TAKEN PRISONER
At first Larry thought they were perhaps only trying to play a joke
on him. He involuntarily moved to one side, but, as he did so, one of
the men grasped him by the coat collar. Larry began to struggle, but
another of the men clasped him about the arms, and a hand was placed
over the boy’s mouth to prevent any cry issuing.
“Whistle for the cab!” the shortest of the men whispered, and a shrill
note came from the lips of someone.
Larry felt himself lifted up and borne down the stairs. He heard a
confused noise and then a loud explosion. It subsequently developed
that some of the strikers set off a bomb at that time. This drew a big
crowd near the scene of the explosion and the vicinity of the elevated
railroad steps was almost deserted.
A carriage drove rapidly up to the foot of the steps. Larry, struggling
against he knew not what, was unable to free himself. He was bundled
into the cab, two of the men followed, and the door was slammed shut.
Then the driver cracked his whip and the horses started off at a
gallop.
Even then Larry could not believe that the men meant to take him. A
number of explanations came into his mind. He thought he was mistaken
for another person, and again he imagined it might be some prank of
college students, though the men did not look like youths who attended
a university.
One man had kept his hand over Larry’s mouth, but once they were in
the cab he removed his palm and substituted for it a cloth gag which
effectually prevented the boy from calling out.
Larry strained his ears to catch anything the men might say, in order
to learn what their purpose was regarding him. In this, however, he was
disappointed, as the men maintained silence. The only sound was the
rumbling of the carriage over the cobblestones. Occasionally this would
cease as an asphalt stretch would be reached.
“They’ll release me as soon as they find they have the wrong person,”
thought Larry. “It would make a good story if I could find out all
about it and what their real object is.”
Even in his somewhat perilous position Larry had a thought for his
paper, as all good reporters should have. Now the cab seemed to be
in a less thickly settled part of the city. By glancing through a
small crack in the window shade, Larry could see stretches of field
instead of solid blocks of houses. The men, too, seemed to be less
apprehensive of pursuit, for they began to talk in low tones, though
Larry could not hear what they said.
At length, however, Larry heard one ask the other:
“Has he got the papers with him?”
“Sure,” was the answer from the other man. “I saw him put them in his
pocket. Shall I take them out?”
“No, we’ll wait for the boss,” was the answer.
Larry heard and wondered. What papers could the men be referring to?
Clearly they had made a mistake, and must have expected to capture some
other person.
“I haven’t any valuable papers,” thought the youth.
Then, with a start, he remembered the bunch of copy with which he had
started for the _Leader_ office when he was caught. He realized that
if it was not soon delivered it would be too late. The thought of this
made him half wild, for he did not want to fail in his mission.
He began to struggle to free himself with a strength that, for a
moment, took all the power of the men to subdue. Larry kicked with his
feet and struck out with his arms. He tried to get rid of the gag to
call for help, but it was too tightly fastened on.
For a few minutes there was a lively time in the carriage, but the
driver did not appear to notice it, for he kept his horses going. At
length the men succeeded in getting hold of Larry’s arms and legs and
holding them firmly.
“Shall I tie him?” asked the shorter of the two men.
“No, we’re almost there now,” was the answer from the other. “We can
easily hold him until then.”
“He certainly put up a good fight,” was the other’s comment. “I never
saw such a lad. I hope he doesn’t make another row.”
“We’ll fix him if he does,” said the tall man.
Larry was exhausted from his efforts. He saw that it would be of no
use to fight the two men, and so he resolved to remain quiet until he
found a better chance of escaping. At the same time he could not help
wondering what in the world it was all about, and why any men should
want him. He was also much alarmed over his failure to get back to the
office with the copy, but he did not see how he could help himself.
The carriage containing the boy and his captors now began traveling
over more uneven roads, and Larry rightly guessed that they were in the
upper part of the city, in the section known as the Bronx.
For perhaps an hour longer the vehicle moved on. Then it came to a
stop. One of the men raised a curtain and peered out.
“Here we are!” he exclaimed. “We’ll carry him in. Is anyone looking?”
“Not a person in sight,” was the reply as the other man gazed up and
down the street. “Go ahead.”
