CHAPTER XXII.
AN UNEXPECTED ALLY.
A little in front of the lads, and to their left, a slab of rock juttedout from the side of the passage.
From behind this suddenly emerged a tall, gaunt figure. It was no less apersonage than Kyle Sparwick.
No doubt Sparwick had also seen the snapping eyes, and it was this whichhad scared him from his hiding-place.
A low, savage growl rang through the cavern. Sparwick uttered a yell,and dashed forward. In his terror, he probably thought only of flight.
But the glare of the candle led him astray, and he collided blindly withJerry. Both came to the rocky floor with a crash, and each imagined thatthe other had attacked him.
The two rolled over and over, locked in a tight embrace, and utteringhoarse cries. Jerry had dropped the rifle; nor could he reach for it,since his hands were needed for other purposes.
With one fist Sparwick pounded his antagonist on the face and breast.Jerry warded off the blows as well as he could, and tried to returnthem.
"Let me go!" he cried. "Help! help!"
"Let me go," yelled Sparwick, in shrill tones. "There's some sort ofwild critter in this here place."
Jerry did not understand what he said. There was a comical side to thestruggle, for each was trying to break away, and each imagined that theother was striving to hold him.
Meanwhile, Hamp held the candle and looked on like a piece of statuary.In fact, he did not know what else to do.
"Put the candle down," yelled Jerry. "Get the rifle and hit this fellowon the head."
But before Hamp could make a single move toward the execution of thisorder, he saw something that made his eyes fairly bulge out of theirsockets. Where the fiery eyes had been seen a moment before, nowappeared a monstrous bear.
The creature was fat, and his short, black fur bristled with rage. Hewas evidently ravenously hungry, and came swinging down the passage,uttering growl after growl.
Just when bruin was within six feet of them, Jerry and Sparwick caughtsight of him. Their yells of fright blended into one. Who broke loosefirst, it is impossible to say. They tumbled apart, and scrambled in hothaste to their feet. Sparwick slipped back against the wall, and thedelay proved fatal.
The bear was right upon him, having risen to his hind legs. A singleblow from one of the great paws toppled the unfortunate man over onhands and knees.
Jerry saw the disaster, made a frantic dash, and ran into Hamp's arms.The latter dropped the candle, and it was extinguished as soon as itstruck the floor, plunging the scene in utter darkness.
The first impulse of the terror-stricken lads was to get as far away aspossible. But Sparwick's shrill cries for help checked them. The panickyfeeling fled, and they regained their courage and self-possession.
"Hold on!" cried Jerry. "We can't leave the fellow to such a fate, evenif he is a rascal."
"That's so," replied Hamp. "Strike a match, quick!"
Jerry already had the metal box out of his pocket, and the words werebarely spoken when the tiny flame of a match pierced the darkness.
Jerry spied the candle as quickly. He grabbed it, and lit the wick. Thenthe brighter light showed the boys a startling picture.
Ten feet distant stood the bear, still erect on his hind legs. He hadhis forepaws about Sparwick, and was straining him to his breast. Theangry growls of the animal mingled with the shrill, pitiful cries of theman.
"Look, there's the rifle!" exclaimed Hamp.
It lay two or three feet this side of the bear.
"I see it," cried Jerry. "Here, take the candle."
Then, by a swift and clever dash, he captured the weapon and retreated afew paces. He hesitated only long enough to pull back the hammer.Springing forward again, he fearlessly pressed the muzzle of the rifleagainst the bear's head, and pulled the trigger.
A frightful report followed. The whole cavern seemed to shake. Flakes ofstone and dirt fell from the roof and walls. The boys were dazed anddeafened by the sound. The candle was extinguished, and by the timeJerry struck a match and relit it, the powder smoke had lifted.
The bear lay motionless on his back. Sparwick was crawling toward thelads on hands and knees. He stopped, and sat up against the wall of thecavern. His face was deathly pale, and a wheezy, gasping sound came fromhis lips.
Jerry first satisfied himself that the bear was dead. Then he turned tohis former enemy.
