CHAPTER XVIII
IN THE GOLD MINE
While the Mullah is busy in the interior of his hut, making preparations for the following of the fugitives, should his men have failed to capture them before the morning dawns, let us go back to the three Englishmen, whom we last saw before the store-house of the village. From the moment when Colonel Hubbard had pursued the inquisitive Somali, and had brought him down in his tracks, events had happened with bewildering rapidity, and indeed Jim, when he had brought the sentry to the ground, seemed for some moments to be stunned.
Luckily, however, the others were fully alive to the danger in which they stood, and well knew that delay would be fatal.
"Rouse yourself! Quick! We must fly!" cried the colonel, in accents of alarm.
"Yes, pull yourself together, for you are the only one who can lead us," said John Margetson, grasping his young companion by the shoulder to emphasize his words. "Which way do we go, and where do we fly to?"
At first the words had fallen upon Jim's ears indistinctly, and as if far away. But the rough shaking he received, the reminder that the safety of all the party depended upon himself, aroused him effectually, and with a start he was himself again.
"Follow me to the ravine! This way!" he cried; and turning upon his heel, at once sped down the village street, with his comrades close behind him. When they reached the open, they swerved sharply to the left, and soon struck upon the rough path which Jim had used when coming to rescue his father. Without pause, without even turning his head to see if the others were following, Jim kept on at his fastest pace, being spurred to even greater exertions by the shouts and turmoil which he heard behind him. Not till he had put at least three-quarters of a mile between himself and the Mullah's village did he venture to come to a halt, and then it was to throw himself full length upon the grass, with which the countryside was thickly clad, and lie there breathing heavily, for the long sprint had told upon him severely. A short space of time, however, enabled all three to regain their breath once more, and then they discussed the situation in low tones.
"What is the move now?" asked the colonel shortly, in the tones of a man who demands only what is absolutely necessary, and expects to receive a concise reply.
"That depends, father. The ravine in which I left one of my followers with a couple of camels is situated barely a quarter of a mile away, and if it has proved sufficient to shelter him, it will also afford us a safe hiding-place. The question is, has he been discovered; and, if he has, then what shall our action be?"