straps, nor to put the lines through the
terret, nor tie the hitching strap. But the instant the traces were
fastened and the lines were in the buggy, we jumped in, and none too
soon, either, for just as we turned our horse in the road the two men
came driving around the corner. We started south, with our horse on a
dead run and under the whip, followed by them with their horses under
full speed, and also under the whip.

The race was indeed exciting, on a Macadamized road as smooth and hard
as a floor. I drove, using the whip freely, while Frank stood up in the
carriage, facing the men, swinging his hat and yelling like a wild
Indian. They kept up the chase for about four miles, we making a turn
at every cross-road, first west then south, and kept it up till we saw
they were slacking their gait, when we also gave our horse a rest.

We then proceeded west, driving till very late that night, and arriving
at the house of a farmer acquaintance of mine, five miles from Clyde,
about midnight. I called him up and explained matters. He said we should
put the horse in the barn, and stay with him two or three days, till we
saw how things were.

We told him that his neighbors would very soon learn that he had a horse
and carriage there, and would necessarily have to have an explanation as
to the ownership.

We then suggested putting the whole rig, horse and all, into the cellar,
which we did; and then remained there three days, eating spring chickens
and new potatoes. We paid our friend's wife three dollars per day for
keeping us and our horse, besides fifty cents apiece for young chickens
which were about one-third grown. This was twenty-five cents more than
she could have gotten for them had she kept them till they were full
grown. Yet she worried a great deal about killing off her young
chickens. Every time she cooked one for us she would declare that she
didn't believe it paid, and she wouldn't kill any more till they grew to
full size.

We undertook to argue her out of the idea, by showing how many bushels
of corn each chicken would eat before fall, and the low price it would
bring at that time.

She said: "It didn't make any difference. Common sense taught her that a
chicken wasn't worth as much when it was one-third grown as when full
grown, and she didn't care to sell us any more."

[Illustration]

CHAPTER XVII.

VISITING MY FAMILY AT ELMORE--HOW WE FOOLED A DETECTIVE--A FRIEND IN
NEED--ARRIVING AT SWAN