“Expert oarsmen,” he commented to himself. “Wonder who those fellows are, anyhow? They certainly act in a hurry.”
Then he went aboard to caution one of his men to remain at the radio, ready to catch the boys’ message should they call.
Meantime with oars so skilfully handled as to make scarcely any sound, the boys forged upstream. Minute after minute flew by, without a shot, or any human sound, breaking the stillness. Bend after bend was cautiously rounded, but nothing lay ahead. Several times Frank looked at his watch. An hour had passed.
“We must have come three or four miles,” he whispered. “Let’s take a breather. I’ll spell Jack when we go on. Pull in under this left bank. The trail is on the right side, and we’ll keep away from it.”
Bob and Jack pulled slowly over as Frank swung the tiller, and the boat came to rest beneath the drooping branches of a pepper tree that grew on the very edge of the stream.
“I’m afraid we can’t go much further in the boat,” Jack said anxiously, his voice barely audible. “Stream’s getting very shallow.”
“Suppose one of us pushes ahead to reconnoiter while the others stay in the boat,” suggested Frank.
“I expect that’s what we better do,” said Jack. “It’s getting quite shallow.”
After some further whispered conversation it was decided that while one of the trio to be chosen by lot should push ahead on foot, the others should busy themselves stringing the aerial.
“If I find out anything to tell Robbins,” said Frank, who had been the one selected to spy out the land, “the radio will be working when I come back.”
Scarcely had he stepped ashore on the left bank than the sound of revolver fire, ahead and seemingly close at hand, was heard. Frank jumped back into the boat.
“Put me ashore on the other side,” he said. “I’ll go up the trail. That shooting can’t be far away.”
“Be careful,” warned Jack, anxiously, as his young chum again leaped ashore.
A quarter of an hour passed, during which Jack and Bob busied themselves stringing the aerial between two trees on opposite sides of the stream. They stopped work frequently to listen. One more burst of firing was heard, and a faint sound of shouting. Then Frank’s voice hailed them, and he scrambled aboard.