The lady living in this house knew George's team, and said that while
the fire was at its height, when she had come to her house for the
purpose of getting food to carry to her husband, she had seen two men
drive toward Sawyer in it. The men were entire strangers to her, she
said, and they were driving at full speed, but whether that was due to
the fear the horses had of the flames, or to a liberal use of the whip,
she was unable to say. She described the men as being young and well
dressed, and was quite positive that she had never seen them before.

George's first thought was that his friends, the moonlighters, had taken
the horses away, as a favor to him, and this belief was strengthened
when, on questioning the woman closely, he learned that she did not know
either Jim or Dick even by sight.

"They probably came down when they saw the smoke," said George,
confidently, to Ralph, "and on finding the team here, knowing we were at
work, have carried it to Farmer Kenniston's."

"I should have thought they would have tried to find us first, so as to
let us know what they were going to do," said Ralph.

"In order to have found us, they would have been obliged to meet some of
the people here, and they probably did not think that safe, even though
everyone had so much to attend to."

"But they would have left word with someone," insisted Ralph.

"That would have been as bad as to show themselves. Bob probably wants
to make it appear that he hasn't even been in this section of the
country, and if any trouble comes of carrying the glycerine through the
town, he will insist that he hasn't been here."

Ralph was far from being as positive that they would find the horses at
the Kenniston farm as his friend was, but he contented himself with
waiting until it could be proven, rather than to provoke an argument
when it seemed that, under any circumstances, they had better return
there.

After some considerable difficulty, the boys found a man who, for a
generous consideration, would carry them to the farm in his wagon, drawn
by a slow, methodical-moving horse, and they set out, George's fears for
the safety of his team entirely allayed, and Ralph's increasing each
moment.

In order to make sure that the horses had been driven toward the farm,
and not in the direction of Jim's home, George made inquiries of all he
met on the road, as well as at several of the houses.

Quite a number of people had seen the team, driven