Bob took his field-glass and went to the edge of the track, whence he had a scarcely interrupted view of a mile or more of the valley.
"No, they’re not in sight," he said after a minute or two. "Shall we go and meet them?"
"I’m more inclined to go down-stream, on the off-chance that we may find something."
"All right. Better take our rifles, perhaps."
"Why? Nurla has got clean away by this time, whether Uncle is with him or not. You may be sure he wouldn’t wait about."
"Well, we’ll take our revolvers; it’s just as well to have something handy. For all we know he may be resting behind some rock."
"With a rifle! Revolvers wouldn’t be much use against that."
"Nor would rifles, now you mention it. He’d pot us before we saw him if he wanted to. All the same, we’ll take our revolvers."
They swarmed across by the rope, gained the farther bank, and walked slowly down the track, scanning the rocky recesses as narrowly as before. They had scarcely any hope of finding their uncle’s body; but while it remained undiscovered they were ready to search again and again. It was now near midday, and the sun beat fiercely upon them. For a time they were unconscious of the heat in the intentness of their occupation, and the foreboding anxiety that filled their minds; so that they had walked much farther than they supposed when they became alive to the fatigue induced by exertion in such a temperature. Then, wiping their perspiring brows, they sank down to rest on a flattish boulder overhanging the stream.
"We must give it up," said Bob wearily. "Unless Nurla has got him he’s either at the bottom of the river, or else washed down miles by this time."
"I don’t care about caving in altogether," said Lawrence. "It would be some satisfaction--a mournful one--to recover his body and give him decent burial."
"Poor old man! He wouldn’t care a bit about that. What’s more to the point is to hunt down the blackguards who killed him. That’s what I propose to do as soon as our men come up. Some of them are sure to know the country, and with them on horseback and ourselves in the aeroplane, I’d take long odds that we find Nurla in time."
As they talked, they kept their eyes on the river, more from the habit engendered during the previous few hours than with any strong hope of their search being rewarded. Presently Lawrence, following with his eyes the foaming ripples as they swirled down-stream, caught sight of something that caused him to spring to his feet with a sudden ejaculation and lift the field-glass to his eyes.