CHAPTER IX
A STRANGE MEETING IN THE WOODS.
To go back to Tom, at the time he was left alone by the headassistant of Putnam Hall, after refusing to give up the keys tohis satchel and trunk.
"I've put my foot into it now," thought the boy dismally. "Iwonder what Captain Putnam will say to all this when he hears ofit? Of course old Crabtree will make out the worst possible caseagainst me."
It was too dark to see much, and he dropped on the couch. He wasworried a good deal, yet he was not one to take anything toodeeply to heart.
Before long a waiter appeared with a tray containing a big bowl ofbread and milk. Had Josiah Crabtree had his own way, he wouldhave sent only bread and water for the lad's supper, but such aproceeding would have been contrary to Captain Putnam's rule. Thekind captain realized that his pupils were but boys and should notbe treated as real prisoners, even when they did break the academyrules.
"Heah is yo' suppah, sah!" announced Alexander, the waiter, as heset the tray on the table. "Sorry I can't leave the light, sah."He referred to a lamp, also, on the tray, which he now removed.
"What have you got?" asked Tom, sitting up.
"Bowl of bread and milk, sah."
"Is that what they give visitors for supper?"
"Gracious, sah, is yo' a visitah, sah?"
"I consider myself as such until I am placed on the muster roll."
At this Alexander scratched his woolly head. "Well, sah, I don'tknow nuffin about dat, sah. I has to obey Mr. Crabtree's oahdahs,sah."
"Has Captain Putnam come back yet?"
"No, sah, an' he sent word dat he didn't think he could git back,sah, before morning, sah."
"Humph! Then I'll have to stay here until that time."
"I reckon so, sah."
"It's a jolly shame."
"Dat's right, sah," and Alexander grinned.
"Well, leave the bread and milk. It's better than nothing. Buthold on. Who are you?"
"Alexander Pop, sah, at yo' service, sah," and again the coloredman grinned. He was a short, fat fellow, the very embodiment ofgood nature.
"Well, Alexander, if you are at my service, supposing you get mesomething else to eat beside this bread and milk."
"Oh, sah, I couldn't do dat."
"Yes, you could. Here is a quarter. Don't you want to earnthat?" And Tom held out the silver piece.
"Mr. Crabtree would hab me discharged if he cotched me, MasterRober."
"Then don't let him catch you, Aleck, my boy."
At this the negro laughed and showed his immense ivories.
"Yo' is jest de boy I dun like to see, sah," he said. "Jess waitan' I'll do wot I can fo! You but mum's de word, sah-eh?"
"I never peach, Aleck; it's only a coward that does that,"concluded Tom.
The negro disappeared from the room, but reappeared in less thanten minutes with something done up in a napkin.
"Dare you am, sah," he said, "two tongue sandwiches and a bigpiece of layer cake, sah, all I could git, fo' Mrs. Green am werrysharp. And here is a bit of candle, sah, for a light. But pleasedon't let 'em know I brought yo' de things, sah."
"Never a word, Aleck, thank you," answered Tom, and handed overthe quarter.
Left again to himself, Tom lost no time in making way, not onlywith the sandwiches and cake, but also some of the bread and milk,for his day's traveling had left him tremendously hungry. The bitof candle was less than two inches long, and began to splutterjust as the meal was finished.
A rattle at the door caused the lad to sweep the cake crumbs outof sight, blow out the candle, and pocket the tiny bit left. Thenthe light of a lamp lit up the guardroom, and Josiah Crabtree camein.
"Well, Rover, have you enjoyed your supper?" he asked coldly, ashe glanced at the half empty bowl.
"Very much," was the youth's equally cold reply.
"You like bread and milk, then," was Crabtree's sarcasticrejoinder.
"Nothing better, sir, for supper."
The head assistant bit his lip, and then set down the lamp.
"Rover, don't you think, you are making a bad beginning?" he saidafter a pause.
"I don't understand you, Mr. Crabtree."
"Any other boy on joining a school would wish to make his entranceas creditable as possible."
"But I haven't joined this school yet."
"I won't argue that point."
"I wasn't even on your grounds, but in the public highway--andthere shot off--what? A simple firecracker. And for that youhauled me to this place, and treat me like one who has broken halfthe laws of the land. If Captain Putnam upholds you in thismatter, do you know what I shall do?"
"Make an additional fool of yourself, I presume."
"I shall write home to my guardian that I do not consider PutnamHall a proper boarding academy for any boy, and that I want to beput somewhere else."
At these outspoken words Josiah Crabtree grew pale. His greatunpopularity was already having its effect upon Captain Putnam,and he was afraid that if he should be the means of losing a pupilit might cost him his place, as much as he knew that the captaindid not favor changes in his staff of instructors.
