When they came to the open spaces, he slackened pace, and scouted forward with great caution, to make sure of not stumbling upon the rear of the enemy. It was very unlikely that these had any idea of being pursued, but they were in hostile country, the people in the far-distant villages were their bitter foes, and they would hardly neglect the usual precautions against surprise or sudden attack.
From one of these spaces, to which John had gone on ahead, he ran back by-and-by, his eyes lit with excitement.
"See horses, sah!" he cried.
"Going from us?" asked Royce anxiously.
"Tails dis way, sah."
"Lead on slowly. Be sure to keep out of sight."
Since the horses were moving, clearly the only thing to be done was to keep in touch with them for the present, and seek a favourable opportunity of ascertaining the exact strength of the party and their order of march.
As a precaution against being discovered, Royce suggested that they should leave the path, and pursue their course at some little distance on one side of it or the other. John agreed that this was wise, though it would retard their progress. This, however, mattered little, seeing that they were travelling considerably faster than the raiders were.
A little later, Royce himself, on ascending a slight eminence, caught sight of the horsemen.
The size of the party surprised him. At the rear were about a dozen mounted men, more or less clothed, turbaned and armed; the sunlight flashed on their weapons, though at the distance he could not yet discover what those weapons were. Beyond them, strung out in a long line that wound like a snake over the country, was a body of more than a hundred negroes on foot, with mounted men among them at intervals. At some distance ahead was another party of armed horsemen, larger than the one in the rear.