But to catch Josiah Crabtree was not easy. The former teacher of Putnam Hall was thoroughly alarmed, and once having taken to the woods, he plunged in deeper and deeper, until to find him would have been almost an impossibility. Indeed, he completely lost himself, and when the boys had left the vicinity he found himself unable to locate the road again, and so had to remain in the cold and damp woods all night, much to his discomfort. He could not keep warm, and sat chattering on a rock until daylight.
Finding it of no use to continue the search, Dick and Tom retraced their steps to the Stanhope homestead. They found Dora on guard, with every window and door either locked or nailed up. The girl had persuaded her feeble mother to lie down again, but Mrs. Stanhope was still too excited to rest comfortably.
"Did you catch him?" Dora asked anxiously, after she had admitted them.
"No, he got away in the darkness," answered Dick.
"It is too bad. What do you suppose he was up to?"
"That is what we would like to find out, Dora. Certainly he was up to no good."
"Perhaps he wished to rob us."
"He must know that you do not keep much money in the house."
"Day before yesterday mother had me draw four hundred dollars out of the bank, to pay for the new barn we have had built. The carpenter, however, went to Ithaca on business, so as yet we have not been able to pay him the money."
"It was a mistake to keep so much cash in the house. You should have paid by check—it's the same thing," put in Tom.
"I know it, but Mr. Gradley is peculiar. He once had some trouble over a check, and he stipulated that he should be paid in cash."
"Do you suppose Josiah Crabtree saw you draw the money from the bank?" remarked Dick thoughtfully.
"I don't know what to think."
"He would be just rascal enough to try to get it, if he knew of it. I guess we had better remain here until morning, and after that you had better have a man around the house."
"Yes, mother says she will hire a man. But men are difficult to get—that is, one who is reliable. We had to discharge Borgy on account of drunkenness."
"Perhaps father will let Alexander Pop come up here for a while," cried Dick, struck with the idea. "I don't believe he needs the man at home, and Aleck is thoroughly reliable, even if he is colored."
"Yes, I know Pop well. I would like to have him first-rate. But it is asking a good deal at your hands, Dick."
"As if I wouldn't do a good deal more than that, Dora," he cried quickly, and caught her hand.
"I know you would—you have already. You are the best friend I have, Dick—you and your brothers."
"And I always will be, Dora, always!" he whispered, and pressed her hand so tightly that she blushed like a peony.
Tom had passed into the kitchen and was looking around to see what damage his struggle with Crabtree had done. Nothing was injured. Under the kitchen table lay a letter and a small vial. He picked up both.
"Chloroform!" he cried, as he smelt of the contents of the vial, just as the others came in.
"Where did you get that?" asked Dora.
"Found it under the table, along with this letter. Crabtree must have dropped both."
"Let me see the letter!" cried Dick.
Tom passed it over, and all three read the communication with interest. It had been sent to Josiah Crabtree while the latter had been stopping in New York, and was post-marked Albany.
"It's from Dan Baxter," said Dick.
The letter ran as follows:
"Dear Mr. Crabtree:
"I drop you a few lines as promised. I have seen my father and his plans are about completed. The Rovers think they have the upper hand, but when he gets out of jail he will be able to show them a thing or two and surprise them. If you go to Cedarville I will meet you there on the 5th of next month—at the old meeting place. We won't have Mumps, the turncoat, to bother us, and maybe we can lay plans for a fat deal all around. Anyway, we ought to square accounts with those Rover boys. They treated both of us outrageously and they ought to suffer for it.
"Yours as faithfully as ever,
"Won't Crabtree be mad when he finds out that he lost this?" grinned Tom.
"He may not know that he dropped it here."
"Well, it clears up one point. Baxter and he are both around, and intent on mischief."
"True enough."
"What shall you do next?" put in Dora anxiously.
"I hardly know. 'Forwarned is forearmed,' they say, but Baxter and Crabtree are such underhanded rascals one never knows what to expect of them next."
"Of course you will tell the Cedarville police—or I shall."
"I'll do that. But you know what they did before. Never helped us a bit, but let both slip through their fingers."
"Perhaps they will be on their mettle now."
The situation was talked over for half an hour, and then it was decided that Tom should return to Putnam Hall to explain to Captain Putnam and to Sam, while Dick should remain with the Stanhopes.
This agreed upon, Tom took his departure immediately, as it was now midnight, and he did not wish to be locked out for the night.
"And now you had better return to bed, Dora," said Dick, after his brother had departed. "I will remain downstairs, on the sofa, and I don't believe anybody will disturb me."
"All right, if you wish it that way," replied the girl. "But you can have one of the bedrooms if you wish."
"No, I'll stay here, and keep my clothes on."
Dora went upstairs, but soon came back, carrying a pillow and a quilt.
"There, that will provide a little comfort," she said, but then, as Dick caught her hand as if to kiss it, she gave a merry little laugh and ran upstairs again.
It was a long while before Dick could go to sleep. He had read the letter found in the kitchen with care, and he wondered what it all meant.
"What plans can Arnold Baxter be completing?" he asked himself. "And how can he surprise father? Can that refer to the missing mine in Colorado? He talks as if he was going to get out of jail pretty soon, but that can't be, for the judge will certainly give him three or four years at the least. Perhaps I had better write to father about this."
No other person came that night to disturb the inmates of the cottage, and when at last Dick did fall into slumber he did not awaken until the sun was shining in the window and a neighboring Irish woman, who did Mrs. Stanhope's washing and ironing, was knocking on the kitchen door for entrance.
"Good-morning, Mrs. O'Toole," he said, as he leaped up and let her in.
"Good-marnin', young sir," stammered the washerwoman. "Sure an' I didn't ixpict to see you here."
