HIGGINBOTHAM ESCAPES
A hasty marshalling of forces was first made. Besides the three boys,
Captain Folsom and Tom Barnum, Lieutenant Summers had twelve men under
his command. Thus they numbered eighteen in all. It was decided to
split this force into two equal parties, one commanded by Lieutenant
Summers, the other by Captain Folsom.
Tom Barnum went with Lieutenant Summer's party as guide, the boys with
Captain Folsom. They were to move against the front and rear entrances
of the house, summon those within to surrender and, if necessary, to
blockade the house until surrender was made. As an afterthought, each
party detached a man, as they moved up through the woods, to stand
guard over the tunnel and thus prevent any who had taken refuge either
therein or in the house from making their escape.
As it proved, however, when Paddy Ryan discovered he was besieged by
government forces, he surrendered without resistance, together with
the half dozen men with him. The others had scattered and made their
escape. And when the government forces came to take inventory of their
prisoners, it was discovered that among those who had fled was
Higginbotham.
"Ye'll get nothin' out of me," said Ryan sullenly, when he was
questioned as to Higginbotham's whereabouts. "He beat it away. That's
all I know."
Frank's quick eye, however, was caught by the gleam in Ryan's glance,
and he suspected the other knew more than he would admit. Drawing his
chums to one side, he said in a low voice:
"Look here, fellows, I believe Higginbotham is hiding in one of two
places. Either he is up in the attic, in that secret passage through
which we made our escape from the dark room, or else hiding in the
tunnel."
"Maybe you're right," said Bob. "But we couldn't ferret him out alone.
If he is hiding in either place, he is armed, and would have us at his
mercy. A desperate man would shoot. I believe we would be foolhardy to
take such a chance."
"Let's ask Captain Folsom's advice," suggested Jack, sensibly.
Waiting an opportunity, they beckoned Captain Folsom aside and Frank
propounded his suspicions. The latter looked thoughtful.
"I agree with Temple," he said, emphatically. "I am glad you boys told
me of this and did not attempt to make a search by yourselves. Let me
see, however, if we cannot evolve some scheme to bring the rascal out,
provided he is in hiding in one or other of these places."
Facing about, he called:
"Ryan, come here."
The leader of the smugglers, who stood lined up with his men,
including the negro, Mike and Pete, against the wall, under guard,
stepped forward.
Quickly Captain Folsom explained his suspicions as to where
Higginbotham might be in hiding. Then he added:
"Higginbotham knows your voice. I want you to go to whichever place he
may be hiding and summon him to come out and surrender. Say that if he
refuses, I shall not imperil the lives of any of my men by sending
them to dig him out, but shall starve him into submission."
There was a slight smile of triumph on Paddy Ryan's face as he
replied:
"Sure, an' I'll go to both places an' whistle in the wind. But it's in
nather place he is, for he did not return to the house, I'm tellin'
ye."
"Do as I say, Ryan," commanded Captain Folsom, shortly. "Try the attic
first. The tunnel is guarded, I may as well tell you, and Higginbotham
cannot make his escape that way."
"All right. You're the captain," said Ryan. "Follow me."
As he turned to proceed up the steps, after ordering two sailors to
accompany Ryan, Captain Folsom said to the boys and Lieutenant
Summers, who had joined the party:
"From the way Ryan is acting, I believe he is trying to throw us off
the scent, and that Higginbotham really is hidden hereabouts."
No reply, however, was received in response to Ryan's announcement of
the ultimatum laid down by Captain Folsom, both at the secret passage
under the roof and the other underground.
"Very well," said Captain Folsom, lips compressed, at the failure of
his stratagem. "We shall post guards here until we can decide what to
do."
Ryan therefore was returned to keep company with the other prisoners
under guard in the big living room. In another room the two officers,
together with the boys, gathered for a consultation. Tom Barnum,
meantime, seeing that dawn had come, and that the first faint streaks
of daylight were beginning to light up the woods outside, left the
knot of sailors to whom he had been recounting the events of that
exciting night and re-entering the house called Jack aside.
"Mister Jack," he said. "It'll be broad day in another hour. Don't you
think I had better go back and tell the Temples and your housekeeper
what's become of you three and of Captain Folsom, too. If they happen
to notice you're missin' they'll be worried."
"Right, Tom," approved Jack. "But do you think it's safe for you to
make the trip alone? Some of these fellows may be lurking in the
woods."
"Oh," said Tom, "it'll soon be daylight, as I said. Besides, I'll be
on the beach. And, anyhow, why should any of them attack me? They'll
be runnin' like hares to get away, and none of 'em will be around
here."
