"I promise you that, Ted, with all my heart," Elmer assured him, promptly enough, "because I wouldn't be satisfied to go away and leave a helpless fellow like that here. I only wonder that he hasn't tried to steal some of our stores before now; and perhaps we could set a trap that would catch him, if he ever does come into camp. But we won't depend too much on that. Sometimes the mountain won't come to you; and then you've got to go to the mountain. That's one of the sayings the Mohammedans have about their prophet, you know. Well, to-morrow we'll get busy looking around, and see if we can locate this Ralph Oxley."
"Oh! is that his full name, then?" asked Toby, and he repeated it to himself, as though he rather liked the sound: "Ralph Oxley!"
"He must have some sort of hiding-place around here," Toby ventured, "and who knows but what we might run across the trail of a barefooted man somewhere, that would lead us to his den."
"These crazy people are pretty slick, let me tell you," George hinted; "and it ain't going to be an easy job to run him down."
"It mightn't be for some fellows who knew next to nothing about tracking," Lil Artha spoke up, proudly; "but when scouts have been through as much as we have it's different. Once we get a sight of his tracks, and believe me there'll be something doing right away."
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Lil Artha," the scout master told him; "it shows that you've got a heap of confidence in your knowledge of the trail. Well, you've a right to feel that way. I can remember several times when you beat us all out in finding signs, and getting there in the end. We'll all do our level best to find his lair, and bring back Mr. Oxley's son in the flesh. They must be dreadfully worried about his absence by this time, and believe he has been drowned in either Lake Jupiter or the Sweetwater River. It would be a feather in our caps if we could restore the poor fellow to his folks."
"You told us he was a soldier, didn't you, Elmer?" pursued Toby; "and say, p'raps now he thought he was on guard when he kept marching back and forth dozens of times to-night. How about that, Elmer?"
"No doubt about it at all, Toby," came the reply; "for that was what he was doing. I remembered what they had told me about his wearing white clothes, even if they were soiled some by now, and thinking he is a Spanish soldier. I believe he had a stick held up against his shoulder, for all the world like a sentry's gun, and if we hadn't frightened him off he might have kept that thing up for hours."
They continued to talk it over for some further time, and then having apparently about exhausted the subject made ready to turn in. First Elmer picked out two others who were to constitute the first watch with him. They had to sit it out for a certain length of time, and keep constantly on the lookout for a visitor; but as the limit of their vigil was reached, and nothing happened, Elmer aroused three other scouts, and bade them take the places vacated by himself, Toby and Lil Artha.
Morning arrived, and there had been no alarm. It was to be assumed that those who had fulfilled the duties of sentries during the latter part of the night had not slept on their posts. Elmer made an examination of the stores, and found nothing amiss there; so it was settled that the crazy man could not have mustered up enough courage to invade the camp of those he considered his enemies.