Mack did not return during Archie’s watch, and at twelve o’clock he called Eugene, to whom he repeated the substance of what Walter had told him. Of course Eugene was highly excited at once, and when Archie went into the tent, he walked toward the other end of the camp to take a look at the Kaffirs, and see who it was that was missing. There was one among them who had in some way incurred Eugene’s displeasure, and if this was the one who had stolen Uncle Dick’s rifle, he would not be at all sorry to see the wagon-whip used on him.
“Now just listen to me a minute, and I’ll tell you what’s a fact. What are you doing here?” demanded Perk, who stood sentry at that end of the camp.
“Do you know that one of your Kaffirs has run away?” asked Eugene.
“No; and one of them hasn’t run away, either,” replied Perk, almost indignantly. “I haven’t been asleep.”
“Oh, he went while Bob was on—stole Uncle Dick’s fine gun too, the rascal.”
“Then I must be blind, or else he put a dummy in his bed,” declared Perk. “I counted them when I came out, and they were all there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that I can count as high as four?”
“I begin to think you can’t,” answered Eugene. “Let’s go and see.”
The two boys advanced on tip-toe toward the place where the native servants were curled up under the shelter of the thorn-bushes. They were all soundly asleep, and so closely covered with their skin cloaks that nothing but the tops of their woolly heads could be seen. Eugene counted them twice, and then to make assurance doubly sure, went closer and lifted the cloaks so that he could see their faces. Then he stepped back again and looked at Perk. “What do you think now?” asked the latter.