CHAPTER XIX
IN THE NICK OF TIME
Standing in the darkness of the upper front room, stealthily watching themysterious stranger on the other side of the street in the shadow of theelm, and knowing that burglars were at work below stairs--the nerves ofmother and daughter and of Alvin Landon and Chester Haynes were on edge.Had they peered out of the window less than half an hour earlier theywould have seen the meeting between the lookout and young Jim Buxton.
Mike Murphy had slipped so silently from among them that no one was awareof his absence when the bumping and crash at the rear were followed byexclamations and words that were not intelligible. Mrs. Friestone uttereda faint cry and sank back on her chair. Nora screamed and threw her armsabout her mother's neck.
"They will kill us! What shall we do?" she wailed.
For the moment Alvin and Chester, startled almost as much as theirfriends, were mystified. When Chester said:
"That sounds like Mike's voice. Hello, Mike, are you here with us?"
The failure to receive a reply proved that Chester was right. Theircomrade had stolen off and was already in a "shindy" at the rear of thestore.
"He may need our help!" called Alvin, starting for the stairs, with hischum at his heels. But Nora, who had heard the unguarded words, called inwild distress:
"Don't leave us! Don't leave us!"
They stopped irresolute. They could not abandon the two, and yet Mike'slife might be in peril.
"Go back to them," whispered Chester. "There's no call for both of us tostay."
"Better not go down yourself; you know you have no weapon. Let's take alook."
First of all it was necessary to quiet the daughter and mother, for onewas as much terrified as the other. Alvin hastened into the room.
"We will not leave you," he said, "but we wish to see what we can fromthe kitchen window."
"Oh, you may fall out," moaned Nora, scarcely responsible for what shesaid. Even in the crisis of a tragedy a vein of comedy will sometimesintrude itself.
"Have no fear of that," replied Alvin. "I will hold Chester from tumblingout and he will do the same for me. Pray, compose yourselves."
During this brief absence Chester had threaded his way past the furniturein the darkness to the window, out of which he was gazing on a mostinteresting moving picture which had vanished when Alvin appeared at hiselbow.
"It made my blood tingle," said Chester. "I was just in time to see aman, who must have leaped out, running for life with Mike in pursuit. Hehad that old gun in one hand--as if it could prove of any earthly use tohim."
"Where are they now?"
"The fellow, after leaping the fence, turned to the right and disappearedamong the shadows."
"With Mike still chasing him?"
"As hard as he could run, but you know he hasn't much speed."
"I wonder," whispered Alvin, "whether there are any more of themdownstairs."
They stepped noiselessly to the head of the steps and listened.Everything was so quiet that they heard the ticking of the clock on thewall of the store.
"I don't believe anyone is there. Let's take a closer look."
Alvin struck a match from his safe and led the way, thus saving the twofrom the mishap that had overtaken their friend. They were a triflenervous when they stepped upon the lower floor, Alvin maintaining theillumination by burning more matches. He climbed upon the counter, andlighted the large oil lamp suspended there for such purpose. Adjustingthe wick to the highest point it would stand without smoking, the twolooked around.
What they saw completed the story that had already taken shape in theirown minds. The unbroken dark lantern lay on the floor where it hadfallen, the light having been extinguished. The raised window showed bywhat avenue the burglar and Mike had left the building, but what amazedthe youths more than anything else was the wide open door of the safe.Not a burglar's tool or device was in sight, and the appearance of thelock and door without a scratch showing proved that no part of thestructure had been tampered with. It was just as if Mrs. Friestone hadmanipulated it--as she had done times without number.
"Whoever opened it must have known the combination. And how did he learnit?"
Chester shook his head.
"Perhaps Mrs. Friestone can guess. I'll ask her."
Going to the foot of the stairs, the young man called to the woman justloudly enough for her to hear. He said the visitors had left, but thedoor of the safe was open and it was advisable for her to come down andtake a look at things.
