"That's what Bill sent me 'long
fer, 'cause he know'd I'd 'tend ter business, an' not talk too much."
"Your name is Joe?"
"Out yere--yes; Joe Sikes, if it pleases yer eny ter know. Yer might
call me Mr. Sikes, if yer want ter be real polite."
He passed the tobacco-bag up to Moore, who thrust the reins under him
while deliberately filling his pipe, the team trotting quietly along
what seemed to be a hard road. The wagon lurched occasionally, as the
wheels struck a stone, but the night was still so dark, the girl could
perceive little of their surroundings in spite of the looped-up
curtains. There seemed to be a high ridge of earth to their right,
crowned by a fringe of low trees, but everything appeared indistinct
and desolate. Outside the rumble of their own progress the silence was
profound.
"And you will not tell me where we are going?" she insisted, "or what
you propose doing with me?"
The pipe-glow revealed Sikes's evil countenance; Moore resumed his
reins, and there was the sharp swish of a whip lash.
"'Twouldn't mean nuthin' ter yer if I did," said the former finally,
after apparently turning the matter over slowly in his mind.
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