Even while Adrian was running toward the horses, the excitement had begun, and as the boys started on their homeward ride, a volley from the encamped forces sent the bullets whistling by their ears.
"This is no place for us!" cried Donald. "Don't be afraid to use the spur. It is our only chance."
And now as they rode furiously forward, came the sound of firing on their left and some distance ahead.
"What does it mean?" called out Adrian as they rode neck and neck through the darkness.
"Search me, Ad; but our only chance is in our horses," and Donald again plied the spur.
Outlined against the sky at the top of a small knoll, they could see a small body of horsemen.
"Keep away to the right," said Donald. "Keep in the valley and in the shadow," and he drew off the beaten highway, with Adrian close behind.
On the soft earth their horses' hoofs made no sound and in a couple of minutes more they descended into a little valley and the noise of the alarm passed out of hearing.
"It was a mighty close shave," declared Adrian a few minutes later, when they pulled their horses down to a walk to allow them to catch their breath.
"Sure was," from Donald, "but we got the information we went after."