Larry was picked up as if he was a baby and carried from the carriage,
across the sidewalk, and into a dark hallway. During the short trip
across the pavement the boy noticed that it was getting dusk. He knew
then that the last edition of the _Leader_ had gone to press and that
the copy he had in his pocket had not reached the office on time. He
felt like crying, for fear Mr. Emberg and Mr. Newton would think it
was his fault he had failed in his work. They might believe he had
deliberately stayed away.
But Larry’s regrets at what might have happened were soon dispersed by
what was taking place right around him. He felt himself being carried
upstairs, and he made up his mind that it was useless to struggle any
more. He was in the hands of strong men and it would be better to use
cunning rather than force. He realized that he was near a big city and
that there were plenty of police to ferret out crime of any description
whatever.
Larry believed that his absence would soon be noticed and that a search
would be made for him. So, though he was much frightened, he resolved
to be as brave as possible and to wait with patience until he was
released. He had no fear that the men would do him any real harm.
The man carrying him went up four flights of stairs, and Larry knew,
from that, that he must be in some sort of tenement house or some large
factory. The places seemed quiet, and Larry thought if it was a house
it must be a deserted one.
At this he began to have a little fear. He was afraid of being left
all alone somewhere far from home, for he knew New York was a big
place, and one might be within the city limits, yet miles from any real
population. But the boy did not have long to indulge in fancies.
The man carrying him set him down rather roughly, and Larry staggered
and would have fallen had not another man, who had followed the first
one, caught him.
“Easy,” said the second individual. “What are you trying to do to him?
He’s only a boy.”
“I didn’t mean any harm,” growled the other.
“Now look here,” began the man who had pleaded for gentler treatment,
turning toward Larry, “we’re going to take that gag out of your mouth.
But mind you if you holler or make a fuss we’ll put it in again. Will
you promise?”
Larry would have done almost anything in reason to get rid of the rag
that was nearly choking him, so he nodded an assent.
“That’s the way to behave,” said the man, evidently pleased. “We’ll be
as decent as we can with you, even though the boss did say to give you
all you deserved.”
He removed the gag, and Larry breathed a long breath of relief. At the
same time he wondered what the man meant by saying he was to be given
all he deserved.
What did he deserve, anyhow? And who would want to harm him? It was too
much for Larry. He began to think it was all a bad dream and that he
would presently wake up and start for the office.
“It won’t do you much good if you do holler,” the man went on. “There’s
no one in this old factory and there’s not a house within half a mile.
So if you want to use your lungs, why, go ahead.”
Larry’s mouth was sore and stiff from the gag. His lips were swollen
and he could hardly speak. Yet he wanted to question the men.
“Why have you brought me here? What do you want? I never did anything
to you,” he said brokenly.
“No, I don’t know’s you did,” said the shorter of the two men. “You’re
brought here because the boss told us to, and you’re here because
you’ve been doing harm to our cause.”
“Harm to your cause? What cause?” asked Larry, feeling sure he must
have been taken for the wrong person.
“You know well enough,” the man answered. “I have orders not to talk
to you for fear you’ll find out more than would be good for us, so
you’ll have to keep quiet now.
“We’re going to lock you in this room. You can try and get out if you
want to, only I wouldn’t advise you to try. It’s a good ways from the
ground. We’ll be on hand to stop any attempt. You’ll be well taken care
of for a while until this matter is all settled. If you’re hungry we’ll
get you something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” said Larry, “but what do you mean by bringing me
here? You haven’t any right to do this.”
“That’s all right,” said the tall man calmly. “You are here, and here’s
where you’re going to stay for a while. The boss will be here, pretty
soon, and you can make some arrangements with him, maybe.”
“Can I have a drink of water?” asked Larry, whose throat was parched
and dry from the gag.
“Sure,” said one of the men. “I’ll get you some, and a couple of
sandwiches.”
He was as good as his word, and presently came back with food and
drink. The water made Larry feel better and he thought he had better
eat something to keep his strength up.
The two men watched him as he munched the bread and meat. Suddenly
there sounded from below a sharp noise as if a heavy door had been
shut.
“Hark!” exclaimed one of the men. “What’s that?”
“Someone’s coming,” said the other.
Footsteps were heard ascending the stairs. The men looked at each other
and seemed alarmed.