“I don’t want to be a sport,” complained Emma. “I want to sleep.”
“Demonstrate over it,” advised Lieutenant Wingate.
It was just before daylight when Tom headed out of the stream through a narrow defile in the rocks, finally coming to a halt on a level piece of ground of about three acres, surrounded on all sides by mountain forests.
The Overlanders could not see their surroundings clearly, but got a general idea of them, and immediately begged their leader to let them dismount for a rest and for a bite to eat.
“All right! Go to it,” cried Tom Gray, setting them the example by dismounting and removing the saddle from his horse.
As the day began to dawn, the girls gazed interestedly at the terraced forest, at the green carpet of mountain meadowland that lay at their feet through which flowed a sparkling stream of water, then up at the dawning day. It was then that Grace made a discovery.
“Why, Tom, we have been traveling north, not south!” she exclaimed.
“Too true, Loyalheart,” answered Captain Gray with a jolly note in his voice.
“Then we are not on our way home?” cried Nora.
“No. We are going on into the Cascades, in the foothills of which we now are. We are going to find Stacy, and then—perhaps we shall find something else. First, folks, we shall have to meet and reckon with the bandits of the range. They are determined that we shall not make a move that they do not check.”