With a movement he avoided the blow, and stepping forward seized Jones’ arm before the latter could recover himself. He twisted it quickly and sharply, and Jones stepped back with a cry of pain.
“None of that,” said Leonard sternly. “Now, will you tell us where Jimmy is or not?”
“I have told you I don’t know,” said Jones.
With a sudden wrench he freed his arm and darted through the door before Leonard could make a move to stop him.
“After him quick,” said Shirley. “He’ll get away.”
Leonard and the two girls darted through the door and down the steps after the fleeing man, but when they reached the sidewalk Jones had disappeared.
“We’ve lost him,” she cried.
“Yes,” said Mabel, “and he’ll hurry to the place where Jimmy is being held, and take him some place else. It was a mistake to show him that note, for he is aware we know that Jimmy is confined some place on the creek.”
“Then the best thing to do,” said Leonard, “is to get down by the creek. We may be fortunate enough to hit the right direction.”
“Let’s go at once then,” said Shirley.
Quickly the three clambered into the car, andShirley, who was driving, started it off with a lurch.
“Let’s hope we shall not be too late,” she cried over her shoulder, as the car, setting speed regulations at naught, gathered headway.
The little town of Paris stretches out for a considerable distance along Stoner Creek, and for this reason Shirley realized that the chances of picking the locality where Jimmy was held prisoner were slim. Nevertheless, there was always the chance that they might be fortunate enough to find the place.
The car rushed down Main Street, and turned to the right just off the bridge. It was Shirley’s plan to get to the extreme edge of the town and then come back along the creek slowly. They had made good time, and it was hardly probable that Jones could have reached the creek before them.
They reached the northern extremity of the town without a sight of Jones, and then turning the car about, Shirley drove south slowly. Several times the girl stopped to ask questions of pedestrians, but the result was always the same. No one seemed to know Jones, and none knew of any house containing a prisoner.
Finally Leonard called upon Shirley to stop.
“I’ll get out and do a little inquiring at some of the houses along here,” he said.
He alighted. At the first house he approached he gained no information, nor at the second nor at the third. At the fourth, however, he came upon a clue.
“Somebody told me,” said the woman who answered his knock, “that a closed carriage drove up to old Briggs’ house yesterday and that three men were in it. One went into the house with Briggs, and the others drove away.”
“Did you hear what he looked like?”
“Well, he was young. That’s all I know.”
“And where does this man Briggs live?”
“About eight blocks south, in a little shanty. I know his nephew from Cincinnati has been staying with him. Anybody down there can tell you where Briggs lives.”
Leonard thanked the woman and returned to the waiting automobile. He told the girls what he had learned, and Shirley drove the car in the direction of Briggs’ home.
“Better stop a block away,” said Leonard.
Shirley did so, and again Leonard climbed out. Through inquiry he learned which was Briggs’ house and hastened to it. An old man answered his knock.
“Are you Mr. Briggs?” asked Leonard.
“Yes,” was the reply. “What do you want?”
There was something in the man’s manner that convinced Leonard he was on the right track. He determined to try a bold shot.
“I want to see your prisoner,” he said sternly.
“Prisoner,” echoed the old man, taking a step backward. “What prisoner?”
“The boy you are holding for Jones.”
The old man recovered himself.
“I haven’t any prisoner,” he said.
“Oh, yes you have,” said Leonard, “and I want him right now. Understand?”
The old man looked at him with an evil leer.
“Get out of here,” he shouted, and gave Leonard an unexpected push.
Leonard, taken unaware, stumbled back, and at the same moment the old man stepped inside the house, and closed and locked the door.
Leonard sprang forward again and laid hold of the knob. Then he put his weight against the door, but it would not budge. He walked back to where the girls waited for him.
“He’s in there, all right,” he said grimly. “But I can’t get in.”
“Can’t you break down the door?” asked Shirley.
“I might,” said Leonard, “but if I did I probably would be shot for my pains. You can’t force your way into a man’s house, you know.”
“Then what are we to do?” exclaimed Mabel.
“Call the police,” said Leonard grimly. “They’ll go in, all right, whether they have a right to do so or not.”
“Let’s hurry then,” said Shirley anxiously. “There is no telling what may happen to Jimmy unless we make haste.”
Leonard climbed back into the machine.
“To the police station at once,” he said.
Just as the machine started off, Shirley’s attention was attracted by a man who darted suddenly across the street and into the rear of the house Leonard had just left.
“Jones!” she exclaimed.
Leonard and Mabel also had seen the hurrying figure.
“That’s who it is, all right,” said Mabel.
“There is no doubt about it,” declared Leonard. “We’ll round them all up together.”
At the police station Leonard explained the situation in a few words. Two men were detailed to go with them and investigate. All climbed into the machine, and in a few moments were back before Briggs’ home.
Leonard and the two girls approached the door with the two policemen. One of the officers rapped loudly upon the door with his club. There was no answer, and the policeman rapped again. Still there was no answer.
“Open up, Briggs, or we shall break the door down,” called one of the officers.
Again no answer.
“Kick her in, Bill,” said the first officer.
