CHAPTER XVII. "WE WANT YOU."
A stubbly red-head protruded itself through the opening. The crucialmoment had come.
"Take that!" cried Rob bringing down the bulk of timber with a resoundingcrack on the fellow's pate. He grunted, clutched at the sill of theopening for an instant, and then went toppling down the stairway in aheap.
A roar of fury and a rush of feet from below followed. But Rob did notwait for the sequel.
"Hope I haven't seriously injured the chap," he thought, as he sprintedfor the window, "I hit a bit harder than I meant to."
But the next instant, when red-head's voice was added to the uproarbelow, Rob knew that he had, at least, not impaired the miscreant'stalent for profanity.
All need of concealment was gone now. Rob's heart leaped to theadventure. Jumbo was half way through the window as the lad reached it.Rob hastened him with a shove and a quick word. The black held for aninstant, clutching the sill, and then he dropped. The next moment Rob hadfollowed him. He fell in a sprawling heap on top of the black. Both wereup in a jiffy.
"Which way?" gasped out Jumbo.
"Any way--this!" cried Rob, dashing across a moonlit strip toward a darkbelt of woods.
A fusillade of shots rang out behind them. Rob heard the bullets screechas they spun by.
"Law'sy, Marse Rob, dem bullets talk ter me mighty plain," gasped Jumboas they gained the comparative security of the dark hemlocks.
"What did they say?" asked Rob, breathlessly.
"Dey say Jum-bo, we'se ah lookin' fo' you, chile!"
Whatever Rob's reply might have been it was forestalled the next instantby an entirely unsuspected and startling happening. From the woods_ahead_ of them, came a sudden trampling of feet.
"Quick, Jumbo. Down in here!" exclaimed the Boy Scout, dragging thequaking negro down into a clump of bushes. They were just in time. Thenext moment half-a-dozen dark figures rushed by them through the woods,going in the direction of the hut they had just vacated so summarily.
"What on earth does this mean?" gasped Rob, half aloud in his utterastonishment. Parting the bushes a bit, he could perceive the darkoutlines of the hut and the newcomers deploying across the moonlit stripin front of it.
A loud crash echoed through the sleeping woods as the door of the hut wassuddenly slammed shut.
Almost simultaneously, the walls of the hut and the space in front of itseemed to spit vicious flashes of fire.
"Gee whiz!" cried Rob, excitedly, "they're attacking the hut, Jumbo! Whatunder the sun does this mean?"
"Dunno," said the negro, "but mah hopes is dat dey jes' nachullyexterminaccouminicate each other like dem Killarney cats."
"Kilkenny cats, you mean, don't you?"
"It's all de same," retorted Jumbo, "but say, Marse Rob, we'd bettah beclearing out ob here."
"No, let's stay awhile. We're in no danger here. In fact I've an ideathat this may all turn out to be a good thing for us."
The attacking party now dropped back a bit.
"They're well armed and desperate," Rob heard one of them say, "betterbreathe a bit, boys, and then we'll go for 'em again."
"Let's get a log and smash the door down," said a voice.
"Good idea, O'Malley," was the response, "here's an old hemlock trunk.It's just the thing. Lay hold, boys, and we'll smoke out that nest ofrats in a jiffy."
Willing hands laid hold of the big stick of timber, and the next instantthey were staggering with it toward the hut. There was a low word ofcommand and a sudden dash. The log was poised for an instant and then:
Smash! crash!
The massive door stood for a moment and then toppled inward, falling witha splintering crash. But a dead silence followed the fall of the door. Nomore pretence of defense was made by the inmates of the hut. Could theybe going to give up so tamely?
Then a sudden voice floated through the night. The voice of one of theattacking party.
"Say! There's nobody here, boys!"
"Confound them! Have they escaped us again?" came another voice.
"Look's like it. Scatter and find them--back for your lives, all of you!"
The warning cry was followed almost instantly by a deafening explosion. Avivid flash of blue flame occurred simultaneously.
"Gollyation!" gasped Jumbo, "de end ob de worl' am comin'."
The whole hut seemed to burst into flame at once. Lurid, vivid fireseemed to gush from every window and opening in the place. In color itwas an intense blue.
"Shades ob Massa George Wash basin!" yelled Jumbo, "all de debils in datpit we see back dar is on de job! Come on, Marse Rob. Let's git out obhere in double quick jig time."
"Nonsense," said Rob sharply, "I see it all, now, Jumbo. That place was amoonshine joint--an illegal distillery. Those men who just attacked itare revenue officers. The explosion was caused by hundreds of gallons ofspirits. I guess the moonshiners set it on fire to destroy the evidence."
Each instant the blaze rose higher. The hut, within its four walls, was amass of flames. It glowed like a red hot furnace. Rob watched it withfascinated eyes. The whole clearing was bright as day. The dark woodsbeyond were bathed in a blood-red glare from the flames.
The intense heat fairly blistered the trunks of the nearest hemlocks.Resin ran from them freely.
"Let's get further back, Jumbo, it's too hot here," said Rob presently.
"Golly goodness! It am dat," declared Jumbo in awed tones, "dat fire dereputs me in mo' fear ob dat bottomless pit dan all de preachifying I everlistened to."
But their retreat into the woods was checked in a strange manner. Rob,who was in advance, recoiled suddenly. A whole section of the woodlandfloor seemed to uprear itself before his eyes, and a wild figure, with atangled black beard and shifty, wicked eyes, emerged. Rob realized in aflash that it was a trapdoor cleverly concealed by brush and earth thathad just opened. Simultaneously he recognized the figure that wascrawling from it as that of Black Bart himself.
The man was too much perturbed to notice their nearness to him. Butsuddenly his eyes fell on them. With a furious oath he dashed at Rob.
"You young fiend! You're responsible for this!" he yelled in a frenzy.
A knife glittered in his hand, but before he could use it Jumbo's blackfist collided with his jaw. Black Bart fell sprawling back upon the trapdoor which he had just opened.
"Reckon Jack Johnson himself couldn't hev done no bettah!" grinned thenegro.
"Oh, no you don't, sah!" he exclaimed the next instant as Black Bartstruggled to rise; "ah reckon you can repose yo'self right dar fo' apeahriod ob time."
So saying he pinioned the ruffian's arms to his sides and held him thus.
As he did so, violent knockings began to resound from under thetrap-door. Evidently somebody was imprisoned there.
"Hey! Let us out! Let us out!" came sharp cries from below, albeit theywere considerably muffled by the trap-door.
"Yo' all come an' sit on hyah too, Marse Rob," urged Jumbo. "Ah reckonden dey kain't git dat door open till we am willing dat dey shouldconmerge inter terrier firmer."
Rob guessed at once what had happened. The moonshiners, following theattack of the revenue officers, had realized that continued resistancewould be useless. They had, therefore, made their escape by the secretpassage, led into by the swinging hearthstone. Its outlet evidently beingby the trap door on which they were then stationed. But first, withwicked craft, they had ignited their whole stock of spirituous liquors,hoping in the consequent explosion, that the revenue men would perish.This much seemed clear. Indeed, it was confirmed afterward, and--but weare anticipating.
The Boy Scout had just reached these conclusions when a sudden stir inthe brush behind him made him look up. Two men stood there, the light ofthe conflagration showing every detail of their figures and countenancesplainly. They were regarding the group on the top of the trap-door withpeculiar interest.
Rob started up toward them but was abruptly che
cked as two rifles werejerked to two shoulders, and aimed straight at him.
"Don't move a step!" warned one of the men, "I guess we want you."