Undoubtedly it was, but all the same the men showed no signs of yielding.

The taller one, called Brad by his companion, deliberately detached one of the lamps from the car.  With this he bent down to examine the road.

“He’ll see the marks of the bag!” whispered Bobolink to Paul.

“Watch him while I scurry along the road a bit, to see if he left it,” was what the man said, and then moved down toward the spot where the five boys lay in hiding.

When he came opposite them they hardly dared to breathe, lest his keen ears catch the sound, and he pounce upon them.

But he went past, scouring the road closely, and looking for some sign of the missing bag.  They saw him pass on, and the light grew dim.  Meanwhile Ted sat down on a log, and seemed to be very dejected and forlorn.  Once or twice when the shorter man was not looking Paul saw him glance around, as though sizing up the chances for a sudden plunge into the forest.

“He’s coming again,” said Bobolink; and the brilliant glow from down the road bore evidence of the truth of this remark which was whispered in Paul’s ear.

Brad walked hastily back, and soon rejoined his companion, with whom he talked earnestly for a minute.

“Get up!” he said, turning to Ted, and giving the boy a kick that made him climb to his feet hurriedly, groaning with pain.

“Bring him along into the woods, Wash!” the tall man continued, turning aside.

“Oh! what are you goin’ to do?” cried Ted, in real or pretended terror, as he caught hold of the man’s coat, and sought to hold him back.

“You’ll find out right soon, son.  Before we’re done with you perhaps you’ll wish you’d told us about that ere bag us the beginning.  We’re just going to make it warm for a feller of your size.  This night air has made you too cold to speak up; but we’ll fix all that, I reckon; we know how to do it, don’t we, Wash?”

“Do we?  Well, I should smile we did.  But they’s no need of our goin’ far, old man.  This here is a right smart tree, and looks like it might answer.  ‘Sides, they seems to be lots o’ loose wood lyin’ ’bout this part!”

Paul felt a chill pass over him.  Could it be possible these rascals meant to torture Ted until he told; or were they just trying to frighten him?  If it came to the worst they just could not stand by and see such a thing done.

Ted, of course, was considerably worked up when he heard what the shorter fellow said.  It was so very plain he could not mistake the meaning.

“Say, mister, you wouldn’t go to hurt a poor feller what never done you no harm, now, would you?  Wish I on’y knowed where I could find a bag; I’d get it for you like hot cakes.  Please don’t smoke me.  I ain’t a ham, mister, an’ I never done you any harm.  Let me go, won’t you?  I’ll never come up here again, sure I won’t.  And I’ll promise to bring you all the bags in our house, mister.”