“Gee! Sid,” he said, “think what has happened since you went after water the first time. I was scared stiff when I looked up the ravine and saw that man draw a bead on you. I thought at first he was shooting game of some kind, and I looked along the ravine to see if I could see what it was. Then when I saw you kneeling to get a drink, in a flash I knew it was you he was after.” “It was a close call for me. And if you were not a dead sure shot we should be done up by now. You know Ramon used to boast that you were the best shot in Mexico, and I guess there aren’t many better anywhere.” “Well, I shook so I was afraid I couldn’t do a thing. But just as soon as I stepped out to shoot I was perfectly steady, and then when it was all over I was weak as a cat.” The boys had thought they were pretty tired when they stopped to make camp, and they had been under such a strain since that when relaxation came they were simply exhausted. They had barely energy sufficient to roll up in their blankets. Fortunately, the night was warm and it made little difference whether they were really covered. Their minds were relieved of all anxiety of a possible attack, for they believed that the two men who were lying so still out in the ravine were the only ones whom they had had to fear. Consequently, they were no more than stretched out on the ground when both were sleeping profoundly. CHAPTER VII A LESGHIAN JAIL It was broad day, though the sun had not climbed high enough to look down into the ravine, when the boys woke. Sidney was the first to rouse, and he lay quietly gazing up into the sky, which, from that position, looked like the bluest sea, with floating masses of fleecy wool. He reviewed the exciting events of the previous day and night, and wondered what might still be in store for them. He could not believe, however, that they would encounter again such bloodthirsty bandits as the two men who had attacked them. They had been given to understand that the mountaineers of the Caucasus, while often fierce and wild, were usually honorable and hospitable. Their first experience of the people of Daghestan had justified such a report, for the men with whom they had had dealings at Petrovsk had been attentive and considerate. Sidney thought that might possibly have been due to the fact that those men were probably really Russian. Presently Raymond woke, and with characteristic impetuosity jumped up the moment his eyes were open. “Are you awake, Sid? I tell you I’m glad we are both here safe. It seems now as though that affair of yesterday couldn’t be true, but I suppose we’d find those fellows lying out there if we went to look.” “I’m worrying a little, Ray, about the chance of our getting into trouble over that. If we should be arrested for killing those men, we don’t know a word of the language here, and it might be impossible for us to show that we did it in self-defense.”