FORCING A CONFESSION
The two tramps were thrown to the ground quickly, and just as quickly
were the towel-made ropes wrapped about their arms and legs, trussing
them tightly and safely against any further struggles.
Snadder fought hard, much harder than the pudgy, slow, phlegmatic
Blinky. Twice the tall fellow tried to bite the boys on the wrists or
hands as they worked, and was so savage that Frank gave him a sharp
slap in the face with his hand in order to quiet him and to let him
know this was not a mere boy’s prank.
The wide open door permitted plenty of light to enter the shack, and
when the tramps were lying on the floor of the place they had an
opportunity of seeing that reinforcements of considerable quantity had
arrived during their absence.
“How do you fellows feel as captives now?” Frank asked them. “We are
going to do a little better by you, though, than you did by us. We’ll
be more lenient, and when you wish a drink you may have it.”
This reminded the other three boys who had been captives that they were
in need of water, and they obtained it very quickly by rushing through
the door, grabbing up handfuls of the snow and permitting it to melt in
their parched mouths. The excitement was over for a little while.
“Where did Jeek go?” asked Frank, after the tramps had been given some
moments to think over the reversal of their situation.
Snadder replied sulkily that he did not know, and if he did know he
wouldn’t tell, anyhow.
“That is left entirely to you, Snadder,” Frank took the matter quietly.
“We’ll get them, though, and it won’t do you any harm to give us the
facts. We just wanted to know how long we had to wait.”
Snadder held his counsel, his expression a decidedly sulky one, angry
for a while, but after the boys had stood around on the outside
chatting for half an hour Frank noticed that the anger appeared to have
left the tall fellow. As for Blinky, his expression was simply that of
one who takes things as easily as he can, tries to accept bad luck as
bad luck, a thing he had spent most of his life having.
“Snadder,” Frank’s pleasant voice was once more addressed to him, “you
have been badly treated. Jeek should never have left here until you
came back. Don’t you realize that he knew we would get out in the
meanwhile and that we’d capture you when you returned?”
This was well thought out on Frank’s part. His plan was to get Snadder
to thinking Jeek had left things in such a way that the tramps would be
captured and the boys take the tramps to jail for robbing the camp.
“He is satisfied, of course,” went on Frank, while the other boys
listened intently, “to get the money he was asking and then to leave
things so that we could capture you fellows who stole our stuff and
take you back to jail with us.”
This had a decided effect on Snadder. Frank noted the change in the
facial expression of the tramp. He waited quietly for the fellow’s
reply. But the tramp fooled them:
“If things was so friendly between you and Jeek, why do you want to
know when he is coming back?”
Frank’s expression did not undergo the slightest change.
“Well, Snadder, I am surprised at your lack of understanding,” he said.
“You don’t think we are going to let him keep any money he got from us,
do you? We know he didn’t go back to his own camp, because these other
boys would have met him. So he must have gone somewhere else. And if he
went somewhere else, we want to know where it is so we can get him. It
wouldn’t be fair to take you two fellows to jail for robbing our camp
and not take him.”
Snadder took this in quiet, and lay on the floor of the cabin
thinking over things. For a while he made no attempt to continue the
conversation, the boys again going outside the cabin to chat over
matters.
Frank re-entered the shack after a while, and spoke:
“Snadder, you know we found lots of the things you stole from our
place, and we’ve decided to put you two fellows in jail. So we’ll fix
up your arms a bit stronger and we’ll start in now. It’s no use to try
to get any more out of you. We’ll just have to wait for some other time
to get Jeek.”
Then he turned to the band of young fellows:
“Tie their arms tighter, and we’ll make them walk ahead of us. We have
the goods on them, so we’ll just put them in jail right now.”
This had the desired effect on the taller one of the two tramps. He had
no wish to go to jail if there was any chance to evade it--and Snadder
figured there was nothing now to be gained by trying to protect Jeek
any longer.
“I’ll tell you about it,” he blurted out suddenly, wriggling around in
his bonds. “Jeek went back to the camp by another path. There is one
that is shorter and quicker.”
“Then he is not coming back here this afternoon? Not going to relieve
you fellows again?” said Frank quickly.
“Yes, he told us he would come here so that we could get something to
eat,” Snadder answered reluctantly.
Frank was satisfied by this statement that Jeek had gone back to the
cabin--for a while. He was just enough satisfied that he asked for
directions, and then, alone, leaving every one of the boys at the shack
to watch the two tramps, he went out to follow trails through the snow
to learn whether Snadder had told the truth.
When he came to the spot where the trail was to divide, as told by
Snadder, he found there was a trail which led off in another direction,
though it did not seem to bear back toward Old Moose Lake.
However, Frank followed it for a while, and discovered that it made a
turn around the hills and bore back in the correct direction.
Learning this, he went back to the shack and informed the boys quietly
what he had found. Whereupon, the bonds on the arms of the two tramps
were made tighter and their legs were freed of the towel ropes.
“Now, Snadder, we’re going over to that camp to get Jeek and his
buddies,” said Frank, speaking sharply and with determination. “If
you’ve told us the truth, it will go easier with you. If you have not
told us the truth, then you go to the pen just as quick as we can land
you there.”
