Such were a few of the questions which Jack, Andy, and Pepper asked when they found themselves confronted by the eight masked figures on the lonely forest road. Each of the masked persons was armed with a stout stick.
“Stop, do you hear?” came from one of the crowd, and stepping forward, he caught the horse by the head.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded Jack.
“It means that you must consider yourself prisoners,” was the cold reply.
“Prisoners!”
“Yes.”
“Who are you?” queried Pepper.
“That remains for you to find out. Step down out of that carriage and be quick about it.”
“Perhaps we won’t step out,” said Andy.
“If you don’t, you’ll get hurt.”