“You think so?” cried Jack. He had experienced several slight earthquakes while in that quarter of the globe, and, though they had done small harm, he dreaded the coming of another quake.
“Yes, señor.”
“How soon?”
“Two, three days, it may be--or perhaps a week,” answered the native.
After that they rode along in silence for fully half a mile, when they reached a trail running east and west.
“Is this the road the señor is looking for?” asked the native, bringing his pony to a halt.
“I believe it is,” answered Jack. “But I must look around first to see if my party has passed this way.”
He surveyed the scene with care, but could find no trace of the others. Had they come thus far, or had they turned back, in a hunt for him? Jack was in a quandary over what to do next. Night was again coming on, and he had no desire to remain alone again, after his many adventures of the past twenty-four hours.
“Where can we stop around here?” he asked.
“The señor wants his humble servant to remain with him over night?”