MAN CHAINED
The boys were in conference. Nuthin’ said, “I still maintain, fellows,
that we ought to call in the police. After all, what can we do? Suppose
that gang uses guns against us, then we’re lost.”
Paul answered, “As far as their using guns against us, we will have to
risk that. But then, whatever plan we adopt to capture that gang, we’ll
use our brains and make it so they won’t have a chance to use their
guns. As for calling the police, if we do that, it is very likely that
the whole gang will get away. Imagine what the police method would be.
They would remove all the stuff from the cave and then wait around for
the thieves to come and be caught. But they won’t come because it’s
bound to leak out and be given a lot of publicity.”
“And another thing,” chimed in William, “look at all the fun we’ll be
missing.”
“But very dangerous fun,” retorted Nuthin’.
“Your imagination is carrying you away,” interposed Ken.
Nuthin’ shrugged his shoulders and withdrew his objections.
Wallace spoke up. “Let’s get down to business,” he said, “and develop
some plan.”
“Suppose someone suggests something and then we will all chip in,”
remarked Ken.
The boys nodded and Wallace was the first to offer his opinion.
“According to our information, which is scanty, they are supposed to
return within ten days or two weeks from a week ago Saturday. Now as
far as we are concerned, we have to be there on the spot. That means
that we must prepare to camp there for about a week, and we have to
leave tomorrow.”
“Is that agreeable to everyone or does anyone have any objections or
want to add something?” asked Paul.
“Only this,” spoke up Bobolink, “and that’s to keep a constant watch at
the cave.”
“We’ll come to that when we work out the details,” interrupted Jack.
“For the present, I’m sure that we’re all agreed to the proposal
advanced by Wallace.”
For the next three hours the boys sat in a group and designed a plan.
Every detail was taken care of and everyone was sure that it would work
out well.
Very early the following morning, all the eight boys, with full packs
on their backs and wearing their Boy Scout uniforms, marched out of
Stanhope and took the road to the mountain. Wallace pointed out to them
the abandoned farm house, behind which was the road leading to the
mysterious airport. Jack’s immediate suggestion was that they enter and
search it. All the boys eagerly assented and lots were drawn for the
two who would enter the house, two who would search the yard and barn
while the others were to deploy and be on the watch. Paul and Wallace
won the chance to enter the house, while Ken and Jack were to explore
the yard and barn.
The boys withdrew from the road and put all their packs together,
with Bluff to watch over them. William was stationed at one point to
carefully watch the main road; he himself was to keep in hiding and not
to be seen. Bobolink was directed to watch the back of the house and
Nuthin’ was told to walk back on the road about a quarter of a mile and
to watch for any suspicious characters and keep a general lookout.
Paul and Wallace approached the house silently, carefully, examining
the exterior of the house with each step. Circling the house, they
found that several of the windows were broken and nailed with boards.
As a whole, the house was not in bad condition and was habitable.
Several signs led them to believe that the house had been used on
and off recently. Paul pointed to a number of footprints that did not
appear to be very old; Wallace spied a banana peel which could not have
been more than about ten days or two weeks old. At the back of the
house the boys came across pieces that appeared to have been chopped in
the recent past. Turning to his friend, Wallace remarked, “Looks like
they used this place all right.”
“Yes,” agreed Paul. “And I think that we’ll most likely find a lot of
interesting things inside.”
The boys approached the front door and Paul tried the knob. It wouldn’t
open. The boys tugged and pushed but the door held fast. “What are we
going to do,” asked Paul, “break in the door?”
“No. Let’s pry away the boards from one of the windows and gain
entrance that way.”
Paul agreed. At one of the side windows Wallace used his hatchet and
pried away three boards giving them enough room to climb through.
Wallace was the first to tumble in and Paul quickly followed. With
the help of their searchlights, they examined the room. It was very
dusty, with cobwebs and several broken chairs strewn about the floor;
otherwise the room was completely empty. Paul whispered, “Well, there’s
nothing much here, so let’s move on.”