"I suppose not. But come in, and I will call Miss Dora."
"No need to call me, if you please," came in a silvery voice from the hall, and Dora appeared, as bright and fresh as ever. "I would have been down before, only I had to wait on mamma."
"And how is she?"
"She is no worse, but neither is she better. I shall send for our doctor to-day."
Breakfast was soon on the table-fresh coffee, fresh eggs, and dainty buckwheat cakes baked by Dora's own hands. It is needless to say that Dick enjoyed the repast.
"You'll make a famous housekeeper for somebody some day, Dora," he said, looking at her pointedly.
"You go and eat your cakes before they get cold," she answered.
"I've already eaten my fill, I can't go another one. I've enjoyed them ever so much. Now I guess I had better be off for Cedarville."
"If you wish, you can hitch up Dolly to the carriage and drive over. It will be nicer than walking."
"Supposing I go over on horseback? Is she used to a saddle?"
"Oh, yes, and you will find a gentleman's saddle in the harness closet back of the stalls."
"Then I'll go that way. Good-by. I'll be back before noon, unless something unusual turns up. And when I am down in Cedarville I'll send word to father about Aleck."
Leaving the house Dick went to the barn, which was usually locked. Dora had given him the key, but to his surprise he found the padlock pried off and the door partly open.
"Can this be more of Crabtree's work?" he asked himself. "Perhaps he has stolen the mare! What fools we were not to look in here last night."
But Dick's fears were groundless. The mare was still there. But she was all saddled, ready for him to ride.
"Crabtree's work, beyond a doubt," he thought.
Before he went to the house he came here, and it was his intention to steal the mare and get away on her.
Before starting for Cedarville Dick acquainted Dora with the discovery he had made.
"We were fortunate," said the girl. "I would not lose Dolly for a good deal."
If there was one thing Dick loved it was a good horse, and once on Dolly's back he urged the little mare along at top speed. She was in prime fettle, and flew along the hard road as if she thoroughly enjoyed the outing.
Arriving at Cedarville Dick sought out the little police station, for the town had at last taken on a force, consisting of a chief and eight men.
The chief, a little fat man by the name of Burger, sat in his office reading the Cedarville Trumpet, the weekly journal of the place.
"Want to see me on business, eh?" he said, laying down the sheet."All right, young man, sit down. What name?"
"Richard Rover. I am one of the cadets at Putnam Hall."
"Just so. Trouble at the Hall, I presume? Anything connected with that celebration last night?"
"No, sir, I—"
"Another robbery, then? Captain Putnam seems to have his hands full."
"We've had no robbery at the Hall, sir. I came—"
"No robbery, eh? Then perhaps it's a fight. Students will fight when they get celebrating. I know we had a fight once at the academy I attended, and it lasted three days."
"I hope they called out the fire department," answered Dick, with a grin.
"The fire department—Ha! ha! a good joke! No; they called in the doctor, ha! ha! So it's a fight, eh? Does the captain want us to arrest anybody?"
"It's not a fight."
"What? But you said—" The fat chief paused.
"I said I wanted to see you about business."
"Just so—and that you were from Putnam Hall, and Captain Putnam had sent you."
"No, no. Please give me a chance to talk."
"Why, of course. I never interrupt anybody. Go on, but don't take too much time, for my time is limited."
"I came from Mrs. Stanhope's cottage, man broke in there last night—"
"Ha, a burglary! Why didn't they let us know at once? Or perhaps you have collared the villain already?"
"No, we haven't got him, although my brother and I tried to catch him."
"Pooh! Two boys, and tried to catch a burglar! Of course he got away."
Dick felt disgusted, and arose to make his departure.
"If you won't listen to what I have to report, I'll take myself off," he said half angrily.
At this Chief Burger stared at him in astonishment.
"Really, you are a remarkable boy," he gasped. "Ain't I listening to everything you are saying?"
"Hardly. I wish to tell you everything from the beginning."
"Just so. Go on, I shan't say a word. What a remarkable boy! But it must be the military training that does it."
As well as possible Dick told all that had happened during the night. Chief Burger interrupted him a score of times, but at last the tale was finished. At the conclusion the chief closed one eye suggestively.
"And don't you know where this Josiah Crabtree is now?" he asked.
"If I did I'd go after him hot-footed," returned Dick.
"He must be in hiding in the woods near the cottage."
"Perhaps, but he had eight hours in which to get away."
"Just so. I will send out an alarm to all of my force, and thenDetective Trigger and I will make a personal hunt for the rascal."
"When you hunt for him you had better hunt for Dan Baxter, too," said Dick, and he told of the happening on the stage ride.
"I will keep an eye open for Baxter, too," said the chief.
From the police station Dick rode to the post office, and here wrote and mailed a long letter to his father, relating what had happened and repeating the wording of the letter that had been found. He requested that Alexander Pop be sent up without delay.
There was nothing to keep Dick in Cedarville any longer, and he prepared to return to the Stanhope cottage with the mare. But before going he entered the leading drug store, and here purchased a box of choice chocolates for Dora, for he fortunately had his spending money with him, or at least the balance left over from the football celebration.
When Dick reached the cottage he found both the washwoman and the carpenter at work, one in the wash-house and the other finishing up the new barn. The money taken from the bank had been turned over to Mr. Gradley, so Mrs. Stanhope no longer had this to worry her.
Feeling that he could do little at school for the balance of that day, Dick resolved to hunt through the woods for some trace of Josiah Crabtree, and went off shortly after giving Dora the chocolates, over which the girl was greatly pleased. He followed the road in the direction of the lake at first, and was about to plunge into the brushwood when a distant voice hailed him.
"Hullo, Dick, stop! I want to see you."
It was Sam calling, and soon his youngest brother came up on a run.
