"I thought I heard the dogs. If they set the dogs on us, we shall have more troubles than we ever had before, Dennis," said Noel, speaking rapidly and excitedly.
"I can't help it if they do set the dogs on us," muttered Dennis sturdily. "I can't go any farther. My wind is gone, and my side is thumpin' as if—"
"Here!" said Noel excitedly; "here's a well! I don't know whether there's any water in it or not, but the thing for you to do is to hide there. You can do it," he added abruptly as he stretched himself on the ground and, peering into the depths, found that the old well was lined with rough stones that projected unevenly from the sides. "Go down a few feet and wait until the excitement is over."
"Will you come with me?"
Noel hesitated and then said, "No, I'll not stay here. There will be more danger if both of us try to hide in the same place. I'll keep on, and after a while you follow me and I'll be on the lookout for you, and not very far ahead."
"See that you are," said Dennis, as he at once prepared to make his descent into the forbidding hole which his companion had discovered.
Without waiting to discover what success attended his comrade's efforts, Noel Curtis instantly turned and resumed his flight.