“Chuba catch plenty eye-shut, Sahib Muscles. Tomorrow going to be big days.”
Eye-shut! The two words reminded Biff of the Chinese with the drooping eyelid.
The two boys and the man stretched out by the fire and slept. At daybreak, Muscles stirred. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up.
“Hey!” he exclaimed. “Looks like we’ve got visitors.”
Biff and Chuba sat up quickly. Standing silently, forming a ring surrounding the three and the dying embers of the fire, were eight of the fiercest looking men Biff had ever seen.
CHAPTER XV
Bandits!
Biff shot a quick look at Chuba. He wanted to see his friend’s reaction to the startling appearance of these men who looked as if they had sprung from the age of primitive man. Good? Bad? Chuba would know.
Chuba’s eyes roved over the group. He turned his head quickly from man to man, turning around to complete the circle. A frown on the native boy’s face gave Biff his answer. Chuba was worried.
“Man, oh, man! Did you ever see anything like that bunch?” Muscles asked. “They’re from way out of nowhere.”
There was every reason for Muscles to be amazed. The men were small but squat and powerfully built. Their eyes were slanted in broad, dirty faces, the color of stained copper. Wide, cruel mouths turned down on either side. Scraggly strands of wiry hair sprouted from ragged caps made of mangy fur.