f you did," Jake replied; but as if to prevent any
different distribution of the burdens, he tied this one on quickly,
saying when it was fastened firmly to his back, "Now I'm ready to tramp
as long as you do; but it would have suited me better if I'd had time
for a nap."

"It will serve you right if you don't get a chance to sleep for a week,"
Cummings replied sharply. "Go on, Poyor leads the way as before, and see
to it that you keep close at his heels."

The fugitives soon learned that however difficult it might be to travel
through the tangled underbrush of the forest, it was as nothing compared
to clambering over the ledges of green or white rock which formed the
base of the range.

Here there was nothing to shield them from the fervent rays of the sun,
and so intense was the heat that it seemed as if they were walking over
the top of a furnace.

The only relief from the excessive warmth was when they came upon a deep
fissure in the rocks where was a pool of water, with the most gorgeous
flowers around the margin. Everywhere else the soil was sandy, covered
in places with pebbles and burning gravel. In front of them were the
mountains, bare and sterile, on which the least experienced of the party
knew no drop of water could be found.

As a matter of course both Cummings and Poyor kept strict watch over
the surrounding country lest the enemy should be creeping upon them
unawares; but when, late in the afternoon, a short halt was called,
nothing suspicious had been seen.

"I don't understand how you could have wandered around twenty-four hours
without being discovered by some of the sentinels," Cummings said to
Jake, when they were reclining on the side of the mountain in the shadow
cast by an overhanging rock, where a full view of the valley beneath
could be had.

"Perhaps they have given over lookin' for us," the engineer suggested.

"There's no chance of that. Every square foot of the country will be
searched, and sooner or later they'll come across our trail."

"How long will it take us to get over the range?" Neal asked.

"It is impossible to say: but we must keep moving nearly all the time,
for the small amount of water we have with us now is the last that'll be
seen until we are on the other side."

"I feel as if I could drink the entire supply, and then want more,"
Teddy said, the knowledge that they were cut off from all means of
adding to the store making him thirsty.

"I reckon every one in