THE ROBBERS SEPARATE.
Tom Walton pointed to the tender of the Grace, in which a young man
was pulling across the Narrows with all his might. He was already so
far from us that we could not make him out. We ran with all our speed
towards the wharf; but we were obliged to pass behind some buildings,
and lost sight of the retreating robber in the boat. It was still early
in the morning, and no one in this part of the town was stirring.
“I am afraid we are too late,” said Tom, as we turned the corner at the
steamboat wharf.
“If we can only see them so that we shall know them, we shall have some
chance,” I replied.
“There goes the Raven!” shouted my companion, as we saw Waddie’s
sail-boat shooting out from the wharf.
“Who is in her? Isn’t it some one after that fellow in the tender?”
“I don’t know; it may be,” replied Tom, as we halted, out of breath, at
the end of the wharf.
By this time the man in the row-boat had nearly reached the other side
of the lake. I could only see that he was a young man, well dressed,
and rather slender in stature. He had taken off his coat, and was
bareheaded. The other man, in the Raven, seemed to take particular
care that he should not be scrutinized by any person on shore. He wore
a shaggy old coat, and a dilapidated Panama hat; but these articles
belonged to Waddie, who kept them in the boat for use when he went
fishing or sailing. The robber in the Raven had evidently availed
himself of these garments to disguise his person as much as possible.
He was a good boatman, and handled the Raven with much skill. He had
left the wharf under mainsail only; but as soon as he was clear of the
shore, he ran up the jib, and headed the boat up the lake. I did not
readily see why the rogues had separated at this point, whether it was
to divide their pursuers, or whether they wished to go to different
parts of the country. The Raven and the tender were the only boats at
the wharf, and I finally concluded that they had taken this course
to prevent the sail-boat from being used in the pursuit, as well as
to divide the attention of the pursuers, for I was satisfied that
they were conscious of having been discovered. In order to obtain the
tiller, the hat, and the coat, the man in the Raven must have broken
into the cabin; but this was a trivial achievement to one who had set
at defiance the huge lock of the bank vault.
“We are standing here like fools!” exclaimed Tom, as we were watching
the two boats, though we had hardly wasted a minute in this way.
“We have no boat to follow them,” I replied. “But there comes the
Belle,” I added, as I glanced up the lake.
The sail-boat was not half a mile distant, and we had been so intent
upon observing the movements of the robbers that we did not see her
before. The breeze was even fresher than it had been during the night,
and she was rushing over the waves with a huge bone in her mouth,
at a speed which would soon bring her to the wharf. The man in the
tender landed at the wharf in Middleport, and with his hat and coat in
his hand, walked up the wharf. Though we lost sight of him, we were
confident that he would be overtaken. There were but three roads by
which he could leave the town, if he left it at all, and men with fast
horses could make his chances of escaping very small.
“Hurry up, Waddie!” shouted Tom, as the Belle neared the wharf.
“Shall we try to follow both of them, or only one? That’s the question
now,” I added.
“Both of them, of course,” replied Tom, eagerly. “I will chase the
Raven in the Belle, and you or Waddie can follow the fellow that went
over in the tender.”
“Good! That is the plan.”
“Hallo, there! Have you seen anything of them?” shouted Captain
Synders, as he drove his horse swiftly down the wharf.
“Yes, seen them both,” I answered. “One has crossed over to Middleport,
and the other is in the Raven.”
“Good gracious!” exclaimed the excited constable. “Get me a boat, and
row me over to the other side as quick as lightning.”
“We have no boat; but there comes the Belle. She will be here in half a
minute.”
“But I am going to chase the Raven in the Belle,” interposed Tom, who
had worked himself up to a high pitch of excitement at the prospect of
the thrilling race before him.
“I must get across the lake somehow,” added the officer.
“What’s the matter?” demanded Waddie, as he rounded the corner of the
wharf, and headed the Belle up to the landing-steps.
“The bank has been robbed,” returned Tom, as we all rushed to the
stairs.
“By the great horn spoon!” ejaculated Waddie.
“Sixty thousand dollars gone,” added Tom.
“You don’t mean so!”
“It’s as true as preaching. One of the robbers has taken the Raven, and
the other has crossed to Middleport.”
“By the great horn spoon!” repeated Waddie, so startled by the
intelligence that he could only give expression to his feelings in his
favorite phrase.
“Hurry up!” shouted the constable, as we all tumbled into the boat.
Captain Synders told the man who had come with him in the wagon to
drive the horse back to the stable, and inform the bank people where he
had gone.
“What’s to be done?” demanded Waddie, as he shoved off the Belle.
“Put me across the lake in double-quick time,” replied the constable.
“No; run down to your father’s house, and take another boat,” added
Tom. “I shall lose sight of the Raven if you keep me to go over there.”
“That’s it. We have another sail-boat there, and it won’t take three
minutes longer,” added Waddie, as he headed the Belle in the direction
indicated.
“That won’t do,” protested the constable. “I shall lose the fellow on
the other side.”
