A low cry from Blaise startled him. He glanced up just in time to see his brother, who had followed him to the top of the rocks, drop flat. Curiosity getting the better of caution, Hugh sprang up the slope. One glance towards the west, and he followed the younger lad’s example and dropped on his face.
“A canoe! They must have seen us.”
Cautiously Hugh raised his head for another look. The canoe was some distance away. When he had first glimpsed it, it had been headed towards the point. Now, to his surprise, it was going in the opposite direction, going swiftly, paddles flashing in the sun.
“They have turned about, Blaise. Is it possible they didn’t see us?”
“Truly they saw us. My back was that way. I turned my head and there they were. My whole body was in clear view. Then you came, and they must have seen you also. They are running away from us.”
“It would seem so indeed, but what do they fear? There are four men in that canoe, and we are but two.”
“They know not how many we are. They may have enemies on Minong, though I never heard that any man lived here.”
“Something has certainly frightened them away. They are making good speed to the west, towards the mainland.”
The boys remained stretched out upon the rock, only their heads raised as they watched the departing canoe.
“They turn to the southwest now,” Blaise commented after a time. “They go not to the mainland, but are bound for some other part of Minong.”