“I am sure of it. It is not on any map, for I have always been interested in African deserts.”
“You have?”
“Yes, I think a wonderful people are to be found in Sahara—white people whose knowledge is greater than ours.”
“Fact?”
“Yes, Ib. I have often thought that the ancient Egyptians knew many engineering secrets which are lost to us; they certainly had power of divination and many other things which puzzle the brains of our best men to-day. Why should not these old fellows have left Egypt and founded a new country where they would be free from the incursions of other nations?”
“But they died thousands of years ago.”
“Of course they did, but we didn’t. And their descendants may be living.”
“Don’t say a word to Uncle Sherif, or he will make us start off in search at once.”
“Seriously, do you ever expect to see your uncle or Girzilla again?”
It was a cruel question to ask, but Max was in the same boat, and he had but little hope of escape.