He suited the action to the word, and there was a resounding crash as his boot struck the door a hard blow. The second officer also delivered several heavy kicks.
There was the sound of splintering wood, and in a few moments the door gave way, shattered. The officers rushed in with poised clubs, and Leonard and the two girls followed them closely.
Straight through the house they went, but their quest was vain. There was no one there.
Leonard, glancing up, spied what appeared to be an attic.
“Give me a hand up,” he called to one of the two policemen.
The latter obeyed and Leonard scrambled up above.
“Be careful,” whispered Shirley.
Leonard struck a match and looked around. There was no one there.
“Nobody home,” he said, after he had dropped down again.
“Where did they go?” demanded Shirley anxiously.
“My gracious!” exclaimed Mabel. “Why didn’t we think of it before?”
“Think of what?” asked Shirley quickly.
“Why, the creek. They have probably escaped in a launch.”
Without pausing to reply, Shirley turned and darted from the house toward the creek, the others following closely. Several rowboats lay idly by, and in one of them, fishing, were two men.
“Did you see anything of Briggs?” demanded Shirley.
“Yes, Miss,” said one of the men. “He, and three others, just left in a launch. Is anything the matter?”
“Yes,” said one of the officers. “They are a bunch of crooks, and have kidnapped a boy.”
“You don’t say,” exclaimed one of the fishermen. “Do you want to catch ’em?”
“Yes,” said Shirley eagerly, “but how can we?”
“Well, I have a launch about a hundred yards from here,” said the man. “She is all ready to move, and can outrun anything on the creek.”
As he spoke, he came ashore and started along the bank at a run. Shirley, Mabel, Leonard and the two officers followed close at his heels.
Another moment, and they came upon a large, powerful launch moored to a landing.
“Climb in,” said the man.
The others needed no second invitation. Shirley, with the two officers, took their places in the bowof the little craft, while Mabel and Leonard were forced to remain further aft.
The fisherman pushed the launch off, and scrambled aboard. Then he turned quickly to the engine, and a faint sputtering a few moments later gave evidence that the launch was ready for the chase.
Gradually the little craft gathered headway, until she seemed to be flying through the water. Through scores of rowboats and other small boats, she wormed her way at terrific speed, and at last, far ahead, the pursuers could make out the form of a second launch, also chugging along at full speed.
“We’ll get ’em,” said the fisherman confidently. “TheSybilcan outrun anything on the creek.”
“TheSybil, a pretty name for a launch,” Shirley thought, excited as she was.
She kept her eyes ahead, and soon it became evident that the pursuers were gaining. They were now far beyond the town, and one of the officers spoke.
“To tell the truth, we really have no authority out of the city, but we’ll take a hand just the same. Might makes right, you know.”
“We are likely to need you,” said Leonard.
Now theSybilhad gained sufficiently for those aboard to make out the faces of those in the pursued craft. It was as they had expected. The occupants ofthe first boat were Jones, Briggs, Jimmy and another young man, whom none recognized.
“Guess that is Briggs’ nephew from Cincinnati,” said Leonard, remembering the conversation he had had with the woman who told him of Briggs’ prisoner.
Shirley glanced at the young man in the other boat curiously.
“I seem to have seen him some place before,” she said. “I can’t place him, though.”
Suddenly Jones was seen to rise up in the other boat, and Leonard, divining his intention, cried out in a loud voice:
“Look out! Duck!”
In spite of their surprise, all obeyed.
From the first boat there came a puff of smoke, followed by a sharp crack. Something whined over theSybil.
“They are shooting at us,” said Leonard calmly. “You girls keep down in the boat.”
“Two can play at that game,” said one of the officers.
He drew his own revolver, and brought it to bear. But before he could fire, Shirley sprang to her feet and seized his arm.
“Careful,” she said, “you are likely to hit Jimmy.”
The officer lowered his weapon.
At the same moment Jones fired again.
Leonard clapped his right hand to his left shoulder.
Shirley noticed this move.
“What’s the matter?” she asked anxiously. “Are you hit?”
“Just a scratch, I guess,” replied Leonard quietly. “We’ll make them pay for that.”
“We will,” agreed Shirley through clenched teeth.
“Look out! He’s going to shoot again,” cried one of the officers. “Down, quick!”
Jones was standing aft in the launch and had levelled his revolver in deliberate aim. But before he could pull the trigger, there was an unexpected move in the boat.
The third member of the party of conspirators—the young man whose face was so strangely familiar to Shirley—suddenly sprang to his feet, and before Jones could realize his intention, had wrested the revolver from his hand with a quick move. Jones turned upon him angrily, and they grappled.
For several moments they swayed unsteadily in the boat, causing it to rock violently; and then Jones, putting forth a strenuous effort, sent his opponent hurling overboard and by another and more strenuous effort, succeeded in regaining his own balance just as it seemed that he, too, must tumble into the water.
“Slow down!” cried Shirley to the fisherman. “We must pick him up.”
The owner of the boat complied, and steered the craft to where the unfortunate youth’s head showed above the water at that moment. Leonard stretched forth his unwounded arm, and succeeded in dragging the victim aboard, where he sank to the bottom of the boat panting.