"Don't be unreasonable, my lad," he said, but his tone was muchmilder than before.
"I don't think I am unreasonable."
"The road is one belonging to this institution--in brief, aprivate road. You became a pupil here when you entered ourcarriage, that, which brought you here."
"Does everybody who rides in that carriage become a Putnam Hallpupil?" demanded Tom.
He saw that he was worrying Crabtree, and resolved to keep it up.
"Well--er--we won't argue that point."
"Then supposing we don't argue anything until Captain Putnam comesback? In the meantime if you will release me I'll go toCedarville and put up at the hotel for the night."
"I shall not release you."
"All right, then. But if my guardian takes me away, mark mywords, you shall stand a personal lawsuit for having locked me uphere without having any right to do so."
"Why--er--this to me--me, the head assistant here?" screamedJosiah Crabtree.
In his rage he ran over to Tom and caught him by the ear.
He had scarcely done so than Tom put out one foot, gave theteacher a shove, and down went Crabtree flat on his back.
"You villain!" gasped the head assistant, as he scrambled to hisfeet.
"Don't you pinch my ear again," retorted Tom.
The door was open, and before Crabtree could stop him he ran outinto the hallway.
"Hold on!"
"Not much!"
"It will be the worse for you!"
"I'll risk that."
"Stop him, somebody!" screamed Josiah Crabtree at the top of hisvoice.
Without waiting, Tom ran down the hallway. He knew not where hewas going, and, coming, to a door, slipped through. He now foundhimself in the rear of the Hall and a few seconds later ran acrossthe back garden and dove into the farm lands.
"Free once more," he thought. "And I shan't go back until I amcertain Captain Putnam is on hand to receive me. I wonder howDick and Sam are faring?"
Thinking that his brothers would soon learn of his escape, and notwishing to be caught, he hurried on until the farm lands werepassed and he found himself in a woods.
"I'll sweep around in a circle and make for that road leading toCedarville," he concluded, and trudged on rapidly, for the woodswere dark and lonely and not particularly to his liking.
Tom had covered the best part of half a mile: when he saw a lightahead. At first he thought it must shine from the window of somefarmhouse, but soon made it out to be from a campfire, situated insomething of a hollow and not far from a spring.
"Hullo! Tramps or charcoal burners," he thought. "I wonder ifthey would be friendly?"
He slackened his pace and approached cautiously until within tenyards of where two men sat in earnest conversation. One man wastall and thin and had a scar on
his chin. The other fellow wasthe thief who had robbed Dick of his watch.At first Tom was not inclined to believe the evidence of hiseyesight.
"Perhaps I'm mistaken," he mused.
He resolved to draw nearer and hear if possible what the two menwere saying.
A clump of bushes grew close to the spring before mentioned, andhe crawled up behind this, thus getting within fifteen feet of thecampfire.
"You are certain you saw the boys, Buddy?" he heard the tall manwith the scar say.
"I'm as sure of it as I'm sure your name is Arnold Baxt--"
"Hush, Buddy, how many times must I tell you that I want that namedropped, especially around here?"
"There ain't anybody around here to hear us!"
"Well, I don't want the name mentioned. I call you Buddy. Youmust call me Nolly."
"All right, Nolly."
"Now, you are dead sure you saw the boys on their way to PutnamHall?"
"I am."
"How much have you drank today?"
"Only two glasses, this morning. Oh, it was them," went on Buddy,with a total disregard for grammar.
The tall man muttered something under his breath.
"It's too bad," he said aloud.
"What's too bad?"
"That they are going to Putnam Hall. Still, I don't know as itwill amount to anything. But I reckon you had best get out of theneighborhood."
"I'm going to get out."
"What brought you here?"
"I wanted to see you again, as I said before."
"About what?"
"That mining deal."
"I can't do anything at present."
"Why not?"
"There are some papers missing, Buddy. As soon as I get thoseI'll be in a condition to go ahead. You know, I've got to moveslowly."
"Well, what brought you here?"
"That is my business."
"Every few months or so you come up to Cedarville, Baxt---- Nolly,and on a secret mission."
"Well, who has a better right? Come, let us talk about somethingelse. If you-- Hullo, what's that?"
Both men leaped to their feet as a sound from the bushes back ofthe spring reached their ears.
Tom had been lying as quiet as a mouse when a pinching-bug, asthey are commonly called, had dropped from one of the bushes ontohis neck.
The bug was as big as a walnut shell, and had fine nippers, andwhen he took hold of the skin Tom could not help but make a slightnoise as he tried to throw the bug off.
Before the boy could arise to his feet the two men were rushingupon him, Buddy with a stick and the tall man with something whichhe had drawn from his pocket. It was a sand-bag, a favorite weaponused in our large cities by footpads.