"Thunder and mud," growled Buck. "Where's Jack got to? I left him here not five minutes ago, laughing over this picture."
At this moment Dent came up.
"Where's Jack?" said he quickly.
"I don't know, and that's the square-toed truth," replied Buck. "P'raps he's rambled off in a different direction."
The two comrades began to move swiftly about in search of their young leader. They kept together, for, with their knowledge of the country, they felt uneasy at once, and were not willing to separate, lest each might not find the other again. They found Me Dain, and set him to hunt in every direction. They found the headman, and he seemed bewildered at the idea that Jack had disappeared. He gave, or seemed to give, them every assistance possible in their search, but within an hour the two comrades were looking at each other very blankly. Jack had gone. There was no sign of him from end to end of the village, but how or where he had gone was a completely impenetrable mystery.
Buck and Jim and the Burman gathered in the hut which had been assigned to them, and held a council of war.
"Say," muttered Buck uneasily, "this beats the band. What's come to Jack?"
Jim Dent shook his head, and made no reply for a moment.
"Well, Buck," he said at last, "there's one thing quite certain; he hasn't gone on his own account."
"Sure thing," replied Buck.