Shirley took one look at the bedraggled youth, and then exclaimed aloud:
“Dick!”
Their erstwhile opponent looked at her in surprise. It was plain that he did not recognize her.
“Don’t you know me?” asked Shirley, half laughing.
“No,” returned the youth somewhat sullenly.
“Then I’ll refresh your memory,” said Shirley. “Do you remember a street fight in Cincinnati one night not long ago, when your own friends turned on you because you befriended a strange youth, who later turned out to be a girl?”
Dick’s face took on a reddish hue.
“And do you remember escorting the girl home?” continued Shirley, “and disappearing before she had an opportunity of thanking you? Do you remember me now?”
Dick hung his head sheepishly.
“Yes, I remember,” he said.
“And how is it,” demanded Shirley, “that I findyou mixed up in this affair? How do you happen to be on such friendly terms with that scoundrel Jones?”
“Well, it’s a long story,” returned Dick in some confusion.
“I didn’t think it of you, Dick,” said Shirley. “You proved such a valiant champion, that I believed I should always find you fighting on the side of the right.”
“And so you shall,” responded Dick, lifting his head, “if you have further need of me. I didn’t really know who Jones was when I got mixed up with him. And had I known he was plotting against you I would have had nothing to do with the affair. I am ready to help you, if you can make use of me.”
“I knew I couldn’t be wrong,” said the girl with a bright smile, “and I am glad to have you on our side. Perhaps you can tell me why Jones has kidnapped Jimmy?”
“He is planning to keep him from riding in the Derby. He says that without Jimmy, Gabriel cannot possibly win.”
“I see,” said Shirley. “It’s just as I thought. And where is he taking him now?”
“I do not know,” was the reply. “He has some safe place in view, though.”
While theSybilpaused to pick up Dick, the otherlaunch forged ahead, and now had disappeared from view around a bend in the creek.
Shirley turned to the owner of the boat.
“Can we catch them?” she asked anxiously.
“Just leave it to me,” returned the man grimly. “If they stay in the water we’ll come up with them before long.”
Rounding the bend they again came in sight of the other launch, and as they did so Shirley uttered a cry of dismay.
Close into the shore the pursued launch rode gently upon the water. Her engines had been stopped, and she had been deserted. There was not a soul aboard.
“Where do you suppose they have gone?” demanded Mabel.
“They have taken to the woods,” replied Shirley, “and the chances are we have lost them altogether.”
Jenkins, for as such the owner of theSybilintroduced himself, ran his launch close beside the other, and all stepped quickly ashore. In the soft mud, footsteps leading toward the woods nearby were plainly visible, showing that the fugitives had gone in that direction.
“We’ll follow them, if you give the word, Miss Willing,” said Dick.
“And Mabel and I will go too,” said Shirley.
Dick looked at young Wolfe somewhat dubiously.
“It is hardly girls’ work,” he replied.
“Right you are,” agreed Leonard. “You girls stay here by the boat.”
“But we want to go,” Mabel pouted. “We are more interested in this than any of you.”
“The young men are right,” said Jenkins firmly. “Jones must be a desperate man. You girls are safer here.”
“We do not wish to be obstinate,” said Shirley. “We know that you are doing this for us, and if you tell us to stay here, we shall do so, of course.”
Jenkins and the two young men breathed a sigh of relief, as did the two policemen.
“You wait here until we return then,” said Leonard. “Come on, men.”
The five disappeared in the woods, leaving the two girls beside the boat alone.
“I hope they get them,” said Shirley grimly.
“So do I,” agreed Mabel.
“I am glad Dick is with us,” said Shirley slowly. “Somehow I have a lot of confidence in him. You know I have seen him in action and know what he can do.”
“He is a likeable boy,” declared Mabel. “It’s too bad he has mixed with such bad companions.”
“I am going to see if I can’t get father to help him,” said Shirley. “Maybe he would be willing to work on the farm.”
“From the way he looked at you,” said Mabel,“I should say that he would be glad to work any place where you might be.”
“The idea, Mabel,” said Shirley, but nevertheless her face grew red.
Suddenly both girls were startled by a stealthy tread behind them. They wheeled about, and looked into the sneering countenance of Jones.
And beside him was Briggs, and between the two, his hands bound and a gag in his mouth, was Jimmy.
“So,” said Jones, with an evil smile, “we have captured two more of the enemy, eh?”
Neither girl replied.
Jones motioned toward the launch.
“Climb aboard, there, quick!” he commanded.
Both girls hesitated.
“You hear me?” demanded Jones, taking a step forward. “I am not to be trifled with. Move now!”
Shirley and Mabel thought better of their hesitancy, and without a word climbed aboard theSybil. Jimmy was shoved aboard after them, and then came Jones. Briggs stopped to shove the boat off and then clambered aboard.
“Straight down the creek,” ordered Jones, as Briggs stooped over the engine.
The launch moved off slowly.
“You see we gave your friends the slip,” smiled Jones. “Now we’ll just leave them behind.”
“What are you going to do with us?” demanded Shirley.
“Never mind,” returned her captor. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
At that moment there came a shout from the shore, and turning, the girls saw their friends rushing down toward the water. Jones muttered to himself.
