Down the Slope

Joe was soon by the side of his mate, whom he found lying on the ground apparently in the last stages of exhaustion.

"What's the matter, old man? Are you hurt?"

Bill told of what he and Fred had seen, and about the proposed chase, concluding by saying:

"When the little villains started around the mountain I follered, as the boy an' me had agreed on; but after a two-hour's tramp I fell into a hole, an' reckon my leg is broke."

"I don't see any hole," Joe said, as he looked about him.

"It happened a long bit back. I didn't want to break up the game by lettin' Fred know what was wrong, an' so tried to crawl toward the vein, thinkin' if folks were sent out to look for the money they'd find me; but this is as far as I could get. It would 'a been a case of starvin' if you hadn't come along."

"If you're hungry I can fix that part of it all right," and Joe produced the package of provisions. "Have a good time with this while I take a look at the leg."

Only the most superficial examination was necessary. The broken bones could be plainly felt, and the limb was so swollen that it seemed essential, that the boot and trousers should be cut from it.

"I don't see my way clear in this job," Joe exclaimed, as he removed the garments. "It ain't safe to leave you here alone, an' yet help must be had to carry you to Farley's."

"Now that I've got a mouthful I can lay here a few hours longer. Go on, I'll keep till you get back."

"If there was some water near by I could tie you up more comfortable like."

"Never mind that, but leave at once, so to be the sooner here."

Joe hesitated no longer, but set off across the mountain at a speed which brought him to Farley's in less than half an hour.

Here it was only necessary to state what had happened in order to find plenty of volunteers for the task of bringing Bill home, and as the party set out Mrs. Byram followed a short distance by Joe's side, in order to say:

"I've seen Mr. Wright, and he evidently believes both Sam and Fred are guilty."

"Won't he let up till we can run down them fellers what Bill was follerin'?"

"He says to me, as he did to you, that the law must take its course, and will not even do anything to prevent Bill's arrest."

"We're goin' to bring the poor feller home, an' this company what think they own Farley's an' every soul in it had better let him alone."

"Take him to my house, where he can have more care than at a boarding-place."

"All right, an' thank ye, ma'am."

"But what about Fred? Where is he?"

"There's no call to worry because of him. As soon as Bill is off my hands I'll hunt the boy up, an' p'rhaps the two of us will bring home the real thieves."

The widow could go no farther, and Joe took his place at the head of the party, walking at his best pace.

Bill was suffering a great deal of pain when his friends arrived, but not a word of complaint escaped his lips, and some pleasant word was exchanged for every greeting.

"It'll be a hard pull to get me over the mountain, but I'll not see Farley's for many a long day if you can't hold out."

"We'll have you there, old man, an' not spend any too much breath over the job," Joe said cheerily, as he began to build a litter.

Several of the party were curious to learn why Bill had come into that out-of-the-way place, but he refused to make any explanations, and Joe pretended not to hear the many questions.

It was nearly dark before the injured man arrived at Mrs. Byram's home, and then nature had so far asserted her rights that he lay unconscious until after the physician arrived.

"I reckon I've done all that's possible," Joe said to the widow, "an' now I'll start back."

"You won't think of searching through the woods in the night."

"No; but I'll trudge over to where I found Bill, so's the hunt can be begun bright an' early. It ain't likely I'll bring Fred home till after I've seen the lawyer agin."

"If he isn't in trouble it will be better to remain away a few days longer."

"I'll answer for it that he's all right, ma'am, an it sha'n't be many hours now 'till he can hold his head up with the best of 'em."

With these cheering words Joe left the house, intending to go home for supper before continuing his task; but on arriving opposite the store Mr. Wright stopped him by saying sternly:

"I would like to have a few words with you, Mr. Brace."

"My time has come," Joe muttered to himself; "but I'll show these smart fellows that they can't haul up everybody in town jest because it pleases 'em."

CHAPTER XXV

JOE'S INTERVIEW

Joe Brace had a very good idea of why the superintendent wished to see him, and he entered the office prepared to speak his mind plainly.

