CHAPTER XVI
A TEST OF REAL NERVE
"What an idiot I was not to stop to consider that Sambo Ebony could snapthose cords!" groaned Tom, staring disconcertedly about him. "Yet, ifNicolas were safe I wouldn't so much mind the escape of the black. I shallsee him again, and I shall know him wherever I see him."
"Let's look for the trail," proposed Foreman Corbett, holding one of thelanterns close to the ground.
The trail, however, was easy neither to distinguish nor to follow.
"We may as well leave here and search farther," concluded the youngengineer. "Before we go, though, we'll get the magneto and take it withus."
Then the procession turned toward the land end of the retaining wall.
"If Nicolas doesn't show up soon," Tom murmured to the foreman, "I shallnotify the Blixton police and offer a reward for news of him. That littlefellow is too faithful to be left to his fate."
"What would the negro want of Nicolas?" queried the foreman.
"Revenge," Tom replied. "It makes a big bully like him furious to behandled the way Nicolas treated him. But I can't understand how Nicolasfailed to repeat his clever trick with the black."
Arrived at the water front the magneto was dumped into the motor boat.
"Seems to me I would smash that thing all to pieces," Suggested ForemanCorbett. "It has done harm enough around this wall."
"I don't believe in destroying anything that is useful," Reade answered,shaking his head. "Besides, we are going to capture Sambo yet, and thenwe shall want that magneto for evidence."
"What are you going to do to find Nicolas?" Corbett wanted to know.
"I wish I had even an idea," Tom sighed. "Corbett, I wish you would hurryover to Blixton and rout out the police. I've an idea that Sambo may havea hiding place in the town. Nicolas, too, may have been taken that way.I'll sit down and write out a good description of the rascal."
This Reade did, handing the paper to the foreman.
"Who'll take charge here? Corbett asked.
"I will, until you get back, but hurry."
As soon as the foreman had gone Tom stepped into the motor boat, takingthe wheel.
"Tune up the engine, Conlon," Reade directed the engine tender. "I'm goingto take a run around to the west side of the wall. I'm going to try tofind the tubes of high explosive that I'm satisfied were planted in thewall."
"That's a fine job for a dark night, sir," grumbled Conlon. "Suppose werun into the bombs, and they prove to be contact exploders, too?"
"That's one of the risks of the business," Tom retorted grimly.
Before the motor boat had gone far Tom called one of the men aboard to takethe wheel. Then the young chief engineer began to experiment with thesearchlight.
"What's the idea, sir?" asked Conlon, looking on.
"I want to depress the light, so that we can use it to look down into thewater."
"And try to find the bombs?"
"Exactly," Reade nodded.
"Lucky if we don't find the bombs with the keel of the boat," observedConlon.
Tom succeeded in rigging the light so that he could use it. By the timethat the boat was around at the west side of the retaining wall Tom orderedthe boat in close alongside. Then, with the depressed searchlight hediscovered that he could see the sides of the wall to a depth of some eightfeet under the surface.
"That may be enough for our needs," Reade murmured. "Now, run the boatalong, slowly and close. I want to scan every bit of the wall."
Less than five minutes later Tom Reade, one hand controlling thesearchlight and peering steadily into the water, sang out:
"Stop! Back her---slowly. There, come back five feet. So! Hold hersteady!"
As the engine stopped Conlon stepped forward, kneeling by Reade's side.
"There are the bombs, man!" cried Tom exultantly. "See them---the twoupper ones?"
"I see something that gleams," admitted Conlon.
"Well, we'll have them up and aboard in a hurry. Then you'll see justwhat they are."
"You're not going to try to raise the things with the boathook, are you?"queried the engine tender, a look of alarm in his eyes.
"That might be risky," admitted Reade. "I'll go over the side after themand bring them up.
"Don't, Mr. Reade!" urged Conlon with a shiver. "That'll be worse still.You're likely to blow yourself into the next world!"
"I think not---hope not, anyway," answered Tom steadily. "Have you a pairof pliers in your tool box that'll cut small wires?"
"Yes," replied Conlon.
"Get them for me."
Reade removed his coat, shoes and socks, then took the pliers.
"Let one of the men jump ashore with the boathook and hold the boatsteady," was Reade's next direction.
This being done, Reade deflected the searchlight for one more look into thewater. Then, the pliers in his right hand, he mounted to the rail of theboat.
"Be careful, sir---do," begged Conlon. "What I'm afraid of is that thebombs are contact exploders."
