“Guess he thought he’d take a stroll,” he thought. “But it’s rather strange he didn’t wait till I got back.”
Not really alarmed, but a trifle uneasy regarding his friend’s absence, he sat down and leaned back against the trunk of a tree. The minutes passed and Rex did not return.
“Hope he hasn’t gone and got lost,” he thought. “I’m afraid he doesn’t realize how easy it is to get lost in these woods.”
When a half hour had passed and still no Rex, he began to be really uneasy. Taking the flash light, he made a wide detour of the camping place, calling every few minutes as loudly, as he dared for fear of waking Jack and Kernertok.
“This is getting serious,” he told himself, as he returned to his previous position. “Wonder if I’d better call the others.”
Somewhat against his better judgment he decided to wait a while longer, hoping that Rex would return. He knew that it would be light in a little more than an hour, and he hated to disturb his brother and the Indian. But when the first tinge of the coming day lighted up the eastern sky and Rex had not returned, he was really alarmed, and decided to wait no longer.
“Eh, what’s up?” Jack asked sleepily, as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“Rex has gone.”
“Gone where?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” and Bob told him what had happened.