seeing him. Am starting back to-morrow."

The other smiled faintly to herself. She thought she knew what was
wrong with Stride's appetite.

"You're making a short stay this time," she said.

Harry mumbled something about "rough on Robson being left alone," which
caused the smile to deepen.

"How are the niggers out your way, Stride?" asked a man who had only
arrived that morning.

"Getting bumptious. A boy of ours came at me with a pick-handle the
other day because I threatened to hammer him. Only threatened, mind!
hadn't started in to do it. I did it then, though--had to, you know."

"I should think so," said the hostess emphatically. "They want all the
hammering they can get."

"Rather. Well, we cleared this dev--er--this chap out. When he got to
a safe distance he turned round and sang out that it didn't matter now,
all the whites in the country were going to be made meat of directly,
and he and some others would take particular care of _us_. I got out a
rifle, but that didn't scare him. He knew I daren't fire."

"Quite right. Mustn't take the law into your own hands, Stride," said
Inspector James humorously. "Only, if you do, see that you abolish the
_corpus delicti_."

"Talking of _corpus delicti_," said the man who had first spoken. "Is
there anything in this rumour that a white man has been killed in the
Makanya forest? I heard that something had been found that pointed to
it, but not the remains of the chap himself."

"You mustn't swallow every yarn you hear," said James.

"We've been killed at least three times this year already on those
terms," said Ben Halse.

"I suppose I shall be included in the fourth," laughed Denham, alluding
to his approaching visit.

Stride, however, had suddenly grown silent.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ezulwini Club was not large, as we have said; however, it would
sometimes get lively at night, but not always. To-night it was lively,
very; the circulation of whiskies-and-sodas brisk.

"Anything more been heard about that yarn from the Makanya?" began the
man who had sprung the subject at the hotel table. Others asked, "What
yarn?"

"_You_ ought to know something of it, Hallam," went on the first
speaker, the point of the emphasis being that the man addressed was an
official holding an important post.

"Why?" curtly.

"Because you're in a position to."

This was all the other wanted.

"Exa