CHAPTER III--RUNAWAY AND ROVER
The door of the lumber room was slammed shut on Andy and stronglylocked, and the lad resigned himself to the situation. The Talbots,father and son, aided by brutal Dale Billings, had handled him prettyroughly, and he was content to lie on the cot and prepare for what wascoming next.
"They've pretty nearly stripped me, and they've got all my money,"reflected Andy. "I wish now I had dropped a postal card to Mr. RobertWebb at Springfield. I'll do it, though, the first thing, when I get outof this fix."
Andy was bound to get out of it in some way. It would be rashnesscomplete to try it right on the spur of the moment. However, he had tillnight to think things over, and the youth felt pretty positive that longbefore then he would hit upon some plan of escape.
In a little while Andy got up and took stock of his surroundings. Thepartition that shut in the lumber room was made of common boards. With agood-sized sledge, Andy could batter it to pieces, but he had no tools,and glancing through a crack he saw Talbot and his son in the littlefront office ready to pounce on him at a minute's notice.
There was a long narrow box lying up against the inside surface of thepartition boards. Andy had used this to hold his little kit of kitchenutensils. He removed these now, and lifted the box on end under the onlyoutside aperture the lumber room presented. This was a little window,way up near the ceiling. When Andy reached this small, square hole, cutthrough a board, he discerned that he could never hope to creep throughit.
Glancing down into the rear yard he made out Dale Billings, seated on asaw-horse, aimlessly whittling at a stick, and he decided that the allyof the Talbots was on guard there to watch out for any attempted escapein that direction.
However, when Andy had done a little more looking around in hisprison-room, he made quite an encouraging discovery. Where the box hadstood originally there was a broad, loose board. Dampness had weakenedone end, and a touch pulled it away from the nails that held it. Withone or two vigorous pulls, Andy saw he might rip the board out of placeits entire length. This, however, would make a great noise, would arousehis captors, and he would have to run the gantlet the whole reach of thegarage space.
"It's my only show, though," decided Andy, "and I'll keep it in mind forlater on."
Towards noon Andy made a meal of some scraps of food he found in hislittle larder. It was not a very satisfying meal, for his stock ofprovisions had run low that morning and he had intended replenishing itduring the day.
About two o'clock in the afternoon Andy fancied he saw his chance formaking a break for liberty. Talbot was in the office. There was only oneautomobile in the garage. This was a car that the proprietor's son hadjust backed in. Andy could figure it out that Gus had just returned froma trip. He leaped out of the machine, simply throwing out the powerclutch, with the engine still in motion, as if intending to at oncestart off again.
Gus ran to the office, and through the crack in the partition Andy sawhim scan the open page of the daily order book. Our hero determined on abold move. He leaned down in the corner of the lumber room and seizedthe end of the loose plank at the bottom of the partition with bothhands, and gave it a pull with all his strength.
R--r--rip--bang!
Andy went backwards with a slam. The board had broken off at thenail-heads of the first rafter with a deafening crack. He dropped thefragment and dove through the aperture disclosed to him. He could hearstartled conversation in the office, but it was no time to stop forobstacles now. Andy came to his feet in the garage room, made a superbspring, cleared the hood of the automobile, and, after a scramble,landed in the driver's seat.
With a swoop of his right hand, Andy grasped the lever, his leftclutching the wheel. The car shot for the door in a flash. Gus Talbothad run out of the office. He saw the machine coming, and who manned it.Andy noticed him poising for a spring, snatched up the dust robe in theseat by his side, gave it a whirl, and forged ahead.
The robe wound around the face and shoulders of Gus, sending himstaggering back, discomfited. Andy circled into the street away fromtown, turned down the south turnpike, and breathed the air of freedomwith rapture.
"All I want is a safe start. I can't afford to leave the record behindme that I stole a machine," he reflected. "It's bad enough as it is now,with all the lies Talbot will tell. She's gone stale!"
The automobile wheezed down to an abrupt halt. It was just as it came toa curve near the Jones farm, and almost at the identical spot where Andyhad been captured that morning. He cast a quick glance behind. No onewas as yet visible in pursuit, and there was no other machine in thegarage. One was handy not a square away from it, however. Andy hadnoticed a physician's car there as he sped along. The Talbots would nothesitate to impress it into service. At any rate, they would start somepursuit at once.
Andy guessed that some of Gus Talbot's careless tactics had put themagneto or carburetor out of commission. It would take fully fiveminutes to adjust things in running order. No one was in view ahead.There were all kinds of opportunities to hide before an enemy came uponthe scene.
