Feeling that he must find out exactly what had happened, he began with Bill cautiously to follow up the new track, looking warily ahead, and observing with especial care the few large trees that were to be seen here and there in the distance, for any flight of birds would at once indicate the presence of men. As they walked, they found that the trail curved slightly westward, which seemed to show that it would presently join the main track which they had quitted. John moved now more cautiously than ever, for if his supposition was correct, the men would halt before they actually reached the direct course, at some spot where they could overlook it.
As they proceeded, the ground rose and the scrub became thicker. But suddenly the bushes thinned away and they saw, at the top of a long incline, a clump of trees. And then they stopped short and dropped hurriedly to the ground. Before them, on the knoll, at the foot of a tree, they had caught sight of three white-clad men looking upwards among the branches. They had rifles. Without doubt this was the spot chosen for keeping watch on the trail. Wriggling under cover, at the cost of some scratches, John and the Wanderobbo saw a fourth man perched high up in the tree below which the others stood. Had he not been intently gazing towards the main track, and his companions looking up at him, it would scarcely have been possible for John to escape discovery.
The men were speaking. At the distance John could not distinguish what they said; foreign words are always difficult to pick up when the speakers are at all remote; but from a certain impatient intonation he gathered that the men had been for some time on the watch, and were weary or disappointed at the apparent fruitlessness of it. As he lay there, his heart jumped as he thought how easy it would be to shoot the men. He could take aim at his leisure, and pick off two of them with certainty. Taken by surprise, the others would probably bolt. But it would not be playing the game; he could not bring himself to stalk them as he would stalk a wild animal, though he knew that if they spied him and got first shot they would have no compunction about shooting him. For a moment he thought of dispatching Bill to fetch Ferrier; with his aid, backed by the natives with their bows and arrows, he might capture all four, or, if they showed fight, dispose of them. But he soon gave up the idea. The men might decamp before Ferrier could arrive; they might indeed see the Wanderobbo creeping through the bush, and, the most important consideration of all, a shot would certainly give the alarm to the main body of the raiders, and that would defeat his purpose. If they took to flight he would lose his only chance of recovering his rifles and ammunition, which was his immediate object. If they hastened back at the sound of the firing, he would find himself matched against overwhelming numbers, and the result would be disaster. His only hope of success lay in a sudden unexpected blow at the main body, when his numerical inferiority would be compensated by the paralyzing effect of surprise. How this blow was to be delivered he had at present no notion; it must be left to the guidance of circumstances; but certainly its prospects would be hopelessly jeopardized if the raiders' vigilance was aroused. Patience must be his watchword.
He lay and watched the Swahilis for half-an-hour by his watch. Then, evidently tired of their fruitless errand, they started to rejoin the main body. They came down the slope, passing within a few yards of where John and the Wanderobbo were concealed; but fortunately they did not retrace their steps along the path by which they had come, but struck off towards the direct course of the main column, which they would probably intersect, as John guessed, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile. If they had returned by the same way the marks of John's boots might possibly have escaped them unless they were accustomed to tracking; but if they had caught sight of them he felt that he would have been in a dangerous predicament. At that moment John wished that he could march barefoot like the natives, but he knew that it was a vain wish.
John told Bill to creep through the scrub and follow the men up for a little way, until he was sure that they had finally left the spot. For himself, he had suddenly resolved to climb the tree as the Swahili had done, and discover what outlook could be had from it. He found that the place had been admirably chosen. From a branch thirty feet above the ground the country was visible for miles around. On the west rose the giant mist-clad form of Mount Kenya; eastward the plain extended as far as the eye could reach. South and north he could scan the country through which the raiders had passed, and westward, from the appearance of the vegetation, he inferred that a considerable stream flowed. As he watched, he saw the four Swahilis emerge from the scrub, strike the track, and hasten towards the north. There was no doubt that they had dismissed the idea of being pursued.
When Bill came back, the two set off to rejoin the safari, which they found halted by a shallow stream about two miles away. John told Ferrier what he had discovered.
"I don't think they can be more than five or six miles ahead of us," he said. "We can easily come up with them by the time they camp, or soon after, and I think we ought to strike to-night."
"Have you any idea how?"
"None whatever. All will depend on the lie of the land and the kind of camp they make. I'll send Bill on ahead to make sure they don't alter their direction, and then we'll follow up and get to them by nightfall."
"It's to be hoped they won't get warning. I've seen two or three small parties of natives to-day, and they must have seen us. I suppose they won't give any information."