THE NIGHT DRIVE OF THE TORPEDO WAGON.
Bob was in such good spirits as he drove along toward the hut he was
about to abandon, that if Ralph had been in the least degree suspicious,
he would have believed that it was a portion of the young moonlighter's
plan to separate him from his friend. Although, if such an idea had
presented itself to Ralph, he would have been at a loss to understand
how such a separation could have affected Bob's interest.
Had the young student been more acquainted with the work of the
moonlighters, however, he would have understood that another wagon
behind the one containing the tools and materials for well-shooting
would aid very decidedly in allowing the first team to escape, in case
it was pursued.
Then again, Ralph did not know that it was against the laws of any town
to convey nitro-glycerine through its streets, and that, in thus moving
his quarters, Bob not only ran the chance of being pursued by the
torpedo detectives, but also by the authorities of the town through
which he must pass in order to get to his new camp.
Had George been with Ralph, the two would simply have driven back to
the hut in the woods, and from there to Farmer Kenniston's home. But, in
his absence, it would be necessary for Ralph to follow Bob back in
Harnett's team for the purpose of taking his friend home.
However earnestly the young student had resolved not to have anything
more to do with the moonlighters, either actively or as a spectator, he
was, by chance and Bob's scheming, aiding them in a more active and more
dangerous way than ever before.
"We shall come right back," said Bob, in a reassuring tone, as he saw
how ill at ease Ralph felt, "and George won't have any longer time to
wait than will be pleasant, because of his weariness."
"Still I had much rather waited for him," replied Ralph.
And then, when it was too late, he began to blame himself for not having
insisted on staying behind as George proposed.
"It is much better this way, because it will be a saving of time for
him," replied Bob.
And then he began to tell stories and make himself generally agreeable,
in order to allay any suspicions that might arise in his companion's
mind.
In this, Bob was so far successful that when they arrived at the hut
where Jim and Dick were waiting, Ralph had nearly forgotten his vexation
at having left George, and believed that no better fellow or more
agreeable companion than Bob Hubbard could be found in all the oil
region.
Dick and Jim had not been idle while the others had been away, and
everything in the hut was made ready for immediate removal.
Bob told them briefly of the hiding-place he had found, and then the
work of loading the wagons was begun, Ralph noting with a slight feeling
of resentment, that George's team was to be loaded as well as the
others.
The torpedo wagon was already laden with its dangerous load, and Bob
showed it to him as a new feature of the oil business which he had not
seen in operation the night previous because of Newcombe's vigilance.
To all outward appearance it was a long-bodied box buggy, with a much
deeper seat than is usually seen, and with a double set of
finely-tempered springs to prevent, as much as possible, any jolting of
the load. When the seat was turned over, working on hinges placed in
front, the peculiar formation of the vehicle was seen. That portion of
the carriage usually covered by the seat, was divided into sixteen
compartments, each padded over springs, and formed with as much care as
a jewel casket. In each of these compartments was a can of
nitro-glycerine, protected from any undue-concussion or jolting by the
springs within as well as without.
At each end, on the left side of the wagon, rose a slender iron rod,
fashioned at the top like the letter U, which was used as a
resting-place for the tin cartridges, and rising high enough to be out
of the way of the driver.
"There are one hundred and twenty-eight quarts of glycerine in that
little cart," said Bob, as he gazed at it admiringly, "and if any one
chooses to chase us through Sawyer, they'll take precious good care that
they don't get very near. You see, the officers must keep up a show of
activity in trying to prevent us from driving through the town; but they
are careful not to run us down too sharply."
Ralph had not the slightest idea of what Bob meant when he spoke of
officers in the town chasing them, and would have asked for an
explanation then had not the moonlighter hurried away to get the other
teams ready.
It was then dark, and the boys were anxious to make the journey as
quickly as possible, for it was a task about which even they did not
feel wholly at ease.
In the carriage Bob and Ralph had just come in, were packed the tools,
provisions, sheet-tin, and such material as made a heavy load, while in
George's buggy, was the bedding and other light articles, which made up
a bulky load, but one in which there was but little weight.
After the three teams had been loaded, the house locked and barred as
carefully as if the inmates were yet within, and the stable door secured
by Jim, who barred it from the interior and then clambered out of the
window in the loft, Bob called his two partners one side for a private
consultation.
