CHAPTER XVI.--HOW A CAT TREED A WOLF.
Smoke still hung over the "burn." Now and then it was swept aside by agust of wind which seemed now to blow out of the east, and so did notcome sizzling with the heat of burned forests. The general effect,however, was that of a heavy, stifling fog, and Green and Frank creptalong toward the aeroplane with their hands held out before their faces.
The clatter of the motors had ceased, but the tap-tap of steel on steelwas faintly heard as they neared the machine. Occasionally the worker,whoever he was, ceased his tapping, as if listening.
"He's got his nerve with him," Frank whispered, as they moved along.
"How did he get here?" asked Green. "That is the question that istroubling me."
Presently the two came up so that the figure of the man could bediscerned, standing before the bulk of the planes. Green sprang forwardand seized him by the arm. For an instant it seemed as if the capturewould be made without a struggle, then a shot was fired and a crouchingfigure leaped away.
Frank saw the forester fall and leaped toward the retreating figure. Therace in the darkness, caused by the pall of smoke which followed, wasshort, for Frank was a noted runner and soon overhauled the fugitive. Hedid not attempt to take hold of the man as he came up. He knew that sucha course might mean an unequal contest, for he was only a boy.
Instead, he dropped to the ground and caught one of the runner's anklesin both hands. Naturally the fellow plunged to the ground head-first. Heturned quickly and leveled a revolver. There was no warning. The shotcame instantly, the bullet passing over the boy's head as he droppedupon the prostrate figure.
With the hand which held the weapon held closely to the ground, Frankstruggled with the fellow for an instant, filling the heavy air with hiscries for assistance. The first shot had been heard by the sleepers, andhelp was at hand immediately. The captive was neatly tied by the lightof Frank's flashlight, and the foresters gathered about, still rubbingtheir eyes.
The "burn" was not all in darkness all the time, for the glare of thesmouldering embers to the west lighted the place fairly well. Only forthe smoke the ruddy light would have made a pretty good illumination.When the fellow was lifted to his feet an exclamation of astonishmentcame from the group about him.
"Sawyer!" some one cried.
The prisoner dropped his chin for a moment, as if studying out somedifficult proposition, then faced the others sheepishly.
"I thought I could get away with it," he said.
A cry now came from the men who had hastened to Green's assistance.
"He's dead, I guess," the voice said.
"I didn't shoot to kill," Sawyer exclaimed. "He can't be dead."
"Why did you shoot at all?" demanded one of the rangers, approachingSawyer with threatening fists.
"He was in my way," was the sullen reply. "I have always wanted anaeroplane, and I thought this a good time to get one."
"Did you injure the machine in any way?" asked Frank, as Sawyer stoodgazing furtively from face to face, his black eyes showing fear.
"When I found I couldn't get it off," was the reply, "I loosened some ofthe burrs. It can be repaired easily enough."
"That is more than can be said for you, if you have killed Green," oneof the men declared, shaking a fist at the prisoner. "If he's deadyou'll be hauled up on one of these trees."
"You wouldn't dare do that!" Sawyer cried.
"Wouldn't we?" cried the other. "You'll see when we know whether he willlive or not. How is it, boys?" he continued, stepping toward the spotwhere Green lay.
The man bending over Green was about to reply when Nestor laid a hand onhis arm. The boy had been awakened at the first shot and had slipped outof his tent and over to the side of the wounded man, being the first toarrive there.
"Wait," he said, as the ranger looked up in surprise. "Green is notseriously injured," Ned went on, "but I want to make that rascal thinkhe is."
"What's the idea?" asked the other, glancing from face to face abouthim.
"When he stands under a tree with a rope about his neck," Ned said,"he'll tell us the truth about this affair."
"He was trying to steal the machine," the other said.
"Green has a bullet hole through his shoulder," Ned said, "but I wantyou to treat the prisoner as if the shot had been fatal. Kindly carryhim to his tent."
The command was instantly obeyed, for the foresters all knew why Ned wasthere, and understood that he was the personal representative of theSecret Service chief at Washington. Ned then called Frank aside andspoke a few words in a whisper. The boy grinned and hastened back to thegroup about Sawyer.
