CHAPTER XII.A MIDNIGHT CRIME.
I saw the pistol, and I was properly alarmed. It is said that there are those who can look in the barrel of such a weapon unflinchingly. If so, I am not one of the kind.
I did my best to get out of range; and seeing this, Carney laughed again.
“Scared you, did I?” he said.
“I don’t care to have a pistol pointed at me.”
“No, I suppose not, nor a gun either,” with another laugh.
“What do you want here?”
“I told you I’d come to get square with you.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“Anybody here with you?”
“None of your business!”
“Hold up there!”
And again the weapon was pointed at my head.
“This is my house, and I want you to leave it,” I returned as steadily as I could.
“I’ll leave it when I please. Hullo there!” he shouted at the top of his voice.
I expected to see some one enter in response to his call, but I was mistaken.
“Guess you are alone,” he went on after a pause. “Now tell me, how much money have you got in the house?”
I was startled at this question. Undoubtedly the man meant to rob me.
“Haven’t a dollar.”
“Come, now, no lying.”
“I have told you the truth.”
“Then I shall take a look around myself.”
“Did you come here to steal?” I demanded.
“None of your business! Sit down in that chair, and don’t you dare to move until I tell you.”
And Carney emphasized his words with a shake of the pistol.
I sat down in the chair as directed, and the fisherman began a rapid search of the apartment. It was not long before he came across the hand-satchel Mr. Norton had carried when he arrived.
“Locked, eh?” he said, as he examined it. “Where is the key?”
“I haven’t it! It belongs to my uncle.”
“Your uncle! Where is he?”
“Just stepped out.”
“Glad you told me. I’ll get through before he returns.” Carney stepped to the mantel-shelf andtook off a number of small things of value. “You are sure about that money?”
“I know I haven’t a dollar,” I returned.
“Turn out your pockets.”
“I’ll see you in Halifax first!” I burst out. “You sha’n’t go a step farther in your doings, not if I have to die for it!”
And watching my chance, I sprang at the man, and pushed his pistol aside.
He was surprised at my temerity, and for a moment I had the best of the battle; but then he gathered himself together, and sent me sprawling on the floor.
“Now lay there, and don’t you dare to move!” he commanded. “I don’t want to be too ugly, but I will be if you don’t mind what I say.”
Then leaving me half dazed, he went hurriedly through the other rooms, gathering quite a number of things, some of which he stuffed in his pockets, and others in an old valise he found in the mill-room.
“Now I guess I’m square,” he said, when he had finished. “Don’t you dare to follow me or give me away, Stone, or it will be the worse for you. I ain’t a man to be trifled with, and don’t you forget it.”
Then he passed out of the door and was gone.
Oh, how I wished that I had a pistol at that moment! I am not a bloodthirsty fellow, but it galled me to see this ruffian walk off with my property.
But the only weapon in the mill was an old gun, and this was unloaded, and had not been fired for several months; in fact, not since the winter, when I had gone rabbit-hunting.
No sooner had the fellow departed, however, than I made up my mind to find out where he was going to, and, if possible, to recover what he had taken.
I got down the old gun, and hastily cleaning out the barrel, loaded it up; then putting on my hat I stole out of the mill, and in the direction that Carney had taken.
There was no moon, but the stars were shining brightly, and it was far from being absolutely dark.
Carney had gone off in the direction of the main road, and soon I caught sight of him some distance ahead. I made as little noise as possible as I drew nearer to him.
The man walked rapidly until he passed Hallett’s house; then he made for the lake, and I rightfully conjectured that he was going to his boat, which he had left some distance up the shore.
As he approached the water, I drew nearer to him. He passed down a bed of rocks, and there hidden in the bushes was his craft.
Just as he prepared to cast off I hailed him. He was startled, and turned as if to pull out his pistol.
“Stop that!” I ordered. “I have a gun now, and I can fire as straight as you.”
“So you’ve followed me,” he sneered.
