It was evident that the two had some business to discuss which they did not care to speak of in the house, where the other members of the family could hear them, for they walked directly toward the shed on which the boy was lying, and, fortunately for his purpose, sat down on a log almost directly beneath him.
"It is all arranged," Barker was saying. "The fool actors kicked at first about working for nothing, as they called it; but we soon brought them to terms."
"When are you going to start?"
"Day after to-morrow."
"Why do you wait?"
"I think we had better find out first what the officers did after we left, and a few hours can't make much difference, for I'll get rid of plenty of the queer to keep us going before we've been out a day."
"I'm not certain that it is best for you to do this thing, Jabe. A minstrel show can be tracked a dozen times where one man could give the officers the slip without trouble."
"I'm not intending to shove so much that there'll be any fuss. Just enough to put us in funds so we can skip if things begin to look black. We wouldn't be in this shape if my advice had been taken; I always insisted that there was no reason why Joe should carry all the cash."
"He's a slick one, Joe is, and could get out of a tight place where you or I would be pulled."
"Well, with all his smartness he's cornered this time."