ain't it?" Sam cried, angrily. "I s'pose you'd laugh if I'd been killed in your old tent!"
This savage remark appeared to excite the man's mirth rather than check it, and while he was thus enjoying himself Teddy and Dan stood gazing at him in surprise.
It was several minutes before the man could speak, and then he said, as he pointed to the goat who stood a short distance away calmly munching some potato parings:
"That's the fellow who has been beating your friend with a club. I always let him loose at night, and he has walked over our dying boy."
Sam insisted that he had been beaten with a club; but on examining his clothing two spots of fresh earth were found, showing where the animal had stepped. A hoof-print on the sleeve and another directly on the breast of his coat comprised the full amount of damage done.
The boy who had believed himself so dangerously wounded now grew angry, and, leaping to his feet, declared he would not remain in the tent another minute unless the goat was tied.
"There's nothing to prevent your bunking somewhere else," the owner of the animal replied, quite sharply.
"Billy always has had the liberty of the tent at night, and I reckon he won't lose it now."
Sam started toward the entrance; but before reaching it he realized that he would be punishing no one but himself, and slowly turned back, saying as he approached the stove:
"It's too late to hunt for lodgings now, an' I s'pose I'll have to make the best of it."
"I guess you will," the host replied, quietly, and the angry Sam lay down on the seat of the baggage wagon, to insure himself against another visit from "Billy."
This incident had driven the desire for sleep from the eyelids of Teddy and Dan, and they remained awake some time after the loud breathing of their companions told that the visit from the goat had been temporarily effaced from their minds.
Now Teddy discovered what a hard, uncomfortable bed the bare earth was, and after tossing about for half an hour, he whispered to Dan:
"Do you suppose it would be any better in the wagon?"
"No; you'll get used to it in a little while, and the ground is softer than a board."
Teddy was about to reply when the sound of voices from the outside attracted his attention, and then came the crackle as of a match being lighted.
Two or more men had halted near the canvas within a few feet of where the boys were lying, evidently that they might be sheltered from the wind while getting their pipes or cigars in working order.
A moment later both the listeners heard one of the newcomers say:
"I don't think it will be safe for you to show up very much while we stay here."
"Why not? If them boys recognize me it will be an easy matter to frighten 'em into holdin' their tongues, and there's goin' to be good pickin's this week."
"But what's the use of runnin' any risk? We've made a fairly good haul already, an' it's better to get safe off with that than stick our noses where it'll be hard work to pull them back."
Teddy was in the highest possible excitement. In the tone of the second speaker's voice he recognized the man who had stolen his money, and he punched Dan with his elbow to assure himself that the latter was listening.
"Keep quiet," Dan whispered, and then the conversation on the outside was continued.
"I'll take good care to keep shady, an' you see what can be done to-morrow."
"Will you promise not to leave the house till after dark?"
"I thought you had more nerve; but so long as you haven't I reckon I'll promise, for this is bound to be a fat thing, and I don't want to lose the whole of it.
"When these country jays begin to send their stuff home I'll have ours shipped, an' there's little danger it'll be overhauled, more especially since the old man couldn't get a warrant for the only one he suspects. It's a safe bet that Hazelton has a pretty good idea who did the job, an' if they make trouble for him he'll most likely tell what he thinks."
"There's no call to be afraid of him after he has worked a couple of days, for those he ropes in would do all they could to have him arrested."
The last portion of this remark was almost indistinguishable, owing to the fact that the men were walking away, and when the sound of their footsteps could no longer be heard Teddy said:
"Those are the men who robbed Uncle Nathan's store, an' I'm certain one of them got my money."
"Would you know their voices if you heard them again?"
"Sure; but why don't we find out where they are going? It wouldn't be a hard job."
"Are you willin' to sneak after them?"
"Of course I am. Come on!"
The boys arose softly and crept through the flap of the tent without awakening the sleepers.
The night was dark and cloudy, and it was impossible to see any very great distance in either direction; but Dan had taken especial heed to the course taken by the men, and he started off without hesitation.
"We ought to have a club or something to protect ourselves in case they should see us," Teddy whispered.
"We won't get near enough to let them do much mischief. Do you see two sparks over there? They are the lighted ends of cigars, an' our men are behind them."
Dan quickened his pace; but he had failed to calculate the distance correctly, and was much nearer the game than he had suspected.
"Be careful they don't see us," he said, in a low tone, and in another instant the boys were directly in front of the men.
Teddy started back in alarm; but he was too late. In an instant the sparks flashed before his eyes, and he fell to the ground unconscious just as Dan succeeded in warding off the blow of a fist which was aimed at him.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CLERK
When Teddy recovered from the vicious blow which had rendered him unconscious he saw Dan lying on the ground beside him, but no one else was near.
It was as if they had been fighting with phantoms of the brain, save for the fact that both bore the most indisputable signs of having been assaulted by beings of true flesh and blood.
One of Dan's eyes was closed as if by a violent blow, and Teddy bled freely from the ear, the crimson fluid telling eloquently of the exact location of that superior force which had caused so many stars to dance before his mental vision.
"We got through with that part of it mighty quick," Dan said, ruefully, as he rose to his feet. "There wasn't anything slow about the way they struck out after we made fools of ourselves by running into them, eh?"
"I don't understand how it all happened. It wasn't more than three seconds from the time I first saw them before there was a regular set of fireworks dancing in front of my eyes."
"It so happens that they saw us first," Dan replied, as he rubbed his head. "Those men were the thieves, and what I said showed them that we were on the
