CHAPTER XII
A DASTARDLY ATTACK
The tourists' train was scheduled to leave Denver at eleven-thirty thatnight, so that there was ample time after the game for a leisurely mealand a few hours for recreation for any of the party that felt soinclined.
Some went to the theater, others played cards, while others sat about thelobby of the leading hotel and discussed the exciting events of theafternoon's game.
As for Joe and Jim, their recreation took the form of long letters to twocharming young ladies whose address, by coincidence, happened to beRiverside. Both seemed to have much to write about, for it was nearly teno'clock before the bulky letters were ready for mailing.
"Give them to me and I'll take them down to the hotel lobby and mailthem," said Jim, as they rose from the writing table.
"I don't know," replied Joe, as he looked at his watch. "Perhaps the lastcollection for the outgoing eastbound mail has already been made. What doyou say to going down to the post-office itself and dropping them inthere? Then they'll be sure to go."
"All right," Jim acquiesced. "It's a dandy night anyway for a walk and I'dlike to stretch my legs a little. Come along."
They went out into the brilliantly lighted streets, which at that hourwere still full of people, and turned toward the post-office which wasabout half a mile distant.
As they were passing a corner, Jim suddenly clutched Joe's arm.
"Did you see that fellow who went into that saloon just now?" he asked,indicating a rather pretentious cafe.
"No," said Joe, dryly. "But it isn't such an unusual thing that I'd pay anickel to see it."
"Quit your fooling," said Jim. "If that fellow wasn't Bugs Hartley, thenmy eyes are going back on me."
"You're dreaming," Joe retorted. "What in the world would Bugs be doing inDenver?"
"Panhandling, maybe," returned Jim. "Drinking, certainly. But it isn'twhat he's doing that interests me. It's the fact that he's here."
"Let's take a look," suggested Joe, impressed by his friend'searnestness.
They went up to the swinging door, pushed it open and looked in. Therewere perhaps a dozen men in the place, but Hartley was not among them.
"Barking up the wrong tree, Jim," chaffed Joe.
"Maybe," agreed Jim a little perplexed, "but if it wasn't Bugs it was hisdouble."
They reached the post-office and after mailing their letters turned backtowards the hotel.
"It's taken us a little longer than I thought," remarked Jim, looking athis watch. "We won't have any more than time to get our traps together andget down to the train."
"This looks like a short cut," said Joe, indicating a side street whichthough rather dark and deserted cut into the main thoroughfare, as theycould see by the bright lights at the further end. "We'll save somethingby going this way."
They had gone perhaps a couple of blocks when they reached a part of thestreet which had no dwelling houses on it. On one side was a factory, darkand forbidding, and on the side where the young men were walking was ahigh board fence enclosing a coal yard.
"Wait a minute, Jim," said Joe. "It feels as though my shoe lace had comeuntied."
He stooped down to fasten the lace, and just as he did so, a jagged pieceof rock came whizzing past where his head had been a second before andcrashed against the fence.
Joe straightened up with a jerk.
"Who threw that?" he exclaimed.
Jim's face was white at the peril his friend had so narrowly escaped.
"Somebody who knew how to throw," he cried, "and I can make a guess at whoit was. There he is now!" he shouted, as he caught sight of a dim figureslinking away in the darkness on the further side of the factory.
They darted across the street in pursuit, but when they turned the cornerthere was no one to be seen. Several alleys branched off from the street,up any one of which the fugitive might have made his escape. Although theytried them one after the other they could find no trace of the rascal.
Baffled and chagrined, they made their way back to the scene of theattack. Joe picked up the piece of rock and weighed it in his hand.
"About half a pound," he judged. "And look at those rough edges! It wouldhave been all up with me, if it had landed."
"Do you notice that that's about the weight of a baseball?" asked Jimsignificantly. "And it went for your head as straight as a bullet. Itwould have caught you square if you hadn't stooped just as you did. Youcan thank your lucky stars that your shoelace came untied. That fellowknew just how to throw, as I said before."
"You don't mean," replied Joe, "that Bugs----"
"Just that," affirmed Jim grimly. "Now maybe you'll believe me when I saythat I saw him to-night. That skunk thought that I had seen him, andslipped into the saloon to get out of sight. Probably he went out througha rear door and has been following us ever since."
"But why----" began Joe.
"Why?" repeated Jim. "Why does a crazy man do crazy things? Just becausehe is crazy. He doesn't have to have a reason. If he thinks you've injuredhim he's just as bitter as though you really had. Hughson's tip was a goodone, Joe. The fellow's deadly dangerous. It's only luck that he isn't amurderer this minute."