"Sam, what brings you?" he asked, for it was easy to see that something out of the ordinary had occurred.
"I want to know where Tom is," panted Sam.
"Tom?" Dick's face grew pale all in an instant. "Didn't he return to Putnam Hall last night?"
"No, and nobody around there has seen him since he went off with you. I thought he was with you, until Dora just told me that he started to return about midnight."
"He did. And he didn't return? What can it mean?"
"What's the trouble here?"
Sam was given the particulars, and uttered a long, low whistle.
"That looks black, doesn't it?"
"It does, Sam. I don't like it for a cent."
"Do you suppose he fell in with Crabtree?"
"Perhaps—or with somebody just as bad."
"Perhaps he spotted Crabtree and started to follow him."
"I shouldn't think he would follow him all this time without letting somebody know."
For several minutes the two brothers discussed this new turn of affairs. Both were greatly troubled, and Dick did not know whether to continue his hunt or not.
"I wouldn't care if only I knew he was all right," he said.
"That's just it. Tom is able to stand up for himself in an even fight, but if Crabtree played him some trick—"
"Let us hunt for him," interrupted the elder Rover. "There is no use of our sitting down and sucking our thumbs."
They went along the road until the spot was gained where Josiah Crabtree had been last seen. Then they began a systematic search until Sam discovered what he said were fresh footprints leading directly into the woods. At one point one of the prints was very plain, and they saw that it was made by a long shoe, square-toed.
"I reckon you have struck it, Sam," said Dick, after an inspection."Now if only we can stick to the trail to the end."
Fortunately the ground was so damp that the trail could be followed with ease. An hour's walking brought them to the rock where the former teacher had spent the larger part, of the night.
"He made a stop here, that's certain," observed Dick, as they surveyed the criss-cross tracks.
"Like as not he got mixed up in the dark, Dick. It must have been awfully black here under the trees."
Presently they discovered another trail, leading up a hill. Beyond was a tall tree which Josiah Crabtree had climbed in order to obtain a better view of the surroundings. From the tree the trail led directly toward the lake.
"We're on his track, all right enough," observed Sam. "But if he took to the water we'll lose it, just as we lost Baxter's trail yesterday."
The trail crossed the main road and came out at the lake where there was a slight bluff covered with a heavy growth of underbrush. To their right was an old building, which in years gone by had been a dwelling.
"There is a fire over yonder," observed Dick, as he pointed past the building "Somebody seems to be burning a lot of wet brush. See the heavy smoke."
"Perhaps the folks at the fire can tell us something of Crabtree," answered Sam. "Let us go over and interview them."
His brother was willing, and as well as they were able they pushed their way through the brush toward the fire.
The latter burned fiercely, and presently the two boys detected the odor of tar.
Then they reached a point where they could overlook what was going on around the fire, for the blaze was located in something of a gully of the cliff.
"Merciful heaven!" burst from Dick's lips, and he stood spellbound. Sam also gave a look, and the sight that both boys saw nearly froze the blood in their veins.
To go back to Tom at the time when he left Dick and the Stanhopes, and started to return to Putnam Hall.
He went away whistling gayly, for he thought that all danger was over.
"What a shame I had to miss the celebration," he murmured. "And after my success on the football field, too!"
Soon the Stanhope grounds were left behind, and he struck the main road leading to the academy.
He had advanced a distance of several hundred feet along this road when, on looking ahead, he observed some person coming slowly toward him.
Wondering who the individual could be, and thinking of Crabtree, he stopped short.
At the same time the other person also halted, and then of a sudden slipped out of sight behind the nearest trees.
"Hullo, that's queer," murmured the youth. "Evidently he doesn't want to be seen. Can it be Crabtree?"
He was unarmed, and had some hesitancy about advancing, not knowing what to expect.
But he did not wish the former teacher to escape, and so casting around he espied a sharp stone and picked it up.
"Hi, there, come out of that!" he called, as he ran forward and held the stone ready for use.
No reply was vouchsafed, and he called again. By this time he was directly opposite the spot where the mysterious individual had disappeared.
"Look here, Josiah Crabtree, you might as well come out and give yourself up," he called sharply.
Still there was no answer, and now Tom did not know what to do. Under the trees it was so dark that he could scarcely see a yard in front of him.
Yet he advanced several paces, still holding the stone up as a weapon of offense or defense, as the case might prove. But nobody appeared in sight, and at last he returned to the road.
He was in a quandary whether to return to the cottage or continue on his way to the Hall.
"I suppose I may as well go on," he concluded. "Neither Dick nor I can do much in the woods in the dark."
So he went on, but this time more slowly, wondering if Josiah Crabtree would follow him, and never dreaming that the person who had slipped him was not the former teacher, but Dan Baxter.
For Baxter it was, who had been waiting around to be joined by Crabtree, for the pair of evil-doers had come to the vicinity of the Stanhope cottage together.
"It's Tom Rover," muttered Baxter, on hearing the boy's voice. "I was lucky to get out of the way."
He remained as motionless as a statue while Tom passed within a dozen feet of him. Then When Tom went out on the road again Baxter ran forth, too, but in the opposite direction.
Down on a side road Baxter had that day run across a tramps' encampment. In the camp were three hoboes, as they are sometimes called rascals who were willing to do almost anything but work for a living.
They had demanded money of the bully, and he gave them a dollar, fearing violence if he refused them.
Baxter now thought of the tramps, and as he did so an evil look crossed his face.
"If only I can pay off Tom Rover," he muttered. "I'll do it if I can."
Soon the tramps' encampment was reached, and he found two of the men dozing before a tiny fire, with an empty liquor bottle between then the third tramp had gone to Cedarville for more liquor.
