Further words were cut short by a blow on the head from a small bag of shot, and Leonard Lester sank back on the seat of the buggy unconscious. For it was he. He had started to return from his fishing excursion at Rocky Beach past midnight, and had arrived in Dalton just in time to fall in with the villain who was in pursuit of Carlos, and to be mistaken for his cousin.
When he first noticed the horseman approaching, he thought it rather strange that he should be out at such an hour, and, of course, did not suspect his object. And when he accosted him, and leaped into the buggy, and made the strange demand for that “piece of paper,” of course Leonard was bewildered. He dared not struggle violently, for the ruffian had him in such a manner that he could, by a contraction of his powerful arm, have easily broken or dislocated his neck. Consequently he was powerless to resist.
On the other hand, the murderer of Colonel Conrad did not dare risk a prolonged struggle in the public street, even at that late hour, to obtain the fragment of paper he so coveted. There was too much danger of making a noise and rousing the dwellers in the neighborhood.
So he adopted the expedient of rendering Leonard insensible for the time being.
By this time the rain-storm had come up. The thunder began to roar and the lightning flashed through the sky.
The ruffian bound Leonard’s hands, and then, lifting him up and placing him astride of his horse, he joined his feet by a cord, drawing it firmly and tying it securely. All this was effected with much trouble, as Leonard was helpless, and was by no means a light weight to handle.
His captor mounted behind him, and, placing his arms around him, held him in position, at the same time grasping the bridle with his hands.
“Now get up, Bill,” he said, “and take us home in short order.”
And he brought his heels violently against the sides of his horse. The animal sprang forward with a snort, and dashed through the streets of the town, amid the driving rain and deafening thunder. The horse and buggy used by Leonard were left behind to take care of themselves as best they might.
On drove the strange couple, one bewildered and confounded by his situation, and the other destined to be scarcely less so, for what would be his emotions on discovering that his prisoner was not the man he had pursued from the grounds of Colonel Conrad?