‘This should be about where we heard that splash.’
‘A little farther on, I think.’
‘Forward, then, and keep your eyes open.’
Tramp! tramp! The soft tread was resumed, and Ephraim put his mouth close to Luce’s ear.
‘They’ll find the cave in anuther minnit,’ he whispered, ‘and when they do, we must move off. Thar’s shore ter be a hullaballoo.’
He was right. In a few minutes more another hail arose from the river, this time louder, more imperative, more confident.
‘Above there!’
‘Here!’
‘Halt! Close up towards our light. There’s a hole of some sort here. Maybe he is inside.’
Silence for a little space, and then an exultant shout from the bank.