And sure enough, one of the pirogues was missing. Fargo stood gazing into the dark and debating whether to take the other pirogue and go after Namo or stay put and wait for Namo to return. To find him out there would be next to impossible. But he’d promised Halette and Clovis he would try so he cupped a hand to his mouth and bellowed Namo’s name on the chance Namo was within earshot. There was no reply. Fargo had less than an hour before he was to meet Hetsutu in front of the tavern. He’d left the kids with Liana and told her that if he wasn’t back by midnight to let Hetsutu know where he had gone. Placing his Henry in the bottom of the second pirogue, Fargo pushed until it floated free, climbed in, picked up a paddle, and was under way. He stroked as quietly as he could, wending among the moss-laden cypress. He had gone only a short way when he stopped paddling and coasted. A glance back confirmed he could still see the lights of the settlement. Fargo wasn’t about to venture much farther.
