"Nothing you can do, I guess," he replied.
"Then I am going to take a little prowl into these woods here," said the colonel, indicating a small clump of trees that stood perhaps a quarter of a mile to the east.
"I'll go along," said Chester. "I feel like stretching my legs a bit."
The two walked away together. Ivan and Nikol remained behind and watched
Hal tinker with the engine.
Chester and the colonel prowled about among the trees for the better part of half an hour and then turned to make their way back to the machine. As they walked along, Chester suddenly caught Colonel Anderson by the arm, stopping him in his stride.
"Sh-h-h," muttered the lad and listened intently.
"What's the matter?" demanded Colonel Anderson, in a low voice.
"Thought I heard voices," replied Chester. "Listen."
Both became silent; and directly they caught the sound of a low voice off to the right. Then there came a second and a third voice.
"Don't see what they can be doing here, whoever they are," declared
Chester in a whisper. "We'll see if we can get a look at them."