"Nothing the matter with me. I never felt better, although that was a pretty cold bath I took—and now about Hickory."
"Well, Owen, if you must know it," said Martin, in a broken voice, "the old fellow is dead—stiff—shot through the head."
Owen did not answer, but fell back in the bed and wept bitterly.
When he returned home two days later, what was his surprise to find old Hickory eating away contentedly in his stall. It was the horse wounded by Owen that Martin had seen lying in the road, and in the dark had mistaken for Hickory. As it was impossible for the animal to recover, the owner had shot it through the head.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE TINKER DISTURBS THE INMATES OF THE CAVE.
It was after midnight when Tom the Tinker reached the cave.
"Have you heard the news?" he inquired of Stayford, who seemed to be the only occupant of the dingy abode.
"News! What news?" growled Stayford. "We hear nothing in this hole. Jerry and myself spend our whole time working for you. I am tired of it, Tom, and it's got to stop. That's the news I've for you!"