CHAPTER VI. A FALSE ALARM.
"Andy, would you mind changing seats with Hiram?" asked Rob, upon hearingwhat the boy behind him had just said.
"Not at all; there's plenty of room still," replied the troop bugler,quickly slipping out and allowing Hiram to take his place, while heleaned forward over the back of the seat so he could join in theconversation.
"Are you sure it was this same man, Hiram?" asked Rob.
"I only had a quick look at him, and his back was toward me," explainedthe nervous inventor, "but I'm most certain it was that agent. He had arather odd little limp you see, and this feller did, too."
Hiram had his hand laid upon his chest. Inside his coat he carried theprecious papers, and just then the boy seemed to be more concerned aboutthese than he was in connection with the pocketbook that reposed in aback pocket of his trousers, or the tickets he had in another repository.
"Well, keep close to both of us, that's all," said Rob. "Even if it isMarsters, the chances are he's only trying in his mean way to give you abad feeling. I don't expect we'll be bothered with him after we getfairly started on our trip."
"But what if he tried to steal my papers from me?" said Hiram uneasily.
"He'd have a hard time doing that, with one of us on either side,"affirmed Andy Bowles confidently.
"And I wouldn't hesitate a second to hand him over to the police if hetried any of his games on us," Rob added.
"It may be he's hired some smart pickpocket to rub up against me when weget in the jam at leaving the train," Hiram told them, showing that hismind was active enough to grasp every sort of possibility, no matter howvague.
"We'll checkmate him on that easily enough," chuckled Rob. "In the firstplace, we don't mean to allow ourselves to get caught in any jam. When wedraw into the station we'll sit tight until most of the passengers haveleft. Then Andy here can go and get the particulars as to where our trainis standing that will take us South; for it's all one Pennsylvaniastation, you know. And I'll stick close to you every minute of the time."
"Yes," Andy went on to say, "you know we've got something in Rob's gripthat we have to 'guard with unceasing vigilance,' as Judge Collins said,because it is of priceless value in the eyes of scientists; and its safedelivery to the head of the exhibit at the Fair will mean we've earnedour trip."
Later on, when they finally left the car, Andy hurried off to pick up theneeded information. They had a whole hour before the scheduled time ofstarting came, so none of them were anxious with regard to being left.
Hiram stood there with his bag between his feet, looking to the right andto the left. He seemed to be in constant fear lest some astonishingsurprise might be sprung upon him.
"There he is now, grinning at me like an ape, Rob!" he suddenly muttered,and his voice was certainly anything but firm.
"So, that is your Marsters, is it?" demanded the other, as he discovereda slim man standing at some little distance from them, and with asatirical smile on his dark face.
"Yes, and don't you think he looks like he'd stop at nothing in order toget to the end he had in view?" asked Hiram.
"He looks like an impudent fellow to me," Rob advised, "and according tomy mind he's gone to all this bother just to feel that he's had his nastyrevenge on you for treating him so shabbily. To be beaten in a battle ofwits by a mere boy must have riled Mr. Marsters a whole lot. Depend onit, he doesn't expect to go any further than this in the game. He's shothis bolt."
"What makes you think so, Rob?"
"The very fact that he's taking all the pains to stand there and let yousee him grinning like an imp," replied the scout leader. "Now, if hereally meant to chase after you on the trip, don't you see he would bedoing everything he could to keep you from knowing he was around, and onthe watch?"
Hiram, after he had been shown, began to see it that way, too.
"Seems as though there might be a good lot of truth in that view, Rob,"he admitted. "So let him grin all he wants to. I'll laugh, too, if onlyto show the feller that he hasn't made me squirm a whit."
With that Hiram bent almost double, like a hinge, and seemed to betickled half to death over some imaginary joke. He also turned and lookedstraight in the eyes of the man he had called Marsters, as if to let himknow he did not care a snap of his fingers about his continued leering.
"You've settled his case, and cooked his goose for him," commented Rob, aminute later. "See, there he goes over yonder, and I'll be a whole lotsurprised if we set eyes on Marsters again."
"But, Rob, I'm determined to act as though I fully expected him to becreeping around all the time. I'm playing up to the old saying that anounce of prevention is worth more'n a hull pound of cure."
"It's a good idea," was all Rob told him, for just then he saw Andyhurrying toward them, and from his manner guessed the other must haveobtained the needed information.
Once they were settled in the sleeping-car, Hiram began to feel better,though it might be noticed that he eyed every person who came aboard asthough he more than half suspected the revengeful Marsters, baffled insecuring the wonderful invention for his firm, might assume somemarvelous disguise in order to be near the traveling genius, so as to robhim on the road.
"We're off!" exclaimed Andy joyously, as the train started, drawn by anelectric motor, and heading through the tunnel that would take them underthe North River to Jersey, and thence across the Hackensack Meadows toNewark and beyond.
