CHAPTER XII.
THE FIGHT.
Harris had looked at his watch when he called out to Whipple that fiveminutes would be allowed him and Pete to give themselves up.
"While we're waiting to see what they do, inside there," the officersaid to Matt, "you go around and tell Sanders the fellows are showingfight, and warn him to be on his guard."
Matt made his way to the corner of the house under the protection ofthe veranda. Burton, at the first shot from inside, had got behind atree from which he could command the front entrance and the side of thebuilding he had been instructed to watch.
The young motorist, without being fired at, gained the rear door andtold Sanders what had happened around in front. Sanders had heapedup a little pile of stove wood in the form of a breastwork, and wascrouching behind it.
"I heard that shot," said he, "and made up my mind we was goin' to havebrisk work. There ain't no trees handy, around here, so I did the nextbest thing an' fortified my position with stove wood. You bet I'll beon the lookout, King! If any man tries to come through that door, I'lldrop him in his tracks. I don't know what them skunks think they cando, actin' in this way. We could keep 'em boxed up in there fer a week,if we wanted to, and they're bound to lose out in the end."
Leaving Sanders to watch and wait for developments, Matt started backtoward the front of the house. Seeing a garage that Caspar had builtfor his car, the idea struck him to move over in that direction andlook for the stolen automobile. He found the door of the garage locked.As he turned away from it, he saw a square framework of oak planksleaning against the barn. Probably the framework was four feet square.What it had been used for Matt could not guess, but his quick braininstantly devised an idea.
Dragging the framework along with him, he reached the front of thehouse and found Harris just snapping his watch and returning it to hispocket. The South Chicago man was standing near the tree with Burton.
"The five minutes are up," he remarked, "and here's where we've got todo something. What are you bringing there, Matt?" he asked.
"A portable fort," replied Matt. "You've got to get to the front door,Harris, and you don't want Pete and Whipple making a target of youwhile you're doing it. After you get close up to the door they won't beable to reach you with their bullets."
"Egol, that's a bright idea! But how's one man going to manage thething?"
"I'll go along with you. Between the two of us I guess we can handleit."
Holding the framework on edge, Matt and Harris crouched behind it;then, keeping it upright and hauling it along with them, they startedacross the front of the house toward the steps.
Weapons cracked from the boarded-up windows, and leaden missiles_chugged_ into the stout oak planks. The bullets could not penetratethe heavy oak, and consequently they did no damage. Reaching the steps,Matt and Harris lifted the framework upward a step at a time andfinally gained the recess containing the front door. Here they steppedfrom behind the barricade, and the officer laid hands on the knob andshook the door violently.
"Open!" he cried; "open in the name of the law!"
A taunting laugh from within was his only answer.
"I hate to do any damage to this fine building," said Harris, "butwe've got to get in if the scoundrels won't come out. I'll try to smashthe lock."
Placing the muzzle of his revolver against the key-hole, he pulled thetrigger. The bullet tore its way through the lock, and once again theofficer essayed to open the door. But it defied his efforts.
"There must be a bolt in addition to the lock," said he, disappointed."If we smash in here we'll have to use a battering-ram, and I don'twant to do that except as a last resort. We'll look for a ladder andmake an attack on one of the windows."
When he and Matt started down the steps with their movable framework,they came nearly getting caught by a drop fire. The shooting was donefrom the second-story windows, and the bullets came over the top of theoak shield. Fortunately no harm was done, and Matt and Harris tiltedthe screen so as to cover the tops of their heads.
Just as they reached the bottom of the steps, a fierce yell came fromthe rear of the house, followed by sounds of firing.
"Sanders is in trouble!" cried Burton, starting to run around the sideof the building. "While some of those inside were holding our attentionat the front door, an attempt was made to get out at the back."
"You stay here, Burton!" shouted Harris. "They may be trying to drawall of us around behind while they get through the front entrance.Watch the door like a hawk, and I'll go around and help Sanders."
Matt trailed after Harris as he hotfooted it for the back yard. Theyfound Sanders leaning over the top of his woodpile, covering the reardoor with his revolver.
"What's the matter?" demanded Harris.
