"Are you go'n' to take me down to Lyon's place?" asked Buck, looking his captor in the face as they stopped at the side of the vehicle.
"Get in quick, or I may hurt you again!" said Levi impatiently. "You won't get killed by a ball from my shooter, but you may have another wound."
Probably the ruffian preferred shooting to hanging, and the remark of the overseer did not please him. If he had told his whole story, he would have said that he had been unable to sleep on account of the wound in his shoulder, and for that reason he had been up early enough to see Levi drive past his shanty with Squire Truman. The suffering made him angry, stimulated his desire for revenge; and he had tried to put the overseer out of the way.
He pretended to be more afraid of wounds than of death; and with the assistance of Levi he climbed into the wagon, taking his place on the front seat as directed. His captor put the gun he had brought with him into the wagon, and then seated himself beside his prisoner. The spirited horses went off at a lively pace, and Buck immediately complained that the motion increased his pain.
"That wasn't a bad scheme of yours to get possession of Colonel Belthorpe's girls, Buck. You meant to trade them off for the arms, I suppose," said Levi, as he reduced the pace of his horses to a walk; for he desired, if he could, to obtain some information from his prisoner.
"That was just it, Bedford; and if that cub of Lyon's hadn't interfered, we should have had the arms before this time," replied Buck, with both a chuckle and a groan.
"Why didn't you try it on Major Lyon's girls first, for that would have brought the matter nearer home?"
"That's just what we meant to do," replied Buck, with refreshing confidence in his custodian. "That was my plan; but Cap'n Titus was obstinate, and wouldn't hear to me. He ain't much of a cap'n; and I'd had the arms and the rest o' the things if he had left it to me."
"What was your plan, Buck?" asked Levi quietly.
"That's tellin'; we may try it on some other time, if I live long enough. Our folks are fightin' this thing on principle, and we ain't go'n' to see the good old State of Kaintuck turned over to the Abolitionists."