Kitabı oku: «Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation», sayfa 9
CHAPTER XVII.
NEAR NEIGHBORS
As may be imagined, the sleep which visited the three boys was not as profound as it would have been had they been in bed at Kenniston farm. In the first place, the bed of brush, which had seemed so soft when they first lay down, seemed suddenly to have developed a great number of hard places, while the ends of the boughs, which had seemed so small when they were cut, apparently increased in size after they had served as a bed for an hour.
Many times during the night did Bob get up to see if the horses were all right, and, while he would not admit that the bed had anything to do with his wakefulness, he knew, as well as did his companions, that when sleeping at home, he hardly opened his eyes once during the entire night.
It was at a very early hour, therefore, that the boys were up, and ready to continue the chase. As a matter of course, after having gone to bed supperless, they were ready for a hearty breakfast, and, since they would have plenty of time to eat it before sunrise, they at once made preparations for breaking their fast.
Thanks to the cooked food they had with them, these preparations did not consume very much time, since they were only obliged to take the paper packages from the carriage, and eat such portions of Mrs. Kenniston's samples of cookery as they desired.
Bob gave his horses food and water before he satisfied his own hunger, and, just as he finished this work, he cried, as he held his hand up, warningly:
"Hark! what was that?"
The boys listened intently several moments, but nothing could be heard save the rustling of the leaves, as they were moved back and forth by the morning breeze, or the twitter of birds, as they started out in search of breakfast, and George said, with a laugh:
"This is the first time I ever knew you to betray any caution, my dear boy, and you should be commended for it; but just now I think it is thrown away, for I hardly believe there is any one within half a mile of us who is awake so early."
"I thought I heard some one coming through the bushes," replied Bob, as he began a vigorous attack on the food; "but I guess it was nothing but the wind."
Five minutes passed, during which each one was so busy with his breakfast that he had no time for conversation, and then George motioned his companions to be silent. The warning was useless, for all had heard a sound in the bushes, as if some heavy body was moving through the underbrush, and all paused to listen.
There was evidently some person or animal near by, and moving directly away from them; but it seemed so reasonable to suppose that it was a cow, or some other domestic animal, who had slept out of doors all night, that it was some moments before any one of the three thought of learning the cause of the noise.
Even though they had every reason to believe that those whom they were pursuing would spend the night as they had spent it, each one of that party was so certain the thieves were a long distance away, that the thought that it might be those they were in pursuit of which were making the noise never occurred to them.
It was not until some time after the sounds had died away that George realized how important it was that he should know what had caused them, and then he started up at once, dashing through the underbrush toward the direction from which the noise had come.
Ralph and Bob started impulsively to follow him, and then the latter said, as he pulled his companion back:
"One is enough to find the cow, for that is probably what we have been hearing, and we might as well be eating our breakfast while he is hunting."
Ralph thought, as did Bob, that they had no occasion to disturb themselves simply at a rustling of leaves in the woods, and he willingly followed his companion's suggestion.
But, before either of them could begin their breakfast again, a loud shout was heard from George, which caused them to start to their feet in dismay, for they understood that something serious had caused it.
"Harness the horses quickly!" George shouted again.
And without trying to understand the reason for this peremptory command, Bob and Ralph sprang toward the animals.
It was not an order that could be obeyed very quickly, owing to the lack of facilities in their stable.
The horses were quietly eating their breakfast; the harness was hanging on a tree some distance away, and the carriage had been pulled into the woods so far that it would require at least ten minutes before it could be gotten on to the road.
Bob began to harness one horse, while Ralph attended to the other, and while they were thus employed, George came out of the woods in a very excited condition.
"We have been camping within five rods of the thieves!" he cried. "The noise we heard was probably made by the horses as they led them out into the road, and I got there just in time to see them drive away."
Haste surely made waste then, for all the party were so excited by what they had seen and heard, and so anxious to start in pursuit quickly, that they retarded their own progress by the bungling manner in which they went to work.
Ralph, in his eagerness, got the harness so mixed up that he was obliged to undo all he had done and begin all over again before he could accomplish anything, while Bob searched five minutes for the bridle, which, in the first excitement, he had flung some distance from him among the bushes.
So far as coolness and presence of mind was concerned, George was no better off than his companions. He attempted to pull the carriage into the road, and got it so fastened among the small trees that Ralph was obliged to come to his assistance, lifting it bodily out before it could be extricated.
