Page:Taylor - In the Dwellings of the Wilderness.djvu/83

 Merritt turned to Holloway.

"Was he there when you first went to the tomb?"

"No, sir!" Holloway answered promptly.

"How long were you there?"

"About an hour, as nearly as I can judge."

"Had he returned when you left?"

"No, sir."

Merritt's grey eyes transfixed Ibraheem, who quailed.

"While you were away from your post, in direct disobedience of orders, that mummy was stolen. Now it's up to you to find it. Do you understand, or shall I say it again in your lingo?" He repeated his words in the vernacular. "It shall be your business to find it. You