She timidly came down the steps, with Nora tremblingly clinging to herskirts, ready to scream and dash back to the front of the house on thefirst appearance of danger. But nothing occurred to cause new alarm, andmother and daughter stared wonderingly at the safe with its wide opendoor.
"Who did that?" asked the woman, in a faint voice.
"One of the burglars," replied Chester.
"How did he learn the combination?"
"That's the mystery; Alvin and I cannot guess. Was it known to anyonebesides yourself?"
"No; I changed it two days ago and did not even tell Nora. Not anothersoul knew it--and look!"
She pointed to a bunch of keys, one of which was inserted in the lock ofthe middle small drawer, with a half dozen others dangling from the metalring. It will be understood that while the door of the safe was opened bymeans of a usual combination of numbers, the interior was guarded by onlya tiny lock and key. This was more convenient, for, when the massive doorwas drawn back, the little wooden drawers, even with a combination, wouldnot avail long against a burglar.
"They have taken the money!" gasped the widow.
"Let us see."
As Alvin spoke, he turned the key. The lock clicked and he drew out thedrawer. There lay the big sealed envelope with the two thousand fivehundred dollars intact within, while the stamps and cash receipts of theday were neatly piled on the shelf beneath.
The astonishing truth was that the criminal had been interrupted at thecritical moment when he had succeeded in fitting a key to the lock. HadMike Murphy been the fraction of a minute later in bursting upon thescene, he would have been too late. The robber would have carried offnearly three thousand dollars.
"That's what I call the greatest luck that ever happened," said Chester.
The discovery was as cheering as amazing. The large amount of money hadbeen saved by a hair's breadth. The woman clasped her hands inthankfulness. Chester slowly shoved the steel door shut.
"Now try the combination," he said to Mrs. Friestone. "Chester and I willturn our backs while you do so."
"And why will you do that?"
"So that we shall not learn the secret. If anything like this happensagain, you cannot say we did it."
She saw the smile on his face and knew he spoke in jest.
"It may be the lock was broken in some way," suggested Chester.
But it worked perfectly. The knob was turned forward till the fingerpointed to a number, then back and then forward again to another numeral.It moved as smoothly as if the delicate mechanism was oiled.
"Now open it," she said to the lads, her spirits rallying over her goodfortune. They shook their heads and Chester said:
"We might succeed, and that would be suspicious."
"Whether you noticed the combination or not, you surely did not know whatit was a little while ago. I acquit you of having any understanding withthe burglars."
"What's become of Mike?" asked Nora plaintively, speaking for the firsttime. "I'm afraid something dreadful has happened to him."
"He is probably still chasing the bad man," said Chester.
As if in answer to her wail a hasty tread was heard at that moment and abushy red head without a cap appeared at the window, as if flung thitherby the hand of a giant. The bright light within the door told him thestory.
"The top of the morning to ye all, for I jedge it's near morning, as TimMulligan said after he had been slaaping fur two days and nights. I hopeye are all well."
r /> He began climbing through and was half inside when Nora dashed forwardand caught hold of his arm. It so disarranged his balance that he tumbledon the floor, the rifle falling from his grasp.
"I'm so glad to see you, Mike! I was afraid those awful people had killedyou," said the happy girl. "Are you hurt?"
"Not worth speaking of; I think my neck is broke and me lift legfractured in two places, but niver mind."
Then the exuberant youth told his story, to which his friends listenedwith breathless interest.
"Then you didn't catch the villain?" said Chester inquiringly.
"No, but I made it hot fur him, as me cousin said after chasing theexpriss train a couple of miles. He has longer legs than mesilf. The nexttime I engage in a chase wid him I'll make sure his legs is sawed off atthe knees, so as to give me a chance. If I had thought to have that doneI'd brought the spalpeen back to ye."
"Well, you drove him off in the nick of time. He didn't get away with apenny," said Alvin.
"But what was the maans he used to open that door? That's what gitsme--whisht!"
The report of a gun rang out on the stillness, and the friends stared atone another. Before anyone could venture an explanation, the sound ofhurried footsteps told that someone was approaching.