Jack of course hoped that the doctor was wrong, and that Murray would be able to remain out till the affair on which they had been sent had been brought to a satisfactory issue.
“But you look unusually grave, Rogers; has anything happened?”
Jack told him all about Tom and Gerald’s loss. Murray of course heartily sympathised with him, and expressed his fears, as his other friends had done, that it would be a hard matter to get the youngsters back. He suggested, however, that Jack should try and get hold of some natives, who might communicate with them, and perhaps assist them to escape.
The suggestion gave him some consolation, as offering a means of recovering the lads.
“Don’t be cramped in your efforts for want of money,” said Murray. “Bribery with these fellows will go a long way, and you know that my purse is always at your service, and never more so than on this occasion.”
“I know it, Alick,” answered Jack. “Depend on it, if I can fall in with any natives, I will try what bribery can do with them; and if my own means are insufficient, I will come to you.”