"But, good gracious! that will take us a day and a half at least," cried his parent.
"On foot—yes," said Jim gaily. "But on horseback, say a day at the most."
"Horseback! What do you mean?" burst in those who were listening to him, eagerly pressing about their young leader.
"Listen," was the smiling rejoinder. "I said that the followers of the Mullah were on the farther side of the hill, but I did not tell you that they had taken their animals to the ravine. Obviously, in such a small place, there would some overcrowding, for there is not too much room for the warriors themselves."
"Then where are they, my boy?" demanded the colonel.
"Come with me," was Jim's quiet answer, "but be careful not to show yourselves over the corner of the hill. The horses are grazing quietly in a little nook, a small valley which cuts into this long hill, and they are practically unwatched. That was a point about which I took a deal of trouble, and I ascertained without a doubt that only one man was stationed as a guard over the beasts. He, like his comrades, is all eagerness to help in our capture, and as I watched him, he was for ever staring into the ravine, and shouting words of encouragement to his fellows. He is the only man we have to fear at the present moment."
"Then he is the only one who shall taste one of our bullets," said John Margetson brusquely. "This fellow must not be allowed to give the alarm, and though I do not like the action, still it is imperative that we should shoot him. Otherwise he will give the alarm, and we shall have the whole host galloping after us."
"Running, you mean," replied Jim, with an easy laugh. "You see, we want more than a few ponies. A dozen are useless to us, for the remainder would carry the enemy in the same direction, and a long chase is a hard one, you know."
"But you don't propose——" gasped the colonel, staring at his son in bewilderment.
"Oh, yes, I do, father! If we are to escape, we shall have to take the bulk of the ponies for a few miles with us. A mile would not do, for these natives can run very fast. But after, say five miles, all but a very few would have fallen off, and the remainder we could easily account for. If we ride away, and leave the animals to the enemy, we shall be captives before the afternoon."