"Dog, would you bargain with me? By your own confession you deserted to the enemy." "I was compelled." "You deserted all the same. Deserters are shot. Your only chance of escaping the penalty is to assist us--to show us the way into the nullah. You’ll do that, and if you fail you’ll be shot." The Arab protested that he was sure of his ground, and would faithfully lead the troops to an entrance into the nullah which was at present wholly unsuspected by the Englishman. He described its position, and Reinecke’s eyes sparkled with anticipation as he turned to Rudenheim and said-- "We have him, Major! We’ll capture the place at little cost, and then---- Haroun, go and show the doctor your arm, and come to my quarters to-morrow." "A moment," said the major. "You were flogged: what for?" The Arab appeared to be for a moment disconcerted by the German’s swift question. Then he answered: "Because I would not work as hard as the Englishman wished, Herr Major." "So! You may go ... The man is a liar, Reinecke. You will find that there’s nothing much wrong with his arm, if anything at all. All the same, that northern entrance is genuine enough, I think; and we must certainly catch your cub. But I don’t think we’ll hang him; he’s the kind of man I like to make a prisoner of war." CHAPTER XIII--HUNTED Major von Rudenheim’s surmise that "the cub" had been busy was correct: Tom had never before been so fully occupied, and, as he afterwards confessed, he had never been happier in his life. The northern end of the nullah had now the appearance of a prosperous native village. Tom had felt certain misgivings on the score of cleanliness and health; but he found that the Wahehe, like all tribes that inhabit inland and mountainous districts, away from the corrupting influences of the coast, were tidy and orderly, and under the authority of their old chief, Mirambo, the people settled down to a comfortable existence. The one drawback was the limited range of movement; but even in this respect the people were little worse off than they had been on the plantation, and their rooted belief that before long the Germans would be utterly driven from the country gave them bright hopes for the future. Moreover, the women and children in a native village rarely stray far from their homes, and as for the men, they had movement enough.