Both steeds were well trained.
Siroc cleared a hedge and wheeling to the right went flying back in the direction he came from, while Jim Malone went thundering in among some rocks and vanished.
Both bandits imagined they had a narrow escape from death, although the fact was they had been in no danger at all of being shot from their horses.
Our friends burst out laughing.
"Badly scared," said Jack.
"Oh, Lord, wot cowards!" Tim chuckled.
"Ain"t they likely to return to the James Boys?" asked the sheriff.
"Dot vas more as likely," agreed Fritz. "If dem vas der Chames Poys"
horses vunct, dey vill back by deir owners go, don"t it?"
Jack peered around.
At some distance off to the south was a forest.
He caught view of both horses plunging into it.
"That settles our pursuit of them!" he exclaimed, in disgust. "We can"t follow them among those trees, and as they seem to realize it, they"ve taken advantage of the timberland."
"We might keep a watch upon the woods anyway," suggested Timberlake.
"They are bound to come out somewhere sooner or later. If we can get upon their track we may yet force them to lead us to the bandits"
rendezvous."
"It won"t hurt to follow the plan," a.s.sented Jack; "for we haven"t the remotest idea where to look for the villains."
He thereupon steered the Terror toward the trees, and as Fritz was a good cook and had charge of the culinary arrangements, he set about getting their supper ready.
It was a waste of time to guard the forest.
Several days pa.s.sed by and nothing was seen of the two men.
They had gone straight through the timberland at a gallop, and emerging on the other side, rode rapidly away.
Jack and his friends had therefore been watching and hunting for a mere phantom, as it were.
The young inventor quickly arrived at this conclusion, and on the evening of the third day he said to Tim:
"It"s my opinion that there isn"t anyone at all in the woods, and I"m going to give up the watch and move on."
"Ay, ay, that"s ther bes" plan. I quite agree wi" yer, lad."
"Those fellows would not be foolish enough to remain in that forest all this time for nothing."
"If they wuz thar, I"m mighty sure as we"d a sighted somethin" o" them long afore this, my hearty. I recollect when I wuz in ther navy how I wuz once fooled this way. Yer see we"d been chasin" one o" ther enemy"s ships, an" drove her into a lagoon. Thar we pounded her with our guns, an" ther crew desarted her, an" went ash.o.r.e. We sunk ther ship, an"
mannin" ther boats, we pulled ash.o.r.e arter ther crew. We found ther sh.o.r.e lined with cliffs a thousand feet high. Thar wus no coast, that water beatin" up again ther base o" ther cliffs on all but ther seaward side o" ther lagoon. There wuz one indentation in the cliffs, covered wi" trees an" bushes, inter which ther hull crew went an" hid.
Waal, sir, we landed thar, an" beat about lookin" fer "em. Thar wuzn"t no possible way fer "em ter git away unseen, with ther water in front, them high cliffs surroundin" "em on three sides, an" only a small plot o" ground filled wi" trees an" bushes fer "em to hide in. So yer see we wuz sure o" catchin" "em. Yet, when we"d sarched ther hull place not a sign o" them wuz ter be found! They"d wanished as complete as if ther arth had swallered "em up. Now wuzn"t that a worry mysterious perceedin"?"
As Tim asked this, he refreshed himself with a chew of tobacco.
Jack did not reply.
He had his glance fixed upon the woods.
Taking it for granted that he had aroused the curiosity of the young inventor to fever heat, Tim continued:
"Waal, sir, everybody wuz puzzled cept me. Wot had become o" them lubbers wasn"t werry plain. Howsome ever, when they gave up huntin" I made up my mind as I"d locate ther fugitives. Goin" over ter ther cliff I examined ther face of it, an" found a trap door. Openin" it, I entered a cave. Thar they was, armed wi" rifles, pistols, cutla.s.ses and knives, an" ten o" them sprung ter thar door astarn o" me ter cut off my retreat while ther rest aimed thar weapings at me. Did I run? No, sir. Wot did I do? Stood. Wot happened then? Pointin" my finger at "em I ses, surrender yer swabs, or I"ll blow yer brains out! All o" them wuz so skeerd o" my threat they begged fer mercy. An" ther joke of it wuz, I didn"t hev no pistol neither. It wuz so dark in ther cave yer couldn"t see ther smellin" tackle on yer figger head, an in that gloom they mistook my finger fer a gun. Waal, sir, in less"n two minutes I made prisoners o" ther fifty men, an" marched them out ter my messmates in triumph. Now how wuz that fer a bloodless wictory?"
And with a triumphant grin Tim turned to Jack.
The young inventor made no answer.
"He must be struck dumb with astonishment!" thought Tim.
Then he seized Jack by the arm and shook him.
"Say, my lad, how wuz that fer a wictory?" he asked.
"What victory?" asked Jack, rousing from a deep reverie.
"That one I jist told yer about, o" course."
"Did you tell us about something?"
"Of course I did. Didn"t yer like ther yarn?"
"I didn"t hear a word of it. I"ve been thinking."
Tim groaned.
Jack"s answer crushed him.
"Oh, gee!" he gasped. "I"ve been a-talkin" ter myself!"
Jack burst out laughing at him, when he realized into what a ridiculous position Tim had placed himself.
Unable to bear it, the old sailor retreated into the stage.
Jack then turned the Terror away from the forest, and sent her flying across the rolling country.
He had come to the conclusion to make inquiries at the nearest town for information about where the James Boys had last been seen terrorizing the community.
It was his hope to thus get on their trail.