CHAPTER II
WHEN HEN CONDIT LEFT TOWN
"Hey! say that over again, won't you, Landy! I sure believe my earsmust have fooled me!" exclaimed Lil Artha.
"Hen Condit robbed his uncle and guardian, are you telling us, Landy?"gasped Toby; "aw! come off, now, you're just giving us taffy, thinkingit smart."
"I tell you I just came from their house," continued the perspiringscout, mopping his reeking forehead with a suspicious lookinghandkerchief that may once on a time have been really white. "You see,Mr. Condit didn't get up as early as he generally does, because he hada _terrible_ headache. And say, they even think he might have beengiven a dose of chloroform to make him sleep longer."
"Hold on, fellows," snapped Toby just then, "as luck will have it herecomes Elmer in his father's little runabout. He said he had to go overto Rockaway on an important errand for his dad this morning, which wasthe only reason he couldn't join us for a swim. Let's hold him up, andLandy can tell the whole story then."
When they made urgent gestures to the boy in the swift-flying runabout,he hastened to pull up, laughing at the same time.
"I hurried over and back on purpose to follow you fellows to the oleswimmin' hole," he told them; "but I didn't expect to meet you on theway. Don't delay me; I'll jump on my wheel to chase after you."
"But, Elmer, something awful has happened, and you ought to know aboutit," declared Toby, at which the boy in the small car lookedsearchingly at each of the others in turn, and seeing how grave theyappeared, he demanded what it meant.
"Why, you see," explained Lil Artha, "Landy here was late in joiningus. He just came along on his machine, pegging it for all he wasworth, and looking like he had seen one of the ghosts some peoplebelieve in. He only started to tell us when you came in sight; butit's terrible. What d'ye think, he says our Wolf Patrol comrade, HenCondit, has run away from home, and robbed his guardian in the bargain!"
Elmer instantly jumped to the road. He faced Landy as a lawyer might awitness on the stand; and Elmer knew just how to "pump" a fellow so asto get the principal facts without much loss of time, as his chumsunderstood.
"Go on and tell us about it, Landy," he commanded. "How did you happento learn about the fact in the first place?"
"Why, you see," answered the other, only too willing to explain to thebest of his ability, "ma, she sent me over on an errand to the Condithouse. I was madder'n hops about it, too, because I just knew I'd bekeepin' the fellows waiting here under the Grandaddy Oak."
"What did you find when you got there?" asked Elmer, who knew Landy tobe long-winded, and that often the quickest way to learn facts from himwas to put him on the grill.
"Why, they were all upset," admitted Landy. "Mr. Condit was as mad asa bull in a china shop, and his wife was looking as white as chalk,yes, and scared, too. Seems that when he went into his library aftereating breakfast he found the safe open and everything gone. It was an'inside job' the Chief said, because nobody had busted the safe."
"Then the Chief was there, was he?" questioned the patrol leader.
"Sure he was; Mr. Condit had 'phoned to him. There were a dozenneighbors in the house, too, and more acomin' right along. Biggestkind of excitement. Oh! it's going to be town property before night, Iguess, and lots of people'll be pointing their fingers at every fellowwearing khaki, and saying they always knew scouts was no better thanthe law allowed. Oh! wouldn't I like to get hold of that Hen Condit,though."
"What makes them believe it was Hen" continued Elmer.
"Say, that's the queerest part of it all," answered the fat boy; "thesilly gump gave the whole business away himself--went and left a notebehind him telling that he was the guilty villain, and that theyneedn't ever expect to see him again, because he had lit out forChicago."
"Whew! you don't say!" gasped Lil Arthur, apparently half stunned bythis later intelligence; "I never would have thought Hen could be sucha fool as to convict himself like that."
"When was he seen last?" demanded Elmer, still after information.
"He went to bed last night, they said, just as usual; but shucks! itwould be the easiest thing agoing for Hen to climb down from his windowif he took a notion. I've known him to do the same dozens of timesjust for fun, rather than take the trouble to go around to the stairs."
"Then Hen has disappeared, and no one has seen him this morning?"