The floor squeaked as they tiptoed to the door. There was no knob and
the door stuck tightly. Wallace used his hatchet and pried it open. The
boys stepped into a large foyer. To one side were the stairs leading to
the flight above, and across the hall were two doors. They approached
the nearest door and endeavored to push it open; it stuck fast. Pulling
and tugging, the knob broke loose. Rather than break in, Paul suggested
that they try the second door first. The boys entered into a kitchen.
On one side was a coal stove and an oil burner; against the window was
a table with several dirty dishes; a couple of chairs stood by. While
Paul examined the closets, Wallace struck a match and tried the oil
burner. It burned and that revealed that it had been in recent use.
In the closet, Paul found odds and ends of crockery, rags and several
pieces of old clothing.
From the kitchen, a swinging door led into the next room—the room
the boys could not enter from without. There they saw two open cots
with blankets and pillows. A third cot, folded, stood near by. In the
middle of the room were a large, round table and four chairs. On the
table lay several used candles, a couple of small liquor glasses stood
nearby and an empty whiskey bottle. There were some rags and pieces of
clothing strewn about. The boys wheeled around on their heels slowly,
examining the room closely. Paul spied an overcoat lying in a heap in a
corner. He tiptoed slowly across the room and picked it up; very dusty,
still it looked like a good coat. He put his hand into the pocket and
his fingers touched a cold and hard object. It was an automatic. He
whispered across the room to his friend. Paul snapped open the magazine
and found it loaded. Pushing back the safety cap, he put the gun into
his pocket. Again he picked up the coat and in the second pocket found
a box of cartridges. Whispering across the room, the boys decided to
appropriate the automatic and cartridges. Walking silently over to join
his friend in front of the fireplace, Paul passed a hand over his brow
and whispered anxiously, “We’re in the gang’s hangout all right. And I
hate to think what would happen to us if we were caught.”
“It would be just too bad,” answered Wallace. “But it’s too late to
withdraw now.”
“Yes. But I’m beginning to think that Nuthin’ was right. We should have
called in the police.”
“Too late,” repeated Wallace. “We’ll have to make the best of it.”
Coming out into the hall, the boys mounted the stairs, Paul leading
and Wallace following. At the head of the stairs they stopped to look
around. There were two doors to their left. No attic. Paul tried the
first door. It held fast. Pushing and tugging didn’t seem to help.
Wallace whispered, “Let’s try the next door.”
The next door swung open at the mere touch of Paul’s hand. Entering,
they found the room very dusty but entirely empty. There was a single
closet; opening it, that too was found to be empty. They returned
to the hall. Wallace whispered, “You think we ought to break in
there?”—meaning the first door they tried but found locked or nailed.
Paul shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. What do you think? Is it
worth the trouble?”
“You really can’t tell. From the looks of things, it seems as though
they don’t use this floor.”
“Then why should the door be locked?”
“I can’t say. Let’s break in, so we won’t have any regrets.”
Wallace set to with his hatchet. Paul cautioned him to make less noise.
But it was necessary to do a lot of chopping before the door would
open. Wallace swung the door open and remained at the threshhold.
Wallace gasped and Paul quickly reached into his pocket for the gun.
They stepped into the room. Sprawled over on the floor was a man
chained to a chair. Quickly glancing about to see if anyone else was
in the room, they then hurried to pick up man and chair. Upright, the
man’s head hung down and had every appearance of being dead. Paul put
his ear to the man’s heart, listened closely for several seconds and
then whispered, “Still alive.”
“Wonder who he is?” asked Wallace.
“Let’s first set him free.”
The man was chained hands and feet and then the chain ran several times
around his body and the chair and both ends of the chain were held fast
by a lock. Trying to break the lock was found to be futile. So Paul
attacked one of the links with the hatchet. After removing the chains,
they stretched the man out on the floor. Paul made a quick search
through his coat pockets. From the right one the boy brought out a
badge. Wallace craned his neck to see. It was a government agent badge.
“Do you think he is a real government agent?” whispered Wallace.
“Must be.”
“What’ll we do?”
“Take him out of here. Quickly. He needs air and medical treatment.”
