“Did you find his clothes?” asked Jack.
“Not a thing belonging to his outfit,” was the reply.
“Well, he went to bed, didn’t he?” asked Jack, a sudden suspicion entering his mind.
“He went into his tent,” was the reply, “but I did not see him undress.”
Then Pat, much to his astonishment, heard Jack laughing as if mightily pleased over something that had taken place.
“You’ve got your nerve!” he exclaimed. “Laughing at a time like this. I’ll bet the kid has been blown off the plateau.”
There was now a little lull in the drive of the wind and Jack nudged his companion with his elbow, turning an amused face as he did so.
“Blown off nothing!” he said. “You saw how he acted when Ned went off without him—how sulky he was?”
“I noticed something of the sort.”
“Well, Jimmie ducked after him!”