Within a short distance the gully became too shallow for further concealment.

I could perceive the red glow of the fires gleaming out between the trees, and the numerous dark figures of men, engaged in various tasks, or lying idly about, waiting a call from the cooks to supper.

My judgment told me that I must already be safely within the picket lines, able to walk forward unmolested, and mingle with these groups fearlessly.

I was yet standing there, uncertain as to which group I should choose to companion with, when the dim figure of a man, unquestionably drunk, came weaving his uncertain way along a footpath which ran within a yard of my position.

Even in that darkness, not yet dense with night, the lank figure possessed an outline of familiarity, and the sudden blazing up of a fire revealed the unmistakable features of the deputy.
"Hullo," I said, happily, stepping directly before him.