CHAPTER VII.
THE ESCAPE OF ARNOLD BAXTER.
"Arnold Baxter, where is my brother Dick?" demanded Tom, as he reachedthe carriage and caught the evildoer by the arm.
To say that Arnold Baxter was astonished would be to put it altogethertoo mildly. He was completely dumfounded.
"You!" he said slowly, hardly knowing how to speak after he had caughthis breath.
"Yes, you rascal. Where is Dick."
"Dick?"
"Yes, Dick."
"I know nothing of your brother. This is a--a complete surprise. Ididn't know you were in Cleveland."
"Perhaps not. But let me tell you that we know your game, and we aregoing to hand you over to the law."
"Never!" Arnold Baxter fairly hissed out the words. "Let go of thathorse"--the latter words to Sam.
"Don't you do it!" cried Tom, and then he caught Arnold Baxter by theleg. "Come out of the carriage."
A fierce struggle ensued, and, afraid that Tom would get the worst ofit, Sam set up a loud shout for help.
"You whelp! I'll fix you!" ejaculated Arnold Baxter, and catching upthe whip, he struck at Tom with the butt end. He caught the youthdirectly over the head, and Tom went down as if shot.
"Let Tom alone," screamed Sam. "Help! help!"
"Who is it?" came from a distance, and Luke Peterson hove into sight."Hullo! the man we are after."
He made a dive for Arnold Baxter, but the latter was too quick for him,and leaped from the opposite side of the carriage to the ground. Thehorse now became frightened and set off on a run, directly for a lanebehind Dr. Karley's institution.
"Tom, are you badly hurt?" questioned Sam, but, even as he spoke, Tomtried to stagger to his feet. Seeing this, Sam began a chase afterBaxter, with the lumberman beside him.
Arnold Baxter was fleet of foot, and realizing what capture meant--areturn to prison with his sentence to be served once more from thebeginning--he ran as never before, straight for the dock where the_Peacock_ lay.
THE HORSE NOW BECAME FRIGHTENED AND SET OFF ON A RUN.]
His first thought was to board the schooner and set sail out into thelake, but a second thought convinced him that this would be unwise.
"They will follow me on a tug or steamer, and the jig will be up in notime," he said to himself "I must find some hiding place."
Many of the docks were inclosed by high board fences, and coming to oneof these, he leaped over and made his way to a huge pile ofmerchandise. Here he crouched down and kept as quiet as a mouse.
Sam and Peterson, followed by Tom, traced him to the fence, but once onthe opposite side, lost all track of the rascal.
"He's gone," said Tom, after running hither and thither on the dock."He has given us the slip nicely."
"He can't be far off," returned Sam. "I believe he was bound for thatdoctor's sanitarium when we spotted him."
"So do I, and I wouldn't wonder if poor Dick is at the place, aprisoner."
The matter was talked over for several minutes, and the two brothersdecided to return to Dr. Karley's sanitarium. The lumberman said hewould remain around the docks on the lookout for Arnold Baxter.
"If you catch him I'll give you fifty dollars," said Tom. "My father, Iknow, will pay the amount willingly."
"I'll do my best," answered Peterson. He was by no means rich and gladenough of a chance to make such a sum. Besides this, the ways of theRover boys appeared to please him.
When Sam and Tom returned to the doctor's place they found the coachdriver still at hand, he having caught Arnold Baxter's horse at theentrance to the lane.
"Take him to the stable and ask the doctor if the rig is his," saidTom, and the coach driver agreed. He was gone the best part of quarterof an hour.
"The doctor says it is his horse and carriage, but he also says hedidn't know the turnout was out," he announced, with a grin. "He's anoily one, he is!"
"Right you are, but he can't stuff us with his fairy tales," repliedTom. "Do you suppose there is a policeman handy?"
"There is probably one somewhere around."
"I wish you would hunt him up and bring him here."
"What are you going to do?"
"Dare the lion in his den; eh, Sam?"
"Right, Tom! That doctor must know a good deal more than he is wilingto tell."
