? ? ? ? It was not until the second day, however, that Meriem rebelled. She drew in her pony at last and voiced her doubts. Hanson assured her that the camp was but a few miles further on.
? ? ? ? "We should have overtaken them yesterday," he said. "They must have marched much faster than I had believed possible."
? ? ? ? "They have not marched here at all," said Meriem. "The spoor that we have been following is weeks old."
? ? ? ? Hanson laughed.
? ? ? ? "Oh, that's it, is it?" he cried. "Why didn't you say so before? I could have easily explained. We are not coming by the same route; but we'll pick up their trail sometime today, even if we don't overtake them."
? ? ? ? Now, at last, Meriem knew the man was lying to her. What a fool he must be to think that anyone could believe such a ridiculous explanation? Who was so stupid as to believe that they could have expected to overtake another party, and he had certainly assured her that momentarily he expected to do so, when that party's route was not to meet theirs for several miles yet?
? ? ? ? She kept her own counsel however, planning to escape at the first opportunity when she might have a sufficient start of her captor, as she now considered him, to give her some assurance of outdistancing him.
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