Right at the side of the road was the hayfield of the Jones farm. Andyleaped a ditch and started to get to the thin line of scrub oak beyondwhich lay the creek. He passed three haystacks and they now pretty wellshut him out from the road. As he was passing the fourth one, hestumbled, hopped about on one foot with a sharp cry of pain, and droppeddown in the stubble.
Andy had tripped over a scythe blade which the stubble had hidden fromhis view. His ankle had struck the back of the blade, then his foot hadturned and met the edge of the scythe. A long, jagged gash, which beganto bleed profusely, was the result. Andy struggled to his feet andleaned up against the side of the haystack in some dismay. He measuredthe distance to the brush with his eye.
"I've got to make it if I want to be safe," the boy decided, wincingwith the pain of his injured foot, but resolute to grin and bear it tillhe had the leisure to attend to it.
A shout halted Andy. It came from the direction of the barn, and hefancied it was Farmer Jones giving orders to some of his men. Halfdecided to make a run of it anyway, he made a sudden plunge into thehaystack and nestled there.
A clatter had come from the direction of the roadway he had just left.Glancing in that direction, through a break in the trees, Andy hadcaught a flashing view of Gus Talbot, bareheaded and excited, in a lightwagon, and lashing the horse attached to it furiously.
Andy drew farther back in among the hay, nesting himself out acomfortable burrow. He ventured to part the hay as he heard a greatcommotion in the direction of the road. He could trace the arrival ofGus, his discovery of the stalled automobile, and the flocking of FarmerJones and his men to the spot.
Then in a little while the garage-keeper and Dale Billings arrived inanother machine. Some arrangement was made to take the various vehiclesback to the village. Then Seth Talbot, his son, and two of the farmhands scattered over the field, making for the brush. They went in everydirection. A vigorous hunt was on, and Andy realized that it would bewise for him to keep close to his present cover for some time to come.
His foot was bleeding badly, and he paid what attention to it he could.He removed his stockings, bound up the wound with a handkerchief, anddrew both stockings over the injured member.
It was pretty irksome passing the time in his enforced prison, andfinally Andy went to sleep. It was late dusk when he woke up. He partedthe hay, and took as good a look around as he could. No one was insight, apparently, but he had no idea of venturing forth for some hoursto come.
"I'm going to leave Princeville," he ruminated, "but I can't go aroundthe world hatless, coatless and barefooted. I don't dare venture back tothe garage for any of my belongings. That place will probably be watchedall the time for my return. Talbot, too, has probably telephoned his'stop thief' description of me everywhere. It's the river route ornothing, if I expect to get safely away from this district. Before I go,though, I'm going to see Mr. Dawson."
This was the gentle
man to whom Andy had entrusted the two hundreddollars. Andy had a very favorable opinion of him. The village bankerwas a great friend of the boys of the town. He had started them in aclub, had donated a library, and Andy had attended two of hismoving-picture lectures. After the last one, Mr. Dawson had takenoccasion to pass a pleasant word with Andy, commending his attention tothe lecture. When Andy had taken the two hundred dollars to him thatmorning, the banker had placed his hand on his shoulder, with theremark: "You are a good, honest boy, Nelson, and I want to see youlater."
"I'll wait until about nine o'clock," planned Andy, "when most of thetown is asleep, and go to Mr. Dawson's house. There's a lecture at theclub to-night, I know, and he won't get home till after ten. I'll hidein the garden and catch him before he goes into the house. I'll tell himmy story, and ask him to lend me enough to get some shoes and the otherthings I need. I know he'll do it, for he's an honest, good-heartedman."
This prospect made Andy light of heart as time wore on. It must havebeen fully half-past eight when he began to stir about, preparatory toleaving his hiding-place. He moved his injured foot carefully. It wasquite sore and stiff, but he planned how he would line the timbertownwards and stop at a spring and bathe and dress it again. He mappedout a long and obscure circuit of the village to reach the home of thebanker unobserved.
Andy was just about to emerge from the haystack when the disjointedmurmur of conversation was borne to his ears. He drew back, but peeredthrough the hay as best he could. It was bright moonlight. Just dodgingfrom one haystack to another at a little distance, Andy made out GusTalbot and Dale Billings.
"Come on," he heard the latter say--"now's our chance."
"They must be still looking for me," he told himself.
There was no further view nor indication of the proximity of the twainduring the next hour, but caution caused Andy to defer his intendedvisit to the banker.
"The coast seems all clear now," he told himself at last, and Andy creptout of the haystack, but promptly crept back again.
Of a sudden a great echoing shout disturbed the silence of the night.Some one in the vicinity of the farmhouse yelled out wildly:
"Fire!"