"Well," said Monty, "there seems something in this ivory business. Our
chance ought to be as good as anybody's. But there are one or two
stiff hurdles. In the first place, the story is common property.
Every one knows it--Arabs--Swahili--Greeks--Germans--English. To be
suspected of looking for it would spell failure, for the simple reason
that every adventurer on the coast would trail us, and if we did find
it we shouldn't be able to keep the secret for five minutes. If we
found it anywhere except on British territory it 'ud be taken away from
us before we'd time to turn round. And it isn't buried on British
territory! I've found out that much."

"Good God, Didums! D'you mean you know where the stuff is?"

Fred sat forward like a man at a play.

"I know where it isn't," said Monty. "They told me at the Residency
that in all human probability it's buried part in German East, and by
far the greater part in the Congo."

"Then that ten per cent. offer by the British is a bluff?" asked Yerkes.

"Out of date," said Monty. "The other governments offer nothing. The
German government might make terms with a German or a Greek--not with
an Englishman. The Congo government is an unknown quantity, but would
probably see reason if approached the proper way."

"The U. S. Consul tells me," said Yerkes, "that the Congo government is
the rottenest aggregate of cutthroats, horse-thieves, thugs, yeggs,
common-or-ordinary hold-ups, and sleight-of-hand professors that the