ANTOINE ON THE RUN
Antoine regarded the boys steadily for a moment without moving a
muscle. Will and Tommy believed that the fellow meant mischief,
and were wondering if they would be able to get their automatics
from their pockets before he could bring his rifle to a shooting
level.
One question had at least been answered. The boys had been
wondering ever since settling at the cabin whether Antoine had not
taken his departure from that country. His presence there at that
time answered this question in the most uncomfortable manner. The
man was evidently there on a mission not to be interfered with by
so simple a thing as a broken wrist.
"Well, boys," Antoine said in a moment, his face relaxing into a
smile which was far more terrifying than the previous look of
hatred, "it seems that we have come together again!"
"Welcome to our midst!" grinned Tommy.
Antoine eyed the lad keenly for an instant and then turned his eyes
toward Will.
"What are you doing in this country?" he asked.
"Fishing and bunting!" was the reply.
"Hunting for what?"
"Do you think we're looking for a forty story skyscraper?" demanded
Tommy.
Again Antoine glanced sharply at the boy, but seemed determined not
to give the slightest attention to his irrelevant observation.
"Who sent you here?" he asked of Will.
"Gee-whiz!" exclaimed Tommy angrily. "Is this the third degree?"
"How long are you going to remain here?" asked Antoine, without
paying any attention to the boy's question.
"Gee!" exclaimed Tommy. "You make me think of the stories of
little Clarence in the newspapers! You're the original little
interrogation point."
"You'd better answer my questions!" thundered Antoine, losing his
temper at last.
Now this was exactly what Tommy had been hoping for. Antoine angry
might prove to be more communicative than Antoine in a pleasant
temper.
"Will you answer a few of my questions?" asked Will, wondering if
it would be possible for him to spring upon the trapper and bring
him down before his rifle could be brought into use.
"If you'll keep that impertinent little gutter-snipe still,"
Antoine snarled, "I'll answer such questions as seem to me to be
worth answering."
"Are you the man who was seen sitting half-asleep before a fire in
a cavern three nights ago?" asked the boy.
The man hesitated for a moment, as if in deep thought, and then
answered with an exclamation of impatience.
"Were you in the cave that night?"
"No, but my chums were," Will replied.
"What did they see there?"
"A man asleep by the fire!"
"Perhaps the man wasn't asleep at all. What else did they see?"
It was Will's turn to hesitate now. He was wondering if he ought
to mention the fact of the presence in that cavern of the Little
Brass God.
At first it seemed to him that he ought to do so, that he might be
able to secure information as to the exact situation from Antoine
by facing him with the fact of the discovery of the ugly little
idol.
Then he reasoned that an acknowledgment that they knew anything
whatever of the Little Brass God would be likely to get them into
deeper trouble, if possible, than that which they now faced.
So the boy decided to say nothing whatever of what George and Thede
had seen shining in the light of the fire.
During this brief time of silence Antoine brought his rifle into a
more menacing position and began stirring about angrily.
"Are you going to answer my question?" the man finally demanded.
"That's about all so far as I know!" replied the boy.
Of course Will was not telling the exact truth, but he believed
that, under the circumstances, he was privileged to shade the exact
facts a trifle in the interest of his own safety.
"What was it you put in the tea you gave George?" asked Tommy with
a mischievous grin on his freckled face.
"I put nothing whatever in it!" replied Antoine, "that is, I put
nothing in it calculated to do the boy any harm."
It seemed to the boys that Antoine's manner was becoming more
conciliatory every moment.
"The lad was worn out, weak from loss of blood, and sadly in need
of attention," the man went on, "and so, after caring for his wound
and giving him a good breakfast, I gave him a mild sleeping potion,
which, as you already know, affected him only a short time."
"You say it well!" grinned Tommy.
Antoine threw an angry glance at the provoking youngster, but soon
turned to Will once more.
"I didn't quite understand the sudden attack the boys made on me,"
he said. "I was astonished when I received the blow which broke my
wrist."
"Who set your wrist?" asked Will.
"There was only one bone broken, and I set it myself!" was the
reply.
"Perhaps we did wrong in taking it for granted that George had
been drugged to get him out of the way, and that we would share
the same fate," Will admitted after a moment. "But, under the
circumstances, I don't see how we could have done any differently."
