_A TERRIBLE NIGHT._
At just about the same moment when Teddy and Dan were running with
Hazelton's money at full speed toward the museum tent, with the chance
of escape very much against them, Sam was in a decidedly painful frame
of mind.
After he had been securely tied the two men conversed in low tones for
several minutes, and then, as if having arrived at some definite
conclusion, began to make preparations for leaving the place.
At the same spot where Sam had been interrupted while scraping away the
dirt they proceeded to dig with a shovel which Phil procured from
somewhere outside the building, and during this labor the prisoner could
hear fragments of the conversation.
Once Long Jim ceased his work long enough to say:
"When you come to look at the matter quietly it doesn't seem as if we'd
got into sich a very bad scrape. You can manage to bring the rest of
the stuff down the creek between now an' Friday mornin' and I've got a
plan for givin' anybody who may come after us a good clue to the boy's
disappearance."
Phil made some remark which Sam could not hear, and his companion
replied in a louder tone:
"It can all be done so's to make folks think we've gone up the creek,
an' we've got to lay low for a while, which won't be a hard job while
the weather is warm."
"But I don't like the idea of totin' that cub with us so long."
"I'll take care of him, an' will make him earn his board, or somethin's
bound to break."
From this time until several packages were unearthed Sam could hear
nothing; but what had already been said was sufficient to convince him
that he was to have a very unpleasant experience, and for at least the
hundredth time he fervently wished he had never so much as heard of
detective work.
After the goods had been brought to light the earth was replaced in the
excavation and pounded down carefully. Then fully half an hour was spent
digging in different places, probably for the purpose of misleading any
one who might come there in search of plunder, for Phil said in a tone
of satisfaction as he ceased the apparently aimless labor:
"It'll take at least a day before all of these suspicious looking spots
have been investigated, an' in the meanwhile, unless we're chumps, we
shall know what's goin' on. I'll take one load to the boat; make sure
the coast is clear, an' then the three of us can carry the balance. Have
the boy ready for a quick move, an' see to it that he can't give an
alarm."
"I'll knock his head off if he so much as thinks of such a thing," and
as Phil disappeared with a portion of the plunder Long Jim began to
unfasten Sam's bonds, saying as he did so:
"We've made up our minds to hold you with us a few days 'cause you're
sich jolly company. If you obey orders an' keep your mouth shut there's
a chance of gettin' outer this scrape mighty easy; but I'd slit your
throat in a jiffy if you tried to give us the slip or made any noise."
Sam made no reply; but his captor could see very plainly that the boy
was nearly paralyzed with fright, and it was safe to infer he would
follow the instructions given to the letter.
Phil returned in a very short time and reported:
"The coast is clear. There's not a craft to be seen on the creek, an' we
can leave without danger."
The rope had been removed from Sam's limbs, and Long Jim proceeded to
load him down with bundles until he staggered under the weight.
"Now, see that you walk a chalk line," the burglar said, fiercely.
"Foller Phil, an' I'll keep behind to make sure there are no tricks
played. Remember what I promised!"
The men could carry the remainder of the goods in one load, and the
three went out of the barn hurriedly, Sam not daring to so much as lift
his eyes from the ground lest Long Jim's threat should be carried into
execution.
Arriving at the water's edge the boat was loaded, the prisoner ordered
to take his place at the oars, and then the final preparations were
made.
Phil uncovered the boat in which Sam had come, launched and overturned
her. Then taking the hat from the unresisting boy's head, threw it far
out in the channel, afterward giving the little craft a shove which sent
her a long distance from the shore. Next the two oars were sent after
the hat, and Phil said with a laugh:
"The current ain't very strong; but with the aid of the wind I reckon
that stuff will drift up to the fair grounds before dark."
Sam's despair was already so great that it did not seem as if it could
be increased; but the last vestige of hope fled when he realized that
these things had been done in order to make it appear as if he were
dead.
"Teddy and Dan won't think of huntin' for me after the boat is found,"
he thought, "an' these men are sure to kill me before this scrape is
over!"
The two burglars seated themselves comfortably in the stern-sheets, the
packages being placed at the bow to trim the craft properly, and Long
Jim said, sternly:
"You've been showin' off your skill as an oarsman for two or three days,
an' we want you to do it now. Put in your best licks, for it'll be tough
if we don't get through the water mighty fast."
Even Sam's worst enemy would have pitied him at this moment. No galley
slave chained to his seat could have been more utterly helpless, and he
exerted himself to the utmost in order to please those who professed to
be so willing to punish or kill.
