That sounded fine to me, I can tell you. Get a club and come on! I was afraid enough of them without clubs, so I waited just long enough to let them turn their backs, and off I was. I couldn’t get out of the yard, though, before they were back, and each of them had a cane big enough to knock a horse down with. They didn’t separate—seemed like both of them wanted company—but they did begin poking all over the front yard. Every chance I got I edged away farther, and I managed to keep a bush between the men and me all the time. At last I had to take a chance of being seen or else get caught, for they had me cornered, so I watched for the best time, and up and dived through the hedge like I was jumping off a spring-board. I landed all in a heap outside.
“What’s that?” Batten says, sharp.
“Somethin’ went slam through the hedge—somethin’ heavy.”
You can just be sure I didn’t wait. I picked myself up and skedaddled, keeping close to the bushes, and was safe and sound before they got up courage to look over at the place I dived through.
“They’re consid’rable stirred up,” I says to Mark, when I got back. “You ought to have seen Batten and Bill look at that track.”
“Did it s-s-scare ’em?” He was excited as could be.
“Scare ’em! Huh, I bet they won’t go to bed in the dark for a month. Let’s not give ’em any rest. Jest keep whangin’ away at ’em all the time that’s left to us.”
“Well, then, git over where you were behind the fence, and we’ll give ’em some more ghost-ringin’.”
I went crawling back, and got into my fence corner all right. I’d been so lucky getting one place and another without being seen that I was feeling pretty well satisfied with myself and figuring that I was about as good, maybe, as Leatherstocking and a lot of those old fellows that have been written about so much. Which shows that it’s bad luck to get to liking yourself. I never knew it to do any good, and nine times out of ten it upsets your apple-cart.
I peeked up through the bushes, and there, not more than fifty feet off, sat Henry C. Batten and the big young man he called Bill smoking and taking it easy in the shade of a little apple tree. I sat quiet and listened to them talking.