"Then you'll suffer for it!"
He turned aside, called to some of the Indians, and the three captives were led into one of the tents, while a guard of several of the Alaskans was stationed outside.
"Well, they've got us," said Fred softly when they were left alone.
"Yes," admitted Mr. Baxter, "but they haven't got the gold."
CHAPTER XXII
ANXIOUS HOURS
The situation of the captives was desperate. They were in the power of a white man as savage, or more so, as any of the Indians. To add to this, he was enraged at his failure to discover the gold, to obtain which he had risked so much. What he might do to compel them to reveal the hiding place they could only guess.
For a while after being thrust into the tent there was silence among the three. They had been roughly handled, the exertion to escape had been hard, and they were utterly discouraged. It looked as though they had failed almost in the moment of success.
"Do you think Holfax will bring any aid?" asked Fred after a long pause.