“Did you ever see anything to beat it?  Why not kick ’em into the sea?  Either that woman’s a crook or she isn’t.  If she isn’t, then the British have treated her shamefully, turning their backs on her.  But we know she is a crook!  And so do they.  The Germans know it, too, and they’re flaunting her under official British noses!  They’re using her to start something the British won’t like, and the British know it!  Yet she’s going to be allowed to travel to British territory on a British ship, and the Heinies are shaken hands with!  If you complained to Monty I bet he’d say, ‘Don’t talk fight unless you mean fight!’”

“Monty might also add, ‘Don’t talk-fight!"’ said I.

“Oh, rot!” Will answered.  “British individuals may bridle a bit, but their government’ll shut its eyes until too late, whatever happens!  You mark my words!”

We strolled back toward our party in great discontent, I as much as he, never supposing there was another country in the world that could so deliberately shut its eyes to dog’s work until absolutely forced to interfere, by a hair not quite too late.

Coutlass and Hassan traveled second-class—­the Arab and half-Arab contingent third—­and none of them troubled us, at present, except that Will swore at sight of Coutlass swaggering as if the ship and her contents were all his.

“To bear him brag you’d believe the British government afraid of him!” he grumbled.

But an immediate problem drove Coutlass out of mind.  Lady Isobel Saffren Waldon had been given a cabin in line-with ours, at the end of our corridor.  Her maid, and her two Swahili servants were obliged to pass our doors to get to her cabin at all.  As nearly all ships’ cabins on those hot routes do, ours intercommunicated by a metal grill for ventilating purposes, and a word spoken in one cabin above a whisper could be heard in the next.

Fred was the first to realize conditions.  He opened his door in his usual abrupt way to visit Monty’s cabin and almost fell over the Syrian maid, her eye at Monty’s key-hole—­a little too early in the game to pass for sound judgment, as Fred was at pains to assure her.

The alarm being given, we locked our cabin doors, repaired to the smoking-room, and ordered drinks at a center table where no eavesdropper could overhear.

“It’s one of two things,” said Monty.  He had his folding board out, and we did not doubt he would play chess from there to London.  “Either they know exactly where that ivory is, or they haven’t the slightest idea.”

“My, but you’re wise!” said Will.

Monty ignored him.  “They suspect us of knowing.  They mean to prevent our getting any of it.  If they do know, they’ve some reason of their own for not getting it themselves at present.  If they don’t know, they suspect we know and intend to claim what we find.”

“How should they think we know?” objected Will.  “The first we ever heard of the stuff was in the lazaretto in Zanzibar.”