THE ROUND UP.
The boys, thinking that the robbers might still be able to shoot, went
back a little way until they saw the other car coming.
"Well, you got them, sure enough," declared Mr. Switzer, as the car
drew up and came to a stop, "but I guess, by the looks, they're both
dead. We'd better have our guns ready though, for they may be able to
shoot," he added turning to his men.
Their fears were groundless, however, for on approaching the
overturned car, they found that both men were unconscious, although
they were alive. Reed, who had lost the false mustache he had been
wearing had been thrown from the car and, having struck his head on a
rock, was lying a few feet away, stunned, while King was pinned under
the car, and groaning heavily. It was necessary to get the jack from
the other car and raise the machine before they could drag him out. He
slowly opened his eyes and groaned as they bore him to the car.
It took some time to bring Reed around, but finally he began to show
signs of life and soon sat up and looked around in a dazed manner. As
his eyes rested for an instant on Jack, a shudder ran through him and
he muttered something about not doing a very good job and sank back
with a moan.
They found the stolen money and securities in a box under the car,
which was badly wrecked, and Mr. Golden took it in charge.
"Now," said Mr. Switzer, speaking to Mr. Golden, "if you are willing,
George and I'll take these fellows back to Skowhegan in your car.
There's a house just around that turn where a man by the name of Berry
lives, and he'll probably hitch up and take the rest of you back to
Oakland and you can catch the train there for home."
"All right," replied Mr. Golden, "I guess that will be the best plan,
and the boys can go along with you on their wheels."
So it was arranged, and the two injured robbers were made as
comfortable as possible on the back seat of the car with Mr. Switzer,
after he had slipped handcuffs on them. They said nothing except that
King said he believed his left leg was broken, and it was paining him
a good deal.
"You're both mighty lucky that your necks aren't broken," declared
Switzer.
"I don't know as it's so very lucky for us, either," said Reed
moodily.
The other officer took his seat in front with Sandy, and as they
started off, Mr. Switzer shouted:
"I'll send some one out to tow their machine in."
The return trip was made without incident, the boys following the car.
The prisoners were not inclined to talk and refused to answer any
questions. On reaching Skowhegan, they were taken to the jail and a
doctor summoned, who found that King's left leg was broken below the
knee. Beyond a good sized lump on the back of his head and a severe
shaking up, Reed was not injured.
The authorities at Boston were notified, and it turned out that Reed
was the long-wanted Jim the Penman, and, as Captain Long had
suspected, King proved to be the man known as Oily Joe. They were both
sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment in the state prison of
Massachusetts.
As the boys, accompanied by Mr. Switzer, left the jail, after hearing
the doctor's report regarding the condition of the robbers, Bob told
him of his suspicions regarding the farmer and his son, with whom they
had the trouble the day before.
"That must be looked into," declared Mr. Switzer. "It certainly looks
as though they were mixed up in it somehow. Tell you what I think we'd
better do. It's only ten-thirty now; suppose we take your father's
car and drive right back there and see what we can find out about it."
To this the boys readily agreed, and taking the other policeman with
them they started, waiting only long enough for Bob to call up his
mother and tell her the news.
They reached the place in a little over an hour, and as they drove
into the yard, the farmer was sitting on the back door step. As soon
as he saw them, he rose and started to go into the house, but Mr.
Switzer was too quick for him, and drawing his revolver, he pointed it
at the man ordering him to stop. He wisely obeyed and Switzer told him
to come to the car.
"Is this the man?" he asked, turning to Bob.
"Yes, he's the man all right."
The chief then explained the situation to him and told him that he had
better make a clean breast of it. The man was very much frightened and
his voice trembled as he spoke, telling them that he would tell them
all he knew.
According to the man's account, the house in the woods belonged to
him. It had been built by a man from New York, three years ago, who
intended to use it as a summer home, but his wife had died before it
was completely furnished, and he had bought it at a very low price.
King and Reed had driven into his yard one afternoon, a week or so
ago, in an automobile. The smaller of the two, Reed, had said that he
was a wealthy business man from Boston and that King was his servant.
