CHAPTER XVII.
MURDER IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE.
Ted lay for a long time only half conscious.
But gradually his senses returned, and he opened his eyes to findhimself in darkness, trying hard to think what had happened to him.
He knew that he had been felled by something powerful and terrible, thathad knocked him in a heap so suddenly that he hardly knew what hadhappened to him.
Slowly the consciousness of it all came to him. Some one in anautomobile had ridden alongside him and thrown ammonia in his face.
His eyes were still smarting with it, and he wondered, seeing no light,if it had blinded him, and he was now lying in the dark when there waslight all around him.
He struggled with this thought for a moment, because the idea of goingblind was terrible to him.
He wondered where he was, and felt around and learned that he was lyingon a couch.
Then he swung his feet to the floor and sat up. The ammonia had left himstill weak, but gradually he became stronger, and got to his feet andbegan to explore the room with his fingers.
He found a chair and a table, and presently came to the door, which hetried to open, but could not.
Passing around the room, he arrived at the window, and, looking throughthe glass, saw a star, and thanked Heaven that he could see.
He tried the fastenings of the window, unlocked it, and threw it up,stretching out his hand. The window was closed with iron bars.
He had made the circuit of the room, and had discovered that he wassecurely shut in.
He went back to the lounge and lay down to think matters over.
He felt quite sure that the man Checkers had been his assailant. Thewarning had not been without reason, after all.
As he lay quietly he heard footsteps in the next room. Two men evidentlyhad entered it. They were talking, and occasionally, when their voicesrose higher than usual, he could catch a word or two.
From the tones of their voices he learned that the conversation was notof the most pleasant nature. They were quarreling about something.
By degrees their voices grew higher, and occasionally Ted caught suchwords as "money," "half," "thousand," enough to tell him that they weredividing something.
"They're quarreling over the swag," said Ted to himself. "Good! 'Whenthieves fall out, honest men get their dues,'" he quoted. "Keep it up,and I'll get you yet."
They did keep it up.
It was the voice of Checkers that rose high.
"I tell you I'll have half or I'll split on you, if I go to the 'stir'for the rest of my life."
"If you do split, you won't go to the 'stir.' The boys will kill youbefore you get the chance."
"Well, what's your proposition?"
"I'll give you five thousand. That's enough for putting me next to thetrain. What do you want? The earth? Didn't I do the dirty work? If I'dbeen caught, who'd have been soaked? You? I guess not. It would havebeen me who would have been killed, for I'm like the other fellows--I'dhave fought until they killed me. You're not entitled to more than fivethousand, and that's all you'll get."
"I won't take it. Half or I squeal."
"Squeal, then."
There was a sudden trampling of feet in the other room, the crash of anoverturning table, followed by a yell of death agony, and the thud of afalling body.
"Great Scott, one of them is dead," said Ted, with a shudder.
He was listening intently, and heard a scuffle of feet, then hurriedfootsteps died away and a door slammed somewhere.
Deep silence followed.
Then the horror of the situation burst upon Ted, The house had beendeserted by the only living creature, except himself, who was left tostarve to death in this prison, with a dead man in the next room.
One or the other of the two men who had held him captive had done murderand escaped with the stolen money.
Ted lay speculating which was dead and which had escaped, but he couldmake nothing of it.
The night dragged wearily on for Ted could not sleep, for thinking ofthe dead man in the next room, and his own precarious position.
He reviewed the chances of his being rescued. They were very slim,indeed.
Bud and Chief Desmond would start a hunt for him about the city, butwould not find him, and no one would think of looking for him in thisdeserted house.
But at last the night passed, and Ted watched with a grateful heart thegradual dawning of the day.
At last it was light enough to see, and he looked around the room.
It was old-fashioned and high. Through the window he could see a bit ofthe high brick fence, and a few trees and long, tangled, dead grass.That was the extent of his view from the window.
He examined the door, which was the only other means of exit from theroom.
It was very heavy, and made of oak. The lock on it was massive andold-fashioned, and set into the oak frame so that an examination of itdispelled all hope of getting it off.
If he was to escape there was only one way, to cut a hole in the door.He felt for his knife. It was gone, and Ted wandered disconsolately tothe couch and sat down to ponder. But the more he racked his brains thefurther he got from a plan of escape.
The day dragged slowly on, but he would not sleep for fear that he mightmiss some one passing to whom he could call and bring assistance.
Late in the afternoon he stepped to the window and looked at an appletree in the grounds beyond. It was full of red apples, and he was veryhungry, but they were not for him.
He wondered that he had not heard any one pass along the road on theother side of the brick wall.
Suddenly he noticed that the leaves in an apple tree were beingviolently agitated, although there was not a breath of wind stirring.
Some one was in the tree, and his first impulse was to yell for help,then he reflected that if it was a boy pilfering apples the cry wouldscare him, and his only chance for rescue would be ruined by the boyrunning away.
He would wait for the boy to come to the ground, and would then speak tohim.
But as he was watching the tree intently the movement of the leavesceased, and soon he perceived a peering face and two dark, roguish eyes.They reminded him of a bird, so bright and inquiring were they.
Ted smiled at the eyes, and thought he saw an answering twinkle in them.
They disappeared after a few moments. The leaves shook again, and a boyof about ten years, incredibly ragged, with a dirty face, hands, andbare feet and legs, dropped to the ground. His head was covered with atangled mop of brown hair in lieu of a hat.
The boy stared at the window, all the while munching an apple, whilefrom the bulges in his scant trousers it was evident that he had othersfor future consumption.
"Hello, boy!" said Ted, with a friendly way.