Every stroke of the oars took them farther away from the fair grounds,
and each puff of wind carried the evidences of the prisoner's death
nearer the only ones who might take the trouble to search for him.
Not until fully an hour had passed did the burglars give any sign of a
desire to end the journey, and then Long Jim said:
"We must be six miles from the fair grounds by this time, an' that is as
far as you'll want to pull to-night, Phil. There should be plenty of
good hidin'-places in this bit of woods, an' I think we'd better haul
up."
"All right. Steer her into that ditch over there, an' we'll look
around."
Thus far in his experience as a detective this was the only thing Sam
had had for which to be thankful. His arms were so tired that it seemed
as if he could not have pulled another stroke, and his clothes were
literally wet from the perspiration that came from his body.
Phil went ashore, leaving his companion to watch the almost exhausted
prisoner, and in a few moments the former shouted:
"Load that cub up, an' bring him over here. This is a capital place to
locate in for a couple of days."
Staggering under the heavy burden Long Jim placed on his shoulders the
amateur detective was forced on through the underbrush in advance of his
captor until the two arrived at a perfect tangle of cedars.
Phil returned to the boat for the remainder of the goods, and all the
plunder was placed inside the thicket where the foliage was so dense
that one might have passed within a few feet of the spot and not had any
suspicion men were hidden there.
A tiny brook ran past one side of the hiding-place, and Sam took
advantage of the opportunity to check his raging thirst while the men
were laying plans for the future.
"I'll go back soon after sunset," Phil said, as he lighted his pipe and
proceeded to make himself comfortable. "We can leave the boy here to
look out for the stuff, an' you'd better come with me up to the barn
so's to learn if any one visits the place. I shall be back before
morning, an' you can let me know if the coast is clear."
"Shall you try to finish the job we were talkin' about?"
"No; things are so hot jest now that it won't pay to take any more risks
than are absolutely necessary. What we want is to get out of this
portion of the country as soon as possible."
"All right. I'll leave you to manage the rest of the business, an'
promise to follow orders."
"I think it's about time you said that, Jim. If my plans had been
carried out in the first place we wouldn't be in sich a muss; but could
be havin' the cream of the pickin's at the fair."
"Well, what's the use of harpin' on that all the time? The thing has
been done, an' we've got to make the best of it. Do you think it'll be
safe to leave this cub here alone while we're away?"
"It will be when I get through with him," was the grim reply, and Sam,
terrified by the vagueness of this remark, more even than he had been by
the plain language previously used, cried, piteously:
"Please don't leave me here alone to-night! I'll pull the boat, an' do
everything you say, without so much as yippin'."
"Them as starts out in the detective business have to take what comes,
'specially when their own foolishness brings it about. You joined our
party of your own accord, my son, an' must put up with what we choose to
give."
Sam said nothing more. He was reaping what he had sowed, and decided
that matters could not be much worse even if he was caught trying to
escape, therefore he resolved to take desperate chances in an effort to
give his captors the slip.
There was no opportunity to make the attempt, on this night at least,
for when Phil had finished smoking he proceeded in a very methodical
manner to secure the prisoner.
Sam was ordered to seat himself on the ground, with his back to the
trunk of a cedar-tree, and he was fastened skillfully, with his elbows
tied back in such a manner that he could not bring his hands together.
Both feet were bound, and then, with a sudden movement, Phil forced the
boy's mouth open, shoving into it a short piece of pine wood about an
inch and a half in diameter.
This was secured in such a manner that the prisoner could not free
himself from the uncomfortable bridle, neither would it be possible for
him to make the slightest outcry.
"Now, don't shout for help while we are gone, an' unless the bears eat
you up we shall meet again about daybreak," Phil said, with a coarse
laugh as he and Jim went out of the thicket toward the creek.
Poor Sam had never thought of the possibility that there might be bears
in this section of the country until the burglar suggested it, and he
was so terrified as not to realize it was impossible there could be any
dangerous animals in such a thickly-settled portion of the State.
Therefore, in addition to the danger to be apprehended from his captors,
he had constantly before his mind this new cause for fear. The rustling
of the leaves, the flight of a bird as it sought a perch for the night,
or the soughing of the wind among the branches were to him so many
proofs that a violent death would be his before morning.
If the beginning of the hours of darkness was so terrible it can well be
fancied how he suffered before another day dawned.