Keeping close together they walked slowly along the trail stopping every few minutes to listen. They were still going down hill and in places the descent was almost steep. They had covered about two hundred rods when they heard the murmur of voices.
"We're about there, I reckon," Bob whispered.
"It would seem so," Jack agreed.
"Suppose you stay here while I creep up and see what I can find out," Bob suggested.
"Nothing doing," Jack promptly vetoed the suggestion. "We stick together tonight. I can keep as still as you can and if we once got separated goodness knows what might happen."
"You're right. We'd better keep together, but we've got to be mighty careful. He had me once and it wasn't a pleasant experience let me tell you."
As they crept softly along the sound of the voices became clearer and soon they knew that they were only a few yards away. It was a wild place with the lofty hills, covered with the thick forest, rising on all sides, making a sort of natural amphitheatre. Regarding the size of the camp they could only guess but they were sure it was not very large as there seemed but little space between the hills. They could hear the men talking but, although they listened for some time, they could only catch a word now and then and were unable to get the drift of the conversation.
"We've got to get nearer," Bob whispered softly.
"Think it's safe?" Jack asked.
"Nothing's safe here, but we must take a chance."