n. Ha! the last man has passed over--gone."

"Would you mind having a look at the other two lots now, sir, to see
what they're doing?" said Gedge quietly.

The little glass was slowed round on the instant, and Bracy examined the
party to the right, and then, turning to the left, made a long
examination of the danger there, before closing the glass again.

"They are keeping steadily on along those slopes, Gedge, as if to
converge some miles farther on."

"Hadn't we better play the same game, sir?" said Gedge quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"Do a bit o' converging, sir, whatever it is."

"I don't set; how we can at present," replied Bracy, laughing sadly.
"No. It seems as if the only thing left for us to do is to lie still
here till the coast is clear--I mean, the enemy out of sight; then keep
on cautiously, and trust to getting beyond them in the darkness. It is
terribly unfortunate, Gedge."

"'Tis, sir, and wastes so much time. Think they have seen us?"

"No."

"Nor those chaps as was stalking us?"

"The distance is too great unless they have powerful glasses."

"That's good, sir. Then all we've got to mind is those chaps we've been
skirmishing with. They'll be like the rest of 'em, I expect--hanging
after us till they can get a shot."

"Yes; and I'm afraid that they will descend into yon little side valley
to try and get ahead of us, so as to lie in wait, farther on."

"Like as not, sir. Just the sort of mean thing they would do, never
stopping to think as we could easily have shot their chief in the back
when we were in ambush, just as I could have dropped that chap in his
tracks just now. I don't want to brag, sir; but I could."

"It is not boasting, my lad," said Bracy. "You have your marks for good
shooting. But we must countermarch those fellows. We have nearly a
mile the start of them, and I don't suppose those two bodies of men are
likely to take any notice of such a pair of rough-looking objects as we
are; so come along."

"Which way, sir?"

"Straight for our mountain yonder. What we want is a deep gully into
which we could plunge, and then we could walk fast or run part of the
way."

"And hide again, sir? Well, it'll be strange if in all this great
mountainy place we can't puzzle those fellows behind."

"We can, Gedge," said Bracy, "if once we get out of their sight."

"So we are now, sir."

"We don't know that. Several pairs of keen eyes may be watching our
movements, f