"I knew it!"
"We said so!"
"D——n!" were some of the ejaculations as the members of the band sprang to their feet and handled secret arms.
"Pshaw! put up your knives and pistols! There is no danger. I was not traced—our rendezvous is still a secret for which the government would pay a thousand dollars!"
"How, then, do you say that you went once too often, cap'n?"
"It was inaccurate! I should have said that I had gone for the last time, for that it would not be safe to venture again. Come—I must tell you the whole story! But in the mean time let us have supper. Mother Raven, dish the beef! Dick, draw the ale! Hal, cut the bread! Steve, carve! Bestir yourselves, burn you, or you shall have no story!" exclaimed the captain, flinging himself into a chair at the head of the table.
When his orders had been obeyed, and the men were gathered around the table, and the first draught of ale had been quaffed by all, Black Donald asked:
"Where do you think I went peddling to-day?"
"Devil knows," said Hal.
"That's a secret between the Demon and Black Donald" said Dick.