"I'm sorry you were so precipitous," Antoine said with what was
intended for a suave smile. "You boys, I understand," he went on,
"are now occupying the cabin on the island in the marsh."
"Who told you that?" asked Will.
"No one!" was the reply. "I have been near the place twice since
you took possession.
"Why didn't you call?" demanded Tommy.
Again the boy's question was ignored.
"Did you see any one loitering about the cottage when you were
there?" asked Will. "You were there in the daytime, I suppose."
"Why do you ask that question?" demanded Antoine, giving a quick
start. "Have you been annoyed by people hanging about the cabin?"
Will didn't know whether to relate the story of the midnight visit
or not. He finally decided that the least he said to Antoine the
better it would be for him, so he replied that they had passed two
very restful nights in the deserted log house on the island.
"Did you find it deserted?" asked Antoine.
"It had the appearance of having been recently occupied," replied
Will. "I understand from one of the boys that Pierre formerly
lived there."
"So I understand!" Antoine replied grimly. "The point now is,
whether it was occupied by any one after Pierre left it."
Not caring to tell the exact facts. Will said nothing whatever,
and for a moment there was a rather embarrassed silence.
"What do you say about that?" demanded Antoine.
"Why, I think there was a little fire left when we went into the
place," Will replied, "but that might have been a left-over from
the day before. Those large fires burn a long time."
"And you say that you have not been disturbed at all during your
occupancy of the place?" Antoine continued.
"Now I wonder how much this fellow knows," Will asked himself while
Antoine stood gazing curiously down upon him. "I wonder if he
knows about the people who came there that night? He seems to have
a suspicion that some person is wandering about the country, and
keeping pretty well out of sight. I wish I knew how much he knows."
"Oh, we have slept all right," he finally said, in reply to the
man's question. "A mess of healthy boys will sleep under the noise
of battle!"
"I ask these questions," Antoine said directly, "because I have
seen strange foot-prints in the snow at different times, and it
seems to me that some person or persons are skulking through the
woods and, for some reason known only to themselves, keeping out of
sight of honest men."
"He knows all about that affair at the cabin," Will concluded.
"Now," he went on, "I wonder why he's so very much interested in
these strangers, whoever they are?"
"Oh, come on!" Tommy exclaimed. "Don't stand here all day! We've
got to get back to the cabin before it gets too dark to make our
way through the woods."
The two boys took a couple of steps forward at a venture, without
knowing whether Antoine would oppose their leaving the cavern.
"Well," he said, as he stepped to one side, "if you boys see any
strangers loitering about, I wish you'd let me know."
The two lads amazed departed without making any promise, but they
did not at once turn in the direction of the cabin. Instead, they
plunged through the snow in a southerly direction, after seeing
that Antoine had gone the other way.
"Where are you headed for now?" asked Tommy.
"Just wandering about on general principles," replied Will, at the
same time turning into one of the eaves belonging to the system of
underground passages. "Thought I'd look in here first!"
The lads entered the cavern as noiselessly as possible and looked
guardedly about. A great heap of furs lay on the floor, and two
figures rested upon them apparently lost in slumber.
Tommy pointed to the modern shoes on the feet of one of the
sleepers. Then he silently called attention to the bloody bandage
wrapped about the man's head. He looked at Will inquiringly.
"Do you suppose," he whispered, "that these, fellows are here after
the Little Brass God, too?"
The men seemed willing to answer the question for themselves, for
they sprang to their feet and glared at the intruders angrily.
One of the men was dressed as a trapper, although he did not look
the part. He was tall and angular, with sharp features and keen
black eyes.
His companion was shorter, but equally slender. His eye orbits
were small and oval in shape, his face was a dusky brown, and there
was, somehow, about the man an atmosphere of the Orient.
While the four people glared at each other a step was heard in the
narrow entrance, and in a moment Antoine's face was clearly
outlined against the narrow slit of light.
The trapper took in the group at one quick glance, and, turning in
his tracks, fled precipitately down the slope. Without speaking a
word, the two men who had been found in the cavern, turned and
followed him.
"Now what do you think of that?" demanded Tommy.