"Now, listen to me."
His two companions listened with all their ears; Hi Lo soon became restless with excitement; the guide, though his Chinese stolidity was not so easily broken through, at length gave utterance to the exclamation "Ch'hoy!" which signifies approbation or disdain, pleasure or misgiving, according to the inflection of the voice. What Jack had to say took some time; it was quite dark when he finished; then he got up.
"Remember," he said, "not a movement nor a sound. Do exactly as I have told you; then make for this spot again."
Then he slipped away into the darkness.
Slowly, with infinite caution, he crossed the brow of the hill, struck off towards the right, and descended the slope on the opposite side. It was so dark that he had no fear of being seen; but, his view of the camp fires being intercepted by the hill, he could not make sure of his direction, and knew that at any moment he might stumble upon a sentry. The only chance of escape for the Chunchuses being to take advantage of the darkness, he had no doubt that the Russians would keep the strictest watch at night. He had to guess his way; he was going to the farm.
CHAPTER XVI
Fire Panic
Sentry-go—Beneath the Wall—An Old Friend—Thirst—A Way Out—Three Shots—The Signal—The Reply—A Countryside in Flames—At Full Gallop—Alarms—Stampede—Chow-chow
At the most, the distance Jack had to traverse was but a short mile, yet so slow was his progress that nearly two hours had elapsed before, from the vantage-ground of a hillock a few feet above the surrounding fields, he caught a dim glimpse in the starlight of the farm buildings looming a short distance in front of him. His intent ears had already caught the measured tread of a sentry just ahead; stealing along for another few yards he could now see his head and shoulders and the end of a carbine projecting above the high grass. Jack stopped and watched. The sentry's beat seemed to be about thirty yards; to his right Jack could hear the hum of several low voices, no doubt from a picket. He had taken the precaution of approaching the farm at the point farthest from the main gate. The Chunchuses, if they made a sally, would not leave their horses behind, for on foot they would be at the mercy of their enemy. Since they could not leap their steeds over the wall, they were bound to issue from the gate if at all; the exit, therefore, was sure to be closely guarded, though no doubt there were sentries all round the farm.
To the left of the sentry Jack had first seen there was another, whose beat met that of his comrade. Jack could barely discern him in the darkness, but he fancied that the man, on reaching the nearer end of his beat, awaited the arrival of the other before turning. That would evidently be the best point at which to attempt the passage to the farm; and the best time would be a second or two after they had turned their backs upon one another, when any slight noise Jack might make would almost certainly be attributed by each man to his comrade. Jack went down on hands and knees and crawled very slowly to within a few paces of the meeting-place. Then he lay still, hoping that he had not miscalculated and that there was no danger beyond. He listened intently; on both sides he heard the men approaching; to the left the sound was fainter; the beats were evidently of unequal length. One man came to a halt; in a few seconds he was joined by the other; they exchanged a remark in a low tone, then separated and tramped in opposite directions. Instantly Jack glided across their trail, and, still on hands and knees, crept towards the farm, which he distinguished as a blacker patch against the sky perhaps a hundred yards away.