“Why couldn’t we have had a little better start?”
Shirley rose in her seat and waved to her friends.
“Sit down there,” said Jones harshly, half rising.
Shirley obeyed, for she knew that she had been seen, and felt certain of speedy relief.
Ashore, the five were hurriedly piling into the other boat, the one occupied by Jones when the chase had started, and soon it was coming after them. But theSybilwas much faster, as already had been proven, and it seemed that there was little likelihood of the pursuers catching up with them.
TheSybilgained rapidly and it was plain she would soon run away from the pursuer.
Jones, sitting a few feet from Shirley, drew a pipe from his pocket, and filled it calmly.
“I hope you young ladies do not object,” he said, and struck a match.
Suddenly Shirley jumped to her feet and rushed at Jones, thinking to catch him unprepared and push him into the water. But Jones was too quickfor her. He stood up, stepped aside, and it seemed a miracle that Shirley did not go overboard.
Jones smiled.
“I wouldn’t try it again if I were you,” he said quietly. “I am not to be caught napping.”
He sat down again, and Shirley resumed her seat.
Now theSybillost sight of her pursuer around a bend in the stream. From this point on the creek wound about more frequently, and it was plain to Shirley that the pursuers were hopelessly outdistanced.
Then Jones spoke to Briggs.
“Run ashore,” he commanded.
Briggs obeyed without a word, and a few moments later, they all stepped out upon the bank.
“Come,” said Jones, “let’s get out of sight before our friends arrive.”
He motioned the two girls to precede him along what they found to be a narrow path.
“Briggs,” said Jones, “you go back and start the launch down the creek by itself. Then they won’t know where we are.”
Briggs hastened to obey, and a moment later theSybilwas moving out of sight around another bend.
“They won’t find us now,” said Jones.
Taking advantage of a moment when Jones was not looking, Mabel quietly hung her white handkerchiefupon a bush. It was in plain view of the creek.
Shirley saw her friend’s action, but dared not show she had, by even the slightest change of expression.
Meanwhile, where was the second launch and crew? Even going at full speed, it was plainly evident to all on board that there was little prospect of overtaking theSybil.
When the party had returned to the bank of the stream after an unsuccessful search of the little woods, it had not needed the wave of Shirley’s hand from theSybilto tell them what had happened. It was Dick who spoke first.
“They have doubled back on their tracks and captured the girls and the launch,” he exclaimed when he noticed Shirley and Mabel were nowhere to be seen.
The others cried out in alarm. In the distance they could see the launch speeding down the stream. It was at that moment Shirley rose and waved to them. Leonard’s keen eyes caught the signal, and he cried out:
“Into the other launch quick and after them!”
Hastily jumping aboard, the second launch wasput into motion and they gave chase at full speed.
But theSybilgained steadily.
“It’s no use,” said Jenkins. “We can’t catch them. As I told you, theSybilcan outrun anything in these parts.”
“We’ll keep after them anyhow,” said Dick. “You never can tell what will happen. They may meet with an accident.”
And so the five continued their apparently hopeless pursuit. An hour later, Leonard, who stood in the extreme bow of the launch, straining his eyes ahead, exclaimed aloud. The others looked at him eagerly, and he pointed straight ahead.
“There’s theSybil,” he cried. “She’s run ashore. They must have landed.”
A few minutes later the launch ran up alongside theSybiland all jumped out.
“If we only knew which way they went,” said Leonard.
Dick had been looking at the ground carefully. In the soft mud there was not a single footprint. Dick looked at the engine of theSybil. It was still running.
“They didn’t land here,” he said quietly.
“What?” exclaimed Leonard.
“I say, they didn’t land here.”
“How do you make that out?”
“Well, if they had landed here there would certainlybe footprints. They couldn’t have walked through this soft mud without leaving tracks.”
“The lad is right,” murmured Jenkins.
“Then how do you account for the launch being here?” asked one of the policemen.
“Easily,” said Dick. “They started the engine and let her go. See, the engine is still running, and if she had not been caught in this bunch of weeds she would still be going down stream.”
“You are right,” Leonard agreed. “And there is no telling how far back they deserted her. What shall we do?”
“First,” said Jenkins, “we’ll reoccupy theSybiland leave the other launch here.”
“After which,” said Dick, “we’ll turn back, and go slowly, keeping as close to shore as possible. We may be able to find where they landed.”
This plan was adopted. Jenkins turned theSybil’shead upstream once more, and they started off slowly, keeping close in-shore.
For half an hour they moved along, and then Dick’s keen eyes caught sight of a piece of white fluttering from a bush fifty feet ahead. He looked at it steadily for a few moments, and then gave a start.
“Run in here,” he commanded Jenkins.
The latter did as he was told. Dick leaped lightly ashore and approached the fluttering pieceof white, which he now saw was a handkerchief. He picked it up and returned to the boat.
“Do you recognize this?” he asked, passing it to Leonard.
Leonard glanced at it carefully. In one corner were two small initials.
“M.A.,” he read. “Mabel Ashton,” he exclaimed. “How do you suppose that got there?”
