TOM'S STRATEGY 



ness of our pursuit and our anxiety to recapture 

 him — we returned to our tent to chuckle over the 

 success of Tom's strategy. 



"'Tain't Hkely," observed Tom, "that he'll fool 

 away time hanging around here to try to get his 

 horse. He's scared bad, for sure, an' no doubt 

 b'lieves every word of that yarn I got off about the 

 company of cavalry; but, to be on the safe side. 

 Jack, you'd best bring the black horse up here an' 

 tie him to the wagon wheel that his former master 

 jest vacated, an' then turn Found loose, an' I'll 

 guarantee no prowler'll come nigh our camp with- 

 out our gettin' due notice of it." 



'*Holy smoke," exclaimed Jack, still comment- 

 ing on the jayhawker's escape, "didn't he run! 

 When I run 'round the wagon after him I could 

 have shot him easy, ef I'd wanted to, fer he lost 

 so much ground a-zigzaggin' as he run, to keep me 

 from hittin' him when I shot, that he hadn't got 

 very far ahead of me. But after I let off both bar- 

 rels of the shotgun he struck a bee-line fer the 

 timber, only hitting the ground in high places. 

 He'll lose no time in getting back to his camp an' 

 rousing up his men an' telling 'em about the com- 

 pany of cavalry that's comin' after midnight to sur- 

 round their camp an' hang or shoot every moth- 

 er's son of 'em. What a time the half-drunken 

 robbers'll have a-saddling up in the dark an' get- 

 in' away from there in a hurry. They'll put as 

 many miles as they can between them an' their ol' 



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