“Then the boy must be up the tree,” put in Avery. “Hi, there! Come down out of that!” he called.
Of course I paid no attention to this command.
“Yes, Reuben, come down,” added Mr. Norton. “It will do no good to try to hide.”
I remained silent, and for a moment the trio did the same.
“We’ll have to go up after him,” I heard one of them say in a whisper.
“Perhaps he’s got a gun,” put in another.
“He wouldn’t dare to fire it.”
“I don’t know about that. He’s a boy with lots of backbone.”
Meanwhile I was calculating the chances of escape. It was dark on all sides, and that, I felt certain, would aid me greatly.
Near the tree up which I was hiding was another tree much larger. Without making any noise I swung from one to the other, and got out on a limb that extended fully twenty feet away from the spot where the three men stood.