CHAPTER II. TWO MYSTERIOUS MEN.
"Tell us all about it, Rob!"
The Eagles and the Hawks pressed close about Rob, as, after the twomachines had driven off, the scouts stood surrounded by curious townsfolkon the wharf.
"Not much to tell," rejoined Rob, with a laugh. "Major Dangerfield is, itappears, an old friend of my father. He comes from Essex County, orrather, he has a summer place up there. On an automobile trip fromAlbany, to take his daughter to visit some friends down on Peconic Bay,he decided to stop over at Hampton and see the governor.
"He entered the bank to give dad a surprise, leaving his daughter outsidefor a few minutes, in the machine. She became interested in its mechanismand pulled a lever, and--the machine darted off. And--and that's all," heconcluded modestly.
"Except that the leader of the Eagles covered himself with laurels,"struck in Bob--or Tubby--Hopkins, another member of the Eagles.
"Better than being covered with fat," parried Rob, who didn't relish thisopen praise.
"Three cheers for Rob Blake!" yelled Fylan Fobbs, a town character.
"Hip! hip! hooray!"
The cheers rang out with vim, the voices of the young scouts soundingshrill and clear among them, giving the patrol call:
"Kree-ee-ee-e!"
Rob, coloring and looking embarrassed, made his way off while theenthusiasm was at its height. With him went Merritt Crawford, TubbyHopkins and tall, lanky Hiram Nelson, the New England lad, who hadalready gained quite a reputation as a wireless operator and mechanicalgenius of the all-round variety.
"Reckon that was a right smart piece of work," drawled Hiram in his nasalaccents, as the four of them trudged along.
"Al-ice, where art thou?" hummed Tubby teasingly, with a sharp glance atRob. "Say, what a romance for the newspapers: Gallant Boy Scout rescuesbee-yoot-i-ful girl at risk of his life, and----"
He got no further. The tormented Rob grabbed the rotund youth and twistedhis arm till Tubby yelled for mercy. With a good-natured laugh, Robreleased him.
"Bet-ter sue him for damages, if he's broke your arm," grinned thepractical-minded Hiram, in consolatory tones.
"No, thanks; I've got damages enough, as the fellow said who'd beenbusted up in a railroad accident and was asked if he intended to sue,"laughingly rejoined Tubby; "but"--and he dodged to a safe distance--"thatwas a mighty pretty girl."
As he spoke, they were passing by the railroad station. A train had justpulled out of it, depositing two passengers on the platform. But none ofthe boys noticed them at the moment. Instead, their attention wasattracted by the strange action of Merritt, who suddenly darted to thecenter of the roadway.
The next instant his action was explained, as he bent and seized a bigleather wallet that lay there. Or, rather, he was just about to seize it,when one of the two men who had alighted from the train also dashed fromthe small depot, in front of which they had been standing.
He was a broad-shouldered, rough-looking fellow, with a coarse beard andhulking shoulders. His clothes were rather poor.
"What you got there, boy?" he demanded, as the other Boy Scouts and hisown companion came up.
"A wallet," said Merritt, examining his find; "it's marked 'R. D.--U. S.A.'"
A strange light came into the rough-looking man's eyes. His comrade, too,appeared agitated, and gripped the bearded fellow's arm, whisperingsomething to him.
"Let's have a look at that wallet, young chap," quoth the bigger of thetwo strangers, almost simultaneously.
"I don't know that I will," rejoined Merritt; "it's lost property, andmay contain valuables. I had better turn it over to the properauthorities."
But the rough stranger, without ceremony, made a snatch for it. Merritt,however, was too quick for him, and the fellow missed his grasp. Hegrowled something, and then, apparently thinking the better of hisill-temper, said in a comparatively mild voice:
"Guess that's my wallet, boy. I must have dropped it coming across thestreet. My name's Roger Dangerfield, Major Roger Dangerfield, of theUnited States Army, retired."
"Then there must be two of them," exclaimed Rob sharply.
"How's that? What are you interfering for?" growled the rough-lookingman, while his companion--a much younger individual than himself, thoughquite as ill-favored--edged menacingly up.
"Because," said Rob quietly, "I had the pleasure of talking to MajorDangerfield a few minutes ago. Moreover, there's no doubt in my mind thatthe wallet is his. He probably dropped it on the way up the street."
The bigger and elder of the two strangers looked nonplussed for aninstant, but he speedily recovered himself. Making a snatch for thewallet, which Merritt for an instant had allowed to show from behind hisback, he upset the lad by the sheer weight of his attack. Flat on hisback fell Merritt, the bearded man toppling over on top of him.
But, as they fell, the Boy Scout's assailant seized the wallet from himand tossed it hastily to his companion, as one might pass a football.This action was unnoticed by the Boy Scouts, and the younger man of thetwo strangers darted off instantly, with the pocketbook in hispossession.
In the meantime, Merritt, by a wrestling trick, had glided from under thebearded fellow, and, despite his struggles, the man found himself held inthe firm grip of four determined pairs of young arms. He was remarkablystrong, however, and the situation speedily assumed the likeness of anuneven contest, when another detachment of the Eagles, headed by littleAndy Bowles, the bugler of the Patrol, came up the street on their wayfrom the exciting scene on the wharf.
Aided by these reenforcements, the man was compelled, despite hisstrength, to give in. All about him surged his excited young captors. Atthis moment an individual came hurrying up. He wore a semi-official sortof dress, adorned with a tin badge as big and shiny as a new tinpie-plate. It was Si Ketchum, the village constable.
