The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair Part 21

"Now we are in a muss. Here is all his money, an' if anybody sees us with it we'll have a tough time."

"You can't throw it away, an' we must sneak off," Dan said, and the expression on his face told how distressed he was that such a responsibility had been thrust upon them.

"Shall we go back to the stand?"

"No, that would never do, for then they would be sure to vent their anger on you. Go up to the museum; Mr. Sweet knows Hazelton, an' may be willin' to help him by keeping the satchel till the row is over."

These words had been spoken as the boys were trying to make their way through the fringe of spectators which had hemmed them in since the fight began, and after some difficulty they succeeded; but at the same moment one of the combatants, who had received more than his share of punishment, emerged close by their side.

He saw Hazelton's satchel, and recognized it.

"Come here, fellows! two little villains are making off with the money!

That's what we want!"

He at once started in pursuit, as did several others, and Dan cried, as he helped carry the burden:

"Run as you never did before, Teddy, for if they get hold of us it'll be a bad job all around!"

CHAPTER XVII.

_A TERRIBLE NIGHT._

At just about the same moment when Teddy and Dan were running with Hazelton's money at full speed toward the museum tent, with the chance of escape very much against them, Sam was in a decidedly painful frame of mind.

After he had been securely tied the two men conversed in low tones for several minutes, and then, as if having arrived at some definite conclusion, began to make preparations for leaving the place.

At the same spot where Sam had been interrupted while sc.r.a.ping away the dirt they proceeded to dig with a shovel which Phil procured from somewhere outside the building, and during this labor the prisoner could hear fragments of the conversation.

Once Long Jim ceased his work long enough to say:

"When you come to look at the matter quietly it doesn't seem as if we'd got into sich a very bad sc.r.a.pe. You can manage to bring the rest of the stuff down the creek between now an' Friday mornin' and I've got a plan for givin' anybody who may come after us a good clue to the boy's disappearance."

Phil made some remark which Sam could not hear, and his companion replied in a louder tone:

"It can all be done so's to make folks think we've gone up the creek, an' we've got to lay low for a while, which won't be a hard job while the weather is warm."

"But I don't like the idea of totin' that cub with us so long."

"I'll take care of him, an' will make him earn his board, or somethin's bound to break."

From this time until several packages were unearthed Sam could hear nothing; but what had already been said was sufficient to convince him that he was to have a very unpleasant experience, and for at least the hundredth time he fervently wished he had never so much as heard of detective work.

After the goods had been brought to light the earth was replaced in the excavation and pounded down carefully. Then fully half an hour was spent digging in different places, probably for the purpose of misleading any one who might come there in search of plunder, for Phil said in a tone of satisfaction as he ceased the apparently aimless labor:

"It'll take at least a day before all of these suspicious looking spots have been investigated, an' in the meanwhile, unless we're chumps, we shall know what's goin' on. I'll take one load to the boat; make sure the coast is clear, an' then the three of us can carry the balance. Have the boy ready for a quick move, an' see to it that he can't give an alarm."

"I'll knock his head off if he so much as thinks of such a thing," and as Phil disappeared with a portion of the plunder Long Jim began to unfasten Sam's bonds, saying as he did so:

"We've made up our minds to hold you with us a few days 'cause you're sich jolly company. If you obey orders an' keep your mouth shut there's a chance of gettin' outer this sc.r.a.pe mighty easy; but I'd slit your throat in a jiffy if you tried to give us the slip or made any noise."

Sam made no reply; but his captor could see very plainly that the boy was nearly paralyzed with fright, and it was safe to infer he would follow the instructions given to the letter.

Phil returned in a very short time and reported:

"The coast is clear. There's not a craft to be seen on the creek, an' we can leave without danger."

The rope had been removed from Sam's limbs, and Long Jim proceeded to load him down with bundles until he staggered under the weight.

"Now, see that you walk a chalk line," the burglar said, fiercely.

"Foller Phil, an' I'll keep behind to make sure there are no tricks played. Remember what I promised!"

The men could carry the remainder of the goods in one load, and the three went out of the barn hurriedly, Sam not daring to so much as lift his eyes from the ground lest Long Jim's threat should be carried into execution.

Arriving at the water's edge the boat was loaded, the prisoner ordered to take his place at the oars, and then the final preparations were made.

Phil uncovered the boat in which Sam had come, launched and overturned her. Then taking the hat from the unresisting boy's head, threw it far out in the channel, afterward giving the little craft a shove which sent her a long distance from the sh.o.r.e. Next the two oars were sent after the hat, and Phil said with a laugh:

"The current ain't very strong; but with the aid of the wind I reckon that stuff will drift up to the fair grounds before dark."

Sam's despair was already so great that it did not seem as if it could be increased; but the last vestige of hope fled when he realized that these things had been done in order to make it appear as if he were dead.

"Teddy and Dan won't think of huntin' for me after the boat is found,"

he thought, "an' these men are sure to kill me before this sc.r.a.pe is over!"

The two burglars seated themselves comfortably in the stern-sheets, the packages being placed at the bow to trim the craft properly, and Long Jim said, sternly:

"You've been showin' off your skill as an oarsman for two or three days, an' we want you to do it now. Put in your best licks, for it'll be tough if we don't get through the water mighty fast."

Even Sam's worst enemy would have pitied him at this moment. No galley slave chained to his seat could have been more utterly helpless, and he exerted himself to the utmost in order to please those who professed to be so willing to punish or kill.

Every stroke of the oars took them farther away from the fair grounds, and each puff of wind carried the evidences of the prisoner's death nearer the only ones who might take the trouble to search for him.

Not until fully an hour had pa.s.sed did the burglars give any sign of a desire to end the journey, and then Long Jim said:

"We must be six miles from the fair grounds by this time, an' that is as far as you'll want to pull to-night, Phil. There should be plenty of good hidin'-places in this bit of woods, an' I think we'd better haul up."

"All right. Steer her into that ditch over there, an' we'll look around."

Thus far in his experience as a detective this was the only thing Sam had had for which to be thankful. His arms were so tired that it seemed as if he could not have pulled another stroke, and his clothes were literally wet from the perspiration that came from his body.

Phil went ash.o.r.e, leaving his companion to watch the almost exhausted prisoner, and in a few moments the former shouted:

"Load that cub up, an' bring him over here. This is a capital place to locate in for a couple of days."