FAITHFUL TO HIS FRIEND.
NOW they had stopped again, and seemed to be conferring in whispers.
If Elmer had had the least doubt before concerning their evil
intentions, it was no longer in evidence. Honest men do not creep around
the house of a rich man at such an hour of the night, and put their
heads close together.
He flattened himself out on the ground, having dropped like a stone,
though without the least noise.
"How lucky that I happened to come along this way!" was the thought that
seemed uppermost in the mind of the scout as he crouched there, waiting.
"If my wheel had stayed all right I would have been far away right now,
and never known a thing about this. And it was that tool house that made
me go around to the back."
He even grew bolder, and began to speculate as to how he might creep
closer to the pair. If he could only overhear what they were saying, it
might help more than a little. And, somehow, his desire to be of some
assistance to his good friend the colonel, urged him to make the
attempt.
To an ordinary lad it might have seemed an impossible task, for in his
clumsiness he must certainly have made some sort of sounds calculated to
arouse the suspicions of the men.
Elmer's experiences in the Canadian Northwest had proven of great value
to him ever since he joined the Boy Scouts. And when he started to creep
forward, it was with some of the stealth of the cat gliding toward a
coveted dinner in the shape of a feeding sparrow.
As he covered several yards of territory, Elmer noticed that he quickly
began to catch the sound of conversation. The men were talking low, but
one of them had a harsh voice, and while this had come to Elmer at first
as an indistinct murmur, presently he began to catch distinct words.
Having attained a place behind another bush, where he could have tossed
a pebble and touched the two fellows, had he been of a mind, he strained
his ears to catch the tenor of their earnest talk.
The man with the husky voice seemed to be scolding his companion, and
accusing him of being either timid or over-particular.
"But ye was jest as dead set on doin' it as I was, Con Stebbins; an' now
that we got the chanct ye show signs o' the white feather. Brace up, an'
lets git busy!" he was growling.
"Aw! what's eatin' ye, Phil?" the other remarked, with a whine. "I'd
like tuh do the job jest as much as yerself; but what if we got ketched?
It'd mean a long time in the pen, Phil."
"I tell you we ain't agoin' to be caught," declared the heavier of the
two, in an angry tone. "Ain't I aknowin' the ropes here; didn't I uster
work for the kunnel as a gardener? That's what made me so crazy mad when
he had me locked up, jest because we went and took some o' his ole
peaches, an' sold 'em so's to get the hard stuff."
"But how d'ye know the dorg ain't goin' tuh git back an' tackle us while
we're adoin' the job?" demanded the whining Con.
"Didn't I tell ye that Bruno knows me, an' that when I kim hyar an hour
back I let him loose?" declared the heavy-set man, warmly.
"But he might come back any ole time," protested the other.
"He ain't goin' tuh," declared Phil. "I orter know his ways right well.
Every time he breaks loose he stays away the hull blessed night. It's a
picnic fur the dorg. Reckon he's got some friends he visits, an' has a
few scraps. Jest ye forgit there is sech a thing as a dorg, and leave it
tuh me to fix the game like we wants it."
"Huh! ye sed as how ye knowed jest how the game cud be worked, didn't
ye, Phil?" went on the taller man, nervously.
"Sure I did. All ye got tuh do is to foller me. I'm willin' tuh take the
lead. Yuh sed as how yuh had matches along, didn't yuh, Con?"
"Plenty of 'em, Phil," mumbled the other.
"That's good. All yuh has tuh do is to strike a match, _and then drop
it_! I wants tuh make sure both of us has a hand in it, that's all. Now,
are yuh ready to move along, Con?" asked the shorter scoundrel.
The other seemed to want to take one more nervous look around before
consenting. Undoubtedly his nerve had failed him in the critical test,
and he was now being actually dragged into the thing by his more
determined and vindictive partner.
Elmer had been thrilled by what he heard. When he caught the significant
word "matches" the terrible truth flashed upon him, and he realized that
these rascals, bent on revenge on the colonel because of their recent
arrest, meant to set fire to either the stables or the mansion itself.
In either event it was a dreadful thing. No wonder the boy grew cold,
and then hot alternately. But he did not flinch. Elmer was made of good
stuff, and such an emergency as this called it out.
He shut his teeth so hard together that he could hear the gritting
sound, and so excited was he at the moment, that he wondered whether
either of the men could have sharp enough hearing to have detected the
noise which to his aroused fancy appeared like the creaking of a
seldom-used door.
But they gave no sign of any suspicion. Con seemed to have recovered a
little of his lost grit, and was allowing the ex-employee of Colonel
Hitchins to draw him along again. They made progress slowly, stealthily
keeping in the densest shadows, and at times almost creeping on their
knees.
"What shall I do?"
That was the thought that flashed through the mind of the boy as he
watched the pair of intended incendiaries moving off. He could shout,
and thus arouse the house; or after they had gone it was within his
power to hasten back to the door, and demand admittance.
Doubtless the colonel would still be in his library, for he seldom
retired before midnight, Elmer knew. And once he found a chance to
communicate the terrible news to the owner of the place, prompt means
could easily be taken for preventing the incendiary fire.