He, Reed, had suffered from a nervous breakdown, and his doctor had
ordered him to go way somewhere, with his man, where he could be
perfectly quiet and where no one would bother him, and they were
looking for a place which they could rent.
He had at once thought of the log house in the woods and had offered
to show it to them. On seeing it, Reed had declared it to be just the
thing and had paid him a month's rent in advance. He had thought that
Reed was pretty healthy looking for a sick man, but considered it none
of his business so long as he got his money. He had seen but little of
them, but did know that they were away most of the time. Yes, he
thought it strange, seeing that he wanted to be perfectly quiet, but
here again, it was none of his affair and he had not bothered his head
about it.
Bob asked him why he had been so hostile toward Jack and him, and why
his son had stolen their wheels, and why he had kept the cap, on
abandoning them. He said, in explanation, that Reed had called at the
house one day, and during their conversation had told him that two
boys had stolen an invention from him. Some kind of a storage battery,
the secret of which was in some metal caps. He had said that he was
very anxious to get back at least one of the caps as he had lost the
formula for making them and had been unable to get the right
proportion of metals. Asked why he didn't have the boys arrested, he
had replied that, unfortunately, he had no proof that they had stolen
it, but that he would give one thousand dollars to get one of the
caps. So, it happened that when he had seen the boys the day before,
and had noticed the electric motors on their wheels, he had at once
jumped to the conclusion that they were the boys Reed had told him
about. So, seeing a good chance, as he thought, to make one thousand
dollars honestly and without much trouble, he and his son, who had
been at work in a field nearby, had followed them, and he guessed they
knew the rest.
The farmer's story sounded plausible enough as he told it, and, as
they had no evidence to the contrary, Mr. Switzer said he guessed
probably he was all right, but cautioned him to be more careful in the
future or he might get into trouble, and telling him that he might be
called as a witness, proposed that they start back.
"I don't know I'm sure," he said to the boys, on the way back,
"whether that fellow was telling the truth or not, but as long as we
caught the robbers, I don't see that we'd gain anything by arresting
him and I guess we'd have a pretty hard time proving anything against
him."
"Well, I got one good crack at him anyhow," chuckled Bob, "and I guess
that son of his will think twice the next time, before he tackles a
dude."
As the car drew up in front of the bank, they found that their father
and the others had returned and getting their wheels, the boys lost no
time in starting for the cottage, as they felt, according to Jack,
hollow clear to the toes. Mrs. Golden said that he and Uncle Ben had
eaten lunch and would be up later as he had some business to attend to
at the bank.
As they rode through the town, they had to stop a dozen times and
receive congratulations from their friends, and it was nearly two
o'clock when they reached the cottage. However, they found a good
lunch awaiting them, as their father had 'phoned that they were
coming. While eating, they gave their mother, their aunt and the two
girls an account of the events of the forenoon.
"I am very glad," declared Mrs. Golden, "that they are caught, as I
would never have felt easy with them at large."
Mr. Golden and Uncle Ben came up in time for supper and the evening
was spent in talking over the events of the last few days.
The next night, when Mr. Golden came up from Skowhegan, he told the
boys that he had a surprise for them.
"What is it?" both asked eagerly.
"I received a telegram this afternoon from Captain Long, saying that a
check for ten thousand dollars had been sent to you, which is the
reward offered for the capture of Jim the Penman and Oily Joe."
The boys were surprised, and of course delighted, for they had not
thought of a reward, although they now remembered that Captain Long
had told them that one had been offered.
"But, father, don't you think that Mr. Switzer and the other policemen
ought to have part of it?" asked Bob.
"No," replied his father, "I hardly think so. They only did their duty
in arresting them, while you were really the ones who caught them.
What do you say, Ben?"
Uncle Ben agreed with their father, in thinking that the reward
belonged to them alone, but Jack proposed that they would feel better
about it if they gave them a part, and Mr. Golden smilingly told them
to do as they thought best. So, after talking it over, they decided to
give them one thousand dollars each. Mr. Switzer and the other two men
were much pleased when the boys gave them the money, and all decided
that they had not expected any part of it as they considered that it
belonged to the boys.