He called to a packer and gave him definite orders to take the party down-river and wait at a spot agreed upon; and a few minutes later he and Nasmyth left the camp.
Shortly afterward Batley came in.
“Where are the others?” he asked.
They told him and he looked thoughtful.
“So Lisle started at once! Which way did he and Nasmyth go?”
“Up the ridge behind us, but they turned down-stream when they reached the top,” Carew replied.
Batley scented a mystery.
“Well,” he said, “I think I’ll go after them; I might be useful. Of course, you’ll start to-morrow as Lisle told you, and if I’m not back by then, I’ll follow the river to the rendezvous he mentioned.”
He disappeared, as did Crestwick, who came in for supper later on, and as the packers had pitched their tent lower down, there was now only Carew left with the women in camp. They were all a little uneasy as dusk grew near; the haste with which the men had set out one after another struck them as ominous. Bella’s mind was unusually active, for she had promptly decided that there was something behind all this, and when at last Millicent strolled away from the others she followed her to the edge of the water. A ridge of rock cut them off from view of the camp and though she fancied that Millicent was not pleased to see her, Bella sat down upon a stone.
“In a way, the anxiety that Lisle and the rest have shown to find Clarence is flattering,” she began, expressing part of her thoughts. “I wonder if they’d all have gone off in such a hurry if Jim had got lost.”