"I have some errands at Isle La Motte station, boys, and I'm running up
there in the car. If you'll condescend to ride in anything so slow and
primitive, I'm driving down to the turkey farm and you can see what it
looks like," Mr. Fenton invited that afternoon as the boys came up from
a swim.
"Well, of course, sir, we wouldn't be so impolite as to say that we
scorn to use your only mode of conveyance," Jim grinned broadly.
"But we'll accept with pleasure. I'm looking forward to meeting Hezzy
and seeing his face when he learns we are members of the family," Bob
added with relish.
"How soon are you starting?"
"As soon as you are ready," Mr. Fenton told them, so they raced into the
house and made a wild scramble to get into their clothes. In record time
they were out, their faces were flushed from the stampede and the cold
dip.
"You surely have a grand lake in your back yard. I never enjoyed a swim
so much in my life," Jim volunteered as they climbed into the seat of
the waiting car.
"Suppose that you have water-holes in Texas and you boys fight over the
swimming privileges just as the cattle men used to fight over keeping
them for their stock," Mr. Fenton remarked.
"We don't kill each other."
"We're not so fond of a bath as all that, Uncle Norman. There are four
creeks on the ranches, and one corner of Mom's takes in a slice of Pearl
River."
"In the spring we have it to burn. Sometimes it fills the gullies and
part way up the canyons, but that's only in the Cap Rock section. Almost
at the edge of the cliff the land stretches away for about three hundred
miles and that's pretty dry. Some of the ranchers drove wells, but they
had to do it a dozen times before they had any luck, and most of them
are driven more than a hundred feet to reach water. They force it to the
surface and make pools," Jim explained.
"Is that for the cattle?" Mr. Fenton was greatly interested.
"Yes, and to irrigate the grain."
As he listened to the bits of description of the boys' home in Texas,
Mr. Fenton was driving along the road which ran in a wavy line all the
way around the Island and in ten minutes they came to the log bridge
which led to Isle La Motte. Here and there they passed Vermonters who
exchanged greetings with the farmer, and occasionally they passed
touring cars. Some of them were carrying full loads, while others were
less crowded. A good percentage were trying to take in all the beauty of
the "Islands" they were crossing, but the rest looked bored and some of
them read. The cars carried plates from almost every state in the Union
and were everything from shiny and new, to rattly and very old.
"Great snakes," Jim remarked. "Looks as if the world and his wife have
taken to their automobiles."
"Glad we have Her Highness. She can't be crowded off the road," Bob
added and he glanced a bit disdainfully at the travelers. They drove
across the bridge, hurried on north and at last came to the little
depot, where Mr. Fenton took on a piece of freight, chattered a moment
with the agent, then took his place again.
"Now, you'll see the farm. The place is one that Mrs. Fenton inherited
from an uncle of hers. That end of Isle La Motte used to be rather
thickly settled for these parts, but the old people died off and the
younger ones went to other places to make their homes. It's quite a
farm, nearly three hundred acres, but most of it is timber land, and
it's too far from the main road to cultivate. If we didn't have the
other place, we should have moved over, but it seemed ideal for a
poultry farm. Vermont turkeys bring a big price, so we started in a
small way and soon it was quite a success. The last couple of years
haven't been so good. The birds are not easy to raise, and we expect
many of them to die and don't mind if a few are stolen, but wholesale
loss--a couple of hundred went two nights before you boys arrived."
"Cracky, that was a wollop," Bob whistled.
"Have many raids like that?" asked Jim. It sounded like the losses on a
big stock ranch.
"There have been quite a few. Well, here we are." They drove up to the
old house which had been built over a hundred years ago, but in spite of
its great age, it was sturdy looking. Its architecture, doors, mullioned
windows, and wide floorings in the "porch" would have gladdened the
heart of a "Colonial" collector. The boys did not know this, of course,
but they could appreciate that it was a great old place. Mr. Fenton
honked, and in a moment the door was opened and Hezzy emerged.
"How are you, Burley? Dropped around to show the nephews from Texas what
a turkey farm looks like." Hezzy came down the steps and the boys eyed
him gravely. "Want you to meet the boys. Jim Austin and Bob Caldwell.
They are going to spend a part of the summer with us."
"Pleased to--" Hezzy was beside the car now, his glasses resting low on
his nose as he could look over them.
"Reckon Mr. Burley has met us before," Bob grinned.
"Oh yes, I forgot. They told me they landed with their plane on the cove
and you drove them away. I explained the troubles you have been having."
