CHAPTER XIX.A SURPRISE FOR JIMMIE.
When Jimmie saw the planes of the flying machine on the east side of the summit he dodged away in order that the aviator still below the line of the ridge might not catch sight of theLouiseuntil he was himself well in the air. The boy wanted to know, before coming to close quarters, whether this machine was a new one in that vicinity, and whether the man in charge was in sympathy with those on the shelf below.
As soon as the aeroplane came into full view, however, the boy chuckled and swung close over. It was theBertha, and Ben occupied the aviator’s seat. Jimmie pointed toward the men on the shelf, asking mutely whether he ought to land, and Ben shook his head warningly.
Rather to the disappointment of Jimmie, Ben speeded theBerthatoward the valley instead of circling the gully and the shelf where the men stood. However, he was somewhat mollified when he saw Ben seeking a landing-place. In a very short time the two machines lay side by side on the grass, and the boys were conferring together.
Twilight was falling fast, and the light of the fire on the shelf brought the scene there into distinct view. The boys were not so far away that they could not recognize one face and figure standing by the fire.
At first Jimmie could hardly believe that he saw aright, but in a moment his impression was confirmed by his chum.
“What’s DuBois doing with those men?” Jimmie asked.
“He’s trying to get away!” was the reply.
“Who are the men?” asked Jimmie.
“They’re from Neil Howell’s hunting camp.”
“I thought so!” replied Jimmie. “But what do they want of DuBois?”
“They’ve got him under arrest!” replied Ben.
“That’s a nice thing, too! What have they got him under arrest for?”
“They claim that he stole a horse or a mule or a burro and a lot of money from their tent.”
“You don’t believe it, do you?” asked Jimmie.
“I certainly do not!”
“What are they going to do with him?”
“They’re going to take him back to their camp. One of the men said they’d probably lynch him when they got him there.”
“Did they get him out of our camp?” asked the boy.
“No,” answered Ben, “I’m the one that’s to blame for his being in his present predicament. I set out in theBerthato see what was going on at the smugglers’ camp, and let him go with me. When we landed those fellows came rushing out with guns in their hands and grabbed the Englishman. I had a gun with me, but of course I couldn’t do anything against three husky men like the hunters.”
“And that leaves Mr. Havens alone, of course!” Jimmie said.
“He thought we’d better go before dark,” Ben explained. “And now,” he continued, “what have you done with Carl?”
Jimmie explained what had taken place at the hunters’ camp, and the two boys looked into each other’s faces with no little anxiety showing in their eyes. Ben was first to speak.
“What did they geezle him for?” he asked.
“I couldn’t imagine at the time,” Jimmie answered, “but I think I see through the scheme now. When DuBois left their camp and came to ours they naturally understood that he would tell us all he knew about what was going on at the place he had just left.”
“There wasn’t much to tell,” suggested Ben.
“We don’t know whether there was or not!” answered Jimmie. “That Englishman hasn’t told us all he knows about the doings there by any means! He probably knew about the signals. That is, if they had been in action on previous nights, and he probably knew whether the aviator who was killed had made any visits to the hunters. You probably noticed how thoughtful DuBois looked when we told him that the aviator was dead and that there were no identifying marks or papers about him.”
“Of course I noticed that!” Ben said.
“I don’t believe the Englishman told us half he knows about that bunch,” Jimmie declared, “and it’s my private opinion that he never stole a thing at that camp! I guess when we know the truth about the matter, we’ll find that he knows too much about those fellows, and that’s why they want to get hold of him!”
“You still believe in the Englishman, do you?” laughed Ben.
“You bet I do!” answered Jimmie. “And I just believe they got him into the mountains because they suspected he knew what was going on in that Pullman stateroom. If you leave it to me, some of the hunters over there are mixed up in the abduction of Colleton!”
“That would be too good to be true!” exclaimed Ben.
“Why would it,” demanded Jimmie.
“Because it’s a long step in the game we’re playing to find the men who actually took part in the plot against Colleton. If we have found them in that bunch over there, we’ve made mighty good progress!”
“Well, when it all comes out at the end,” Jimmie insisted, “you’ll find that some of those fellows are in the deal, all right! And you’ll find that they got DuBois out into the mountains for the reasons Ihave already given. They doubtless expected they could keep him with them until the whole thing blew over. But he ran away for some reasons of his own and they’re afraid he’ll talk!”
“You’re the wise little Sherlocko!” laughed Ben.
Jimmie arose, seized his chum by the shoulders, whirled him around so that his face looked out toward the shelf of rock, and gave him a playful punch in the back.
“I’m the wise little Sherlocko, am I?” he demanded. “If you think I’m not right, just look there.”
“What does it mean?” asked Ben as red and green signals alternated from the blaze at the foot of the gully.
“It means that the hunters who have grabbed DuBois are communicating with the same sort of signals we saw before with the men in Neil Howell’s camp!”
“Perhaps they are explaining that they’ve captured DuBois.”
