“Repeat!” she interrupted frequently, whenever part of a word was missed. It was a laborious effort for her, out of practice as she was, and the exchange of messages lasted for a full half hour before the Overland girl gave her unseen, unknown signaller the “O. K.” signal.
Grace folded the flag and placed it under the stone, then straightened up.
“Mr. Hamilton White, I have you now!” she exclaimed, a triumphant note in her voice.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE FLAMING ARROW
“Where am I at?”
It was Hippy Wingate’s first conscious moment since he was struck down while sleeping with his back against a tree not far from the Overland camp. All was darkness about him as he awakened in unfamiliar surroundings. Essaying to rise, the Overlander discovered that he was bound. Still worse, there was a gag in his mouth.
A gentle breeze was blowing over him, and at first he thought he was still under the trees. Hippy then realized that there was a hard floor beneath him. His head ached, and when he tried to sit up he found that it swam dizzily.
“I wonder what happened to me?” he muttered. “Hello!”
There was no response to his call; in fact, his voice, still weak, did not carry far and it was thick because of the gag. Then began a struggle with himself, that, while it exhausted him for the time being, aided in overcoming his dizziness.
Hippy heard men conversing, heard them approaching, whereupon he pretended still to be unconscious. A door was flung wide open, and a lantern, held high, lighted up the interior of the building with a faint radiance.