"Never a soul. His aunt went to his room when he didn't show up, butnot finding him expected Hen had gone off to my house. And his uncleis whopping mad over it. He nearly took a fit when the expert Chiefsaid he reckoned someone had chloroformed him. He called Hen a viperthat he had fostered, and said if he could only ketch him he'd see thathe got his deserts."
"Listen, Landy, did you see that note?" asked Elmer.
"That's what I did, let me tell you," came the prompt reply, "and itwas in Hen's well-known fist, too; I could tell that a mile off if Isaw it. Haven't I heard the writing teacher at school tell him he waswell named, because his paper looked like a hen had dabbled in the ink,and then strolled around every-which-way."
"Then you can tell us about what it said, can't you?" continued thepatrol leader.
Landy laid that ready forefinger of his alongside his nose, as thoughthat action would aid his memory. Then he closed one eye, anothersingular habit he had; after which he slowly went on to say:
"Course the exact words have slipped me, Elmer, but it ran somethinglike this. He said circumstances which he couldn't control had forcedhim to do this thing; that he was sorry, but it couldn't be helped. Hehoped his uncle would forgive him, and forget there was such a fellowin the wide world as Hen Condit. There was also some more that I can'tjust recollect; but it was to the effect that he believed he had moneycoming to him, so Mr. Condit could take it out of that and call itsquare. But just think what all this is going to do to the scouts,Elmer! Never since the troop was organized has it met up with such aterrible blow."
All of them looked serious. They knew that a certain element inHickory Ridge would only too eagerly seize upon this incident to provewhat they had always claimed, which was that scouts, after all, were nobetter than other boys, and that when put to the test they could turnout bad as well as the rest.
"Yes, the honor of the Wolf Patrol is hanging in the balance, Elmer,"said Lil Artha. "Are we going to just stand by and not lift a handbecause it was one of our chums who did this mean job? If it wasanyone else and they called on us to track him, wouldn't we respond toa man? Here's a supreme test before us that's going to prove how muchour honor means."
"I say the same, Elmer," urged Chatz, indignantly; "let's all get busyand see if we can run Hen Condit down like a fox we've got on the trailof. Let's fetch him back to face his uncle, and prove to all HickoryRidge that the boys of the Wolf Patrol can never stand for wrong doingin their ranks. Yes suh, it's surely up to us to show our colors."
Elmer rubbed his forehead. He looked thoughtful, as though possibly hemight see a little further into this mysterious happening than any ofthe rest.
"Listen, fellows," he told them; "I've known for some little time thatHen was acting queerly. He failed to attend the last two meetings, andwhen I asked him about it he avoided my eye. I've been wondering whatit all meant, and intended to have a good heart-to-heart talk-fest withHen as soon as I got a chance."
"Hold on," said Toby. "I wonder now if that man I saw him with couldhave had anything to do with this ugly business."
Elmer turned on him like a flash.
"It may have more to do with it than you think, Toby," he remarked;"when was it you saw them, and where?"
"Just yesterday morning," replied the other, "and down at the bridgeover the creek. Hen nodded to me when I rode past on my wheel, but itstruck me even at the time he acted like he hoped to goodness Iwouldn't bother stopping to say anything."
"And a man you didn't know was with him, you say?" questioned Elmer.
"Well, I didn't just glimpse his face, for yo
u see he turned his headaway as I passed, but I made up my mind he was a stranger in theseregions, so far as I could see."
"That looks mighty suspicious, I should say, suh!" declared Chatz,positively. "That stranger is the nigger in the woodpile, according tomy mind, suh."
"Mebbe poor weak Hen has been cowed and bulldozed into doing the wholething," suggested Lil Artha, sagely.
"Now, I wonder if that could weally be tho?" remarked Ted.
"We ought to get busy and do something right away, Elmer," observedToby Jones.
"I'm glad to know that's the way you feel about it," continued thepatrol leader. "This is a bad piece of business. It's up to the boysof the Wolf Patrol to find out the truth. I had laid out anotherscheme for our last outing of this vacation, but everything must giveway to tracking our comrade down, and learning the whole truth!"
"Bully for you, Elmer!" ejaculated Lil Artha, looking delighted.
