CHAPTER X
OUTWITTED BY A BOY
The room was quite dark, except for the light that came in through anopen skylight above Dan Davis' head. A glance about him told the boythat he had been thrown into a storeroom. All about him were boxes,cases and trunks.
"It will do me no good to shout. If I do, I'll give them thesatisfaction of knowing that I'm done for. No; I won't yell. My mencould not hear me if I did."
Dan pondered for a few moments, and an idea came to him.
"I believe I could batter that door down," he mused. "I'll take a lookat it."
A brief examination convinced him that such an attempt would be foolish.The door was constructed of heavy plank, and had been made to withstandassaults. The room in which he had been made a prisoner was a placewhere sailors' chests were stored, a sort of safe deposit vault. Therewere no windows on either side, only the skylight in the ceiling, sometwelve feet above the boy's head.
Dan gazed up at it longingly.
"I wonder if I could do it," he thought. "I cannot more than fail,anyway."
He quickly went to work, piling up boxes and chests. The latter were soheavy that he was unable to handle them and get them up more than threehigh. On top of these he piled boxes and climbed to the top of the pile.He found that he was still some distance from the skylight. This was adouble affair, with the lights turning up on either side of a bracebetween them.
Dan crouched down, measured the distance and made a leap straight upinto the air. His fingers barely touched the frame of the opening, thendown he shot.
The lad landed on the edge of the upper packing case. It toppled overwith him, and nearly every one of the boxes he had piled up came downwith a crash that made that part of the building shake.
An empty case turned over Dan, imprisoning him beneath it. At first helay still, not knowing whether he had been injured or not. Finallyconcluding that he had not been hurt, he eased the case from his bodyand crawled out.
"Either they are all deaf and dumb, or else they have deserted theplace," he said out loud. "I don't believe I shall try that again. I'lltry some other plan, and----"
Footsteps were heard coming down the hall. A new idea occurred to thelad. In an instant he had flattened himself on the floor, pulling thepacking case over him as it had been before.
A key grated in the lock and several men entered. Among them was theEnglishman. Dan recognized his voice, though the fellow was speaking inFrench. The men set up a great chattering when, as they thought, theyfound the room empty. It appeared plain to them how their man had madehis escape.
"He's climbed out of the skylight!" cried a voice in good English.
"I shouldn't wonder if he is up there now. He can't get down," answeredthe Englishman with whom Dan had had the trouble out in the other room.
"Get him, quick! Somebody climb up there!"
The men began chattering in French again. Instantly they started pilingboxes on top of the chests which they had put in place on the pileagain.
"This is the time I lose," muttered Dan.
Fortunately for him, however, they were getting their cases from theother side. They found light and empty cases for their purpose, and itrequired but a moment to fling them up in place.
Three men instantly clambered to the top of the pile thus made. One manwas lifted by the other two and boosted to the skylight. He grasped theframe, holding on, his feet standing on the hands of the other twobeneath him.
The pile of boxes wavered and swayed beneath the weight placed uponthem.
In the meantime Dan Davis had raised the box from his own body just farenough to enable him to peer out. He saw what was going on, and his eyeslighted up with joy as a sudden idea occurred to him.
"I'll show them they can't beat a Yankee tar," he thought, raising thebox little by little. Fortunately for him, the men on the floor were atthe other side of the pile of boxes, while those on top were too busywith their own affairs to look down.
Crouching for a spring, he gathered himself.
All at once the box over him landed several feet away with a crash.
Dan was on his feet in a twinkling. The door leading into the hallwaystood open. Freedom was at hand, but the boy was not yet ready to takeadvantage of the opportunity offered him.
With a bound he threw his whole weight against the pile of packingcases.
For one giddy moment the cases trembled, then fell inward toward the menon the floor. Those above emitted a yell. Down they went, howling andshouting, their companions not having had time to get out of the way,being caught under the falling boxes and buried beneath them. All of themen were fighting, kicking and struggling to extricate themselves fromthe wreckage.
"Hip, hip, hooray!" yelled the Battleship Boy, unable to control hisdelight at the downfall of his enemies. "Next time maybe you'll thinktwice before you try to beat the United States Government."
With that Dan sprang out into the hallway. He slammed the door, turnedthe key in the lock, then hurled the key from him.
"Let them stay there and think it over for the rest of the day. It willdo them good," he laughed, starting for the other end of the hall. Hestepped into the room from which he had been taken a short time before.
There were still a number of men there, but they had not observed hisentrance. Dan's eyes swept the room. In a far corner, crouching low inhis chair, sat Kuhn, making himself as inconspicuous as possible. Therewas a frightened expression on the young sailor's face.
Dan walked quickly around the outer edge of the room. Kuhn did nothappen to look his way. The fellow's eyes were fixed on the door leadingout into the office in momentary expectation of seeing a squad of bluejackets enter the place.
"I've got you this time, young man!" exclaimed Davis, pouncing upon thesailor.
Kuhn toppled from his chair to the floor, with Dan on top of him.
"Get up!" commanded the Battleship Boy, scrambling to his feet andjerking his prisoner up beside him. "Out of here, before I serve youworse. I'm getting angry. You'll regret acting the way you have to-day.Come along!"
