Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation Part 16

The night was not so dark but that they could drive a good pace, but had it been daylight there is no question but that Bob's horses would have shown considerably better speed, for their driver was anxious to reach Babc.o.c.k early, in order that the animals might have as long a rest as possible, before starting on their journey next day, which would likely be a hard one.

Bob sang, laughed, and acted generally as if he was in the best of spirits, while Ralph joined in with him, for he enjoyed this night-drive immensely; but George remained silent, his great desire to get on faster causing the speed at which they were traveling to seem very slow.

It was some time past midnight when they arrived at Babc.o.c.k, and much as they liked to camp out, both Ralph and Bob would have been better satisfied, just then, if they could have remained all night at the hotel, for they were so tired that sleeping in the open air had not as many charms for them as usual.

"Here's where we would have stopped if we had not been obliged to give up all our money," said Bob, as they drove past the hotel. "But now that we are nothing more nor less than three-dollar paupers, we shall be obliged to do as the thieves are probably doing--make up our bed under the greenwood, or some other kind of a tree."

"It might be worse," said George, who was beginning to recover some of his cheerfulness as his companions lost theirs, "and we will stop at the next clump of trees."

"There will be no doubt about our finding accommodations," laughed Bob, "unless our friends who are the cause of this excursion have engaged all the promising-looking groves."

Above half a mile from the town the road ran through a piece of dense woods, which shut out even the faint rays of the moon, and Bob stopped the horses, while George and Ralph explored, as well as possible in the darkness, for a chance to make a camp.

A small, open s.p.a.ce, surrounded by bushes, about ten yards from the road, was the best place they could find, and preparations for the night began at once.

The horses were unharnessed and the carriage backed in among the trees, where it would not be seen by any one who might pa.s.s during the night.

The horses were fastened to a couple of trees, where they could feed without danger of getting their halters entangled among the bushes, and each was given a generous supply of grain.

Among other things which Bob had placed into the carriage while waiting at the Kenniston farm was a water-pail, and with this on his arm he started out in search of water for the horses, while George and Ralph attended to the making of what could only be an apology for a camp.

The blankets, cushions and rug were taken from the carriage, and were spread on the ground over a small pile of brush, for the boys were too tired to make any elaborate arrangements for the night.

The carriage cushions formed the pillow to this one bed which was to serve for all three, and with the rug and one blanket under them, and the other blanket over them, George thought they would get along very comfortably.

Bob was not long in finding plenty of water for the horses, and when he returned with it, after it was decided to go supperless to bed, in order to save the provisions, all three lay down on the hastily-improvised bed, little dreaming that they were within but a few rods of those whom they were pursuing.

CHAPTER XVII.

NEAR NEIGHBORS.

As may be imagined, the sleep which visited the three boys was not as profound as it would have been had they been in bed at Kenniston farm.

In the first place, the bed of brush, which had seemed so soft when they first lay down, seemed suddenly to have developed a great number of hard places, while the ends of the boughs, which had seemed so small when they were cut, apparently increased in size after they had served as a bed for an hour.

Many times during the night did Bob get up to see if the horses were all right, and, while he would not admit that the bed had anything to do with his wakefulness, he knew, as well as did his companions, that when sleeping at home, he hardly opened his eyes once during the entire night.

It was at a very early hour, therefore, that the boys were up, and ready to continue the chase. As a matter of course, after having gone to bed supperless, they were ready for a hearty breakfast, and, since they would have plenty of time to eat it before sunrise, they at once made preparations for breaking their fast.

Thanks to the cooked food they had with them, these preparations did not consume very much time, since they were only obliged to take the paper packages from the carriage, and eat such portions of Mrs.

Kenniston's samples of cookery as they desired.

Bob gave his horses food and water before he satisfied his own hunger, and, just as he finished this work, he cried, as he held his hand up, warningly:

"Hark! what was that?"

The boys listened intently several moments, but nothing could be heard save the rustling of the leaves, as they were moved back and forth by the morning breeze, or the twitter of birds, as they started out in search of breakfast, and George said, with a laugh:

"This is the first time I ever knew you to betray any caution, my dear boy, and you should be commended for it; but just now I think it is thrown away, for I hardly believe there is any one within half a mile of us who is awake so early."

