CHAPTER III-A GOOD WITNESS
Dick's surprise and concern when he found the cache empty and deserted,with papers and motorcycles alike gone, may be imagined. For a momenthe thought he must be mistaken; that, after all, he had come to thewrong place. But a quick search of the ground with his flashlightshowed him that he had come to the right spot. He could see the tracksmade by the wheels of the machine; he could see, also, evidences of thebrief struggle between Harry and Graves. For a moment his mystificationcontinued. But then, with a low laugh, Jack Young emerged from thecover in which he had been hiding.
"Hello, there!" he said. "I say, are you Dick Mercer?"
"Yes!" gasped Dick. "But how ever do you know? I never saw youbefore!"
"Well, you see me now," said Jack. "Harry Fleming told me to look foryou here. He said you'd be along some time to-night, if you got away.And he was sure you could get away, too."
"Harry!" said Dick, dazed. "You've seen him? Where is he? Did he getaway? And what happened to the cycles and the papers we hid there?Why-"
"Hold on! One question at a time," said Jack. "Keep your shirt on, andI'll tell you all I know about it. Then we can decide what is to bedone next. I think I'll attach myself temporarily to your patrol."
"Oh, you're a scout, too, are you?" asked Dick. That seemed to explain agood deal. He was used to having scouts turn up to help him out oftrouble. And so he listened as patiently as he could, while Jackexplained what had happened.
"And that's all I know," said Jack, finally, when he had carried thetale to the point where Harry rode off on the repaired motorcycle inpursuit of Ernest Graves. "I should think you might really know moreabout it now than I do."
"Why, how could I? You saw it all!"
"Yes, that's true enough. But you know Harry and I were too busy totalk much after we found that motor was out of order. All I know isthat when we got here we found someone I'd never seen before and neverwant to see again messing about with the cycles. We thought it must beyou, of course-at least Harry did, and of course I supposed he ought toknow."
"And then you found it was Ernest Graves?"
"Harry did. He took one look at him-and then they started right infighting. Harry seemed to be sure that was the thing to do. If I'dbeen in his place, I'd have tried to arbitrate, I think. This chapGraves was a lot bigger than he. He was carrying weight for age. Yousee, I don't know yet who Graves is, or why Harry wanted to startfighting him that way. I've been waiting patiently for you to comealong, so that you could tell me."
"He's a sneak!" declared Dick, vehemently. "I suppose you know thatHarry's an American, don't you?"
"Yes, but that's nothing against him."
"Of course it isn't! But this Graves is the biggest and oldest chap inour troop-he isn't in our patrol. And he thought that if any of us weregoing to be chosen for special service, he ought to have the firstchance. So when they picked Harry and me, he began talking aboutHarry's being an American. He tried to act as if he thought it wasn'tsafe for anyone who wasn't English to be picked out!"
"It looks as if he had acted on that idea, too, doesn't it, then? Itseems to me that he has followed you down here, just to get a chance toplay some trick on you. He got those papers, you see. And I fancyyou'll be blamed for losing them."
"How did he know we were here?" said Dick, suddenly. "That's what I'dlike to know!"
"Yes, it would be a good thing to find that out," said Jack,thoughtfully. "Well, it will be hard to do. But we might find out howhe got here. I know this village and the country all around here prettywell. And Gaffer Hodge will know, if anyone does. He's the most curiousman in the world. Come on-we'll see what he has to say."
"Who is he?" asked Dick, as they began to walk briskly toward thevillage.
"You went through the village this afternoon, didn't you? Didn't yousee a very old man with white hair and a stick beside him, sitting in adoorway next to the little shop by the Red Dog?"
"Yes."
"That's Gaffer Hodge. He's the oldest man in these parts. He canremember the Crimean War and-oh, everything! He must be over a hundredyears old. And he watches everyone who comes in. If a stranger is inthe village he's never happy until he knows all about him. He wasawfully worried to-day about you and Harry, I heard," explained Jack.
Dick laughed heartily.
"Well, I do hope he can tell us something about Graves. The sneak! Icertainly hope Harry catches up to him. Do you think he can?"