This was accepted by the two tramps, and the hike was started, the boys
dividing up all the wares that had been stolen, putting them away in
various pockets, their guns thrown across their arms.
Snadder was put in the lead, with Blinky behind him, while the boys
stretched out behind, Frank leading them, so that he could talk to
the two tramps and keep them appraised of the necessity for leading
correctly.
What the distance was they did not know, but they thought, at least
Frank did, that it could not be so very great, else Jeek and his pal
would not so readily have agreed to change shifts.
They were rounding the second of the series of hills when, coming to
a narrow place in the trail with a steep declivity to their right,
Snadder made a sudden rush forward, disappearing around a bend ahead of
them. Blinky made no effort to move faster.
Frank’s involuntary thought was to pass Blinky and to go after Snadder,
but as he closed up quickly to do this he realized that Blinky could
very easily stagger against him and push him off the precipice, for
Blinky was keeping close to the side of the hill.
So, instead of following out his first idea, Frank held his nerve, and,
with the muzzle of his rifle against the back of Blinky, he urged that
fellow to move more rapidly.
Around the bend of the cliff they saw Snadder moving on the path as if
nothing had happened.
“Listen, Snadder,” Frank called ahead to the tramp, “don’t try any more
tricks like that one or I’ll just drop you in your tracks and we’d
carry you in to jail.”
Realizing that his trick had not availed anything, the tall fellow kept
straight ahead until they reached a hill which looked down on the camp
of Jeek and his two cronies.
“Snadder!” yelled Frank, spying the place at the edge of the lake, the
cabins coming into view, “you fellows can stay right here for a little
while and four of us will go down there.”
With this Frank detailed four of the boys to watch the two prisoners,
while he took three others with him to go down to Jeek’s camp and learn
what they could do.
“It depends on the way you two fellows act now, as to what we’ll do,”
Frank said to the tall tramp. “If you make a move or do anything to
spoil our plans, it is going to go hard with you.”
The four boys moved away, dropping easily down the hill, watching the
smoke issuing from the larger of the two cabins, taking the chance that
Jeek and his cronies would never think of trouble coming from the boys
whom they had left so well imprisoned.
It took but a few minutes to get down to the level of the lake and to
get behind a small grove of trees to watch the cabin.
“They are just sitting in there doing nothing,” muttered Lanky, who
with Paul, Buster and Frank, had come down on the final errand.
Gradually the boys closed in on the cabin, sneaking through the little
grove of trees until they were within fifty yards of the place.
“It’s a dash now, fellows,” Frank said. “Lets all get to the front door
as quickly as we can, and go in there suddenly. Ready?”
At the signal the four boys dashed across the open space, up to the
door of the cabin, and, throwing it wide open, all four rushed into the
place.
Not a soul in sight! The fire was booming, showing the men had recently
been there. But there was now no sign of the presence of Jeek or any
one of his companions.
“Gone out somewhere for some reason, and we’ll just wait here a while,”
Frank gave his orders to the others.
At once, they took seats, with the exception of one, who was stationed
at the window to watch for the coming of the campers. A full hour went
by without any disturbance, without any sign. Then Buster called that
the men were coming.
Walking straight toward the cabin, their arms filled with material of
various kinds, the lads saw Jeek, Fallon and Carey.
“More of our stuff!” muttered Frank. “They’ve been down to our camp and
ransacked it some more!”
In a few minutes the three crooks came trudging through the snow to
the door of the camp, opened it, and strode in, throwing down their
packages on the floor in a heap.
“Throw up your hands!” Frank gave the order of a sudden, stepping out
from behind a chair.
Jeek whirled as if to make a rush at the young fellow, but three more
heads came from behind various articles of furniture, each with a rifle
or shot gun aimed at the three. And Jeek’s hands went into the air.
“Tie them up, Lanky,” Frank delivered the order, but Lanky needed no
invitation. Two ropes that had been lying on the floor were brought
into use, and the three men were very soon tied tightly.
“Now, Jeek,” said Frank, smiling in an engaging manner, “things have
taken a little turn. We’ve got Snadder and Blinky, and now we’ve got
you fellows. And we’ve caught you redhanded.”
Jeek, the burly, foaming with anger over this coup which had been put
over on him, merely rolled back his ugly upper lip from the yellowed
teeth and snarled at the boys.
“We don’t know how long you fellows will have to go to the penitentiary
for this, but it will be for long enough, no doubt,” Frank went slowly
on. “And you haven’t collected for the dog yet.”
“You’ll get yours when I get loose,” muttered Jeek.
“But we’re not going to let you loose,” answered Frank. “You can have
your choice, though, of things. You can go to jail at Columbia for
robbery and a few more charges, or you can sign a written statement
about all of it so that you won’t bother us any more.”
Jeek accepted this statement in silence. Evening was fast coming on.
The boys placed another log on the fire. Lanky went back to the hill to
signal the other boys to bring Snadder and Blinky in. All was quiet.
Finally Jeek spoke.
“What do you want me to sign?”