"Can't see much," said Ralph, his head in the hollow. "There is a gleam of light below, and something dark. Can't you clear away the leaves a bit, and then I can see whether it is a man or not?"
The constable sprawled on the ground, and thrust his arm into the hole at the bottom of the trunk, dragging out leaves and dust, till Ralph cried—
"It is all right; I can see now. There is no one there. What I was looking at was a lot of leaves. They have tumbled over now, and you are pulling them out."
"That's no good, then; only it looked a likely place. Down you come, boy!"
And, helping Ralph down, the man turned and ran off, satisfied that he had looked in the only place where the fugitive could have hidden himself.
"I see that you are a clever lad," said Mr. Charlton when the fugitives again stood beside Ralph. "But what now? You heard what he said? There is no getting away on that side."
"We are not going out that side, though," was Ralph's answer. "We are behind them now, and while they are hunting forward, we will go back."
"They will have left watchers behind them."
"I suppose so. They cannot have left many, though, for they had not enough men. Back is our only chance. We will try it. There is no time to stop talking now," he added, as he saw that the man was going to ask more questions. "Come, follow me!"