“So those were savages who took to the tall timber?” asked Glenn.
“The same kind of people who drove us out of the valley,” answered Jimmie. “They had the whole bunch pinched when your machine came dancing merrily out of the woods!”
“And the way the niggers took to the tall timber was a caution!” exclaimed Carl. “They must be going yet!”
“Mr. Mellen,” broke in Doran, “I insist on being released from this ridiculous position. I ask you to order this tramp to remove his revolver. I am not used to such indignities.”
“He is not subject to my orders,” replied Mellen.
The tramp looked at Doran with a humorous smile on his face.
“I don’t understand,” he said, “how you managed to reach this place in a road machine. It must have been awful going!”
“It certainly was!” answered Mellen. “Many a time I thought the machine incapable of making the grades, and on various occasions we nearly dropped over precipices.”
“I never was so scared in my life!” declared Ben.
“Riding an aeroplane is a picture of peace and safety in comparison to such a whirl as that!” declared Glenn. “I hung on with my toes most of the way! And,” he added, with a grin, “I saw Ben getting ready to jump several times.”