These words had a visible effect upon the desperate men. They began to converse together in a low tone—all but the man who had followed Al; he stood aloof from the rest.
"See here," he presently said, in a voice that Al noticed trembled slightly, "if you gents have any more time to fool away here I haven't. I don't propose to get into any trouble through this thing. I have tried to do you a service, but you don't seem to appreciate it."
"We don't want to make any mistake," said the spokesman.
"But you're not making any mistake. Don't I tell you I know the boy, that he is the same one that sold me the horse last week?"
Here Al interposed.
"Do you claim," he asked, "that you are the farmer to whom the horse thief sold one of the stolen animals last week?"
"I do; and I recognize you as the person. It's no use, my fine fellow, the jig's up. I've been shadowing you for some time, and I've got you down fine."
Al turned to the group of men, who had been listening in silence to the brief dialogue.
"Gentlemen," he said, "do any of you know the farmer who bought the horse from the thief? Could any one of you swear to his identity?"
The spokesman replied, this time using a gentler tone than before.