"Wake up here," cried Baxter, catching first one and then the other by the shoulder.
"What do yer want, young feller?" demanded the leader of the party, who rejoiced in the name of Stumpy Nuggs.
"I want you two men to help me lay a boy out," answered Dan Baxter, feeling that there was no use in mincing matters, for he knew that the tramps were a bad crowd.
"Lay a boy out?" repeated the second tramp, who was calledLongback.
"Yes, he is an enemy of mine, and just passed on the road yonder. If you will help me thrash him and make him a prisoner, I'll give you each five dollars."
"Say, yer talkin' big," said Stumpy Nuggs.
"I mean what I say. I know you are not above doing such work by the way you tackled me."
"Is de boy alone?"
"Yes."
"An' yer want to whip him and den make him a prisoner?"
"Yes."
"Wot yer goin' ter do wid him after dat?"
"I don't know yet."
"Who is de boy?"
"A cadet up at the military academy above here."
Stumpy Nuggs scratched his head of tangled hair.
"Maybe yer gittin' us into a trap fer askin' yer fer dat dollar," he observed suspiciously.
"No, I am not. This boy is an old enemy of mine, and I want to get square with him. We can easily catch him before he gets to the academy, if you hurry up."
"An' you will give us five dollars each?"
"Yes—and perhaps more. The boy carries a watch, and must have some money in his pocket. He also wears a gold ring."
At the mention of jewelry and money the tramps' eyes glistened.
"If you are tellin' de truth, dis is all right," cried StumpyNuggs, as he arose and stretched himself.
"I am telling the truth, and you can easily prove it for yourselves. Only hurry up, or it will be too late."
The two tramps consulted together, and asked a few more questions. Then they agreed to follow Baxter, and do whatever he desired of them, providing they were allowed their fair share of plunder, if there was any.
In the meantime Tom went on in deep thought. He still held the stone in his hand. He wished he had a club, but the stick he had formerly picked up had been left at the cottage.
The hall grounds had just come into sight in the dim distance when the boy heard the patter of footsteps behind him.
He turned around, but could see nobody, and at that instant the sounds ceased.
"Somebody is following me," he thought. "Can it be the same partyI spotted before?"
An instant later he found himself confronted by two men and a boy, each with a bit of cloth tied over his face, into which two holes had been cut for eyes.
"Is dat him?" asked one of the men.
"Yes," answered the boy, in a strangely unnatural voice. "Give it to him."
All three of the party carried sticks, and they at once fell uponTom, hitting him over the shoulders and the head.
He did his best to defend himself, and hit Baxter in the arm with the stone, inflicting a wound that made the bully shriek with pain.
"So it is you, Baxter!" cried Tom, recognizing the voice. "What do you mean by this?"
"Knock him down," yelled the bully. "Don't let him get away from you!"
Thus urged, the two tramps closed in, and while one caught Tom by the arm, the second tried to pull his feet from under him.
It was a fierce, but unequal struggle, and though the boy struck out right and left, inflicting not a little injury, in the end he found himself on his back, with Stumpy Nuggs sitting on his chest.
"You rascals, let up," he gasped. "Do you mean to kill me?"
"Lay still, or you'll catch it worse," growled Nuggs. "Where's dat rope, Longback?"
A rope had been brought along, and it was quickly produced, and then Tom was rolled over and his hands were bound behind him. His legs were also bound together in such a fashion that he might walk but not run.
"Now get up," ordered Dan Baxter, with a wicked scowl.
Not caring to remain on the ground, Tom did so. He noted that the two men with Baxter were tramps, and he came to the conclusion that he had a hard crowd with whom to deal.
"March!" went on Baxter, taking Tom by the shoulder.
"March? Where to?"
"You'll find out fast enough."
"Suppose I refuse."
"You had better not, Tom Rover. You know I'm not to be trifled with."
"I am not afraid of you," answered Tom boldly. "You were always a bully, Dan Baxter, and a bully is a coward."
"Is your name Baxter?" asked asked Stumpy Nuggs, curiously.
"Never mind what it is," growled Baxter.
"I used ter have a friend wot knowed a feller named Baxter," went on the tramp. "Me friend's name was Buddy Girk."
"I know your friend," cried Tom. "He once stole my brother Dick's watch. He is this boy's father's tool, and both of them are now in jail in Albany for robbery."
"Wot!" cried Nuggs, in astonishment. He turned to the other tramp."Longback, I reckon we have struck an odd crowd, hey?"
"Dat's wot," answered Longback. "But say, we didn't go through de young gent's pockets yet."
"Wait until we are off the road," interrupted Dan Baxter."Somebody may come along and make trouble for us."
"Right ye are," answered Stumpy Nuggs. "Don't let's stay here anudder minit."
With Baxter on one side of him, Nuggs on the other, and Longback bringing up the rear, Tom was forced to march along. Once he resisted, and received a punch in the side that took nearly all of the wind out of him. He started to cry for help, but his captors threatened if he did this that they would place a gag of dirty cloth in his mouth.
In days gone by Baxter had often visited a deserted dwelling on the lake shore, and to this spot the party now directed their steps. In the dark their course was uncertain, and they made slow progress, so it was after three o'clock in the morning when the dilapidated building was reached.
"Make some kind of a light—I can't see a thing," said Dan Baxter, as the little party came to a halt in front of a half tumbled down building.
Stumpy Nuggs carried matches, and quickly lit a bit of candle which he produced from one of the pockets of his ragged attire.
They entered the dwelling, forcing Tom to accompany them. This done they tied the young cadet fast to an iron ring set in the huge old fashion fireplace.
"Now we'll turn out his pockets," said Longback, and this was quickly done. To the tramps' chagrin Tom carried no watch, but had with him two dollars in money.
