CHAPTER IX
THE PURSUIT
Just as Mr. Campbell and the boys reached the front of the shack in which they had spent the night, they saw, stopping in the road a short distance away, an automobile of the flivver type—old, ramshackle, rusty and covered with mud.
From this battered car leaped several men, each one bearing a gun, and it took no more than a second glance to reveal to Rick and the others that these were not Martin, Elkton and Shadd, the self-styled “lumbermen.”
Ruddy stopped, stiffened into attention and began to growl in a menacing manner.
“Quiet, Ruddy,” sharply ordered his master and the dog obeyed.
The men ran forward, with guns held in readiness, but before they could shoot, if, indeed, such was their intention, and before anything could be said, another car followed the first and stopped suddenly.
From this second car leaped three men who seemed anxious to overtake the first party, numbering five, who were advancing on Mr. Campbell and the boys.
“Now we’ve got you!” cried the leader of the first party, as he began lowering his gun in readiness for action. “Up with your hands!”
“Why, what in the world—” began Mr. Campbell. He said afterward he thought it was all a joke, and Rick was beginning to wonder if this had anything to do with the mystery of Uncle Tod, when the second party of three men overtook the first five, and the evident leader of this trio shouted:
“Wait a minute, Bert! You’re making a mistake!”