"Guess nothing," retorted Jim; "that's a deduction as they say in the school books. What in the deuce is that up there now!" A canine head was outlined in an open window and then the big hound gave tongue that went far into the night. His senses told him that an enemy was lurking near. "My! what a mark for a shot!" whispered Jim. Then they heard a sharp command in Spanish and both the dog and the Mexican disappeared from view. "We had better move along, Jim," said the engineer, "or we will be on the hot end of a chase ourselves." Without a word Jim started, but he would not run far. CHAPTER XIII THE MAN IN THE GULLY The two friends disappeared in the fog, in a southerly direction from the house and after going for about a quarter of a mile, Jim called a sudden halt. "Hold on, John," he said, "there is something coming our way." "I don't hear anything," replied Berwick. "What does it sound like?" "It's a vehicle of some kind," declared Jim. "Now I hear it," admitted the engineer, "and I reckon that it is a carriage of some kind." "This is as good a place as any," remarked Jim. "It's lucky there is a fog because there is no cover to get behind." "Coming direct our way," said the engineer, as the thud of horses' feet could be heard distinctly, and the low roll of wheels over the ground. The two comrades moved quickly to one side, and they saw emerge from the fog a high-stepping team drawing a closed carriage. The horses shied at what they saw at the side of the way, but the coachman pulled them quickly to their course and drove rapidly on. It was impossible to get even a glimpse of the occupants of the carriage. "Me lord Duke," said Jim, "going to his ancestral castle." "That's surely where he is bound for," declared the engineer. "There goes the gate," cried Jim, as the sound of the iron closing came to his ears. "The plot thickens," remarked the engineer; "that wasn't an ordinary turnout by any means." "We will investigate this business before morning," determined Jim, "but there is nothing gained by rushing,--better let things settle. What do you say, John, to getting something to eat?" "I'm with you there," agreed Berwick. "I may have been hungrier in my life before, but I can't remember." "No Russian Duke this time to help you out, eh?" queried Jim. "Don't mention that," cried the engineer; "I'm in no need of an appetiser." If you have read "Frontier Boys in The Sierras," you will recall the chief engineer's account of his experience while traveling from St. Petersburg to the frontier, when he appropriated the Grand Duke's hamper while his Highness was wrapped in the deep stupor of sleep. He had told it with much nerve and vivacity, and Jim could recollect very clearly the scene in the warm engine-room of the _Sea Eagle_, with the stormy rain sweeping the decks outside, and the good old crowd of Juarez, and the boys, listening to the engineer.