"Now we'll take dat ring," said Nuggs, pointing to the article onTom's little finger.
"So I have fallen in with a lot of thieves, eh?" said the boy."Well, if you want the ring you can fight for it."
"Shut up!" roared Dan Baxter, and struck him across the mouth, causing Tom's under lip to bleed. The boy tried to retaliate, but his bonds held him fast.
While one tramp held his hand the other possessed himself of the ring. The ring contained an opal of which Tom was very proud, and to part with the article made the young cadet feel pretty bad.
"You will rue this night's work," he muttered. "I'll see you in prison for it."
"Don't waste your breath in threatening," cried Baxter.
"All right, Baxter, wait and see. I'll put you where your father is."
The bully's face reddened. "Will you shut up, or do you want another crack on the mouth?"
"It's only a coward who would strike a person when he is helpless."
"Coward or not, I want you to keep a civil tongue in your head."
"Perhaps you imagine we don't know who tried to wreck the stage," went on Tom pointedly.
"Wreck a stage? I know nothing of such a thing."
"You know all about it. And we'll prove it too—when you are under arrest."
"I won't talk to you!" howled Baxter.
"Come with me," he added to the tramps, and then the three quitted the building, leaving Torn to his reflections, which were dismal enough.
"I'm in a pickle and no mistake," he murmured. "What will they do with me next?"
Hour after hour went by and still Tom was left alone. In the meantime Baxter had held a long conversation with the tramps and had formed a compact with them, paying them the ten dollars as agreed.
The sun was shining brightly when at last Dan Baxter re-entered the old building.
"Getting hungry, I suppose," he remarked, with a wicked grin.
"Not particularly so," answered Tom coldly. He was hungry, but he was not going to admit it.
"I suppose you would like to have your liberty," went on the bully.
"Don't ask superfluous questions, Baxter. Let us get down to business. Why did you make me a prisoner, and what are you going to do with me?"
"I made you a prisoner because I felt like doing so," growled the big youth.
"And what do you propose to do next?"
"Teach you a lesson that you won't forget all your life, TomRover."
"Thank you for nothing."
"I haven't forgotten how you and your brothers handled me out inAfrica—and here, too, for that matter."
"You deserved what you got, Dan Baxter. Some persons would have had you sent to prison for your actions."
"Bah! You don't know what you are talking about. What were you doing out so late last night?"
"None of your business."
"Were you over to the Stanhopes' place?"
"Perhaps I was and perhaps I wasn't."
"Don't get mulish. Remember that you are absolutely in my power."
"And what if I was at the Stanhopes' place? Haven't I a perfect right to go there?"
"Did you meet anybody there?"
"Yes, I did. I met your particular friend, Josiah Crabtree."
Baxter's face fell. "And what—that is what did you have to say to each other?"
"Crabtree tried to rob the widow—and I believe you were outside waiting for him," Tom continued suddenly.
"Nonsense."
At this moment Stumpy Nuggs came in.
"There's a man comin' dis way!" he said excitedly, "Wot shall we do?"
"A man!" ejaculated Baxter, in alarm. "I'll go out and see if I know him."
He left the building with the tramp. The newcomer was approaching along the gully path. As he drew closer Baxter recognized Josiah Crabtree.
"Baxter!" exclaimed the former teacher, as, he carne up. "This is fortunate; I was afraid you had been captured."
"And I was afraid you were in the same box," rejoined Baxter.
"I had a hard time of it to get away. I got lost in the woods and had to remain out in the cold all night."
"Then you didn't succeed in getting what you wanted, or in seeingMrs. Stanhope?"
"No. Those confounded Rover boys turned up, and I had to—ahem—leave in a hurry. But who are these two men?" and Josiah Crabtree looked apprehensively at the tramps.
"They are all right, Crabtree. They helped me do a slick thing last night."
"Ah, and what was that?"
"I met Tom Rover on the road and they helped me to capture him."
"Indeed, and where is the—ah—young rascal now?"
"A prisoner in the old house yonder."
At this information Josiah Crabtree was much astonished, and begged for the particulars of the affair, which were speedily forthcoming.
"And now you have him a prisoner, what do you propose to do?" asked the former teacher.
"I'll soon show you," growled Baxter. "I'm going to do him up brown—or rather, black. See here."
He led the way back to the gully and pointed to a pot of tar and a brush which rested by it.
"It is tar!" cried Crabtree.
"Exactly."
"And you are—ahem—going to give him a coat of that?"
"Yes. Doesn't he deserve it?"
"To be sure he does. I will assist you," answered the former teacher readily, with a malicious gleam in his fishy eyes. "I wish you had all three boys here, to tar them with the same brush."
"One at a time, Crabtree. We'll fix the others some time later."
A fire was started and the pot of tar was hung from a chain caught up between two uprights.
Some of the softening stuff was smeared on the wood which was burning, and this made the blaze more fierce than ever. Soon the tar was near to the boiling point.
The two tramps had thrown themselves down to watch the proceedings.
"Yer ought ter have some fedders," suggested Longback.
"I have. There was an old musty feather bed in the house. I'm going to use that."
Going into the building Dan Baxter brought forth the feathers in question, and placed them close to the pot of tar.
While he was doing this Josiah Crabtree went in to talk to Tom.
Of course the boy was surprised to see the former teacher, who eyed him darkly.
"So Baxter has caught you," began Crabtree.
To this Tom made no answer.
"I presume you do not like your present position," went on the man.
Still no reply.
"You feel so bad about it that you do not even Wish to talk, is that it?"
"No, I was just thinking of what an ugly, black-hearted villain you were, Crabtree," aid Tom, looking him full in the face. "I don't believe you have a single spark of honor left in you."
At this Crabtree's face grew as dark as a thunder cloud.
