the party feels much the same way," Cummings
replied grimly. "If it was possible to find a stream now and then the
journey across the range would not be such a dangerous one."

With the exception of the suggestion he made when they first halted,
Jake did not join in the conversation. His eyes had closed in slumber
almost instantly after lying down, and during half an hour he was
allowed to sleep uninterruptedly.

Then Poyor awakened him, and the weary march was resumed, the advance
becoming more difficult each moment as they climbed higher up on the
range.

About two hours before nightfall the sun was hidden from view by dense
masses of dark clouds, and the boys hailed with joy this relief from the
burning heat.

"If we could only have it like this all the time!" Neal exclaimed.

"Better the sun than the clouds," Cummings said in a tone of anxiety,
and Poyor increased his pace, no longer searching with his eyes for the
enemy; but casting quick glances from side to side as if hunting for
some particular object.

A south wind came up, and the boys were trudging along right merrily,
despite their fatigue, when it was as if a solid sheet of water
descended upon them.

There had been no warning drops to give notice of the coming storm; but
the rain literally fell in torrents, drenching the fugitives at the
first downpour.

It was now impossible to see twenty feet in either direction. The
driving rain and the white clouds which completely enveloped the
mountain shut out everything from view.

The enemy might have crept close upon them without being aware of the
fact.

There was no place in which to shelter themselves, and the boys had a
thorough illustration of what a tropical rain-storm may be during the
time Poyor was hunting for such a place as would serve to shield them
from the flood.

Not until half an hour had passed did they make a halt, and then the
Indian led them under an overhanging ledge, in front of which was a
sheer descent of eighty feet or more to the valley beneath.

"Here we can wait until the worst of the gale has blown over," he said,
as he threw down his burden and prepared to enjoy a long rest. "It is
not likely we shall be able to move to-night, and there is no fear the
enemy will come upon us while the storm rages."

"We shall at least be where the canteens can be filled," Cummings
replied in a tone of content, "and by gaining a fresh supply of water
the journey will be robbed of hal