Page:Taylor - In the Dwellings of the Wilderness.djvu/134

 Deane went off to Merritt.

"I'm going to look for the boy myself. If what Ibraheem says is straight, I'm afraid he's gone as Tarfa and Hafiz went."

Merritt looked at him.

"You mean"

Deane nodded miserably.

"Yes. It seems he saw the same thing. Ibraheem heard him talking."

"Why didn't Ibraheem stop him?" Merritt cried with a flash of anger.

"Oh, because he's a fool," Deane retorted. "I shall take half a dozen men, with food and all the water you can spare. Somehow"—he drew a long breath, setting his teeth—"I feel as though it had been partly my fault. You see—a couple of nights ago he came and told me