But the unfortunate negro could not understand.
"It's no use," murmured Mr. Baxter. "We'll have to leave him to save ourselves. We can't carry him, he's too heavy."
"But what will Callack do to him, when he finds us gone?" asked Fred, for it seemed that they could easily escape during the excitement, which had not ceased.
"I don't believe Callack will harm him," replied Jerry's father. "He knows Johnson can't tell where the treasure is in his present state, and he'll look after him carefully, in the hope that his mind will come back, so he can point out the hiding place of the gold. So he'll not harm him, and if we make good our escape, we can come back with a strong party, and free him. But we must hurry. Callack seems to be getting his men under some kind of submission."
This was so. Though the Indians were still fighting, Callack's use of the heavy whip and his vigorous commands appeared to be having some effect. The captives waited no longer. Bidding Johnson farewell, though the negro probably did not understand what they said, Mr. Baxter and the boys fled down the side of the hummock, away from the camp.
Over the ice and snow they ran as fast as they could, but they welcomed the exertion, since, as they were not as warmly dressed as usual, the terrible cold was numbing them. The fierce fall of snow, which increased rather than diminished, served in a measure to conceal their movements.
"Come on, boys!" called Mr. Baxter cautiously, as he led the way. "We may escape that villain and his savages! Are you all right?"
"All right, but it's terrible cold," answered Jerry.
"Indeed it is, though it's not so bad as it was up on that hummock. Let's stop a minute, and see if they are after us."
They paused to listen. The only sound was the mournful howling of the wind, and the occasional boom, like that of a cannon, as some immense crack opened up in the ice about them.