As he spoke, Sandy reached out and slapped Dick excitedly on the shoulder.
CHAPTER X
THE FIRST PRISONER
Swinging their arms against their bodies, and walking up and down along the river bank, from time to time the boys shouted out words of encouragement. Time dragged monotonously. Hours seemed to have passed before they heard again from the mounted policemen.
Faintly at first, then louder as it approached, they heard the scraping of the raft. Human voices sounded eerily out of the gloom. A thrill of excitement coursed along Dick’s spine. The suspense was nerve-breaking. He had become almost as limp as a rag, when finally he discerned a dark shape ahead and the raft pushed in closer to shore. A few minutes later, using the long poles which had served them so well in crossing, Sergeant Richardson and Corporal Rand vaulted across the intervening space separating them from the beach.
It was a happy re-union. The three boys had not seen Sergeant Richardson for months. They wrung the policeman’s hand, then escorted him and his companion back to the campfire.
“Where’s Pearly?” demanded Corporal Rand, looking about him.
“Wounded,” replied Dick. “We’ve had a terrible time, corporal. Murky Nichols followed us to Wandley’s post, where he conferred with La Qua. La Qua went on to Settlement Mountain alone, first sending ahead the two half-breeds who were with him. While Pearly and the three of us were journeying along the trail on the way here, Pearly was shot down from ambush. We were compelled to take him back to Wandley’s. The man who shot him was the same person you arrested yesterday—the one who attempted to stab Nichols. He’s in this vicinity right now. Less than two hours ago, when Toma was reconnoitering in an effort to find this place, he fired at him several times. Toma managed to escape injury and made things so hot for him that he was compelled to seek shelter along the slope of the river.”
The young guide’s eyes had widened perceptibly and he stared unbelievingly at his chum.
“How you find out about that?” he blurted.
Sergeant Richardson ignored the interruption.