"I thought I heard some one coming through the bushes," replied Bob, as he began a vigorous attack on the food; "but I guess it was nothing but the wind."

Five minutes pa.s.sed, during which each one was so busy with his breakfast that he had no time for conversation, and then George motioned his companions to be silent. The warning was useless, for all had heard a sound in the bushes, as if some heavy body was moving through the underbrush, and all paused to listen.

There was evidently some person or animal near by, and moving directly away from them; but it seemed so reasonable to suppose that it was a cow, or some other domestic animal, who had slept out of doors all night, that it was some moments before any one of the three thought of learning the cause of the noise.

Even though they had every reason to believe that those whom they were pursuing would spend the night as they had spent it, each one of that party was so certain the thieves were a long distance away, that the thought that it might be those they were in pursuit of which were making the noise never occurred to them.

It was not until some time after the sounds had died away that George realized how important it was that he should know what had caused them, and then he started up at once, dashing through the underbrush toward the direction from which the noise had come.

Ralph and Bob started impulsively to follow him, and then the latter said, as he pulled his companion back:

"One is enough to find the cow, for that is probably what we have been hearing, and we might as well be eating our breakfast while he is hunting."

Ralph thought, as did Bob, that they had no occasion to disturb themselves simply at a rustling of leaves in the woods, and he willingly followed his companion's suggestion.

But, before either of them could begin their breakfast again, a loud shout was heard from George, which caused them to start to their feet in dismay, for they understood that something serious had caused it.

"Harness the horses quickly!" George shouted again.

And without trying to understand the reason for this peremptory command, Bob and Ralph sprang toward the animals.

It was not an order that could be obeyed very quickly, owing to the lack of facilities in their stable.

The horses were quietly eating their breakfast; the harness was hanging on a tree some distance away, and the carriage had been pulled into the woods so far that it would require at least ten minutes before it could be gotten on to the road.

Bob began to harness one horse, while Ralph attended to the other, and while they were thus employed, George came out of the woods in a very excited condition.

"We have been camping within five rods of the thieves!" he cried. "The noise we heard was probably made by the horses as they led them out into the road, and I got there just in time to see them drive away."

Haste surely made waste then, for all the party were so excited by what they had seen and heard, and so anxious to start in pursuit quickly, that they r.e.t.a.r.ded their own progress by the bungling manner in which they went to work.

Ralph, in his eagerness, got the harness so mixed up that he was obliged to undo all he had done and begin all over again before he could accomplish anything, while Bob searched five minutes for the bridle, which, in the first excitement, he had flung some distance from him among the bushes.

So far as coolness and presence of mind was concerned, George was no better off than his companions. He attempted to pull the carriage into the road, and got it so fastened among the small trees that Ralph was obliged to come to his a.s.sistance, lifting it bodily out before it could be extricated.

In this confused way of doing things fully ten minutes of time was wasted, and the thieves had a start of nearly twenty minutes before their pursuers were ready for the chase.

It was useless for them now to reproach themselves with carelessness in not examining the woods when they first awoke, as they should have done, since they knew the thieves would spend the night in some such place, and quite as useless to complain, because they did not attempt to discover the cause of the noise when they first heard it. Had they done either one of these things, which it seemed the most inexperienced in this kind of work would have done, they would have discovered the team and had it then in their possession.

As it was, however, they could only try to atone for their carelessness by being more cautious in the future, which each mentally resolved to be as he clambered into the carriage as soon as the horses were harnessed.

This time George sat on the front seat with Bob, where he could more readily leap from the wagon if necessary.

Bob started his horses at full speed, and George was satisfied that there would be no necessity of urging him to drive faster, for he held his steeds well in hand, requiring of them the best possible gait.

"They have got quite a start of us," Bob said, after they had been on the road a few moments, and while Ralph was regretting the absence of a comb, which would enable him to feel so much more comfortable, "but I do not think your horses have had any grain since they stole them, and if that is so, I don't think we shall have any trouble in overtaking them within an hour."