The askaris could not read, but they showed a most remarkable affinity for paper that had been written on.

They took the guns and ammunition first, but after that they emptied everything from our bags and boxes on to the sand, and confiscated every scrap of paper, shaking our books to make sure nothing was left between the leaves.
They even took away our writing material in their zeal to find information likely to prove useful to their masters.

But they forgot to search our pockets, so that they overlooked the letter we had written in code to Monty and had not yet sent away by messenger.
That letter became our most besetting problem.

How to find a runner who would take it to British East and mail it for us up there without betraying us first to the Germans was something we could not guess.
Even Fred grew gloomy when we realized there was probably not a native on the whole countryside with sufficient manhood left in him to dare make the attempt.

The first overture we might make would almost certainly be reported to the commandant at once.
"What fools we were not to send Kazimoto with it when he begged us to!" "What worse than fools!" "What brutes! Think what we might have saved him!" We were unanimous as to that, but unanimity brought no comfort, until we all together hit on a notion that did ease our feelings a trifle.
Coutlass and his two friends were sitting on camp-stools in the open where they could have a full view of our doings.