"Still, I cannot run any risk. You will have to come with me."
"Where do you want to carry me?" asked Ernest, much disturbed.
"I will carry you back to the cave."
"Let me go free. I will promise not to reveal anything that I have discovered."
The outlaw shook his head.
"I am sorry, boy, but that is a request I cannot grant. You were made prisoner by my brother, and I owe it to him to prevent your escape."
It was intolerable to Ernest to think of having his captivity renewed. He determined that he would at least make an effort for free dom.
Accordingly he did not hesitate, but started to run, hoping that in this way he might save himself. He had always the reputation among his boy companions as a sprinter, and resolved to see whether this was a lost art with him.
"So that's your game, is it?" exclaimed the outlaw. "It will go hard with me if I don't catch you. Stop, or it will be the worse for you!"
But Ernest had no intention of giving up so soon. He only exerted himself the more.