The fact that the light had disappeared rapidly was greatly in their favor. It had been just at sunset that they had attacked Todd, and now the sun had gone down altogether. Out in the open it would not have made any difference, but here under the thick trees a welcome darkness was wrapping the woods like a cloak. It was not yet dark enough to hide them completely, but just enough to aid them materially. If they could keep away from the bargemen long enough to allow total darkness to settle over the countryside they would surely escape.
Maxwell had reached the shore and was plunging recklessly into the bushes after them. They could hear him coming and a few seconds later Todd followed his mate. Terry decided not to try to hide for a time yet, but to trust to luck to outrun the men. They were active men and likely to give the escaped pair a lively race of it, but Terry was sure that he at least could outrun them. His anxiety was the cook, but so far the man had made no complaint and was running well.
It did not last long, however. The cook seemed to lose his strength all at once. Even Terry, with all his athletic life to his credit, found the race cruel. His breath was coming fast, hurting his lungs severely, his legs felt as though lead weighed them down, and his eyes hurt. The cook began to falter and stumble, and Terry found his own progress slowed down as a result of having to give his arm to the man.
“I—I can’t make it, no—how,” gasped the cook. “You run on, bub. I’ll be all right.”
“Nothing doing,” breathed Terry. “We’ll look for cover and take a breathing spell.”
A dry brook supplied them with the very place of concealment that they wanted and they crawled into it. But instead of lying there Terry began to crawl along its bed on his hands and knees, finding relief in the fact that the leaves were wet and therefore helped by deadening all sounds. They followed this brook for two hundred yards and then lay still, listening.
The pursuing men made a lot of noise, but by its very nature the two in the brook knew what was going on. The men were uncertain, for they slowed down and began to talk together. Terry now had no fear of discovery, for the real darkness was coming over the woods and no human being could see them. Unless someone actually fell over them the chances of being captured were small. So they lay there, gradually getting their breath and recovering from the strain of the long chase. From time to time they heard a movement from the men and now and then a brief word.
They had lain there for perhaps half an hour when they heard the whistle of the barge blown three times, little sharp blasts. “The skipper’s callin’ them back,” whispered Jed, close to his ear. Terry nodded but did not move. They heard the men making their way back through the woods.
Just to be sure they lay there for another half hour and then crawled out. After a conference they decided that they would be wiser to go away from the river and seek some nearby town, where the matter could be reported to the local authorities. Accordingly, they struck off in a direction north of the river and walked for two hours. At the end of the time they gave it up and came to a halt.
“Nothing to do but call a halt until daylight,” decided Terry. “We don’t know whether we’re walking around in circles or not. Perhaps we can get a little sleep, if we can find a dry place.”