"Did you ever see that figure before?" he asked.
"Looks to me to be about the size of Max," Clay answered. "I wonder if he is watching us, or whether he is only looking in the direction of the _Rambler_. Anyway, we'd better move."
The boys shifted their position some yards to the north and crouched down again. The bushes showed motion once more, and they saw the figure they had observed moving toward the bank of the west river.
"He never saw us!" cried Alex. "He is sneaking down on the _Rambler_."
"Yes," Clay replied, "and there are two or three just behind him."
"I had an idea," Alex chuckled, "that things would begin to liven up as soon as we got into this country. This will please Captain Joe!"
"Captain Joe," Clay replied, "seems inclined to take things rather seriously. The chances are that he is wondering now, night and day, how four rattleheaded boys ever got so far over the world without being murdered or sent to the penitentiary. Still, he isn't always passing out advice."
From their new shelter, the boys now saw Max and three men pass to the west and stand under a screen of boughs looking down toward the _Rambler_.
"The war is on, I guess," Clay said. "Those fellows were here waiting for us to come back. Did it ever occur to you that they know about our having that mysterious map?"
"Now you've said something," Alex exclaimed. "That map was intended for those opposing the Fontenelles. It was given to us by mistake, and the people who should have had it know that we've got it. That's why they're watching us so. Wonder we never thought of that before."
"It seems to me that you've struck it right," Clay answered. "They've been waiting here all this time for us to come back it seems."
"Then I should think they'd keep out of sight until we get busy looking for the channel. They surely won't want to drive us away before we demonstrate what we know about it."
"I presume they think they are keeping out of sight," Clay decided.
"Well, they're not keeping very close watch, for they don't seem to know that we're on shore."
"Don't be too sure of that," Clay answered. "They may be watching us this minute. Perhaps we'd better move."
As the boys spoke, Max and his three companions started at a swift pace up the bank of the stream keeping always out of view of the boat. They passed the place where the boys lay in hiding and for a moment the lads heard them pushing through the underbrush.