“I’ll keep a mighty close watch on you,” he thought.
“Never saw the snow hang on so long seems like,” Jeb declared, as they started, the two prisoners a few feet to the front.
The morning was clear and cold and the crust hard enough to bear their weight. They made good time and reached the town in time for dinner in spite of the fact that they had to resort to the snow-shoes for the last few miles. They had met no one on the trip and the two prisoners had made no attempt to escape, although Bob felt sure that it was due to their watchfulness that they had not.
Jackman boasted of no police station but did have a lockup and to this building they marched their men. The keeper of the lockup was at home, and after lodging a formal complaint against them and seeing them behind the bars they all went to the hotel for dinner.
To their great satisfaction the boys learned that Sandy, the stage driver, was about to start for The Forks, and they had no trouble in engaging passage. They barely had time to eat and say goodbye to Jeb when Sandy was ready for the start. Although the road was in terrible shape, the ride down was without incident and they arrived in good time for supper.
Greatly to his surprise, Bob had learned from Sandy that they had not as yet succeeded in starting the jam.
“Leastwise they hadn’t when I came up day afore yesterday,” he declared.
“What’s the trouble?” Bob asked.
“I dunno,” Sandy replied. “I heard Sim say as how they’d shot off enough dynamite ter blast out a whole mountain, but they hadn’t budged.”
“It’s very strange,” Bob said, and let the matter drop.