The moon was rising in the cloudy sky, lighting up the dusty road, and the detectives caught view of two men on horseback.
They were coming from the direction of Pine Creek, the next railroad station beyond Swamp Angel, and carried bundles of provisions.
As Harry's glance fell upon the pair, he grasped Old King Brady's arm, and muttered in low, excited tones:
"It's Mason and Johnson, or some other negro."
"Hush! Keep quiet!" muttered Old King Brady.
Up came the horsemen, blissfully ignorant of the fact that the detectives were watching them, and Mason was laughing and saying:
"The fools were searching the swamp for us during the past three days, Nick, and they couldn't find a sign of us."
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed the negro. "'Specs dey am not so smart as dey fink dey am. An' what's mo', dey nebber find us."
Just then the detectives sprang from their covert.
Landing in the road in front of the two startled men, they grasped the horses' bridles at the bits, and the frightened beasts paused and reared up.