He had a sort of uneasy conviction that the
officer would at once suspect their plan, and that pursuit would have
commenced very shortly after they had re-passed the fort. For some
minutes, no words were spoken. No sign of life was to be seen; but in
so broken a country, covered in many places with jungle or wood, a
considerable body of men might be coming up, unperceived.
Suddenly, Dick grasped Surajah's arm.
"There they are. You see that I was right. Look at that clump of bush,
half a mile away, well to the left of the line we came by. They have
just come out from there. There are ten or twelve of them."
"I see them," Surajah said. "They are running, too, but not very
fast."
"We will crawl back, till we are out of their sight, and then make a
run for it. They must have got a guide, and are, no doubt, taking a
more direct line than we are, for we may be a good bit off the stream
we followed as we came along. I have not seen anything I recognise,
since it got light, though I am sure we have been going somewhere near
the right direction. Now, we have got to run for it."
They dashed off, at a rate of speed much higher than that at which
they had before been travelling; keeping, as much as possible, in
ground covered from the sight of their pursuers; and bearing somewhat
to the left, so as to place the latter directly behind them, and to
strike the path Dick had no doubt their pursuers were keeping.
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