CHAPTER XIII--A CAPTURE IN RECORD TIME
"Look out! He's mine!" shouted Joe.
But Tom Halstead had sprung in the same instant at Pedro. The result wasthat the combined assault of the boys bore the fellow to the ground, andTom, remembering, just in the nick of time, the toy cap pistol thatJennison had handed him, and which had escaped discovery a few minutesbefore, hauled that ridiculous "weapon" out, pressing it against thetemple of the black man.
"Don't you stir, if you know what's best for you," warned the youngskipper sternly.
Joe, seeing the lay of the land, leaped up to meet Captain French, whowas just reaching that wall.
At that moment the noise of a speeding auto was borne to them, whilearound the bend whizzed the machine, sending its strong searchlight rayahead to illumine the scene.
The yells of its occupants caused the other pursuers of the boys to haltin confusion. Before they had time to think what to do the automobilewas racing up to the spot and stopping. Alvarez and his two companionsbore away up the wooded slope as fast as their alarm could spur them.
"What's this going on here?" demanded Constable Jennison, as he leapedout into the road.
"You'll find some of the rascals up there among the trees," replied Tom,coolly. "I have one of 'em here, but he's tame now."
Pedro, in fact, in his dread lest he be shot, was lying on his stomach,his face between his crossed arms, while Halstead stood over him,holding that wholly useless "pistol."
"Just move that car a few yards ahead, will you?" begged Tom of thechauffeur, fearing that in the strong light, Pedro might steal a looksideways and find out what a comical "weapon" had scared him.
"There are three of the crowd up there," added Joe. "They were chasingus, but your arrival scared them off."
"I'll make sure of the one we have, first," returned the constable,going toward the prostrate negro. "My man, put your hands behind you,and be quick about it."
Pedro obeyed without a murmur, the constable snapping handcuffs on himwithout loss of an instant. "Now, help me lift him into the auto--frontseat," directed the officer. But Pedro, seemingly afraid of theconsequences of any stubbornness, aided his captors.
"Can you keep him, Jack?" asked the constable of the man at the steeringwheel.
"I can bring him down, if he tries to bolt," came the quick retort fromthe chauffeur.
"'Fore hebben, Ah won't try nothing funny," protested Pedro, solemnly.He was seemingly still afraid that the slightest defiance would cost himhis life.
"See that this fellow is locked up, Jack," commanded Jennison, in a lowvoice. "Speed some, too, and get back here as fast as you can with somemore men. It may be that there's going to be a fight."
Just as the car started two sharp reports rang out from the hillsideabove. There were two flashes, and bullets whizzed ominously over theroad. One of them pierced Tom's uniform cap, carrying it from his head.
There being nothing he could do, Dawson threw himself to the ground, outof harm's way. Tom, crouching low, darted across the road after his hat.But Jennison leaped forward, weapon in hand, letting three shots flyback to answer the defiance from under the trees.
"Come on! We'll close in on 'em and mow 'em down if they don'tsurrender!" shouted the officer.
His call to the boys was intended for the hearing of those above. He hadno notion that the boys, unarmed, would accompany him. Yet, as Jennisonbounded over the wall, the two young motor boat boys were behind him oneither side.
"Now, then, you fellows up there, throw down your shooting irons andprepare to give yourselves up," called the doughty constable. "If youdon't----"
Four shots answered this demand, the bullets clipping off leaves soclose to the trio that the boys crouched lower almost instinctively.
"All right, then, I'm coming up to get you!" shouted the constablerunning forward, weapon in hand. But he halted at length, well away fromthe road, uncertain which way to turn.
"What are you boys doing here, unarmed?" he whispered, facing them insurprise.
"We're as safe here as we'd be anywhere else hereabouts," Tom whisperedback.
"Yes, I don't know but that's so. But where can the scoundrels be? Doyou know anything about the lay of the land here?"
"I think we can find the ravine where they took us," suggested Joe.
"Try to, then."
Both boys now went a bit in advance of the officer, but he kept close tothem, in order to be on hand if they ran into any danger.
The ravine proved to be empty, however. Tom pointed out where he hadslashed Joe's bonds away. "And over yonder," he added, "I guess I canshow you the rope I worked my own wrists out of. Once I worked my handsfree it didn't take me long to cut away the rest of the tackle."
