"Oh, hang on to your temper, Hugh," I said, dropping my hand on his shoulder. "Get back to where we were. You said we must play safe. We've got six of Nikka's cousins in the next room, first-class knife-handlers, every one of them. With Wasso Mikali and us, that makes eleven."
"And Vernon King is twelve," added Hugh. "He wants to be in on the whole business. It appeals to his archæological bump, as well as to his sporting tastes. But we can't have a rough house yet. We don't know the ground well enough. We've got to determine where the treasure is in that house."
"Did you get the copy of the Instructions from Miss King?" asked Nikka.
"Yes, and had her immediately mail it to herself, Poste Restante, as we agreed. It's there now. I don't need it. I found I had memorized it perfectly. No, the next step is to get inside that house, by stealth, if possible, by force, if every other means fails."
CHAPTER XV
WATKINS PLAYS THE GOAT
"We ought to try to get inside Tokalji's house as soon as possible, if Toutou and Hélène and the rest of them are not here yet," said Nikka slowly. "Are you sure about that, Hugh?"
"To the extent that we haven't seen a sign of them."
"They will have been scurrying about our back-trail," I suggested. "Our disappearance must have upset their plans."
"Probably," assented Nikka. "Yes, if we are going to profit by that trick we must move soon. I don't believe either Jack or I could fool that Cespedes woman. At the same time, what Hugh says about the danger of violent tactics is very true. We should keep my uncle and his men as a reserve. If it ever comes to a cold show-down, we are going to need more than ourselves."