They had been resting about forty minutes when Biglow suddenly leapt to his feet and said, “Now’s the time, come on, lads.”
In a moment they were off again. The moon had risen and was sending a pale glimmer over the palm-clad slopes and distant mountains. Biglow carefully examined his revolver. Adams and Clensy did likewise.
“Wish ter Gawd it wasn’t so dark,” growled Adams.
“Wish the moon wasn’t so high!” replied Biglow with his usual cussedness, as the three men started to creep down the slope, Adams following very carefully in the rear.
“He’ll git us mydered out ’ere in this damned ’ole, and I ain’t been the best o’ men,” whispered Adams in a hollow voice as he leaned towards Clensy’s right ear. Then he added: “Wish we was a-buskin’, earning money honest, as of old, pal.”
“So do I,” whispered Clensy, as he broke the pledge—took the proffered rum-flask from Adams’s hand and took a rather big nip.
After crossing the gradual curves of the slope, they passed through a wide stretch of jungle and found themselves in a beautiful valley that seemed to wind away between the mountains. To the right of them the rugged hills slowly increased in height till they were lost below the peak of a mountain that strangely resembled a vast cross, quite distinct in the moonlight.
It was Biglow who called his comrade’s attention to that strange resemblance, for he suddenly said: “Old de Cripsny was right! It does look like a cross in the moonlight, though I’m damned if I could see any resemblance when I first sighted it whilst we were tramping across the plains, way back.”
“So that peak was your guide,” thought Clensy, as he stared up at the distant peak, and no longer wondered how it was that Biglow tramped along in one direction without the slightest hesitation, as though he was going over some well-known track.
“This way, lads, don’t keep on that path,” suddenly said Biglow in a low voice. Then he pointed to the ground and showed them a pathway that had most certainly been made through the tramp of human footsteps. Biglow’s voice had become subdued. His erstwhile jovial countenance had become serious-looking.