“I wish I had the rascals here,” he exclaimed, in a voice that made Tom tremble; “I’d teach ’em. Here are hoes, rakes, onions, pumpkins, and—what’s this? My two-horse plow, that I took out to the farm day before yesterday. The young rascals! What is it, Tiger? Look to him, old fellow.”
While the ’squire had been examining the articles in the wagon, Tom was indulging in the hope that he might not be discovered. The dogs had not seen him climb into the tree, but they had sharp noses, and the ’squire’s exclamation had been called forth by the actions of one of the dogs, which ran to the foot of the tree, and growled and barked furiously.
“What’s up there, I say?” continued the ’squire, elevating his lantern, and peering up into the branches. “Ah, I’ve got you, you rascal! Come down from there! Who are you?”
“O, it’s me; don’t you know me, Mr. Thompson?” whined Tom, who saw that he was discovered, and that further concealment was useless.
“No, I don’t know me,” shouted the ’squire, in a most savage tone of voice; “come down from there!”
“Call your dogs off, then!” drawled Tom, “and I’ll come down.”
“Who are you?” demanded the ’squire again, for he did not recognize Tom, hidden as he was among the branches of the tree. “What’s your name?”
“O, now, I’m Tom Newcombe! Don’t you know me, Mr. Thompson?” answered the grand commander in a most pitiful voice.
“Tom Newcombe!” repeated the ’squire, in astonishment. “Why, I am surprised at you, Tom; I always thought you were a good boy, and I never imagined that you would disgrace yourself by stealing a man’s horse and wagon, and—come down from there, you young scoundrel.”
The ’squire was very much astonished when he learned the name of his prisoner; for Tom, although he had often engaged with the Night-hawks in expeditions of this kind, had never before been detected in them; he had been so sly about it, that no one in the village ever thought he had a hand in their affairs. Those who were not very intimately acquainted with Tom, looked upon him as a lazy, do-nothing sort of boy, who could not muster up energy enough to engage in any mischief; and so the ’squire, little dreaming that he had captured the one to whose charge could be laid the most of the mischief done within three miles of the village, was inclined to regard Tom as an innocent boy, who had got himself into trouble by associating with some of the young rogues of the village. For this reason he was disposed to be very easy with him; but when he remembered that Tom had made one of the number of boys who had taken his horse and wagon without his permission, it made him angry again.