Page:Taylor - In the Dwellings of the Wilderness.djvu/93

 the shining altar before he left, to throw us off the track. Yes, he's undoubtedly the thief. But he wouldn't be such a fool as to cross northward without water or provisions—and cooky says he took nothing from the stores—and the only other practicable route would be southward. So when we go back that way, we'll find him—or what's left of him—and it."

"But the Rocks? Suppose he makes for them?" Deane suggested.

At this idea, however, Merritt scoffed.

"Why should he go there? His main wish, I take it, would be to get into the track of caravans, where he might find help. He'd throw the mummy away in the desert, and hide the jewels in his shirt. Among the Rocks, he might as well go north and be done with it. No caravans