CHAPTER V.
PETE AND WHIPPLE MAKE A CAPTURE.
"Consarn it!" cried Whipple, overtaking Pete as he was legging it forthe canal, "what ye runnin' fer?"
"Fer the same reason you are, I reckon," replied Pete. "Them three kidswas too much fer us. I thought I heerd ye yell that ye'd put King downan' out?"
"I thought I had," and Whipple exploded a savage oath and fondled theside of his head, "but the cub come back at me with a sand bag, orsomethin', an' I seen more stars than what ye can find overhead. Ferabout half a minit I was clean knocked out. When I come ter myself yehad made a run of it, an' I trailed after ye. We got a chance yet, d'yehear? Purty idee if two huskies like us can't git the best o' threekids like them."
"That King is more kinds of an eel than I know how ter mention,"replied Pete. "The way he wriggles around an' gits out o' tight cornersis some surprisin'. Had we better go back there, Whipple? It wouldn'tdo fer us ter git captured; an' then, considerin' what we're workin'fer in La Grange, it would be foolish ter take any chances."
"Chances!" growled Whipple. "We've got guns an' them kids haven't.Where do the chances come in? Pull yer six-shooter an' come on. I'mgoing ter git even for that whack King give me on the head. An' we wantthat air ship. It's jest the thing we need. Don't be a fool, Pete."
With this final adjuration, Whipple, weapon in hand, started backtoward the trees. Pete, likewise prepared for emergencies, hurriedafter him.
Before they had covered half the distance that separated them from thetrees, however, they saw the black shape of the air ship shoot upwardand vanish in the darkness toward the north.
Whipple's rage and disappointment were so keen that he gave way to atorrent of piratical language, storming around until Pete called him toa halt with a show of temper.
"What good does that do? King an' his pals have hiked out, an' mebbyit's a good thing fer us that they did. Stop yer swearin' an' let's goon to the ole quarry an' take a look fer Brady."
Stifling his anger, Whipple strode on to the trees and peered over thescene of the recent encounter.
"Yes," he growled, "King has showed us his heels ag'in, but it ain'ta good thing fer us noways that he got clear. What d'ye s'pose he wasdoin' here?"
"I pass. I ain't no mind reader, Whipple."
"No, I reckon ye ain't; an' ye ain't got any too much good, commonsense, neither. Mebby King's got a tip that the girl's at La Grange,an' he's come over in this direction lookin' fer us. Did ye ever thinko' that? If our game's been tipped off, we're li'ble ter find ourselvesin a hard row o' stumps."
"Who's goin' ter tip off our game?" demanded Pete. "Them Chicagodetectives ain't been able ter find out a thing."
"Mebby they have, but that confounded Matt King is the sort o' cat wenever know which way he's goin' ter jump. If that kid wasn't stringin'us, I'll bet money the feller that got him ter git writin' material,an' then ter take a letter to the La Grange postoffice, addressed terKing, was Brady."
"Why should Brady be writin' ter King? He hates him down ter theground."
"Brady would do anythin' ter beat our game."
"Then, if ye're so sure Brady's in the ole quarry, let's find him an'have it out with him, right here."
"That's the thing fer us ter do--only thing we _can_ do, now."
The two men started out of the shadow of the trees in the direction ofthe railroad track and the quarry. A wagon road followed the track, andbefore they had reached the road, the _chugetty-chug_ of an automobile,rapidly approaching, struck on their ears.
"Get back ter the trees!" muttered Whipple. "Here comes an automobile,an' it won't do fer us ter be seen."
They scrambled back into the dark shadows of the trees. Crouchingthere, they waited and watched.
The automobile was coming at a good clip along the road, and could beseen to contain two men. To the surprise and consternation of Pete andWhipple, the machine slowed to a halt just between the trees and thetrack.
"Thunder!" gasped Pete; "that move don't mean any good ter us. I don'tlike the way things is movin' ternight. What d'ye think them dubs is upto?"
