Keyes Richards had thrown back his head and his laughter might have been heard half a mile away. As soon as he could speak, he said:
"So you took those two youngsters for burglars of the post office at Rockledge! The joke is on you, Gabe, and I'll make sure all your friends hear of it. Haw! haw! haw!"
The poor officer squirmed and asked sullenly:
"How should I know who they were? I never saw 'em before."
"You've had enough experience to judge a little by looks; your own small amount of sense ought to tell you better than this."
"That's what I did go by. Don't you think that they look like a couple of desperate criminals?"
And the officer turned his head, scrutinized the youth at his side and then leaned over and squinted at Alvin, as if he saw both for the first time. Chester felt sympathy for the man, and waiting for Richards to recover from his renewed outburst said:
"We must be hard looking fellows, for every one in the crowd who saw us leave Charmount agreed that we were a couple of villains."
"And one woman thought lynching wasn't too good for us."
"Well, Gabe, do you intend to carry them to Augusta?"