‘But the gun,’ said Lucius. ‘Shall I leave it behind?’
‘By time, no!’ exclaimed Ephraim. ‘It’s all we’ve got, and we don’t know when we may want it. Hyar, I’ll come back fer it, and ye kin pass it along.’
He felt for the friendly bough, and presuming that he had found it, threw his weight upon it. Instantly it cracked across, and down he went into the water with a great splash. Fortunately he fell close under the bank, and wildly grasping, caught a clump of bushes and dragged himself out.
‘It’s all right, Luce,’ he called up to the boy, who was listening anxiously. ‘I must hev caught the wrong one. I’m on’y wet about the legs.’
‘It’s all wrong,’ replied Lucius under his breath; ‘those fellows have heard the splash: I’m sure of it by the way the lantern is being moved about.’
‘Half a breath,’ said Ephraim. ‘We won’t leave the gun ef we kin help it. I’ll hev anuther try.’
He went to work again more cautiously, and this time got hold of the right bough.
‘Send her along, Luce,’ he said. ‘Careful now. We don’t want her goin’ orf like the first wan.’
Lucius cautiously extended the gun, which, after one or two ineffectual attempts, Ephraim caught and landed safely. For an active boy like Lucius the rest was easy, and in a very short time he joined the Grizzly on the bank.
‘Which way now?’ inquired Lucius, when once they had attained the level ground above.
‘Oh, up the river,’ answered Ephraim. ‘We must keep our faces towards old Stonewall’s camp. We’re all right now, I reckon, with these uniforms and the countersign. It’s lucky we’ve got thet.’
Alas, poor Ephraim! He did not know of General Shields’s order, nor how anxiously his arrival was expected by every sentry along the line.
‘I wonder what time it is,’ said Lucius in the low tones they had learned of necessity to adopt.
‘It orter be about nine o’clock,’ answered Ephraim; ‘but we’ve no way of knowin’. Thar’s a moon, too, about midnight, I’m sorry ter say; but p’raps the clouds won’t let her through. I’m fond er the moon; but jest this wan night I’d do without her and willin’.’
‘It won’t be as dark outside this belt of trees as it is here,’ said Lucius, as they moved along.
‘All the wuss fer us,’ said Ephraim; ’fer outside ’em we must go. This belt is shore ter be full er sentries all along the river line. We must work our way down ter them fields we crossed this afternoon, and grub along through the ditch. That’ll be——Hush! Some one’s comin’. Lie down.’