“I had been sick for a fortnight. Then they asked how it was that I came to be tied to the tree.
“But, alas, I knew as little of that part of the story as they did.
“I told them how I had been seized by Parker and his companions, and tied to the track.
“My lantern, found near the spot, and distinct marks of a struggle, confirmed the story.
“The question was, how did I escape the train, and how did I become tied to the tree?
“My own theory is this: Parker and Jackson were not, after all, so bad as I took them to be. Their revenge had been, not to murder me, but to frighten me terribly; and they certainly had succeeded perfectly. I could see nothing, tied as I was, could hardly turn my head, and they had easily persuaded me into the idea that I was on the down track—that of the passenger-express.
“After the train had passed, they had come to release me before the up freight should be along. They had fastened me to the tree so as to get fully away before I could give any alarm.
“That is the only way I can account for the facts. And though I certainly don’t owe the rascals anything for what they did to me, I never think of the affair to this day without feeling a kind of gratitude towards them, and thanking God they were not as black-hearted as I thought they were, after all.”
“Well, that’s a jolly good yarn,” said the captain; “it beats mine into an almighty smash, and no mistake.”
“Oh, I don’t say that,” observed Whittock, “you are both good story-tellers. Talk about the ‘Arabian Nights’ Entertainment,’ I rather fancy we could knock up one ourselves if we had a mind.”