"Hoppin' watermillions!" he gasped, "what's all this here?"
It took only a few words to tell him. Si assumed his most terrificofficial look, which consisted of partially closing his little reddisheyes and screwing up his mouth till his gray goatee pointed outwardhorizontally.
"Ef so be as you've got that thar contraption uv a wallet, in ther nameuv ther law I commands yer to surrender said property," he orderedponderously.
The bearded man, still panting from his struggle, rejoined with a grin.
"Surely you're not going to believe a pack of irresponsible boys,constable. I know nothing about the wallet, except that I saw that ladthere pick it up."
"Um--hah," said Si, wagging his head sagely, "go on."
"Naturally, I was anxious to see what it was. I demanded to have a lookat it, thinking it might be some of my property that I had dropped. Whatwas my astonishment, when this young ruffian attacked me. Inself-defense, I resisted, and then they all set on me."
"That story is a fabrication from start to finish," cried Merritt, whilethe others shouted their angry confirmation of his denial. "Let me----"
For the second time he was about to relate the true circumstances. But Siinterrupted him.
"Only one way ter settle this," he said.
"Any way you like, officer," said the bearded man suavely, "anything thatyou say, I'll agree to."
"Air yer willin' ter be searched?"
"Certainly. But not here in the public street."
"All right, then; at the calaboose, ef that'll suit yer better."
"It will. Let's proceed there," said the man, with a sidelong look at theboys, who began to wonder at his assurance.
Followed by a small crowd, Si and his prisoner led the way to the"calaboose," a small, red-brick structure on a side street not far fromthe station. The boys waited eagerly outside, while within the walls ofSi's fortress the search went on. Before long, the constable emerged withan angry face, and very red. The stranger, cool and smiling, was besidehim.
"What kind uv an April fool joke is this?" demanded Si loudly, while theboys, and the townspeople, w
ho had been attracted by curiosity, looked athim in astonishment.
"You boys ain't tole me the truth," he went on, waxing more furious.
"You--you haven't found the wallet?" demanded Merritt. "Why, I distinctlyfelt him snatch it from my hand."
"Wall, it ain't on him."
"The other man!" cried Rob, suddenly recalling the bearded man'scompanion, and perceiving, likewise, for the first time since Merritt'sadventure, that the fellow had vanished.
"He's gone!" cried half a dozen voices.
In the same instant, they became aware that the bearded man had alsovanished in the excitement. Almost simultaneously, Major Dangerfield putin an unexpected appearance. He was out of breath, as if from running.
"Is this the police station?" he demanded of Si, and, receiving a nodfrom that stupefied official, he hastened on:
"I wish to report the loss of a pocketbook. I must have dropped it onMain Street. Has it been found?"
"It wuz found all right," grunted Si, "but--it's bin lost agin."
"Corporal Crawford here, found it, sir," struck in Rob, seeing themajor's evident agitation at Si's not over-lucid explanation, "but whilehe still had it in his hand, a man--a rough-looking customer--demanded tosee it. As soon as Merritt told him of the initials on it, he----"
"Tried to seize it," exclaimed the major excitedly.
"Why, yes," rejoined Rob, wondering inwardly how the major guessed soaccurately what had occurred, "there was a scuffle, and in it the man whohad attacked Merritt must, in some way, have found a chance to pass thepocketbook to his companion."
"Was the man who first inquired about the book a big, bearded man, withsun-burned face and rather shabby clothes?" inquired the major.
Rob's astonishment increased. Evidently this was no ordinary case ofruffianism. It would seem now that the men were known to the major, andhad some strong object in taking the book.
The boy nodded in reply to the major's question.
"Do you mind stepping aside with me a few minutes, my lad? I'd like toask you some questions," continued the retired officer.
He and Rob conversed privately for some moments. Then the major strodeoff, after authorizing Si to offer a reward of five hundred dollars forthe return of the wallet.
"He asked me to thank all you fellows for the aid you gave in trying tohold the man," said Rob when he rejoined his comrades, "he added that itwould not be forgotten."
Nor was it, for it may be said here, that a few days later a fine launch,named _Eagle_, was delivered at Hampton harbor with a card from themajor, begging the Eagle Patrol to accept it as their official craft. Butwe are anticipating a little.
As Rob walked away with Merritt, Tubby and Hiram, the lanky youth spokeup:
"It beats creation what there could have been in that wallet to upset himso," he commented; "he doesn't look like a man who's easily excited,either."
"Well, whatever it was," rejoined Rob, "we are likely to learn thisevening. I rather think the major has some work on hand for us."
"Hooray! some action at last," cried Merritt enthusiastically.
"Haven't had enough to-day, eh?" inquired Tubby sarcastically. "I shouldthink that seeing a runaway auto stopped, being knocked down and plungedinto a mystery, would----"
"Never mind him, Merritt; the heat's sent the fat to his head," laughedRob.
"I was going to say," he continued, "that Major Dangerfield has invitedus to the house this evening to hear something interesting."
"All four of us?"
"Yes. I rather think then we shall learn some more about that wallet."
Soon after, the boys, following some talk concerning patrol matters,separated. Each went to his home to await, with what patience he might,the coming of evening, when it appeared likely that some light would beshed on what, to them, seemed an interesting puzzle. Rob, on his returnhome, found that the major had motored on to his friend's with hisdaughter, but he had promised to return in time to keep his appointment.