"It's likely," nodded Reade. "I'll be as careful as I can."
Tom did not dive; the distance was too short. Instead, he let himself downinto the water slowly. Then his head vanished beneath the surface of thewater.
"Whew! The nerve of that young fellow!", thought Conlon with shudderingadmiration.
"Ob co'se Massa Reade done got nerve," nodded the negro at the wheel."Dat's one reason why, Misto Conlon, Massa Reade is boss."
"There are other reasons why he's boss," grunted the engine tender. "Mr.Reade has nerve, but he also has brains in his head. Any man with brainsand the sense to use 'em goes to the top, while I stay down a good deallower, and you, Rastus, are still lower."
"Ah reckon Ah got a two-bit hat on top o' only two cents' wo'th o' brains,Misto Conlon," grinned the darkey.
Conlon was an Irishman, and naturally, therefore, no coward. Yet with thepossibility that Tom would run afoul of a contact-exploding bomb and sendthem all skyward, the engine tender waited at the rail with drawn breath.
Finally, there was a ripple on the water. Then Tom's head appeared; nexthis shoulders.
"Conlon!"
"Here, sir."
"Here is one of the bombs. Handle it carefully."
"Trust me, sir."
Conlon drew the metal tube, with a piece of wire pendant from it, ascarefully as though it had been a royal baby and heir to a throne. Intothe boat the engine tender lifted the thing, and laid it carefully in alocker. By the time that Conlon was back at the rail Reade had gone belowagain.
"Down dere, aftah mo' death!" grinned the darkey. A colored man canusually be brave when serving under a white leader in whom he has fullconfidence.
Presently Tom came up with another metal tube, like the first.
"I'll hang on and get my breath," Tom informed the men in the boat, as herested one hand on the rail. "The other two bombs are about three feetlower, and it's going to be hard to work at the lower depth."
"Be careful, won't you, sir?" urged Conlon, in a somewhat awed voice. "Mr.Reade, we can't afford to lose you until this job is completed. Men withall the nerve you show are scarce in the world."
"I know where there are forty thousand men with at least as much nerve,many of them having several times as much as I," laughed Tom.
"Where on earth are they?" demanded the Irishman.
"In the United States Navy. If there were a battleship here the jackieswould be fighting for the honor of going down after these bombs."
Then Reade dropped out of sight, once more. Nor was it long before hehad the third and the fourth bombs aboard the boat. Then he climbed inhimself, dripping like a shaggy Newfoundland dog.
"Put in at the dock now," the young chief ordered, and the boat started onits way.
"Some one signaling from the wall lower down," Tom soon informed the negropilot. "Put in where you see the signaling."
"It is I, Corbett," called the foreman of
that name. "Mr. Reade, thesetwo men with me belong to the Blixton police."
"Perhaps you had rather walk down to the dock, then, instead of gettinginto the boat," laughed Reade. "We have four bombs aboard, just takenout of the wall above here."
Accordingly the three turned and walked. At the landing the policemengazed curiously at the bombs.
"Do you want to take charge of these?" Reade queried.
"Not particular about it," replied the policeman, with a shrug. "We'dbe scorched for endangering the town if we took those things into Blixton.Your foreman, Mr. Reade, called us out here to see if we could get trailof your missing Mexican servant."
"That's a vastly more important thing to do," Tom replied with enthusiasm."I want to find Nicolas before I do another thing."
"Come here, Bill," called one of the officers.
Out of the shadows near the shore came a youth leading a dog on a leash.
"This dog is a bloodhound," announced one of the policemen with visiblepride. "Take him to where the scent of the Mexican starts, and the dogwill follow as long as there's any scent left. But, first, we'll have tohave something that the Mexican has worn, so that the hound will know thetrue scent."
"That will take but a few minutes," declared Reade energetically. "Comeup to the house, and I'll find something that Nicolas has worn."
Corbett remained behind to take care of the bombs. Tom led the officersand the youth with the hound on a brisk walk up to the house.
"Wait out here," murmured Tom, "and I'll bring something out. If we allgo into the house we'll wake my partner, Hazelton, and he has enough workto do in the daytime, without being kept up at night."
While the others remained outside Tom stole into the house. There was aroom in the rear, off the kitchen, where Nicolas slept. Into that roomReade stepped noiselessly.
It was not necessary to strike a match, for, in the very faint light there,Tom espied an object on the foot of the bed that he recognized---one ofthe Mexican's white canvas shoes.
Tom snatched it up quickly. Then, despite his steady nerves, he staggeredback.