CHAPTER XXIII.
EXCITING EVENTS.
EVEN before they reached the guard line, the little party could plainlyhear the groans that had so frightened the Spanish sentinel. The soundscame from a point some two hundred feet beyond the line. Between thespells of groaning would come noises like a struggle going on, a heavyfall, then more groans.
Suddenly the teamster with an oath broke into a run and the boysfollowed close at his heels. It was a pitiful scene that the lanternsrevealed when they reached the spot. The teamster, with tears in hiseyes, was swearing vigorously as he untangled the hitching ropes fromthe legs of the two mules whose sufferings were frightful to behold.Their bellies were swollen up to twice their natural size and theireyes were glassy with pain. Occasionally one would stagger to its feet,stand swaying for a few minutes, then fall heavily to the ground, whereit would lay groaning in spasms of pain.
"What's the matter with them?" Charley demanded anxiously.
"The Lord only knows," said the teamster, "that swelling of the stomachlooks as though they had been foundered, but that can't be. I only gavethem their usual feed for the night--just what they always have."
"Can we do anything for them?" inquired the lad.
Canady shook his head. "I am afraid they are too far gone," he said."But I'll try. I've got all kinds of medicines in my tent. I'll run andget them."
He was back in a minute with a box full of pint bottles. Then followedhours of anxious labor, holding and dosing the sick animals, but it wasall in vain. Before daylight one mule stiffened out in death and a halfhour later the other one died.
It was a sorrowful little party that stood around the dead animals. Tothe little party of chums it meant the loss of $500 and the tying upof the machine until a new team could be procured. To the teamster itmeant the loss of two animals to which he had really grown attached.
"This was no accident," declared the Captain, as they stood arounddiscussing the affair. "It comes right at the time the wood piles werefired. That ain't no coincident, I reckon."
"You're right," Charley agreed. "Their aim was to tie up the machineby cutting off our wood supply, and it looks as though they havesucceeded. No doubt the mules were poisoned, but the thing thatpuzzles me is how the poison was administered. Mules are the mostparticular animals in the world about what they take into their mouths."
"Let's have a look at the feed boxes," Walter suggested; "there oughtto be some clews in them."
The teamster uttered an oath as he held his lantern over the feedboxes, for each was still partly filled with wheat. "That's what doneit," he swore savagely. "All animals love the taste of wheat, but it issure death to them if they eat any quantity of it. It swells so fastin their stomachs. Lord, I wish I had hold of the fellow who did thisthing."
"Bring your lanterns," called Walter, who had stepped away a few pacesfrom the crowd. "There's something lying here on the ground. I believeit's a man."
In a second his companions were by his side with their lanterns. As thelights flashed down on the prostrate object, an exclamation of horrorburst out from the little party, for, lying on his back, his head in apool of blood, lay a man, one side of his skull entirely crushed in.
"He's the one that fixed the mules," declared the teamster excitedly."One of the mules killed him. Serves him right. I'm glad he got his."
"Shut up," said Charley shortly. "This is too horrible a thing to exultover. Come on, some of you, and give me a hand to carry him to mytent. We cannot leave him lying here."
Silently the little party lifted the dead man and bore him into thelad's tent and laid him down on a cot. Charley got water and a clothand washed away the blood on the dead man's face and head. The face wasthat of a young man but was seamed and aged by lines of dissipation.The lad, with repugnance for the task, searched the dead man's pockets,but found nothing but a loaded revolver and a box of small whitepellets which he decided was dope of some kind.
His unpleasant task finished, the lad stepped out of the tent, followedby his chums, who had helped him with the dead man. The three stoodsilent for a minute drinking in deep breaths of the fresh early morningair.
"What are you going to do with him?" the Captain asked, jerking hishead toward the tent where the dead man lay.
"Keep him until afternoon," Charley said wearily. "Some of his friendsmay come and claim the body. If not, we will give him as good a funeralas we can. It's a terrible piece of business. If all our money was nottied up in this job, I would vote to quit right now."
"Same here," agreed Captain Westfield. "I'm getting sick of the mud andwater and all the troubles we are having, and this last business isabout the last straw."
