es were not likely to go far,
when they would suspect that something of the nature described had
occurred, and they would return and grope along shore for their
victims. So certain was Dr. Marlowe of this turn that he believed the
wisest course was for the entire party to abandon the boat, and, as may
be said, "take to the woods." They had the whole night before them,
and, with his intimate knowledge of the roads, paths and trails of the
country and jungles, he was confident of guiding them beyond danger and
to some place where, when morning dawned, there would be little to fear
in the way of discovery.

This course would have been taken except for the absence of Jack
Everson. There was no way of apprising him of the change of plan, and,
with his ignorance of the topography of their surroundings, he would be
certain to go astray, and for any one in his situation, to go astray
meant death.

CHAPTER VII.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jack Everson found matters exceedingly interesting.

When he informed his friends that he would rejoin them in the course of
a few minutes the possibility of anything interfering with his promise
did not occur to him. That danger threatened every member of the
little company may be set down as self-evident, but what could happen
to disturb him in the brief interval spent in running up the slope,
dashing into the house and back again to the river's side?

Such were his thoughts as he entered the shadows and hurriedly
approached the front veranda. Although he had reached this spot within
the preceding twenty-four hours the evening meal and the preparations
for flight had given him sufficient knowledge of the interior to remove
all difficulty in going straight to the table in the dining-room and
taking the forgotten revolver therefrom.

The first tingle of misgiving came to the young man when he was close
to the porch and about to step upon it. He remembered that it was
himself who had extinguished the lamp on the table as the three were
about to pass into the hall and out of doors, but lo! a light was
shining from that very room. What could it mean?

"That's deuced queer," he thought, coming to an abrupt halt; "I screwed
down that lamp and blew into the chimney in the orthodox fashion, so it
couldn't have been that I unconsciously left the wick burning."

At this juncture he made another significant discovery. The front door
which he had seen Dr. Marlowe close