Without knowing why, Ralph felt decidedly uncomfortable at this secrecy.
It was true that he had no desire to be told all the details of this
somewhat questionable business, but it seemed to him as if he was in
some way the subject of their conversation--as if he had been and was
again to be duped, and Bob was explaining the scheme to his partners.
It was some time before the private portion of their consultation was
over, and then Bob said, sufficiently loud for Ralph to hear, much as if
that had been all they were talking of:
"Now remember. We are to keep close together until we get through
Sawyer. Then, if we are followed, you are to give me a chance to get
ahead, and you will keep straight on until you tire them out, if you
drive all night. Ralph," he added, "Jim knows the road and you don't, so
I am going to let him drive for you."
Then Bob got into the torpedo-wagon, Dick mounted the one that had come
from the new camp, Jim and Ralph clambered into George's team, and in
that order they started toward the highway, Bob driving leisurely, as if
to keep his horses fresh, in case they were called upon for any unusual
exertion.
The orders Bob had given aroused in Ralph's mind, now that it was too
late to make any objection, the suspicions that his pleasing manner had
lulled. He began to see why it was he had been hurried away before
George came.
The torpedo-wagon was the one that the authorities would attempt to
capture, if they saw it, and George's team, being in the rear, would be
the one that would most likely stand the brunt of the pursuit, in case
one was made. The other two teams being ahead, could turn from the road
into the woods, at a favorable opportunity, while George's horses would
lure the officers away from the tell-tale loads.
Ralph knew perfectly well that had Harnett come from the stream at the
same time he did, his team would not have been used as a "cover," for he
had no desire to implicate himself with the moonlighters, even if they
were his friends, and would possibly have refused to act, or allow his
team to act, any such part.
But while all these ideas passed through Ralph's mind, he was not
certain he was correct in his suppositions, and it was, so he thought,
not advisable for him to say anything until the time came when Bob's
plans were made apparent. Besides, he hoped that the officers would not
see them, that there would be no necessity for flight, and that George's
horses would be restored to their owner, fresh and in good condition.
During the first two miles of their journey, there was nothing to which
the most careful person could have taken objection, unless, indeed, it
was the fact of riding behind a carriage loaded with nitro-glycerine,
which was by no means a pleasant thing to do, and then the little town
of Sawyer was reached.
Up to this time the horses had trotted slowly; but on entering the town,
Bob set the example of driving faster, and all three teams were urged
along at full speed.
It surely seemed as if the moving of the moonlighters' property was to
be accomplished without difficulty, for the outskirts of Sawyer had
nearly been passed before any sign was made that they had been
observed, and then the clattering of horses' hoofs was heard, at the
same time that a voice cried:
"Halt!"
The time had come when Ralph was to learn whether Bob was making a
cat's-paw of him or not, and the suspicions he had had fast became
certainties.
No reply was made by the moonlighters; but the horses were urged to
still greater speed, and the race had begun.
"Don't drive so fast!" said Ralph, believing the time had come for him
to act in George's behalf.
"Why not?" asked Jim, coolly. "They'll overhaul us if we don't put on
all steam."
"And what if they do? This is Harnett's team, and there is no reason why
we should run away."
"What about all these things that are in here?"
"There is nothing here but what we have a perfect right to carry, and I
know that George will be angry by running away from the officers with
his team, which is probably well known. We seem to be doing something
which we have no right to do," said Ralph, sternly, at the same time
that he endeavored to get possession of the reins.
"Look out! Don't make a fool of yourself!" cried Jim, sharply.
And he urged the horses on until he had worked them up into such a state
that it required all his strength to hold them.
To have attempted to seize the reins then would simply have been to
capsize the buggy, for the road was so rough that the least deviation
from the beaten track, at the pace the horses were then going, would
have been fatal, and Ralph was obliged to acquiesce in the flight by
remaining perfectly quiet.
On the horses dashed as if bent on the destruction of the carriage.
Behind could be heard the clatter of hoofs, as the pursuers did their
best to overtake the violators of the law, and in the advance was the
carriage, with its deadly load, that the least concussion would liberate
in all its dreadful power.