“Now don’t make the mistake of becoming sarcastic!” Toombs warned. “I had you brought here because I can do you a service and you can do me one. We’ll get along all right together if you exercise the good sense you are generally given credit for possessing.”
“If you wanted to see me,” Ned demanded angrily, “why didn’t you come over to the camp? Why did you send your cut-throats over to tie me up like a pig for roasting?”
“Because,” Toombs answered, “you have the reputation in New York of being a very obstinate as well as a very clever lad. Because, again,” he went on, “I have no time to waste in preliminaries. I wanted you to understand from the word ‘Go’ just exactly what the situation is.”
“Well, what is it?” asked Ned.
“You came into the mountains with young Jack Bosworth?”
“Jack is a member of my party,” Ned answered.
“And you came on a mission for Jack’s father?”
“Nothing of the kind!” answered Ned. “We came in on a vacation.”
“You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?” demanded Toombs.
“It is the truth,” answered Ned.