In this confused way of doing things fully ten minutes of time was wasted, and the thieves had a start of nearly twenty minutes before their pursuers were ready for the chase.
It was useless for them now to reproach themselves with carelessness in not examining the woods when they first awoke, as they should have done, since they knew the thieves would spend the night in some such place, and quite as useless to complain, because they did not attempt to discover the cause of the noise when they first heard it. Had they done either one of these things, which it seemed the most inexperienced in this kind of work would have done, they would have discovered the team and had it then in their possession.
As it was, however, they could only try to atone for their carelessness by being more cautious in the future, which each mentally resolved to be as he clambered into the carriage as soon as the horses were harnessed. This time George sat on the front seat with Bob, where he could more readily leap from the wagon if necessary.
Bob started his horses at full speed, and George was satisfied that there would be no necessity of urging him to drive faster, for he held his steeds well in hand, requiring of them the best possible gait.
"They have got quite a start of us," Bob said, after they had been on the road a few moments, and while Ralph was regretting the absence of a comb, which would enable him to feel so much more comfortable, "but I do not think your horses have had any grain since they stole them, and if that is so, I don't think we shall have any trouble in overtaking them within an hour."
Perhaps, if Bob had spoken exactly as he thought, he would have insisted that his horses were so much faster, that the twenty minutes' advantage which the thieves had could be more than compensated for in speed; but just then he refrained from saying anything which might make his troubled friend feel uncomfortable or disagreeable.
"Did you see the place where they slept last night?" Ralph asked of George, for as yet he had not told them of what he had seen when he ran through the woods.
"Yes; I came right upon it when I first left you. They had made a sort of hut of boughs near a clearing, in which I should judge the horses had been feeding. The instant I saw the camp, and so near ours that a stone could have been thrown from one to the other, I thought it had been made by the thieves, and I ran at full speed for the road, following a trail that looked as if a carriage had but just passed that way. I got out of the woods just as they turned the bend in the road, and simply had the satisfaction of seeing my team driven away at a gallop, when, if I had done what almost any child would have thought of doing, it would have been in my possession."
"Could you see the men?"
"No; the top of the carriage was up, and I could see no one. They were probably looking out through the window and saw me, for if they stayed so near us since we stopped last night, they must know who we are, and will try to escape, even if they kill the horses."
"I'm not so sure that they could have known who we were," said Bob, "for I have been trying to think if we said anything about the team, or what we were there for, and I do not believe we did."
If the men whom they were pursuing did not know that this party who had encamped so near them were the ones in search of the team, it would be a great point in favor of our boys, for the others would not be likely to push their horses so hard. Therefore, each one tried to recall the conversation, and the result of this thought relieved George's mind somewhat, for no one could remember that a thing had been said which might betray their errand.
The road over which they were traveling was a good one, and the horses were urged along by Bob at a lively rate, save on ascending ground, when they were allowed to choose their own pace, in order that they might not become "blown."
At no one place, owing to the trees on each side, could they see very far ahead on the road, which prevented them from knowing whether they were gaining on the fugitives or not, although Bob firmly believed they were, for his horses had never shown better speed, nor been more in the humor for traveling.
"We shall be on our way home in less than two hours," he said, triumphantly, as the horses dashed down a long hill at a pace that would be hard to beat; and then, as they began the ascent of the next hill, all their hopes were dashed.
During the last ten minutes, it had seemed to Ralph that the easy-running carriage dragged, and as the horses neared the top of the hill, he discovered the trouble.
"The hind axle is heated," he shouted, "and the wheel no longer turns."
It surely seemed as if everything was conspiring in favor of the thieves, for the pursuers were now seriously crippled by a "hot box."
CHAPTER XVIII.
IN A TRAP
It seemed so impossible to Bob that such a misfortune could overtake them just when success appeared certain, that he could not believe what Ralph had said was true until he had jumped out and examined the axle.
There was no doubt then but that they would be delayed for a long time, for the axle was already so hot that it was smoking, and they had neither oil nor water with which to cool it.
In the valley or ravine through which they had just ridden there was no stream, and the only thing which could be done was to look for one further ahead, since they had passed the last house fully three miles behind.
"It's no use crying about it," said Bob, with an assumption of cheerfulness he was far from feeling, "for here we are, and the sooner we mend matters the sooner we shall be riding on again."
