IMPRISONED
Unconsciously the girls moved their chairs nearer to the glowing fire,
clasped hands for reassurance of earthly presence. They looked at the
boys curiously, yet fearfully.
“You found the ghosts!” repeated Jessie, incredulously. “Darry, what
does he mean by that?”
Darry chuckled.
“Just what he says, I guess,” he returned, adding quickly, as excitement
gripped him again: “When I told the fellows about the hut in the swamp
we got to wondering if those ghostly manifestations might not possibly
come from the same source——”
“Oh, oh, oh, I just thought of something!” cried Jessie, and the boys
looked at her expectantly. Her eyes were dancing with excitement. “Those
sheets in the house we passed the day we got lost coming home from the
ranger station!”
“Bright girl,” applauded Fol. “Once more you have hit the nail right on
the head.”
“I will hit something beside a nail on the head if you don’t tell me
what you are talking about,” threatened Amy. “What in the world have
sheets——”
“To do with ghosts?” finished Nell, as excited by this time as Jessie.
“Why, Amy, I am ashamed of you. A child could answer that question.”
“Then you think that the sheets we saw hanging in the room of that
strange house have something to do with the ghostly figures cavorting
around near the camp that night Phrosy got so scared?” asked Amy,
incredulously, and the boys nodded, laughing at her disbelief.
“We are practically certain that the whole thing was simply a sham, a
clumsy device employed by the people in the hut to prevent
investigation.”
“Then you think counterfeit money is actually made there?” asked Jessie.
“Unfortunately, I can’t be sure,” and Darry shook his head ruefully. “I
used that old scow of theirs to get over to the hut and I was just in
the act of finding out several interesting things when a man came around
the back of the hut and nabbed me.”
“That was when you gave us the slip,” said Burd. “We thought for a while
that you had fallen victim to the swamp.”
“Go on, Darry,” Nell urged. “Tell us what happened to you after the
villain nabbed you by the neck.”
“Oh, yes, how did you manage to make that trail through the woods?”
questioned Jessie. “We followed it for a long way, and then suddenly
lost all trace of you.”
“The piece of cloth from my coat was an accident,” Darry replied. “It
tore on a bush and that gave me an idea. I managed to reach into my
pocket and get my notebook, and I will tell you there isn’t much of that
notebook left.”
“Why did the trail end so suddenly?” asked Nell.
“My notebook gave out. Besides,” added Darry, “the ruffians had become
suspicious and insisted on tying my hands behind my back. We forded a
stream near there and doubled back on our tracks toward the hut. I
imagine the whole thing was a ruse to divert attention from
headquarters.”
“You were in the hut then when you called out for help?” asked Jessie,
and Darry nodded.
“I knew the boys would be somewhere in the vicinity, although I had no
idea you girls would be game enough to come out and join in the search.
I yelled once, and then they stuffed my mouth full of some dirty old rag
and that was the end of any further vocal protests from yours truly.”
“But I should think while you were in the hut you could have snooped
around and found out what sort of place it was,” said Amy.
“If you can tell me how a fellow can be expected to snoop around with
his hands and feet tied and a gag in his mouth you are a better man than
I am, sweet sis,” Darry retorted. “Beside, there were two rooms in the
hut, and the one I was in was as dark as pitch. I defy an owl to see in
such a light. It was an age, I lay there gagged and bound.”
“Throw another log on that fire, will you, Fol?” asked Nell, for the
fire in the grate had died down to a flicker. “All this talk about
counterfeiters and ghosts and things makes me long for the cheer of a
hearty blaze.”
“Darry, please go on,” urged Jessie. “What happened when the alarm of
fire reached the hut?”
“There was a general stampede to get away from there as soon as
possible,” replied Darry. “I thought they had forgotten me for a while,
and I don’t mind telling you that I never remember spending a more
uncomfortable few minutes. Even being the victim of a band of criminals
seemed a more pleasant prospect than being left, bound hand and foot, to
the mercy of a forest fire. A red glow began to filter in through the
small window near the roof of the hut and I could smell the smoke. After
a while I could even hear the crackling of timber——”
“Darry, how dreadful!” cried Jessie. “With your hands and feet tied I
suppose there was no chance for you to help yourself.”
“I had loosened the bonds on my hands by that time,” Darry explained.
“But my feet were crossed and tied in such a way that I was absolutely
helpless. I could have rolled to the door of the hut, and that was what
I had started to do when I heard a sound outside and lay still. A moment
later a man came in and unbound my feet. Even then it was all I could do
to stand.” He paused for a moment and grimaced reminiscently.
“If I live to be a hundred I shall never forget the pain in my legs and
feet. I stumbled, and if the ruffian had not grabbed me I would have
gone flat on my face.
“After that you know nearly all there is to tell,” he went on, glancing
around at the intent faces. “I found myself in a group of my select
friends, and they all seemed to be in the grip of a helpless terror.
When I made a dash for my freedom—having recovered the use of my feet—it
was an easy matter to get away from them. They seemed hardly to notice
what I was doing.”
“But, good gracious, they may come after you again, Darry!” exclaimed
Nell, as she glanced apprehensively at the closed door and at the window
outside which the rain still fell steadily. “How do we know they may not
be hanging around the house now, lying in wait for you!”
“Probably they are engaged in putting as great a distance between us as
possible,” laughed Darry. “That reminds me,” he added, “that if we
expect to apprehend these rascals it will be necessary to work quickly.
They will no doubt have taken the alarm now, knowing that we are on
their trail. Their cue will be to light out, and that, _pronto_.”
“Correct, as usual. But what do you suggest?” asked Fol, with interest.
“We can hardly hope to round up this gang of criminals single-handed,
and by the time we get back to Gibbonsville and give the alarm it will
probably be too late; the counterfeiters will have fled.”
“I have thought of that,” admitted Darry.
“But I certainly hate like poison to let that gang escape,” cried Burd,
impatiently.
“Besides that, I have an insatiable curiosity to find out if my
suspicions concerning the furnishings of that hut are correct,”
continued Darry.
“We haven’t a gun among us, either,” said Burd, disgustedly.
Amy pointed to the ancient firearms that adorned the walls of the lodge.
“What do you mean—we haven’t a gun?” she giggled.
“They look as if they hadn’t seen active service since the War of the
Revolution,” remarked Darry, grinning. “I fear if we came armed with
them, our friends, the counterfeiters, would give us the merry ha-ha.”
“I have an idea, and it is so simple I wonder none of you has thought of
it,” said Jessie.
“Maybe it is so simple none of us could think of it,” murmured Amy, and
Jessie ignored her as she deserved:
“Why not broadcast a message by radio—the most efficient detective
service in the world!”