"They're opening the gate."
"Hist! Don't take no notice."
For there was a shout from behind.
"Halt, there, or we fire!"
"Go on then," muttered Esau. "Sha'n't halt now. You couldn't hit us if
you tried."
"Do you hear? Halt!"
It was Mr Raydon who shouted, but I was desperate now I had gone so
far, and we kept up our trot, with Esau acting as guide. His eyes were
better than mine in the darkness.
"Fire!" came from behind now, and three flashes of light appeared for an
instant, followed by the reports of the rifles.
"Not killed me," muttered Esau, with a chuckle. But I did not laugh,
for a thought had struck me.
"Esau," I whispered; "they'll set the dog on our scent, and use him to
run us down. There, do you hear?"
For the barking of the dog began once more.
"Can we cross the river?" I said.
"No."
"Then make for the first stream and let's wade along it a little way."
"Never thought of that," muttered Esau. "Here, let's go along by the
river."
Five minutes later we were splashing along close to the edge, keeping
our feet in the water for a time, with the dog's deep baying behind
coming on so slowly that I knew he must be chained and some one holding
him back.
"He will not track us now," I said breathlessly. "They'll think we have
crossed."
"Then they'll think we're drowned, and go and tell mother," said Esau,
stopping short. "Here, let's go back."
"Not now we have gone so far," I said. "I could not face Mr Raydon
now. Besides, they will know that we could take care of ourselves."
"Course they would," said Esau. "Come on." But before we had gone a
hundred yards he said, "Why they won't know it is us yet."
We tramped on as quickly as we could go for the darkness, and by degrees
the barking of the dog grew more faint in the distance, and finally
ceased.
"There," said Esau; "they'll be clever if they find us now."
"And we shall be clever if we find our way."
"Oh, I'll find my way. I shall never forget how to get to that place,
after what happened that day."
I shuddered, for his words brought up my long illness, and made me tramp
on down alongside the stream with a curious sensation of awe.
For the darkness was at times intense, and in the blackest parts the
river seemed to dash and roar in a way that was startling, and as we had
never heard it before.
It was all fancy of course, and so it was that the pines rose up so
black that it was hard work to make out the landmarks in the valley
which had grown familiar during our many wanderings.
Twice over we stopped to argue, for Esau was positive and obstinate to a
degree, insisting that we had come to the right ravine, while I was as
sure that we had not.
He gave way sulkily, assuring me that I was going right on past it, and
at last I began to think he must be correct. For I had lost all count
of time in my excitement, and I stopped short.
"I've taken you right by it, Esau," I said sadly. "We must go back."
"No, you haven't," he replied, to my great surprise. "I've thought
since that couldn't be it, because there was no open pool just below the
fall. Don't you remember, where we saw so many trout?"
"Of course," I cried; "I remember now. Then it is lower down, and we
ought to hear the noise of falling water."
We listened, but there was only the rumbling roar of the river down on
our left.
"I'm afraid we're wrong," I said despondently. "If it only were not so
dark!"
"Let's go on a bit further first," said Esau; and I followed him full of
doubts, till we turned a corner where the river made a sudden bend, and
Esau uttered a low cry.
"There it is," he said. "Hark!"
Sure enough there was the roar of a fall, and we knew that we had
reached the entrance of the little side valley, where the pool lay below
the falls.
Another minute, and we were passing through a clump of little fir-trees,
also familiar to us; and then Esau stopped short, for there was a bright
light just in front--a light which puzzled us for a few moments, before
we understood that it must be the reflection from a fire which we could
not see, shining in the clear waters of the pool.