As he said this, he took from his pocket a dirty red handkerchief, and tied it over my eyes so tightly that not a ray of light could reach them.
After a few seconds’ delay, during which he was doubtless performing the same operation for Tom, I was lifted from my feet and laid away in the boat, as if I had been a sack of corn, and in a minute or two more I heard the measured dip of paddles and felt the gentle motion of the little vessel as it sped rapidly down the bayou. During the journey, which occupied the better part of the forenoon, no one spoke, and Tom and I were left to the companionship of our own thoughts.
That those of my fellow-prisoner were not of the most agreeable nature was evident from the continuous muttering he kept up and the uneasy manner in which he rolled about on the bottom of the canoe.
My own reflections were far from pleasant, for, aside from the pain occasioned by the cramped position I was compelled to occupy, my mind was kept in a state of anxiety and suspense that was little short of positive torture.
I tried to think as little as possible about myself, and kept my brain busy with other matters.
What had induced Tom Mason to become connected with this band of outlaws? How did it come that Pete and his half-breed companions were associated with them? Where was Luke Redman taking me? and would he really drown me in the bayou if he were not left in quiet possession of the eight thousand dollars?
Such questions as these, I say, occupied my mind during the journey down the bayou; but I could not find a satisfactory answer to a single one of them.
About noon my reflections were interrupted by the sudden stopping of the canoe, and a movement among my captors which told me that our voyage was ended.
I was lifted out and placed upon the bank, my feet were unbound, and, supported by Luke Redman on one side and Barney on the other, I was led along what appeared to be a bridle-path running through the woods.
In about ten minutes we reached a house; a door was pushed open, and I was conducted across a floor and up a flight of creaking stairs, at the top of which my captors stopped long enough to unlock a second door, which led into a room that I soon found was to serve as my prison.
