Page:Harris Dickson--Old Reliable in Africa.djvu/192

 taken it for a circus parade, and lagged behind to look."

"Suspicious!" remarked the general curtly.

"Oh, no, our negroes always do that on circus day. McDonald and I both noticed that a crowd of Arabs began to gather around us, and Zack was in the thick of it. Not one of them spoke a word that I could hear, but they all seemed to be watching Zack. I took my eyes off him for a moment, and when I glanced back again his helmet had disappeared; and the servant Said was also missing. McDonald and I tried to find out which way he had gone; a very respectable-looking Arab directed us to a crooked alley. We followed that alley, and got lost."

"He sent you wrong, intentionally."

"Yes, I think he deliberately misled us. Anyhow, the negro could not be found. We spent two hours searching for him, and then supposed he had come back here. His servant was with him, and he couldn't get lost."

"He's not lost. Nobody gets lost here—accidentally. Answer me, Colonel Spottiswoode," the Sirdar's voice grew harsh; "what do you know about your black? Where did he come from?"

"Where did he come from? He's just a common ordinary nigger—came from nowhere in particular."

"Mahometan, of course."