CHAPTER XV.
_SAM'S ADVENTURES._
In order to explain Sam's absence, and one or two other incidents intheir regular sequence, it is necessary to go back to the moment when,his friends having landed, the amateur detective was left to his owndevices.
His first impulse was to report his arrival to the manager of the boatexhibit, and then go about his routine duties, but before this veryproper plan could be carried into effect he chanced to see Hazelton onthe shore.
"Now, what's he layin' around there for?" Sam asked of himself. "I'llbet Dan or Teddy has given the whole snap away, an' he's come to pull inthe burglars. It's a mighty mean trick for them to play after I'veworked the case so far that there's nothing to do but nab 'em. He'll getall the praise, an' folks won't know the job was managed by me."
The longer Sam thought of this apparent ingratitude and treachery on thepart of Teddy and Dan the more angry he grew, and it did not requiremany moments' thought for him to succeed in convincing himself that hehad been very shabbily treated.
Continuing to talk to himself, or rather at the tiller, on which hiseyes were fixed, he added:
"Folks have said so much about their savin' them women from drownin',when I mighter done the same thing if I'd been willin' to make a fool ofmyself, that they want to scoop in everything; but I could stop thislittle game by jest goin' ahead on my own hook. If I sneaked down thecreek an' brought back the stuff them men have been hidin' people wouldbegin to know how much I understand about detective work."
This appeared in his mind as the most brilliant scheme he had everconceived, and in a very few seconds Sam decided that it should becarried into effect.
First, and with no very well-defined idea of why such a course wasnecessary, he rowed cautiously to and fro past the landing stage,scrutinizing closely every face he saw, and mentally hugging himselfbecause of the excitement which would be caused by his return with thestolen property.
Then he turned the boat, and began to row down the creek, stopping everyfew seconds to gaze around in such a mysterious manner that thesuspicions of any one who observed him would have been instantlyaroused.
In this manner, which he believed the only true way for a first-classdetective to approach his prey, Sam had rowed less than half a mile whenhe saw Long Jim and his companion returning.
Now the time had come when true cunning was necessary, and the amateurdetective began to display it by pulling the boat sharply around,heading her for an indentation on the opposite shore.
Here he ran her bow aground, and lying at full length in the bottom,peered out at the men in the most stealthy manner.
They had already taken notice of his erratic movements, and now regardedhim intently, but, without checking the headway of their own craft, in afew minutes were beyond sight around the bend.
"There," Sam said, with a long-drawn breath of relief, as he arose to asitting posture, "if Teddy an' Dan had been here them fellers would havetumbled to the whole racket, but I've put 'em off the scent, an' willhave plenty of time to do my work."
He pulled out from the shore once more, gazed long and earnestly up anddown the creek, and then, in the same ridiculous manner as before,continued the journey.
The trip which should have consumed no more than an hour even with themost indolent oarsman, was not completed until twice that time hadelapsed, and then fully fifteen minutes were spent by this very cautiousboy in landing.
He pulled his boat up high out of the water, and, in order to concealher, heaped such a pile of dry grass on top of her that it must haveattracted the attention of any one passing, more especially those whowere familiar with the creek.
This done he went toward the barn after the fashion of an old-time stagevillain, halting at the slightest sound, and peering in every direction,fancying himself surrounded by foes.
Not until he had circled completely around the barn twice did he ventureto enter, and then, much to his disappointment, there was nothing to beseen. The building appeared to be absolutely empty, and even his eagleeye failed to discover any traces of recent occupancy.
"Well, this is mighty funny," he said, with a sigh of disappointment."Them fellers surely brought a lot of stuff in here, but they must havecarried it out again."
Having expended so much labor and time in reaching this place, he didnot intend to return until after making a thorough search, however, andto this end he investigated one possible hiding-place after another,pulling up the boards of the rude flooring, and peering into placeswhere nothing larger than a mouse could have been hidden.
During this time the burglars were returning with all possible speed.Sam's actions, both as he came down the creek, and also while screeninghimself from view, were so suspicious that, guilty as the men were, theyimmediately concluded what was very near the truth.
Long Jim recognized the boy as having been with Teddy when the bargainfor the imaginary cane-board was made, and instead of returning to thefair grounds the two watched, from a point of vantage on the bank, untilMaster Sam had landed.
His purpose was now evident, and it was necessary the burglars shouldresort to desperate measures to prevent the loss of their ill-gottengains as well as to save themselves from imprisonment.