"They didn't one of them say they come from your place, just landed on
the lake and said they wanted to see the farm. That was two days, or
less, since we lost that big batch--I wasn't taking no chances," Hezzy
said quickly. He wasn't a very prepossessing man to look at, but now he
smiled at his employer and was most affable.
"Sure, we understand," Bob assured him, but Jim said never a word.
"Want to look around now?" Hezzy invited cordially.
"We will. I haven't much time but they can get an idea and come back
later if they want to see more," Mr. Fenton said as they climbed out of
the car.
"Oh, they can see it in a few minutes," Hezzy answered. "It's pretty
much all alike." He led the way toward the shore, and presently the
three were going through the houses, past the wired run-ways, and to the
larger enclosure where the bigger birds were confined.
"The thieves must have done some damage if they went over those wires,"
Jim remarked as he noted the fine mesh, and that smaller yards were
enclosed like a box.
"They got in through the houses," Hezzy answered promptly. "At night."
"Got good locks?" Bob asked.
"Best we can buy," his uncle replied.
"Wish we could help you find the thieves," said Jim, "but we're kind of
dubs. I lost my watch at school and tried detecting. Began to suspect
the president, then I found it in my other suit pocket, so I swore off
sleuthing."
"You bet, it's a dangerous business, but I suppose you have someone on
the job, Uncle Norman!"
"Well, no, we haven't. We just try our best to catch them when they come
for more, but we haven't been able to discover the thieves yet. I see
that you have the watch dogs. Are they good?"
"They seem to be fine dogs, but one of them is sick this morning. I gave
him a physic. It's the only thing I know to do for him, but I guess
he'll come around," Hezzy told them.
"You'd better call up the veterinary. I paid a good price for those
beasts and should not like to have to buy another pair," Mr. Fenton
ordered.
"I called up the vet. He told me what to give him," Hezzy answered.
"Well, guess that's all you can do. Someone might try to poison them, so
keep an eye on what they eat."
"I'm not taking any chances," Hezzy said hastily. "Want to have a look
at him?"
"Not this afternoon, I want to get back. You boys seen enough to satisfy
you for the time being?"
"Sure," Jim answered. "There isn't much to see. Sometime when you are
coming again, we'll tag along if you'll let us, sir."
"Be glad to have you."
"Sure, bring them along any time," Hezzy spoke up. "I'm sorry you didn't
say you belonged to the Fentons when you were here yesterday, but I
didn't know, and turkeys are the scariest birds that grow wings."
"That's all right, but we thought you might have heard about the plane
and recognize us from that," Jim told him.
"Fent told me you were coming from Texas in an airplane, but when a
man's worried he don't stop to think. Only thing came into my head was
you were some marauders and my men were both away for an hour."
"All right, come along." They made their way to the car and were soon on
the way home.
"It's a great place, Uncle Norman. Maybe when we're flying around we can
locate something which will solve the mystery for you, but you'd better
not say anything to anyone because it might put the thieves wise and
they'd work another way."
"Very well, I'll keep it under my hat, but don't either of you go taking
any chances. I want to send you home with whole bones and not in
sections. That would be a poor ending for your trip."
"We'll be careful. We were over the island with Aunt Belle this morning
and I noticed the other end hasn't much good landing space. Too many
trees and shrubs, except one hill that's kind of bare, but it isn't very
big and it looks steep," Bob explained.
"Your aunt certainly did enjoy her ride," the man smiled.
"Don't we know it! We knew she would, but she was scared blue when we
started--said it was like going to have a tooth drawn." By that time
they were at home and after supper they took a stroll along the rocky
beach.
"Got something on your mind besides your cap?" Bob asked his buddy.
"Yes, hair."
"The rest is vacant space--" Bob dodged a stone that his step-brother
threw at him.
"No it isn't, you nut. Keep away from those trees or a squirrel will
mistake you for a part of his supper," Jim retorted. They walked on a
way in silence, then they came to a huge boulder, where the older boy
sat down.
"I say, what are you thinking about? I never saw you still so long
except when you're in Her Highness and her voice keeps you quiet."
"How did you like Hezzy?" Jim asked.
"Oh, he wasn't so bad when we were properly introduced. Guess if we had
just lost two hundred turkeys we'd have been out with shot guns too.
We'd have fired them first and sent apologies to the family afterwards.
What do _you_ think of him?"
"I don't know. It's giving me a brainstorm to find out. Can't blame a
man for being on the war path under those conditions. He's probably the
salt of the earth, as your aunt says, and honest as the day is long, but
I can't get over the idea that if we met him on the range in Texas, we'd
turn the bull loose on him," Jim laughed.
"Maybe we would," Bob admitted, then he grinned, "but you don't want to
forget that you thought the president had your watch."