“It’s plain enough,” said Dick simply. “She dropped it there in the hopes that we might find it, and so learn where they had landed.”
“Then,” said Leonard, “there should be footprints.”
“Not here,” said Dick. “You will notice that the ground is very rocky. Evidently that is the reason Jones selected this spot to land.”
“By Jove!” said Leonard.
Dick spoke again. “They must have gone this way. We might as well get out and look around a bit.”
Accordingly all stepped ashore.
“Now,” said Dick, “I would suggest that we all spread out, keeping about a hundred yards apart, and go straight ahead.”
Leonard, who had been scrutinizing the ground carefully, uttered an exclamation. The others hurried to him.
“A path!” exclaimed Leonard. “They probably went this way.”
“We’ll see where the path leads at any rate,” said Dick. “Nevertheless I suggest that we spread out just the same. They may not have stuck to the path.”
This plan was acted upon, and the five spread on either side of the path. Leonard took the path, while on his right were the two officers, each a hundred yards apart, and on his left Jenkins and Dick, also the same distance apart.
They started forward.
For half an hour they walked on, and gradually the woods became more dense, making progress difficult. Suddenly it began to grow dark.
Leonard glanced at his watch.
“Great Scott!” he exclaimed. “It’s after six. I had no idea it was so late.”
He gave a shrill whistle, a prearranged signal, and the others came toward him.
“We must try and do something before dark,” he explained. “We don’t want to stay here all night, and we can’t give up the chase until we have found the girls.”
“We shall have to go more swiftly, then,” said Dick. “Back to your places, men.”
All spread out again, and the advance continued.
Suddenly Leonard spied something white in the path ahead of him. He stooped and picked it up. It was a second handkerchief. Leonard looked forsome mark of identification. In a corner he found the initials “S.W.”
“We are on the right track,” he muttered to himself.
And then he stopped still.
Two shrill whistles split the air.
A moment more and the others gathered around him.
“What’s the matter?” they asked.
Dick, the last to appear, came up at that moment.
“I’ve found them,” he whispered.
“Where?” demanded the others.
“There is a little shack a short distance ahead,” Dick explained. “I could see smoke coming from the chimney. I feel sure that Jones, thinking he has given us the slip, has ordered a halt.”
“Well,” said Leonard, “what are we going to do about it? We can’t stand here all night.”
“The thing to do,” said Jenkins, “is to surround the place, and then close in on them. There are only two of them.”
“You’ll find there will only be one when it comes to a fight,” said Dick grimly. “My uncle Briggs won’t take a hand.”
“So much the better,” said Leonard. “Then we have only Jones to contend with.”
“Right,” said Dick, “and Jones is for me to handle.”
Leonard looked at him peculiarly.
“Oh, all right,” he said. “If that’s the way you feel about it I won’t interfere unless you have need of me.”
“I won’t have any need of you,” was the reply. “But come, let’s get busy.”
It was quite dark now, but the stars already twinkled and there was promise of bright moonlight. The five made their way forward stealthily.
Ten minutes later they came within sight of the shanty, and they stopped for a moment. Suddenly Dick pointed straight ahead.
“Look,” he whispered.
The others gazed in the direction he pointed. There, lying upon the ground, they recognized the figures of Jones, Briggs and Jimmy.
“Guess they have let the girls sleep in the house,” said Leonard. “Now is a good time to advance. The men are asleep.”
Cautiously they advanced again, and then, when they were perhaps twenty yards from the sleepers, Jones suddenly sat up and looked around.
His eyes fell upon the cautiously-approaching figures, and he jumped to his feet with an exclamation of dismay, and turned to run. But Dick was too quick for him.
Dashing forward at top speed, he hurled himself forward and caught Jones by the legs. Jones came to the ground with a crash.
He was up in a moment, however, and grapplingwith his assailant. But this time Dick was prepared for him, and with solid ground under his feet, he was more than a match for the older man.
Backward and forward, backward and forward they swayed, each trying to gain a hold by which he might throw the other. And Dick got his first.
Exerting his utmost strength, he heaved as hard as he could, and Jones, large though he was, went crashing to the ground, where he lay still.
In falling his head had come in contact with a sharp stone, and he was temporarily stunned.
In the meantime, the others had subdued Briggs, and then had stopped to watch the struggle between Jones and Dick. That over, Leonard stooped and unbound and ungagged Jimmy, and then turned toward the shanty.
“Might as well let the girls out,” he said.
He knocked upon the door. There was no response and he knocked again. Still no response.
Leonard burst the door in with a single kick of his foot and stepped over the threshold. Then he started back in amazement and uttered a low cry.
“What’s the matter?” demanded Dick, approaching and peering over his shoulder.
“Matter!” repeated Leonard. “Matter enough! The girls are not here!”
Dick pushed by Leonard and entered the shanty. It was true. There was no sign of either Shirley or Mabel.
“What on earth can have happened to them?” asked Leonard anxiously.
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” returned Dick. “We’ll ask Jones.”
They stepped outside again.
Upon Leonard’s first cry of surprise, Jenkins and the two policemen had moved toward the house, and for the moment Jones had been left unguarded. The prisoner was not slow to take advantage of his opportunity and no sooner had his captors’ backs been turned than he took to his heels and soon disappeared in the darkness.
