CHAPTER XIV
A PAIR OF PRISONERS
Tommy saw his chum drop and, supposing that he had been injured in someway, started racing up the slope. Directly he found himself hampered byCullen, who was clinging to the tail of his khaki coat.
As the boy drew up George rose from the ground and moved down the slopefacing the east. Tommy saw that he was acting under instructions fromKatz, who held a revolver in his hand.
In five minutes the boys, unarmed now, were walking along by the side ofthe detectives. A wink from George convinced Tommy that his chum had atleast succeeded in attracting the attention of the people at the campbelow. It might be that help would come before the detectives could leadthem to a hiding place in the hills.
What the boys appeared to need just at that time was delay, so theyasked all sorts of questions as they walked along, hoping that theircaptors would pause to answer them. However, the fellows pluggedsteadily along toward the opposite side of the ridge, and finally drewup on a shelf of rock from which the caverns to the west could beplainly seen. Here the officials sat down to watch and wait.
Directly a group of men came dashing over the summit and hastened downinto the valley. The boys were certain that they recognized Will in thecompany. It was certain that Sheriff Pete was there, and the boys werepositive that the two men who had been found in the camp on their returnfrom the midnight expedition were also there.
The men separated at the foot of the slope and scattered up and down thegulch. It was clear that George's wig-wag signals had been seen, andthat the men were in search of the two boys.
"Those signals of yours must be effective," snarled Katz as the membersof the party across the gorge began exploring the caverns.
"You're right, they are!" answered George. "That's the Boy Scoutwig-wag! You have to learn those things when you join the Boy Scouts!"
"What did you say?"
"I explained that we had been captured by the train robbers!" repliedGeorge, telling the untruth with a great deal of satisfaction as he sawthe effect produced on the detectives.
"What'd you do that for?" demanded Cullen. "Because we want the cowboyofficers to get hold of you fellows, and beat you up!" answered George."They'll do it, too, if they lay hands on you! Those fellows are ourfriends!"
"Where's that boy who stole my property?" demanded Katz.
"He was down in the camp when I left," replied George.
"Do you think he's with that crowd on the other side of the gulch now?Or would he stay at the camp?"
"He probably would come out in answer to George's signal," Tommy cut in.
The detectives whispered together for some moments. Although the boyscould not hear a word they were saying, they understood very well whatall the whispering was about. They were discussing the possibility ofcapturing Chester and forcing him to lead them to his father's hidingplace. They did not, of course, know that the father was wandering overthe mountains in a demented condition.
After a time the party passed on down the valley much to the disgust ofthe two captive lads, and disappeared from sight. Then the detectivesleft the angle of the ledge which had concealed them and motioned theboys down the slope. The lads obeyed wonderingly.
Arrived at the bottom of the gulch once more, the detectives halted foranother long consultation. Katz seemed to be in favor of following theparty which had gone down the valley in the hope of getting hold ofChester, while Cullen was of the opinion that they might be able tocapture the escaped convict himself by lingering around the cavern wherethe fire had been so mysteriously kindled.
While the two discussed, not without some show of anger, the situation,the two boys kept their eyes fixed on the opposite cavern. George knewpositively that it was the one which had been occupied by the escapedconvict and his son, and he believed that in time the father wouldreturn to it. It seemed to him that Cullen was clinging to an opinionwhich might cause himself and friends serious trouble.
"Gee!" he whispered to Tommy, "I wish we could get these flatties tofollow the cowboys! I'm afraid they'll catch Wagner if they hang aroundthat cave over there!"
"I'm afraid they will!" replied Tommy. "There's some one been there thismorning, and it wasn't the cowboys or the detectives, either. It waseither Wagner or the train robbers."
"Just as sure as you're a foot high," exclaimed George, "there's someone moving about in the entrance to that cavern now! I can see somethingmoving, but I can't see any features."
"Well, don't look that way too steadily," Tommy cried. "If Wagner isover there we don't want to put these detectives wise to the fact. He'sthe man they're in here after, you remember!"
"Well, there's some one there, all right!" exclaimed George. "While youwere talking, I saw a chalk-white face appear for a second at theentrance. I'll bet he's been hiding there ever since last night."
