Exactly!" Will answered dryly. "I've a hundred rounds in my pockets.
That ought to be enough."

While we made ready, leaving our loads and porters in a safe place and
giving the boys orders, I saw two things happen. First, the Masai
became aware of the little Greek encampment and the two hundred head of
cattle waiting at their mercy; and second, the Greeks grew aware of
the Masai.

The Greeks had boys with them; I saw at least half a dozen go
scattering to round up the cattle. The tents began to come down, and I
saw three figures that might be the Greeks and the Goanese holding a
consultation near the tree.

"And now," remarked Will, "I begin to see the humor in this comedy.
Which are we--allies of the Greeks or of the Masai? Are we to help the
Greeks get away with Brown's cattle, or help the Masai steal 'em from
the Greeks? Are your cattle all branded, Brown?"

"You blooming well bet they are!"

"Masai know enough to alter a brand?"

"Never heard o' their doing it."

"Then if the Masai get away with them to British East, if you can find
'em you can claim 'em, eh?"

"Claim 'em in court wi' the whole blooming tribe o' Masai--more'n a
quarter of a million of 'em--all on hand to swear they bought 'em from
me; an' the British gov'ment takin' sides with the black men, as it
always does? Oh, yes! It sounds easy, that does!"

"But if the Greeks get away with 'em," argued Will, "you've no chance
of recovering at all."

"I'll not take sides with Masai--even against Greeks!" Brown answered
grimly, and Will laughed.

"If we attack the Greeks first," I said, "perhaps they'll run. We're
nearer to them than the Masai are. The Masai, will have to corral
their own cattle before they can leave them to raid a new lot. We can
open fire at long range to begin with. If that scares the Greeks away,
then we can round up Brown's cattle and drive them back northward. We
may possibly escape with them too quickly for the Masai to think it
worth while to follow."

Brown laughed cynically.

"We can try it," he said. "An' if the Greeks don't run pretty quick
they'll never run again--I'll warrant that!"

Nobody had a better plan to propose, so we emptied our pockets of all
but fifty rounds of ammunition each, and gave the rest to Kazimoto to
carry, with orders to keep in hiding and watch, and run with cartridges
to whoever should first need them.

Then, because instead of corraling their cattle the Masai were already
d