The others were almost as exuberant in their expressions of approval.Just a brief time before some of their number had been wondering whatcould be done to give them a short siege in the woods to wind up thevacation period; and here along comes this necessity calling to theother members of the "Wolf Patrol to awaken and defend the honor oftheir organization.
"Here, jump aboard all of you but Landy, and he can come along on hiswheel," ordered Elmer, making room after he had seated himself back ofthe steering wheel.
"Are you meaning to go to Hen's house?" called out Landy, lookingworried because he was to be left behind, and would have to straddlehis wheezy old wheel once more.
"Yes, if you care to toss your machine in those bushes, Landy, and canget aboard, come along!" called out Elmer, relenting when he caughtthat piteous expression on the other's rosy face.
In another moment they were off, Landy having been hauled aboard. Therunabout had never been made to carry such a full cargo of passengers;but then boys can hang on like monkeys, and are ever ready to acceptchances.
They were quickly at the Condit house. Like the home of Landy, itstood on the border of the town, with a back gate opening on a sideroad. Altogether, there may have been two acres in the place.
By now fully two dozen curious people were in and around the house uponwhich such a sudden catastrophe had fallen. They talked amongthemselves, asked questions, examined the queer note signed by Hen, andshook their heads pityingly as they observed the white face of theboy's suffering aunt.
Mr. Condit was a rather severe man. He looked very angry, and keptcalling the boy hard names as he told how Hen must have known thecombination of the safe; and doubtless doubled at least the amounttaken in hard cash, as it is human nature to make even troubles seemmany times as large as they are.
Elmer and the others managed to see the convicting note. They were allof the same opinion as Landy; and agreed that no one but Hen could everhave written those fateful words.
"I never would have believed he could ever be such a silly gump!" waswhat Lil Artha remarked, after surveying the crooked writing, which, ofcourse, he knew only too well.
After they had hung around for some time, and Elmer had asked all thequestions he could think of, the boys went outside to talk it over.
"Right now some of those people are looking at us in a sneering way,suh," observed the touchy Southern boy, indignantly; "and I give you myword fo' it they're beginning to say among themselves that Hen Conditbelonged to the wonderful Wolf Patrol. Elmer, we've suttinly got to dosomething to clear the good name of our patrol."
"We will," replied the other, simply, and yet with that earnestnesswhich carries conviction in its train. "Already I've got a suspicion.There may be nothing to it but it's given me an idea where we ought tolook first of all."
"Please tell us about it, Elmer?" begged Toby.
"I just knew Elmer would get on the track in double-quick time,"asserted Landy, who always believed there was nothing impossible to thepatrol leader, once he set himself to a task.
"It all came about from hearing a boy talking when I was down in themarket yesterday morning. You know who he is, Johnny Spreen, thefellow who always ships out a raft of dried ginseng roots every year,and in the Spring sends a bunch of muskrat skins to the city."
"Sure we know Johnny," assented Toby, quickly; "he comes to town with aload of hay once every two weeks. His folks live a long ways off, upbeyond the two lakes where we used to go camping."
"That's right, Toby," said Elmer, "and their farm borders that terriblybig Sassafras Swamp lying beyond Lake Solitude. Well, I happened tohear Johnny tell how he had taken a look through the swamp the otherday, just to find out how the muskrats were coming on, so as to get apointer on his winter business this year. He said he honestly believedthere must be some man hiding there, because in several places he hadcome on tracks."
"But people sometimes go in Sassafras Swamp to hunt, don't they,Elmer?" objected Lil Artha.
"Not in August, because there are no woodcock up there, you know, andnothing else can be shot at this time of year," Elmer continued; "butJohnny had something else to say that interested me considerably. Itseems at one place he found ashes that told of a fire, and whilerooting around he picked up a piece of steel that he allowed me to see.It had evidently been _filed_; and boys, can you guess what it made methink it must have once been?"
Although all of them looked eagerly interested, they shook their headsin the negative, as though unable to hazard even a guess.
"Go on, Elmer, and tell us," urged Toby.
"Yes, let down the bars and relieve our anxiety, please, Elmer," addedLil Artha.
"Unless I'm away off in my reckoning," said the other, solemnly, "itwas part of a pair of steel handcuffs such as officers fasten to thewrists of prisoners when taking them to the penitentiary!"