All the while he kept drawing nearer, fearful lest they discover him before he could get close enough to hold them up; for should they run in different directions he could not expect to accomplish his end.
Then he saw what brought them to this place.
A rude shack made of stray boards, and branches from trees loomed up.
It was evidently a secret hide-out of the gang, where they came when matters got too warm either at home or among the neighbors whose hen roosts they had been pillaging.
When Darry saw Jim throw his bunch of game on the ground, he knew his chase was at an end, and that presently, when he felt good and ready, he could turn the tables on his enemies.
Lying there watching them start a fire and prepare to cook something they had brought along, he even chuckled to imagine how surprised the trio of young rascals would be when he popped up like a jack-in-the-box.