t his
case was worse than Sam's--until Sam offered a suggestion which roused
such horrible possibilitites concerning the principal item of their
offense that all thought of the smaller indictments disappeared.

"Listen, Penrod," Sam quavered: "What--what if that--what if that ole
horse maybe b'longed to a--policeman!" Sam's imagination was not of the
comforting kind. "What'd they--do to us, Penrod, if it turned out he
was some policeman's horse?"

Penrod was able only to shake his head. He did not reply in words, but
both boys thenceforth considered it almost inevitable that Whitey _had_
belonged to a policeman, and in their sense of so ultimate a disaster,
they ceased for a time to brood upon what their parents would probably
do to them. The penalty for stealing a policeman's horse would be only
a step short of capital, they were sure. They would not be hanged; but
vague, looming sketches of something called the penitentiary began to
flicker before them.

It grew darker in the cellar, so that finally they could not see each
other.

"I guess they're huntin' for us by now," Sam said huskily. "I don't--I
don't like it much down here, Penrod."

Penrod's hoarse whisper came from the profound gloom:

"Well, who ever said you did?"

"Well----" Sam paused; then he said plaintively, "I wish we'd never
_seen_ that dern ole horse."

"It was every bit his fault," said Penrod. "_We_ didn't do anything. If
he hadn't come stickin' his ole head in our stable, it'd never happened
at all. Ole fool!" He rose. "I'm goin' to get out of here; I guess I've
stood about enough for one day."

"Where--where you goin', Penrod? You aren't goin' _home_, are you?"

"No; I'm not! What do you take me for? You think I'm crazy?"

"Well, where _can_ you go?"

How far Penrod's desperation actually would have led him is doubtful,
but he made this statement:

"I don't know where _you're_ goin', but _I'm_ goin' to walk straight
out in the country till I come to a farm-house and say my name's George
and live there!"

"I'll do it, too," Sam whispered eagerly. "I'll say my name's Henry."

"Well, we better get started," said the executive Penrod. "We got to
get away from here, anyway."

But when they came to ascend the steps leading to the "outside doors,"
they found that those doors had been closed and locked for the night.

"It's no use," Sam lamented, "and we can't bust 'em, cause I tried to,
once before. Fanny always locks 'em about fiv