STELLA IMITATES SANTA CLAUS.
"Come on, fellow," said one of the men, jerking Ted along by hops.
"We'll attend to him all right, boss," said another.
"He'll get all that's coming to him," said the third, with a grin that
was almost as diabolical as that of Checkers.
Around the elbow of the ravine wall, in a small cove was a log cabin
with a lean-to shed, under which was sheltered the fatal red car which
had lured him to captivity.
The cabin was backed up against the wall of the ravine, and was small
and dirty as to interior. A fire burned in a big stone fireplace at one
end, filling the room with a suffocating smudge.
The room was almost dark, but Ted, from the corner into which he had
been flung, was soon able to make out that the men were cooking
something over the glowing embers, at the same time taking swigs from a
black bottle, and smoking reeking pipes of vile tobacco.
After the food was cooked they began to eat, but did not offer Ted any
of it, all the while making jokes at his expense, and vaguely hinting at
his fate.
Ted wished now that he had taken Stella's advice, and had not rushed in
so rashly. Had he waited for Bud and two or three of the boys to come to
his assistance, he could easily have caught the whole lot for their
cabin was in a perfect pocket from which they could not have escaped.
Who were these rough fellows with whom Checkers would not associate, for
Ted could hear his archenemy pacing up and down outside, and he had not
forgotten how he had addressed these men?
Probably they were only ordinary villains who did the dirty work planned
by the wiser heads of the syndicate. He wondered if the boys would be
able to find him before they settled with him, as they had promised.
After the men had finished their meal the voice of the leader summoned
them outside. Ted could hear commands being given in a low voice, and
mumbles from the men.
It appeared from what Ted could gather from the tones of the voice,
rather than from any words that he caught, that one of the men was
protesting against what Checkers was ordering.
Suddenly there was a cry of agony.
"Don't do that, boss," said one of the men.
"Shut up, or you'll get a taste of the same knife," came the voice of
Checkers in a tone of rage. "When I say a thing must be done it is as
good as done. Now go ahead and do as I tell you."
"But, boss--"
"Go on, and do it. Are you a coward? You've done it before," Ted heard
Checkers say. "I'm going away now, and if you can't show me what I want
when I get back, well--you know."
In a moment Ted heard the chug of the motor car, then the grating of the
tires on the earth as it started away.
"Remember what I said," the voice of Checkers came floating back.
"Say, Bill, this is a derned outrage," said one of the men outside. "I,
fer one, am not in favor of standin' for it."
"Well, if yer don't, you'll get the same," said other man.
"I never see any one so handy with that bloomin' knife o' his."
"Look out you don't get a taste o' it, then."
"Is he dead, Bill?"
There was a shuffling of feet outside, and Ted knew that they were
turning a body over.
"Yes, he's stone-dead."
"Pore Dick! He had his faults, but he was a good pal."
"He wuz, but too derned soft-hearted. He didn't want ter kill a feller
in cold blood never."
"An' yet he wa'n't no coward. I never see ther time Dick w'd refuse ter
fight if ther other feller had some show, an' he wa'n't squeamish about
holdin' up a train er runnin' off a bunch o' cattle, but I always hear
him say thet he didn't take no stock in plain, straight murder."
"That's so, but it's not murder, Tom, when yer kills ther feller what's
yer enemy. Now, honor bright, is it?"
"I dunno. I was brought up ter fight, an' fight like ther devil hisself
when it come ter fightin', but I reckon I'm too much o' a derned coward
ter murder cold."
"Well, this is one o' ther times when it's got ter be did, an' I reckon
we might as well be about it. Git ready."
"No, sir, I'm not goin' ter do it."
"Tom, yer a fool. Do yer know what'll happen when ther boss comes back
an' finds out that it ain't been did?"
"I do."
"An' aire yer goin' ter resk it?"
"I be."
"Then ye're a bigger fool than I am. I'm goin' ter carry out orders.
What's ther difference? A couple of good slashes an' it's all over."
"But think o' the death cry, Bill. I've heerd too many o' them already.
I hears them when I sleep and they wake me up."
"Tom, yer talk ter me like a sick canary peeps. I always thought yer wuz
a man."
"An' don't yer think so now, Bill?"
"Not from ther way yer talkin'."
