CHAPTER VIII
JACK IS PUZZLED
Whistling merrily, with his mind as much on the big field of diamondshe expected to discover on the moon, as it was on anything else, JackDarrow crossed over the meadows toward the telegraph office.
"By Jinks! It certainly will be great to fly through space once more,"he mused. "Of course it isn't much of a trip, only a quarter of amillion miles at most, but it will be a little outing for us, and thenthose diamonds!"
A trip of a quarter of a million miles only a little outing! But thenwhat can be expected of lads who had gone to Mars and back again?
Jack lost no time in reaching the telegraph office, where he left themessage to be sent, urging the operator to "rush" it, which thatofficial promised to do.
"'Twon't be no great hardship on me, neither," he said with a cheerfulgrin, "seein' as how this is the only one I've had to send to-day. I'llget it right off for you, Jack."
Jack meant to hurry back, but, just as he was turning out of the mainvillage street, to cut across lots, and join Mark at the place agreedupon, Jack saw two dogs fighting. It was with the best intentions inthe world that he ran toward them, for he wanted to separate them.However a man was ahead of him, and soon had the two beasts apart. ButJack lingered several moments to see if there would be a renewal of thehostilities. There wasn't, and he hurried on. In a short time he waswithin sight of the barn, where his chum had agreed to meet him.
"Mark!" cried Jack, when he came within hailing distance.
There was no response.
"Maybe he's hiding to fool me," thought the lad, "I'll give him anothercall."
Neither was there a reply to this shout, and Jack, with a vague feelingof fear in his heart, hurried forward, climbed the fence that separatedthe field from the highway, and fairly ran toward the barn.
A glance sufficed to show that Mark was not in sight, and, thinkingthat his chum might be on the other side, Jack went around thestructure.
"Oh, you Mark!" he called. "I'm back! Let's get a move on and go to theold house."
Silence was the only answer.
"That's queer," murmured Jack, when he had made a circuit of the place,and had seen no sight of his friend. "I wonder if anything could havehappened to him? Perhaps he went inside, and has fallen down the haymow. I'll take a look."
He made a thorough inspection of the ramshackle old structure, butthere was no evidence that Mark had entered it, and Jack was soon quiteassured that no harm had befallen his friend in there. Then a suddenthought came to him.
"Why, of course!" he exclaimed aloud. "I should have thought of thatbefore. Mark got tired of waiting, and went on to the Preakness house.I might have known. I'll go on and catch up to him there."
Jack had reasoned correctly, but he could not know, what had takenplace with only the old, grim, deserted mansion for a witness. With alighter heart he set off down the road.
It did not take him long, at the pace he kept up, to come within sightof the old gateway, with the creeper twining over the pillars. Then hecaught a glimpse of the house, and he at once slackened his footsteps.
"No use rushing into this thing," he reasoned in a whisper. "Mark maybe in hiding, taking an observation of the mysterious man, and I don'twant to spoil it, by butting in. Guess I'll lie low for a while, andsee what develops."
Crouching down beside some bushes that lined the roadway Jack lookedtoward the silent, tumbled-down house and waited. All was still.Occasionally a shutter flapped in the wind, the hinges creakingdismally, or some of the loose window-panes rattled as the sash wasblown to and fro. It was not a pleasant aspect, and as the afternoonwas waning, and the sun was going down, while a cool wind sprang up,Jack was anything but comfortable in his place of observation.
And the one objection to it was that there was nothing to observe. Nota sign of life was to be seen about the place, and the broken windows,like so many unblinking eyes, stared out on the fields and road.
"Oh pshaw!" exclaimed Jack at length, "I'm not going to sit here thisway! I'm going up and take a look. It can't bite me, and if that man'sin there I can give him some sort of a talk that will make it look allright. I'm going closer. Maybe Mark's inside there, waiting for me,though it's queer why he didn't keep his agreement and wait for me atthe barn. Well, here goes."
Though he spoke bravely, it was not without a little feeling ofapprehension that Jack started toward the old mansion. He kept a closewatch for the advent of any person or persons who might be in thehouse, but, when he reached the front porch, and had seen no one, hefelt more at ease.
"Hello, Mark!" he cried boldly. "Are you inside?"
He paused for an answer. None came.
"This is getting rather strange," murmured Jack, who was now quitepuzzled as to what to make of the whole matter. "Mark must be here, yetwhy doesn't he answer me? Oh, you Mark!" he shouted at the top of hisvoice.
There was only silence, and, after waiting a few moments Jack made uphis mind that the best plan would be to enter the house and look around.
He made a hasty search through the lower rooms, but saw no sign ofMark. It was the same upstairs, and on the third floor there was noevidence of his chum. Jack called again, but got no reply.
"The garret next, and then the cellar," he told himself, and these twoplaces, darker and more dismal than any other parts of the old mansion,were soon explored.
"Well, if Mark came here he's not here now," thought Jack, "and there'sno use in my staying any longer. Maybe something happened that he hadto go back home. Perhaps he's trailing the man. We should have made upsome plan to be followed in case anything like that happened."
Deciding that the best thing he could do would be to go back home Jackcame out of the old house. As he did so he gave a final call:
"Mark! Oh, you Mark! Are you anywhere about?"
What was that? Was it an answer, or merely the echo of his own voice?Jack started, and then, as he heard another sound, he said:
"Only the wind squeaking a shutter. Mark isn't here."
If Jack had only known!
Through the quickly-gathering darkness Jack turned his steps towardhome. On the way along the country road he kept a sharp lookout for anysign of his chum, and, also, he looked to see if he could catch aglimpse of any person who might answer the description of the man theysuspected of tampering with the Cardite motor.
But the road was deserted, save for an occasional farmer urging hishorses along, that he might the more quickly get home to supper.
"It's mighty strange," mused Jack, as he kept on. "I don't think Markdid just right, and yet, perhaps, when it's all explained, he may havegood reasons for what he did. Maybe I'm wrong to worry about him, and,just as likely as not, he's safe home, wondering what kept me. But hemight have known that I'd come back to the barn where I said I'd meethim. Of course that dog-fight delayed me a little, but not much."
It was quite dark when Jack reached the house where he and his chumlived with the two professors. There was a cheerful light glowing frommany windows, and Jack also noticed an illumination in the shed wherethe projectile was housed.
"Guess they're working on it, to get it in shape for the trip, soonerthan they expected," he mused.
Jack was met at the door by Washington White.
"Hello, Wash!" greeted the lad.
"Good land a' massy! Where hab yo' been transmigatorying yo'se'f duringde period when the conglomeration of carbohydrates and protoids habbeen projected on to de interplanetary plane ob de rectangle?"
"Do you mean where have I been while supper was getting ready?" askedJack.
"Dat's 'zackly what I means, Massa Jack."
"Then why don't you say it?"
"I done did. Dat's what I done. Supper's cold. But where am Massa Mark?"
"What! Isn't Mark home?" cried Jack, starting back in alarm.
"No, Massa Jack, we ain't seed him sence yo' two went off togedder.Where yo' all been?"
"Mark not home!" gasped Mark. "Where is Profes
sor Henderson, Wash? Imust speak to him at once."
"He am out in de shed wif Massa Roumann."
With fear in his heart Jack dashed out toward the big shed.
"Ain't yo' goin' t' hab some supper?" called Washington.
"I don't want any supper--yet," flung back Jack over his shoulder.