“Do you think he’ll shoot?” asked Captain Sanders, in some alarm, while Giles Borden stopped short.
“Possibly,” answered Dave. “But I am going after him anyway,” he added sturdily. “I came here to catch those rascals and I am going to do it.”
“And I am with you,” said Phil, promptly.
“Scare ’em with your gun, Dave,” suggested the senator’s son.
“I will,” was our hero’s reply, and he brought the weapon to the front. “I’ve got a gun, Jasniff!” he called out. “You had better stop! And you had better stop too, Merwell!”
“Don’t yo-you shoot at us!” screamed Link Merwell, in sudden terror. And then he ran with all speed for the nearest trees and dove out of sight. The next instant Jasniff disappeared, likewise.
Dave was now thoroughly aroused, and he resolved to do his best to run the rascals down and corner them. Shifting his shotgun once more to his back, he ran on in the direction the pair had taken, and Roger, Phil, and the captain and the Englishman followed.
Listening occasionally, they could hear Jasniff and Merwell crashing through the undergrowth and at the same time calling to each other. Evidently they had become separated and were trying to get together again.
As they advanced into the forest, Dave caught sight of Merwell. He was behind a low fringe of bushes and an instant later disappeared.
“Stop, Merwell!” he called out. “It won’t do you any good to run. We are bound to catch you, sooner or later.”