"But what can we do?" asked Ralph, feeling thoroughly discouraged at this accident, which, however quickly it might be repaired, would give the thieves a chance of making good their escape. "Even if we had a whole ocean of water, you haven't got any oil after the axle is cool, nor even a wrench with which to take the wheel off."
"One of us must walk on ahead until he comes to some house, where oil and a wrench can be borrowed. Bob must drive his horses on at a walk, and halt at the first water he sees. It's an unlucky accident for us, and it seems strange that it should have happened just when it did."
"It isn't so very strange," said Bob, as he started his team along at a walk, "and, as usual, it's all my fault. When we moved the other day, we left our oil behind in the stable, and I knew the wagon needed oiling when I got down to Kenniston's. I was just going to do it when you drove up, and then, like an idiot, I forgot it."
It would do no good to discuss the causes of the accident after it had occurred. The only question was as to how the damage could be repaired, and, after that was decided, to set about doing it at once.
"I will go on ahead for the oil," said Ralph, starting out at a run as he spoke, and in few moments he was lost to view, as he disappeared behind the trees, where the road made a decided curve.
Bob and George walked, while the horses dragged the carriage with its one useless wheel, and in this fashion the boys, who a few moments before had believed that in two hours they would have overtaken the thieves and recovered the property, continued on their journey, as sad and dispirited as before they had been happy and confident.
"If this hadn't happened," said Bob, bitterly, "we should have caught the men before noon; but now it is an open question as to whether they won't get away."
"It will be strange if they don't escape," and George's voice sounded no more cheerful than did Bob's; "for even if they were not sure who their neighbors were last night, they must have been suspicious, and will do all they can to throw us off the scent. But there," he added, with a shrug of the shoulder indicative of resolution; "what's the use of mourning over what can't be helped? All we can say or do won't change matters, and we might as well look cheerful as cry."
"I know that," replied Bob, with a grimace; "but when a fellow is disabled, in the woods, and probably two or three miles from any house, the most appropriate thing is to cry, even if the tears don't do any good."
At this moment, as if in answer to Bob's assertion that they were probably a long distance from any house, and very much to their surprise, Ralph was seen coming down the road waving his hands triumphantly.
"What is the matter?" cried George, not daring to believe that Ralph had already seen a house.
"There's a farm-house just around the bend here, with everything we need in the stable," shouted Ralph, while he was yet some distance away. "I told the owner that we had a hot axle, and were anxious to get on as quickly as possible, and he says we can borrow one of his wagons, or take anything we need to fix ours."
It is needless to say how delighted George and Bob were by the information Ralph had brought. Instead of losing nearly the whole of that day, as they had feared they should, by walking several miles before finding a stable, they could repair damages in a comparatively short time, and could, perhaps, yet overtake the men before night.
"Hurrah!" shouted Bob, as he urged his horses into a trot, the party running behind.
And in a few moments they were in the stable-yard of a large farm, where the proprietor was awaiting their arrival, ready to lend them any assistance in his power.
Both he, as well as they, knew exactly what to do for this outgrowth of carelessness, and pail after pail of water was dashed on to the hub of the wheel to cool it off, even while he was yet repeating his offer to loan them one of his wagons if they were in a hurry to be on their journey again.
Leaving Bob and Ralph to continue the cold-water application, since not more than two could work at a time advantageously, George went with the farmer to see what sort of a vehicle they could borrow in exchange for their own.
He returned very shortly, however, with the word that he thought it best for them to get their own carriage into working order, since those belonging to the farmer were all so heavy that they would probably gain in speed, if they waited for their own, more than they would lose in time.
This decision was about what Bob had expected, and he continued his work, which had not been delayed during George's absence, until it was thought that they could remove the wheel.
It was a hard, and quite a long job; but it was accomplished finally, and then, when the iron was nearly cold, a plentiful amount of oil was applied; the other wheels were lubricated, and the boys were ready to continue their journey again, having lost by this accident not more than an hour's time.
"You are all right now," said the farmer, after he had positively refused to take any payment for his own time or for the use of his tools, "an' I reckon the waiting here won't make much of any difference to you."
"It wouldn't have been of any account if we hadn't been chasing a pair of horses of mine that were stolen at Sawyer. We were close behind them, and should have overtaken them by this time if it hadn't been for this delay."
"What is the color of your horses?" asked the man, evincing such a sudden interest that it seemed certain he knew something about the missing property.
