“I can come pretty close to it,” declared Hal.  “My sense of direction is still with me, I believe.  Come on.”

Bearing slightly off to the right, he broke into a run and the others followed close behind him.  For perhaps another five hundred yards, he ran forward at fair speed and then paused.

“It should be about here some place,” he said.  “Spread out and we’ll have a look for it.”

This plan was followed and a hunt for the shack began in the darkness.  After perhaps five minutes, Chester’s voice rang out.

“I’ve found it.  This way.”

The others made their way in the direction of his voice and a few moments later all stood before the shack.

“Is it open?” asked Chester.

Hal tried the doorknob.  It was locked.  Also it was barred on the outside.  He put the muzzle of his revolver to the lock and would have fired had not Colonel Anderson stayed his hand.

“Hold on there,” he commanded.  “We don’t want to open it that way if we can help it.  Look around.  Maybe there is a window.”

At the back of the shack they found one, but it was well out of reach.

“Give me a hand up, Hal,” said Chester.

Hal obeyed and Chester climbed to his shoulders.  His head came level with the window.  Chester pushed against it and it swung inward.

“All right,” he called back.  “I’m going in.”

He pulled himself up and then dropped down inside.  Those on the outside heard a terrible rattle and clatter and stood suddenly silent, for they did not know what had happened.  Then Chester called out: 

“It’s all right.  I jumped in the dishpan; that’s all.  Come on.”

Hal and Colonel Anderson boosted Uncle John to the window sill, and then Hal gave Colonel Anderson a hand up.  The latter, perched in the window, leaned down and pulled Hal up beside him.  They dropped down inside.

At that moment a sudden beam of light flashed into the room.

The moon had come out, lighting up the outside and accentuating the darkness in the old shack.

“Well, here we are,” said Chester.  “Now we’ll keep quiet, so as not to tell the enemy where we are.”

For perhaps an hour they sat in silence; and then Hal’s quick ears detected the sound of approaching horses.

“Listen!” he whispered.

The others strained their ears to catch some sound; and directly it came—­the sound of many horses approaching.

“Better see to our guns,” said Colonel Anderson quietly.

He examined his own brace of revolvers carefully, and Hal and Chester did the same.  Uncle John was unarmed.

“Too bad we didn’t stop and get the guns of the officer I knocked down back there,” said Hal.  “However, it’s too late now.  We’ll have to get along with these.”

“Perhaps they won’t find this place in the darkness,” said Uncle John hopefully.

“Don’t fool yourself there,” said Chester.  “They’ll find it all right.  That is their business, right now.  Besides, it’s not so dark as it was when we arrived.”