The latter question was quickly answered. As they passed through a little locust3 grove4 just beyond the station, Jed’s alert ear caught a stifled5 cry or gurgle to the left of the road, and without pausing an instant, he started toward it. The others followed, and a moment later, they found Jed’s companion bound to a tree and gagged as Allan had been.
His adventures were soon told. He had started along the road leading to the mine, expecting every moment to meet the wagon coming for the chest. Just as he reached the grove, he heard wheels approaching, and stopped, intending to hail it, but ? 293 ? before he could open his mouth, some one threw a heavy cloak or sack over his head from behind and pulled it tight, while some one else tripped him up and sat on him. His hands were tied, the gag forced into his mouth, and he was led to the tree and securely fastened. Then to his astonishment6, he heard the wagon stop, and the men on it exchange greetings with his captors. The latter then clambered aboard and the wagon continued on toward the station.
“Was it the company’s wagon?” asked Jed.
“I couldn’t swear to it,” answered the other, chafing7 his wrists to start the circulation, “but it sounded mighty8 much like it.”
“Well, we must find out,” said Jed, and hurried forward.
As they neared the company’s office, they became aware of a dull pounding, as of some one hammering upon iron. It would cease for a moment and then begin again, louder than before. Not until they came quite near did any of the posse guess what it was; and it was Jed who guessed first.
“There’s somebody shut up in th’ office,” he said. “I’ll bet th’ robbers did it! Well, they’re clever ones fer sure!”
And this conjecture9 proved to be correct, as Jed found after a few moments’ shouted conversation with the prisoners. The first thing to be done was to get them out, but this was not so easy as might appear, for, as has already been stated, the little ? 294 ? building had been built to withstand a siege; it was lined with steel, the windows were heavily barred and the door was armoured. One of the prisoners explained that the door had been locked on them from the outside, but the key was not in the lock.
“They probably throwed it away arter they locked th’ door,” said Jed. “But we can’t find it in th’ dark. Th’ only thing t’ do is t’ break a couple o’ bars out o’ one o’ th’ winders, an’ make a hole big enough fer ’em t’ squeeze through.”
And, after twenty minutes’ hard work, this was accomplished10.
There were four prisoners, one of whom was the paymaster and another the mine superintendent11, and after they had crowded through the opening, they told the story of their capture.
The horses had been hitched12 to the wagon in the company’s stable, and it had then been driven to the homes of the superintendent and paymaster, picked them up, as the custom was, and then turned back toward the company’s office to get the two guards who awaited it there and who were to accompany it to and from the station. The guards were there, and the superintendent had unlocked the door, and led the way in to get the guns with which the guards were always armed. He had left the door open and the key in the lock, as he expected to go out again immediately. It was at that moment that the door was slammed shut and the key turned. ? 295 ? Those within the office had seen no one, nor heard any noise until the door closed.
“But what was your driver doin’ all that time?” asked Jed. “Why didn’t he give the alarm? Did they git him, too?”
“I don’t know. Probably they did. I don’t see how else his silence can be explained.”
“You didn’t hear any struggle?”
“No; still they might have silenced him with one blow.”
“Mighty hard to do,” said Jed, reflectively, “with him up there on th’ wagon-seat.”
“We’ll know in the morning,” remarked the superintendent. “We’ll probably find his body hid around here somewhere.”
“Well, we haven’t got time t’ look fer him now,” said Jed. “How many hosses kin1 we hev?”
“We’ve got six in the stable yet.”
“Let’s have ’em out,” and while they were being saddled and brought up, Jed picked out four of the men whom he knew to accompany him and his partner in the mounted pursuit of the robbers. One of them crowded through the hole in the window and passed out arms and ammunition13. The remainder of the posse was dismissed, and returned slowly toward their homes, not without considerable grumbling14 that their services had been so lightly regarded.
At the end of ten minutes, Jed and his five companions were mounted and away. They were soon ? 296 ? back at the station, which was now only a smouldering mass of ruins, so quickly had the flames been able to consume the flimsy frame structure.
