'Not at all, I think. It may delay things, of course, but it won't take long, and, besides, it won't touch the interior of the country. There will be a certain amount of shouting in the capital and round the coast, perhaps a gun or two fired off, and then they'll settle down under a new President.'
'But there are a good many Germans there, aren't there? What if they invite the German Government to interfere?'
'I don't fancy that's probable. The German colonist isn't over fond of German rule. You see the first thing a German official wants to do when he catches sight of a black, is to drill him. It's his first and often his last idea. He wants to see him holding the palm of his hand against the stripe of an invisible trouser, and the system doesn't work, because the black clears over the nearest border.'
Fielding laughed and turned to the object of his visit. 'Talking of
Matanga, what in the world made you tell Miss Le Mesurier about Gorley?'
Drake looked up from his map. 'How did you know anything about
Gorley?' he asked.
'Mrs. Willoughby told me. I thought it was decided Miss Le Mesurier should not be told.'
'Mr. Le Mesurier left the choice to me, and it seemed to me that she had a right to know.'
'Why?'
Drake paused for a second in reflection. 'It seemed to me—' he began again.
'Well, she hadn't,' snapped Fielding.