"I understand that you have not been working for the past day or two," Mr. Wright began.

"That's correct."

"Have you left our employ?"

"It amounts to pretty much that."

"Has Thomas quit also?"

"When a man knows that he's to be arrested, he ain't likely to hang 'round so's the warrant can be served without much trouble to the constable. But jest now Bill isn't in a condition to work for anybody."

"What's the matter?"

"He broke his leg, an' a lot of the boys have brought him to the Widder Byram's house."

"I hadn't heard of that."

"It'll come kinder rough on the constable."

"I understand to what you refer, Brace, and am not pleased to hear you speak in such a manner."

"It can't be helped, sir. When a feller sees them as risked everything to do the company a good turn while Billings had full sway, run down an' chucked into jail for nothin', it makes him feel sore."

"There was good reason for the arrest of Sam Thorpe."

"Even admittin' that's so, which I don't, why should Fred Byram an' Bill be pulled into the fuss? There's nothin' to connect them with it."

"They have acted very suspiciously ever since the money was said to have been lost."

"That's where you are makin' a big mistake, Mr. Wright. I've had a hand in all their maneuvers, an' so has the widder, consequently if one is guilty the whole crowd are."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain yet awhile; but it'll come out before long, when you'll see everything was square an' above board."

"Look here, Brace," Mr. Wright said, in a friendly tone: "I called you in here to have a confidential chat upon the subject, and it is not right to keep from me anything which may have a bearing on the matter."

"What I know can't be told for a while; but I'll give you the particulars of what we've already found out," and without further questioning Joe related the events of the past three days, save so far as they were connected with the discovery of the vein.

"It surely looks suspicious," the superintendent said, musingly; "but I fail to understand how those boys could have gotten the money from Sam's pocket, unless he remained in town skylarking with them."

"That's somethin' I can't explain; but when I find Fred we'll know a good deal more about the matter."

"Do you think anything could be accomplished by my visiting Sam?"

"I'm certain of it, for one talk with him is bound to convince you he isn't a thief."

The superintendent remained silent several moments, and it seemed very much as if this second conversation with Joe had caused a change of opinion.

"Very well," he said finally, "I will think the matter over. Shall you be here in the morning?"

"I'm goin' to leave Farley's as soon as I get a bite to eat, an' it ain't likely I'll be back 'till Fred can come with me."

Mr. Wright arose to intimate that the interview was at an end, and Joe left the store with a gesture of defiance and anger toward the cashier.

While all this was taking place Fred occupied anything rather than an enviable position.

When the march was begun he found it extremely difficult to make his way through the woods, loaded down as he was and with one arm tied to his side; but Gus had no mercy. At every opportunity he spurred the prisoner on, using a stout stick for the purpose, and more than once was Fred on the point of open rebellion.

He felt confident the boys would not dare do more than give him a cruel flogging, after which they must leave him behind; but this would be to lose sight of the thieves, and almost anything was preferable to being thus defeated in his purpose.

"I'll stick it out," he said to himself, "and wait for the time when I can tell the story to some one who will help make them prisoners."

During an hour the boys traveled straight ahead, and then Gus insisted upon a halt.

Tim agreed, because his breakfast had not been perfectly satisfactory, and he wanted a second meal now they were, as he believed, free from pursuit.

The provisions were brought out from the bag, and as the two boys began to eat Fred's hunger returned with such a force that he could not resist the impulse to ask for food.

"Say, if you'll give me some of that bread I'll carry all the load when we start again. I haven't had a mouthful since I left Blacktown."

"An' you'll go without two or three days longer," Gus replied with malicious pleasure. "You'll have the whole load, an' no trade about it either, so hold your tongue or I'll use the stick again."

Tim laughed as if he thought it great sport to hear the prisoner begging for food, and Fred threw himself upon the ground, resolving not to give them another opportunity for mirth.

"If there's a chance to get hold of the bag to-night I'll help myself," he thought. "It can't be stealing, for I'm surely entitled to a share when they force me to stay with them."