"Ha I how dare you address me in this fashion?" he cried.
"I know I am taking a great risk, but I cannot help it."
"Do you forget that you and your brothers are solely responsiblefor my present position? That but for you I would have married theWidow Stanhope and started one of the finest boys' school in NewYork State?"
"Yes, and you would have made Mrs. Stanhope perfectly miserable, and squandered every dollar that she holds in trust for Dora."
"That is your opinion, and it is worth nothing."
"My opinion is the opinion of everybody that knows you as well as I do."
"You have constantly interfered in the doings of myself and of others, and now you must stand punishment for the same."
"What do you intend to do?" demanded Tom quickly.
"I'll show you," broke in the voice of Dan Baxter, and he came in, followed by the two tramps. Soon Tom was released from the fireplace and marched between them out into the open air.
"How do you like that?" asked Baxter, as he led the way to the fire. "Tar and feathers are fine, aren't they?"
"You would tar and feather me?" asked Tom, and now it must be confessed that he shivered in spite of his efforts to remain calm.
"Yes, we'll tar and feather you," responded Baxter.
"And lay it on—ahem—thick, Daniel," put in Josiah Crabtree.
"Trust me for that."
Baxter gave a signal to the two tramps and they began to literally rip Tom's clothing from his back. Soon the unfortunate youth was stripped to the waist. Then Baxter caught up, a brush full of tar and advanced upon him.
"Baxter, don't you dare to tar me!" cried Tom, as the bully faced him.
"Ha! ha! I guess you are pretty well scared now," laughed Baxter."Your former show of bravery was all put on."
"If you go ahead you shall suffer the full penalty for the outrage, mark my words."
"Bah, Tom Rover, you can't frighten me. When I get through with you I'll warrant that your own mother won't know you."
Tom tried to retreat, but each of the tramps held him by the arm, so that he could not stir. As his legs were still bound, kicking was likewise out of the question.
"Let me put a nice big cross on his breast first," said Baxter."Here goes!"
He reached out with the brush, but before he could touch Tom an interruption came as forceful as it was unexpected.
A thick stick came flying through the air, hitting his arm and sending the tar brush spinning to a distance.
"You rascal, let Tom alone!" came in Dick Rover's voice, and he rushed in and threw the bully headlong.
"Dick! Sam!" came from Tom joyfully. "Oh, how glad I am that you have come."
"Wot's dis!" gasped Stumpy Nuggs. "Longback, dare's trouble ahead!"
"Yes, an' I don't intend ter be in it!" answered the second tramp."I reckon we've got about all we want out of dis crowd, anyway!"And both tramps took to their heels.
Josiah Crabtree stood by, speechless. The interruption had come so suddenly that he knew not what to do.
As quickly as he could Dan Baxter scrambled to his feet. As he did so Sam leaped for the tar brush and secured it.
"Let me alone!" roared the bully, and began to back away. But as he did so his hand went into his hip pocket and he drew a pistol.
"No, you don't!" cried Sam, and knocked the weapon from his hand with the brush. This action caused the hot tar to leave a heavy streak over Baxter's face and neck, and he let out a yell that would have done credit to an Indian on the warpath.
"Wait, I'll get even for this, Sam Rover!" he hissed, and then asDick advanced he turned and took to his heels, running as if theEvil One were after him. Sam followed him, still swinging thebrush, but Dan Baxter was soon lost to sight in the bushes.
Dick now turned to where Josiah Crabtree had been standing. The former teacher had recovered and was making tracks down the gully toward the lake. The tramps had disappeared. He leaped to Tom's side.
"We must bag some of them, Tom," he said, as he whipped out his knife and set his brother free.
"There goes Crabtree—let us collar him."
Both boys ran as never before, and came upon the former teacher just as that individual reached the lake shore below the bluff. Tom made a grab and caught him by the coat tails.
"Let me go!" snarled Crabtree, and aimed a blow at the cadet's head. But Tom ducked, and the next instant put out his foot and Crabtree pitched headlong into the lake.
"Help me! I'll be drowned!" spluttered the former teacher, as he came up with his head covered with mud, for the lake at this point was less than five feet deep.
"Climb out and you'll be all right," sang out Dick, and feeling the bottom with his feet, Crabtree looked very sheepish and clambered slowly up the bank.
As he stood before them, all dripping with water and mud, he looked the picture of misery.
"Boys, this is a—a—sad way in which to treat your former teacher," he wailed.
"Don't talk like that, or I'll be tempted to throw you in again," exclaimed Tom. "Dick, what will we do with him?"
"Hold him until we hear from Sam."
They looked up the gully and soon espied the youngest Rover hurrying toward them.
"Where is Baxter?" asked Dick.
"He got away, but not until I had let him have that tar brush right in the neck," answered Sam. "Hullo, so you have captured old Crabby, eh? That's good."
"Surely you do not intend to—ahem—keep me a prisoner," remarkedJosiah Crabtree, in a voice which he tried in vain to steady.
"That's just what we do intend to do," answered Dick. "You'll march right to the Cedarville lock-up with us."
While Dick and Sam guarded the prisoner, Tom ran back for his torncoat and other garments, and also for the rope. When he returnedCrabtree's hands were bound and the cadets told him to move along.He was searched, and a pistol was taken from him.
Crabtree went along most unwillingly. Once he refused to budge, but Dick showed the pistol, and that settled his stubbornness, and he went along as willingly as a lamb.
On the outskirts of Cedarville the party met Chief Burger andDetective Trigger.
"So you have one of them, eh?" cried the chief. "Very good, very good indeed. Turn him over to me and I will take him straight to headquarters."
"You must be careful that he doesn't get away," said Dick.
