a close scrutiny of them.

He had long been convinced that there were hired assassins on his
trail, nor was he in great doubt but that Rokoff was at the bottom
of the plot. Whether it was to be revenge for the several occasions
in the past that Tarzan had defeated the Russian's purposes and
humiliated him, or was in some way connected with his mission in
the Gernois affair, he could not determine. If the latter, and it
seemed probable since the evidence he had had that Gernois suspected
him, then he had two rather powerful enemies to contend with, for
there would be many opportunities in the wilds of Algeria, for
which they were bound, to dispatch a suspected enemy quietly and
without attracting suspicion.

After camping at Djelfa for two days the column moved to the southwest,
from whence word had come that the marauders were operating against
the tribes whose DOUARS were situated at the foot of the mountains.

The little band of Arabs who had accompanied them from Bou Saada
had disappeared suddenly the very night that orders had been given
to prepare for the morrow's march from Djelfa. Tarzan made casual
inquiries among the men, but none could tell him why they had left,
or in what direction they had gone. He did not like the looks
of it, especially in view of the fact that he had seen Gernois in
conversation with one of them some half hour after Captain Gerard
had issued his instructions relative to the new move. Only
Gernois and Tarzan knew the direction of the proposed march. All
the soldiers knew was that they were to be prepared to break camp
early the next morning. Tarzan wondered if Gernois could have
revealed their destination to the Arabs.