recover the contents of that tin box
before Schillingschen or the blacks could forestall us.

The lions began roaring again at about sundown, but they love
donkey-meat more than almost any except giraffe, and it was not likely
they would trouble us. We were so sure the task was not particularly
risky that Fred, who would have insisted on the place of greater danger
for himself, consented willingly enough to stay in camp while Will and
I went back. Our original intention was to take Schillingschen's
patent, wind-proof, non-upsettable camp lantern to find the way with
and keep wild beasts at bay; but just as Will went toward the tent to
fetch it (Fred's back was turned, over on the far side where he was
seeing to the camp-fires) we both at once caught sight of Coutlass
creeping on hands and knees along a shadow. We had closed the gap in
the outer wall of thorn, but he dragged aside enough to make an opening
and slipped through, thinking himself unobserved.

To have followed him with a lantern would have been worse than my crime
of stalking lions in the dark. Will ran to tell Fred what had happened
while I followed the Greek through the gap, and presently Will and I
were both hot on his trail, as close to him as we could keep without
letting him hear us.

"Fred says," Will whispered, "if we catch him talking with
Schillingschen, shoot 'em both! Fred won't let him into camp again
unless we bring back proof he's not a traitor!"

We were pursuing a practised hunter, who at first kept stopping to make
sure he was not followed. He took a line across that wild country in
the dark with such assurance, and so swiftly that it was unbelievably
hard to follow him quietly. It was not long before we lost sound of
him. Then we ran more freely, trusting to luck as much as anything to
keep him thinking he had the darkness to himself.

Our short day's journey seemed to have trebled itself! We were
leg-weary and tired-eyed when at last we reached, and nearly fell into
a hollow we recognized. Will went down and struck a match to get a
look at his watch.

"There ought to be a moon in about ten minutes," he whispered. "We're
within