And on the whole it was extremely fortunate for the Trio that Eli Gouger was far from being a regularly constituted officer of the law. It certainly would have been an immense relief to the inner consciences of Perth and Pickton had they known this. Perhaps it was because Soapy was too positively stupid to comprehend the situation fully that, except for the ridiculous part he had played in the affair, he would have considered the escape from the barn as a particularly bright and clever piece of work.
As nearly as the three boys could learn, they were within fifty miles of Queensville when lights began appearing in the windows of the few houses they passed, as twilight overtook them.
"Got to find beds sooner or later and why not in the first good camping place?" Pickton suggested. "Cost less here than in town, even if we reached there all right."
"Yes! See if you can't find a bloomin', thorny hedge and both of you jump into it," came from Gaines, explosively.
"'And when he saw his eyes were out, with all his might and main
He jumped into the bramble bush and scratched 'em in again,'"
quoted Pickton with a laugh. For an hour he had been trying in vain to rally Soapy into a better humor. But that young gentleman making no response to this pleasant sally, Tom turned to Fred, on the rumble seat, saying: "You try to get some eggs and ham and bread, or whatever you can at the next house we come to and we'll go into camp right off. Blamed pity, though, we didn't make Queensville."
"Blamed pity we didn't get bacon and dried beef—any old thing—at that last cross-roads store, as I wanted to," was the answer. "I don't relish walking into strange yards and nobody knows how many dogs ready to take your leg off, any better than you do. And after dark, too!"
Nevertheless Fred did consent to try for provisions at the next dwelling and succeeded in buying a loaf of heavy, dark bread, a chunk of salt pork and a two-quart measure of potatoes. Moreover, the man of the house, a great, swarthy, black-bearded fellow, returned with him, volunteering to show the way to a suitable camping place.
Pickton was far from favorably impressed by the looks of the man or with his deep, gruff voice. Gaines was plainly frightened. However, Fred seemed to have become quite well acquainted with the stranger at once and the two talked and walked together, as the man led the way forward.
Pickton drove up slowly, behind, and in a little while crossed a small bridge spanning what appeared to be a nearly dry water course. But just beyond this the party was conducted over another bridge, a small affair of light timbers, erected over the wide, deep gutter at the roadside. The heavy car caused the flimsy structure to sag threateningly, and remembering the predicament following Mr. Gouger's leadership, Pick liked less and less the piloting of the black-bearded stranger.