The order of the march home was quickly arranged. Half Tom’s men went ahead, carrying the captured rifles. They were followed by the liberated natives, who, imagining that they had only exchanged one servitude for another, trudged on in gloomy silence. Tom’s motive in not dismissing them at once was to link them to the British cause by means of the impression which he hoped they would gain from his defensive measures at the nullah, and he knew that they would break away the moment they realised that they were free. Behind them marched the askaris, then five more of his riflemen escorting the German privates. He kept the sergeant by his side, and the rear was brought up by Mwesa and the rest of his men. The capture of a German prisoner gave Tom an opportunity of learning something of the course of events on the frontier. He considered how best to open up the subject with the sergeant, and decided that perfect frankness would probably serve him best. "You are naturally surprised, Sergeant," he said, "at finding an Englishman on your side of the border." "An Englishman!" growled the sergeant. "I thought you were a Belgian." "Indeed! Are you at war with Belgium too?" "There is no Belgium. It belongs now to the Kaiser." "Dear me! I understand that Paris has fallen: you have therefore France and Britain against you; but Belgium--did she break her neutrality? "I don’t know anything about that; but I do know that Belgium and half France are now in our hands; your Navy is defeated; and London will soon be at our mercy." "You make me tremble! And what about Abercorn?" The sergeant blinked. "London is rather far away," Tom went on. "I am much more deeply interested at present in places nearer at hand. You were going to attack Abercorn, I understood. No doubt you took it as easily as your troops took Paris." The German’s frown relieved Tom of his anxiety. Smiling, he continued: "Come now, Sergeant, you may as well tell the truth, you know. You have nothing to lose by it. You found Abercorn a harder nut than you expected, eh?" "You seem to know a lot," said the German gloomily. "Did you come across from Rhodesia?" "No: I came from Kigoma on the _Hedwig von Wissmann_." "Ach!" "What is the matter?" "There are always misfortunes; we can’t win everything." "You don’t mean to say----" "I mean to say that the other Wissmann boat, the _Hermann von Wissmann_, allowed itself to be surprised at Sphinxhaven on Nyassa." "And was captured? Really we must take that as a set-off against your defeat of our Navy--in the North Sea, I suppose. But to come back to Abercorn." "You know as well as I do that we were beaten off. The English were four to one: what else could be expected?" "I see! That explains why you have been ranging the country for recruits. But I understood that your forces in East Africa hopelessly outnumbered the British."