"All right," he called back. "I'm going in."
He pulled himself up and then dropped down inside. Those on the outside heard a terrible rattle and clatter and stood suddenly silent, for they did not know what had happened. Then Chester called out:
"It's all right. I jumped in the dishpan; that's all. Come on."
Hal and Colonel Anderson boosted Uncle John to the window sill, and then Hal gave Colonel Anderson a hand up. The latter, perched in the window, leaned down and pulled Hal up beside him. They dropped down inside.
At that moment a sudden beam of light flashed into the room.
The moon had come out, lighting up the outside and accentuating the darkness in the old shack.
"Well, here we are," said Chester. "Now we'll keep quiet, so as not to tell the enemy where we are."
For perhaps an hour they sat in silence; and then Hal's quick ears detected the sound of approaching horses.
"Listen!" he whispered.
The others strained their ears to catch some sound; and directly it came—the sound of many horses approaching.