“Dismount, friends. Advance, one, with the countersign.”
So far everything was all right; but the next move was something that was not down in the tactics. No sooner had Leon’s voice answered the sentry than nine men came running from different parts of the woods and took up their stand directly behind the sentry. They held their guns in readiness, too, as if they meant to be on hand for anything that might happen.
“I tell you they meant to be ready for us, didn’t they?” said Dawson. “You won’t get the sentries in our army to answer a challenge like that.”
“What would they do?”
“They would keep out of sight in the bushes, and perhaps be ready to fire in case anything goes wrong.”
The boys had by this time dismounted, and Leon, leaving his horse for Dawson to hold, walked up to the sentry and whispered the countersign, “Fidelity,” in his ears.
“The countersign is correct,” said the man. “Why, Leon, where are you going? Don’t you know that you will be gobbled up if you go beyond that bend?”
“No,” said Leon, in amazement; “we are going down after Dawson’s mother.”
“Well,” said one of the men who stood behind the sentry, “you can go, but I won’t. A little while ago two or three of us happened to be out here, and we looked up and saw a fellow standing in the road watching us. We called to him, but he got into the bushes before we could shoot at him.”
This was something Leon had not bargained for. The other boys had come up in obedience to his signal, and they all heard what the man had to say about the spy who was watching them.