“But we ought to be somewhere among the bushes by that time, hadn’t we?” suggested Amos, uneasily.
“I have a better plan than that,” he was informed. “By now the man who fired the fuse is out of sight. I imagine he has drawn in his horse, and is waiting to hear the explosion. Amos, get outside where you can skip along when I come rushing out in a big hurry.”
“Are you meaning to put a match to the fuse again?” asked Amos.
“Yes, there is no danger of it’s going off before we get away; but don’t stop to argue about it, please. It’s the best thing we can do.”
Accordingly Amos bustled off, and as soon as he had left the interior of the old windmill structure, Jack scratched a match. He joined his chum a few seconds later.
“Now streak it like fun!” he exclaimed, and the pair started off as fast as they could run.
Jack had figured it all out, and made certain that they were headed in the right direction. He did not fancy running slap up against that trooper returning to see why the bomb failed to explode.
Having used up about all the time he had figured on, Jack suddenly drew his companion down to the ground.
“We’re safe enough here,” he gasped. “Now watch and see what happens!”
He had hardly spoken when there came a tremendous shock, such as both of them had felt when a violent burst of thunder followed close on the heels of a flash of lightning during an electrical storm.