The other felt troubled, and looked it. His orders were to keep the road open, and afford escort to such outlying whites as desired to reach a place of safety. He did not see how he could take his troop off this duty, to engage in an indefinite search for one man, who would almost certainly have been murdered long before they should so much as hear of him—even if they ever did.
“This is one thing that’s going to be done, Miss Vidal,” cut in Peters. “I’m going to try and find him,—I for one. Wyndham I know will make another, and it’ll be strange if we don’t find a good few more who’ll volunteer.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Clare.
“Excuse me—no. That can’t be done, Miss Vidal. It’s quite impossible. Not a man would volunteer on those terms.”
She thought a moment. “You are right, Mr Peters. Yes. I see that. For me there is nothing for it but to—wait. To wait!” she repeated bitterly.
“And—hope,” supplemented Peters. “If any man is going to find out what’s become of Lamont, I’m that man. He almost threw away his life once to save mine, and now I’ll either return with him if he’s above ground or I won’t return at all.”
This conversation had taken place within the living-room of Grunberger’s house, and now Clare’s self-possession utterly gave way. She sank into a chair, and sobbed.
“Cheer up, Miss Vidal, cheer up,” said Peters briskly. “If it’s in the power of mortal man to find Lamont, I’m going to be that man. There’s more’n one could tell you I’m not easy put off a job I once make up my mind to bring through. I’m not saying it to brag. Now I’m going to collect as many as I can, and we’ll start at dark.”
“God will bless you,” was all she could say, as she wrung the hard, gnarled hand of the honest pioneer.
“This is a devilish sad, romantic sort of business,” said the officer of Scouts; for the circumstances of the engagement, thus tragically broken, were pretty well known now all over the camp. “Lovely girl, too, by Jove!” Peters nodded. “Good, too,” he said. “Good and plucky. She’s the only girl I’ve ever clapped eyes on good enough for Lamont.”