"Yes, but if the boys catch him he may turn on them—and he may—he may have a weapon, Alice."
"Don't be silly, Ruth. Paul and Russ are able to look out for themselves. But how fast that man can run!"
The stranger was indeed making good time across the fields, and Russ and Paul did not seem to be catching up to him very fast. He had had a good start.
The other members of the company had gone in a different direction, and as the chase had started behind the old barn, neither Mr. Pertell nor any of the others could see what was taking place.
"What had we better do?" asked Ruth, with much anxiety.
"I don't see that we can do anything," replied Alice. "We certainly can't join in the pursuit."
"No, but we might tell someone—give an alarm," went on Ruth.
"No," decided Alice, after a moment of thought. "I think Russ and Paul can do better alone. We don't know what that man has done, if anything, and perhaps when the boys catch up to him he may be able to offer a perfectly good explanation. Then, in case we had set others after him, it would not be fair to him. Besides,
