is a case of watching or spying,
do you leave it to Hans. Look here, Mavovo," and he opened his hand in
which was a horn snuff-box such as Zulus sometimes carry in their ears.
"To whom does this belong?"

"It is mine," said Mavovo, "and you have stolen it."

"Yes," jeered Hans, "it is yours. Also I stole it from your ear as I
passed you in the dark. Don't you remember that you thought a gnat had
tickled you and hit up at your face?"

"It is true," growled Mavovo, "and you, snake of a Hottentot, are great
in your own low way. Yet next time anything tickles me, I shall strike,
not with my hand, but with a spear."

Then I turned them both out, remarking to Stephen that this was a good
example of the eternal fight between courage and cunning. After this, as
I was sure that Hassan and his friends were too busy to interfere with
us that night, we went to bed and slept the sleep of the just.

When I got up the next morning I found that Stephen Somers had already
risen and gone out, nor did he appear until I was half through my
breakfast.

"Where on earth have you been?" I asked, noting that his clothes were
torn and covered with wet moss.

"Up the tallest of those palm trees, Quatermain. Saw an Arab climbing
one of them with a rope and got another Arab to teach me the trick. It
isn't really difficult, though it looks alarming."

"What in the name of goodness----" I began.

"Oh!" he interrupted, "my ruling passion. Looking through the glasses I
thought I caught sight of an orchid growing near the crown, so went
up. It wasn't an orchid after all, only a mass of yellow pollen. But I
learned something for my pains. Sitting in the top of that palm I saw
the _Maria_ working out from under the lee of the island. Also, far
away, I noted a streak of smoke, and watching it through the glasses,
made out what looked to me uncommonly like a man-of-war steaming slowly
along the coast. In fact, I am sure it was, and English too. Then the
mist came up and I lost sight of them."

"My word!" I said, "that will be the _Crocodile_. What I told our host,
Hassan, was not altogether bunkum. Mr. Cato, the port officer at Durban,
mentioned to me that the _Crocodile_ was expected to call there within
the next fortnight to take in stores after a slave-hunting cruise down
the coast. Now it would be odd if she chanced to meet the _Maria_ and
asked to have a look at her cargo, wouldn't it?"

"Not at all, Quatermain, for unless one or the other