They spoke as they ran on, verging always to the right. They forded the shallow though rapid stream, found the road, and continued their flight, till they came to the remarkable old tree which had been described to them. There was an entrance on one side into the interior.
“Up, up, Gerrard!” said O’Grady. “If we are pursued, they are certain to look in here, but I see a cavity, some way up, into which we may get, and the soldiers might look in and still not find us.”
They climbed up. There was not room for both in one hole. Fortunately Paul found another, and there they sat, as O’Grady said, like owls in their nests, waiting for the cart. They heard voices—men shouting to each other. They must be the soldiers still searching for them. They came nearer and nearer. There was a laugh and an oath. Paul heard a man say, “Ah! they must be in there—just the place for them to hide in.”
He gave up all for lost. He drew in his legs, shut his eyes, and coiled himself up in as small a space as possible, hoping that O’Grady would do the same. He heard a man stop and lean against the tree, as if looking in. Fortunately a cloud at that moment passed across the sun, and prevented the man from seeing the holes.
“No, they are not here—they must have gone the other way,” shouted the soldier.
“Then the sailor must have gone with them. It is strange—they must have known the country. Such a thing could not have happened at any other spot on the road.”
“Very glad that we did not miss the opportunity,” thought Paul. “Reuben, too, has not yet been taken—that’s a comfort.”
They waited and waited. They were afraid to get out of their holes, lest their enemies should still be looking for them. At length, the wheels of a cart were heard in the distance. Paul, by climbing a little higher, could look out. It was a covered cart, driven by a man in white.
“All right,” he said; “we must be prepared to jump in.”
The cart came slower. They slid down, and a quick pair of eyes alone could have detected them as they ran across the road, and, without a word, leaped into the cart. The driver did not even look behind him, but, as soon as he heard Paul whisper Nous sommes ici, he lashed his horse and drove on faster than ever.