After walking for an hour, they saw a
road winding up a long valley below them.
"That is our road," Dick exclaimed. "That clump of houses, Surajah,
must be the one where we generally turned. I know that, from below,
these rocks looked as steep as walls, so there is no chance of our
finding a way down anywhere, between this and the fort."
Surajah nodded. To him, also, the ascent of the ghauts had seemed
impracticable.
"It is no use following this line any more," Dick went on. "We may as
well strike across, until we come onto the edge of the pass, somewhere
above the fort; find a place where we can descend easily, and then lie
down and sleep, till it is time to make our attempt."
In another hour, they were looking down on the road, a mile or so
above the fort. The slopes here were gradual, and could be descended
without the least difficulty, even in the dark.
"There! Do you see, Surajah? The water course runs along by the side
of the road. There is a little water in it now. You know we used to
meet with it, down below, and water our horses at a pool close to that
ruined village. When we start, we can follow the road until we get
close to the fort, and then crawl along in the water course, and take
our chances.
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