"Don't you do it!" cried Dan Baxter. "I tell you, you can make money by holding him."
"I'd like to wring Baxter's neck for that!" muttered Tom.
"All right, then, take him along—at least, for the present," said
Sack Todd. "But don't waste time. Here are the horses."
The transfer from the wagon to the horses was quickly accomplished. Sam was made to mount a steed, and Andy Jimson rode on one side of him and Dan Baxter on the other. The rest of the men rode in front and in the rear, and soon the spot where the break-down had occurred was left behind.
"Now, what's to do?" asked Tom ruefully. He realized, as well as the others, that it would have been useless to have attacked such a large crowd.
"There is but one thing to do, Tom: follow them. As soon as they locate, we can go back for help. They can't travel more than twenty-four hours without stopping, and I believe they'll go into hiding as soon as it is daylight."
With care, they advanced on the trail of those ahead. This was a rather difficult task, for the lantern had been put out, and it was pitch-dark tinder the trees. More than once their steeds went into a hollow with a jounce that threatened to throw one or another to the ground.
"If only James Monday would appear with about ten men," sighed Tom.
"Couldn't we make it warm for those chaps!"
"He won't be coming back for a long time," said Songbird. "He is no wizard, even if he is a detective. It is only in the sensational, five-cent libraries that the noble detective turns up every time he is needed."
"Yes, and kills about ten men hand-running," added Tom with a laugh.