This Archie, with his Scotch blood, thought excessive; Jones himself must have had some qualms, since he was willing to throw in a bit of information that might, he said, make Archie's fortune.
I've been offered that sort of tip before,' said Archie, 'and I wanted to know a bit more.'
Well, it wasn't an undiscovered gold field or pipe of diamonds, but the whereabouts of what Jones described as 'the elephants' home town.'
The year before he had stumbled on a little-known valley on the Congo side of Lake Tanganyika where elephant, he declared, were as thick as rabbits and as big as dinosaurs. Tusks up to 150 lbs.
'Not unnaturally I asked him why he didn't take a knock at them himself,' said Archie. 'But he had a yarn ready that he had lost his nerve for elephant.'
Well, to cut a long story short, Archie did not believe a word until Jones drew him a sort of map of the locality, marking the position of several villages. The name of one of the villages was familiar. Searching his brain, Archie remembered that he had that day written on a Congo native for mason's work, who gave that village as his home.
'More to score off Jones than because I believed there was anything in it, I sent for Wadia,' he told Norah. 'To my surprise he confirmed his story. Elephant, he said, were as plentiful there as the puku on our flats: their footprints were as long across as his arm.'
In the light of this support Archie's reply that he would think it over was characteristic. It did not, however, suit Jones. The D.C. at—he mentioned the name—had given him a hint not to stay too long in the country, and he must push on the next day. If Archie liked to come to Elizabethville and give him five per cent. on the sales he secured, well and good; if not, they'd leave it at that. Archie, without answering, worked out the suggested commission on the back of an envelope. He found that he stood to gain more than he gave. Making the further stipulation that the compound manager paid hard cash, he professed willingness to start the following morning.
'Right, it's a bargain,' said Jones.
Nora told Archie how she had overheard these words. 'If only I'd heard it all!' she said. 'Why on earth didn't you tell me, Archie?'