Not everything was gone after all.  Kazimoto found the pots we had cooked the rice in, and started to boil the hippo’s tongue for us.

“Come, Coutlass—­sit down before we eat and tell us what happened,” Fred suggested.

The Greek paced up and down another time or two, and at last calmed himself sufficiently to laugh at Fred’s woman, who had squatted down patiently in the shadow behind him.

“Easy for you!” he grinned savagely, squatting on the far side of the fire.  “You have a woman!  Mine is God knows where!  She said to me—­that hell-damned Lady Saffren Waldon said to me—­we sat all three together in the stern of the dhow, I with my arm around Rebecca, and she said to me—­”

“I’ll see if I can’t make a dicker for the chief’s canoes,” Will interrupted.  “We can hear the Greek’s tale any old time.”

“Trade my woman for them!” Fred suggested cheerfully.  “Go on, Coutlass!”

The Greek gritted his teeth savagely.  “She said—­that hell-damned Lady Saffren Waldon said, as we sat there in the dhow, ’How about the kicking Fred Oakes gave you on the island, Mr. Coutlass?  Where is your Greek honor?’—­Do you see?  She worked on my bodily bruises and my spiritual courage at the same time—­the cunning hussy!  ’That Fred Oakes will win this Rebecca away from you very soon!’ she went on.  ’I have watched him."’

Fred smiled about as comfortably as a martyr on the grid.  The presence of the dusky damsel, confirmed by her smell behind him, made him touchy on the subject of sex.

“Presently she said to me, ’I have my own affairs that will adjust themselves all the better for their absence when I get to British East.  As for you, they will simply report you to the authorities for raiding those cattle of Brown’s.  Can you imagine that creature Brown forgiving you?  He will have you thrown in jail!  Why wait?  But we must not leave the Goanese or the other porters, and we must hurry!  You go,’ she said, ‘and send the Goanese and the rest of the porters on board!’

“So I did go.  I kicked de Sousa awake, and he cursed me, because my toe landed once or twice on his thigh where the bullet wounded him.  I drove him on board, and she put him to work with Kamarajes getting up the sail.  Then I went off to get those cursed porters.  I could not find them!  The dogs had gone to the village, to find women I don’t doubt!  I tell you what I would do to them if they were mine!”

“Never mind that!” Fred cut in.  We could all guess what form the punishment would take.  “Get on with the tale!  You couldn’t find the porters.  What next?”

“I decided to leave the dogs behind, and serve them right!  I went back to the dhow in a great hurry.  She was gone!  Vanished!  Disappeared as if the lake had opened up and swallowed her!  I could just see the sail in the distance.  I shouted!  No answer!  I shouted again.  I heard Rebecca call to me!  Then I heard laughter—­Lady Isobel Saffren Waldon’s laughter!  Gassharamminy!  I will run red-hot skewers into that woman when I catch her!  Do you see how she has vengeance on Rebecca?  Do you see now why she took sides between me and Kamarajes and de Sousa?  Do you see how she has plotted?  What will she do now?  What Will she do?”