“I was just frozen stiff with fright,” admitted Scotty frankly. “We thought it was the Old Boy, himself, coming for us!—I’m not sure about it, even now!”
Niltci grunted and stopped, transfixed with astonishment. “You?” he asked, incredulously, pointing his finger at Big John.
“Shore ’twas me, Injun. Shore!” cackled the latter, facetiously.
“No!”
“Thunder, yes!” came back Big John, raising his voice all he dared.
“NO!—Heap big lie!” squeaked Niltci. “Dsilyi’s panther him come!” he insisted.
“I tell you, it was a stroke of genius, John!” laughed Sid; “the Indians must think it’s all over, or inside, with Niltci, now! That idea came to me, back there when we were freeing him; so I kept his thongs so they wouldn’t find anything. Makes it all the more miraculous, you see. They won’t think of following us.”
Big John’s jaw dropped and he stopped dead. “Sid, you shore has a headpiece on you!” he declared, admiringly. “I never thought of that myself. My idee was jest to heave a gosh-almighty scare into ’em—but I never thought I’d get you boys, too!” and he broke into a huge chuckle again.
A tiny point of light winked twice out of the gloom ahead, and then all was impenetrable darkness again.
“Over this way, fellows,” whispered Scotty, who had noticed it, “that’s the Colonel’s flasher. He must have heard us.”