“Gee, you _are_ cautious, Sid. Well, if we’ve got to hoof it, we may as well keep going.” And Raymond rather grumpily continued the march. The gorge proved to be a short one, and the boys soon came out into a valley, on the farther side of which, climbing up the mountain slope, they saw a village. They were uncertain whether to be pleased or apprehensive at the prospect of encountering people. If they could get into the high mountains before the bodies which they had left in the ravine were discovered, it might be that they would not be followed and would not be caused any trouble by their successful effort to protect their own lives. On the other hand, they had very little food, and they were not sure that they would be able to replenish their supply after they had once really entered the mountains. There seemed, however, to be no way of avoiding the town, if they had wished to do so. The trail led directly to it, and as the country rose abruptly beyond, they knew that the village, in all probability, must be at the foot of the only road that penetrated the range. When they were halfway across the valley, two wild-looking horsemen emerged from the gorge and dashed past them. “Those fellows act as though they were scared by what they saw in the ravine,” remarked Raymond as he watched the riders enter the village. “More likely,” said Sidney, “they are hurrying to report what they found, and warn officers to take us.” The boys followed slowly and reluctantly. They would have been very much happier if they could have skipped that first village, for the more they reflected on the possibilities before them, the more uneasy they felt. They wondered if they had made a supreme effort to get out of Russia only to land in a mountain jail. And they thought, if that should be the outcome of their adventure, that their father would be infinitely better off in a civilized city like Nizhni-Novgorod, even if he had not yet recovered his liberty. They entered the village and passed along the narrow, crooked street, looking for a bazaar where food might be purchased. They thought they would buy the very first eatables they saw, and then hurry out of town and on into the mountains. They were not, however, to be allowed to do that. They had proceeded but a short distance in their search for supplies when they were met by two men who were armed with the customary rifles and swords. The men, who somehow gave the impression of being officials, placed themselves one on each side of the boys, and taking hold of their arms hurried them along with a brief statement in a strange language that was plainly not Russian.