The Banner Boy Scouts Part 35

Every one of the five hidden scouts crouched low, so that their faces might not be discovered by that fierce white glow.

Plainly to their ears was borne the shouts of the men in the machine, as they discovered the figure of Ted on the road. The Stanhope bully had evidently made up his mind that the bag was well worth struggling for, and that he must make some sort of a fight to retain possession of it.

Paul could guess what his plan of operations would be. He had seen Ted play innocent more than once before, when caught in the act of doing some mean thing. And as a rule the fellow could carry out the game fairly well.

But he was up against a different proposition now; and these keen-eyed men were not apt to be hoodwinked so easily as a parcel of schoolboys.

Ted stood there, looking at the car that was bearing down upon him.

No doubt he had a.s.sumed the innocent air of a rustic, and tried to make himself appear as stupid as he could. The two men in the red car were no longer calling, for they had seen that the boy on the road showed no signs of wanting to run.

As they bore down upon the spot the car slowed up, and came to a full stop within a few yards of the waiting Ted. Every scout lying in the screen of bushes held his breath as he listened to catch what was going to follow.

"Say, gimme a ride, mister?"

That was Ted speaking, before either of the men could say the first word.

Indeed they were too busy clambering out of the car to surround him, and cut off any chance of escape, to think of anything else.

Without answering they bore down on Ted, and he found himself confronted by two eager faces, while a rough hand clutched his arm.

"He ain't got it, Brad!" exclaimed the shorter of the pair, as though disappointed over something.

"Hey, what'd you do with it, son?" demanded the taller traveler, looking furiously at Ted, though pretending to speak gently.

"With what, boss? I ain't got nothin' that belongs to you, sure I ain't!"

whimpered the boy; and Paul came near to chuckling at the way Ted put on the agony.

"We lost a leather bag out of the car. I saw it after we turned into this here twisting side road just back a piece. We've looked over every foot between here and the mill pond, and ain't seen it. I'm going to ask you again, son, what did you do with it?"

The man did not threaten, as yet, but there was something deep down in his voice that seemed to tell of all sorts of terrible things that might happen to the boy unless he came to time, and confessed.

But at any rate Ted was game. His covetous nature had been aroused by something he had glimpsed inside of that same bag; and he did not mean to give it up unless pushed to the last resort.

"Ain't seen no bag, mister, 'deed an' I ain't," he whimpered; "I got a lantern here, an' I was ahuntin' a little boy that was lost from home.

Lots of other fellers in the woods adoin' that same. But my light give out. Then I struck this here road. I'm clean tired out, mister, and I'd like to get a ride home, if so be you're goin' my way. A bag, mister?

Sure I ain't knowin' nawthin' about no bag. Cross my heart if I do. Gimme a ride to Stanhope, mister, please!"

CHAPTER XXVIII

FORCED TO TELL

The two men looked at each other.

Apparently they hardly knew whether to believe Ted or not. Paul saw them put their heads close together, as though exchanging confidences. Then the tall fellow once more whirled on Ted, who had been standing on one leg, with a most forlorn look upon his face.

"We both think that you lie, son," said the man who was minus one of his optics, as he thrust his face close down to that of Ted, as though he would look straight into his heart; but this was something that no one else had ever succeeded in doing, and the attempt did not prove very successful.

"Tell him who we are, Brad," growled the shorter of the twain, who looked angry enough to devour the unfortunate Ted.

So the one called Brad took something out of his coat pocket that made a peculiar jingling noise, and held it up before the boy.

"D'ye see them, son? We call 'em bracelets, and they're meant to go on the wrists of criminals. D'ye understand now? We're officers of the law, and we've just made a grand haul. But some of the evidence has slipped away from us. It's in that same bag you picked up on this here road.

Now, don't you dare deny it again, or we'll take you into town with these pretty toys clasped on your wrists. I'm going to give you another chance to tell us, son. Where did you put that bag?"

Ted winced and whined. He showed all the signs of injured innocence.

Surely he must have made up his mind quickly that the contents of the bag were well worth taking all sorts of chances for.

"Ain't seen no bag. Sure I'd be on'y too glad to tell you, mister, if I had. All I wants to do is to go home. I'm tired, an' nigh sick with all this huntin' for that kid," he whimpered.

The man suddenly pounced on him, and despite Ted's struggles and entreaties, he seemed to succeed in accomplishing his purpose. At any rate the concealed scouts heard a snap; and when Ted reeled back he was holding his two hands close together in a suspicious way, and staring at something that seemed to be in the nature of a connecting link.

"Now you are in for it," said the tall man, shaking his head threateningly as he stood over the prisoner; "we'll have to take you to town, and put you in the lockup as an accessory after the fact. D'ye hear that, you young fool? And all because you refuse to help honest officers of the law in their legitimate business. Why, you may get ten years at hard labor, yes, twenty. Better tell all you know, and perhaps we'll let you off."

"You can do anything you like to me, mister, but I ain't agoin' to say what I don't know. Ain't seen any bag of no kind. Cross my heart if I have. I'm willin' to help you hunt for it, even if I am dog tired. Don't you believe me, mister? Sure, I wouldn't lie to you. What would I be wantin' with a bag; we got plenty at my house. Ted Slavin's my name, and I live in Stanhope. Gimme a ride, mister, if you're goin' that way, won't you?"

Again the two men talked together, while Ted watched them out of the corner of his eye. He might even have tried to run but the fact that his hands were fastened together with that steel chain prevented such a thing.

Once more they turned upon him, and the tall man pointing down, thundered:

"You've been kneeling in the dirt!"

Ted glanced down at his trousers involuntarily; but even then he was not taken off his guard.

"I fell ever so many times after my lantern went out. See here, mister, how I sc.r.a.ped the skin off my hand. That's the honest truth I'm givin'

you!" he cried.

Undoubtedly it was, but all the same the men showed no signs of yielding.

The taller one, called Brad by his companion, deliberately detached one of the lamps from the car. With this he bent down to examine the road.

"He'll see the marks of the bag!" whispered Bobolink to Paul.

"Watch him while I scurry along the road a bit, to see if he left it,"

was what the man said, and then moved down toward the spot where the five boys lay in hiding.

When he came opposite them they hardly dared to breathe, lest his keen ears catch the sound, and he pounce upon them.

But he went past, scouring the road closely, and looking for some sign of the missing bag. They saw him pa.s.s on, and the light grew dim. Meanwhile Ted sat down on a log, and seemed to be very dejected and forlorn. Once or twice when the shorter man was not looking Paul saw him glance around, as though sizing up the chances for a sudden plunge into the forest.

"He's coming again," said Bobolink; and the brilliant glow from down the road bore evidence of the truth of this remark which was whispered in Paul's ear.

Brad walked hastily back, and soon rejoined his companion, with whom he talked earnestly for a minute.

"Get up!" he said, turning to Ted, and giving the boy a kick that made him climb to his feet hurriedly, groaning with pain.