"Well, I——-"
"What did the men want to know about?" pressed Tom, the look in his eyes growing sterner still.
"They wanted to know how many men Jim Ferrers had," admitted the
Drew boy.
"Oh, I see," pondered Tom aloud, a half smile creeping into his face. "They were guessing the size of Ferrers's army, were they?"
"I—-I guess so," Alf replied.
"And you told them——-?"
"I told 'em the camp was made up of you and Mr. Hazelton, Jim
Ferrers and myself."
"And then they gave you the tobacco for cigarettes, did they?"
"I made 'em gimme that first," Alf retorted, a look of cunning in his eyes.
"So, my bright little hero, you sold us out for a toy bale of cigarettes, did you?" demanded Tom Reade, staring coldly down at the shame-faced youngster.