On and on they crept till presently a faint, very faint light, or rather less dense blackness, appeared before them. They hastened, and soon found themselves at a mouth of the cave; but it did not seem the one they had entered by. Anyway, no Russians were in sight.
Jack and Will crept out and looked about them.
There, a good distance away on their right, was the glimmer of a fire, and dim forms could be seen round it.
‘That’s it. This is another exit—hurrah!’ cried Jack. ‘We’ve done them after all.’
Silently the lads stole away, keeping up on the side of the hill. For half-an-hour they kept on; then they began to wonder where they were. The night was so dark and the mist so thick that it was impossible to tell in which direction they ought to go to reach the British camp.
‘Seems we’ve been on a wild-goose chase,’ growled Will.
‘I’m afraid we have,’ said Jack, ‘and the fact that we can’t see the moon prevents my being able to take our bearings.’
They descended the hill, and getting on marshy ground knew they must be near the river.
‘This is lucky,’ said Jack, ‘for we know that if we keep the river on our left we must be going towards our camp. If we keep along the ridge on our right we shall strike the outposts of the Light Division.’
‘And very likely get shot for our trouble,’ said Will, who was wet and tired.