She was inclined to think, too, that the same condition applied to all members of the Overland party.
As for Washington, none of them believed that the mountaineers could have any possible motive for harming him, unless, perhaps, it were necessary to do so for their own protection.

That, the girls realized, was a grave possibility, especially were the men to see that he recognized any of them.
There was worry on the minds of the Overlanders, and the hours of their vigil seemed to drag out interminably.

It was not until morning, however, that anything occurred to disturb them or even rouse them from their endless listening and peering into the darkness with straining eyes and bated breaths.

Therefore, the interruption that followed the long, tense silence came as a shock, an interruption that startled each member of the party into a new and throbbing alertness..