One thing alone worried Dolph.
Would little Sallie be suspected of having assisted the woods boy make his escape; and if so, would her brutal father treat her as he was accustomed to serving those bold enough to cross his will?
It was a galling thought, and made the lad grit his teeth because of his utter inability to alter the complexion of things.
So the three boys began to move along the creek bed, intending to leave it at a point further on, and take to the shelter of the woods.
The first thing Teddy did, however, was to exchange guns with Amos; and the very touch of his recovered favorite seemed to send a thrill of pleasure through the whole system of the lumberman’s son.
With that gun in his possession Teddy felt doubly armed, and ready to defy the forces of villainy that could be arrayed against him.
They had gone only a short distance, after creeping out of the gully, when a sound came to their ears that caused each of them to stop instantly in his tracks, and listen eagerly.
There could be no mistaking the nature of the eruption, for it was the roaring voice of Big Gabe, calling upon his companions to get up and see what a trick had been played upon them while they slept.
Immediately the three lads sought places of observation, and the same thought seemed to flash through the mind of each—what was about to happen to Sallie?