There was; and it was quickly brought forward.
Things were getting to look serious. To be left behind bound to a tree was far from pleasant to contemplate. I half wished I had agreed to accompany the three men.
“I won’t be bound!” I cried. And jumping up, I tried to dash away. But my guardian was too quick for me. He caught me by the arm and held me with all his strength.
“Here is a tree, boys,” he said. “I will hold him while you put the rope around him. Mind you get it tight or he’ll be out of it in a jiffy.”
“Not when I tie the knots,” said Yates. “You forget I spent six years at sea and understand how to handle a rope perfectly.”
The rope was a long one, and it was passed around my body and the tree several times. Then my feet were fastened, and finally my hands.
“Now he’s as stiff as a poker,” went on Yates. “I’ll warrant he won’t get loose short of four or five hours at the least.”
“It ought to be four or five days,” grumbled Mr. Norton.
“Seems to me you’re pretty hard on the boy,” remarked Avery. “For an uncle, it doesn’t look well at all.”