Wallace grabbed the man’s legs and Paul took him under the arms. Thus
they carried him downstairs. At the window, Paul said, “We’ll lay him
down here for a while. You go and call a couple of the boys.”
He jumped through the window. Hesitating for a moment undecided which
way to turn and whom to call, he put his fingers between his lips and
sent out a low, shrill whistle. Dropping behind a clump of bushes, he
lay there waiting, watching. In about a minute he noticed Ken and Jack
appear from somewhere in the rear of the farm yard. They stayed close
together and sneaked along from tree to tree. From the expression on
their faces Wallace could tell that they were in a quandary as to where
the whistle came from. He exposed himself and waved to them. They came
on the run. “What’s the matter?” demanded Jack.
“Anything wrong?”—that from Ken.
Wallace waved away their questions and instructed them to wait under
the window. He clambered in. The man now had his eyes open and made an
effort to move his lips. Paul and Wallace picked him up and handed him
out through the window. Jack and Ken gasped. Paul cautioned them. “Be
careful. Hold on.”
Outside, Paul instructed Wallace to nail up the window again, while
the three of them would take the man to the other side of the road, to
where Bluff and their knapsacks were. That accomplished, Bluff was sent
out to call in the other boys.
They stretched out a blanket on the grass and with another blanket for
a pillow, they made the man comfortable. Paul moistened his lips with
water and let him swallow a couple of mouthsful. After which the man
fell into a doze.
Nuthin’ added, “He certainly needs medical attention.”
Jack shook his head. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with him
organically,” he said. “He must have gone without food for a long time
and that weakened him. Also the fact that he was tied to that chair.”
“Perhaps he wouldn’t want us to get a doctor because a doctor would
have to notify the police. And he may not want that.”
Paul spoke up. He said, “One of us should run back to the nearest
grocery to buy a bottle of fresh milk, several cans of fruit juice and
some fresh fruit and vegetables.”
“I w-will g-go,” offered Bluff.
Paul cautioned him. “Make believe that you’re hiking by yourself and
don’t answer any questions.”
Bluff nodded and was off. The boys sat down in a circle and Paul said,
“Now we’ll hear what the result of your exploration has been, Jack and
Ken. Which one of you is going to do the talking?”
“There’s really nothing to tell,” spoke up Jack. “We found nothing
suspicious nor unusual.”
“Was the barn just plain empty?” questioned William.
“Yes,” replied Ken, “except for a few sticks and stones.”
“How about the yard?” asked Bobolink.
“We searched thoroughly but we didn’t come across a thing.”
Pause. Silence. Finally Jack said, “Suppose you now tell us all the
other things you found in the house.”
Between them, Paul and Wallace related their entire experiences, not
omitting any detail. He took out and showed the automatic and the box
of cartridges. By the time the narrative was completed, Bluff had
returned. Warming up a glass of milk, Paul fed it to the stricken man,
a little at a time. Revived, he smiled and opened his lips to speak but
Paul cautioned him not to exert any effort and just to rest. He lay
down again and fell asleep. About two hours later he awoke and Paul
fed him a cup of pineapple juice and a soft boiled egg. The man seemed
to regain his strength rapidly. He was now fully able to speak but he
uttered only a few words. “Thank you,” he said. “I will now rest a
little longer.”
Toward afternoon, the agent recovered sufficiently to sit up and
declaim his hunger. But on the recommendation of Paul, to which he
agreed, he was given only warm milk and again a soft boiled egg on
toast. As he ate, the boys gathered around and watched him. When he
had finished his meal, he sat quietly for a short while, passing his
hand over his several days growth of beard and laughing in his throat.
Finally he spoke, his voice throaty and rusty. He asked, “Do you
fellows mind telling me how you came to be in that house?”
The boys shut their mouths and kept quiet. The embarrassing silence
lasted for about a minute. At last Paul replied, “Don’t you think, sir,
that it is really your task to explain to us how you came to be in the
condition in which we found you? We are Boy Scouts and by our treatment
of you, it is evident that we are friends and mean you no harm.”
