"Tom? Tom Bodine?"
"The same," replied the ex-cowboy, materializing out of the darkness, and approaching. "And glad I am," he added, "to find you."
"But, good gracious, Tom, is anything the matter? Why are you here? I thought we left you heading back for home five hours ago?"
"No, you just left me," said Tom. "That's all. I didn't head home, because I wanted to come along. Been a-trailin' you all the way. And here I am."
Jack was surprised, indeed. But now that Tom was with them, he experienced a sense of relief. To venture into a strange land without a guide, and in pitch darkness, besides, was a pretty stiff undertaking. The responsibility of looking after his friends was no light one.
"To tell the truth, Tom," Jack said, "I'm glad you came."
Bob and Frank echoed his words heartily.
"I had just about decided when you came up," Jack added, "that I had lost my way. Frank thought, however, we merely hadn't gone far enough to find your landmarks."
"He was right," said Tom. "You come straight as a die. All we got to do is to ride on a piece an' we'll be in the snuggest cave ever you see."
Riding two abreast, Tom and Jack in the lead and Frank and Bob close behind, they pressed on another twenty minutes when Tom called a halt to indicate a clump of rocks close at hand which suggested in their outline a crouching camel. Then he led the way toward the left.