“It was probably taken away at once,” answered Frank. “The Indian was to do his work on board and take to the river. Lucky thing you were on guard.”
“It strikes me,” Clay returned, “that I had very little to do with it. You heard him at first?”
“Yes; I hadn’t been to sleep. I anticipated something of the sort. I warned you to-night in order that you might be prepared for anything.
There was a short silence, during which both boys turned their heads toward the Señorita, only a few rods away.
“I have a notion that we’ll hear something doing on board our honorable escort, in a minute,” said Frank, lightly. “They’ll want to know why he fell down on the pleasant task they set him.”
“You think he came from the steamer?”
“I have no doubt of it.”
They waited and listened a long time, but no sounds of any kind came from the Señorita.
“They are too clever to permit him to return after a failure,” Frank concluded. “Now you see what you’re up against,” he added. “Are you ready to set me ashore in the morning?”
“Hardly,” smiled Clay. “We started out together, and we’ll stick together, if I have my way about it. We’ll get our supplies in early and be out of sight of Para long before night.”