had him stretched on the
ground, the Dominie holding him tightly with one hand on his throat and
the other on his right arm, while I held down his left arm and presented
one of his own pistols, which I drew from his belt, at his head.

"You know best if this is loaded; and, if it is, should you make the
slightest resistance, I will shoot you," I said in a firm tone.

"Who are you, villains, who dare thus attack a free and independent
citizen?" exclaimed the stranger, following the inquiry with a volley of
abuse.

"Keep a civil tongue in your head and answer the questions we put, or
you may have to repent it," said the Dominie. "Why did you come here?"

"I came to look after a rascally black who escaped from his owner, and
you will be sorry for having interfered with me in my lawful business."

"We are ready to take the consequences," answered Mr Tidey. "Before we
set you free, we intend to learn whether your story is true; so submit
quietly, or we shall be obliged to resort to more violence than we
wish."

While we were holding down the man, I examined his countenance, and was
sure that he was one of those who had so outrageously attacked our
house, I therefore felt no compunction at the way we were treating him.
Had he shown any courage, he might possibly have freed himself, but we
managed--not without some difficulty--to lash his arms behind him, and
to bind his legs so that he could move neither hand nor foot.

"The best thing we can do with him is to place him in the canoe, and let
him remain there until we have discovered the little girls, for, depend
upon it, his companions have carried them off, probably with the
intention of holding them as hostages until we deliver up Dio," observed
Mr Tidey.

We had also another reason for keeping him a prisoner, to which,
however, Mr Tidey did not allude in his presence. Without loss of
time, we partly dragged and partly lifted him up to the canoe, into
which we tumbled him without much ceremony.

"If you attempt to struggle, you'll kick a hole in the canoe and go to
the bottom, my friend; so I would advise you to keep quiet," said the
Dominie.

The man only answered with a volley of oaths, but no further information
could we draw from him. We therefore left him to his own reflections,
while we hastened back to Rose, whom we found seated by her prisoner.

"He stay berry quiet," she said, "an' me no tinkee he run 'way."

"That may be, but we will secure him a