Weldon was to be conducted to some other point of Central
Africa? Should the presence of the American and the Portuguese be the
signal for his punishment, Dick Sand impatiently desired it. Harris
and Negoro at Kazounde, was for him the certainty that Mrs. Weldon and
her child were also there.
Dick Sand then told himself that, since the night when Dingo had
brought him Hercules's note, the dog had not been seen. The young man
had prepared an answer at great risks. In it he told Hercules to
think only of Mrs. Weldon, not to lose sight of her, and to keep her
informed as well as possible of what happened; but he had not been
able to send it to its destination. If Dingo had been able to
penetrate the ranks of the caravan once, why did not Hercules let
him try it a second time? Had the faithful animal perished in some
fruitless attempt? Perhaps Hercules was following Mrs. Weldon, as Dick
Sand would have done in his place. Followed by Dingo, he might have
plunged into the depths of the woody plateau of Africa, in the hope of
reaching one of the interior establishments.
What could Dick Sand imagine if, in fact, neither Mrs. Weldon nor her
enemies were there? He had been so sure, perhaps foolishly, of finding
them at Kazounde, that not to see them there at once gave him a
terrible shock. He felt a sensation of despair that he could not
subdue.
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