Consequently, when Leonard and Dick came from the shanty there was no Jones to be found.
Dick turned upon Jenkins and the officers angrily.
“You are a fine bunch, you are,” he said with withering scorn. “A nice lot of guards I must say. Jones has gone.”
The three looked from one to the other sheepishly, and Jenkins opened his mouth to speak.
“Never mind,” said Dick. “There is no use talking about it now. The first thing is to find the girls.”
“And where are we to look for them?” demanded Leonard.
Dick shrugged his shoulders.
“You know as much about it as I do,” he replied.
“Then,” said Leonard, “I suggest that we go first to the launch, to make sure that it is all right. Jones is likely to steal it again.”
“I guess you are right,” said Dick. “Come on.”
He stooped for a moment to lift up Jimmy Smith, who still sat on the ground. The latter arose slowly and stretched his cramped limbs.
“My, but it feels good to be loose again,” he said.
He followed the others toward the creek.
The party made rapid progress for they did not wish Jones to get there ahead of them. But their fear was unnecessary, for Jones, once out of sight, had sat down, feeling safe in the darkness.
A short time after, the party of searchers arrived at the bank of the little stream.
“Great Scott! where’s the launch?” exclaimed Leonard.
The others also uttered exclamations of astonishment. There was no sign of theSybil.
“Jones must have arrived ahead of us,” said Jenkins.
Dick was struck with a sudden idea. He uttered a low chuckle. The others turned upon him, and one of the officers said:
“This is no laughing matter. What’s so funny, anyhow?”
“Well,” said Dick, “I believe I have solved the disappearance of theSybil. I am sure that it was not Jones who took it, and Uncle Briggs is still where we left him, so it could not have been him.”
“Then who was it?” demanded Leonard.
“The two young ladies,” replied Dick.
The others gazed at him in surprise.
“What do you mean?” asked Jenkins.
“Just what I say. In some manner they succeeded in escaping from the shanty before we arrived. Then they must have made their way back here, and finding the launch, appropriated it for their own use. You must remember that Jones, not we, came here in theSybil. The last the girls saw of us we were in the other launch. It was impossible for them to tell we had recaptured theSybil.”
“I believe you are right,” said Leonard.
“I’m sure of it,” replied Dick.
“Then what are we to do? We are marooned here for the rest of the night.”
“Well,” said Dick, “we might walk down stream.It’s possible we may be able to find the other launch, which we abandoned.”
“There is no use staying here, that’s certain,” agreed Leonard. “But the chances are we won’t find it.”
“There is nothing like trying,” said Dick briefly. “Come on.”
He led the way and the others followed.
Dick’s solution of the disappearance had been correct. Left alone in the little shanty early in the evening, the two girls had succeeded in forcing the door. Peering out and seeing Jones and Briggs fast asleep, they had decided to make a break for liberty.
Accordingly they slipped quietly from their prison and were soon lost in the darkness. They made their way to the bank of the creek with little difficulty, and there came upon theSybil, tied up to a tree.
“We are in luck,” said Mabel. “But how does it come that the launch is here. This looks like the place we landed, and I saw Briggs start the boat down stream.”
“Then it can’t be the place we landed,” returned Shirley. “We must be further down stream than we thought.”
“But some one has tied the boat up,” protested Shirley. “Who do you suppose it was?”
“I haven’t any idea; and I don’t see that it makesany difference. We’ll get aboard and start upstream immediately. Our absence is likely to be discovered, and unless we hurry, we may be recaptured.”
“Let’s hurry then,” said Mabel.
She untied the launch while Shirley stepped aboard and started the engine. Then giving the boat a shove, Mabel leaped aboard.
The engine sputtered once or twice, and then began to whirr regularly. The launch moved away from the shore.
Under Shirley’s firm hand, it came about in a wide circle and started upstream. Five minutes later they were rounding a curve that hid the starting point.
As the boat went round the bend, Mabel looking back, thought she made out several figures standing upon the bank. She told her discovery to Shirley.
“I guess Jones has discovered that we have escaped,” said Shirley. “However, we are safe enough now.”
She increased the speed of the little craft, and it rushed on through the dark and murky water, both girls keeping a keen lookout ahead.
Neither had any idea how far they were from Paris, for their course had been changed so often.
“We’ll just have to keep going until we get there,” said Shirley.
“I expect your father will be terribly worried,” said Mabel.
“I know he will,” was the reply. “Poor Dad, he will think I have fallen into the hands of the conspirators. He probably has the whole town out looking for us.”
“What do you suppose has happened to Leonard, Dick and the others?”
“I don’t know. They have probably gone further down stream. It isn’t likely that they noticed theSybilso close to shore.”
For hours, it seemed to the two girls, they continued their journey, and at last the first faint signs of dawn appeared in the east.
“I am glad day is coming,” said Mabel. “We can see where we are going.”
At that moment there came a faint sputtering from the engine, and then it came to a dead stop.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mabel anxiously.
Shirley made a hasty examination.
“Fuel supply exhausted,” she said. “No more gasoline.”
