Every one was surprised at this.
It began to dawn upon Frank’s mind that an error had been made somewhere.
“Could it be possible that the captain of the steamer sent us on a wild goose chase?” he asked the Irishman.
“Bedad, it looks as if we’d been fooled!” replied Barney.
“It would have been impossible for any caravan to have reached this place ahead of us.”
“Yer roight there, sor. Now, them spalpeens in the oasis——”
“Are you suspicious about them?”
“Faith, it shtruck me as Murdock might be wid ‘em.”
“How could he have escaped detection?”
“Be makin’ himself luck loike ther resht av ther gang.”