Page:Harris Dickson--Old Reliable in Africa.djvu/158

. It was Kali who brought Fudl to the table—Fudl of the tarboush and white-buttoned shoes. Allah had given Fudl with his own eyes to see the worshipful black Effendi moving toward the desert, with a bucket in his hand. Fudl had remained seated beneath the acacia tree, but the Effendi did not return.

"Bucket? Bucket?" the Colonel repeated vaguely. "Oh yes, I remember. He started out just before dinner to bring me a bucket of water from the spring."

"Spring? What spring?"

"He said there was a spring about fifty yards back of the house—oh!" Colonel Spottiswoode sprang up from, his chair and exclaimed: "That fool went out to find the mirage! Lyttleton, McDonald, you remember the mirage? When we called Zack to count those trees? That's where he went."

"Extr'ord'n'ry! 'pon my word! Extr'ord'n'ry!" ejaculated McDonald and Lyttleton.

Cameron spoke bluntly: "I trust you are mistaken. It would be a grubby matter for him to get lost—and might be far worse if he met any one. Kali cannot find him in the village."

The Colonel laughed. "You don't know Zack. He's all right." Yet the Colonel felt uneasy when he went to bed.