“Then get two sticks, put a piece of blanket over the head of each, and have it so you can tie it back of their heads.
“I will tie these men in their bunks, when they have been gagged and they will give us no trouble or anxiety.”
“It will kill us,” shouted Rocks.
“Oh, no; you don’t die so easily.”
The two men, bound as they were, sought to resist, but they soon found that they were as children in the hands of the scout, and they were placed in their bunks, made fast there, and the gags put in their mouths so that they could utter no sound.
To test this the scout gave each one a severe pinch, to make them cry out, but a low groan was all that they could utter.
“You see, I discovered some visitors coming, and who I am sure are the pards of these two men coming for them; so we wish no outcries of alarm, for I shall capture them also.”
The two men could hear, if they could not talk, and they writhed and moaned at what they heard.
“You, Black Bill, hide in the pines, rifle in hand, and be ready to drop those men if they attempt to run away.”
“Yes, sah, I’ll do it.”