Chip picked up a photograph. 'This interests me.'

'It interests me, too," said Stafford. 'In fact, it's the key to the whole bloody situation. What about it, Alan?'

Hunt took the photograph. 'Oh, that's the animal movement laboratory. I don't know much about it. I've never been inside.'

'Tell Chip about the pretty wildebeest," said Stafford ironically.

Hunt retailed all he knew about the work done there on patterns of animal migration. He shrugged. 'I don't know much more; it's not my field. In any case it's not really a part of the College.; we just give them house room.'

'I've been all over Ol Njorowa,' said Stafford. 'I've been given the grand tour; I've been everywhere except inside that so-called laboratory. Alan has been at Ol Njorowa for two years and he hasn't been inside.'

'Well, it's not used all the year round,' said Hunt. 'And the wildebeest migration doesn't begin for another six weeks.'

Judy said, 'We don't see much of those people, anyway. They're not good mixers.'

'So Alan remarked before.' Stafford looked at the sky and said dreamily, 'Up there, a little over 22,000 miles high, is an American satellite for extended weather research, a laudable project and no doubt quite genuine. But it contains equip ment used by these people at Ol Njorowa. It occurred to me that a signal sent from that dish antenna to the satellite could be relayed and picked up in, say, Pretoria which is about 25 degrees south. Or possibly somewhere in the Northern Transvaal such as Messina or Louis Trichardt which are about 22 to 23 degrees south.' He smiled. 'I've been looking at maps.'

Hunt said, 'This is all sheer supposition. You talk of TV cameras on the water tower, but you don't know they're there. And all this waffle about signalling to Pretoria is just sheer guff in my opinion. If this is what you've brought me to hear you're wasting my time.'

'Alan,' said Stafford gently. 'Does a respectable establishment bug the guest bedrooms?'

'You're sure of that?' said Chip sharply.

'Dead sure. Microphone and radio transmitter disguised as a picture of an elephant.' He described what he had found.

Chip blew out his cheeks in a sigh of relief. 'Thank God!" he said. 'It's the first firm evidence we've had.'

'That's what I thought,' said Stafford. He recounted the events of the day in detail, then said, 'I manoeuvred Gunnarsson into a private conversation in the bedroom because I was pretty sure that Brice would be listening. All the time I talked to Gunnarsson I was really addressing Brice.' He grinned. 'I needled Gunnarsson into saying that he's going to stick around to investigate Ol Njorowa because he thinks it's a phoney set-up.'

'He always was a sharp operator,' said Hardin soberly. 'I'll give him that. He doesn't have cotton wadding between his ears.'

'Yes, but Brice will have heard him saying it.' Stafford laughed. 'It will be interesting to see what happens now.'

Hunt looked at his sister. 'What do you think?'

'Until Max told about the picture in his room I wasn't convinced,' she said. 'But he's really getting to me now.'

'Have you seen the TV camera in the entrance hall of the Admin Block?' asked Stafford helpfully.

Hunt looked startled. 'No, I haven't.'

'That's not surprising; it's hard to spot unless you know what you're looking for. As you face the counter it's behind and to your left in the top corner. Now, don't go staring at it, for God's sake! Just do an unobtrusive check.'

Hunt shook his head in bewilderment. 'You know, last year Brice showed me a couple of papers in a journal about the work done by the animal migration lab. From what I could see it was really good stuff.'

'No doubt it was. The best cover is always genuine.' Stafford turned to Chip. 'When I was talking to Gunnarsson I indicated I was leaving Kenya and going back to London. Brice might believe it or he might not. Can you do anything to support that story?'

Chip thought about it. 'We don't know yet how big an organization Brice has built up, or how far we've been penetrated. I'll have someone book air tickets in the names of you and Curtis. Let me have your passport numbers, and the records will show that you left tomorrow morning. In the meantime you'll have to go to ground.'

'Why not here?' said Nair. 'Here on Crescent Island. It's close to Ol Njorowa and it's quiet. We can bring a tent and sleeping bags and anything else you might need.'

'We'll need a boat,' said Stafford.

Curtis leaned forward and said in a low voice, 'The Colonel might like to know there's someone coming.'

'Where?'

'Up the slope from the water and moving quietly.'

Chip had caught it. He signalled to Nair and they both headed down the slope, angling in different directions. They disappeared and, for a while, nothing happened. Then they came back, strolling casually, and Chip was tearing open an envelope. 'It's all right; just someone bringing me a message.' He took a sheet of paper from the envelope and scanned it. 'The man who was asking for Gunnarsson at the New Stanley. He's been traced back to Ol Njorowa; his name is Patterson.'

Stafford wrinkled his brow. 'That name rings a faint bell.'

Hunt said, 'He's one of the animal migration team. I suppose that does it.'

'Wasn't he the man with Brice when I met him for the first time at the Lake Naivasha Hotel?'

'Yes,' said Judy. 'Alan, I think Max has proved his point.' She looked directly at Stafford. 'What do you want us to do?'

'Chip's the boss,' said Stafford.

'Not really,' said Chip, and nodded his head towards the grey-haired Kenyan who was knocking out his pipe on the rock he sat on. Stafford had glanced at him from time to time during the conference. His face had remained blandly blank but he had obviously listened to every word. Chip said, 'I'll have to have a private talk first.' He walked to one side and the elderly man put away his pipe and followed him.

Curtis said to Nair, 'If we're staying on this island we'll need essential supplies. Beer.'

Stafford smiled, and Hardin said, 'What do I do?'

'That depends upon what Chip wants to do, and that depends upon the decision of Mr Anonymous over there. Or he could be General Anonymous, since this seems to be an army operation. We'll have to wait and see.'

'You know,' said Hunt. 'I can't believe this is happening.'

'You don't know the whole story yet,' said Stafford. 'You'd find that even more incredible.' He turned to Hardin. 'It seems that Gunnarsson is not involved with Brice or Hendriks. He had a ploy of his own which he'd probably call a scam.'

'Ripping off the Hendrykxx estate with Corliss,' agreed Hardin.

Stafford laughed. 'You started all this, Ben. Did you imagine, back in Los Angeles, that you would uncover an international espionage plot in the middle of Africa? It's only because we were suspicious of Gunnarsson that we got wind of it. You know, it puzzled me a long time. I was trying to fit pieces into a jig-saw and only now have I realized there were two jig-saw puzzles – one around Gunnarsson and the other around Ol Njorowa.'

Judy said, 'So what happens now?'

'I suspect we fall into the hands of politicians,' said Stafford. He jerked his head. 'That pair over there are, I think, simple-minded military men. If they have their way they'll climb in to Ol Njorowa and disinfect it. The direct way. The politicians might have other ideas.'

Hunt said, 'Curtis refers to you as the Colonel. Are you still active, and in what capacity?'

'God, no! I got out ten years ago.' Stafford sat up. 'I was in Military Intelligence and I became tired of my work being either ignored or being buggered about by politicos who don't know which end is up. So I quit and started my own civilian and commercial organization. I resigned from Weltpolitik.' He paused. 'Until now.'