"You ought to have seen them by this time. What are they doing?"
"Cooking," said Ned laconically.
"What!" cried Chris in astonishment.
"Well, I'm not sure they're cooking, but they've made a fire."
"Where--where? I say: no nonsense. Can you really see them?"
"No, but I can see the smoke of a fire curling up, and their horses are
grazing just at the edge of the forest part where the long grass
begins."
"Your eye must have grown worse and worse," said Chris, with grim
humour, as he crawled up alongside of his companion. "It must be very
bad indeed, or you couldn't see all that. Let's have a look."
"Keep your head down, mind," said Ned, handing the glass.
"Oh, that's all right; they couldn't tell heads from stones at this
distance. You must have been dreaming, Ned; I can't see smoke or
horses."
"You're not looking in the right direction; bear round more to the
left."
Chris made the object-glass of the binocular describe the segment of a
circle, and then after another look he gave vent to a long, low whistle.
"I never thought to look so far this way," he said, as softly as if he
was afraid of being heard.
"You can see them, then?"
"Yes, and the Indians too; dozens of them, I think. Here, catch hold."
"What are you going to do?"
"Tell them down below, and see what they mean to do."
The glass was passed into Ned's hand with a warning not to lose sight of
the enemy again, and then Chris shuffled back and downward for a few
yards, and then hurried down to the camp by an easier way of travelling
than crawling on hands and toes.
He was not long in doubt as to what was to be done, for the doctor gave
his orders at once, all hands setting to work to drive in the mules,
which were rapidly loaded up, Chris being sent back to rejoin Ned and
return from time to time with any news worth communication.
He descended twice to announce that the fire was burning still and the
Indians' mustangs still grazing, there being no suggestion of movement,
and as soon as possible the little mule-train was once more in motion,
the doctor making for a great gully a quarter of a mile beyond in the
mountain side, a rift which opened into one of several by which they
hoped to get round in time to the further side of the peak, though the
way was long and the impediments many--not that this was minded, for
every impediment partook in some way of a screen from the enemy behind,
while the way was so rocky that the trail left was of the slightest
kind.
Camp that night there was none. There was a short halt or two, but they
journeyed on for mile after mile by moonlight, and it was not till
morning was well advanced towards mid-day that a suitable gully was
found, offering all they needed in the way of water and pasturage,
joined to a good lookout place for danger, which could only come to them
from below, while the travellers had opened out to them an entirely
fresh panorama of mountain and plain, any portion of which might contain
the object for which they aimed.