“Give him a chance to talk,” pleaded Billy. Clancy nodded.
Carson, however, merely poured out a string of curses and began to plunge in a furious attempt to escape. His twisted arm soon made him quiet.
“Take him up to the house,” said Clancy, when he had been bound. “I’ll get some stuff to make a fire with.”
Billy obeyed. He deposited Carson in an empty room, tied his ankles securely, then returned to Clancy with an anxious face.
“See here, Clan, how far are you goin’? You don’t mean to torture him?”
“I should hope not,” said Clancy, with a grin. “I feel like it, but I don’t believe I’d go that far. I’m goin’ to walk back and get the Hornet. We’ll have something to eat, and maybe you can scare him into talking before I get back.”
Clancy’s hope was vain. When he returned with the Hornet and their provisions, he found that Carson had absolutely refused to say a word on the subject. Billy was not a little anxious, but Clancy stood firm.
“Billy, I’m goin’ to make that fellow talk if I have to bust every law on earth. Just stop to think—he’s done something to Chip, and knows where he is. He seems to have a notion that we’re throwing a bluff into him about torture and——”
“So we are,” interjected Billy. “You know it blamed well.”
“Sure,” admitted Clancy, with a grimace. “But I’m goin’ to make him think he’s wrong, if I can.”