But they were not attacked. The neighborhood just then seemed singularly free from malignant four-footed enemies armed with sharp teeth and nails. A dun-colored object just vanishing in a sink some little distance away Toby identified as an extra large fox that had been aroused from his noonday nap by the rustle of footsteps amidst the foliage, or the murmur of their lowered voices. No one made any attempt to interfere with the retreat of Reynard; indeed, they carried no weapon that could have halted his flight, even though inclined that way, which was far from being the case.
Remembering that when stopped on the previous occasion they had had reason to believe they must be within a mile or so of the region from whence those singular blasting noises proceeded, the two scouts from that time on slowed down 156 their pace and maintained a more vigilant watch than ever, particularly keeping an eye ahead for any sign of enemies.
It was Toby, it chanced, who made a discovery.
“Stand still, Jack, and look through this vista ahead of us. Isn’t that a man I can see standing there, with a gun in his hand?”
“Just what it is, Toby, and from his actions I’d say he is some sort of sentry or vidette, who is busy watching the open trail we’ve been following for so long, as it seems to be a sort of woods thoroughfare, possibly running to the bank of the river somewhere.”
“That looks suspicious, doesn’t it, Jack?”
“It looks as if they’re up to some business that they do not want to be discovered at,” came the low reply. “I suppose that Mr. Dangerfield, learning of our presence in the woods, and that we’re all from Chester, is afraid that we may take a notion to wander over this way; and he has that guard stationed there to warn us back. Perhaps he’d tell some sort of stiff story about Uncle Sam conducting an experimental proving station with aerial torpedoes, or something like that, up here; and that no one is allowed to set a foot on the ground under a severe penalty. But we’ll take care to give that guard a wide berth.”
“You must mean we’ll navigate around him, make a wide circle, so to speak, eh, Jack?” asked Toby, thrilled with the prospect of soon finding himself within the lines of the enemy.
157“Yes, and right here is where we must begin the operation,” Jack announced. “We can take his bearings, and cut around on the right, where the cover seems to be exceptionally good and heavy. No hurry about it either, remember, Toby. We must make sure of our ground as we go. Given half an hour, and we ought to have left the vidette handsomely in the lurch.”
It was very exciting, so Toby thought. Secretly he deplored the fact that their only gun had to be left in camp with Steve. He would have felt better could he but know they had some means of defense with them. However, Jack evidently did not intend allowing anything to arise necessitating such action. He expected to be able to carry out his little spying expedition without betraying the fact of their presence to any of the enemy.