as we said we
belonged to a village down the ghauts, he may have a suspicion that we
have been trying to throw him off our scent, and think we should be
sure to double back and make for home."

They kept on their way, sometimes dropping into a walk, but generally
going at an easy trot, until day broke.

"As soon as it gets a little lighter, Surajah, we will go up on to one
of these rises, so as to have a good look down over the line we have
come. If they are following us, we must go on at the top of our speed.
If we see nothing of them, we can take it quietly. Of course, they
can't have been following our steps, but it is quite likely that some
of the villagers may know that the ghauts can be climbed at the point
where we came up. You know we noticed signs of a path, two or three
times, on the way up. In that case, if the officer really did think of
pursuing us, he would take one of the villagers as guide."

Half an hour later, they ascended a sharp rise, and threw themselves
down on its crest.

"I don't think that there is the least chance of their coming,"
Surajah said, carelessly. "When they had gone some distance, without
overtaking us on the road, they may possibly have suspected that we
had turned and made this way; but by the time they got back to the
village, they would know, well enough, that there was no chance of
overtaking us."

Dick made no answer. 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 ha