"My name is Lewis, and I live beyond Daring's Diamond."
"Purty late ridin'," muttered the man, passing on, without further words, much to our hero's relief.
Little Snap resolved to get away from that vicinity as speedily as possible, and he turned to request Raggles to go on, when he was surprised to find the mountaineer missing!
Neither was Beeline Raggles to be seen!
As brief as had been his interview with the stranger, this pair had managed somehow to get away unobserved by him. He did not think it best to call to them, and, though at a loss to account for this singular conduct, he felt that it would make little difference to him. He had seen enough to know they would be of no real assistance in case he should meet the Burrnocks.
Though it was now quite dark in the shades of the growth, he believed he would have little difficulty in finding his way to Hollow Tree, and he urged Jack forward without delay.
Dim lights from the dwellings of the inhabitants of Blazed Acre were springing up on his left, and he hadn't gone far before a confused sound of voices was borne to him on the still air.
"Faster, Jack!" he whispered, as the path swung around a clump of live oaks to come in full sight of the village. "On, my boy!"
Breaking into a trot, the horse and his rider quickly gained the cover of the forest again, where it was difficult to follow the winding course of the path.
But anxious to get away before the inhabitants of Blazed Acre, whom he felt sure would pursue him had they learned he was in the vicinity, he continued to urge Jack onward at a smart trot, until there came a sudden ending to his retreat.