She paused for breath.  No woman pleading at the bar of justice could have seemed more in earnest.  Of one thing I was quite sure:  she had found it worth her while to convince us if that were possible.  She was playing no half-hearted game.

“Do you begin to see now why the Germans are so set on finding Tippoo Tib’s hoard of ivory?  Do you begin to understand why they are determined, not only to prevent your finding it, but to learn your secret?  If rumor is one-half true, the Arab buried somewhere enough ivory to finance this plan of theirs!  They have been going about the search systematically, and sooner or later they feel they must stumble on it.  They will not let you forestall them!”

She paused again.  Her very earnestness exhausted her more than the walk through the dark in danger had done.

“Take your time,” Fred advised her.  “We’re all listening!”

“When I told you in Nairobi that Lord Montdidier had been murdered, I believed I was so near the truth that you would never know the difference.  I knew the order had been given to have him killed on board ship—­given by men who are accustomed to be obeyed—­who do not excuse failure on any ground.  They feared he might be going to divulge the secret of the ivory to his government in London.  Oh, I tell you they stop at nothing!  To-day London is the ivory market of the world, but they have their arrangements made for transferring that center of trade to Hamburg!  They mean first to crush competitors, and then monopolize!  They hope the ivory is in this country.  In that case their task will be easy.  But if it should be found in British East, they are all ready with the necessary men of influence to apply for a mining or agricultural concession, and they will fence that place off so thoroughly that no one will ever be the wiser until they have carried the ivory out of the country!”

“They could never get it out of British East without the government knowing,” objected Fred; but she laughed at him.

“If worse came to the worst, they are ready with an offer to exchange ten times the territory elsewhere for just that small section of the country.  They would give up German New Guinea, or Southwest Africa—­anything!  They have fooled the French and Russian governments until they are ready to bring pressure to bear on England diplomatically to induce her to make almost any bargain of that kind that the Germans want.  They are even willing to concede to England the whole of Abyssinia, which nobody owns yet, and to back her up against the claims of France and Italy!  Why should they not be willing to make temporary concessions, when all Africa is to be theirs in ten years’ time!  They will give to-day, and with the help of the money that ivory will bring they will create an army that shall take away to-morrow!”

“But how can you prove all this?” Fred asked her.