They had gone perhaps a quarter of a mile when shots and then shouts rang out on the still night air.
“Someone is running this way,” said Dave.
Against the radiance of the mingled fire glow and the moonlight the boys saw a woman hurriedly crossing a clear space beyond the trees. She held a baby in her arms. A little girl she clasped by the hand. The baby was crying, and the woman, with many a fearful glance back of her, was sobbing audibly.
She came directly towards the boys. Dave stepped forward in her path. The woman drew back with a shriek of alarm.
“Don’t be frightened,” said Dave.
“You do not belong to the raiders?” the woman faltered, all in a tremble.
“What raiders?” asked Hiram.
“The MacGuffins—the terrible MacGuffins!” almost wailed the woman.
“Who are they?”
“Don’t you know?” asked the woman, incredulously.