"I have."
"Why not throw him in an' run the chances? It's too bad to lose what cost half a dollar."
"There's time enough to fix that after we've got him to the shaft."
"Hold your tongues, or somebody will hear us!" Skip whispered, angrily, as his companions thus discussed the preliminaries.
Then came a long time of silence broken by the footsteps of the party, or the loud breathing of those who were carrying the burden.
Several times Fred tried to give an alarm; but his mouth was held so firmly that not a sound could escape his lips, and after a while he contented himself with simply trying to form some idea of the direction in which he was being taken.
When the party had carried him for ten or fifteen minutes a halt was made, and then his captors took the precaution of enveloping his head in a coat, which shut out every sound, save the loudly uttered remarks of the regulators.
He heard Skip berating one of the party, because some reference was made to their destination, and then ensued a noisy discussion as to what should be done with him.
"If he don't turn up to-morrer mornin' old Donovan will swear we took him off, an' there'll be a heap of trouble for all hands," one of the boys suggested.
"What of that? Nobody can say we did it, an' after he's had one night of it, I reckon he'll be willin' to do as we say."