"If not you are pretty lively ghosts," said Grant, in the same vein; then he continued: "That brute Ralph hurried us along the mountain for a while. Then we stopped at a village and compelled some of the poor natives to accompany us. I tell you, Ralph Black must be crazy. None but a lunatic would hope to escape from the law for such an outrage. Fancy him thinking he could take me to a cave in the mountain and keep off the lawful forces of the country."
"It is past belief," remarked Mori. "But tell us, how did you manage to escape?"
"I am coming to that. But hadn't we better leave this neighborhood? Ralph and Patrick are liable to follow me at any moment."
"Where is Willis Round?" quickly asked Nattie, noting the omission of the bookkeeper's name.
Grant smiled.
"We needn't fear anything from him," he said.
"Is he dead?"
"No; he helped me to escape."
"What!"
"It is a fact. Wait; I'll tell you. After we arrived in the vicinity of the caves—which are dreadful places, by the way—Round slipped up to me and began to talk about matters in general. Before he had said many words I saw his object. He was trying to 'hedge,' as they call it in racing parlance."