As he rounded the next corner he whispered to the girls:
“Run hard!”
He released their arms and stopped, just out of sight from the pursuers.
A moment later they came into view, and Dick was upon them in an instant, striking right and left as swiftly as he could. Just as it seemed there was a chance of his overcoming his two foes, a third figure joined in the fray.
This was Hernandez himself, and he turned the balance in the favor of Dick’s enemies.
Shirley and Mabel had gone on a few feet when Dick had turned back, for they had not known what he was about to do. They missed him in a moment, however, and stopped to see what had become of him.
They saw the struggling knot of men, and Shirley cried:
“Oh! Dick will be hurt! What shall we do?”
“What can we do?” demanded Mabel. “Dick said to run. I guess we had better run.”
“And leave him there like that? I should say not.”