CHAPTER VI. — ALONG THE FOREST PATH.
If any further proof were needed of the delicacy and danger of the situation of the white men, it came the next minute, when, as they were in the act of stepping back into the trail, the sailor caught the arm of his friend and checked him.
No need of speaking, for Ashman had detected the peril at the same instant.
Two natives were stealing like phantoms along the path, from the direction of the river and going toward the village.
Had they been ten seconds later, the foremost would have collided with the young explorer.
The latter held his breath, and placed his hand on his revolver, believing a fight was inevitable.
So it would have been, had not the attention of the savages been absorbed by the scene in the square, of which they caught sight a pace or two before coming opposite the watchers.
They strode directly onward, and swung across the open space, swerving enough to one side to avoid the struggling lines, and moving on until they reached the fringe of spectators beyond. There they could no longer be identified, and probably took their places among those who were enjoying the cruel spectacle.