"Well, he might, if he was lucky. He said the cycle he was riding wasfaster than the other one. But of course it would be very hard to telljust which way to go. If Graves knew there was a chance that he mightbe followed he ought to be able to give anyone who was even a milebehind the slip."
"Of course it's at night and that makes it harder for Harry."
"Yes, I suppose it does. In the daytime Harry could find people to tellhim which way Graves was going, couldn't he?"
"Yes. That's just what I meant."
"Oh, I say, won't Gaffer Hodge be in bed and asleep?"
"I don't think so. He doesn't seem to like to go to bed. He sits upvery late, and talks to the men when they start to go home from the RedDog. He likes to talk, you see. We'll soon know-that's one thing.We'll be there now in no time."
Sure enough, the old man was still up when they arrived. He was justsaying good-night, in a high, piping voice, to a little group of men whohad evidently been having a nightcap in the inn next to his house. Whenhe saw Jack he smiled. They were very good friends, and the old man hadfound the boy one of his best listeners. The Gaffer liked to live inthe past; he was always delighted when anyone would let him tell histales of the things he remembered.
"Good-evening, Gaffer," said Jack, respectfully. "This is my friend,Dick Mercer. He's a Boy Scout from London."
"Knew it! Knew it!" said Gaffer Hodge, with a senile chuckle. "I saidthey was from Lunnon this afternoon when I seen them fust! Glad to meetyou, young maister."
Then Jack described Graves as well as he could from his brief sight ofhim, and Dick helped by what he remembered.
"Did you see him come into town this afternoon. Gaffer?" asked Jack.
"Let me think," said the old man. "Yes-I seen 'um. Came sneaking in,he did, this afternoon as ever was! Been up to the big house at BrayPark, he had. Came in in an automobile, he did. Then he went backthere. But he was in the post office when you and t'other young ladfrom Lunnon went by, maister!" nodding his head as if well pleased.
This was to Dick, and he and Jack stared at one another. Certainlytheir visit to Gaffer Hodge had paid them well.
"Are you sure of that, Gaffer?" asked Jack, quietly. "Sure that it wasan automobile from Bray Park?"
"Sure as ever was!" said the old man, indignantly. Like all old people,he hated anyone to question him, resenting the idea that anyone couldthink he was mistaken. "Didn't I see the machine myself-a big grey one,with black stripes as ever was, like all their automobiles?"
"That's true-that's the way their cars are painted, and they have fiveor six of them," said Jack.
"Yes. And he come in the car from Lunnon before he went there-and thenhe come out here. He saw you and t'other young lad from Lunnon go by,maister, on your bicycles. He was watching you from the shop as everwas!"
"Thank you, Gaffer," said Jack, gravely. "You've told us just what wewanted to know. I'll bring you some tobacco in the morning, if youlike. My father's just got a new lot down from London."
"Thanks, thank'ee kindly," said the Gaffer, overjoyed at the prospect.
Then they said good-night to the old man, who, plainly delighted at thethought that he had been of some service to them, and at this proof ofhis sharpness, of which he was always boasting, rose and hobbled intohis house.
"He's really a wonderful old man," said Dick.
"He certainly is," agreed Jack. "His memory seems to be as good asever, and he's awfully active, too. He's got rheumatism, but he ca
n seeand hear as well as he ever could, my father says."
They walked on, each turning over in his mind what they had heard aboutGraves.
"That's how he knew we were here," said Dick, finally. "I've beenpuzzling about that. I remember now seeing that car as we went by. Butof course I didn't pay any particular attention to it, except that I sawa little American flag on it."
"Yes, they're supposed to be Americans, you know," said Jack. "And Isuppose they carry the flag so that the car won't be taken for the army.The government has requisitioned almost all the cars in the country, youknow."
"I'm almost afraid to think about this," said Dick, after a moment ofsilence. "Graves must know those people in that house, if he's ridingabout in their car. And they-"
He paused, and they looked at one another.
"I don't know what to do!" said Dick. "I wish there was some way totell Harry about what we've found out."
Jack started.
"I nearly forgot!" he said. "We'd better cut for my place. I toldHarry we'd be there if he telephoned, you know. Come on!"