CHAPTER XXVII.
"Great Cæsar!" exclaimed the terrified McEwen, as he began swinging back and forth, head downward, like a huge pendulum; "won't somebody set me right side up?"
"Not another word," whispered Fred, catching him by the shoulders and jerking him loose, "or I'll dash you head-first on the rocks."
With some difficulty, the troublesome New Englander was placed on his feet, and finally the whole party stood erect at the bottom of the ravine, unharmed and hopeful.
"If we are captured, it will be due to the presence of a natural-born idiot with us," said Fred; "listen!"
It seemed at that moment as if a dozen owls were calling to each other from different points in the woods. One or two sounds came from the rocks overhead, near where the path terminated its ascent, and must have been uttered by those who were seen there by Godfrey a short time before.
"They have discovered us," he added, "and it is now do or die."
Not another word was spoken, and the youth led the way along the ravine without any definite idea of where he was going, or whether there was any chance of escaping what might be the very trap into which their enemies were seeking to lure them.
The ground was rough and stony, and they scrambled forward like a party of mountain tourists in a great hurry.