"A pair of small, dark chestnut horses, in a box buggy, driven by two young men," replied Bob, quickly, confident that they were about to hear some good news, and answering all possible questions at once, in order that they might not be delayed any longer than necessary.
"Then it is fortunate for you that you had trouble which made you stop here, or else you would have gone on and missed them," replied the man, speaking slowly, as if there was no possible reason why the boys should hurry on in pursuit.
"When did you see them?" asked George, hurriedly. "Tell us at once, so that we needn't lose any more time."
"There's no need for you to rush," drawled the man, much as if he enjoyed keeping the boys in suspense, "for if you stay right where you are, you will see them. They've got to come back this way, sure."
The boys looked around as if they expected to see the thieves pop out from some hiding-place near by, and after waiting a moment to enjoy the effect his words had produced, the farmer asked, as he pointed nearly opposite the house to where a road branched off from the highway, leading, apparently, into the woods:
"Do you see that road?" And then, as if realizing how useless such a question was when the road was so well defined, he continued: "Wa-al, I reckon that the same team you are huntin' after was driv up that road about an hour or so ago. It was a small pair of dark chestnut hosses, an' good ones, with a fancy buggy, an' two young fellers drivin'."
"Where does that road lead to?" asked Bob, excitedly.
"That's the joke of it," said the farmer, with a laugh. "It don't lead nowhere 'cept inter my wood-lot, an' that's what made me notice ther team so perticularly, 'cause I couldn't make out what they wanted up there. I tell you what it is, boys, you've got your hoss-thieves in a trap, an' you kin pull 'em out whenever you want to."
"Are you sure that there isn't any way out of that? Can't they strike the main road by driving across some field?" asked George.
"Wa-al, I've driv over that road as many as forty times every year for the last thirty, haulin' down wood, an' I wouldn't undertake to git a wheel-barrer out any other way than I went in. You kin stay here an' ketch 'em when they come out, or go in after 'em —they'll be there!"
CHAPTER XIX.
CLOSE QUARTERS
It hardly seemed possible to the boys that, after the mishap which it seemed would give the thieves all the time they needed to make good their escape, they could be so near to them that their capture seemed certain.
But the farmer insisted that there was no outlet to the road; that a team answering to the description of the one George had lost had been driven in there, and that it had not come out. Therefore, there could be no question but that they had the thieves in a trap, as the farmer had said, and all that was necessary was to go and get them or the team.
At first they were about to start out without any plan whatever, intent only on getting the horses as quickly as possible; but George realized in time that, secure as the thieves appeared to be against escape, all might be changed by too much precipitation.
If they should rush in recklessly, the men might get past them by concealing the team in the bushes until they had passed that particular point, and then the road would be clear before them, unless the farmer could succeed in stopping them.
It was necessary, therefore, that, in going up this road, which they were told was about two miles long, they should not only see where the thieves had gone in, but where it would be possible for them to come out, in case they should succeed in making a detour through the woods.
The farmer, after listening to the discussion which the boys were having, suggested that they block up the road near its entrance with his heavy carts, and then, if the thieves should get past them, they would be obliged to leave the team at the obstruction in order to make good their own escape.
This suggestion was so good that they followed it at once. Bob using his horses to haul a hay-rack, a heavy ox-cart and two dump-carts into the road, about two hundred yards from the highway, overturning and wedging them in in such a way that a passage through could not be made in less than half an hour.
The farmer, having work that forenoon, which kept him near the house, promised to keep a sharp lookout while the boys went after the team, and to give the alarm in case the men should come down towards the barricade.
Then, all the preparations having been completed, there was nothing to prevent them from going into the trap the thieves had voluntarily entered.
Bob thought they ought to have weapons in case the men should attempt to fight for the possession of their ill-gotten booty; but George refused to consider the idea even for a moment. He had no thought that the men would do anything of the kind, and, even though he was going after his own property, he was not willing to go in such a way as might endanger the life of any one.
"If you want any weapons, take a good stout club," he said, "and I think you will find even that unnecessary, for as soon as the men see us, they will do their best to get away."
Bob was by no means satisfied to start up the road unarmed; but since it was George's property they were in search of, he thought his orders should be obeyed, even though the attempt should be unsuccessful because of it.
"If I was in your place, I should make sure of the men as well as the team," the farmer called out, as they started, "for there's a good many more horse-thieves in the country than are needed, an' it's doin' a good turn to honest people to put 'em where they can't run off other people's property."
