A CAPTURE
For Harvey to attempt to walk, however good a crutch might be found,
would have been foolhardy, for it was only with the greatest difficulty
he could stand upright.
Jet understood this quite as well as did the detective and he also knew
there was no time to be lost, if they expected to find a hiding-place
before the day had fairly dawned.
"I am going to take you on my back," he said in a decided tone, "and we
mustn't fool around here talking about it. Will you climb up without
making a row, or must I use force?"
"I will obey," Harvey replied with a smile, as Jet backed toward him,
and a few seconds later the boy was making his way through the
underbrush.
Jet's burden was heavier than he had anticipated, and he staggered from
side to side before twenty yards had been traversed, causing Harvey to
say firmly:
"It is no use for you to try anything of the kind, Jet. This will only
result in both of us being overhauled."
"Here's a place where we can stop for a rest," and Jet halted in front
of a thick clump of fir bushes. "By crawling in there we shall soon be
out of sight, and I'll start back for the depot as soon as you think it
is safe."
He lowered the detective gently to the ground, aided him in making his
way through the tangled underbrush to the center of the clump, and then
returned to the outside of the little thicket, in order to replace the
branches and foliage generally to their ordinary position, that those
who should come in search might not be able to see the trail.
This done he skirted around to the opposite side, and entered in a
manner which would have done credit to an Indian.
"Now you've got a chance to tie up your leg as it ought to be," he
said. "Shall I take that handkerchief off?"
"I don't think it will pay to disturb it, my boy. The flow of blood
has been stopped, and might start again if the compress was removed.
Besides there is no water with which to wash it."
"How long are you counting on staying around here?"
"Until you can get to the town, and send some one back to help me in.
I couldn't crawl that far in a month."
"Then the sooner I go the better," and Jet rose to his feet, despite
the fatigue which almost overpowered him.
"Wait a while. In the first place, you need rest, and secondly, those
men will soon come back to find you, after which a hunt is certain to
be made for both of us. Hold on until we see what they are going to
do, in order to the better decide upon our own course of action."
Jet was not sorry to sit down again, although, in view of the desperate
situation, he knew he could afford to halt but a short time.
"Do you think you can make another round trip to-day?" Harvey asked
after a short pause.
"It has got to be done, so there's no use in thinking anything about
it. What troubles me is how you are going to get along without food or
water while I am gone."
"Probably in the same way you will keep on your feet after having
walked nearly all night--by sheer force of will."
"But suppose----"
Jet ceased speaking very suddenly, for at that instant the sound as of
some one coming through the underbrush was heard.
Harvey drew his revolver, and Jet followed his example.
Both weapons were fully loaded, and those in hiding knew it must be a
fight to the death, if they were discovered.
By parting the bushes in front of him slightly, Jet could see through
to where the foliage was less dense, and, as he did so, Joe, the tall
man who had been the cause of all his trouble, came in view, walking
slowly, and peering from side to side.
That he was searching for Harvey there could be no doubt, and, seeing
him alone, a bold plan came into Jet's mind.
Without making any sign to his companion he began to move noiselessly
toward the new-comer on his hands and knees, arriving at the edge of
the bushes just as Joe had passed.
Harvey laid his hand on Jet's leg as a signal for him to come back; but
the boy paid no attention to the mute command.
Joe had halted about three feet from the edge of the bushes, and was
evidently trying to decide in which direction he should go, when Jet
rose up behind him so noiselessly that not even the rustling of a leaf
could have been heard.
By reaching up, he could just touch the back of the man's head, and,
suddenly pressing the muzzle of the revolver against the fellow's neck,
he said quickly:
"Throw up your hands or I'll fire!"
Under such circumstances there was but one thing for Joe to do.
He raised both hands, not daring to so much as turn his head, and Jet
continued, sternly:
"Stay where you are, or a bullet goes into your head. I ain't sure,
anyway, but what it would be better to shoot first and talk afterward."
Harvey understood from the words exactly what had been done, and Jet
heard him crawling out from the bushes, in order to assist at the
capture.
"Take your time, sir," the boy said, calmly. "I've got this fellow
where he won't care to run the chances of wiggling very much."
"I'll kill you some day," the man growled, hoarsely.
"You won't try it for quite a while yet. Look out. Hold your hands
higher!"
