“Nance,” he spoke in a husky voice, “what does it mean, you being here?”
“Oh, Jared, the MacGuffins!” she wailed. “They have burned us out! If it wasn’t for these two brave boys, we might all have been killed! They hid us and helped me get here with the children.”
“You did this?” spoke the man in a choked-up tone, turning to the young aviator. “And that fellow is your friend?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Set him free,” ordered the man with a wave of his hand towards Mr. King. “As to you, young man, you’ve made some friends, let me tell you.”
Dave and Hiram hurried eagerly to the spot where two of the band began immediately to liberate Mr. King, who had looked worn and worried. A glad smile of relief now covered his face.
“You came just in the nick of time,” he told his two young friends.
“It looks so,” said Hiram, seriously.
“There’s a bad nest of them,” cautioned the airman. “I never met such stubborn, unreasonable beings. They seem to have two objects in life—to fight each other and dodge revenue officers.”
“Regular outlaws, aren’t they?” queried Hiram.