But presently Ralph slackened his speed, for he had noticed that Charlton was fagged, and he—having pledged himself to be the boy's chum—was not going to desert him. The rest were by no means sorry to stop; for though their pride would not allow them to give in, they had all had nearly enough of it. And panting, laughing, happy in all their youthful strength and spirits, they pulled up and wiped the perspiration from their foreheads.
"Let us go over to Tibb's Farm, and get a drink of milk; and then we must be getting back, or we shall get slated and be late for breakfast, and that won't do," directed Warren, and the others agreed.
The farm was but a short distance away, and it was evident that this visit was nothing out of the ordinary; for the farmer's wife smiled, and produced tumblers of milk and wedges of cake, and charged the boys a penny each—which certainly was not exorbitant.
And the way they got rid of that cake! And they were going home to breakfast!—ay, and would be able to eat it, too, cake notwithstanding! So much results from getting up early!
Perhaps it was because of his exhibition with the rope—perhaps it was the run; but as Ralph sat there his thoughts went back to his trouble.
How often had he been out in the early morning on the hot plains alone with his father! And how once when the grass caught fire, they had to run for dear life and take shelter in the creek until the fiery sea had swept by! And now, now, where—oh, where—was that father? It would come back, try to be as brave as he would. It would come back, and his heart would suddenly fill with pain, and cry out for that lost father.
"Time's up!" sang out Warren, stuffing the last of his cake into his mouth. "Now, you fellows, come on!"
Off they went with a whoop and hallo! Perhaps not quite so fast now, for cake and milk interfere somewhat with scudding. And Ralph, now with his chum and Warren, suddenly stopped, staring hard on the ground.
His companions could see nothing, and looked at him in surprise. Their eyes had never been trained to read the surface of the earth. But Ralph had suddenly lighted upon a freshly made trail. A trap had gone along here—a light trap, like that which had left those other traces in Stow Wood; and this trap, like that again, had been drawn by a horse lame in its left forefoot!