"Shut up an' listen!" whispered Whipple. "They're talkin', an' mebby wecan find out what their game is."
"There's the old quarry, on the right, Graydon," one of the men wassaying, "and there's the canal on the left. Right around in here iswhere that air ship ought to be."
"Maybe we're too late, Harris," answered the man addressed as Graydon,"and that the game has been pulled off."
"I hope not. If anything has gone wrong with King and his friends,I'm to blame. Get out and cross the track to the quarry. Look aroundthere and see if you can find anything of the boys. If you can't, myhands will be in the air, and I won't know the first thing to do. Whileyou're nosing around the quarry, I'll walk over toward the canal. Ifanything has gone wrong with Motor Matt, I'll bet Hector Brady is backof it."
All this, which was plainly heard by Whipple and Pete, rendered themanything but easy in their minds. They knew Harris, the energeticofficer from South Chicago, and his activities while helping Motor Matthad left memories anything but pleasant. And then, too, the mention ofBrady had set the two scoundrels to guessing.
"We'd better duck while we've got time," whispered Pete.
"Wait!" returned Whipple roughly. "We've got ter find out what's up--itmay mean success or failure fer that game we're workin' at La Grange."
"How ye goin' ter find out anythin' more? Them fellers have quittalkin'."
"They've quit talkin'," answered Whipple darkly, "but they haven't gotaway from here yet. Stick right where ye are, Pete, an' watch."
Graydon had got out of the automobile and started across the railroadtrack. It was only a moment or two before he was blotted out of sight.Harris had likewise climbed out of the car and was starting slowly inthe direction of the canal.
As the officer advanced, Whipple pulled Pete behind one of the trees.
"Leave it ter me," he whispered savagely. "Harris is comin' this wayan' I'll take care o' him. We've got a score ter settle with that dub,anyway."
"I won't stand fer no desperate work, Whipple," warned Pete. "We'retangled up a-plenty as it is."
"You stand by an' keep yer mouth shut!" ordered Whipple. "We got ternab Harris an' make him do some more talkin'. Hist, now! He's comin'close."
The officer, greatly worried on account of Matt and his friends, andutterly unconscious of lurking danger, was making straight toward thetrees, evidently intending to pass between them on his way to the canal.
As he drew nearer, he kept his head moving from side to side, plainlyhoping to discover something.
Scarcely breathing, the two fugitives waited for him. Whipple, catchinghis revolver by the barrel, leaped out from behind the tree just asHarris came abreast of him. At that instant the officer's head wasturned away. He heard the noise of the spring and whirled--but toolate. Whipple brought the butt of his revolver down on the officer'shead with stunning force.
Harris, without a word, flung up his hands and crumpled in aninsensible heap to the ground.
"Look here, Whipple," cried the exasperated Pete, "if ye've done ferhim I'm goin' ter quit ye, right here."
"I haven't done fer him," scoffed Whipple, "only jest laid him outso'st we can handle him."
"What ye goin' ter do?"
"Take him ter La Grange an' find out what he knows. We'll use theautomobile."
"That's plumb foolish! He'll git next ter the whole game, then he'llhave us dead ter rights."
"If I'm figgerin' this thing right, some 'un's next ter our game as itis, an' we've got ter take the girl an' move. The automobile'll come inhandy fer us, an' when we pull out we can leave Harris behind. I've runthe engine in the Hawk, an' I know enough about motor cars ter run thatmachine. Hurry up! We want ter git away from here afore that other dubcomes back from the quarry."
Harris, breathing heavily and still unconscious, was picked up neck andheels and rushed to the car.
"You git in behind with
him," said Whipple, as the officer was placedin the tonneau, "an' I'll git in the driver's seat. We'll pass uplookin' fer Brady in the quarry fer now. I reckon Harris can tell usall we want ter know."
The two scoundrels got into the car, Whipple pausing first to crank upthe engine.
Turning the car around the other way, he headed along the back track,gradually speeding up the motor. The rascals had had one backset, butthis move seemed likely to more than make up for it.