“Where’s that kid?” asked Jed. “I didn’t suppose he’d keep us waitin’.”
“Something’s th’ matter over there,” said one of the men, and pointed15 to a little group which had gathered at one side of the track.
Jed swung off his horse and hastened to investigate. He found that it had gathered about Allan West, who lay unconscious, his pale face looking positively16 ghastly under the flickering17 light of the gasoline torch, which hung from the pole above him.
“What’s th’ matter with him?” asked Jed. “He told me he wasn’t hurt.”
“He’s hurt in the side,” answered the surgeon, who was bending above the boy. “I think there’s a couple of ribs18 broken. He never mentioned the injury when I dressed his other wounds. Is there a hospital at Coalville?”
“Hospital?” Jed grunted20, derisively21. “Well, I should say not!”
“Number Nine’s due in about ten minutes,” said the operator. “You can fix up some sort of bed in the baggage-car and take him back to Wadsworth.”
“That’ll do,” agreed the surgeon, and bent22 again above the boy.
? 297 ?
Jed stood watching him for a moment, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other.
“Think he’s very bad, doctor?” he asked, at last.
“Oh, no,” answered the surgeon. “Just overdone23 things, I guess, and fainted from the pain. He’ll be all right, as soon as I can get him to a place where I can fix him up.”
Jed heaved a sigh of relief.
“That’s good,” he said. “He’s a plucky24 kid. I’d hate to see him knock under,” and he strode away to join his men.
In another moment, they were off up the road in the direction taken by the robbers. The latter had a start of over an hour, but that did not worry Jed, because he knew they would soon find themselves on the horns of a dilemma25. Either they must take the chest with them, or leave it behind. If they took it, they could not abandon the wagon, and yet they would scarcely dare to use it after daybreak, for it had the name of the mining company painted on its side. On the other hand, they would not abandon the chest until they had opened it and secured the contents, and Jed knew that it would be no easy job to break the chest open. So he rode on at a sharp canter, confident that the fugitives26 could not escape.
For some miles there were no branches to the road except such as led to houses among the hills a little back from it. So he rode on without drawing ? 298 ? rein27, until he came to the place where the road forked. Here he found the sheriff and the posse which had set out on foot unable to decide which fork to take and unwilling28 to divide their forces.
“You wait a minute,” said Jed, jumping from his horse, and striking a match, he went a little way up one of the forks and examined the road minutely. “They didn’t come this way,” he announced, at last, and came back and went up the other fork. Here he repeated the same performance, lighting29 match after match. At last he stood erect30 with a grunt19 of satisfaction. “All right,” he said. “We’re on th’ trail.”
“How do you know we are?” inquired the sheriff, incredulously.
“No matter,” said Jed. “Take my word fer it. I didn’t live on th’ plains twenty year fer nothin’. Hello! What’s that?”
He was listening intently, but for some moments the duller ears of the other members of the posse could catch no sound. Then they heard, far up the road, the clatter31 of horses’ hoofs32 and the rattle33 of wheels. The sound came nearer and nearer, and Jed, who was peering through the darkness, suddenly drew his pistol and sprang to the middle of the road.
“Halt!” he cried, and the other members of the posse instinctively34 drew up behind him, their guns ready.
? 299 ?
They could hear the wagon still lumbering35 toward them.
“Halt, or we fire!” cried Jed, again, but still the wagon came on, and a gray shape appeared in the darkness ahead.
Jed raised his pistol; then, with a sharp exclamation36, thrust it back into his belt, sprang forward, and seized the approaching horses by the bridle37.
The posse swarmed38 about the wagon. The sheriff struck a match, and painted on the wagon’s side descried39 the words:
COALVILLE COAL COMPANY
“Why,” said the sheriff, in bewilderment, “this is th’ rig they run away with!”
“Precisely,” agreed Jed, coolly. “One of you men hold these horses, will you?”
The sheriff clambered to the seat and struck another match.
