"That wouldn’t be much good. How could we keep in touch with him? I’ve got a field-glass, but that will be useless if we have to go through much wood. We can’t rig Bill up with wireless!" "No, but I’ll tell you what we can do. You take the safari on the parallel line; I’ll go with Bill and take my pocket-mirror with me. It will make a fine heliograph. You know the code, of course?" "I do, as it happens. I could signal back with my watch-case. But that won’t help us if there’s a wood or a hill between us." "Well, we must chance that; and as Bill and I shall be able to go much faster than you with the safari, we can come over to you if necessary; you see what I mean: come and go between the two tracks and yet keep up with you." "I think that’s got it. I suppose it’s no use thinking what we’ll do when we come up with the raiders?" "No; all will depend on when we find them, and where. I’m not going to think of that, and as we shall have to be up early to interview the chief and get our things together, I vote we go to bed." "Don’t forget your letters." "Right. Off you go. Goodness knows when we’ll sleep next." John wrote the two letters he had spoken of, and a third, a brief note to his father explaining what had happened. Then he went to bed thoroughly tired out, and slept like a top. Next morning one of the most serious of his difficulties was unexpectedly removed. As soon as it was light, the chief came over from the village with some of his people to beg the msungu to follow up the bad men and recover the stores they had stolen. John jumped at the opportunity. He agreed to do so if the chief would allow forty of his strongest young men to act as porters. He pointed out that the villagers had as great a cause of quarrel with the raiders as he had himself, so that the bargain he proposed was reasonable. The chief agreed to it at once. John’s recent exploits in slaying the rhinoceros and the lion, his former successes against the raiders, and above all his fairness and punctuality in paying the villagers for their labour, had won him the respect of his neighbours, and they joined him with full confidence that the expedition would be successful. Preparations were quickly made, a considerable quantity of food was packed up, two runners were sent off with the letters, and by seven o’clock the safari was ready to start. At the last moment Said Mohammed came up to John.