"Nothin' now," Sanders answered grimly. "It's all over. One of 'empulled the kitchen door open an' was plannin' to make a break. Idiscouraged the attempt an' the man jumped back and slammed the door."
Harris leaped to the door, put a bullet into the lock and then tried topush into the house. But this door, like the one in front, had otherfastenings than the lock, and the attempt was fruitless. Harris beat aretreat as soon as he found out the effort could not succeed. Severalbullets followed his retreat, coming from the windows, and one of thempierced his helmet and flung the head-piece to the ground.
"They're getting real savage," remarked Sanders grimly. "If they don'tlook out they'll hurt somebody."
"It will make it all the worse for them, if they do," snapped Harris,his temper rising with each succeeding failure to get into the house."We'll get a stick of cordwood and smash in this back door."
There was a pile of cordwood near the garage, and Harris ran and got aheavy, four-foot section of elm. Matt jumped to help him.
"You'd better take Sanders' gun and stay behind the woodpile, Matt,"said Harris, "and let Sanders and me do this. There'll be more shootingand----"
"Sanders will watch the door better than I can," broke in Matt, layinghold of one end of the heavy stick.
"All right," acquiesced Harris, and they ran at the door.
The shooting continued, but it was plain that the men in the house werenot in good range, for their ammunition was wasted.
The end of the stick of wood crashed into the door and set it toshaking. A second blow still further loosened it, and a third sent itsmashing inward.
The giving 'way of the door under the impact threw both Harris and Mattfrom their feet, and the two of them, with the stick, tumbled into thekitchen.
Matt, quick as a cat to regain his feet, saw Whipple and Pete bearingdown on Harris with clubs. The officer lay on the floor, half stunned.Grabbing him by the feet, Matt jerked him back to safety, followed by atorrent of oaths from the two fugitives.
The door slammed. While Harris was getting to his feet, Pete andWhipple could be heard piling things against the door on the inside.
"Wow, this head!" exclaimed Harris, lifting one hand to his temples."It hasn't got over that first jolt, yet, and here it gets another. Andwe didn't gain much, at that."
"We haven't got a strong enough force to rush into the house," saidSanders. "If it hadn't been for King, Harris, you'd have been capturedby those fellows, and then Burton and I would have had to send for helpbefore we could do anything more. You've got to be more careful, or thegang will escape in spite of us."
"I'm beginning to see that, myself. But we can't lay around here withour hands in our pockets. If----"
"Hist!" interrupted Matt, in an excited whisper.
"Don't look up, Harris. Miss Brady is on the roof and just looked overand waved her hand."
"Great Scott!" muttered Harris. "What do you think that means?"
"It means that she has been able to free herself, in some way, and getto the top of the house. Now's our chance to rescue her and get her outof this fighting."
"How's it to be done? There ain't ladders enough to reach to the roof,and Pete and Whipple wouldn't give us a chance to us
e them even ifthere were."
"We can't use ladders, and we can't let any of those in the house knowby our actions that there's anyone on the roof. The instant they thinkMiss Brady is up there, they'll make a rush for the top of the houseand drag her back inside. Don't look up, whatever you do."
"But we've got to get the girl off the roof, in some way."
"I'll use the air ship----"
"That's a scheme for your life!" exclaimed Harris.
"But while I'm using the Hawk," went on Matt, speaking quickly, "youand Sanders and Burton must contrive to keep everyone in the houseoccupied on the lower floor."
"We can do that. We'll blaze away at the boards at the windows. Thatwill keep their attention below."
"You'd better go and tell Burton what our plan is. If he should seeMiss Brady he'd be liable to yell to us, and that would let Pete andWhipple know what's up."
"They'll probably suspect something when they see the air ship coming."
"I don't think so. Besides, if you keep them busy enough, the chancesare that the Hawk won't be seen."
"If you _are_ seen, Matt, you'll surely be shot at--and the Hawk'sa pretty big target. If a bullet is put into the gas bag, or if onesmashes into the motor, you and the girl may be killed."
"I think I can make it," said Matt resolutely. "Anyhow, I'm going totry."
"Good luck to you!" returned Harris warmly. "I'll go at once and putBurton next."
While the officer moved toward the front of the house, Matt started forthe rear of the yard on his way back to the air ship.