CLOSE QUARTERS.
It hardly seemed possible to the boys that, after the mishap which it
seemed would give the thieves all the time they needed to make good
their escape, they could be so near to them that their capture seemed
certain.
But the farmer insisted that there was no outlet to the road; that a
team answering to the description of the one George had lost had been
driven in there, and that it had not come out. Therefore, there could be
no question but that they had the thieves in a trap, as the farmer had
said, and all that was necessary was to go and get them or the team.
At first they were about to start out without any plan whatever, intent
only on getting the horses as quickly as possible; but George realized
in time that, secure as the thieves appeared to be against escape, all
might be changed by too much precipitation.
If they should rush in recklessly, the men might get past them by
concealing the team in the bushes until they had passed that particular
point, and then the road would be clear before them, unless the farmer
could succeed in stopping them.
It was necessary, therefore, that, in going up this road, which they
were told was about two miles long, they should not only see where the
thieves had gone in, but where it would be possible for them to come
out, in case they should succeed in making a detour through the woods.
The farmer, after listening to the discussion which the boys were
having, suggested that they block up the road near its entrance with his
heavy carts, and then, if the thieves should get past them, they would
be obliged to leave the team at the obstruction in order to make good
their own escape.
This suggestion was so good that they followed it at once. Bob using his
horses to haul a hay-rack, a heavy ox-cart and two dump-carts into the
road, about two hundred yards from the highway, overturning and wedging
them in in such a way that a passage through could not be made in less
than half an hour.
The farmer, having work that forenoon, which kept him near the house,
promised to keep a sharp lookout while the boys went after the team, and
to give the alarm in case the men should come down towards the
barricade.
Then, all the preparations having been completed, there was nothing to
prevent them from going into the trap the thieves had voluntarily
entered.
Bob thought they ought to have weapons in case the men should attempt to
fight for the possession of their ill-gotten booty; but George refused
to consider the idea even for a moment. He had no thought that the men
would do anything of the kind, and, even though he was going after his
own property, he was not willing to go in such a way as might endanger
the life of any one.
"If you want any weapons, take a good stout club," he said, "and I think
you will find even that unnecessary, for as soon as the men see us, they
will do their best to get away."
Bob was by no means satisfied to start up the road unarmed; but since it
was George's property they were in search of, he thought his orders
should be obeyed, even though the attempt should be unsuccessful because
of it.
"If I was in your place, I should make sure of the men as well as the
team," the farmer called out, as they started, "for there's a good many
more horse-thieves in the country than are needed, an' it's doin' a good
turn to honest people to put 'em where they can't run off other people's
property."
George made no reply, but at the same time he did not propose to make an
amateur detective of himself, unless the men should attempt to prevent
him from taking his own, and then he would have no hesitation about
causing their arrest.
There was no difficulty in following the track of the carriage, for
there had been so little travel on the road that the impress of the
wheels was distinctly seen, and there could be no question but that it
would be an easy matter to see where it was taken into the woods in case
the men should attempt to hide.
"I guess we had our labor for nothing in blocking up the road," said
Bob, as they walked along, "for there is no chance of our passing the
team so long as we can see the tracks as plain as this."
"We certainly didn't hurt ourselves piling up the carts, and the time
was well spent, if only for the sake of the precaution," said George;
and then, stopping suddenly, after they had walked nearly a mile, he
pointed to a second track, which led directly into the woods a few yards
ahead of them. "They have been to the end of the road, and come back,"
he whispered. "Perhaps they have just turned in here after hearing us."
For a moment the three boys stood looking at the trail made by those
they had been so anxious to meet, and then George said, in a low tone:
"We mustn't lose any time here, and when we do start it must be quickly.
We will follow this track in, and keep right on in it; for we shall
either find the team now in the bushes, or else the men will have done
as I feared--passed us while we were on the road."
There was still a chance that the men might get away with the team if
they had succeeded in reaching the road in the rear of the boys, for it
might be possible for them to clear away the obstructions near the main
road before the boys could run a mile, unless the farmer could prevent
them.
George dashed into the bushes, followed closely by Ralph and Bob, and
before they had gone very far, it was evident to all that the men were
trying to do just as George had suggested.
The track made by the carriage could be followed very readily, and there
was no longer any question, after the boys had run a hundred yards, but
that they were traveling in a half circle, the end of which would be at
the road.
"Come on as fast as you can," shouted George, when he thus saw his
suspicions verified; and, regardless of whether he was followed or not,
he dashed ahead at full speed, perfectly satisfied that when he saw his
team again it would be at the barricade.
When he reached the road up which they had just come, the second track
of wheels could be seen, and he half expected to hear the farmer's
warning cry, forgetting for the time that any ordinary pair of lungs
could hardly be heard a mile away.
Close behind George came Ralph and Bob, both excited by the thought that
there was yet a possibility the men might escape with the team, and both
running as fast as they could.
"They've come this way!" shouted George, "and now it only remains to be
seen whether we can get there in time."
There was no need to say anything to urge either of the boys on to
greater speed, for they were making every effort, and George himself was
really the one who would be left behind if the race was continued very
long.
Bent only on reaching a given point as quickly as possible, the boys
paid no attention to anything else save getting over the ground rapidly,
and the farmer's voice rang out long and loud before they realized that
they heard it.
"Hello! Hello-o-o! Hello-o-o-o!" was the cry.
And when finally the boys did hear it, they understood by the tone that
there was urgent reason for them to make haste, for now, beyond a doubt,
the thieves were trying hard to remove the barricade.
Panting, almost breathless, but not realizing how nearly exhausted they
were, the boys rushed on, intent only on noting the way, that they might
lose no time or vantage by a misstep, until they emerged from the woods
at a point where they could see that which was causing such an outcry
from the farmer, who was taking quite as much interest in the saving of
their property as he would have done in his own.
George could see his team halted in front of the barricade they had
piled up with so much, and what at the time Bob had thought useless,
labor, while the men were straining every nerve to remove it, the farmer
standing at a safe distance, screaming at the top of his voice, even
though he must have seen the boys coming towards him as rapidly as they
could run.
Already had the two men succeeded in removing the two dump-carts, and
were now at work upon the hay-rack, with every prospect of pulling it
sufficiently out of the way to admit of their driving past; but when
they saw the three boys coming down the road, they evidently concluded
that they had worked quite as long as was safe, for they began to look
out for their own welfare, instead of trying longer to get away with the
team.
After one look at the boys, probably to make sure they were the same
ones whom they had seen coming up the road, the thieves ceased their
efforts to move the hay-rack, and sought safety in flight, running down
the road towards Babcock, instead of trying to escape in the opposite
direction.
The farmer, who was anxious that all horse-thieves should be placed
beyond the possibility of carrying on their business, at once started in
pursuit, probably without thought as to how he could make prisoners of
two men whom he had not dared to grapple with when they were trying to
tear down the barrier which prevented them from getting away with their
booty.
George, who still continued to lead the party, stopped when he reached
the side of the carriage. He had gained possession of his team once
more, and he was content.