After winding in and out among the huge rocks and peaks for well over
an hour, Bob turned his camel up a little hill and came in sight of
camp.
How good it looked! Since his friends had been captured by the Arabs,
the youth had had an uneasy feeling that perhaps he could not find his
way back.
"Where's Fekmah, I wonder," he mused, looking about.
A moment later the Arab came running up, delighted beyond words at
again seeing him alive and well.
"What kept you away so long?" Fekmah asked. "And where are the
others?"
Bob's face darkened. He told of his father, Mr. Lewis, and Tishmak
being captured by the Arabs, and of his own good fortune in getting
away.
"But," he said, "I have a plan to bring about their rescue."
"What is it?" Fekmah waited breathlessly.
"On the way back to camp this morning, I came upon some Tuaregs who
live in a tent village several miles from here. They were very
friendly and wanted me to stay longer, but I told them I had to get
back.
"Now Dr. Kirshner has a paper with a good many Tuareg words on it. I
remember hearing him tell about it several days ago. If we can find
that, everything will probably be all right. We'll take it with us to
their village and ask them in their own language to help us. How does
it sound?"
"Very good," Fekmah returned. "But do you think they will?"
"Won't do any harm to find out," Bob said, going in the tent.
Dr. Kirshner's large satchel was on a box, and the young man at once
took it down and searched its contents for the paper of Tuareg words.
His nerves were on edge with a terrible fear that perhaps it would not
be there.
Papers and books and pamphlets were all taken out and hastily read.
Scarcely would the youth glance at one sheet when he would pick up
another. Under ordinary circumstances, Dr. Kirshner would not have
permitted anyone to go through his belongings, but now it was a case
of necessity.
Suddenly Bob straightened up in great relief. He had at last found the
object of his search.
"Here it is," he said to Fekmah, who was standing beside him. "A
translation of about three hundred Tuareg words. Now I guess we'll
fool those Arab crooks."
Bob had had nothing to eat that morning, and he was very hungry. He
lost no time in preparing a satisfying breakfast. When he had
finished eating, he turned to Fekmah.
"Now," he said, "I'm going to that Tuareg village and ask for aid in
rescuing Dad and the others. You had better stay here with the camels
and supplies, hadn't you? It would probably mean tragedy for us if
anything should happen to them."
"Yes," the Arab returned, "I will stay. And I not afraid that you will
fail."
"I'll try not to," Bob said, getting on his dromedary.
With a warm farewell the youth rode off at a rapid pace. His mind was
desperately set upon a purpose. He would rescue his father and friends
if he had to do it himself.
The Tuareg village was several miles away, but his fleet-footed camel
covered the distance in no time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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