We decided that the men were away, on a hunt, most probably, and after we'd watched a while longer we decided that we'd sneak down some way and go after the treasure about midnight.

We figured they'd all be sleeping about that time.

After dark they lit fires and sat around them.
"We watched until about eleven--until we saw that nearly all the fires had gone out--and then we sneaked down the slope of the mountain.

We didn't make any noise; we were silent and slippery as ghosts as we made our way through the timber on the slope.

It was slow work, though; the woods were full of tangled vines and prickly bushes, and we got clawed up considerable and had all we could do to keep from cussing out loud when a thorn or something would rip a cheek open.