“Have you heard anything, Ranni?”
“Nothing,” said Ranni. “It is nearly seven o’clock, Pilescu. Shall we wake the boys and go on? There is no use in staying here. Even if the robbers are lying in wait for us above, we must push on!”
“Yes,” said Pilescu, yawning. “I feel better now. I think I could tackle four or five of those ruffians at once. I will wake the boys.”
He awoke them all. They did not want to open their eyes! But at last they did, and soon sat munching some of the bread they had found on the little shelf nearby the night before.
Ranni told them how the robbers had gone by in the night without discovering them.
“It’s not very nice to think they’re somewhere further up, waiting for us!” said Mike, feeling uncomfortable. “I suppose they’ll be in one of the caves. “We’ll have to look out!”
“We’ll look out all right!” said Jack, who, like Pilescu, felt all the better for his night’s sleep. “I’m not standing any nonsense from wolf-tailed robbers!”
They left the platform, and made their way to the ledge that ran beside the river, beyond the platform. As usual Ranni went first, having tied them all together firmly.
“It’s not so very far up to the waterfall cave from here, as far as I remember,” said Jack. “About two hours or so.”
They began to stumble along the rocky ledge again, the water splashing over their feet. The boys were surprised to find that the ledge was now ankle-deep in water.