“I don’t care what they’re explaining,” Jimmie exclaimed impatiently. “What I’m trying to get through your thick head is the fact that they’reusing the same kind of signals the smugglers used. They are also using the red and green fire the smugglers carried to their rendezvous.”
“I understand!” Ben exclaimed. “That establishes the connection, all right! Now, what are we going to do about it?”
“You got DuBois into that mess,” Jimmie grinned, “and it’s up to you to get him out. It’s a wonder they ever let you get away with your machine after grabbing him! They overlooked a bet, there.”
“They didn’t want me to get away with it,” Ben answered modestly. “In fact,” he continued, “they placed a man down there to see that I didn’t get away with it. While they were busy putting DuBois through the third degree, I slipped down to the machine and caught the guard when he wasn’t looking. Then I got away with theBertha.”
“Caught him when he wasn’t looking, did you?” chuckled Jimmie. “What did you do to him?”
“I bumped him on the coco with the butt of my automatic!” was the reply. “I guess probably he’s laying on the ground there yet!”
“You’re the wise little sleuth, too!” laughed Jimmie. “And now,” he continued, “have you any idea how we’re going to wedge our way into that mess of pirates and cut out DuBois?”
“I haven’t an idea in my head!” answered Ben. “And I think we’d better go back to camp and talk to Mr. Havens about it. Probably he’ll know what to do!”
“He ought to be consulted in the matter anyway,” said Jimmie.
“Yes, and by the time we get done talking with Mr. Havens those outlaws will have DuBois halfway over to their camp,” grumbled Ben.
“Well, you proposed talking with Mr. Havens yourself!”
“Yes, but I didn’t think that time was an important element in this case just now. Do you think you can climb that slope and get up to the place where those fellows are without being seen?”
“We can climb the slope all right!” Jimmie answered.
“And we ought to do it without being seen,” Ben went on, “because it’s going to be darker than a stack of black cats.”
“What’ll we do when we get there?” asked Jimmie.
“We’ll have to settle that question on the ground!” answered Ben.
“Look here!” cried Jimmie. “I’ve got a hunch!”
“What’s the answer?” asked Ben.
“When we sneak up the slope, we’ll make for the place where the whiskey is stored. If Crooked Terry is there at all he’ll be drunk, and we’ll talk immunity, and a lot of other stuff to him, until he thinks we’re there to save him from a life sentence in the penitentiary. That will give us the run of the cavern, and we ought to be able to sneak out at some time during the night and get DuBois away.”
“If they leave him there all night!” Ben replied.
“There’s no danger of their making a hike to the hunters’ camp in the darkness,” Jimmie replied. “Those fellows are not mountain men, and they’d break their necks before they had gone halfway down the slope.”
“I guess you’re right,” Ben answered, “and I don’t think we’ll have much trouble making a sneak into the cavern. The only thing about the plan that doesn’t look good to me is the fact that we must leave our machines here alone in the valley. I don’t like that!”
“Unless a grizzly bear or a wolverine should take a notion to go out on a midnight joy-ride,” Jimmie declared, “no one will disturb the machines. Of course it would be safer if we had some one here to watch them, but we haven’t, and we’ve got to do the next best thing. However, I think they’re safe enough.”
Extinguishing all the lights and emptying the store boxes of automatics, cartridges, and searchlights, the boys pushed and pulled the machines into as secluded a place as they could find and started up the slope.
It was very dark and they dare not use their electrics, so they were obliged to proceed slowly until they came to the smooth ascent which led directly to the shelf. Then, although the climbing was arduous, they proceeded more rapidly.
When they came close to the fire they saw three men standing by the blaze. DuBois was not there. The supposition, of course, was that they had stowed him away in some secure hole in the cavern from which it would not be possible for him to escape.
“It’s dollars to dill pickles,” whispered Jimmie as they softly skirted the fire and crept up the gully, “that the Englishman has been left in the charge of that old crook. If that’s the case, we ought to be able to get him without much trouble if we don’t send an avalanche of stones down this gully before we get to the top.”
The gully presented no avalanche of stones to send down. It was quite evident, even in the darkness, that the rough trail had been used enough recently to clear the way of anything which might go rolling and tumbling to the bottom. When the boys came to the mouth of the cavern they saw the crook sitting with his back against one of the walls, an automatic in his hand. He recognized them instantly as they came up, and seemed glad of their company.
It will be remembered that he had been promised immunity by Dick Sherman, the mounted policeman, and that the boys had been associated with the officers. In fact, the fellow cast an inquiring glance down the gully as the boys appeared as if he expected to see the officers following along behind them. It did not take the lads long to convince the half-drunken crook that he ought to produce the Englishman. Believing that any favors shown the boys would be appreciated by the man whom he expectedto save him from a long imprisonment, Terry retired into the cavern and soon returned with DuBois.
“They’ll crack me crust when they find he’s gone!” Terry said as the boys and the Englishman started away together.
“Then perhaps you’d better come with us,” suggested DuBois. “You’ll be safer at the boys’ camp than here, I’m sure!”
The crook agreed to this and the four got away without any difficulty whatever. In an hour they were at the camp.