Gus amused himself for a while by thrusting food close to the prisoner's face and then withdrawing it, but he tired of this when Fred made no effort to take what he knew was not intended for him.

The halt continued about an hour, and then, as Gus had threatened, both packages were placed on Fred's shoulders.

"Now step out livelier than you did before, for we don't want to make another halt until we are ready to build a camp," Tim said, as he began the advance.

"Treat me decent an' I'll travel as fast as you can."

"You ain't gettin' it half as bad as you deserve, an' it'd be a good idea to keep your mouth shut."

As during the first portion of the journey, Gus amused himself by prodding the prisoner with a stick, but as the day lengthened and Tim refused to halt, the boy grew too weary to indulge in such pleasantries.

In order that Fred might carry all the burden, it was necessary to unloosen both his hands, and, without being observed by his companions, he contrived to transfer several crackers from the bag to his pocket.

The second stage of the journey lasted nearly two hours, and then Tim decided the camp should be erected on the bank of a small stream.

They were now, according to Fred's belief, not more than twenty miles from Blacktown, and a trifle less than that distance from Farley's.

As far away as the eye could reach was a town, but no one knew its name.

"We might have stayed nearer home if the camp is to be made so close to a settlement," Gus said fretfully.

"While we keep out of sight nobody'll know we're here, an' in case we want to leave suddenly on the cars, it won't be far to walk. I'd like to get hold of a boat, an' then we could run down the stream without much trouble."

"Why not buy one?"

"After a day or two we'll find out if there is any near. Just now we must get the camp built, an' then take things comfortable for awhile."

Fred watched Tim's every movement in order to learn where the money would be hidden; but failed to see any attempt at burying it. The protuberance just over his breast served to show the treasure was yet in his possession, and Gus seemed well content it should remain there.

The prisoner was ordered to hew the materials for the camp while the others put them together, and during this work he contrived to eat the stolen crackers.

The shelter was a rude affair, hardly more than sufficient to protect them from the rays of the sun, and when completed all hands lay down to rest, Fred being bound hand and foot again to prevent any attempt at escape.

Not until night was the prisoner given food, and then Gus doled out two crackers, an amount which would have been little more than an aggravation if he had not previously ministered to his own wants.

During the hours of darkness no watch was kept; but Fred remained awake nearly all the time, straining his ears in the vain hope that he might hear something of Bill.

The second and third days were but repetitions of the first, and then it became necessary to visit the village in order to procure food.

"I'll walk up the stream 'till a place to cross is found," Tim said, "an' if I don't see a boat before then, will strike out for the town. Keep your eye on the sneak, an' don't give him a chance to get away."

"Help me fix the ropes around his legs a little tighter, an' I'll answer for it that he won't go far."

Tim complied with this request, and when Fred was trussed up like a chicken, he took from his pocket the stolen money.

"It won't do to carry all this, so you'd better take care of it a while. Ten dollars will be enough for me, even if I should happen to come across the boat."

Subtracting this amount from the total, he gave the remainder to Gus, who put it carelessly in his pocket as if accustomed to handling large sums of money.

Then he started along the bank of the stream, his companion accompanying him a short distance, and Fred realized that the time had come when he must make one desperate attempt to take his jailer prisoner.

"Gus has got nearly all the money," he said to himself, "and if I could manage to slip the ropes it would only be a question of a fight, in which I'm almost certain to get the upper hand."

He had been left seated with his back against the trunk of a tree, and the first move necessary was to release his arms.

To do this he struggled desperately, regardless of the pain; but the bonds remained firm until Gus returned, when, as a matter of course, he did not dare to make any further movement.

"Now Tim is so far away that he can't interfere, I'm going to pay you off for playin' the sneak," Gus said, as he took up his station directly in front of the prisoner. "If I had my way you shouldn't have a bite to eat from now out, an' by the time we get ready to leave you couldn't do much mischief."

"If you're afraid, why not kill me? That's the safest plan."

"I'd like to," was the savage reply, "an' would if I was sure of not bein' pulled up for murder. I can give you a lively time for the next two or three hours, though."

