"Then I'll pepper you!"
And bang! went his rifle, and a bullet whistled by their heads.
"Keep on yelling, Harry!" gasped the old detective.
"Help! Help!" shouted the boy, obediently.
Bang! went Mason's rifle again.
The ball grazed Harry's cheek, and stung like a bee.
Just then the shots and yells were heard by an old track-walker of the railroad, and he rushed around the swamp shouting:
"All right! I'm coming!"
This unwelcome voice to Mason caused a look of alarm to flit over his pale features, and, fearing arrest, he sped away.
The villain calculated that the detectives would be buried out of sight long before assistance could reach them.