Ere the others in the room had an opportunity to protest, Dan haddragged his man to the door, which he kicked open, pushing his manthrough, then running him to the front door. With a shove, Dan sent hisprisoner staggering to the sidewalk. Ere Kuhn stopped going he hadmeasured his length in the street before the eyes of the jackies whocomprised the patrol.
"Hold him, men!" commanded Davis. "That's it. Take him down to thesteamer, two of you. I believe there are other men in this place. It istaking long chances, but I am going in to find out. Two of you come inwith me this time. Be careful that you do not start anything. Take nopart in any fight that may occur unless I tell you to do so."
At a carry arms, two of the detail followed Dan into the office of theplace.
Approaching the proprietor, he said:
"Do you speak English?"
The man, a fat, red-faced Frenchman, nodded surlily, his eyes on the twoarmed men standing at attention at one side of the room.
"Are any of our men in your place?"
The fellow shook his head.
"I have reason to believe there are."
"No men here."
"Do you wish me to report your conduct to the Prefect of Police?"
The fellow's face took on a darker shade.
"Unless you convince me that none of our sailors are under your roof, Ishall place a guard at the door to see that none of our men leave; thenI shall go to the police and enter a complaint against you. They don'tlove you any too well now, you know."
Davis had taken a long shot, but he saw, from the expression on theproprietor's face that it had reached the mark.
Just then the Englishman, followed by the other men whom Dan hadimprisoned in the store room, burst into the office. Espying theBattleship Boy, the Englishman made a dash toward him.
"There he is! Grab him!"
The men behind the Englishman started forward. None had observed the twojackies st
anding rigidly at one side of the room with eyes front.
"Stop where you are!" commanded Davis.
They paid no attention to his command.
"Port arms!" he commanded sharply, turning to his own men. "Load!"
Two audible metallic clicks sounded above the noise in the room.
"Take aim! Steady, there," he ordered, in a voice just loud enough forhis men to hear. "I wouldn't have you pull the triggers for a milliondollars. Don't get excited."
The rush stopped instantly.
"Now, you fellows, I want you to stand out of my way. At the first signof opposition on your part I shall order my men to fire. Mr. Proprietor,lead the way through your place."
Backed by the two armed men, Davis started in the wake of theproprietor. They examined all the rooms on the ground floor, after whichDan, leaving his men in the hallway to guard the rear, proceededupstairs where a number of rooms had been arranged for lodging places.In one of these he found three sailors sound asleep on the floor. Theywere awakened with no little difficulty.
"Guard, there!" called Dan down the stairway.
"Aye, aye."
"One of you come up here. Take these men out to the patrol withinstructions for two of them to march these fellows down to the steamer.Tell the men to report back at once. If the other two have returned,send one of them in to me!"
The sailors, rubbing their eyes, rose, grinning sheepishly.
"Where are we heading, matey?" demanded one of them.
"For the ship and perhaps the brig," answered Dan shortly.
"What for?"
"Overstaying your leave. Come, hurry out of here!"
The men ruefully made their way down the stairs, and a few minutes laterwere on their way to the landing stage, where the steamer was waiting toreceive them. Dan was convinced that the men had not intentionallyoverstayed their leave. Still, he had little sympathy for men who had solight a regard for their duty as to forget it entirely.
"Now, Mr. Proprietor, what other rooms have you in this establishment?"
"None."
"I am afraid I can't take your word for anything after the way you havetried to deceive me. We will look about below a little. Where does thatdoor lead to?" he asked, espying a small door under the stairway afterthey had reached the hallway again.
"To the cellar. There's nothing down there."
"Open the door."
The owner of the place did so. Dan peered down into the darkness and wasabout to turn away, when he thought he heard voices. He listenedintently.
"Who is down there?" he asked of the proprietor.
"No one."
"Get a light and lead the way."
The proprietor did so, his face working convulsively as he sought tocontrol his rage.
Leading the way across the cellar, the fellow threw open a door. A greatwave of damp, smoky air smote the newcomers in the face.
"So that's the game, is it?" demanded Dan triumphantly. There were theothers of the missing men, enjoying themselves immensely. They werelaughing and joking.
"Attention!" commanded Davis.
A loud laugh greeted his order.
"Bring him in here. It's Little Dynamite!" shouted the men. "Hurrah, forLittle Dynamite! Hurrah!"
Sudden silence settled over the room. Behind the stern-faced BattleshipBoy the eyes of the occupants of the room all at once made out theircompanions, armed with Krag rifles.
They understood.
"Attention! Forward march!" ordered Dan.
The men rose, hesitated, then bowing before the authority that they knewrepresented the United States Government, they filed from the room, upthe stairs and into the hallway, where another guard stood at attention.
Dan led the way through the hall, on through the two rooms. He paused atthe street door, while the men filed past him. They lined up in thestreet where Dan had halted them.
"Right dress. Twos right, forward march!"
The disconsolate sailors started away down the street, guarded in frontand rear by armed men, with the Battleship Boy at their head.
Dan had had a lively time, but he had carried out his orders faithfully.
No conversation was indulged in, and, reaching the landing stage, themen were ordered into the little steamer, which quickly got under wayand headed for the battleship. Shortly after that the delinquents wereclimbing up a sea ladder to the deck, the gangways having been taken inin preparation for getting under way.
"All present, sir," announced Dan, saluting the officer of the deck.