Gus began to fulfill his promise by tickling Fred's nose with a twig, and the prisoner was by no means averse to the cruel sport, since it gave him a good excuse to struggle.

He writhed and twisted as if to move beyond reach of his tormentor; but all the while his sole aim was to release his hands, and Gus was so deeply engrossed with the efforts to cause pain that he failed to understand what his victim might succeed in doing.

CHAPTER XXVI

TURNING THE TABLES

The constant straining caused Fred to perspire freely, and after many vain efforts he succeeded in catching the rope which was around his wrists, under the point of a projecting limb of the tree.

Now he had a purchase, and by a mighty effort at the moment when Gus made a more than usually vicious lunge, slipped one of his hands from the bonds, thanks to the perspiration which moistened the strands.

He did not take immediate advantage of his freedom. It was essential to await a favorable opportunity, and this came when Gus knelt before him for the purpose of pricking the apparently helpless boy with the blade of his knife.

Fred could not arise; but he flung both arms around his tormentor's neck, hugging him so close as to prevent the latter from using his hands.

For an instant his surprise was so great that he remained motionless; but before Fred could take any advantage of his inactivity Gus recovered from the shock to exert all his strength, and began to free himself.

Under ordinary circumstances Fred would have been no match for his captor; but now the knowledge of what was to be gained lent him great energy, and he clung to him with desperation.

"Let go, or I'll stab you with this knife," Gus shouted; but Fred was too careful of his wind to make any reply.

Over and over they rolled, one trying to use his weapon, while the other did his best to prevent it, and but for an accident the battle might have been continued until the smaller boy was exhausted.

It was not possible to control the direction of their bodies, and suddenly both were precipitated into the stream.

Fred was a good swimmer, while his adversary knew but little of the art, and he succeeded in holding Gus' head under water until he was nearly strangled.

The tables were now turned.

It only remained for Fred to drag the half-unconscious boy to the shore, and there transfer the rope from one pair of legs to the other.

When Gus again had a clear idea of matters he was securely tied, and Fred had put into his own pocket the package of money which Sam was accused of stealing.

To pack in small compass the remaining store of provisions, cut a stout stick, and place the hatchet in a belt improvised from a piece of the rope, occupied but a few moments, and then Fred said, sternly:

"I'm going to slacken up on your legs a bit, so's you can walk, and now it's your turn to step out lively."

"When Tim comes back you shall pay for this."

"I intend to be a long distance from here before that time arrives."

"He can catch you."

"To do it he'll have to be smarter than I think he is."

"Wait an' see."

"That's just what I don't propose doin'. I understand your purpose now; you're trying to keep me here as long as possible. Get up."

"I won't an' you can't make me."

Fred struck the prisoner several severe blows; but he did not so much as cry out.

"I'll beat you black and blue, if you don't stand up and walk."

"Pound away, I can bear a good deal of that rather than go to jail."

Again Fred used the stick; but in vain. Gus shut his teeth firmly, and took the punishment with a stoicism worthy a better cause.

It was important that no time should be lost. Tim might find a boat and return to the camp before going to the town.

Fred stood still in perplexity for an instant, and then throwing aside the stick raised Gus in his arms.

It was a heavy burden; but he staggered on with all possible speed.

As soon as Gus began to understand that he might be carried away despite his refusal to walk, he set up a series of the most terrific yells, and Fred was forced to come to a halt.

"I'll soon put an end to that kind of fun," he said, angrily, while whittling a piece of soft wood. "With this in your mouth there won't be much screaming."

Now Gus began to fancy he might be finally beaten, and then tried new tactics.

"See here, all you want is the money, an' now you've got it I'll agree that neither Tim nor me'll chase or try in any way to catch you, if I'm left here. There's no need even to take off the ropes; but let me stay where he'll see me."

Fred shook his head.

"I need you quite as much as I do the money, and I am bound to take you along."

"What good will it do to have me put in jail?"

"It'll be the means of freeing a better fellow than you ever dared to be."

