Apparently that was what they had done, for the detective neither heard nor saw them.
He could only guess whether they believed that their shots had done their work.
While he was waiting, the moon rose, and, as the sky was perfectly clear, the landscape became almost as light as day.
Nick at last got up cautiously and went to his horse.
The animal had fallen at the side of the road, and so was out of the way of any one passing.
Nick took off the saddle and bridle and hid them in the bushes near by.
“I’ll pay for the horse,” he thought, “but there’s no sense in giving the saddle to the first thief who comes along.”
He went back to the spot from which the shots had been fired, and lit up the place with his pocket lantern.
If the scoundrels had accidentally dropped anything that could serve as a clew, the detective would have found it, but he could find nothing.
He saw traces of footprints on the grass and leaves, but they were too faint to be measured.