Everything looked bright and cheerful that morning when the three scoutsbegan their long journey calculated to land them eventually inside theportals of the big Exposition on the Pacific Coast, and which was beingheld to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal.
Certainly never before had Boy Scouts been enabled to start forth upon atrip of such magnitude, and under such happy auspices. With all theirexpenses paid, and the grandest possible time looming up ahead of them,it was not to be wondered at that Rob and his two chums countedthemselves the luckiest fellows on the face of the globe.
All of them were fond of traveling, and that first day was a constantpicnic for the scouts. It happened that Rob and Andy had been over theroute before, since it was this way they had gone to Mexico when withMerritt Crawford and Tubby Hopkins. On that occasion they had undertakenthe carrying out of that mission connected with the disposal of thecattle on the ranch Dr. Mark Matthews, the globe-trotter and explorer,owned across the Rio Grande, his old-time friend General Villa seeingthat he was properly paid with the funds held by the Revolutionaryparty.[2]
This being the case, they were able to direct the attention of Hiram tomany interesting objects on the way. Hiram had never been a hundred milesoutside of Hampton in all his life; and therefore he stared and commentedcontinually as the train rushed along through stretches of the countryaround Washington and beyond as the day drew near its close.
Remembering what Judge Collins, as well as the Scotch professor, had toldthem in connection with the contents of Rob's grip, they kept it down attheir feet constantly; for they had the whole section, Andy havingpromised to occupy the upper berth, as he knew Hiram would feel safer incompany with Rob below.
"You haven't seen anything suspicious the whole day long, have you,Hiram?" Rob asked him, as they prepared to go into the dining-car fortheir supper, two at a time, and the third staying to look after things,as well as keep his foot on the precious grip.
"Well, not that you could really call _suspicious_" admitted the other,"but seemed like several parties looked right hard at me as they passedthrough agoin' to that meal car."
"Oh, shucks!" said Andy, leaning across from his seat to speak in a lowtone, "that all comes from you being worked up the way you are. Chancesare they must a' seen the budding genius breaking out all over your facein the shape of freckles, Hiram, and wondered who on earth you could be."
"Well, I always figger that it's best to be on the safe side, no matterif other people do make out to snicker at you, and call y
ou timid. It'spoor policy to shut the door of the stable after the hoss is stolen, mydad says; and your folks would agree with me there, Andy, seeing thatthey have a heap to do with hosses. Do I go in with you to grub, Rob, orwait here for my turn?"
"I leave that with Andy," Rob remarked indifferently; "if he feels toohungry to stay here for us to come back, let him take the first show.Here comes the waiter to give the call."
Andy immediately said that it pleased him to wait and take his time.
"I like to be easy in my mind when I'm trying to get the worth of a bigdollar in dinner," he continued, "and if I keep on thinking of youfellows counting the minutes while I'm gone, it hurries me too much; andthat's bad for your digestion, you know. So skip along, and I'll hug theseat here till you get back. Make up your mind, Rob, everything will besafe enough. I'm Johnny on the spot when it comes to standing guard."
In this fashion all of them managed to get their supper. The night closedin and the full moon lighted up the wonderful scenery of the valleys theywere speeding through, headed toward the southwest, and into the land ofsugarcane, oranges, cotton and rice.
Hiram, when he could take his mind away from the fascinating prospect ofdoing a lucrative business with the enterprising firm that had invitedhim all the way out to the Coast, was full of questions regarding thewonderful things he expected to see later on when they reached a sectionof the country that was radically different from Long Island.
He had always wanted to visit the South, and this culmination of hishopes filled him with ecstasy. The presence of such a steady chum as RobBlake did much to add to Hiram's peace of mind, it can be readilybelieved; for he felt sure that no matter what troubles might spring upto confront him on the journey, the efficient scout leader would be equalto any emergency.
Hiram had the utmost confidence in Rob Blake. It was founded on what hehad seen the other accomplish; and, besides, the things he had heardconcerning that Mexican trip, as well as the journey across to the warzone of Europe, had added to his respect.
All that night they boomed steadily on.
Rob slept with Hiram in the lower berth, and occupied the side nearer theaisle, so as to ease the nervous chum's mind as much as possible. Likemost new and inexperienced travelers, Hiram hardly slept a wink thatfirst night; much of the time he had the window-shade drawn back, and laythere staring at the ghostly objects that could be seen flitting past thewindow--cabins, trees, settlements, barns, orchards, rivers and allmanner of things the ever speeding train was passing in its wake.
When morning finally came they were so well along their way that thecountry had taken on a new aspect, and Hiram's interest grew by leaps andbounds. What was more, since he could still feel that precious packetinside his coat, where he had at Rob's solicitation pinned it inside hispocket, Hiram's confidence became much stronger, and the anxious lookbegan to leave his thin face.