“Then let us start without any more delay, Donald,” decided the officer.
“Do you think, Donald,” ventured Rob, “that you can take us there without the use of this lantern? If we keep on as we are going, I’m afraid they will glimpse the light and give us the slip. How about it, Donald?”
“Oh, ay, it will nae be so verra hard, I ween,” instantly replied the confident young Canadian, as the scout master anticipated he would. So the light was “doused,” and they continued their forward movement with only the stars to afford any illumination.
They turned abruptly to the left, and headed into the east. Donald assured them that about this point the other trail did not lie more than two-thirds of a mile away; and he felt pretty positive they would be able to make it before the fugitives, stumbling along in the half-darkness, could get there.
At first they found it rather difficult walking, for their eyes had become accustomed to the assistance given by the train conductor’s splendid lantern, and there were more or less frequent collisions with trees and stumps and unseen rocks. But by degrees this difficulty was removed, and the accidents became less numerous.
Andy was once more feeling that prickly sensation commencing to chase along his spine, such as approaching excitement always engendered. Andy was not thinking along the same lines as Rob. He really yearned to see the rascals pay the penalty. Andy would not have been at all concerned could he see them fall into the hands of the military authorities of Canada, even knowing that in times of war they must be taken before a court-martial and in all probability would be condemned to be summarily shot by a firing squad.
Once again Andy was using his eyes in the endeavor to make some sort of pleasing discovery. He wanted to shine more in the limelight; thus far circumstances had not been kind to him, for he had not been permitted to take a leading part in anything that had occurred; and Andy was ambitious.
They had been moving on for some time without anything happening, when he suddenly had a distinct thrill. What could that faint glow mean that he had just discovered ahead? It was true that it lay somewhat to the right, and Andy imagined this might mean American territory instead of that belonging to Canada; but then who would know the difference, and if the prisoners were carried back to the railway there would never be any proof that they had been taken on foreign soil.
Andy had a brief struggle in his mind over this, and then he decided that under the circumstances it would be easily justifiable; at any rate, far be it from him to venture to call the circumstance to the attention of the officer in charge of the pursuit. If the lieutenant chose to take it upon himself to consider that they were still north of the line, why, so it must go on the records.
Having salved his conscience in this rather elastic fashion, which was quite wrong in a scout, though Andy would not allow himself to believe it, the boy concluded to direct the attention of his companions to the glow as soon as he detected it again.