'It looks like it. But it's unaccountable. The natives are too sharp-eared to have been taken by surprise. They ought to have got Meek away in time.'
'I 'll be shot if they haven't gone too! These are prints of bare feet, aren't they?'
'There 's no doubt about that. They must have been surprised and collared, without a shot fired. This is pretty bad, Hoole.'
'I guess they wanted more miners. Wonder they haven't raided the village long before this.'
'I suppose they didn't think it worth while to come so far from the cove and make an organised raid. Bows and spears wouldn't be much use against firearms, of course; but the Germans might have lost a few men in a regular attack, and they preferred to snap up small parties here and there.'
'Any good going after them?'
'Not an atom. You may be sure they 're armed, and we have--one revolver. Things are in a deuce of a mess, Hoole. If the natives are such poor scouts we stand to lose more of these outposts. We shall have to drop the scheme. And the immediate thing now is to go and bring Grinson back; he 'll be mad at losing Meek. We had better talk things over with him, and see if anything can be done; for the life of me I can't think what.'
Trentham's contempt of the Papuans' scouting ability was not justified, as he would have known could he have heard and understood what Kafulu had said to his comrades. He had told them that the white men had the fire magic of which they had heard. It was hidden in the stick he showed them. If they would work for the white men, they too would be given sticks like the one he carried, and then they would be the lords of the village. Kafulu was Hahn's dupe and decoy.
When Grinson heard that his companion of twenty-five years had been captured, his eyes became moist, and at first he seemed incapable of speech. Then his lips were pressed together rigidly; he flung away his spear, snatched out his knife, and cried:
'Which way, sir? Let me get at 'em.'