It hardly seemed possible the Indian would go very far from the cave of his own free will, and that he had been captured by the enemy appeared more than probable.
Neither Jake nor the boys awakened until after the sun had risen, and, as a matter of course, the first inquiry of each was concerning the man upon whom all depended so entirely.
Before Cummings could give words to the fears which had haunted him during the night the entrance to the cave was darkened, and Teddy cried joyfully:
"Here he is, and I hope we are to make another move pretty soon, for after last night's adventure this isn't the most pleasant place I ever saw in which to spend any length of time."
It could easily be seen from the Indian's general appearance that he brought no bad news, and without waiting to be questioned he went toward the stream to quench his thirst.
A sharp cry from both the boys caused him to halt very suddenly, and when Cummings told the story of the adventure with the alligator he said:
"You should not have made such an attempt except when a fire was burning, and even then to wade into the water was wrong. I will get what can be used for both drinking and fishing."
Again he left the cave, returning ten minutes later with what looked like a slender bamboo, save that there were no joints in it. Through the middle of the pole, running the entire length, was a small hole hardly larger than is to be found in a reed, and with this while standing five or six feet from the stream he drank at leisure, keeping his eyes fixed upon the surface of the water to guard against an attack.
Having thus quenched his thirst he returned to where Cummings was on guard and told the story of his wanderings.
He had followed straight along the line of moisture, finding cave after cave but none of them as well adapted to their purpose as was this one, and had seen none of the enemy until five or six miles had been traversed, when a strong cordon of sentinels was discovered.