"No; I calc'late as how I didn't. Why?"
"Oh, ginger! We just wanted to know."
"That's what most people asks questions fur; an' allus they wants sumphin fur nothin'. Whar d'ye come from, hey?"
"From the place we last stopped," laughed Jack. He fished out a dime from his pocket. "Would you mind accepting this?"
"Never declined nothin' in me life; an' I ain't young nuff ter begin now," grumbled the old chap, extending his hand. "Thank'ee. Ask Luke Jarrett over thar. Everybody looks alike to me ten feet away."
Luke Jarrett admitted having watched a brown-bearded man wearing glasses until he disappeared down the road. "An' he was a-walkin' like all creation," he confided.
"In the direction o' Wild Oak?" asked Jack, eagerly.
"Ye hit it right. No, I didn't hear 'im ask no questions o' nobody; he jest lit out."
"Which means," said Bob, "that we'll have to light out, too. How far is it—about five miles, eh?"
Dave groaned, while Jack protested vigorously.