George made no reply, but at the same time he did not propose to make an amateur detective of himself, unless the men should attempt to prevent him from taking his own, and then he would have no hesitation about causing their arrest.
There was no difficulty in following the track of the carriage, for there had been so little travel on the road that the impress of the wheels was distinctly seen, and there could be no question but that it would be an easy matter to see where it was taken into the woods in case the men should attempt to hide.
"I guess we had our labor for nothing in blocking up the road," said Bob, as they walked along, "for there is no chance of our passing the team so long as we can see the tracks as plain as this."
"We certainly didn't hurt ourselves piling up the carts, and the time was well spent, if only for the sake of the precaution," said George; and then, stopping suddenly, after they had walked nearly a mile, he pointed to a second track, which led directly into the woods a few yards ahead of them. "They have been to the end of the road, and come back," he whispered. "Perhaps they have just turned in here after hearing us."
For a moment the three boys stood looking at the trail made by those they had been so anxious to meet, and then George said, in a low tone:
"We mustn't lose any time here, and when we do start it must be quickly. We will follow this track in, and keep right on in it; for we shall either find the team now in the bushes, or else the men will have done as I feared – passed us while we were on the road."
There was still a chance that the men might get away with the team if they had succeeded in reaching the road in the rear of the boys, for it might be possible for them to clear away the obstructions near the main road before the boys could run a mile, unless the farmer could prevent them.
George dashed into the bushes, followed closely by Ralph and Bob, and before they had gone very far, it was evident to all that the men were trying to do just as George had suggested.
The track made by the carriage could be followed very readily, and there was no longer any question, after the boys had run a hundred yards, but that they were traveling in a half circle, the end of which would be at the road.
"Come on as fast as you can," shouted George, when he thus saw his suspicions verified; and, regardless of whether he was followed or not, he dashed ahead at full speed, perfectly satisfied that when he saw his team again it would be at the barricade.
When he reached the road up which they had just come, the second track of wheels could be seen, and he half expected to hear the farmer's warning cry, forgetting for the time that any ordinary pair of lungs could hardly be heard a mile away.
Close behind George came Ralph and Bob, both excited by the thought that there was yet a possibility the men might escape with the team, and both running as fast as they could.
"They've come this way!" shouted George, "and now it only remains to be seen whether we can get there in time."
There was no need to say anything to urge either of the boys on to greater speed, for they were making every effort, and George himself was really the one who would be left behind if the race was continued very long.
Bent only on reaching a given point as quickly as possible, the boys paid no attention to anything else save getting over the ground rapidly, and the farmer's voice rang out long and loud before they realized that they heard it.
"Hello! Hello-o-o! Hello-o-o-o!" was the cry.
And when finally the boys did hear it, they understood by the tone that there was urgent reason for them to make haste, for now, beyond a doubt, the thieves were trying hard to remove the barricade.
Panting, almost breathless, but not realizing how nearly exhausted they were, the boys rushed on, intent only on noting the way, that they might lose no time or vantage by a misstep, until they emerged from the woods at a point where they could see that which was causing such an outcry from the farmer, who was taking quite as much interest in the saving of their property as he would have done in his own.
George could see his team halted in front of the barricade they had piled up with so much, and what at the time Bob had thought useless, labor, while the men were straining every nerve to remove it, the farmer standing at a safe distance, screaming at the top of his voice, even though he must have seen the boys coming towards him as rapidly as they could run.
Already had the two men succeeded in removing the two dump-carts, and were now at work upon the hay-rack, with every prospect of pulling it sufficiently out of the way to admit of their driving past; but when they saw the three boys coming down the road, they evidently concluded that they had worked quite as long as was safe, for they began to look out for their own welfare, instead of trying longer to get away with the team.
After one look at the boys, probably to make sure they were the same ones whom they had seen coming up the road, the thieves ceased their efforts to move the hay-rack, and sought safety in flight, running down the road towards Babcock, instead of trying to escape in the opposite direction.
The farmer, who was anxious that all horse-thieves should be placed beyond the possibility of carrying on their business, at once started in pursuit, probably without thought as to how he could make prisoners of two men whom he had not dared to grapple with when they were trying to tear down the barrier which prevented them from getting away with their booty.
George, who still continued to lead the party, stopped when he reached the side of the carriage. He had gained possession of his team once more, and he was content.