"Are you hurt badly?" he asked.
"I reckon not," replied Sparwick, with a painful effort. "I was purtywell squeezed, but I'm gettin' my breath back now. The critter hit me alick here, but it ain't no account."
He pointed to his left shoulder, from which the coat and shirt had beenpartially torn away.
"I gave you up for dead," said Jerry. "It was a close shave."
"Close ain't no word for it," declared Sparwick. "You saved my life,young feller, an' I ain't the man to furget it. Words ain't much in myline, or I might say I was sorry for certain things. Howsomever, here'swhat I took from that pardner of your'n."
He produced the watch and pocketbook, and handed them to the boys.
"Yes; they're Brick's," said Jerry. "But didn't you see anything of himyourself? He started after you this morning with two men. Hamp and Ifollowed a couple of hours later. Somehow or other we lost their tracks,and got onto yours."
"Yes; I seen them all," replied Sparwick, in a peculiar tone. "Yourpardner is in a bad way."
"What do you mean?" cried Hamp and Jerry, in one breath.
Sparwick hesitated an instant to get his wind. Then he related, just asthe reader already knows it, the assault on Brick, and the lad'ssubsequent abduction.
"How I come ter see it was this way," he explained, in conclusion. "Itraveled purty fast arter leavin' the Mallowgash, and when I reachedthat clearing back yonder, I was nearly done out. So I dropped down inthe timber an' bushes for a rest. I hadn't been there more'n half anhour when the two men an' the lad come along. Then happened what I justfinished tellin' you. The affair was none of my business, and I couldn'ta-helped the young fellow any if I'd wanted to. I struck back in thisdirection, an' first thing I knowed, I broke through the crust, an'found myself under ground. I was huntin' the way out when you fellerstumbled in."
The effect of Sparwick's story upon Jerry and Hamp may be betterimagined than described.
"I thought there was something wrong with those men," exclaimed Hamp,wrathfully. "They've been dogging us ever since we came into the woods."
"But why did they carry Brick off with them after they had all hismoney?" asked Jerry. "That's the strange part of the affair."
"It beats me, too," admitted Sparwick. "They had his money, sure enough,fur I seen them countin' it over. Mebbe they took him along for theirown safety, an' mebbe there's a worse reason----"
"You don't think they would kill him?" interrupted Jerry, quickly.
Sparwick looked grave.
"No; I wouldn't like to say that," he replied. "But them fellers are badmen, an' there's no tellin' what they might do."
"You know them?" asked Hamp, in surprise.
"Yes; this many a year. But I wanter hear this whole yarn afore I kingive any opinion."
Accordingly, Jerry and Hamp related what little there was to tell.Brick's abduction threw light on some things that had been mysteriesbefore. It was Jerry's keen wit that identified Joe Bogle with themissionary on the train. Sparwick took the same view of the matter.
"Yes," he admitted, "I reckon Bogle is the party that tried to rob yourfriend at Bangor that night. Knowin' the lad had money, he an' Raikesplanned to follow you chaps into the woods. As I said before, I know themen well. Bogle and Raikes ain't their right names, for they have a heapof others. But we'll call 'em that for the present."
Brick's abduction was discussed for half an hour longer, but neitherSparwick nor the boys could hit upon a plausible solution.
"Can't we get out of this place and follow the rasc
als?" suggestedJerry. "There are three of us, and we have plenty of arms andammunition."
"If we do, we've got to hurry," declared Hamp. "They've got a big starton us."
"Look here," exclaimed Sparwick. "You say this lad has a rich father inNew York?"
"Yes," replied Jerry.
"And the old man would likely fork over handsome if I was to get his sonout of a tight place?"
"I suppose he would," Jerry answered. "If we get all that money back,I'm sure Brick will give you a big reward himself."
"Well, I'll do my best," declared Sparwick, with sudden energy. "I ain'tmuch on the fight, but I'm purty good on strategy. And that's how we'lltackle these fellows. I have an idea where they'll strike for. If youlads say the word, I'll lead you right to the spot."