"It's good for him I didn't lay my hands on him," replied Joe. "I wouldn'thave hit him, because I don't think he's responsible for what he does. ButI'd have had him put where he couldn't do any more mischief for a while."
"It gives me the creeps to think of what a close call that was," said Jim,as they walked along.
"Don't say anything about it to the boys," cautioned Joe. "The thing wouldget out, and before we knew it the folks at home would have heard of it.And they wouldn't have an easy minute for all the rest of the trip."
They made quick time to the hotel, and as most of their luggage hadremained on the train, they had only to gather a few things together in asmall hand bag and start out for the station.
Their special train had been standing on a side track a few hundred yardseast of the main platform. They were picking their way toward it across anetwork of tracks, when, just as they rounded the corner of a freight car,they came face to face with Hartley.
They almost dropped their handbags at the unexpectedness of the meeting.But if they were startled, Bugs was frightened and turned on his heel torun. In an instant Joe had him by the collar in a grip of iron, while Jimstood on the alert to stop him should he break away.
"Let me go!" cried Hartley in stifled tones, for Joe's grip was almostchoking him.
"Not until you tell me why you tried to murder me to-night," said Joe,grimly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," snarled Bugs, trying to wrenchhimself loose from Joe's hold on his collar.
"You know well enough," replied his captor. "Own up."
"You might as well, Bugs," put in Jim. "We've got the goods on you."
"You fellows are crazy," replied Bugs. "I've never laid eyes on you sinceI saw you in Chicago. And you can't prove that I did either."
"You're the only enemy I have in the world," declared Joe. "And the manwho threw that rock at me to-night was a practiced thrower. Besides,you're all in a sweat--that's from running away when we chased you."
"Swell proof that is," sneered Hartley. "Tell that to a judge and see whatgood it will do you."
The point was well taken, and Joe and Jim knew in their hearts that theyhad no legal proof, although they were morally certain Bugs was guilty.Besides, they had no time to have him arrested, for their train wasscheduled to start in ten minutes.
"Now listen, Bugs," said Joe, at the same time shaking him so that histeeth rattled. "I know perfectly well that you're lying, and I'm givingyou warning for the last time. You've had it in for me from the time youdoped my coffee and nearly put me out of the game altogether. Ever sincethat you've bothered me, and to-night you've tried to kill me. I tell youstraight, I've had enough of it. If I didn't think that your brain wastwisted, I'd thrash you now within an inch of your life. But I'm tellingyou now, and you let it sink
in, that the next time you try to do me, I'mgoing to put you where the dogs won't bite you."
He dug his knuckles into Bugs' neck and gave him a fling that sent himseveral yards away. The fellow kept his feet with an effort, and then witha muttered threat slunk away into the darkness.
They watched him for a minute, and then picked up their handbags andstarted toward the train.
"Hope that's the last we see of him," remarked Joe.
"So do I," Jim replied. "But we felt that way before and he's turned upjust the same. I won't feel easy till I know that he's behind the bars."
"He's usually in front of the bars," joked Joe. "But I'm glad anyway thatwe had a chance to throw a scare into him. He knows now that we'll be onour guard and perhaps even he will have sense enough to let us alone."
Jim consulted his watch.
"Great Scott!" he ejaculated.
"What's the matter, Jim?"
"We haven't any time to spare if we want to catch that train."
"All right, let's run for it."
As best they could, they began sprinting in the direction of the railroadstation, but their handbags were somewhat heavy, and this impeded theirprogress. Then, turning a corner, they suddenly found themselvesconfronted by a long sewer trench, lit up here and there by red lanterns.
"We've got to get over that trench somehow!" cried Joe.
"Can you jump it?" questioned Jim anxiously.
"I'm going to try," returned the crack pitcher.
He threw his handbag to the other side of the sewer trench, and then,backing up a few steps, ran forward and took the leap in good shape. Hischum followed him, but Jim might have slipped back into the sewer trenchhad not Joe been watching, and grabbed him by one hand.
"Gosh, that was a close shave!" panted Jim, when he felt himself safe.
"Don't waste time thinking about it. We have still a couple of blocks togo," Joe returned, and set off once more on the run, with Jim at hisheels.
Soon they rounded another corner, and came in sight of the railroadstation. There stood their train, and the conductor was signaling tostart.
"Wait! Wait!" yelled Joe. But in the general confusion around the railroadstation nobody seemed to notice him.
"We've got to make that train--we've just got to!" cried Joe, and dashedforward faster than ever, with Jim beside him.
They scrambled up the steps just as a warning whistle sounded; and a fewmoments later the train drew out on its climb over the Rockies.