Though they searched for upwards of an hour, they were unable to findany further trace of the scoundrels. Nor did they come upon any placethat looked as though it had been used as a hiding place for the missingDunstan heir.
Then a loud honking from the road recalled them. The chauffeur was therewith the machine, from which were alighting four deputies whom he hadbrought out with him from Wood's Hole.
"I'm going to leave you men here to carry on the search," explained Mr.Jennison. "Keep it up all through the night, and through the daylight,too, if you run across anything that looks like a trail. These young menwill describe to you the fellows you're expected to find. I'll be backbye and bye, but don't wait for me."
Tom and Joe quickly described the three fugitives from justice. ThenJennison turned to the chauffeur to inquire:
"Could you work any information out of that black man?"
"Not a word," came the grumbling reply. "After a few minutes he got overbeing so scared, but he couldn't be made to say a word about his crowd.Just closed his mouth, and wouldn't talk. Musgrave has him in hand now,at the station house, but not a word can the fellow be made to say."
"I'm going back with you, now," proposed Jennison, "to see what I canget out of him. You boys may as well come with me. It looks like alosing chase here. If we can get something out of the chap, Pedro, we'llhave something real to come back with."
So Tom and Joe piled in with their new friend. In less than half an hourthey had entered the little guard-room of the police station at Wood'sHole. Pedro, still manacled, was seated in a hard wooden armchairbetween two constables, while Detective Musgrave paced the floor beforehim.
"He's trying a crafty game," smiled Musgrave, as the newcomers entered."Once in a while the prisoner talks, but when he does it's to shake hishead and mutter a string in Spanish."
"He understands English well enough," answered Tom. "He has talked awhole lot of it to me."
"Of course he understands English," laughed Mr. Musgrave. "I know histype of colored man well. He's a Jamaica negro, born and brought up withEnglish spoken around him. Afterwards he went over to Central Americaand picked up Spanish."
"_No sabe_," broke in the negro, looking blankly at those who surroundedhim.
"Oh, you savvy plenty well enough," Tom retorted tartly. "And see here,Pedro, you're a pretty cheap sort of rascal anyway. You remember how Joeand I caught you, and how I scared you cold? Do you know what it wasthat scared your grit away from you? Just a plain, ordinary, every-dayjoke of a cap pistol!"
Pedro started, his lips opening in a gasp at that information.
"Oh, of course you understand, just as well as anyone else in the room,"Halstead went on. "And here's the young cannon that made you lie sostill in the road."
With a short laugh Tom produced the cap pistol, holding it before theastonished black man's face. Pedro's disgusted expression was enough tomake them all laugh.
"He can't even pretend he doesn't understand English now," snorted Mr.Musgrave. "Come now, my man, open your mouth and talk to us. It may help_you_ out a bit when you come to be tried."
Still, however, the black man refused to say a word. Constable Jennisontried his hand at making the fellow speak, but without success. At lastthey gave it up. The
negro was taken to a cell, left under watch, andthe others went outside.
"I'm going back up the road," Jennison announced. "Want to come with me,boys?"
"I think they'd better stay by the boat, in case anything turns up thatwe want the craft," Musgrave broke in.
So Tom and Joe struck out for the pier, finding Jed mighty glad to havethem back once more. For an hour the three boys sat on the "Meteor's"deckhouse and talked. After that the time began to hang heavily on theirhands.
Broad daylight came with still no word from the seekers, nor from anyother point. At a little after four o'clock Mr. Musgrave came down totell them that they might as well return to Nantucket.
It was six o'clock when the "Meteor" berthed at the island. Jed hadserved a breakfast on the trip over. As soon as the boat was docked Jedhurried into the broad bunk off the cabin passageway, while Tom and Joe,yawning with weariness, lay down on the engine-room lockers.
"This is Sunday morning and to-morrow morning Ted Dunstan must be incourt with his father or lose a tremendously big fortune," groaned Tom."Oh, when we've been so near to rescuing him, why can't we have himsafely home under his father's roof?"
"Maybe I'll have the answer thought out by the time I wake up," gapedJoe Dawson. "But just at this present moment I'm so tired I don't knowwhether I'm an imitation engineer or a clambake."
Then another sound came from his berth. Dawson was snoring.