It was an easy matter for Boxer to make his way into the open air and find a fallen tree limb of sufficient thickness to throw over the chasm 248 as a make-shift bridge. As soon as the limb was secure, Larry and Leroy came over, and then the party of three made their way to the mouth of the cave.
It was a welcome sight to see the sky again and the sunshine, and Larry’s eyes sparkled as he gazed down the mountain-side and at the vast panorama spread out before him. At their feet was a heavy jungle, and beyond a plain and a small hill, where a large body of insurgents were encamping.
“It’s good to be in the fresh air again, eh, lad?” observed Leroy. “But I’m afraid we’ll have a good bit o’ trouble gettin’ past them rebels,” he added to George Boxer.
“We can’t get past them in the daytime,” answered the scout; “but I think we can make it after the sun goes down. And it will take us till sundown to get to the bottom of this mountain, if I am not mistaken.”
Now they were in the open, it was decided to discard the kettle; and the three ate up what remained of the stew, along with the single ration which Boxer carried. Then they began the descent of the mountain-side, slipping over rocks 249 and dirt as best they could, and finding their way around many an ugly pitfall.
“I suppose you think it’s queer I came up so far,” said Boxer, as they hurried downward. “The truth is I was so closely pursued I didn’t realize how far I was going. Those rebels can climb the mountains like so many wildcats. I’m afraid we’ll never clean them out if they take a stand up here.”
It was hot, and now Leroy gazed from time to time at the sky. “A storm or something is coming,” he said.
“Yes, something is coming,” added Boxer. “I can tell it by the way the birds are flying about. They seem to be troubled.”
“I see a cloud away off to the southward,” put in Larry. “It’s not large, but it’s mighty black.”
No more was said just then upon the subject; and they continued their journey down the mountain-side until they came to a fair-sized stream, where they quenched their thirst and took a wash. They were about to go on again when Boxer held up his hand as a warning.