“Double cross nothing,” Qualley answered quietly. “Another instant and you would have shot Joe.”
Sure enough it was Joe bringing the rifle from the camp as he had been ordered to do and he was not slow in making himself known when he heard the shot. They had both forgotten all about him.
“Well, I guess that will be sufficient warning to the other fellows,” Qualley remarked after a satisfactory explanation had been made to Joe. “There is not much use in hanging around here any longer now. If they had not started west before that they probably are making pretty good time in that direction now.”
Roberts was too much chagrined to have any reply. He pushed his revolver into his holster with disgust and took his rifle from Joe.
“There is nothing to do now, I suppose,” he grumbled, “except to go down to the beach and see where they did go. I am at least going to have that satisfaction before I sneak off into any hiding place.”
“I’ll go with you,” Qualley agreed. “I’d like to see where they went myself and there is the bare possibility that they have spent the night down there on the beach and were too far off to hear that shot. Joe, you and the other boys watch this pass till we get back.”
There did not seem to be much need for caution now, but they moved rather carefully and scouted the ground pretty thoroughly before they rounded any corners. They hardly expected to find the boys traveling that way in the daytime, but they were not taking any chances on meeting them unexpectedly. When they came to the cut-off trail they had not yet seen any tracks except their own.
“Want to take the trail or follow the edge of the swamp?” Qualley asked.
“Let’s follow the trail,” Roberts growled. He could feel his chances slipping away from him and it made him surly.
They traveled faster now, for there was not much chance of meeting any one in that direction and soon came out of the swamp on to the beach. It was easy to read the signs on the smooth sands of the beach and a glance showed them two tracks going east. They searched more carefully. There were none coming back.