He thereupon steered the Terror toward the trees, and as Fritz was a good cook and had charge of the culinary arrangements, he set about getting their supper ready.
It was a waste of time to guard the forest.
Several days passed by and nothing was seen of the two men.
They had gone straight through the timberland at a gallop, and emerging on the other side, rode rapidly away.
Jack and his friends had therefore been watching and hunting for a mere phantom, as it were.
The young inventor quickly arrived at this conclusion, and on the evening of the third day he said to Tim:
"It's my opinion that there isn't anyone at all in the woods, and I'm going to give up the watch and move on."
"Ay, ay, that's ther bes' plan. I quite agree wi' yer, lad."
"Those fellows would not be foolish enough to remain in that forest all this time for nothing."
"If they wuz thar, I'm mighty sure as we'd a sighted somethin' o' them long afore this, my hearty. I recollect when I wuz in ther navy how I wuz once fooled this way. Yer see we'd been chasin' one o' ther enemy's ships, an' drove her into a lagoon. Thar we pounded her with our guns, an' ther crew desarted her, an' went ashore. We sunk ther ship, an' mannin' ther boats, we pulled ashore arter ther crew. We found ther shore lined with cliffs a thousand feet high. Thar wus no coast, that water beatin' up again ther base o' ther cliffs on all but ther seaward side o' ther lagoon. There wuz one indentation in the cliffs, covered wi' trees an' bushes, inter which ther hull crew went an' hid. Waal, sir, we landed thar, an' beat about lookin' fer 'em. Thar wuzn't no possible way fer 'em ter git away unseen, with ther water in front, them high cliffs surroundin' 'em on three sides, an' only a small plot o' ground filled wi' trees an' bushes fer 'em to hide in. So yer see we wuz sure o' catchin' 'em. Yet, when we'd sarched ther hull place not a sign o' them wuz ter be found! They'd wanished as complete as if ther arth had swallered 'em up. Now wuzn't that a worry mysterious perceedin'?"