In the sudden
darkness that followed the negro escaped into the bush, through which
he moved with a tread as noiseless as the rabbit. From the road he
could hear the curses of the outwitted highwaymen.
'I will follow this black imp,' the Captain said. 'Get this beast
off the road,' indicating the dying horse; 'then go home. You can set
bones, Sykes?'
'Yes, God has so blessed me,' returned the pious Mr. Jonas.
'Then attend to his arm at once upon your arrival.' The Lifter was
exceedingly pale from the pain of his wound and from the loss of
blood. He seemed to have no heart in the affair before the rencontre;
and noticing this the Captain wondered much. And if anybody had been
watching the face of the wounded highwayman when the negro escaped,
he would have seen his eye lighten with satisfaction. The Lifter was
in very truth a changed man. So much for the influence of one who
is good, zealous and strong of purpose!
Like a sleuth hound the Captain set out along the road which he
believed the negro would soon take; and we leave him in pursuit,
while we go back to the lair, where the life of our hero stands in
grave jeopardy.
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