"Can but try," replied Dick recklessly. "Only I'm afraid they won't hear; the wind's the wrong way."
Both men emptied their revolvers In the air, but to their intense disappointment the destroyer held on her course without attempting to reply, and presently she was lost to sight behind the rising ground.
"Think that rotten submarine will have a go at her, sir?" asked Farnworth.
"Hardly likely. She'll want to try her luck at bigger game," replied Dick. "But the point is this: we must do our level best to warn our people—and as soon as we possibly can. It will take the German submarine another five hours at least to prepare for sea, and those fellows won't reappear in a hurry until the coast is perfectly clear. The question is, did the troops belonging to the convoy hear our shots? If so, we must look out for ourselves."
"What do you propose, sir?"
"Wait till the submarine resumes loading up, then we'll cut back and see if we can't collar a couple of horses. You'll remember the Turks left their horses hobbled, and there was no one left on guard. Then we'll go all out and make for Kum Kale. If we find the French there, well and good; if not, we must make a raft or sneak a boat, and trust to luck to be picked up by one of our patrol ships."
Cautiously the two fugitives made their way backward along the terrace running parallel to and above the mountain path. After traversing nearly a quarter of a mile they halted abruptly, for seated on a rock by the side of the ridge were two German military officers, who, to pass away the tedious wait, had climbed the hillside and were now enjoying cigars.
"Luckily, we were not making a dash for it," remarked Dick. "But at the same time we did right to make a reconnaissance by daylight. I'm afraid these terraces terminate abruptly, but we'll see."
Accordingly Crosthwaite and his companion climbed to the next ridge. Still not satisfied they ascended to the next, which was about two hundred feet above the one where the two German officers had unwittingly cut off their retreat.
"There's only the road for us," announced Dick after a while. "See, all these terraces end abruptly. There's a precipitous gorge right through the mountain."