“We had better be moving now,” said Tom, shouldering his gun, and picking up the valise. “They’ll soon find out that we have not crossed the bayou, and then they’ll be back. The house is the safest place for us.”
Since Tom first proposed this plan I had been thinking it over, and was now ready to agree to it.
As things stood there was but one way to leave the island, and that was to cross to the opposite side, and swim the bayou. We might thus succeed in getting the start of our enemies by half a mile or more; but what would that amount to while they were on horse-back and we on foot? As Tom had said, the woods on the main land were open; there was no cane to hide in, and the dogs could see us a long distance. There were still a dozen or more of these savage brutes in the pack, and although we might dispose of half of them by a volley from our double-barrels, the others would be upon us before we could load again.
If we returned to our prison, we could barricade the doors, and bid defiance to Luke Redman and his gang. Our friends would certainly reach the island before dark—we had no fears but that they could follow our trail, in spite of the robber’s efforts to throw them off the scent, and we could hold our enemies at bay until they arrived.
I thought that a much better plan than running a race through the woods with a pack of hounds, and when Tom started for the house, I followed him.
We reached the edge of the cane-brake in a few minutes, and there we stopped to reconnoiter.
There was not a man, dog, or even a horse in sight; and having satisfied ourselves on this point, we sprang out of our concealment, and ran toward the cabin.
Tom led the way up the grape-vine, carrying the valise in his teeth. I followed close behind him, with both guns slung over my shoulder, and presently we found ourselves safe in our prison again.
“I call this a masterly piece of strategy,” panted Tom, drawing his coat-sleeve across his forehead. “It will take them a long time to find out where we are, and delay will serve us as well as any thing else. All we want is to keep out of their clutches until the settlers arrive.”
The first business in hand was to fasten the doors, which was easily done. There happened to be several short pieces of plank in Tom’s prison, and from these we selected two which answered our purpose admirably. By putting one end under the locks and bracing the other end against the floor, we secured both doors so effectually that, as long as the locks remained in their places, no power that could be applied on the outside could force them open.