The boy started in the direction of the sound, but paused when he heard one of the men saying:
“Where are the others?”
“Down on the river shore,” was the reply.
“Then what is all that noise?” demanded the other.
“I don’t hear any noise,” was the surly reply.
“There is some one moving in the bushes.”
“Then it must be one of the boys,” Alex heard, “and I think we had better investigate. It would be luck to catch one of them.”
“It wouldn’t be any luck for me to be caught,” thought Alex, “and so I’ll just make a sneak back to the boat. I’ve learned all I wanted to know, anyway.”
He started away, but almost at his first motion a stone became detached from the ledge at his side and went thundering down toward the spot from which the voices had proceeded.
“There!” one of the men cried, “I told you there was some one here.”