Larry heard and wondered. What papers could the men be referring to? Clearly they had made a mistake, and must have expected to capture some other person.
“I haven’t any valuable papers,” thought the youth.
Then, with a start, he remembered the bunch of copy with which he had started for the Leader office when he was caught. He realized that if it was not soon delivered it would be too late. The thought of this made him half wild, for he did not want to fail in his mission.
He began to struggle to free himself with a strength that, for a moment, took all the power of the men to subdue. Larry kicked with his feet and struck out with his arms. He tried to get rid of the gag to call for help, but it was too tightly fastened on.
For a few minutes there was a lively time in the carriage, but the driver did not appear to notice it, for he kept his horses going. At length the men succeeded in getting hold of Larry’s arms and legs and holding them firmly.
“Shall I tie him?” asked the shorter of the two men.
“No, we’re almost there now,” was the answer from the other. “We can easily hold him until then.”
“He certainly put up a good fight,” was the other’s comment. “I never saw such a lad. I hope he doesn’t make another row.”
“We’ll fix him if he does,” said the tall man.
Larry was exhausted from his efforts. He saw that it would be of no use to fight the two men, and so he resolved to remain quiet until he found a better chance of escaping. At the same time he could not help wondering what in the world it was all about, and why any men should want him. He was also much alarmed over his failure to get back to the office with the copy, but he did not see how he could help himself.