Chapter 9 A Fruitless Pursuit

Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings,looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger. No one wasto be seen.
"He can't be very far ahead." thought Tom. "I ought to catch himbefore he gets to the woods. If he reaches there he has a goodchance of getting away."
There was a little patch of trees just back of the inventor's house,not much of a woods, perhaps, but that is what they were called.
"I wonder if he was some ordinary tramp, looking for what he couldsteal, or if he was one of the gang after dad's invention?" thoughtTom as he sprinted¹ ahead.
By this time the youth was clear of the group of buildings and insight of a tall, board fence, which surrounded the Swift estate onthree sides. Here and there, along the barrier, were piled oldpacking-cases, so that it would be easy for a fugitive² to leap uponone of them and so get over the fence. Tom thought of thispossibility in a moment.
"I guess he got over ahead of me," the lad exclaimed, and he peeredsharply about. "I'll catch him on the other side!"
At that instant Tom tripped over a plank³ and went down full length,making quite a racket. When he picked himself up he was surprised tosee the man he was after dart⁴ from inside a big box and start forthe fence, near a point where there were some packing-cases piledup, making a good approach to the barrier. The fugitive had beenhiding, waiting for a chance to escape, and Tom's fall had alarmedhim.
"Here! Hold on there! Come back!" cried the youth as he recoveredhis wind and leaped forward.
But the man did not stay. With a bound he was up on the pile ofboxes, and the next moment he was poised⁵ on top of the fence. Beforeleaping down on the other side, a jump at which even a practicedathlete might well hesitate, the fleeing stranger paused and lookedback. Tom gazed at him and recognized the man in an instant. He wasthe third of the mysterious trio whom the lad had seen in theMansburg restaurant.
"Wait a minute! What do you want sneaking⁶ around here?" shouted Tomas he ran forward. The man returned no answer, and an instant laterdisappeared from view on the other side of the fence.
"He jumped down!" thought Tom. "A big leap, too. Well, I've got tofollow. This is a queer proceeding⁷. First one, then the second, andnow the third of those men seem determined⁸ to get something here. Iwonder if this one succeeded? I'll soon find out."
The lad was up on the pile of packing-cases and over the fence inalmost record time. He caught a glimpse of the fugitive runningtoward the woods. Then the boy leaped down, jarring himselfconsiderably, and took after the man.
But though Tom was a good runner he was handicapped by the fact thatthe man had a start of him, and also by the fact that the strangerhad had a chance to rest while hiding for the second time in the bigbox, while Tom had kept on running. So it is no great cause forwonder that Mr. Swift's son found himself being distanced.
Once, twice he called on the fleeing one to halt, but the man paidno attention, and did not even turn around. Then the youth wiselyconcluded to save his wind for running. He did his best, but waschagrined to see the man reach the woods ahead of him.
"I've lost him now," thought Tom. "Well, there's no help for it."
Still he did not give up, but kept on through the patch of trees. Onthe farther side was Lake Carlopa, a broad and long sheet of water.
"If he doesn't know the lake's there," thought our hero, "he maykeep straight on. The water will be sure to stop him, and I cancatch him. But what will I do with him after I get him? That'sanother question. I guess I've got a right to demand to know what hewas doing around our place, though."
But Tom need not have worried on this score. He could hear thefugitive ahead of him, and marked his progress by the crackling ofthe underbrush.
"I'm almost up to him," exulted⁹ the young inventor. Then, at thesame moment, he caught sight of the man running, and a glimpse ofthe sparkling water of Lake Carlopa. "I've got him! I've got him!"Tom almost cried aloud in his excitement. "Unless he takes to thewater and swims for it, I've got him!"
But Tom did not reckon on a very simple matter, and that was thepossibility of the man having a boat at hand. For this is just whathappened. Reaching the lake shore the fugitive with a final spurtmanaged to put considerable distance between himself and Tom. Drawnup on the beach was a little motor-boat. In this, after he hadpushed it from shore, the stranger leaped. It was the work of but asecond to set the engine in motion, and as Tom reached the edge ofthe woods and started across the narrow strip of sand and gravelthat was between the water and the trees, he saw the man steeringhis craft toward the middle of the lake.
"Well--I'll--be--jiggered!" exclaimed the youth. "Who would havethought he'd have a motor-boat waiting for him? He planned thiswell."
There was nothing to do but turn back. Tom had a small rowboat and asailing skiff on the lake, but his boathouse was some distance away,and even if he could get one of his craft out, the motor-boat wouldsoon distance it.
"He's gone!" thought the searcher regretfully.
The man in the motor-boat did not look back. He sat in the bow,steering the little craft right across the broadest part of LakeCarlopa.
"I wonder where he came from, and where he's going?" mused¹⁰ Tom."That's a boat I never saw on this lake before. It must be a newone. Well, there's no help for it, I've got to go back and tell dadI couldn't catch him." And with a last look at the fugitive, who,with his boat, was becoming smaller and smaller every minute, Tomturned and retraced¹¹ his steps.

1 sprinted   

v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sprinted for the line. 他向终点线冲去。
• Sergeant Horne sprinted to the car. 霍恩中士全力冲向那辆汽车。 来自辞典例句

2 fugitive   

adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者

参考例句：

• The police were able to deduce where the fugitive was hiding.警方成功地推断出那逃亡者躲藏的地方。
• The fugitive is believed to be headed for the border.逃犯被认为在向国境线逃窜。

3 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

4 dart   

v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲

参考例句：

• The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
• Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。

5 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

6 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

7 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 exulted   

狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people exulted at the victory. 人们因胜利而欢腾。
• The people all over the country exulted in the success in launching a new satellite. 全国人民为成功地发射了一颗新的人造卫星而欢欣鼓舞。

10 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

11 retraced   

v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯

参考例句：

• We retraced our steps to where we started. 我们折回我们出发的地方。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We retraced our route in an attempt to get back on the right path. 我们折返，想回到正确的路上。 来自《简明英汉词典》