“So he would,” admitted the other boy, reluctantly; “but what are we going to do about it, Dick?”
“There is nothing for us but to wait and see,” came the reply. “They acted as though heading in this direction. If you asked me about our best move I’d say, hide and watch. If it turned out to be Jasper we could call out; on the other hand, if it were one of these French trappers, who are hand in glove with the Blackfoot Indians, we needn’t let them know we are around.”
“But do you think they noticed us?” asked the other boy.
“That is more than I can say. I saw nothing to indicate it; but these redskins are so tricky they would hide it, even if they knew, and were watching us out of the tail of their eyes.”
“Let us hide, and see!” Mayhew said just then, showing that he approved of Dick’s scheme.
Looking around, they quickly decided where it would be best to conceal themselves. The ground was so rough and uneven that there were plenty of places that had an inviting look. Mayhew selected a patch of bushes as a retreat, and in another minute they were crouching under this shelter.
Although most of the leaves were off the bushes, they grew so densely that it would require something more than a casual glance in that direction to betray the fact that several figures lurked there.
They heard many different sounds, for silence was hardly ever present in this land of the spouting wells, which roared and hissed and spluttered as they shot up their steaming fountains toward the heavens. There was almost constantly a fretful murmur in the air that might suddenly turn into a whining shriek or a dull roar.
A low exclamation from Mayhew announced that his trained vision had detected some sort of movement, far or near.
“What is it?” demanded Roger, on the right of the guide.