"'You have made me what I am,' said the robber, 'and I will be revenged in a way you do not think of. I shall not lift a hand against you, but keep an eye on that boy of yours. If I get hold of him, I will make him a second Black Bill.'
"That was all the outlaw said, but it was enough to frighten father more than any physical danger would have done; and, as for myself, I might as well have been sent to the State's prison at once, for I could scarcely have been more closely confined there than I was at home. Several attempts to steal me were frustrated by the vigilance of my father, who, becoming weary at last of living in constant fear of losing me, sold out his claim in the mines, and removing to this wild region, erected the house in which we lived until last night, and began business as a fur-trader. It was there he made the acquaintance of Capt. Porter. No sooner had we become fairly settled in our new home, than Black Bill made his appearance; and, although he has occasionally been off on trapping expeditions, he has spent the most of his time for the last ten years in hanging around the valley, watching his opportunity to capture me. He never succeeded, however, until last night; and, as good luck would have it, he was not destined to keep me long."
"O, I haint done with you yet!" exclaimed the outlaw, who had listened attentively to the story. "You're free now, an' I'm a pris'ner; but it won't be so long. I've got plenty of friends roamin' about among these mountains."
"You have found out by this time that the boy you captured last night was not Adam Brent, haven't you?" said Frank. "Where is he now?"
"Who—that spunky little feller? The last time I seed him the Black Fox was marchin' him off to the woods."
"Who's the Black Fox?"
"I should think you had oughter know him purty well by this time. He's the feller you run that race with. I told him that if he would take good care of that boy, an' not let him get away, I would make him a present of that leetle gray hoss of mine."
"That little gray horse doesn't belong to you, as it happens," said Frank. "He's mine."
"I'd like to see you get him. One of my mates, Jack Bowles, has got him safe."
"Well, if I had my other horse——"