"Just so, lad; I will be. No one ever escaped from me, not much!Come on, sir!" And he caught Josiah Crabtree by the arm.
"This is awful!" groaned the former teacher. "And right here inCedarville, too, where everybody knows me!"
"You should have thought of those things before, Mr. Crabtree," said Dick, his heart softening a little, now that he saw the man was beginning to break down.
"What will my friends, and the profession at large, say?" andCrabtree shook his head bitterly.
"You have only yourself to blame," put in Tom. He had not forgotten how Crabtree had threatened him but a short while before.
Suddenly the former teacher's last drop of courage seemed to desert him and, deadly pale, he sank on his knees.
"Spare me, boys, spare me! For the sake of my family and my friends, spare me!" he moaned.
"I didn't know you had a family," put in Sam.
"My relatives—my poor, dear, distant relatives," replied Crabtree, hardly aware of what he was saying. "Spare me for their sakes, and I will reward you well."
"The law must take its course, Mr. Crabtree," said Dick. He turned to Chief Burger. "Take him, and Tom can go with you, to make the charge for us and for Mrs. Stanhope. I think Detective Trigger had better come with Sam and me to hunt for Dan Baxter."
So it was arranged, and soon Crabtree was walking into Cedarville with the chief of police on one side of him and Tom on the other. The sight of a man being placed under arrest was an unusual one, and soon a crowd began to follow the three.
"It's Mr. Crabtree that used to teach at Putnam Hall," said one."My, but ain't he a sight."
"Must have tried to get away by jumping into the lake," suggested another.
"What's he arrested for?" asked a third.
Nobody in the crowd knew, and consequently all followed to the police headquarters.
Here Chief Burger, who also acted as justice of police, took downTom's charge against the former teacher.
"Breaking in and trying to steal," said Tom.
"It's not so!" cried Crabtree. "Boy, this is—ahem—infamous! I never stole a thing in my life!"
"We will prove it when your trial comes off," answered Tom coolly.
"Let us—ahem—try to patch this thing up," went on Josiah Crabtree. "Chief, will you kindly send for Mrs. Stanhope? I am certain she will not allow this charge to stand against me."
"See here, you shan't try any of your games on that lady!" exclaimed Tom. "I know the peculiar influence you exert over her, and I feel bound to protect her."
"She is not my enemy, as you are. I know she will clear me."
"Not much. If she won't testify against you, her daughter Dora will, and so will I and my brothers, and some other folks, too."
"I demand to see my accusers!" stormed Crabtree, trying to put on a bold front.
"All right, Dick and Sam will be here after awhile. And then, if you wish, we'll air all of your doings since the time Captain Putnam discharged you."
At the last words the former teacher winced and turned pale, for he knew his record would not bear investigating.
"You are a bad boy, Tom Rover—leave me!" he muttered, and turned his back on the cadet. A few minutes later, as he could not furnish bail, he was led to a cell and locked up.
As soon as Crabtree was disposed of, Tom left the jail to find his brothers. This was no easy matter, and it was not until well along in the afternoon that he discovered Dick, Sam, and Detective Trigger down by the lake shore nearly a mile from Cedarville.
"Any luck?" he asked.
"Not a bit," replied Dick. "He has given us the slip nicely."
The hunt continued until nightfall, and was kept up all of the next day. But it proved of no avail. Dan Baxter had left the vicinity of the lake entirely, and the Rover boys were destined not to see him again for many days to come.
The arrest of Josiah Crabtree had occurred on Friday. On Monday came a letter from Mr. Anderson Rover, stating that Alexander Pop would arrive in Cedarville on Tuesday and might remain at Mrs. Stanhope's cottage as long as the lady and the boys wished.
"I wish Aleck to be near you," wrote Mr. Rover. "It alarms me greatly to hear of the trouble that you are having. It seems to me that our family are bound to be in hot water all the time. I cannot understand Arnold Baxter. As he is in prison at Albany I do not see how he can trouble me, at least for the next few years.
"I have looked up that mining property in Colorado very carefully, and shall go out there as soon as the coming winter is at an end. Perhaps I will take one or all of you with me, but that will depend upon how good you do at your studies this winter. I shan't take anybody along that can't show a good report."
"By jinks! we'll have to be on our good behavior," observed Tom, after he had read his father's letter.
"That's so," responded Sam. "Father means to have us study, or else we must stay here during the spring term."
As anticipated, Alexander Pop reached Cedarville Tuesday afternoon.He came first to Putnam Hall, and was warmly received both by theRover boys and by the others who knew him as an old hand around theHall.
"Glad you have come, Aleck!" cried Tom. "I declare it looks as if you belonged here."
"Yes, sah, an' I dun feel like I belong heah, too, Massah Tom," answered the colored man.
"Remember the sport we used to have?" put in Sam.
"'Deed I does, Massah Sam—an' de tricks youse lads used to play on dis yeah coon," and Aleck smiled broadly.
Captain Putnam also came forward to greet Pop. There had been a time when the captain had suspected Pop of stealing, and the colored man had run away in preference to being sent to jail, but now it was known by all that the faithful negro was innocent, and the master, of the Hall was sorry that he had ever accused the man.
"Pop, I miss you a good deal," he said kindly.
"If ever you are out of work again, come to me and I will let you stay here as long as you please."
"T'ank you, Cap'n Putnam, I'll remember dat. But I dun lub de Robers, ain't no use ter talk, an' so long as da wants me to stay by 'em, why dat's whar you will find Aleck Pop, yes, sah!" And he bobbed his head to emphasize his words.
"I do not blame you for sticking by them," answered the captain."For they always stood up for you."
Of course some of the boys could not help but have some fun with Pop. Some ran off with his hat, and when they returned it to him it was half full of flour, although he did not know it.