“I have. Just you hand over that stuff.”
“Not much! I took some trouble to get it, and I mean to keep it. It isn’t much; but every little counts.”
“I’ll give you just one minute to hand it over,” I went on; and I pointed the gun at his head.
Suddenly he jumped behind the mast, and shoved the boat from the shore. I fired one shot in the air, to scare him,—for it was not in my heart to shoot any one,—and then plunged into the shallow water after him.
But he was beyond me, and the next instant he had his sail up, and was leaving the shore rapidly. He kept well out of range, so I could not have hit him even if I had wanted to do so.
“You’re not smart enough for me!” he called back tauntingly. And in a moment he passed out of sight in the gloom.
I stood still for a while, not knowing what to do next. Following the fellow had been of no avail. He had got away and taken with him all the valuable stuff that was lying around the mill.
There was nothing to do but to return home and make the best of the matter. And this I did, pausing in front of the Hallett homestead and wondering if it would do any good to awaken old Mr. Hallett and ask him for his assistance in going after Carney.
But this I decided not to do, for the old man was very fussy, and we were not exactly on the best of terms.
When I reached the mill all was quiet and just as I had left it, less than an hour before. I looked at the old clock that stood in one corner of the living-room and was astonished to find that it was already past midnight.
I sat down in the rocker with my brain busy thinking. But as moment after moment passed, my head sank back and my eyelids gradually closed. Everything was quiet save the loud tick, tick, of the old clock, and this soon put me into a sound sleep.
Once or twice I came very near waking up. Then I thought I was aroused by the flash of a bright light and a peculiar sensation in my nose and throat. But I immediately sank back, and went into a deeper sleep than ever.
When I awoke it was sunrise, and the light was streaming into the window and across the floor. I jumped to my feet; and as I did so, a small stone of peculiar brilliancy, lying on the floor, attracted my attention.
I picked the stone up and examined it. If it was not a diamond, it was a fine imitation, I wondered from whence it had come.
I could remember of no one about the mill havinga diamond. To my knowledge Mr. Norton did not wear any such expensive ornament. The only man I knew of in the vicinity who sported such a stone was Mr. Jackson, the storekeeper, and on his visit to the mill he had not been near the living-room.
I gave the stone a second examination. As I did so I heard a footstep outside and slipped the thing into my pocket.
The next moment Mr. Norton came into the room from the sleeping apartment beyond. His face was pale and I wondered when he had come in, and if he had slept much.
“Woke up, have you?” he exclaimed. “’Tain’t a very nice place to go to sleep in.”
“I found the chair very comfortable,” I returned, trying to determine what would be best to say in regard to the robbery.
“Why didn’t you go to bed?”
“I didn’t get a chance. I—”
“Never mind with your excuses. Have you got breakfast ready?”
“No, sir; but I soon will have.”
Mr. Norton took a pull from the flask he always kept in his pocket, and then got out his pipe and fell to smoking.
I set the table in silence and started to make the coffee.
I noticed he was very uneasy, and looked at me half a dozen times rather curiously.
Presently his eye wandered over to where his valise had stood and he noticed that the bag was missing.
“What have you done with my grip?” he asked.
“It was stolen last night,” I said, as steadily as I could.
“Stolen!”
“Yes, sir.”
“You can’t mean it!” he ejaculated, facing me with a look of horror on his face.
“It was stolen, and so were a lot of other things.”
“Boy, you lie!”
“It’s the truth.”
“I don’t believe a word of it!” gasped Mr. Norton, catching his breath.
I could see that he was fearfully agitated, and wondered what the valise could have contained.
“I tell the truth. It was stolen along with a lot of other things that belonged to the mill. Andy—”
“You can’t fool me!” shouted Mr. Norton. “You have taken those things away yourself. I thought from the start that you might be deeper than you appeared, and now I’m sure of it. I was a fool to be taken in. Tell me this instant everything you have found out!”