"He was with the train robbers last night," suggested Tommy. "At leastwe think he was, for there are only two robbers and we saw three men."
"He may be with the train robbers, now for all we know," George put in.
"Yes, they may be hiding over there," Tommy admitted. "If I thought theywere, I'd steer these bum detectives up against them!"
"We'd better not take any chances!" advised George. "If Wagner is overthere, he may be alone. In that case, these cheap flatties would geezlehim and make for the Union Pacific railroad without stopping to saygood-by to the hills. And once they get to the railroad, it's all offwith the young man in Chicago who is soon to be tried for murder."
While the boys discussed the situation, Katz caught sight of the movingfigure in the entrance to the cavern. The boys saw him pointing in thatdirection and about abandoned hope.
"There's some one over there," the boys heard Katz saying, "and we mayas well go and see who it is. Have you got a pair of handcuffs withyou?" he added, turning to his companion.
"Of course I have!" was the reply.
"Then use them on these two boys!" ordered Katz. "Tie them together sothey won't be apt to go chasing off if we get into action."
Cullen did as requested, and the boys, unable to make resistance at thattime, resolved that both officers should pay well for the indignity inthe future. When the detectives started forward, they walked as slowlyas possible, one of them frequently falling down, in order to give theperson in the cavern, whoever he might be, plenty of time to observe theapproach of the detectives.
"Gee!" exclaimed Tommy. "These fellows blunder along like a load of hay.If the man over there has any sense, he'll be a mile off before they getto the entrance! I hope the train robbers are there!"
"Well, I hope Wagner isn't there," George said.
There were no signs of light as the two detectives scrambled up thelittle slope which lay between the bottom of the gulch and the entranceto the cavern. The faint smell of burning wood reached their nostrils,but no one was in sight. They stepped inside boldly.
Following along behind, more as a matter of curiosity than because theyfelt obliged to do so, the boys saw the detectives standing in thetwilight of the place looking about. Then they saw them drop their armsto their sides, heard the clatter of revolvers upon the rocky floor andrealized that something unexpected was taking place inside.
Directly the detectives came out to the entrance and sat down on thehard floor, their backs against the south wall. The boys looked themover with pleased eyes, and Tommy went so far as to wrinkle his frecklednose at Katz, who frowned savagely but said nothing.
"Look here, you fellows," Katz finally blurted out. "I want you tounderstand that you're getting yourselves into trouble."
"Is that so?" came a hoarse and scornful voice from the darkness.
"I'm Detective Katz, of the Chicago force," continued the officer, "andI command you, in the name of the law, to return our weapons and let usdepart in peace!"
"And I guess you don't know who we are!" came the voice from inside."We're Red Mike of the Gulch and Daring Dan of the Devil's Dip, andwe're out for blood! When we're at
home in the Bad Lands, we feed onrattlesnakes!"
"Say," Tommy whispered to George, "that ain't so bad, is it? Thosefellows know they've got the detectives buffaloed, and they're piling iton. I'll bet if we sat a little nearer, we could hear the detectives'teeth rattle!"
"The robbers certainly have a sense of humor," grinned George.
In a moment two muscular, bearded figures came out of the cavern andstood facing the two detectives. The boys at once recognized the men asthe ones who had ridden so fiercely by their campfire on the night oftheir arrival. Tommy was certain that one of the men was the person whohad been waiting for supper at the camp when informed of the presence ofthe detectives.
"Do you belong with this bunch?" one of them asked.
The boys held up their handcuffed wrists.
"Who's got the key?" demanded the outlaw.
Cullen held out a ring of keys and the robber promptly used one of themon the handcuff. When the manacles dropped from the boys' wrists, hethrew the ring of keys into the gulch and tossed the handcuffs in thesame direction.
"I've claimed all along that you boys belonged with these trainrobbers," Katz gritted as the handcuffs rattled down the slope.
"And now we know it!" Cullen cut in.
The two boys leaned against the north wall of the cavern and shook theirsides with laughter. The fright of the two detectives was so absolutethat it was pitiful.
"You certainly are a bum pair of detectives!" Tommy said.