“My gracious!” ejaculated Mabel, in dismay. “What shall we do?”
“We’ll have to wait until it’s a little lighter,” replied her friend, “and then we’ll see if we can’t paddle ashore. There is no telling how far we may be from town, but I reckon we shall have to walk it.”
“I suppose there is no help for it,” said Mabel. “However, we are out of danger.”
The boat stood still in the middle of the stream for perhaps half an hour, and then both became conscious of a faint chugging far down the stream. “Some one coming,” said Mabel, “maybe they will give us a lift.”
“Perhaps it is Jones,” said Shirley uneasily.
“Dear me! I hope not!” sighed Mabel.
“So do I. We have had enough trouble for one day.”
They continued to gaze down stream.
A few minutes later a second launch came into view around the bend in the creek. The girls were able to make out several figures. It was apparent, also, that the men in the boat had seen them.
One stood up, and a faint hail came across the water.
“It must be Jones,” said Mabel. “And he has seen us, too. What shall we do?”
“We’ll try and get ashore,” said Shirley quietly.
In the far end of the boat she had seen a pair of oars. She got these out hurriedly, and set to work with a will. TheSybilmoved shoreward, slowly at first, and then more swiftly as Shirley settled herself to her task.
Both girls kept close watch on their pursuers. They could not make out the faces of its occupants—it was still too dark—nor did they recognize the voices that hailed them frequently. It was plain, however, that the pursuing launch was gaining.
“It must be Jones,” cried Shirley. “Be ready to jump the minute we run aground, Mabel.”
Mabel signified that she understood, and gathering up her skirts, she stood up in the prow of the launch.
A moment later the little craft grounded with a shock. Mabel leaped lightly ashore, and turned to lend Shirley a hand. But this was unnecessary, for the moment she realized the boat had struck bottom, Shirley dropped the oars and also sprang ashore.
Quickly she grasped her friend by the hand.
“Run!” she cried, and suited the action to the word.
Swiftly the two girls sped over the uneven ground toward shelter of a dense clump of trees not far away. And they disappeared among these just as the second launch grounded and several figures leaped ashore.
The first of the pursuers caught a glimpse of the two figures disappearing in the woods, and immediately gave chase. The others followed him.
Hearing pursuing footsteps, the girls redoubled their efforts and were soon, they believed, safe from pursuit. They sat down quickly, to take a much-needed rest.
There came the sound of footsteps crashing through the underbrush. Shirley glanced about.
“Up in this tree, quick, Mabel,” she exclaimed
She lent her friend a hand, and a minute later they were high up among the branches, where they could peer down without being seen. And at that moment a voice called out:
“Shirley! Mabel!”
“My gracious!” exclaimed Mabel. “It’s Leonard.”
The girls looked at each other somewhat sheepishly.
“Shirley! Mabel!” came Leonard’s voice again.
“Here we are, Leonard,” shouted Mabel.
There was a moment’s silence, and then the footsteps came nearer and Leonard halted directly under the tree in which the two girls clung.
“Where?” he shouted.
“Right up here,” replied Mabel, with a giggle.
This time Leonard placed the sound of Mabel’s voice. He glanced up. Far above the ground he could just make out what he knew must be the two girls.
“Bless my soul!” he exclaimed. “What on earth are you doing up there?”
“Trying to get away from Jones,” replied Mabel.
“Well, you are safe enough now. Come down.”
“All right,” said both girls at once.
While Leonard turned back to hail the other searchers, the two girls slipped from the tree. Leonard seized the hand of each.
“Oh!” he exclaimed, “you gave us an awful scare. If it hadn’t been for Dick, there is no telling when we might have found you.”
“What did Dick do?” asked Shirley eagerly.
“Why, he saved us a futile search in the woods. He figured that it was you who had taken theSybiland it was upon his suggestion that we came up stream again.”
“And did you capture Jones?” demanded Mabel.
“Yes; but he got away again.”
“And Jimmy?” asked Shirley eagerly. “Is he safe?”
“Yes. He’s around here some place looking for you.”
“Then,” said Mabel, slowly, “it must have been you we saw on the shore just as we escaped.”
“It must have been,” replied Leonard. “I thought I saw a dark shape going up the creek, but I wasn’t sure, so I said nothing about it.”
“And where did you get the other launch? We saw nothing of it when we left.”
“We found it a mile down stream, about where we left it when we recaptured theSybil.”
“So that’s the way it was,” said Shirley, half to herself. “Had we only met you after we escaped we all would have been saved a lot of worry.”
“But why didn’t you stop when I hailed you in the creek?” asked Leonard, fatigue and anxiety beginning to tell on his nerves.
“We thought it was Jones coming after us,” Mabel explained.
“I see,” replied Leonard.
At that moment, Dick, Jimmy, Jenkins and the policemen came running up.
“Well, I see you have found them,” said Jenkins.
He wiped beads of perspiration from his brow—for he had been running.
“I’m glad of it. I must get home at once, or my wife will have the entire police force on the lookout for me.”
The others laughed.
“Well, that’s what I get for being married,” said Jenkins. “But come, hustle back into the launch and we’ll hurry back to town.”
