"Yes, we have," answered the young man. "And I can tell you all about him."
The wagon came to a full stop now, and the officer stepped down from the seat at front, while simultaneously, two other officers dropped from the step at the back, so that our friends suddenly became surrounded by bluecoats.
"There," said Tavia aside to Dorothy. "You are not afraid now, are you? We have enough of protection at last."
"Which way did he go?" asked the officer.
"Straight for Danvers," answered Nat, "and in my brother's custody. We had to go to a shop to get a piece of the machine fixed and left these two young ladies alone here. When we returned the fellow was in our auto—he had taken possession of it, and refused to give it up. We did everything to induce him, but he absolutely refused to leave, and demanded a ride, so, recognizing him from the description as the fellow who had escaped from Danvers, my brother decided there was nothing to do but give him a ride back to the jail."
"Well, he's a plucky lad, I must say," declared the officer spokesman. "That fellow is dangerous, he was just about to be committed to the asylum. He's a lunatic, and should never have been in jail—"
"Oh," cried Dorothy. "If he should turn on Ned—"
"Not the least danger as long as the lad humors him," said the officer.
"We saw that," said Nat, "and my brother knows how to manage him, I guess."
"And you are stalled now, can't get home until the machine comes back?" asked one of the blue-coats, looking at Dorothy's pale face.