By that
time one man was waving his hat to us, and then they actually called,
"Come on down here--come down, it is all right!"
Miss Hayes is quite deaf, and I was obliged to go around rocks before
I could get near enough to tell her of the wagon below, and the men
not hear me. She gave the men and wagon an indifferent glance, and
then went on searching for specimens. I was so vexed I could have
shaken her. She will scream over a worm or spider, and almost faint at
the sight of a snake, but those two men, who were apparently real
tramps, she did not mind. The situation was critical, and for just one
instant I thought hard. If we were to go over the small mountain we
would probably be lost, and might encounter all sorts of wild beasts,
and if those men were really vicious they could easily overtake us.
Besides, it would never do to let them suspect that we were afraid. So
I decided to go down--and slowly down I went, almost dragging Miss
Hayes with me. She did not understand my tactics, and I did not stop
to explain.
I went right to the men, taking care to get between them and the road
to camp. I asked them if they were in trouble of any kind, and they
said "No." I could hardly control my voice, but it seemed important
that I should give them to understand at once who we were. So I said,
"Did you meet our friends in the army ambulance just down the road?"
The two looked at each other and then one said "Yes!" I continued
with, "There are two very large and heavily loaded army wagons, and a
number of soldiers coming down the other road that should be here
right now.
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