“Do you think they have discovered our presence?” asked George, breathlessly.
John did not answer, but leaned forward and listened intently. He did not move for a full minute, while the din increased.
“They seem to be fighting. It is possible they have been attacked, still I do not hear any of the usual cries which accompany their struggles.”
Several lights now appeared in the camp.
They waited in silence for ten minutes more, and John said: “Let us move nearer. I am anxious to know what all this means.”
“Do you think those at the wagon can hear them?”
“Undoubtedly. They are nearer than we are. For that reason we should reach the wagon as soon as possible, and in doing so we can pass near their camp by making a slight detour. I am most anxious to know what the commotion means.”
As the camp was neared, it was evident from the character of the noises that, instead of an attack, it was the arrival, as John interpreted it, of reinforcements, or of a section of the band which had returned.
The hilarity in the camp was made the more apparent as they drew nearer. “We need not have much fear of approaching now.”
They did not require such care in treading the way along, as the excitement in the camp was such as to drown the noise of their footsteps.