The boy nodded.
"The soldiers are the only problem. If we avoid them all is well. There may be a way known in this town."
Now he determined to remain attached to this trio—for the time being at least—telling them when necessary that he was unable to find his uncle because he had fled.
CHAPTER XXIII
He worked ceaselessly in his head at a plan of action as they cautiously approached the township, which had once been a place of importance but had now fallen into the greatest decay. He wished to be fully provided with subterfuges against all possible contingencies. He had a deep feeling of excitement—the conviction that the great test of his ability was slowly coming nearer. For now there were but twenty miles of the journey left, and at any moment it might become imperative for him to risk everything in a quick forward rush. His intelligent eyes were here, there, and everywhere.
The others were likewise very much on the qui vive. They talked incessantly of all possible perils, commiserating with one another at being abroad in such times as these. Each step forward seemed to be taken more reluctantly than the last. Now that they were face to face with real danger, they had every wish to turn back.
A few hundred yards from the broken mud wall of the township the whole party halted as by a common impulse, wondering aloud what they should do. Then, very deliberately, they approached some country folks who had stood watching them from the distance, half-hidden behind some trees. With friendly calls and waving hands they marched up, hoping that they would hear something reassuring.
Nevertheless these people could tell them very little. They declared, however, that the reports that all the soldiers had gone for good were not quite true. Small detachments were constantly arriving and disappearing, every man in the provincial militia being mustered out to fight the foreign invader. Only that morning a body of infantry had passed this way, but whether they were still in the township they had not heard. As for the foreign devils, they had not been driven into the sea. On the contrary they had become stronger. They held all the country round the seaport, and it was said that many thousands more were pouring in. In any case fighting would continue for a long time. The foreign army was determined to march on the capital. It was not known whether the provincial troops could entirely stop them. There were disagreements among the commanders already; and shots had been exchanged.
This news was so surprising to the three wool-dealers, that they sat down on a fallen tree-trunk and began talking to one another in deep undertones. The boy muttered angrily to himself at the stupidity of these peasants. He suspected that the wool-dealers were concerting a new plan whereby they might slip away round the contending armies and reach their destination by a totally new route. Their one and only interest was their stock of wool. They had already mentioned the feasibility of making a great detour to the south to gain the coast. Then, by embarking on a junk a hundred miles or so away, they could safely reach the harbour without seeing a single soldier. This would be no doubt wise for them, but for him it would mean a delay of many days—a disastrous delay. The boy cursed them under his breath for their cowardice and wondered whether he should not leave them at once. On the other hand, if he went on alone he would be stripped of protection. Masked by their presence, no one could suspect him of being a secret messenger.