The boys were holding their own—perhaps doing a little better.
“We can distance ’em,” puffed Dick, “if they’ll only give us a little time. We’ll be around the next turn and halfway to the one beyond before they show up again.”
Dick had hardly finished speaking before he came to a sudden halt.
“Keep on!” panted Bob.
“Can’t! We’re between two fires! That other gang has heard the firing and is coming back. Let’s get behind trees and do the best we can for ourselves. Oh, this is a fix!”
Bob was able to hear the men racing along in advance of them, and the larger force behind was drawing nearer and nearer.
The outlook was dark, and the only thing left for the boys to do seemed to be to dig into the dense undergrowth and take their chances of being tracked down.
With one accord they sprang toward the left-hand side of the path. The timber, in that direction, seemed a trifle less thick than on the right.
Before they had vanished they heard a guarded voice calling from the right: