"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.
"Well, I thought as 'ow I'd say nothing about it till the proper time, miss; but this 'ere's the proper time, I says. You see, that there place you was a-workin' on wasn't the fort at all, miss; it was just the ruins of the old store-house and slave barracoon, at what used to be the water's edge. The fort itself is a matter o' two hundred yards back in the jungle, miss."
While Hammer and the girl stared at him, almost in incredulity, he went on to explain, with one of his quiet chuckles. He had visited the ruins four years previously on an inspection with the district commissioner from Melindi, and so was aware of there being two sets of ruins.
Those of the fort proper were well overgrown by the jungle, but were in much better preservation than those on the hill, which had been levelled long since by the elements.
Bearing this in mind, he had instructed Potbelly to meet the party of Miss Helmuth and to lead her to the lesser ruins, saying nothing about those of the fort proper.
This Potbelly had done, and in consequence Dr. Krausz was spending time and money in digging up ancient slave barracoons, knowing nothing of the real fort so close to him.
Hammer could not understand this until Solomon explained the density of the jungle near the place, which was uncrossed by any native tracks.
"But if he got the location from the papers left by your father," argued the American, "surely he would know better, Sara. He's a man of experience——"
"Not in Africa," broke in Solomon, chuckling. "Not in Africa 'e ain't! Them places was all alike, sir—just a square with a roof over it, like. The fort's just three o' them there squares with a wall around and other buildin's in between. No, sir; in them papers you mentions, 'e found where to dig, prowiding 'e got the right place. So 'e's a-digging of his bloomin' 'ead off, and much good may it do 'im, I says. When so be as we gets ready to dig, why, them Arabs o' mine will 'ave it all ready cleared for us. It's so mortal thick in there, sir, that two parties could live for a year on end, ten yards apart, and never know it—just like that, sir."
In the end Hammer was forced to admit the logic of Solomon's reasoning, though when he learned that the Arabs were probably on the spot by this time he refused to believe that they would not be discovered at work.