As he had never been on the island before, he knew nothing of Luke Redman’s stronghold; but he did know that the outlaw and his gang were not a great way off, for he could hear the sound of their voices.
The angry tones which reached his ears told him that a heated discussion was going on—it was about this time that Luke Redman announced his determination to burn us out if we did not give up the money—and Mark listened intently, hoping to obtain some clew that would guide him in his search for me.
Where was I? What sort of a situation was I in? and what could he do to help me? were the questions he was constantly asking himself, and which were answered in a way he had not dreamed of.
At length there was a lull in the conversation, which continued about fifteen minutes, and then Mark saw dense volumes of smoke rising above the cane. At the same moment he heard voices and a crashing in the bushes close by, and, looking in the direction from which the sound proceeded, he discovered Barney and his brother Jake coming up the bank of the bayou. They seemed to be very much interested in the conversation they were carrying on, and little dreaming that there was an enemy so near them, they walked straight to the foot of the bluff, and stopped in front of a cluster of bushes not more than ten feet from Mark’s hiding-place.
“Here we are,” said Barney, pushing aside the bushes and disclosing to view a dark opening which seemed to lead up into the cliff. “Now you stay here an’ watch, an’ if they come out, holler.”
“What trick do you reckon them fellers is up to, anyhow?” asked Jake. “They ain’t a-goin’ to stay in them rooms and be burned up, be they?”
“In course not. They’ll be glad to come outen that winder when the fire gets too hot fur ’em, an’ then we’ll grab ’em.”
“Mebbe they know the way out by this hole,” said Jake, doubtfully. “I reckon you’d best stay, too, Barney.”
“One’s enough to watch here,” replied the leader of the Swamp Dragoons. “The rest of us will have to stand by that winder, ’cause they’ve got guns, you know. You needn’t be afeard, for they won’t come nigh you.”
Barney walked off, leaving his brother to watch the opening, while Mark crouched lower in his concealment, and thought over the conversation to which he had just listened.