The coach driver went off, and walking around to the front of thesanitarium the boys rang the bell sharply.
There was no answer to the summons, and then Tom gave the bell knob ajerk which nearly broke it off. A second-story window was thrown openwith a bang.
"I want you boys to go away!" came in angry tones.
"And I want you to come down and let us in," retorted Tom.
"I won't let you in. I've told you all I know, and that is the end ofit."
"It's not the end of it, Dr. Karley. We want to know how you came tolet Arnold Baxter have your horse and carriage."
"I didn't know the horse and carriage were out of the stable. The manmust have taken them on the sly."
"It's not likely. Open the door and let us in--it will be best foryou."
"Ha, you threaten me!"
"I've done more than that-I've sent for a policeman."
At this announcement the old doctor grated his teeth savagely. He wasmuch disturbed and knew not how to proceed.
"I was a fool to go into this thing," he muttered. "It may lead to allsorts of trouble. I must get myself clear somehow."
"Are you going to let us in?" went on Tom.
"Yes, I will let you in. But allow me to state that you are acting veryfoolishly," answered the doctor, and dropped the window. A few minuteslater he appeared at the door, which he opened very gingerly.
"You can come into the parlor," he said stiffly.
"We'll remain right here," answered Tom, afraid of some sort of a trap.
"Well, what do you want?"
"I want to know where that young man, my brother, is."
"The man who was with him said he was his nephew."
"It was a falsehood. Now where is my brother?"
"Honestly, I have not the slightest idea."
"What was that man doing with your carriage?"
"I repeat, young man, I did not know he had the carriage." The olddoctor drew a long breath, wondering how soon an officer of the lawwould appear. "Of course if anything is wrong I am perfectly willing todo all I can to set it right. My institution is above reproach, and Iwish to keep it so."
"Are you willing to let me look through your place?"
"So you think your brother is here?"
"I do."
"You are very forward. Still, to convince you that you are mistaken,you are at liberty to go through my place from top to bottom. But youmust not disturb any of the patients."
"All right; let us go through. Sam, you remain here, on the watch forthat policeman."
With bad grace Dr. Karley led the way and took Tom through thesanitarium from top to bottom, even allowing him to peep into the roomsoccupied by the "boarders," as the medical man called them. Of coursethere was no trace of Dick.
"Now I trust you are satisfied," said the doctor, when they were againat the front door.
"I am not satisfied about that carriage affair," returned Tom, asbluntly as ever.
"Well, I have told you the truth."
At this moment the coach driver came in sight, accompanied by apoliceman.
"What's the trouble?" demanded the officer of the law.
Tom and Sam told their tale, and then the doctor had his say, and thedriver related what he knew.
"Certainly a queer mix-up," remarked the policeman. He turned to theRovers. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to find my brother, who has disappeared," said Tom.
"You say you have searched through here?"
"I have--after a fashion."
"You can go through, if you wish," said the doctor to the officer.
"I reckon my brother is gone," went on Tom. "But this doctor helped therasc
als who spirited him away."
"I did absolutely nothing," cried Dr. Karley. "I am willing to aid youall I can. But I am innocent. I received no pay for giving theunfortunate young man some medicine to strengthen him, and my horse andcarriage were taken without my knowledge."
A long and bitter war of words followed, but in the end the doctor wasleft to himself.
"We'll make no charge against him yet," said Tom to the policeman. "ButI wish you would keep an eye on the institution--in case that rascalputs in an appearance again."
"I will," returned the officer.
A little while later Sam and Tom set out to rejoin Luke Peterson. Whenthey gained the dock they saw nobody.
"He ought to be somewhere about," said the younger Rover.
They tramped about from place to place for fully an hour.
Presently they came close to where the _Swallow_ lay. Had they butknown it, the _Peacock_, with poor Dick on board, lay but threeblocks further away.
"My gracious!" cried Sam suddenly.
He had seen a form stretched motionless across some lumber lying near.
The form was that of Luke Peterson, and his cheek and temple werecovered with blood.