There was no call for delay and the procession moved in the order named, the guide being so well to the fore that only at intervals was a glimpse caught of the shadowy form, where the moonlight flooded the winding trail, which gradually descended until it reached the Rio Rubio to the northward. The three composing the main party did not speak, for all their senses were centred in those of sight and hearing. It had been in the mind of Miss Starland to propose that her pony should be dismissed. The task of walking was nothing to her, and the animal was really an incumbrance, but she saw as yet no objection against utilizing him: the necessity of parting with him might come at any time.
Past the murmuring waterfall, along the rocky face of the towering precipice, with fleeting glimpses of the myriad monkeys eternally flitting through the tropical forest, with the discords of nocturnal animals, and the squawking and cries of disturbed birds of a hundred different species, amid the soft moonlight and deep shadows, our friends threaded their way, listening and peering into the gloom, their hopes high, and yet with misgiving in every heart.
Half the distance was traversed, when the pony stepped around a projecting bend of the trail, which sloped abruptly along the face of the mountain wall. Major Starland paused and with a gentle pressure of the bridle rein checked the animal.
“Some distance must be passed before the path broadens,” he said; “I hope we shall not hear Martella’s signal when half-way thither.”
Captain Guzman had also paused as if with the same thought. He was twenty paces in advance, but did not speak.
“Shall we wait for a few minutes?” asked Miss Starland.
“It will avail nothing; the passage must be made.”
“But Martella will be farther away and that will help.”
“He may go so far that we shall not hear his signal.”
Nevertheless, they remained motionless for a few minutes until Captain Guzman was seen to move forward again. The delay was fortunate, for a hundred yards down the trail, the three were suddenly thrilled by the vibrant whistle, whose echo came back from the opposite cliffs. Captain Guzman whirled and came running back.