Bob started his horses at full speed, and George was satisfied that there would be no necessity of urging him to drive faster, for he held his steeds well in hand, requiring of them the best possible gait.
"They have got quite a start of us," Bob said, after they had been on the road a few moments, and while Ralph was regretting the absence of a comb, which would enable him to feel so much more comfortable, "but I do not think your horses have had any grain since they stole them, and if that is so, I don't think we shall have any trouble in overtaking them within an hour."
Perhaps, if Bob had spoken exactly as he thought, he would have insisted that his horses were so much faster, that the twenty minutes' advantage which the thieves had could be more than compensated for in speed; but just then he refrained from saying anything which might make his troubled friend feel uncomfortable or disagreeable.
"Did you see the place where they slept last night?" Ralph asked of George, for as yet he had not told them of what he had seen when he ran through the woods.
"Yes; I came right upon it when I first left you. They had made a sort of hut of boughs near a clearing, in which I should judge the horses had been feeding. The instant I saw the camp, and so near ours that a stone could have been thrown from one to the other, I thought it had been made by the thieves, and I ran at full speed for the road, following a trail that looked as if a carriage had but just passed that way. I got out of the woods just as they turned the bend in the road, and simply had the satisfaction of seeing my team driven away at a gallop, when, if I had done what almost any child would have thought of doing, it would have been in my possession."
"Could you see the men?"
"No; the top of the carriage was up, and I could see no one. They were probably looking out through the window and saw me, for if they stayed so near us since we stopped last night, they must know who we are, and will try to escape, even if they kill the horses."
"I'm not so sure that they could have known who we were," said Bob, "for I have been trying to think if we said anything about the team, or what we were there for, and I do not believe we did."
If the men whom they were pursuing did not know that this party who had encamped so near them were the ones in search of the team, it would be a great point in favor of our boys, for the others would not be likely to push their horses so hard. Therefore, each one tried to recall the conversation, and the result of this thought relieved George's mind somewhat, for no one could remember that a thing had been said which might betray their errand.
The road over which they were traveling was a good one, and the horses were urged along by Bob at a lively rate, save on ascending ground, when they were allowed to choose their own pace, in order that they might not become "blown."