Page:Harris Dickson--Old Reliable in Africa.djvu/191

 but have you seen my negro, old man Zack, who was here last night?"

"No, what's the matter? Is he gone?"

"He's missing, and we can't find him."

"Can't find him? Where did you see him last?"

"In Omdurman. A swarm of Arabs crowded round him, and we got separated. I thought he'd come back to the hotel, or here."

The British general sprang up, clapped his hands, and shouted, "Wahid!" An Egyptian orderly appeared, and received sharp orders in Arabic. Then Durham sent for an Irish sergeant, remarking to Colonel Spottiswoode, "If anything goes wrong we can't depend upon these Mahometans, especially where it touches their religion." So he dispatched Sergeant Flynn to find the negro.

Having sent his men to search the byways of two cities, General Durham turned to Colonel Spottiswoode and demanded, "How did it happen? Give details."

The American could not comprehend why such a muss should be stirred about a lost negro. "We were passing through an alley where men squatted on the ground making camel-saddles, with frames like saw-bucks. Zack and I watched them for awhile, then started to the corner of a wide roadway and saw a train of camels ridden by naked negroes—great big fellows. Zack must have