CHAPTER XX
A THRILLING EXPERIENCE
Though only a short distance away, Burnnel’s camp proved to be hard to find. It was darker than usual that night, owing to the fact that the sky was overcast. It is doubtful if Dick would have discovered the camp at all, had he not, after nearly an hour of beating futilely about in the underbrush, been attracted by the dull red glow of a dying campfire.
Stealing upon his enemies with a quaking heart, he had soon advanced within the circle of light made by the glowing red embers. Near the fire were stretched the forms of the two prospectors, while thirty or forty feet away lay the woman.
The camp slumbered. Conditions could not have been more favorable for Dick’s project. It would be easy to walk over, gun in hand, and awaken the sleepers. Neither of them would have the least opportunity to offer resistance.
“It’s dead easy,” Dick argued with himself. “I can’t fail. It’s all as easy as A, B, C.”
Yet he hesitated. He had planned his approach and knew exactly what he was going to do and say. But, somehow, it was easier to think about it than to act. Once or twice he started determinedly forward, but as quickly checked himself.
“I don’t know what’s the matter with me,” he breathed. “Any minute they may awake, and yet I’m standing here.”
He was nervous and shaky; his cheeks and hands were deathly cold. His right hand gripped his revolver so tightly that the bones in his fingers ached. A stricture in his throat made breathing difficult. For the second time, he took a step forward. The fire was slowly dying out. Its subdued glow was less bright than when he had arrived. If he didn’t act promptly he’d be forced to accomplish his purpose in the darkness and run the risk of failure.
He was less than twenty paces from the sleeping forms. Moving very slowly, it would take less than two minutes to reach the sleeping men. He realized that to hurry over might be fatal to his plans. The faintest sound might betray him. He mustn’t snap a single dry twig or brush too hurriedly through the tall grass. He couldn’t afford to fail now.
He negotiated the distance without mishap. Heart in his throat, he stood with his back toward the fire. Immediately in front of him lay the two unsuspecting outlaws. Burnnel snored peacefully, while Emery, lying on his right side, one arm flung out, might have been dead, for all the sound he made resting quietly there.