“There is no gasoline in theSybil,” said Shirley.
“Is that so?” said Jenkins. “Then I’ll have to hitch her on behind and tow her home.”
This was done and the little party was soon turned toward home.
They were closer to Paris than the girls had realized, and half an hour later they came in sight of the point from which they had started upon the long chase the day before.
As the boat drew close to the little landing, a woman with fiery red hair, her sleeves rolled up and a frown on her face, came hurrying toward them, and just as Jenkins leaped ashore and tiedthe boat up, she seized him by the ear with her right hand.
“Tom Jenkins,” she cried, “it’s about time you were getting home. What do you mean by running away from me and not coming back?”
“But, Martha,” protested Jenkins, his face turning red in confusion, “I was only helping these young people out. One of ’em had been kidnapped, and——”
“And you had to go along and see the fun, I suppose.”
“Well, not exactly,” said Mr. Jenkins. “I——”
“You come with me,” said Mrs. Jenkins decisively.
She gave Jenkins’ ear a sharp twist, and the latter howled with pain.
“Ow! Leggo my ear!” he screamed.
He twitched about, and with effort freed himself and stepped back.
“Let me explain,” he said to his wife.
“You can explain when you get to the house,” said Mrs. Jenkins angrily. “If you ain’t there in three minutes, I’ll be back after you.”
She strode majestically away.
Mr. Jenkins rubbed his ear and grinned ruefully.
“You see how it is,” he exclaimed. “A man always gets the worst of it somehow when he gets mixed up with somebody else’s business.”
“We certainly appreciate your aid, Mr. Jenkins,” said Shirley, offering her hand, which Jenkins grasped heartily.
The others also shook hands with him.
“Well,” said Mr. Jenkins, “you know I’m glad to have been of—— All right, Martha, I’m coming!”
This last as the voice of his wife once more rang out with the demand:
“Are you coming, Tom Jenkins? Or do I have to come after you?”
He broke off suddenly and hastened toward the house to meet his spouse, who was coming toward him with rapid strides.
The girls laughed and the others joined them.
“Poor old Jenkins,” said Leonard. “I’ll bet he has a tough time.”
“It looks that way,” said Dick, with a faint smile.
He turned to Shirley.
“Now that you are safe at last,” he said quietly, “I guess I may as well be going. There is nothing more for me to do.”
Shirley was startled.
“Surely you will wait and let my father thank you?” she said.
Dick shook his head.
“It’s enough for me to know I have been of service to you,” he said. “I want no thanks.”
“But,” protested Shirley, “where are you going?”
“I don’t know exactly,” replied the boy. “Back to Cincinnati, I guess.”
“Do your father and mother live there?” asked the girl.
“I have no father and mother,” was the slow response.
“Forgive me,” said Shirley impulsively. “I didn’t know. What are you planning to do?”
Again the lad shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I shall find a job of some kind, though.”
“Surely you will not get mixed up with Jones again?” asked Shirley anxiously.
“No,” replied Dick. “I am through with Jones and his kind forever.”
Shirley breathed a sigh of relief.
“I am glad to hear that,” she said. “How would you like to go home with us? I am sure Dad can find something for you to do on the farm.”
“Thank you,” replied Dick. “I am sorry, but I must decline.”
Shirley gave it up.
“Well,” she said, “you must decide for yourself. But I do want to thank you for the aid you have given us, and I shall always be glad to see you.”
Dick bowed. The others approached and shook hands with him, and then he turned to go.
“Come and see us when you can, or at least let us hear from you,” Shirley called after him.
Dick turned and bowed once more. Shirley waved her hand to him, and a moment later he disappeared.
“Well,” said Leonard, “there is no use standing here. Let us get home.”
They started up town. At Main Street the two officers left them.
“1 guess we are due for a wigging from the chief,” said one.
“Well,” said the other. “It was worth it.”
Leonard, Jimmy and the two girls bade the officers good-bye and made their way to Wilson’s drug store. Mr. Wilson himself came running to the door as they approached.
“Where have you been?” he demanded. “Your father has been scouring the town for you. He is almost frantic.”
“We have been rescuing Jimmy,” replied Shirley. “Where is Dad now?”
“I guess he is at the police station.”
“Then he’ll be back in a few minutes,” said Shirley. “The officers will tell him where we are.”
Her prophecy proved correct, and five minutes later Mr. Willing dashed breathlessly into the store.
“Shirley,” he cried, and clasped his daughter in his arms.
“You almost frightened your father to death,”he said, releasing her at last. “Where have you been?”
“Didn’t the officers tell you?” demanded Shirley.
“They tried to tell me something,” was the reply, “but I didn’t wait to hear them when I learned that you were safe.”
Shirley related their adventures and Mr. Willing listened attentively.
“I must put the police after this man Jones,” he said, when Shirley had concluded.
“I wouldn’t do that, Dad,” said Shirley. “It’s all over now, and there is no use causing more talk.”
“I don’t know but what you are right,” agreed Mr. Willing after a pause. “Besides, I guess we shall hear no more of him.”
“I am sure we shall not,” agreed Shirley.
But in this, as we shall see later, all were mistaken.