"You fellows will feel better after a little nap, and a goodbreakfast," said Walter cheerfully. "I guess none of us is in lovewith this new venture of ours, but there is no good to be gained bygetting in the dumps. We must keep cheerful and do the best we can. Itis madness to talk about quitting now. It would likely take us years ofhard work to save up the money we've got tied up in this business."
"You're right," Charley acknowledged. "We have got to fight it out. Iguess I'll crawl in and catch a catnap before breakfast. A little sleepmakes a whole lot of difference in a man's feelings."
Such indeed seemed to be the case, for, when a couple of hours laterhe joined the rest at the breakfast table, he was once more his oldcheerful self. During the meal he outlined his plans to meet the newdifficulty that opposed them.
"There's a lawyer coming out to see us to-day," he said, "and when hegoes back I want you, Canady, to go back with him. I'll give you acheck for $500 and I want you to buy a good pair of mules and get themout here as soon as possible. I will try to get some of the Indians tohaul wood while you are gone. I see there's a couple of piles of woodleft near the machine that will do to fire up with to-morrow morning.After breakfast, Captain, take part of the men and have them bury themules, and also dig a grave in that little bunch of spruces. It oughtnot to take more than an hour for the job, then all hands are to knockoff and get a good day's rest. I think we all need it. I do not believethere is any need for a guard on the machine to-day, but we will haveto put one on it to-night."
Shortly after breakfast, Willie John, the Seminole, arrived as he hadpromised. Charley had not forgotten him when he was in town and theIndian's eyes sparkled over the bright colored cloth, beads, and mouthorgan the lads presented him with. Before he left, Charley succeededin hiring him and the two teams and wagons he had in Indiantown tohaul wood for the machine until the teamster returned with the mules.The Seminole immediately took his departure, promising to be back withwagons and oxen before dark.
He had hardly gone, when Mr. Bruce, the lawyer, drove up in his auto.He was made welcome in the boys' tent and Charley briefly told what hadoccurred since he had seen him. The lawyer took a look at the dead man."He has all the appearance of a tough," he said. "Rather an ignoble endfor a gunman, to be kicked to death by a mule. I would advise you tobury him at once. It is not at all likely that his friends will callfor him. To do so would be to give themselves away."
The grave was already dug and, following the lawyer's advice, the bodywas at once laid to rest, the Captain saying a brief prayer over itbefore it was lowered into the grave.
The ceremony over, they all gathered in the shade of a big pine anddiscussed their troubles with Mr. Bruce.
"I confess," said the lawyer, "that I thought your young friend wasexaggerating in the story he told me at Palm Beach, but I see now thatthe trouble is far more serious than I thought. I have not been idlesince his visit to my office, and I have discovered one or two thingsthat are extremely interesting, although I do not see as yet how theysolve the mystery of your troubles. I have come out to-day to lookover the ground and see if I cannot discover some connection betweenthe facts I have learned and the trouble you are having. One peculiarthing I notice in all your accounts is that, with the exception of theplacing of the dynamite under the machine, which may have been done byRo
oney out of sheer personal cussedness, there has been no attempt madeto destroy the machine."
"You are right, sir," Charley admitted, "but of course they have nothad much chance to get at the machine."
"Another thing," continued the lawyer, "although you have been causedmuch anxiety, and worry and have suffered considerable loss, yet no oneof you has been seriously hurt so far."
"I follow your reasoning, sir," Charley said. "Your idea is that theydo not wish to wreck the machine, but merely to stop its working, andthat they do not want to kill, but merely to drive us off the job."
"Correct," said the lawyer; "but I am not going to say but what theywill kill some of you if they can't stop the job any other way."
"You're comforting at any rate," said Walter, with a grin. "If we stop,we lose every dollar we have in the world. If we don't stop we arelikely to be killed. Now which would you advise us to do?"
Mr. Bruce laughed. "I am not going to advise either at present," hesaid. "It's my duty as a lawyer to try to save you from both. Before Igive any advice I want to look over the ground. Can I drive on out toIndiantown in my auto?"
"Sure," said Charley, "and we will go with you if you do not mind."