"Nestor wants to talk with Sawyer," he explained, "and wants me to takehim to his tent."
"We'll take him to Nestor's tent after we get done with him," declared aburly forester whose face bore many evidences of the hard fight he hadmade during the fire. "It won't take us long to settle with him."
Frank spoke a few words to the man and he was one of the first to pushthe prisoner toward Nestor's tent.
"If you'll keep those men off me," were Sawyer's first words, "I'll tellyou what you want to know. They mean to kill me."
"I think there is little doubt about that," was Ned's reply. "Why didyou want the aeroplane?"
"If you must know," was the reply, "I was sent here to get it, or towreck it so you couldn't use it."
This looked promising, and Ned waved a hand at Frank.
"Throw him out here!" came a gruff voice from the crowd.
"I won't tell," Sawyer went on, "unless you promise to keep them awayfrom me. I didn't mean to kill Green, and no court will convict me."
"When did you come here?" asked Ned.
"A month ago," was the reply. "The day you landed in San Francisco a mancame to my boarding house and employed me."
"He mentioned the aeroplane?"
"Yes, he knew all about it."
"Treachery in the Secret Service, eh?" asked Ned.
"I don't know how he gained his information," was the reply. "He told methat he had secured a job for me in the forest service, and that I wasto join the crew in this district."
"And steal the aeroplane?"
"Steal it or wreck it. There are men with the other crews. You wouldhave found an enemy wherever you landed."
This was all very amazing, and Ned wondered how many pitfalls had beenset for him in San Francisco. He had no doubt that Sawyer was tellingthe truth. The question was as to whether he would tell the story as itwas from that point on.
"Who was it that engaged you--gave you your instructions?" he asked.
"I don't know," was the reply.
Ned swung his hand again, and a fierce demand that the prisoner shouldbe thrown out arose from the group outside. Sawyer shivered and creptout of his camp-chair to Nestor's side. His face was deadly pale, beingsheltered from the ruddy glow of the fires. Just where the men stoodoutside lay a red lance of light, giving a demon-like look to theirrugged faces.
"If you don't tell me the truth," Ned said, "I can't protect you."
"I tell you I don't know," wailed the frightened man. "I had never seenhim before. I wanted a job and took what he offered. I didn't think itwould be so great a crime to steal or wreck an aeroplane."
"What were you to receive for the job?"
"One thousand dollars."
"Hurry up! Throw that sneak out!"
Sawyer, like the coward he was, threw himself down on the floor of thetent and groveled at Ned's feet.
"You would know the man again?" asked Ned.
"Yes; I can pick him out of a score of men."
"You will do this willingly?"
"Yes; I'm sick of the whole game. I didn't mean to hurt Green. I wantedto scare him away so I could get back to my tent without beingrecognized. That is all I wanted, and I did not mean to hit him at all."
There was a great deal more talk between the two. Ned soon becameconvinced that Sawyer was a weak man, morally and intellectually, whowould be apt to f
ollow the lead of one stronger than himself.
After Ned had left a guard over the man and visited Green--who was doingvery well, and laughing over the trick the boy had played on Sawyer--hewent back to his rough bed, well satisfied with the events of the night.
"By the way," Frank said, crawling into the tent after assisting incaring for the wounded man, "I don't understand what you mean by sayingthat you've got a clue which you think will force the man behind thescenes out on the stage, in full view of the audience. If there is sucha clue hovering about I haven't become acquainted with it."
"The clue is hardly well enough advanced to talk about," Ned replied.
"But if you've got a line on the leader of this bunch you've won thecase," suggested Frank.
"That is what the government sent me here for," Ned replied. "The chiefof the Secret Service expects me to round up the man responsible for thefrequent forest fires. I think now that he should have told me thatsmuggling was going on up here, but he may have had a good reason fornot doing so."
"You know what Mr. Green said," Frank interrupted. "He said thegovernment officers wanted you to take the case and find out everythingfor yourself. Perhaps they feared that you would pay too much attentionto these smugglers, and let the forest fires issue go with scantinvestigation. They might have arrested the smugglers at any time, youknow."