This last remark was called forth as Joe lowered his arms ever so
slightly, probably for the purpose of learning if his captor was on the
alert.
By this time Harvey had managed to crawl from his place of concealment,
and, at the expense of severe pain, raised himself to his feet directly
in front of the prisoner.
"Keep your revolver where it is, and fire at the least show of
resistance," he said to Jet, as he proceeded to search Joe's pockets.
"Now, lower your hands, but don't take a step forward," he said when
the man's weapons and money had been thrown on the ground.
Joe obeyed sullenly, and Jet heard the dick of a pair of handcuffs as
they were fastened on the former's wrists, with his arms behind his
back.
"Now sit down," the detective said, as he gathered up two revolvers, an
ugly looking dirk-knife and a well-filled pocket-book.
Joe obeyed in silence, but if a glance could have killed, his captors
would soon have been lying lifeless before him.
"Hadn't we better take him into the thicket?" Jet asked.
"No. Stand in front of him while I write a note. Now, you must start
for the town without delay."
"And take this fellow along?"
"Certainly; we can't afford to run the chances of a rescue."
It was such a job as Jet did not fancy, but he made no protest.
When Harvey had ceased writing on a leaf of his note-book, he handed it
to Jet as he said:
"March your prisoner into the first town you come to, and demand to be
shown to a magistrate. Give him the letter, which will explain the
outlines of who this fellow is, and tell him all of the story save such
as is connected with the murder. That we will keep secret for a while.
Then telegraph to the inspector to send an officer without delay to
carry him to the city."
"Is that all, sir?"
"Except as to the manner of traveling. Keep your prisoner in advance,
and do not hesitate to shoot if he fails to obey every reasonable
order. Above all, do not allow him to face you."
"Suppose some of the gang should overtake us?"
"Put this fellow in front and let them shoot through him if they
choose. Aim to kill or seriously disable if you are attacked, and in
order that there be no lack of ammunition, take one of his revolvers in
addition to your own. By dividing his cartridges we shall each have
enough to stand quite a siege."
"What about sending help to you?"
"I hope the officers from Albany will wait around the depot until you
arrive, when they can decide what is best to be done; but don't make
another mistake as to the identity of those you want to see."
"I reckon I shan't fall into the same kind of a trap for a long while
to come."
"Get something to eat while you are in town, and take a short rest.
Matters won't be very serious here until nightfall."
"I shan't stop long, for it would be a pretty poor sort of a fellow who
couldn't walk twenty miles under these circumstances."
"Do as you choose; you have money enough for all expenses, and it may
be as well to hire a saddle horse to carry me back."
"I'll attend to everything," Jet replied, "and the sooner I leave the
better."
"You are right. Remember what I said about shooting the prisoner if he
shows a disposition to turn rusty, and keep him in front of you."
"I won't forget, sir."
"Then good luck to you."
Harvey held out his hand, Jet grasped it for an instant, and said to
his prisoner:
"Get up now, and go ahead at your best pace. You have heard the advice
given me, and I shall act upon it without hesitation."
Joe looked sullenly around and then obeyed, asking as he set out:
"Which way shall I walk?"
"Straight ahead. I reckon you know the road better than I do."
"That's a fact. There is a short cut after we get down here a bit,
which will save nearly two miles of distance."
"Don't let him guide you," Harvey shouted, he having heard the remark.
"Keep on the course you are familiar with."
"Never fear I'll let him show me anything," Jet replied cheerily, and
he ordered the man to step out more briskly.
During the next ten minutes the two walked at a rapid pace in silence,
and then Joe said without turning his head:
"I suppose you count on making a big pile by taking me to prison?"
"That's where you are mistaken. I'm only trying to square things after
the scrape you got me into."
"Would you like to make five thousand dollars?"
"Of course I would."
"Then unfasten these handcuffs, and I'll guarantee to give you that
amount within the next three days."
"More likely you'd give me a clip over the head. But even if I was
certain of having the money, you couldn't get away, so walk on briskly
and don't let me hear you speak again."
Joe glanced savagely around at the boy, and there was that in his face
which told what desperate chances he would take in order to effect his
escape.
"He's studying mischief," Jet said to himself, "and I've got to look
sharp, or find myself in the soup as I was this morning."
At the best it was a difficult task to walk at any degree of speed
through the woods; but the labor was more than doubled by having a
prisoner over whom it was necessary to keep the strictest watch.