Talbot Mundy

“ Fred assured him with a cheerful nod. “That plug has been pulled already, Professor!”
“Let’s play the cards face up!” Will interrupted impatiently. “Listen, Schillingschen. You’re an all-in scoundrel. You’re a spy. You’re a bloody murderer of women and defenseless natives. If we could prove that we wouldn’t argue with you. We know you burned that dhow with the women in it, but we’ve got no evidence, that’s all. We know the German government wants that ivory, and we know why. We also want it. Our only reason for secrecy is that we hope for better terms from the British government. ”

“ I answered. “I don’t believe they’ll venture home until we stop feeding them. They were hungry on their island. Our shortest commons then seemed affluence. Now they’re in heaven!”
“Their canoes must be where they left them in the papyrus.” ”

“ A hunter such as he could have lain unseen in the dark with us almost stepping on him. Gone was all appetite for supper! We nibbled, and swore, and smoked—locked up the whisky—defied either Brown or Coutlass to try to break the boxes open—and arranged to take turns on sentry-go all that night, Will, Fred, and I—declining very pointedly offers by the other two to have their part in keeping watch. In spite of lack of evidence we suspected Coutlass; and we knew no particular reason for having confidence in Brown. ”

“ 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 man had with him food enough for at least a year’s traveling, including all the canned delicacies that hungry men dream about in the wilderness. ”

“ He said he saw it buried, and that he alone survives of all men who buried it. He promised to lead the professor to the place on condition that the Germans shall release his brother, and his brother’s wife, and two sons whom they keep in prison on a life-sentence. The professor agreed, but said, ‘Wait! There are first those people who also think they know the secret. ”