“The wagon’s empty,” he announced.
“I thought so,” said Jed, mounting beside him. “They took out th’ chest an’ then turned th’ rig loose.”
“And where are they?”
“They’re somewhere ahead openin’ that box. I’ll ride on with my men. You turn th’ wagon around an’ foller with as many as she’ll hold.”
? 300 ?
“All right,” agreed the sheriff, and Jed sprang to horse again.
“Come on, boys,” he called, and set out up the road at a sharp gallop40.
Mile after mile they covered, but without finding any sign of the fugitives. At last, Jed dismounted and again examined the road.
“We’ve passed ’em,” he announced. “They didn’t git this far. We’ve got ’em now, sure.”
The east was just showing a tinge41 of gray, as they turned to retrace42 their steps. Jed stopped every now and then to scrutinize43 the road. At the end of a mile, they met the sheriff and his party in the wagon.
“See anything of ’em?” he asked.
“Not a thing,” said Jed, “but they’re back there, somewhere. Wait a minute,” and he got down and looked at the road again. “By George!” he cried, “they ain’t far off! See, here’s where they turned th’ wagon an’ started her back.” Then he looked at the tracks again. “I don’t know, either,” he added. “I don’t believe they turned it at all. Look how it ran down in this gully here by the fence—it’s a wonder it didn’t upset. The horses turned toward home themselves.”
“Well, and where are the convicts?” asked the sheriff.
“They’re somewhere between here an’ th’ forks o’ th’ road,” said Jed. “They can’t git away!”
? 301 ?
But by noon he was forced to confess that their capture was not going to be so easy as he had supposed. Practically every foot of the ground on both sides of the road had been beaten over, and yet not a trace of the robbers had been discovered. Nay44, more than that, search as he might, Jed, with all his skill in woodcraft, was not able to discover where they had left the road. That four men, carrying a heavy chest, should have been able to cross the muddy fields which extended on both sides of the road without leaving some mark of their passage seemed absurd, and yet, after going over the ground for the third time, Jed was forced to confess himself defeated.
“They’re slick ones—that’s all I kin say,” he remarked, and mounted his horse and started back to Coalville.
The sheriff picketed45 every by-path; through all the neighbourhood the alarm was spread, and men were on the alert. Acting46 under instructions from the State authorities, the sheriffs of adjoining counties set a guard on every road by which Coalville could possibly be approached, and every one who could not give a satisfactory account of himself and who resembled in the least degree any one of the four convicts, was placed under arrest. The police of every city, the constables47 of every township, nay, the dwellers48 in every house, were on the lookout49 for the fugitives. It seemed impossible that they could escape through the meshes50 of a net so ? 302 ? closely drawn51. Yet two days passed, and they had not been heard from. They had disappeared as completely as though the earth had opened and swallowed them.
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1
kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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3
locust
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| n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐 | |
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4
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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5
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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6
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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7
chafing
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| n.皮肤发炎v.擦热（尤指皮肤）( chafe的现在分词 )；擦痛；发怒；惹怒 | |
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8
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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9
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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10
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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11
superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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12
hitched
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| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
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13
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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14
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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15
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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16
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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17
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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18
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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19
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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20
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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21
derisively
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| adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地 | |
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22
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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23
overdone
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| v.做得过分( overdo的过去分词 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
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24
plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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25
dilemma
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| n.困境，进退两难的局面 | |
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26
fugitives
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| n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 ) | |
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27
rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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28
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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29
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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30
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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31
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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32
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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33
rattle
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| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
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34
instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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35
lumbering
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| n.采伐林木 | |
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36
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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37
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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38
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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39
descried
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| adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的 | |
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40
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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41
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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42
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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43
scrutinize
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| n.详细检查，细读 | |
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44
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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45
picketed
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| 用尖桩围住（picket的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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46
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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47
constables
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| n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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48
dwellers
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| n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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49
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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50
meshes
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| 网孔( mesh的名词复数 )； 网状物； 陷阱； 困境 | |
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51
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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