Neither Rafe nor Jeff had fired a shot at the invading forces led by Hawkins.

Instead, the pair had slipped stealthily away, until they had gotten out of the immediate zone of the hot firing.

Then they hid under some bushes.
"An hour ago I'd have felt like a sneak, not standing by the gang any better," whispered Jeff uneasily.
"Same here," Rafe admitted.

"In fact, I'm wondering whether I acted straight in running off like this." "Aren't you sure about it in your own mind ?" asked Jeff slowly.
"Almost," Rafe returned.

"All that bothers me is not sticking by the same crowd that we started out with to-night.