THE LINE ON BRADY.
Harper's astonishment was so profound as to be ludicrous. Naturally he
could not recognize Harris, even as being a policeman, but he could
hardly fail to be astounded at seeing Matt and Ferral.
With a revolver in his hand, Harris drove Harper into a chair beside
Ochiltree.
"What--what's the meanin' o' this?" asked Harper, in faltering tones,
his bewildered eyes roaming from Matt to Ferral, and then to Ochiltree.
"You'll find out the meaning of it before you're many minutes older,"
answered Harris, with a snap of the jaw. "Why, you murderous hound," he
went on, "how can you look at King, there, and at his friend, Ferral,
and find the nerve to put such a question? I suppose you've forgotten
how you tied these two lads, put them in the little room back of the
balloon house, and then turned on the gas?"
"It wasn't me done that," protested Harper.
"It was you, just as much as it was Whipple or Pete. The law won't make
any fine distinctions, I can tell you, when it comes to playing even
for that bit of dastardly work. You're in a hard row of stumps, Harper.
I don't know as anything can be done to help you, either, but if you
show a disposition to help us, it won't hurt you any."
"Nothin' happened to them two kids," growled Harper, recovering a
little of his courage, "an' I knew all the time they'd get clear."
"Use the soft pedal!" warned Harris. "You didn't have any such notion.
Anyhow, the law will handle you almost as it would if both boys had
been smothered to death. It wasn't anything to your credit that they
got out of that room alive. But you're not the main object of our
expedition. Where's Brady?"
"Who told you where we was?" asked Harper, ignoring the question.
"Some one gave us the tip, and that's enough for you to know. Where's
Brady?"
"I don't know where he----"
"Yes, you do!"
The muzzle of Harris' revolver was pushed closer to Harper's face. He
cringed away from it with a frightened look in his eyes.
"Don't get careless with that," he whined. "I'm not goin' to run away."
"You're right you're not. It wouldn't do you any good if you did try.
Where's Brady? I'm not going to ask you many times."
"Who're you?" demanded Harper. "What right you got to ask me things
like that?"
"I'm an officer from South Chicago," and Harris pulled back his coat
and showed the badge pinned to his vest.
"And I," spoke up Dennison, going through the same movements, "am a
Grand Haven officer. You're nigged good and plenty, my man. If you know
when you're well off, you'll help rather than hinder this game we're
playing."
Harper cast an appealing look at Ochiltree. The latter met the look
savagely.
"What ye lookin' at me fer?" he snapped. "I don't know you--never seen
ye before in my life. Ye can see what trouble ye've got me in by comin'
here. Take him away an' jug him," Ochiltree added, turning to Harris.
"He's nothin' ter me, an' I'd like ter have ye git him out o' this
house as soon as ye kin."
"We'll jug the two of you, Ochiltree," answered Dennison grimly, "until
we find out just where you stand in this business."
Ochiltree relapsed into his chair with a black scowl. This byplay
between Ochiltree and the officer did not serve to make Harper any more
easy in his mind.
"Are you going to tell us anything about Brady?" demanded Harris. "I'm
waiting."
"What's it goin' to mean to me?" asked Harper, wishing to drive some
sort of a bargain on his own account.
"It may help you, but I'm making no promises."
Harper bowed his head and, for a moment, thought the matter over.
Evidently he made up his mind that he was cornered, and that it would
be well for him to take a chance at doing something for himself.
"What do you want to know?" he queried.
"Where is Brady?" repeated Harris.
"He's out on the trolley line that leads toward Grand Rapids."
"Is the Hawk there?"
"Yes. Something went wrong with the Hawk's motor, and Brady sent me
after Ochiltree while he was tinkering with the machinery."
"Sent you after Ochiltree, did he?" echoed Harris. "Why was that?"
"Give it up. I guess Brady was plannin' to have Ochiltree help him to
steer clear of the law."
"Consarn you!" flared Ochiltree, glaring at Harper. "What ye tryin'
ter git me inter this thing fer? I'll admit I useter know Brady," he
went on, turning to Dennison and Harris, "but I ain't had a thing ter
do with him fer years. Why he comes to me now, like this, is more'n I
know."
"It looks bad for you, Ochiltree," commented Dennison.
"I know that," scowled Ochiltree, "an' all because o' this mutt. He's
doin' his best ter ring me in on the deal, but I'll swear I ain't got a
thing ter do with it."
"We'll find that out for ourselves."
"How far is the Hawk from town?" queried Harris, again taking up his
line of questioning with Harper.
"About two miles," was the prisoner's answer.
"How'll we know the place when we get to it?"
"There's a broken oak close to a platform where the cars stop to take
on an' let off passengers. Ye can't miss the place. Get off at the
platform and walk to the right, straight into the timber."
"Was Brady to wait there until you and Ochiltree joined him?"
"Yes."
"How long will it take Brady to repair the Hawk?"
"He figured on a couple of hours."
"Who's with him?"
"Pete and Whipple."
"No one else?"
"No."
"What's become of Hector, Jr.?"
"He's gone East. Brady thought Hector, Jr., had better cut out of
Chicago after what happened on the lake."
"I see." Harris turned to Dennison. "We've got a good line on Brady,"
he continued. "We'll take Harper and Ochiltree to the lockup, and then
we'll pick up another officer and go to the platform by the blasted
oak, and----"
"I know the place," broke in Dennison. "I've passed it a dozen times on
the way to Grand Rapids. The quicker we pull off the rest of this the
better."
"My notion to a t, y, ty."
Harris snapped a pair of iron bracelets about Harper's wrists, while
Dennison gave the same delicate attention to Ochiltree.
"I'm blamed if I can understand why ye're treatin' me in this way,"
growled Ochiltree.
"Your actions are suspicious," replied the Grand Haven officer.
"I can't keep crooks from callin' on me," protested Ochiltree.
"Well, you'd better," was the significant response. "Come along,
Ochiltree, and come peaceably."
Ferral walked on one side of Ochiltree, and Matt walked on one side of
Harper.
With this escort, the two prisoners were removed from the house, taken
across the river and conducted to police headquarters.
If success was to attend the rest of the officers' movements, there
was no time to be lost. The two prisoners had been paraded through
the town, and there was the possibility that the news of their arrest
might reach Brady and his men in advance of the arrival of Harris and
Dennison.
Another officer was secured. While the three plain-clothes men were
waiting for the car, Harris endeavored to persuade Matt and Ferral
to go back to the Eagle and leave the rest of the work to him, and
Dennison, and the other officer.
"Keelhaul me if I cut adrift at this stage of the game," answered
Ferral. "Why, it's just beginning to get exciting."
"I feel the same way, Harris," spoke up Matt.
"If Brady does any shooting, Matt," answered Harris, "you can gamble
that it will be in your direction. The scoundrel has got it in for you,
and he'll take any chance to play even, no matter what it costs him."
"I'll look out for myself," said Matt confidently. "Besides, Harris,
you're overlooking one important point.
"What's that?"
"Suppose Brady hasn't got the Hawk in shape. It would be necessary for
some one that understands a gasoline motor to lay hold and finish the
job. Who could do that, if I wasn't along?"
There was a brief silence, broken at last by Dennison.
"The youngster is right," said he. "Perhaps he'll be needed."
"What's more," averred Ferral, "Matt and I own the Hawk, and it's right
and proper that we should be there to look after it. If there's any
shooting, you fellows see that the air ship isn't hurt."
"We'll do our best to look after the Hawk," answered Harris, "but we
can't forget that the capture of Brady and his men is our principal
business."
"Here comes the car," announced Dennison. "Tumble aboard and we'll
start off on the last lap of the chase."