“Absolutement, ma frien’s. It is LeBlanc. Once again I have you, and I think this time you do not go until we have settled several old scores that I have mark up against you.”
As he spoke, several men took hold of the boys even more roughly, and in a few moments their hands had been bound tightly behind their backs.
LeBlanc gave the order to march, and the strange procession wended its way through the woods. It was almost pitch dark, but they seemed to be following a well defined trail, and the leader was sure of every step. An unknown man grasped the arm of each boy and guided them so that they would not bump into a tree, and at the same time prevented a chance of escape.
The boys took things philosophically, for there was nothing that could be done with so many odds against them, and the darkness would have hindered any chance of flight. They knew that they could not take more than a dozen steps without smashing into the trees, and would soon be captured. They resolved, the same train of thought running through the minds of both of the captives, to wait for daylight before sizing matters up.
LeBlanc kept hurrying the men along, and they covered nearly a half a dozen miles before a halt was called. Now the first flush of day was appearing in the sky, and soon there would be light enough for them to see in what manner of hands they had fallen.
When dawn finally broke, both boys looked in amazement at the strange figures that the light of day revealed.
LeBlanc, of course, they recognized at once, and they had half expected to see his brother. But all the others,—there were half a dozen not counting the halfbreed,—were total strangers. The men were for the most part large and swarthy, unkempt of hair and ragged as to clothes. Their garments were torn and dirty, and here and there was a raggedly sewn patch where the clothes threatened to give way entirely.
They were taciturn men, and said little or nothing to each other, and when they did, it was in a low tone. They paid absolutely no attention to any order of LeBlanc, always turning to one of their number for confirmation.
This man, evidently the leader, was a perfect giant of a man. He stood, so the boys judged, at least six feet four inches, and was correspondingly large of frame.
His face, what could be seen of it, for he wore a black, flowing, tangled beard, was tanned by the sun, as one who lived entirely in the open. His followers evidently respected, or at least feared him, for whenever he gave an order, they sprang to do his bidding.