"Go on!"
"What's eating you besides the man's looks and his reception of us the
other day?"
"Not much. It seemed to me that he wasn't overly anxious to have us come
back--"
"Why yes he was--said to come--"
"Any time _with your uncle_. But when Mr. Fenton said we could come by
ourselves and take a look, he said 'we could see it all in a few
minutes.' Like as not, I'm barking up the wrong tree. Let's go up early
in the morning and see what we can see around the border. I'd kind of
like to talk with Bradshaw again. He was real decent and I'd like to
know if he located any of that gang yet," Jim proposed.
"Suits me right down to the ground."
"We've been kind of grounded since we came. Suppose your aunt would mind
letting us take a lunch to eat in the air, or some nice place we pick
out?"
"Of course she won't mind. What sort of crab do you think she is?"
"No sort of crab, unless there is a very generous, likable variety, but
we don't want to make extra trouble for her. Your mother said that the
farm takes a lot of work and she has no end of things to do. Tomorrow
she's going to can some more--"
"And she'll be glad to have us out of the way for a while." Bob was
quite positive, and although his aunt showed no desire to be rid of her
two guests, she was perfectly willing to fix them up a picnic lunch and
by the weight of the basket she handed her nephew the next morning, it
promised to be a bountiful meal.
"You boys be careful and if it gets stormy you'd better come right home.
I'd be real worried--"
"You must not do that. Didn't we slide down on the lightning the other
day?" Bob demanded.
"Yes, I know you did--"
"And didn't you enjoy air traveling?"
"Yes, yes indeed I did, I wrote to your mother last night--"
"Then don't waste any good worries about us," Bob grinned. "We'll be
fine and come home to roost, like chickens."
"Hurry up, Her Highness is raring to go," Jim shouted. He was already in
the cock-pit, and his pal raced to join him.
"All O.K.?"
"Sure Mike." Bob took his place beside his step-brother, adjusted
himself, and in a minute Jim opened the throttle, the engine bellowed a
challenge to the world, or a joyous roar that it was about to do
something worth watching. Up they climbed a thousand feet, circled above
North Hero, and as Bob glanced over the side, he caught glimpses of
children and farmer folk staring at them. He waved gaily, then Her
Highness leveled off and shot northwest.
"Going to have a look about Isle La Motte?" Bob asked through the
speaking tube.
"No. If the thief is there I want him to think that we are not
interested in looking for him," Jim answered, then added. "I'm more
interested in seeing if we can find Bradshaw."
"Any special reason?"
"Not one." Jim answered emphatically.
They sped toward the boundary and both boys were filled with delight at
being in the air. Bob kept the glasses to his eyes and every once in a
while would point out something attractive so his step-brother would
miss none of the delights of the trip. Jim did not wish to go straight
north, so he bore westward, following the American side of the border
and after an hour, circled about and returned pretty much along the same
course. Once they saw a passenger plane soaring majestically south, and
then they spied the mail-pilot racing toward them, so they went to meet
him. The young fellow in the cock-pit eyed them for a moment but when
they grinned and waved, he waggled his wings as a return salute. He
seemed such a jolly sort that Jim came about and taxied along beside him
for a while, then with a farewell wave, he spiraled high and circled
away, the U. S. plane thundering toward Montreal.
"We ought to locate Bradshaw soon," Bob remarked as they were nearing
the territory which their Mounty friend patrolled, and Jim nodded. The
younger boy searched the rolling globe beneath them. Through the glasses
he could see tiny homesteads, miles of unsettled stretches broken only
by a rough road, and an occasional traveler scooting along in a car or
seeming to crawl behind a team of horses.
"The place we picked up Bradshaw is about a mile ahead," Jim remarked,
and this time Bob nodded assent. He paid even greater attention to his
observations, and once he picked up something that puzzled him. It was a
wooded ravine, the sides of which rose steeply and were bristling with
overhanging rock. The boy guessed that it was the bed of a stream, but
the water had either dried up or been diverted through another outlet.
He followed its winding course, and calculated that it must be several
miles long and extended well across the borders into the two countries.
Twice he thought he saw something moving about, then he looked more
sharply for he thought it might be a bear. In a moment more he
discovered that it was a man, two of them in fact and they were making
their way warily as if anxious to escape detection.
"Slow up a bit Buddy and zig-zag. I want to see this place." Jim nodded,
reduced the speed, zoomed high and spiraled as if he were reaching for
the ceiling, then dropped, and all the while Bob kept his eyes on that
deep ravine.
"Spot anything, Buddy?"
