Then he said, 'Drake, you're a damned liar.' 'We haven't much time,' said Drake, 'and I would like to say something to you about the future of the Matanga settlement.

You will take my place, I suppose.

You can, and ought to'; and he entered at once into details on administration.
The advice, however, was lost upon Fielding.

Once he interrupted Drake.
'How many white men were with you on the Boruwimi expedition ?' he asked.
'Four,' answered Drake, and he gave the names.

'They are dead, though.
Two died of fever on the way back; one was killed in a subsequent expedition, and the fourth was drowned about eighteen months ago off Walfisch Bay.' A noise of portmanteaux being dragged along the passage penetrated through the closed door.