"No use," said Will. "She never followed us up here and tried that game without being sure of her pull. Besides—what kind of a tale could we tell without letting on we're after the ivory? I vote we see the game through to a finish."
"Good!" said Fred. "I agree!"
"The only clue we've got," said I, "is Courtney's advice about Mount
Elgon."
"And what Coutlass said in Zanzibar about German East," added Will.
"Tell you what," said Fred, rapping the table excitedly. "Instead of falling foul of this government by slipping over the dead-line, why not run down to German East—pretend to search for the stuff down there—and go from German East direct to Mount Elgon, giving 'em all the slip. Who's got the map?"
"It's up-stairs," I said. "I'll fetch it."
There was nothing like silence in the rooms above. Men were smoking and drinking in one another's rooms. Some doors were open to make conversation easier across the landing, and nobody was asleep. But I was surprised to see Georges Coutlass leaning against the door-post of the room he shared with the other Greek and the Goanese, obviously on guard, but against whom and on whose behalf it was difficult to guess.
"Are you off to bed?" he asked, piercing me with his unbandaged eye.
"Why don't the others go, too?"
It dawned on me what he was after.
"Take the wine if you want it," I said. "None of us will prevent you."