"Why do you not ask your own men the way?" parried one of the fellows.
"I have no men, I am alone," replied Barney. "I am a stranger in Lutha and have lost my way."He who had spoken before pointed to the sword at Bar-ney's side.
"Strangers traveling in Lutha do not wear swords," he said.
"You are an officer. Why should you desire to conceal the fact from two honest farmers? We have done nothing. Let us go our way."Barney looked his astonishment at this reply.
"Most certainly, go your way, my friends," he said laugh-ing. "I would not delay you if I could; but before you go please be good enough to tell me how to reach the Old Forest and the ancient castle of the Prince von der Tann."For a moment the two men whispered together, then the spokesman turned to Barney.
"We will lead you upon the right road. Come," and the two turned their horses, one of them starting slowly back up the trail while the other remained waiting for Barney to pass him.
The American, suspecting nothing, voiced his thanks, and set out after him who had gone before. As be passed the fellow who waited the latter moved in behind him, so that Barney walked between the two. Occasionally the rider at his back turned in his saddle to scan the trail behind, as though still fearful that Barney had been lying to them and that he would discover a company of soldiers charging down upon them.
The trail became more and more difficult as they ad-vanced, until Barney wondered how the little horses clung to the steep mountainside, where he himself had difficulty in walking without using his hand to keep from falling.
Twice the American attempted to break through the taci-turnity of his guides, but his advances were met with noth-ing more than sultry grunts or silence, and presently a sus-picion began to obtrude itself among his thoughts that pos-sibly these "honest farmers" were something more sinister than they represented themselves to be.
A malign and threatening atmosphere seemed to surround them. Even the cat-like movement of their silent mounts breathed a sinister secrecy, and now, for the first time, Barney noticed the short, ugly looking carbines that were slung in boots at their saddle-horns. Then, promoted to fur-ther investigation, he dropped back beside the man who had been riding behind him, and as he did so he saw beneath the fellow's cloak the butts of two villainous-looking pistols.
As Barney dropped back beside him the man turned his mount across the narrow trail, and reining him in motioned Barney ahead.
"I have changed my mind," said the American, "about going to the Old Forest."He had determined that he might as well have the thing out now as later, and discover at once how he stood with these two, and whether or not his suspicions of them were well grounded.
The man ahead had halted at the sound of Barney's voice, and swung about in the saddle.
"What's the trouble?" he asked.
"He don't want to go to the Old Forest," explained his companion, and for the first time Barney saw one of them grin. It was not at all a pleasant grin, nor reassuring.
"He don't, eh?" growled the other. "Well, he ain't goin', is he? Who ever said he was?"And then he, too, laughed.
"I'm going back the way I came," said Barney, starting around the horse that blocked his way.
"No, you ain't," said the horseman. "You're goin' with us."And Barney found himself gazing down the muzzle of one of the wicked looking pistols.
For a moment he stood in silence, debating mentally the wisdom of attempting to rush the fellow, and then, with a shake of his head, he turned back up the trail between his captors.
"Yes," he said, "on second thought I have decided to go with you. Your logic is most convincing."