"I'll kill you some day."

"Possibly, but that don't let you out of this scrape."

By this time Fred had the gag ready, and a stout pressure on the prisoner's cheeks caused him to open his mouth.

The wood was thrust between Gus' teeth, and Fred tied his handkerchief over it to prevent it from slipping.

"Now when you're willing to walk I'll take that out," he said. "Once in every few minutes, when we have to stop to rest I'll look at your eyes. If you wink, it means you're ready to do as I say."

Gus glared at him savagely; but was careful to keep his eyes wide open.

Again Fred shouldered his burden, realizing, meanwhile that he could never reach Farley's if his prisoner remained obstinate.

When an hundred yards had been traversed he was forced to rest.

Gus' eyes stared at him.

A second and a third time was this repeated. At each interval the distance was shorter, and Fred knew he could not travel much farther.

"If he don't give in pretty soon I shall," he muttered to himself as he threw his burden to the ground for the third time.

To his great relief Gus winked violently when Fred pulled the handkerchief down to gain a view of his eyes and the gag was removed without loss of time.

"Will you agree to walk now?" he asked.

"Yes, yes; it wouldn't take a feller long to stifle with that thing in his mouth."

"I don't care what happens so long as I get you to Farley's."

Once more Gus tried to beg off; but Fred would not listen.

"Walk fast," he said, "and if you don't do your best, in goes the gag again."

There was no necessity of emphasizing the demand. The prisoner moved with alacrity; but his captor was by no means certain as to which was the proper course.

Tim had made so many turns in his flight that Fred's ideas regarding the points of the compass were very hazy.

Both the boys were suffering from lack of water, and no halt was made until two or three hours past noon, when they were at the edge of a swamp.

Quenching their thirst with the ill-tasting liquid, they lay down on the ground to rest, and did not continue their journey for some time.

"Why not stay here all night?" Gus asked.

"Because we haven't traveled far enough yet."

"But I can't hold out much longer, no matter how hard I try."

"You'll have to go as far as I do."

"Wait till mornin', an' then I'll walk twice as fast to make up for the time spent now."

"We must get in another hour's tramp before sunset," Fred replied, determinedly, and although Gus pleaded very hard the decision was not changed.

But little was accomplished during the last portion of the traveling. Both were thoroughly tired, and when the shadows of night shrouded the recesses of the forest in gloom the welcome word was given.

"Here's a little stream, and we'd better stop here, there's a chance for a drink."

"It's about time," Gus added, sulkily as he threw himself on the ground.

Fred divided half of the food into two portions; but did not dare to loosen the prisoner's arms sufficiently to admit of his eating unaided.

"I'll feed you first, and then take my share," he said, and Gus devoured the food ravenously, after which he quenched his thirst, when Fred bound him securely to a tree.

The prisoner slept soundly; but to his captor the night was the longest he had ever known. He did not dare give himself wholly up to slumber lest Tim should be on their track, and attempt to effect a rescue, while the fear that the money might be lost, this time beyond recovery, rendered him very nervous.

"It's going to be tough lines before we get to Farley's," he said to himself; "but I ought to hold out if for no other reason than to clear Sam beyond a doubt."

When the morning finally came Fred fed Gus again; both took large drinks of water, and their journey was resumed.

Now Gus neither begged nor made comments. He marched just ahead of his captor in a sullen manner, as if having decided upon a certain course of action, and Fred remained continually on the alert, fearing lest he meditated an attack.

At noon the two halted, and while eating the last of the provisions, knowing that after this they must go hungry until arriving at a settlement, Fred fancied he heard a noise as of someone approaching.

His first thought was that Tim had succeeded in following their trail, and he hurriedly made ready a gag to prevent an alarm from being given.

Gus heard the same noise, and before Fred could prevent him he began to shout loudly for help.

It was several seconds before the outcries could be checked, and then the mischief had been done.

The noise of a heavy body forcing its way through the underbrush sounded more clearly, and Fred sprang to his feet, hatchet in hand, ready to defend himself to the utmost.