tto voice. "No earthly use threatening them with German law."

"Keep away from our camp," Fred Ordered them, "or take the
consequences! Mr. Brown here is in no mood for pleasantries!"

"That drunkard Brown?" roared Coutlass. "He is in no mood for--oh,
haw-hah-hee-ho-ha-ha-ha-ha! Drunkard Brown of Lumbwa wants to avenge
himself, and his friends won't let him! Oh, isn't that a joke! Oh,
ha-ha-ha-hee-hee-ha-ho-ho!"

His two companions made a trio of it, yelling with stage laughter like
disgusting animals. Fred took a short quick step forward. Will
followed, and Brown reached for the rifle again. But I stopped all
three of them.

"Come back! Don't let's be fools!" I insisted. "I never saw a more
obvious effort to start trouble in my life! It's a trap! Keep out of
it!"

"Sure enough," Will admitted. "You're right!"

He returned into the tent and the Greeks, perhaps supposing he went for
weapons, retreated, continuing to shout abuse at Brown who, between a
yearning to get drunk and sorrow for his stolen cattle, was growing
tearful.

"They got here first," I argued. "They've had time to tell their own
story. That may account for our cold reception by the Germans. He
says they're under arrest. That may be true, or it may be a trick.
It's perfectly obvious Coutlass wanted to start a fight, and I'm dead
sure he wasn't taking such a chance as it seemed. Who wants to look
behind the cactus hedge and see whether he has friends in ambush?"

"Drunkard Brown is on the town--on the town--on the town!" roared
Coutlass and his friends from not very far away.

"Oh, let me go and have a crack at 'em!" begged Brown. "I tell you I
don't care about jail! I don't care if I do get killed!"

Fred kept a restraining hand on him. Will left the tent and walked
straight for the gap in the cactus hedge by which we had entered the
enclosure. It was only twenty yards away.

Once through the gap he glanced swiftly to right and left--laughed--and
came back again.

"Only six of 'em!" he grinned. "Six full-sized Nubians in uniform,
with army boots on, no bayonets or rifles, but good big sticks and
handcuffs! If we'd touched those Greeks they'd have jumped the fence
and stretched us out! What the devil d'you suppose they want us in
jail for?"

"D'you suppose they think," I said, "that if they had us in jail in
this God-forsaken place we'd divulge the secret of Tippoo's ivory?"

"Why don't we tell 'em the secret!" su