Mr. Kimball had brought his horses to a dead stop. Indeed, the beasts were glad to breathe, although they were far from exhaustion. No better pair of colts, as Mr. Kimball said, were to be found in the county.
“I don’t hear that engine now,” cried Mr. Parker. “Have they stopped?”
He called again, then waited for an answer. The snow seemed to have smothered the sounds. Again Mildred and Lettie shrieked the names of Dan and Billy. They had every confidence in the boys being able to help them if they only heard.
There was another answer—this time nearer. “Got ’em!” cried the delighted Mr. Parker.
“I don’t just see how they are going to help us,” grumbled Mr. Kimball.
“Dan will find a way,” asserted Mildred, now the most hopeful of the quartette.
The next moment a figure appeared in the swirling snow. But it was not Dan or Billy. It was much too tall for either.
“Hullo, there!” exclaimed the stranger, in a very hoarse voice. “What’s the matter here?”
A second figure appeared before either Mr. Parker or the sheriff could answer. The second man said, quite as roughly as the first:
“Gals, by thunder! And a fine pair o’ horses, Tom.”