A PLUCKY CHASE.
As Van Vincent's startling words rang out a low murmur of surprise came
from the assemblage.
Not one offered to make a move until the lawyer stepped quickly forward,
and seizing the boy by the shoulder, pulled him away from John Moreland,
whose face had turned the color of ashes.
Van pushed the lawyer away from him rather roughly.
"I registered a vow to hunt the murderer down," said he in the same
clear voice, "but did not expect to find him so quick. There he stands
before us all. What have you to say against the charge, Doc Clancy?"
The boy had no sooner uttered the name of Doc Clancy than, quick as a
flash, John Moreland rushed from the room.
His action was so sudden no one could intercept him.
"That proves his guilt," cried Van, now in a high pitch of excitement.
"I am going after him, and will not return until I have caught him and
brought him to justice!"
Seizing his hat, Van left the room and dashed outside after the accused
murderer.
He beheld him running across a field in the direction of the railway
station.
Van glanced at his watch.
A train for New York was due in three minutes, and he knew full well
that a good runner could just about reach the depot in that time.
And the villain had a good three hundred yards' start of him!
Van Vincent was an excellent runner, but, strive as he might, he could
not gain upon the fleeing stranger.
Over fences and ditches went the pursued and pursuer, until the broad
lane leading to the station was reached.
Van heard the shrill whistle of a locomotive, and his heart sank within
him.
He knew that the train was coming.
It reached the depot just as John Moreland came to the track.
The villain knew that he would not have time enough to reach the
platform to board the train, so he clambered upon the last car from the
ground.
The train stopped about half a minute, which gave Van time to get within
a hundred feet of it before it started.
But he was too late.
The bell rang, and away went the train, with John Moreland standing on
the platform of the rear car, shaking his fist at Van in a derisive
manner.
Van stood still in his tracks until the train had disappeared from
sight, and then, without answering the station master's query as to what
the matter was, started slowly back to the house where he had lived for
so many years.
When he reached it he found no one there but Ben, the old servant, and
to him he stated that he was going away.
Van had about four hundred dollars that he had saved, and he at once got
this and placed it in a stanch, leather pocketbook, which he put in the
inside pocket of his vest.
He next packed a few things in a satchel, and then set out slowly for
the depot.
Another train would be along in about thirty-five minutes, which would
bring him to New York one hour behind the man he was chasing.
As Van walked along thinking over the general appearance of Doc
Clancy--for he was sure that John Moreland was no other than he--it
occurred to him that the man had some of the characteristics of a seaman
about him.
This gave the plucky boy an idea.
If Doc Clancy really was a follower of the sea, would he not most likely
ship aboard some vessel to make his escape? He had been publicly branded
as a murderer, and his action in fleeing from his accuser was pretty
good proof that he was guilty of the charge.
This was the way Van reasoned, and he concluded to make his way to the
shipping district as soon as he reached New York.
He reached the depot and purchased his ticket, and the train came along
a few minutes later and whirled him toward his destination.
Van was not playing the part of an amateur detective because he had any
particular hankering after that profession, but because he had made a
solemn vow to hunt down the murderer of his uncle.
He would try and locate his man, and then call the New York police to
his aid.
The distance by rail to New York was not great, and an hour later our
hero was walking down West Street in the busy metropolis.
He had often been to the city, and consequently knew something about it.
The boy did not stop until he reached the South Ferry, and then, acting
on an uncontrollable impulse, he boarded a South Street car and took up
his position on the platform with the driver.
He had not rode over ten blocks when he gave such a start that the car
driver made an involuntary movement to catch him, thinking he was going
to fall from the platform.
But Van did not notice him. The boy's eyes were riveted upon the back of
a man who was just entering the door of a saloon.
As he passed through the doorway the object of his gaze turned his head
around for a single instant.
"That's the murderer!" exclaimed Van, and with a single bound he sprang
from the car platform into the street, leaving the driver staring at his
retreating form in blank amazement.
Van was satisfied that the man he saw was Doc Clancy, alias John
Moreland. He had the features and general appearance of the villain
stamped too deeply upon his mind to be deceived.
With a bound he dashed upon the sidewalk, nearly upsetting a passer-by,
and then hurried into the saloon.
It was just after six in the evening, and the place was crowded with a
set of laboring men who had stopped in to quench their thirst on their
way home from work.
As the bar was but a small place, Van had great difficulty in squeezing
through the motley gathering.
The boy did not notice the rough looks that were bestowed upon him as he
elbowed his way through the crowd toward the rear of the saloon.
He was bent upon finding his man, and he forgot all else.
Van was young and impulsive, and he made a great mistake when he entered
that saloon upon the errand he was bent, as he afterward found out.
Just as he came abreast of the lunch counter the place contained he saw
Moreland enter a doorway in the rear and start up a flight of stairs.
Like a flash Van was after him, and a moment later he flung the door
open and darted breathlessly up the stairs.
When he reached the top he found himself in a gloomy hallway of narrow
dimensions.
It was too dark for him to discern the person he sought, but he could
hear the sound of footsteps on the uncarpeted floor.
It was just at that moment that it occurred to Van for the first time
that he had made a mistake.
"I ought to have brought a policeman with me," he thought. "But it is
too late now. I will capture that man or die!"
Rash boy! He had not taken ten steps along the hallway when a figure
suddenly confronted him; there was a dull thud, and Van Vincent sank to
the floor with a thousand stars flashing before his eyes.