The men in the settlement had spent a week in searching for this same robber and trying to recover General Mason’s money, and their efforts had amounted to nothing; but we had accomplished the work, and we had not been more than three hours in doing it, either.
The eight thousand dollars were safe, the thief was bound and helpless before us, and Black Bess was once more in my undisputed possession. I thought we had good reason to rejoice.
“I say, Mr. Redman!” exclaimed Herbert, who was the first to recover his breath, “you wouldn’t mind telling us how you managed to steal this money, and to get away with it without being discovered, would you?”
“I didn’t steal it!” growled Luke, in reply. “Mebbe you won’t b’lieve it,” he added, seeing that we smiled derisively, “but I can prove it.”
“Well, you stole Black Bess, didn’t you?”
“If I did, you’ve got her ag’in, an’ had oughter be satisfied.”
“Perhaps you know who set fire to our cotton-gin?” I observed.
“P’raps I do, an’ p’raps I don’t. But I’ll tell you one thing: You had better turn me loose, or it’ll be wuss for you!”
“Tell us another thing while you are about it,” said Mark. “How did you get out of that tree the other day? Did you jump into the water and swim over the falls, as I did?”
“I reckon that’s my own business, ain’t it?”