“Yes, and worse than that!” exclaimed Bob, and told Cromley what had happened to Professor Snodgrass.
“You don’t say!” exclaimed the old miner. “Well, they are a mean bunch! But to go back to what they did to me.
“They went on the next day, and from the way they hurried I knew they must fear somebody—you, likely—would soon be trailing after them. To make a long story short, they’ve been carting me about with them ever since. They traded off their wagon for horses and made me get on this one. Whenever they got to a settlement, or saw anybody coming, they would bind me tighter than ever and stick that gag in my mouth.”
This much his friends had guessed, and Cromley confirmed their theories of what had happened.
“Finally,” went on the miner, “they gave up trying to make me talk and they began to circle back on a trail I knew would lead us to Blue Rock. What they were going to do when they got there I didn’t know. But I made up my mind I wasn’t going to give ’em a bit of information. What I did know I was going to tell you boys.
“Well, we kept on and on until about half an hour ago I could see that Noddy was uneasy. He kept looking back, and though I couldn’t hear anything I suspected the chase was getting hotter.
“They had taken off my ropes and loosened the gag, so we could go faster, I reckon. I heard Noddy say something about you coming. We were going up hill when I looked back and saw you and made a dash for it.
“I was in fear every minute that one of them would send a bullet after me—for they had guns—but nothing like that happened. And here I am!” he concluded abruptly.
“And we’re glad to see you!” exclaimed Ned.