“Is he dangerous?” asked Wagstaff, with a grin.
“You will find him so, if you undertake to put onto him; mebbe he isn’t quite so old as you and mebbe he don’t smoke cigarettes and drink whisky, but I’ll bet this whole team that if either or both of you ever tackles him, you’ll think five minutes later that you’ve been run through a thrashing mill.”
The youths were not disturbed by this bold statement, which neither believed.
“You’re very kind,” said Tom, “and we won’t forget what you’ve said; when we see him coming ’long the road, we’ll climb a tree to get out of the way, or else run into the first house and lock the door.”
Bill had said all he wished, and now gave his attention to his team. The thunder was rumbling almost continuously, and now and then a vivid streak of lightning zigzagged across the rapidly darkening sky. No rain fell, but the wind blew blinding clouds of dust across the highway and into the stage, where the occupants at times had to protect their eyes from it.
A short distance from the road on the left was a low, old-fashioned stone house, but no other dwelling was in sight between the stage and Black Bear Swamp, which was no more than half a mile ahead, appearing dark and forbidding in the gathering gloom. The trees at the side of the highway swayed in the gusty wind, and, when the flying dust allowed them to see, Dick Halliard was observed far in advance like a speck in the distance. He was traveling with great speed, and the stage seemed to have gone no more than a hundred yards after the interview when the young wheelman disappeared.
It was as if he had plunged under full headway right among the trees. Piketon lay about two miles beyond Black Bear Swamp, but since the width of the dense forest through which the public road wound its way was fully a fourth of a mile, it will be seen that a considerable drive was still before the stage.
The passengers would have viewed their approach to the woods with relief, but for the fear of the highwayman. Its dense growth and abundant vegetation offered a partial protection from the storm, which promised to be violent; but the youths would have much preferred (had they dared to speak their sentiments) to stand bareheaded in the coming storm than to encounter that “suspicious” party, who they believed was awaiting their coming.
CHAPTER X—A STARTLING SUMMONS
The stage was within a hundred yards of Black Bear Swamp when something like a tornado struck it. The horses stopped, and the vehicle was partly lifted from the ground. For an instant it seemed to be going over. The driver and the New Englander started with suppressed exclamations, while Wagstaff emitted a cry of alarm, as he and his companion attempted to leap out.