"Come out quick," said Tony, hastily. "It is not safe for you to stay here any longer."
The old man followed him nothing loth, and Tony locked the door on the outside.
"Do you think he will get free?" asked Ben, nervously.
"He may, and if he does there is no safety for either of us till he is caught again."
"Oh, my gold! my gold!" groaned Ben. "He may get it."
"Yes, he may; our only hope is to secure him as soon as possible."
"I am so weak I can't go fast. I am trembling in every limb."
"You must conceal yourself somewhere, and let me run on," said Tony, with decision. "There is no time to be lost."
"Here's a place. You will be safe here till I come for you."
Tony pointed to an old ruined shed, which they had just reached.
"Yes; don't be alarmed. Only don't show yourself till you hear my voice."
Ben crept into the temporary shelter, glad that in his weakened condition he should not be obliged to go any farther. To be sure he tormented himself with the thought that even now the desperate tramp might be robbing him of his treasures. Still he had great confidence in what Tony had told him, and hope was mingled with his terror.
"He's a brave boy," he murmured. "I am glad he was with me, though he does eat a sight. Oh, how many wicked men there are in the world."
Tony hurried on to the village, where he lost no time in arousing a sufficient number to effect the capture of the burglar. He no longer felt any compunction in turning against his quondam guardian, recognizing him as his own enemy and the enemy of society.
"I owe him nothing," thought Tony. "What has he ever done for me? He is not my father. Probably he kidnapped me from my real home, and has made me an outcast and a tramp like himself. But I will be so no longer. I will learn a trade, or do something else to earn an honest livelihood. I mean to become a respectable member of society, if I can."
It took him half an hour before he could rouse the half-dozen men whom he considered necessary to effect the arrest and get them under way.
It may be thought strange that he should have so much difficulty in freeing himself from the cords with which Tony had bound him. But it must be remembered that the boy had done his work well. The cord was stout and strong, and he had had time to tie it in many knots, so that even if one had been untied, the tramp would have found himself almost as far from liberty as ever.