When they arrived where it was possible to look into the barn, Sam wason his knees scraping away the dirt which appeared to have been recentlydisturbed, and they heard him say in a tone of exultation:
"I've got to it at last, an' now we'll see what Teddy an' Dan have tosay when I flash the whole lot of stuff up with nobody to help me. Ireckon----"
He did not finish the sentence, for at that moment Long Jim steppeddirectly in front of him, as he asked:
"Did you leave anything here, my son?"
"No--I--I--that is--you see----"
Sam was so frightened that he could not say another word. It seemed asif his tongue was swollen to twice its natural size, while his throatwas parched and dry, and to make bad matters worse, he had entirelyneglected to invent a plausible excuse for his presence there in case ofan interruption.
"I asked if you'd left anything here?" Long Jim repeated, very mildly.
"Well--well---- You see I jest come down to--to---- I thought, perhaps,I might find something, but it's time I was gettin' back to the fair,'cause the folks will be needin' me."
As he spoke he attempted to back toward the door, but before taking halfa dozen steps a cry of fear burst from his lips, for a heavy hand waslaid with no gentle force on his shirt collar, and he staggered forwardhelplessly.
"That's an invitation for you to hold on a bit, an' have a littleconversation with two gentlemen who are mighty curious to know why youcame here," Long Jim said, grimly. "You're goin' to tell us the wholepartic'lars, or there won't be enough left of you to be seen under amicroscope."
Sam made no reply. He was literally dazed with fear, and just at thatmoment he thought the life of a detective very disagreeable.
"Come, speak up, an' be quick about it," the man cried, fiercely. "We'vegot no time to waste on sich cubs as you, an' in about two minutesyou'll get worse'n we served out the other night."
"That wasn't me follerin' you from the museum tent," Sam said, quickly,thinking possibly this fact might work in his favor.
"Who was it?"
"Teddy an' Dan."
"Who is Dan?"
"A feller who works for the Stevens Arms Company up at the fair."
"Why did they follow us?"
"Teddy wanted to get back the money he gave you to buy a cane-boardwith."
"If he knows what's wise for him he'll stop any such rackets, or he mayget more'n he bargains for."
Then the second man, who still held firmly to Sam's collar, asked, as heshook his prisoner vigorously:
"How did you know we had been here?"
"Us fellers saw you come down in a boat."
"So all three are in the secret, eh?"
Sam's only thought was that he might possibly save his own skin, and hereplied in the
affirmative, although he must have known that by suchanswer he was destroying his friends' chances of recovering the goods.
"Where are the fools now?" Long Jim asked, angrily.
"Up at the fair."
"What do they intend to do?"
"Get somebody to arrest you."
"Then we've got to skip mighty lively, Phil," and Long Jim looked up athis companion.
"Yes; but if my advice had been follered we wouldn't be in this scrape.You was the only one the cubs knew, an' by keepin' out of sight wemighter finished the work that's been laid out. You're so pig-headedthat a yoke of oxen couldn't keep you in hidin'."
"There's no use fightin' about it now; for we've got to get a move on usin short order. It won't do to let this boy have a chance to give thealarm."
"Of course not. Lash him up somewhere so he can't make a noise, an' hischums will come before he starves to death."
"Don't do that!" Sam cried, in an agony of terror. "I won't say a wordabout your catchin' me here, an' I'll do anything you say."
"Oh, you're a nice plum to make promises, ain't you. It didn't take muchpersuadin' to make you go back on your friends, an' that's enough toshow whether you can be trusted. Get the rope out of the boat, Phil, an'then we'll make ready for a long jump."
Phil obeyed, grumbling as he went because his partner had refused totake his advice, thus plunging both of them into danger, and Long Jimturned his attention to the prisoner once more.
"Before we leave this part of the country for good I'm goin' to give yousomethin' to remember us by so's you won't go 'round stickin' your noseinto other people's business agin."
"What are you goin' to do?" Sam asked, his face growing even paler thanbefore.
"Give you the worst floggin' a boy ever had. I'd do it now if therewasn't so much work to be got through."
Sam had sufficient sense to know that all his pleadings for mercy wouldbe in vain, and he held his peace until Phil returned with a long coilof rope which had been used as a boat's painter.
One of the beams at the end of the barn served as a post to which tolash the prisoner, and here the amateur detective was made fast in sucha skillful manner that he could not so much as move his arms.
"Shall we gag him now?" Phil asked, and Long Jim replied:
"No, there's time enough.
"He can't make any one hear if he yells his best, an' I've got a littlebusiness to settle before he's trussed up for good."