"Perhaps so," Ned replied, "But that wouldn't have brought the managerof the unlawful enterprises into the hands of the law. After all, theSecret Service men may have been right in sending me up here withoutinstructions or special information. What a laugh they would have had ifI had failed to discover the Chinamen and the opium."
"Perhaps they wanted to see if you would discover them," laughed Frank."Have you any idea," he added, "that the Secret Service men knew thatyou would be followed in here--that the plans of the governmentregarding your work were known to the outlaws? Do you think they knew ofthe employment of Sawyer and the others by the men at the head of theconspiracy?"
"No; I hardly think the man who gave me final orders at San Franciscoknew that all he did was known to the men he was fighting," Ned replied."The head of the bunch put a good one over on him there."
"And came near putting one over on you, also," grinned Frank. "Theaeroplane has been attacked twice already, and others are doubtlesswaiting to get a crack at it."
"They will have to hurry up if they do," Ned said, with a chuckle, "andyou will have to look out for yourself if they succeed, for I'm going tohave you take me to Missoula in the morning and then go back and collectthe boys."
"And not come back here again?" asked Frank.
"Not unless we come back for a pleasure trip," was the reply.
"Well," Frank said, "that pleasure trip idea looks pretty good to me.Why not?"
"I may have time," Ned replied.
Frank threw himself on the blankets which had been provided by Mr. Greenand closed his eyes, which were still smarting from the effects of thesmoke.
"If you go away to-morrow," he said, presently, "what is to become ofthe clues we found in the cavern by the lake?"
"All provided for," Ned answered.
"And all the Chinks, and everything you discovered while visiting themin the caves almost under the divide?"
"Everything provided for," Ned said, sleepily.
"And you think you can close this case by going to San Francisco?"demanded Frank, a touch of sarcasm in his tone.
"Go to sleep, little boy," said Ned, in a tantalizing tone.
"But do you?" insisted the boy.
"Of course I do," was the muttered reply. "Go to sleep, little man!"
And Frank tried to obey, but sleep would not come. The fire stillsmouldered over in the west. The ruddy light of the embers was stilltouching the camp with its red fingers. The smoke was still assertingitself in the air. The puzzle was still there!
After the boy had rolled over at least fifty times, and arose to consulta water bag at least a dozen times, he seated himself under the flap ofthe tent and looked out. There was a moon now, and the smoke only halfhid it. Far off in the woods wild creatures were expressing theiropinion of the fire and the wanton destruction of their homes. There wasa faint rustle in the foliage of the trees east of the "burn."
"Gee!" the boy muttered. "I'd like to come back here for a month!"
Then his attention was attracted to the savage growl of some animal inthe thicket beyond the fire limit of the "burn." It seemed to the boy asif some man-eating creature had cornered a bit of animate supper, butcouldn't reach it. The language used by the forest resident seemed to bein the tongue of the panther. While he listened a cry which was not thatof a hungry beast came out of the gloom.
That was a cry for help, surely. Frank put his revolver and hissearchlight into convenient pockets and set out for the scene of thedisturbance, without awakening any of the sleepers. It was slow workpushing through the bushes, and the boy wondered if a fire there, wellguarded on a quiet day, wouldn't be a good thing.
He kept his searchlight ahead and looked about for the source of thenoises as he advanced in the darkness. In a short time he heard a voicehe knew, but hardly expected to hear there.
"Hurry up!" the voice said. "I'm goin' to tumble out of this tree inabout a minute! I'm that hungry! I thought you might meet me with a pieunder one arm."
"Well, why don't you come down, then?" Frank asked.
"If you'll turn your honorable attention to that tree to the east,"Jimmie said, "your excellency will observe a panther waiting for hissupper. He's been tracking me all day, getting bolder every minute. Now,if I turn this searchlight away for an instant, he'll jump on me, andthere you are. No more Jimmie McGraw than a rabbit!"
"I didn't see your light at first," Frank said, "for it was hidden bythe foliage of the trees. I suppose you want me to shoot the cat?"