Dick was the first to move; he touched Ned's arm.

"All is quiet here now, but they may take it into their heads to come back
and search. We had better make for the trees; by keeping close to that
cactus hedge we shall be in shadow all the way."

The girls were roused from their stupor of grief.

"Now, dears, we must be brave," said Ned, "and carry out our orders. God
has protected us thus far; let us pray that He will continue to do so."

In another five minutes the little party, stealing cautiously out from
their shelter, kept along close to the wall to a side door, through which
they issued forth into the open. Ten steps took them to the cactus hedge,
and stooping low under its shelter, they moved on till they safely reached
the clump of trees.

For some time the little party crouched among the thick bushes, the
silence broken only by the sobs of the girls. Ned and Richard said
nothing, but the tears fell fast down their cheeks. The crackling of the
flames of many of the burning bungalows could be distinctly heard; and
outside the shadow of the trees it was nearly as light as day. Yells of
triumph rose on the night air, but there was no firing or sounds of
conflict, and resistance was plainly over. For a quarter of an hour they
sat there, crushed with the immensity of the calamity. Then Ned roused
himself and took the lead.

"Now, dears, the fires have burned down, and we must be moving, for we
should be far away from here before morning. No doubt others have hidden
in the woods round this place, and those black fiends will be searching