The twins were promptly deposited upon the ground, where they clasped hands and tried to realize this new thing that had befallen them. Before they could do so, their military escort had again saluted and disappeared in the distance, leaving them to make the best they could of their forlorn situation.
CHAPTER XIV
A FIRST RIDE ON THE RAILWAY
“Come in by!” at last said the man in the doorway.
The children silently accepted the invitation and entered a bare little room, to be instantly startled by a yell of dismay from their new host:
“Injuns! Injuns! Apaches! The Saints!”
“We are not Indians!” retorted Carlos, indignantly.
“Och! is it so?” gasped the man, much relieved. “But it’s wearin’ their clo’es ye are. Did they catch ye and rig yez like that? And did thim soldiers catch ye back out of ’em?”
Despite his roughness, the man had a simple and timid speech, and the boy replied by a brief account of their adventures, ending with the question:
“What are you going to do with us now?”
“As sure as me name’s Dennis Fogarty, that thing I don’t know.”