"I don't know. You have a look, but be careful. Wouldn't that ravine
down there be a corker place for bootleggers or smugglers to go sneaking
from one side to the other? I see some men there now. What do you
think?" Jim was already scrutinizing the place.
"Yes it would, but it's too big for the patrol men to have overlooked,"
Jim answered. "That old road runs pretty close to it. Law-breakers would
keep out of a place like that."
"They might not just because it looks so inviting. They might figure
they could get away with it because it's so easy, and they'd have it
fixed up. See those fellows?" Jim nodded, and by that time he was keenly
interested. He not only saw the two men, but further along he picked up
two more who seemed to be hiding in the underbrush, and not far away he
espied a two-wheel cart, which was painted green.
"Great guns, we've got to find Bradshaw and tell him. He may give us the
ha-ha, but just the same, that's no ordinary bunch down there, and the
men are not even smoking cigarettes. Here." He handed the glasses back
to the younger boy. "Be careful no one notices that you are watching
them," he warned tensely. He kicked the rudder, shot Her Highness' nose
into the air, zoomed higher, and five minutes later, Bob caught his arm
and nodded toward the land.
"Bradshaw is down there on the road! He's about five miles, I guess,
from where I first saw that ravine, and it ends just a little way below
him. Two fellows crawled up after he had passed, got on horses and
separated, and Jim, they are following the Mounty, one on each side, as
if they are watching him. They are just jogging along as if they are on
old plugs, and Jim--there, oh gosh, there are two more coming out a mile
ahead on the road." Bob was so excited that he could hardly speak
steadily.
"Are they laying for him?" Jim asked tensely.
"I think they are. Come on, do something, and do it quick, for they are
all trotting in close. I think he hears the ones behind, because he's
turning around--Jim--" Jim looked over the side, and just ahead he could
see the drama being enacted two-thousand feet beneath him.
"Hang on to your teeth," he roared.
With a swift flop he turned Her Highness' nose toward the earth, and
with the engine bellowing he came tearing out of the sky. After the
first second he shut off the motor, made it cough and sputter, and the
plane began to spin and twist, tail first, then nose first. Both boys
tried to watch what was taking place beneath them, and Jim's heart
almost stopped beating as he saw that the Mounty was concentrating his
whole attention on them. Even Pat had his eyes upward at the startling
spectacle of a gyrating airplane that promised to be kindling wood in a
few seconds. On they raced, and as they came, Austin saw that two of the
outlaws were galloping swiftly, rifles on their arms, toward their prey.
They seemed to have thrown caution to the winds and were taking
advantage of the commotion above them to complete their wicked crime.
Bob clutched his step-brother's arm as he too took in the scene, but Jim
was not unmindful of their own danger and one eye was on the altitude
meter. At five hundred feet he took the controls, started the engine and
lifted Her Highness' nose, then went on into a glide that brought them,
a moment later, to a scant two feet of the snorting Patrick and the
indignant Mounty. But before the man could utter a protest, Jim bellowed
defiantly.
"Aw yes, suppose you think you own the air, and you're going to give us
a blowing up. Well, come on and do it."
"I surely will," Bradshaw responded. He was surprised at the whole
performance, leaped from his horse, and strode close to them.
"Well, go on and search me if you want to, you half-baked nut--"
"I say, how do you get that way?" Jim was out of the cock-pit, his arms
raised above his head as if he were being held up.
"Go on and search," he shouted. "I'm not afraid of the whole Canadian
army," then he added in a lower tone. "Search me and make out you're mad
as blazes. Rip us both up loud and handsome. We saw some guys out to do
you, and they are not far away. Savvy?"
"Yes, I'll search you, you rough necks." Swiftly his hands went over the
boy from head to foot, while Jim alternated between bitter abuse,
punctuated with bits of their story told in a lower tone. In the middle
of the performance, Bob hopped out beside his step-brother.
"What do you think you're doing?" he yelled, and added, "Get out your
gun, they're just back in some brush." The business-like automatic was
instantly in Bradshaw's hand and he whirled on Caldwell.
"You quit shooting off your mouth," he ordered in fine style. "How did
you chaps discover this bunch?" in a lower tone of voice. He began the
search of Caldwell, and as the three stood they could see on all sides
of them in case the outlaws decided to take a hand.
"We were looking for you," Bob answered while the man went through his
breast pockets. "Saw a ravine back there with a lot of men in it. Looked
queer so we came to give you the message, then as soon as we spotted
you, we saw the bunch, four of them, closing in, so we did our little
stuff with Her Highness. Now don't go taking anything that doesn't
belong to you," he ended with a savage roar as Bradshaw drew a notebook
out of his pocket.