As Jack broke off short and pointed with his hand, all of the masked students looked in that direction. Then Jack gave Pepper and Andy the signal, and side by side they dove into the woods and ran towards the road.
“They are gone!”
“It was a trick, to get us to look away!” roared Roy Bock. “Come on after them!”
“If you come after us now we’ll shoot somebody!” cried Andy. They had no firearms, but he thought he might scare their enemies.
“Do you think they will shoot?” questioned one of the masked boys, a lad who was timid by nature.
“No, I don’t,” answered Grimes. “Come on!”
“We don’t want to get hurt——”
“Come on, it’s all right!” And then the crowd went after Jack, Pepper, and Andy pell-mell.
But our friends had gained a good start and they made the best possible use of their time. They leaped over the rocks and small brush-wood, and presently caught sight of the lantern, still hanging over the dashboard of the buggy.
“Hullo, what’s this?” cried Pepper, as he stumbled over something. “Bicycles, I declare, four singles and two tandems!”