There was no more talking as they struggled upward, now clinging to friendly bushes and then creeping carefully around an immense rock. Finally they reached a small plateau only a short distance from the summit, and here Kernertok advised that they eat their supper and wait until after dark before going farther.
“No want man see us first,” he said.
“Righto,” Bob agreed.
Eating supper was a very simple affair, as they had only fish and raspberries left from dinner.
“The larder’s pretty near the vanishing point,” Jack groaned.
“Well, I guess we can catch some more fish in that lake, but I don’t think we’ll be able to find any berries up here,” Bob declared.
The sun was sinking like a big ball of fire in the west as they ate, and soon the shades of night began to steal over the forest, while a new moon gave promise of a small amount of light. They had not heard a sound since stopping, save the gentle rustle of the wind, as it swept through the branches of a tall pine which grew a little to their right.
“We go now, heap still,” Kernertok announced about eight o’clock.
On the mountain top the moon gave sufficient light to enable them to see for some distance, and they were only a few minutes in reaching the top.
Rex happened to be next to the Indian and suddenly he started with a gasp of surprise.