Frowningshield listened to this recital with wrinkled brow, and intense gaze upon the speaker, who talked in an easy, indolent manner which impressed the manager with the belief that he had encountered some rich fool with more money at his disposal than was good for him, and gradually the nerve of the man who had kicked Mackeller into the hold began to reassert itself. He felt ashamed of his failure in courage when he had supposed he was confronted by the power of Great Britain. “Perhaps you are not aware, Mr. Stranleigh, that the timber you are cutting is situated on private property.” “You are surely mistaken,” protested the young man. “All the maps I have seen--I’ll show you them when we come aboard the yacht--depict this district as a sort of no-man’s-land.” “Such is not the case, Mr. Stranleigh. More than a hundred square miles of this territory has been acquired by a European syndicate, of whom I am the representative.” “You amaze me. From what government did this syndicate buy the property?” “They did not buy it from any government, they acquired the concession from native chiefs. No European government holds jurisdiction over this section of Africa.” “That’s what I thought. Are you forming a settlement, then, farther down the river? Is that where you have come from?” “Yes.” “You arrived in the steamer you spoke of--I forget the name?” “The _Rajah_. Yes. I am a mining engineer, and we are experimenting with the mineral resources of this country.” “I see. Then you are probably loading the _Rajah_ with such ore as you can find, and are taking it back to Europe to test it.” “Exactly.” “What you tell me is most interesting, but surely you were not here when I came up this river in my yacht less than a month ago?” “No, we were not here then, but we prospected, and secured possession more than a year ago.” “Then you are clothed with authority to order me to move on?” “I assure you, Mr. Stranleigh, that so far as I am personally concerned you might form your settlement, or stay here as long as you please, but I am not acting for myself. In the interest of my employers, and to prevent future complications, should we discover valuable minerals, I fear I must warn you off.” “Could you oblige me with the address of that European syndicate?” “It would be useless, sir. I was instructed that they do not intend to grant any concessions or franchises to outsiders. Whether they gain or lose, they intend to exploit this region for their own sole benefit. If you dispute my authority, I shall be pleased to produce documentary evidence corroborating what I say.”