"Well, if yer has any doubts erbout it I'll give yer a chanct ter prove
it, any way yer like."
"Now, what's ther use o' talkin' that away, Tom? Dick's dead by ther
hand o' ther boss. What's thar in it fer you or me if ther cub in thar
dies er not? Be sensible."
"It ain't matterin' a chaw o' terbaccer ter me whether he dies er not,
but he's got a right ter die in a natural way, so to speak."
"An' how is that, my Sunday-school friend?"
"In a fair fight, by gosh!"
"An' who's goin' ter give him a fair fight? I don't want none o' it."
"So that's ther way yer built, is it, Bill? I always thought yer was a
game man."
"I reckon I be, but that's not in this question. Here's an enemy ter
ther gang what lays bound in the cabin. Why should I resk my life in a
fight with him er fer him. It's so derned easy fer a feller ter go in
thar an' stick a knife inter him, an' then, yer see, it's all over
with."
"Yer wrong, Bill."
"I'd sooner do that than have ther boss come back an' stick his knife
inter me."
"Aire yer afraid ter fight ther boss?"
"He's ther only man I be afraid of."
There was a long silence following this, and Ted understood the terrible
power of Checkers over his men, and Desmond's warning.
"Well, I'm tired o' chewin' erbout ther virtue o' killin' a man one way
or another, an' I'm goin' ter foller orders. If you don't want ter jine
in I reckon as how I'll have ter tell ther boss that yer flunked."
There was no response to this, and a few moments elapsed in which Ted
listened hopefully for his champion's voice.
Suddenly something dropped in the fireplace, and Ted, straining his eyes
in that direction, saw a tiny pair of tan riding boots come into view,
followed by a tan skirt, and Stella dropped noiselessly into the room.
She held up a warning finger as she saw Ted in the corner.
"Sh, sh!" she whispered, as she felt for his bonds and cut them.
Ted was on his feet on the instant, and Stella pressed a revolver into
his hand.
"I didn't go back to the ranch house, but followed you here. I saw the
red car go out, and hid. Then I sneaked along until I heard those
fellows quarreling. I was on the top of the bluff here, and guessed that
you were inside the cabin, as I couldn't see you anywhere outside, so I
just dropped in." As Stella whispered this she smiled, and Ted could
only look his thanks.
The fellow named Tom, who had been opposed to killing Ted, had evidently
been doing some hard thinking, and the threat of his mate to expose him
to Checkers evidently convinced him that he would rather be alive than
perish for a mere sentiment.
"All right, Bill," he said; "I don't like it, but we've got to share
it."
"Sure," said the other. "It'll be blow and blow. We both strike
together."
"Come on, then."
"Now," said Ted, putting Stella behind him and crouching in the
darkness.
The two men entered the cabin noisily, knowing that they had nothing to
fear from an unarmed boy bound hand and foot and lying in the corner
with nothing to hope for.
As they approached the corner they were surprised to see a stalwart
young form arise suddenly and a pair of revolvers gleam through the
darkness as a voice rang out commandingly:
"Hands up!"
The hands of both went up very promptly.
"Drop those knives!"
A pair of knives clattered to the floor.
"Face about, both of you, and go out. The first to make a break gets a
shot in the back."
At Ted's command both men obeyed. When they were outside in the
sunlight, Ted looked them over. Both had revolvers in their holsters.
"Take their revolvers away from them, Stella," said Ted.
As the girl moved forward to comply with the request of Ted Strong, the
men stared at her in amazement.
"Now, which of you is Tom?" asked Ted.
"I am," said one of them.
"You lie!" answered Ted. "I know you by your voice. You are not
Tom:--you are Bill."
"Yes, I'm Tom," said the other fellow.
"That's right," said Ted.
"Now, see here, Tom, if I give you the chance will you dig out of this
and escape? It won't be very long before you are caught, anyway, and you
know what that means."
"You bet I will," said the fellow, who had protested against the murder
of Ted.
"All right, I'll give you the chance. I'll take your friend in charge
myself. You can take down your hands, Tom."
The fellow was in a state of wonderment as he did so.
"Who are you, anyway?" asked the fellow called Bill.
"I am Ted Strong."
"Then it's all up. We're done for," said the train robber, in a resigned
voice.