"I did not. Let Mark put his handkerchief over his mouth and speak to you, and see if you can recognize his voice."
"But haven't you an idea who they were?"
"You know as much about them as I do," answered Marcy; and he knew by the expression of astonishment that came upon Tom's face that he had hit the nail squarely on the head.
"How do you explain the burning of those two houses?" inquired Mark.
"In the same way that I explain the raid that was made upon our house.
The men who were responsible for one were responsible for the other."
"You don't mean to say that the robbers did it!" exclaimed Tom.
"I mean to say that they were the cause of it. If you won't ride with me
I shall have to say good-by."
"What do you think now?" asked Tom, as he and Mark stood watching
Marcy's filly spatter the mud along the road.
"I hate to say what I think," was Mark's reply. "I'm sorry to say it, but it is a fact that that villain holds every dollar's worth of property in this county between his thumb and finger."
"Well, he shall not hold it there forty-eight hours longer," said
Allison savagely.