Then, while he was trying to decide which of these courses might prove
best, a sudden inspiration assailed the boy. It was, of course, born of
his former experiences among the "men who do things" on the broad
plains. Another lad would never had dreamed of such a bold course; or
even had it appealed to him, he must have quickly decided against
undertaking so hazardous an attempt to balk the wicked designs of these
rascals.
But to Elmer it appealed irresistibly. He believed he could do it,
given half a chance. And, unable to resist the temptation, he began to
creep after the two shadowy figures, now almost beyond range of his
vision.
He noticed that they were passing around the house. This would indicate
that they expected making their attack from the rear. Phil had worked on
these grounds, and apparently knew every foot of the estate. Possibly he
may, as he said, have been a gardener to Colonel Hitchins; Elmer faintly
remembered some man of about his squatty figure, whom he had seen
trimming hedges, and working among the flowers early in the spring.
All at once the boy had a new thrill. They were certainly headed
straight for the very tool house where he had left his wheel! Doubtless
there must be some particular object in this action on the part of Phil.
Did he wish to secure some sort of tool to be used in furthering his
evil designs?
"Oh!"
This exclamation was forced from Elmer's lips when he suddenly
remembered something; but fortunately it was hushed to a whisper.
"That was kerosene I smelled when I was putting my wheel away," he said
to himself. "Perhaps there is a barrel of it kept in that place for use
about the house, or making an emulsion to kill insects on the trees and
rose bushes! And Phil knows all about it if he used to be the gardener
here. He also knows that the door of the tool house is never locked, but
just fastened by a staple, a hasp, and that big nail held by a cord."
If, as seemed probable, the two men were bent on starting a fire that
would, according to their evil way of thinking, pay the colonel back for
their recent arrest, one of the first agencies for making a fierce blaze
that Phil would be apt to think of must be that kerosene. It seems to
appeal to every rogue who means to become an incendiary.
Elmer did not halt his footsteps. The terrible truth had thrilled, but
not dismayed him. He was, in fact, more determined than ever to balk
these villains in their intended work; though just why he kept on after
them, when by rights he should have made direct for the front door of
the house, Elmer was never able to explain to his own satisfaction. Some
subtle power seemed to just pull him along as though he were being drawn
by a powerful magnet which he could not successfully resist.
Yes, there could not be the slightest doubt now but that his guess was
the true one; for just ahead he could see looming up the dark outlines
of a building which he knew full well must be the tool house.
Again the men were whispering together, and the harsher tones of Phil
seemed to breathe threatenings of some sort. Evidently the more timid
Con was weakening once more, and had to be pulled on. His desire for
revenge was doubtless quite as strong as that of his companion; but he
lacked the bull-dog courage to put his evil designs into execution.
"Oh! if they would only _both_ go inside that tool house!" Elmer was
saying to himself exultantly, as a wonderful possibility flashed before
his mind.
Phil evidently wanted to fully incriminate his companion. It was his
desire to make the weaker rascal appear equally guilty with himself. His
expressed intention of having the taller fellow strike the match that
was to start things going, was ample proof of this.
Would he himself enter the tool house to secure the kerosene? That would
leave the timid one outside; and possibly he might seize upon such a
golden opportunity to flee.
If Phil suspected him of harboring such an intention, then it was
hardly likely that he would allow the other a chance to remain alone. On
the contrary, his plan would be to insist upon Con accompanying him in.
And that was just what Elmer was hoping would occur; for he had a little
plan of his own, which had come into his active mind almost like an
inspiration, and which he would then be able to put into practice.
Now they were at the door of the tool house. Elmer was trying to
remember just what it looked like. It had a small window, to be sure,
but, unless he was mistaken, this had been protected by several stout
iron bars, apparently with a view of preventing thieves from entering at
some time in the past, when valuable things may have been kept there by
the gentleman owning the estate before its purchase by the present
occupant.
Yes, Elmer decided in his mind, it was worth a trial. At the worst a
failure might only mean the escape of the rascals; and their vicious
plot would have been frustrated at least.
He crept closer, still snaking his way along the ground in a fashion
that some of his former cowboy friends on the ranch farm three thousand
miles away might have recognized as familiar, since they had taught him
how to do it.
Con was trying to beg off about entering the tool house, but Phil had
overruled his scruples, meeting every objection that was raised.
"Yuh jest _got_ tuh do it, I tell yuh, Con," he finished, angrily. "The
thing's in our hands right now, an' yuh promised tuh stick by me. So
quit yer hangin' back, an' come along in. I know jest where tuh lay
hands on the five-gallon can, an' we kin be out agin in a jiffy. Yuh
ain't skeered, be yuh, Con?"
"Aw! course I ain't," whimpered the other, trying to steady his
quivering voice, and probably bracing himself up under this accusation
which stirred his last drop of courage into life. "Lead off, Phil, an'
I'm with ye."
"I'm agoin' tuh make dead sure o' that, Con; that's why I got this grip
on your arm. Come right along, the door's open, and nawthin' tuh hinder,
see!"
The two shadows passed from Elmer's range of vision. Instantly the boy
arose, and darted silently forward. A dozen, yes hardly more than half
as many steps, carried him to the tool house. Then, quick as a flash, he
prepared to close the heavy door, and fasten it with what means were at
hand!