The twilight lingered long that night, and it was light enough to see some distance ahead as Ruth and the others strolled on. The river bank turned and, following it beneath the trees, the party suddenly heard voices seemingly coming from a secluded cove where the stream formed an eddy.
“Must be fishermen in there,” said Mr. Howbridge. “We had better not disturb them.”
As they were turning away the voices became louder, and then on the still night air there came an exclamation.
“I don’t care what you think!” a man’s voice shouted. “Just because you’ve been in the Klondike doesn’t give you the right to boss me! You’ll give me an even half of the swag or—”
And then it sounded as though a hand had been clapped suddenly over the speaker’s mouth.
[CHAPTER XVIII—THE NIGHT ALARM]
Mr. Howbridge and Ruth quickly looked at one another. The same thought and suspicion came in each of their minds at the same time.
“Who’s that?” Dot asked, she and Tess having lingered behind the others to pick some flowers from the bank of the stream.
“Hush, children,” cautioned Ruth in a whisper. “We must not disturb the—fishermen.”
She added the last word after a look at her guardian. No further sound came from the cove where the voice had been uttering a protest and had been so suddenly hushed.