"Will your father let you?" asked the farmer.
"Oh, yes; he won't mind."
"Then you may go," was the reply. "Do you want to go, too, Tony?"
Tony was about to say yes, when an idea seized him.
"If the other boy goes, Rudolph will think it is I, and he will follow the wagon. That will give me a chance of getting off in another direction."
"So it will," said Abner. "What a head-piece you've got," he added, admiringly. "I wouldn't have thought of that."
Abner's head-piece was nothing to boast of. He had strength of body, but to equalize matters his mind was not equally endowed.
The plan was disclosed to Joe, who willingly agreed to enter into it. This was the more feasible because he was of about Tony's size, and wore a hat just like his.
The hay was loaded, and the wagon started off with Abner walking alongside. Joe was perched on top, nearly buried in the hay, but with his hat rising from the mass. This was about all that could be seen of him.