“So Jack and Frank didn’t succeed in finding a route out by the dry channel?” asked Ned.
“I guess not,” Jimmie replied. “I didn’t stop to ask many questions, for I wanted to let you know that they were here.”
“I think,” Ned said after a moment’s silence, “that the war is over for tonight. There isn’t a whisper at the top of the cliff now.”
In order to make sure that the outlaws had indeed departed, Ned and Jimmie stood for some moments in the entrance just beyond the angle of the wall.
While they stood there a mellow mist of light filled the sky, revealing the sharp outlines of the ledge at the top of the pit.
“Perhaps they’re building a fire,” suggested Jimmie.
“The moon!” replied Ned.
“I’m mighty glad to see her!” Jimmie responded.
Ned looked at his watch under the hidden ray of a searchlight and went on:
“Eleven o’clock,” he said. “The moon must have been in view for some minutes.”