CHAPTER XVII.
_A TERRIBLE NIGHT._
At just about the same moment when Teddy and Dan were running withHazelton's money at full speed toward the museum tent, with the chanceof escape very much against them, Sam was in a decidedly painful frameof mind.
After he had been securely tied the two men conversed in low tones forseveral minutes, and then, as if having arrived at some definiteconclusion, began to make preparations for leaving the place.
At the same spot where Sam had been interrupted while scraping away thedirt they proceeded to dig with a shovel which Phil procured fromsomewhere outside the building, and during this labor the prisoner couldhear fragments of the conversation.
Once Long Jim ceased his work long enough to say:
"When you come to look at the matter quietly it doesn't seem as if we'dgot into sich a very bad scrape. You can manage to bring the rest ofthe stuff down the creek between now an' Friday mornin' and I've got aplan for givin' anybody who may come after us a good clue to the boy'sdisappearance."
Phil made some remark which Sam could not hear, and his companionreplied in a louder tone:
"It can all be done so's to make folks think we've gone up the creek,an' we've got to lay low for a while, which won't be a hard job whilethe weather is warm."
"But I don't like the idea of totin' that cub with us so long."
"I'll take care of him, an' will make him earn his board, or somethin'sbound to break."
From this time until several packages were unearthed Sam could hearnothing; but what had already been said was sufficient to convince himthat he was to have a very unpleasant experience, and for at least thehundredth time he fervently wished he had never so much as heard ofdetective work.
After the goods had been brought to light the earth was replaced in theexcavation and pounded down carefully. Then fully half an hour was spentdigging in different places, probably for the purpose of misleading anyone who might come there in search of plunder, for Phil said in a toneof satisfaction as he ceased the apparently aimless labor:
"It'll take at least a day before all of these suspicious looking spotshave been investigated, an' in the meanwhile, unless we're chumps, weshall know what's goin' on. I'll take one load to the boat; make surethe coast is clear, an' then the three of us can carry the balance. Havethe boy ready for a quick move, an' see to it that he can't give analarm."
"I'll knock his head off if he so much as thinks of such a thing," andas Phil disappeared with a portion of the plunder Long Jim began tounfasten Sam's bonds, saying as he did so:
"We've made up our minds to hold you with us a few days 'cause you'resich jolly company. If you obey orders an' keep your mouth shut there'sa chance of gettin' outer this scrape mighty easy; but I'd slit yourthroat in a jiffy if you tried to give us the slip or made any noise."
Sam made no reply; but his captor could see very plainly that the boywas nearly paralyzed with fright, and it was safe to infer he wouldfollow the instructions given to the letter.
Phil returned in a very short time and reported:
"The coast is clear. There's not a craft to be seen on the creek, an' wecan leave without danger."
The rope had been removed from Sam's limbs, and Long Jim proceeded toload him down with bundles until he staggered under the weight.
"Now, see that you walk a chalk line," the burglar said, fiercely."Foller Phil, an' I'll keep behind to make sure there are no tricksplayed. Remember what I promised!"
The men could carry the remainder of the goods in one load, and thethree went out of the barn hurriedly, Sam not daring to so much as lifthis eyes from the ground lest Long Jim's threat should be carried intoexecution.
Arriving at the water's edge the boat was loaded, the prisoner orderedto take his place at the oars, and then the final preparations weremade.
Phil uncovered the boat in which Sam had come, launched and overturnedher. Then taking the hat from the unresisting boy's head, threw it farout in the channel, afterward giving the little craft a shove which senther a long distance from the shore. Next the two oars were sent afterthe hat, and Phil said with a laugh:
"The current ain't very strong; but with the aid of the wind I reckonthat stuff will drift up to the fair grounds before dark."
Sam's despair was already so great that it did not seem as if it couldbe increased; but the last vestige of hope fled when he realized thatthese things had been done in order to make it appear as if he weredead.
"Teddy and Dan won't think of huntin' for me after the boat is found,"he thought, "an' these men are sure to kill me before this scrape isover!"
The two burglars seated themselves comfortably in the stern-sheets, thepackages being placed at the bow to trim the craft properly, and LongJim said, sternly:
"You've been showin' off your skill as an oarsman for two or three days,an' we want you to do it now. Put in your best licks, for it'll be toughif we don't get through the water mighty fast."
