Von Eckenstein shrugged his shoulders. If black looks could kill, Stirling was as good as booked to Davy Jones.
"This is a needless indignity," almost howled the Hun.
"On the contrary, a necessary precaution on our part," corrected the skipper of the Crustacean.
Sullenly von Eckenstein removed his waistcoat and threw it on the deck. Deliberately opening a penknife Stirling ripped open the back and removed an envelope of oiled silk.
"Thank you," he said gravely. "That is all we require for the present, Herr Major."
Gathering up the rest of his possessions, the major followed his companions in misfortune and disappeared below.
"Confidential orders from Potsdam to the German Governor of the East African Colony," announced Stirling. "Here, Denbigh, have a squint at it and see if I'm not right."
"How ever did you discover this?" asked O'Hara.
"Intuition, my dear old sport," replied Stirling with a laugh. "You told me about the cache on Latham Island. Also, you may remember relating a conversation between this von Eckenstein and Kapitan von Riesser, just before the stores were landed. Von Eckenstein objected—why? Because he thought the hiding-place ought to be on the mainland. He had a rooted objection to making a voyage in a smallboat. Hence it was reasonable to suppose that the Latham Island depot was for the major's particular benefit. The fact that he was forestalled has nothing to do with the main case. The Pelikan is in difficulties. Direct communication with the rest of the German land forces is out of the question. So the major is sent off to Latham Island with the Imperial dispatches in his possession. Then the unter-leutnant's instructions are to revictual and replenish stores, and take the major to the mainland, most likely to the Rufigi River. There there is, I believe, fairly easy communication with Tabora, the head-quarters of the German Colonial forces. Seeing us approach, von Eckenstein ought to have destroyed his paper, but he didn't—he trusted to his belief in our natural stupidity. I wouldn't mind betting that now he's bemoaning his fate and admitting that Englishmen are not the fools he supposed them to be."
Which was exactly what the battered and dejected von Eckenstein was doing.