“And I shall lose the fellow on the lake,” retorted Tom.
“But I am the constable of Centreport,” puffed the captain.
“Tom is right,” I interposed. “The fellow on the other side can’t get a
great way. The Raven is a faster boat than the Belle, and--”
“We will settle that question to-day,” interposed Tom. “It’s going to
be breezy, and we shall see which is the best boat. That fellow handles
the Raven as though he knew how; but, if I don’t beat him, I’ll sell
the Belle for two cents.”
The constable yielded the point at my suggestion, and in a couple of
minutes Waddie ran the boat alongside the little pier near his father’s
house.
“Which of you is going with me?” demanded the constable, as he stepped
ashore.
“I will,” replied Waddie. “Hold on just one minute, Tom. I have
something for you.”
Waddie rushed into a building adjoining the billiard house, where he
kept his property. I sprang on board of the sail-boat at the pier, and
hoisted the mainsail. Tom gave an extra pull at his peak-halyards,
which Waddie had not fixed to suit him.
“Here, Tom, take this. You may want to use it,” said Waddie, returning
and handing the skipper a revolver--the one with which I had had some
experience a few years before.
“Thank you, Waddie,” replied Tom. “Probably that fellow in the Raven
has some of these playthings, and this one may come handy to me.”
“Here is a box of cartridges.”
“All right; I know just what to do with them. Is any one going with me?”
“I am,” I replied, jumping into the Belle again.
“You are the man for me, Wolf,” added Tom, as he shoved off.
The constable and Waddie pushed off the other sail-boat, and headed
her towards Middleport. There was certainly a lively prospect of an
exciting chase, both upon the land and the water. I had just taken the
helm of the Belle, in order to permit Tom to adjust the sails with the
nicest care, when Colonel Wimpleton appeared upon the shore.
“Hold on, Wolf!” shouted he. “I want you.”
“Botheration!” exclaimed Tom. “I shall never get off.”
“One of the robbers is in that boat,” I replied, pointing to the Raven.
“I want you to get up steam on the Ruoara and chase her,” added the
colonel.
“I suppose I must go ashore, Tom,” I continued to the skipper, as I ran
the Belle up to the wharf again.
“All right; I will fight it out alone if I get near enough to the
rascal,” answered Tom, who always made the best of everything, however
unfavorable the circumstances.
I leaped ashore, and pushed off the bow of the boat, so that the
skipper was detained hardly a moment. Setting the helm, he adjusted his
sheets, gave a pull at the jib-halyards, and the Belle flew off like a
rocket, with the fresh breeze on the quarter.
“This is very awkward business for me, Wolf,” said Colonel Wimpleton,
as we started for the steamboat wharf.
“It is awkward for all, I suppose, who have money in the bank,” I
replied.
“It is particularly so to me. I have to pay twenty thousand dollars
to-day, and all the cash balance in the bank has been swept away,” he
added. “I must pay this money to-day, or be dishonored. Indeed, I would
rather lose twice the amount than fail to do so.”
“Very likely you can get the amount from the Middleport Bank,” I
suggested.
“Perhaps I can; but twenty thousand dollars is a large sum to obtain
without any notice whatever. I sold some bonds the other day to provide
for this payment, and now those villains have cleaned out the bank.”
“They may be caught before night,” I added. “I think their chances of
escaping are very small.”
“I don’t know about that,” replied the magnate, shaking his head. “If
that fellow in the boat is hard pressed, he will run ashore, and take
to the woods, and, having the start, he will make good use of his time.”
“Tom will see where he lands, and he will follow him to the end of the
world.”
“Probably the other robber has a fast horse on the other side of the
lake, and Captain Synders is a clumsy fellow.”
“But Waddie is with him.”
“Waddie has not had much experience in chasing robbers. I hope he will
not expose himself, for these villains are probably well provided with
pistols.”
“Waddie has one of his revolvers, and Tom has the other.”
“It is dangerous business to deal with these desperate fellows, and I
want a strong force to make the matter sure. I sent immediately for the
engineer of the Ruoara, but found he had gone to Gulfport, and would
not return until it was time to make his first trip. The fireman is
getting up steam, but we had no one to run the boat.”
By the time we reached the steamboat wharf, all Centreport was aroused,
and we found a crowd of men on the pier. The cashier had a party ready,
and was embarking in a boat for the other side, to assist Captain
Synders in the pursuit beyond Middleport. I went on board of the
Ruoara, and attended to the engine.
“How long before you will be ready to start, Wolf?” asked the colonel,
as the cashier’s party was about to push off.
“In about half an hour, sir, though this boiler is rather slow.”
“I must provide for my payment to-day, and I will go and see Major
Toppleton. Run the boat over to the wharf on the other side when you
are ready, and take me on board,” added he, as he left me.
I was rather afraid his pride would not permit him to apply to Major
Toppleton for assistance, even in the emergency which had so suddenly
been crowded upon him; but I had no doubt the latter would be glad to
serve him.