The man stroked his chin and hesitated. He let his sharp eyes roam from
one silent boy to another, judging them, evaluating their characters.
Wallace held out the badge they had found on him and asked, “Is this
yours, sir?”
He glanced at it, nodded, took it and dropped it in his pocket. “Thank
you,” he muttered. He still seemed to hesitate. Finally he spoke, low
and throaty. “My name is Tom Woods and I want to thank you boys for
saving my life. Another day and I would have passed out.”
“How long have you been a prisoner there?” questioned Jack.
“What day is this?”
“Monday.”
He thought for a moment. “Since Saturday morning,” he replied.
“Do you know if the gang is coming back for you?” Ken asked.
The agent shrugged his shoulders. “I really don’t know. But I imagine
that they were going to let me rot there until doomsday.” He again let
his eyes roam from one face to another. “I was in luck to have you boys
find me. Once more, I thank you. You saved my life and I hope that
someday I shall be able to repay the debt.”
Wallace leaned over and whispered something to Paul who nodded. For
several seconds the boys waited for the man to speak, but he kept his
mouth tightly shut. Wallace whispered, “Mr. Woods, did you know that
they are scheduled to make a shipment one of these days?”
Though the question had been in a low whisper, the agent had caught
every syllable; at the word “shipment” he winced, but so imperceptibly
that only three of the boys had noticed it. He smiled wanly. He
confessed. “I am a government agent. It appears that you boys have
information—valuable information—which I desire.” He paused and
stroked his chin. “It’s only fair then, I guess, that I tell you how I
came to be chained to that chair in the farm house—a most inconvenient
situation.” And he laughed in his throat. “I have been on this case for
several months. I suppose you know that we are dealing with a gang of
arms smugglers?” He put the statement in the form of a question and he
noticed that several of the boys nodded, which was the clue he wanted.
“Well,” he continued, speaking low, almost in a whisper, “There really
isn’t much to tell. I happened to come upon their hangout—an apartment
in the city. Keeping a steady watch for several days, I learned their
movements. One night, I watched them leave their apartment one by one
and I decided to go up and investigate. I got in all right, but two
of their comrades whom I had never seen leave or enter the building,
were there to greet me. After that, things happened so fast I still
find it difficult to recall all the details. At any rate, the next
thing I knew, I was lying on the floor of a car traveling at a good
rate of speed. I made believe that I was still unconscious and listened
to their talk, but they said nothing to give away their secrets.
Eventually they brought me to this farm house and chained me to the
chair. The rest you know already.”
The boys stared at him in astonishment and silence prevailed for a
short while. Finally he said, “Now it’s your turn to tell me all you
know. I’m under the impression that you boys have a great deal of
valuable information.”
The fellows looked at one another and kept quiet. They left it to Paul
to do all the talking and tell as little or as much as he felt would
be advisable. Paul, however, saw no reason for withholding any details
of the information and he told all. As he progressed in his narrative,
Tom Woods gasped with surprise several times. He listened attentively,
wrinkling his brow and his jaw set as he did so. When the story was at
last completely told, he confessed his amazement. For a short while he
kept perfectly silent and concentrating on some plan he had in mind. He
asked, “What time is it now?”
“Almost three o’clock,” answered William.
“How far away is this camping ground you were heading for?”
“Close to ten miles,” he was told.
The government agent shook his head. He suggested, “The first thing
we ought to do right now is to find a camping spot. I don’t think I’m
strong enough yet to walk ten miles. Tomorrow, maybe, but not today.
However, would you boys object if we found some spot about a mile or
two from here and pitched camp?”
“I don’t think so,” replied Paul and turned to the boys for affirmation.
“Then we’ll do that,” Woods said, “and then we will devise a complete
plan of action. You boys know so much and are so familiar with the
surroundings that I shall have to include you in all my plans to
capture the gang.”
The boys immediately set off. Tom Woods accompanied by Wallace followed
at a slower pace. They found a good spot and pitched camp. After
supper, the boys gathered around the camp fire and together with the
agent devised a plan of action for the next few days.