CHAPTER XII.
TURNING THE TABLES.
This was what happened!
Oscar had for the time being ceased to remember his bruised leg, and even his grunts had temporarily stopped, which would apparently indicate that after all his injuries were not so serious as he had made out.
He was now industriously engaged in ridding his garments of some of the dust which they had accumulated at the time he and Josh rolled over in the road. To the surprise of Rod he even took out his handkerchief, and used this to wipe the sleeves of his coat.
Just then Rod, out of the tail of his eye, noticed the fellow give a quick glance toward Josh and Hanky Panky, both of whom were bending over the former’s machine, anxiously examining to ascertain if it had really been much damaged.
Instinctively Rod made out to be industriously looking at something of interest in the near distance. He even shaded his eyes with one hand, though at the same time he could manage to see Oscar.
It paid him well in the bargain, for he noticed that while dusting his coat as a dandy detesting all manner of dirt might, the said Oscar also flirted that white handkerchief in a strange manner.
Then it suddenly dawned upon Rod that the fellow was actually making some sort of signal to an unknown party further off. He used his eyes to advantage, for he immediately caught what seemed to be an answering wave from a patch of trees possibly three hundred yards away, and along the side of the rise!
This complicated matters exceedingly. Oscar, then, was a fraud of the first water. His story must be a tissue of lies from beginning to end. Perhaps even his name had been assumed for a purpose, which was to entrap the three American boys.