Even Sam's worst enemy would have pitied him at this moment. No galleyslave chained to his seat could have been more utterly helpless, and heexerted himself to the utmost in order to please those who professed tobe so willing to punish or kill.
Every stroke of the oars took them farther away from the fair grounds,and each puff of wind carried the evidences of the prisoner's deathnearer the only ones who might take the trouble to search for him.
Not until fully an hour had passed did the burglars give any sign of adesire to end the journey, and then Long Jim said:
"We must be six miles from the fair grounds by this time, an' that is asfar as you'll want to pull to-night, Phil. There should be plenty ofgood hidin'-places in this bit of woods, an' I think we'd better haulup."
"All right. Steer her into that ditch over there, an' we'll lookaround."
Thus far in his experience as a detective this was the only thing Samhad had for which to be thankful. His arms were so tired that it seemedas if he could not have pulled another stroke, and his clothes wereliterally wet from the perspiration that came from his body.
Phil went ashore, leaving his companion to watch the almost exhaustedprisoner, and in a few moments the former shouted:
"Load that cub up, an' bring him over here. This is a capital place tolocate in for a couple of days."
Staggering under the heavy burden Long Jim placed on his shoulders theamateur detective was forced on through the underbrush in advance of hiscaptor until the two arrived at a perfect tangle of cedars.
Phil returned to the boat for the remainder of the goods, and all theplunder was placed inside the thicket where the foliage was so densethat one might have passed within a few feet of the spot and not had anysuspicion men were hidden there.
A tiny brook ran past one side of the hiding-place, and Sam tookadvantage of the opportunity to check his raging thirst while the menwere laying plans for the future.
"I'll go back soon after sunset," Phil said, as he lighted his pipe andproceeded to make himself comfortable. "We can leave the boy here tolook out for the stuff, an' you'd better come with me up to the barnso's to learn if any one visits the place. I shall be back beforemorning, an' you can let me know if the coast is clear."
"Shall you try to finish the job we were talkin' about?"
"No; things are so hot jest now that it won't pay to take any more risksthan are absolutely necessary. What we want is to get out of thisportion of the country as soon as possible."
"All right. I'll leave you to manage the rest of the business, an'promise to follow orders."
"I think it's about time you said that, Jim. If my plans had beencarried out in the first place we wouldn't be in sich a muss; but couldbe havin' the cream of the pickin's at the fair."
"Well, what's the use of harpin' on that all the time? The thing hasbeen done, an' we've got to make the best of it. Do you think it'll besafe to leave this cub here alone while we're away?"
"It will be when I get through with him," was the grim reply, and Sam,terrifie
d by the vagueness of this remark, more even than he had been bythe plain language previously used, cried, piteously:
"Please don't leave me here alone to-night! I'll pull the boat, an' doeverything you say, without so much as yippin'."
"Them as starts out in the detective business have to take what comes,'specially when their own foolishness brings it about. You joined ourparty of your own accord, my son, an' must put up with what we choose togive."
Sam said nothing more. He was reaping what he had sowed, and decidedthat matters could not be much worse even if he was caught trying toescape, therefore he resolved to take desperate chances in an effort togive his captors the slip.
There was no opportunity to make the attempt, on this night at least,for when Phil had finished smoking he proceeded in a very methodicalmanner to secure the prisoner.
Sam was ordered to seat himself on the ground, with his back to thetrunk of a cedar-tree, and he was fastened skillfully, with his elbowstied back in such a manner that he could not bring his hands together.Both feet were bound, and then, with a sudden movement, Phil forced theboy's mouth open, shoving into it a short piece of pine wood about aninch and a half in diameter.
This was secured in such a manner that the prisoner could not freehimself from the uncomfortable bridle, neither would it be possible forhim to make the slightest outcry.
"Now, don't shout for help while we are gone, an' unless the bears eatyou up we shall meet again about daybreak," Phil said, with a coarselaugh as he and Jim went out of the thicket toward the creek.
Poor Sam had never thought of the possibility that there might be bearsin this section of the country until the burglar suggested it, and hewas so terrified as not to realize it was impossible there could be anydangerous animals in such a thickly-settled portion of the State.
Therefore, in addition to the danger to be apprehended from his captors,he had constantly before his mind this new cause for fear. The rustlingof the leaves, the flight of a bird as it sought a perch for the night,or the soughing of the wind among the branches were to him so manyproofs that a violent death would be his before morning.
If the beginning of the hours of darkness was so terrible it can well befancied how he suffered before another day dawned.