"Gee, but it don't seem as though I could wait two hours longer," Jack whispered.
"I know it's hard but I reckon we can stick it out if it's best," Bob encouraged him. "You know it's better to play it as safe as we can as much more than our own safety depends on us."
"You bet we'll do our best," Jack agreed.
By half past ten all was quiet about the camp save for the gentle whinnie of a horse or the sound of stamping hoofs as they moved about. The fire was dying down as they could now barely see it through the trees, and about eleven the moon passed under a cloud, drawing a pall of intense blackness over the forest. It was so dark that they could barely see each other's form although they were sitting so close together that their shoulders almost touched.
"Think it's lucky or unlucky about the moon?" Jack asked.
"Can't tell a thing about it. You see it may be a big help to us and then, on the other hand, it may be just the opposite. If we only knew just where she is I'd say it was a good thing but we don't and what I'm afraid of is that it's going to be a hard job to locate her now that we can't see anything."
"But if we can't see them it's some comfort to know that they can't see us either."
"But we mustn't lose sight of the fact that they have all the advantage in that they know where they're at and we don't."
"That's so," Jack agreed. "But it'll make it easier to get away after we get her," he added hopefully.
"You said it," Bob encouraged him.