"It wasn't that," I replied, and told her about the tramp.
"You must be very careful of those men," she said anxiously. "Some of them will not stop at anything."
"I'll be wide awake," I rejoined reassuringly.
It was not a long drive to the station. When we arrived there, Mrs. Canby had over five minutes to spare, and this time was spent in buying a ticket and giving me final instructions.
At length the train came along and she was off. I waited a few moments longer and then drove away.
I had several purchases to make in the village—a pruning-knife, a bag of feed, and some groceries, and these took some time to buy, so it was nearly noon when I started home.
Several times I imagined that a couple of the village young men noticed me very closely, but I paid no attention and went on my way, never dreaming of what was in store for me.
The road to the widow's house ran for half a mile or more through a heavy belt of timber land. We were jogging along at a fair pace, and I was looking over a newspaper I had picked up on the station platform. Suddenly some one sprang out from the bushes and seized Jerry by the bridle.
Astonished and alarmed, I sprang up to see what was the matter. As I did so I received a stinging blow on the side of the head, and the next instant was dragged rudely from the carriage.