"Hello! Who are you?" said the boy, coming a few steps nearer, to get abetter view.
"Do you mean what's my name?"
"Uh-huh!"
"My name is Ted Strong. What's yours?"
"Napoleon Bonaparte."
Ted laughed at the solemnity of the boy when he gave this answer.
"Well," said the boy, "it's just as much Napoleon as yours is TedStrong."
"But my name is Ted Strong."
"Aw, come off."
"All right, if you don't believe me, ask me any questions you like toprove it."
"Where do you come from?"
"Moon Valley, South Dakota."
"That's right. What's the names of some of Ted Strong's fellers?"
Ted named them all, the boy giving a nod after every name.
"Now, what's the name of your horse? The one you ride most?"
"Sultan. You seem to know something about me."
"You bet. Well, maybe you're all right, but what are you doing here? Ialways thought you stayed out West--away out West."
"Usually I do."
"Then what are you doing in the haunted house?"
"Is this a haunted house?"
"You bet
. There was a feller killed there once, and nobody will live init no more."
"Honest, now, what _is_ your name?"
"My name's-- Say, are you sure enough Ted Strong?"
"Certainly I am."
The boy came closer, looking at Ted fixedly.
"Gee, I wouldn't go inter that house fer a hundred million dollars."
"I've been here all night, and it didn't scare me any."
"That settles it. I reckon you must be Ted Strong. He's the only fellerI ever heard of that wouldn't be scared to stay in a haunted house. Howdid you get there?"
Without hesitation, Ted told the boy how he had been held up by a man inan automobile, and knocked out by ammonia fumes, and then locked up inthe house. But he said nothing about the murdered man in the next room.
"Now I've told you all about myself, it's only fair that you should tellme about yourself."
"Oh, I ain't nothin'. I'm just 'Scrub.'"
"Haven't you got any other name?"
"Nary one that I know of that's fastened to me all the time."
"How's that?"
"When I'm living with old man Jones, I'm Scrub Jones, and when I'm withMr. Foster, I'm Scrub Foster, and that way. I don't belong to nobody,an' I just live around doing chores for my keep. Just now I ain't got noplace to stop, and I'm sleeping in hay-stacks and living on apples andturnips and potatoes, when I make a fire and bake 'em, and once in awhile I trap a rabbit. But, gee, what a good time you must have!"
"How would you like to go with me out to Moon Valley?"
"Aw, quit your kiddin'."
"I mean it I'd just like to take you out there and give you a good timefor once in your life."
"Would you? By golly, you can."
"Then I'll tell you what to do. Go around to the front door and come in,and back to this room, and unlock the door and let me out, and we'll gotogether."
"Gee, I wouldn't go into that house for four thousand barrels ofhoarhound candy. Say, are you a prisoner?"
"I am, and if you don't come in and let me out I can't take you with meto Moon Valley."
"That's so. But I'm scared of the ghost."
"Oh, so you're afraid, are you?"
At this the boy flushed and fiddled with his toes in the grass.
"No kid that's afraid could live in Moon Valley. He'd be scared to deathin a week."
"Are there ghosts there?"
"There are no such things as ghosts. Bet you never saw one yourself."
"No, I never did. But all the folks around here say there is ghosts inthat house."
"Well, say there are, they wouldn't come out in the daytime, wouldthey?"
"I reckon not. Gee, I'll come in."
The boy disappeared like a flash, and in a few moments Ted heard thefront door open, then a scream.
"I'll bet he's found the dead man," said Ted, aloud, in a tone ofannoyance. "That's just my luck."
The door slammed, and all was silent. The boy evidently had run away,and Ted was left alone in the house with the dead man.
Once more darkness descended upon the earth, and Ted took up anotherhole in his belt, and tried to believe that he was not hungry.
About nine o'clock Ted, who was lying on the couch looking at theceiling, saw a faint flicker of light pass across it, and sprang to hisfeet. It was the light cast by a lantern somewhere outside.
He sprang to the window and looked out.
Behind the brick wall he could see the reflection of a bobbing lantern,and hear the shuffle of many feet.
"Ho, there!" he cried.
The shuffle stopped, and a voice that was trembling with fear answeredhim.
"Come in here, and let me out," called Ted.
"We'll be thar in a minute," was the answer, and presently the frontdoor was thrown open, followed by exclamations, as whoever had come inviewed the body in the next room.
Then the voices were outside his door.
"You open it an' go in," said a voice. "You're the constable."
"Well, supposin' he's got a gun?" asked the constable tremulously.
"Don't be afraid," said Ted. "I have no gun. They took everything awayfrom me."
"There! Ain't that enough? Open the door."
Ted heard the bar being taken down, then the key grate in the lock, andthe door was thrown open with a bang. He found himself looking into thebarrels of a shotgun.
"If yer makes a motion, I'll blow yer head plumb off, blame yer,"shouted the man with the gun.
"Honest," said Ted, "I'm not armed."
"How come yuh here?"
"I was made insensible by ammonia fumes and brought here last night."
"How come yuh ter kill that man in ther next room?"
"I didn't kill him."
"That's a likely story. I find yuh alone in ther house with him. Yuh'llhev ter answer ter ther magistrate fer this."
"See here, my friend, how could I have killed that man, then come inhere, and locked and barred the door on the outside?"
"He's got yuh there, Si," said one of the men.
"Look here," said Ted, showing his star. "I'm an officer of the law. Thefellows who captured and brought me here were robbers, and I was ontheir trail. That's all there is to it. Now, let me pass. I want to seewhat is in the next room."