Page:Taylor - In the Dwellings of the Wilderness.djvu/173

 "Is there a piece torn out of the left sleeve of my shirt, near the shoulder?" he asked abruptly, and bent down that Merritt might observe. Merritt noticed that his breath was quick and his manner full of a repressed excitement.

"No," Merritt said. "Nothing wrong here."

"Thank the Lord for that," Deane muttered devoutly. " But then it's mighty queer. I don't understand what could have happened … Something caught at me just now, down in the diggings … I can't believe it's all imagination"

Simultaneously Merritt exclaimed:

"Hold on! You said the left sleeve. There's a six-inch rip in the right sleeve,