I only wanted to say that I used to be a
writin'-master and that I can copy any writin' goin' or any signature
either, so you can't tell them apart. Now why couldn't we forge an
answer from Baluna to Gomaldo and send the first reenforcements
ourselves? He wants a 'undred men at a time. And then we could capture
Gomaldo as easy as can be. We could find him in the mountains. I know a
lot of these natives 'ere who would go with us if we paid them well."
"We should have to dress them up in the native uniform," said Sam. "I
don't know whether that would be quite honorable."
The sergeant smiled knowingly, but said nothing.
"Do you think we could get native officers to do such a thing?" Sam
asked.
"Oh, yes! Plenty of them. I know one or two. At first they wouldn't
like it. But give them money enough and commissions in our army, and
they'd do it."
"How different they are from us!" mused Sam. "Nobody in our army,
officer or man, could ever be approached in that way."
"It seems to me I've read somewhere of one of our principal
generals--Maledict Donald, wasn't it?"
Sam thought best not to hear this.
"But we would have to send some of our own officers on such an
expedition," he said. "We couldn't disguise them as natives."
"That wouldn't be necessary. They can go as if they were prisoners--you
and two or three others you could pick out.
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