"Mustn't do dat, Larry Colby," he said, as he took the hat. "Dis niggah dun cotch cole in his haid widout a hat." And then they clapped the headgear on his head, very carefully.
"Only a bit of Larry's sport," said Frank. "Come in, the captain wants to give you some supper before you start out for the Stanhopes' place."
Never suspecting that anything was wrong, Aleck Pop entered the kitchen attached to the academy, where Mrs. Green, the matron, had a nice supper spread for him.
"How do you do, Aleck," she said pleasantly, as he came in.
"How do yo' do, Missus Green," he answered, and took his hat off with such a flourish that part of the flour swept into her face and the balance landed over the supper table.
"Oh! oh!" screamed Mrs. Green. "What in the world have you done? I am covered with flour from head to foot!" And then she began to sneeze with great violence.
"Deed, missus, I don't—ker—chew!" replied Pop, sneezing. "I didn't—ker—chew—"
"But you did—ker—chew!" she answered. "You covered me with—ker—chew! Ker—chew!"
"Oh, you—ker—chew!" and then she went off into another prolonged sneeze.
Pop had gotten some of the flour in his eyes, indeed, his face was white from top to bottom, and it was several minutes before he could see what he was doing. His sneezing made him bump his head against the kitchen shelf, and at a point where sat a bowl of rice pudding. Part of the pudding was plastered to his forehead, while the balance turned over on to the cat sleeping on the floor.
"Me-ow!" wailed the cat, and started across the kitchen on a run, nearly upsetting Mrs. Green in its hurry to get away from more trouble.
"Stop! Did you kick my pet cat?" screamed Mrs. Green. "Oh, you—ker—chew! You brute! I never—ker—chew! Ker—chew!" And then she had to stop talking and let the sneezing have full play.
"I didn't kick—ker—chew—nuffin!" spluttered Aleck. "I'se dun—ker—chew—dem boys dun—ker—chew! Dern boys did it."
"Did what?"
"Put flour in ma hat, de ole boy take 'em!" finished Aleck, and then he blundered out of the kitchen and tried to find Larry and the others. But all of the cadets, who had been watching proceedings through the kitchen window, had vanished and could not be found.
A couple of hours later Tom and Dick took the colored man down to the Stanhope cottage. Mrs. Stanhope already knew the man well, as did Dora, and both were glad that he had come to stay with them. Pop had brought along a pistol, and also a war club he had picked up in Africa, and declared himself ready to meet any and all comers.
"I'se dun learned how to shoot putty straight," he remarked. "So de fellers wot prowls around bettah look out fo' demselbes."
"Crabtree is in jail, so you will only have Dan Baxter to guard against," said Dick. "And I hardly think he will show up in a hurry."
That night Dick and Tom had a long conversation with Mrs. Stanhope. The lady was very nervous, and when asked if she would appear against Josiah Crabtree she shivered from head to foot.
"I—I cannot do it," she said brokenly. "Do not ask it of me! He—he— I cannot face him without he makes me feel as if I were in his power."
"He is something of a hypnotist," said Tom. "Cannot you remember that, and nerve yourself against coming under his spell?"
But the lady only shivered again. "No! no! I have tried it—for Dora's sake—but I cannot do it! I am horrified at his influence, but I cannot withstand it."
"Then you will keep away from the court room when he is tried?"
"Yes, I must. I will get my doctor to issue a certificate that I am ill."
"Will you let Dora testify? If she wishes to do so."
There the matter rested, and the two boys sought out Dora.
"It is too bad," said Dick, on the way. "Mrs. Stanhope is on the verge of a nervous collapse, and I believe it is all on account of Crabtree's doings."
"Yes, and I am afraid she will never get away from his influence. If he hadn't been something of a hypnotist I don't believe she would ever have taken to him at the start as she did."
When Dora was told of what her mother had said, she felt like crying, and the tears stood in her eyes.
"I know it all only too well," she said. "I am glad mamma mill not face him. Why, he would influence her into declaring that he was innocent!"
"But you will testify, won't you?" asked Dick earnestly.
"If you wish it, Dick. But I hate the publicity."
"Crabtree ought to be put where he can do your mother no further harm."
"Yes, I feel that, too."
"And you must remember how he helped to abduct you."
"I haven't forgot that."
Vick and Tom remained until it was quite late, and then almost ran back to the Hall, for the captain had told them not to be out after eleven o'clock.
For several days matters ran smoothly at the Hall. Then came Josiah Crabtree's trial, and all of the Rover boys went to the county seat, to remain several days. With them went Dora and her uncle, John Laning.
The former teacher's trial lasted longer than expected, and the jury were out the best part of a night before arriving at a verdict. In the end, much to the Rover boys' surprise, Crabtree was sentenced to six months in the county jail, instead of to several years in the State's prison.
"I can't understand it," muttered Dick, when, they were on the way back to the Hall. "He must have hypnotized the judge who tried the case." The verdict was a disappointing one, yet it was something to know that Crabtree would be out of the way even that long.
"Before he gets out you can be on your trip to Buffalo and the Great Lakes," said Dick to Dora. "And perhaps you can hide your whereabouts from him, so that he can't get at your mother, to try on his game again."
"I will certainly try to throw him off the track," answered the girl. "I never want to see him again."
Captain Putnam was anxious to learn how the trial had ended, and came from the academy on horseback to meet the boys.
"Well, it is something," he said, half-smiling. "But you are right, he deserved more."
"I knew he was no good," said Tom. "Knew it from the first time I met him, when he was head assistant here, and placed me under arrest for shooting off a fire-cracker at the gate."
At this Captain Putnam laughed outright.
"You have a good memory, Thomas, I must say! Well, you are square now, as you boys call it."