Thereupon Tom set out, and Jack returned to the conference. On his
re-entry, he learned the two officers had decided to remove the liquor
in the cellar to the beach and thence by boat to the Nark, as the
easiest method for getting it to New York and the government
warehouses for the storage of confiscated contraband. A sailor
appointed to inspect the premises had reported finding a large truck
and a narrow but sufficiently wide road through the woods to the
beach. Evidently, it was by this method that liquor had been brought
from the beach to the house on occasion.
This would be a long process, but it was considered better than to
attempt to remove the liquor by truck to New York. Only one truck was
available, in the first place, and that would not carry more than the
smallest portion of the big store of liquor.
Before the two officers departed to issue the necessary orders for the
carrying out of their plans, Jack for the first time since he had had
that one brief glimpse of them at the beginning of their adventure,
remembered the torpedo-shaped metal objects on the beach and spoke
about them.
"I am quite sure they must be great containers controlled by radio,"
he said. "Probably they were launched from a liquor ship well out to
sea, and then brought to shore by radio. I suppose Higginbotham
directed the current, although it might have been that thug with him
whom you first attacked, Bob. That fellow who said it was he had
damaged the airplane. Remember?"
"By George, yes," said Bob, starting up, a vengeful expression on his
face. "And that reminds me. Where is that particular ruffian, I'd like
to know. He isn't among the prisoners."
"Maybe, he's among the wounded," suggested Jack. "A half dozen have
been gathered up, none seriously wounded, and are out in the kitchen
where that apprentice surgeon is fixing them up."
He referred to one of the sailors, a medical student who because of
ill health had enlisted in the "Dry Navy" in order to obtain an
outdoor life. Lieutenant Summers earlier had assigned him to look
after the injured. Despite all the shooting that had taken place, none
of the sailors had been wounded, and the boys, Captain Folsom and Tom
represented, with their injuries from blows, the sole casualties in
the government forces. Of the half dozen smugglers injured, moreover,
none had been shot other than in the arms or legs. As Lieutenant
Summers had explained to the boys, even in pitched battle a good deal
of powder and shot was spent often without anybody being injured.
Bob made hasty examination of the kitchen and returned to report the
man he sought could not be located. He found Jack and Frank awaiting
him, the officers having departed to see about preparations for moving
the liquor.
"Believe me, if I could find that fellow," grunted Bob, and he did not
finish the sentence.
"Well," said Jack, looking out of the window, "it's daylight now.
Let's go down and have a look at those torpedo things on the beach.
Then we can take a plunge and go home. I'm beginning to feel let down
now, and I could sleep the clock around."
The others agreed, and passing through the living room made their way
outdoors and headed for the beach. Frank stopped suddenly, and emitted
an exclamation of disgust.
"We're a fine crowd," he said. "Why hasn't one of us thought of that
radio-controlled airplane before? What's become of it?"
"Oh, I guess it's somewhere along shore in Starfish Cove," said Jack.
"We'll soon see."
But arrival at the beach failed to disclose the tiny speedster of the
sky. Only the great metal objects lay outstretched above the tide,
like so many seal basking in the sun. The disappearance of the plane
was temporarily forgotten, while they investigated. As they had
surmised, these objects proved to be liquor containers, from several
of which the cases of bottled liquor in the holds had not yet been
removed. They were replicas of each other. At the rounded end was a
propeller driven by an electric motor. A rudder governed by an
electric compass imparted direction. A wire trailing overside and a
spiral aerial coiled upright about a mast completed the mechanism.
"Mighty ingenious," declared Jack, inspecting one of the contrivances.
"And it must have cost a pretty sum to build it, too. These liquor
smugglers certainly must have money behind them. Until we became
involved in this business, I had no idea except in a general way that
all this was going on, certainly no idea that it was organized as it
is."
While Jack and Bob bent above the radio boats, absorbed in examination
of them, Frank pursued further search for the missing radio-controlled
airplane. Presently he rejoined his comrades with the information that
it was to be found nowhere along the shore and that apparently it had
not drifted away, as at first he had suspected might have been the
case, because the sun had risen now and except for the Nark and her
two boats drawn upon shore, there was nothing in sight.
Suddenly, as he concluded his report, another idea came to Frank and
he laughed aloud.
"What's the joke?" demanded Bob. "Have you done----"
"No, sir," Frank interrupted, "I've not gone crazy, at least not any
more than the rest of you. It just occurred to me that the reason why
we couldn't find Higginbotham links up with the reason why his
airplane is missing. Higginbotham flew away in it, while that plugugly
who damaged our airplane and whom Bob couldn't locate worked the radio
for him."
"You mean he had the nerve to come back here while we were up at the
house? And that his man calmly walked into the radio plant and
operated it for him? Oh, say." Bob was contemptuous.
"Why not?" said Frank coolly. "What was to stop him? The airplane
makes no noise, and it would be the easiest matter in the world for
Higginbotham thus to make his escape."