“You know, uncle,” said Geoffrey, “we started out at three o’clock. I noticed Dicky playing with his blocks in our tent, and said good-bye to him. Did you see him when you came back for the cartridges?”
“Certainly I did; he called me to look at his dog making believe go to sleep in the hammock.”
“We girls went down to the pool soon after that,” said Bell, tearfully. “He asked to go with us, and I told him it was too far, and that he’d better stay with mamma, who would be all alone. He said ‘Yes’ so sweetly I couldn’t mistrust him. Oh, was it my fault, papa? Please don’t say it was!” and she burst into a passion of sobs.
“No, no, my child, of course it was not. Don’t cry; we shall find him. Go and look about the camp, Geoff, while we consider for a minute what to do.”
“If there is any fault, it is mine, for going to sleep,” said poor Aunt Truth; “but I never dreamed he would dare to wander off alone, my poor little disobedient darling! What shall we do?”
“Have you spoken to Pancho and Hop Yet?” asked Phil.
“Yes; they have seen nothing.”
Hop Yet just at this moment issued from his kitchen with an immense platter of mutton-stew and dumplings, which he deposited on the table. On being questioned again, he answered as before, with the greatest serenity, intimating that Dicky would come home “heap bime-by” when he got “plenty hungly.” He seemed to think a lost boy or two in a family rather a trifle than otherwise, and wound up his unfeeling remarks with the practical one, “Dinner all leady; you no eat mutton, he get cold! Misser Wins’, I no find pickle; you catchum!”
“I don’t believe he would care if we all died right before his eyes,” muttered Polly, angrily. “I should just like to see a Chinaman’s heart once, and find out whether it was made of resin, or cuttle-fish, or what.”
“Well,” said Phil, as Dr. Winship came through the trees from the card-room, “we must start out this instant, and of course we can find him somehow, somewhere; he hasn’t been gone over two hours, and he couldn’t walk far, that’s certain. Now, Uncle Doc, shall we all go different ways, and leave the girls here to see if he doesn’t turn up?”