“Help!” The cry was hard by the camp.
Ham White and Hippy, standing back from the light of the campfire, did not move. Their rifles were held in the crooks of their left arms ready for instant use.
“It may be a trick. Stand by!” warned White in a low voice.
“Aye, aye, sir,” answered Hippy.
A man, dishevelled, his clothing torn, his face bloody, staggered into the camp.
“I’m done for!” he gasped, and collapsed in a heap.
CHAPTER XV
A RUDE AWAKENING
“Look out!” was White’s warning to Lieutenant Wingate, as the guide sprang forward to the man on the ground.
“Is he dead?” called Elfreda, getting up to go forward to the visitor’s assistance.
“No. Stay where you are for the present, please.” The camp was silent for a moment, then White stood up. “It’s Jim Haley!” he announced. “And he has been pretty roughly used.”