The pseudo milk vendor gave a quick glance at the approaching boy. A street lamp cast a flickering glare upon the automatic which Jimmie had drawn from his pocket. Without waiting to explain or ask questions the person addressed deserted the dog team instantly.
With but a single look over its shoulder the figure darted toward a building at the head of the quay. Boots clattered on the pavement, while the long stride clearly indicated to the boys that Jimmie and Jack had been correct in their surmise that the garb of a woman milk vendor had been a.s.sumed as a disguise.
Although Jimmie"s speed was great, the lad"s sprint was not sufficient to permit him to overtake his quarry.
"He"ll never make it!" declared Jack, tugging away at his own automatic and preparing to follow his comrade.
"Come on, fellows, let"s get a move on!" suggested Harry. "That fellow will just about get into a corner somewhere and knock Jimmie over the head. He"s capable of worse than that, I believe!"
All three lads hastened after the fleeing figure of their red-headed chum and the one whom he was pursuing.
An open door in the building indicated that the race had turned in that direction. Producing an electric searchlight Ned urged caution. Directly the lads heard the sound of a falling body. This was at once followed by an exclamation of surprise and disgust. They recognized the tones as those of their companion.
"Are you there, Jimmie?" called Ned, swinging the beam from his searchlight about the interior, lighting up a collection of merchandise piled in the warehouse. Jimmie was nowhere to be seen.
"Where could he have gone so suddenly?" queried Harry.
"Maybe Mackinder hit him over the head!" ventured Jack.
"Mackinder better be careful how he monkeys with this crew!" was Harry"s belligerent comment. "Maybe that guy"ll get all that"s coming to him and get it right in the neck!"
For a moment the boys stood listening intently for some indication of the presence of their comrade. Once Ned thought he heard a soft footfall. He put out his hand to touch Jack on the arm.
"Ss-s-sh!" he hissed. "What was that?"
"Rat, maybe!" suggested Jack. "Turn your searchlight this way a minute. I want to see where this pa.s.sage leads."
Ned swung the searchlight in the direction indicated. Its lance of flame pierced the gloom, revealing tiers of boxes and piles of bags and bales heaped up in orderly array. Sufficient s.p.a.ce had been left between the heaps of merchandise to provide pa.s.sageway.
"Come on," cried Jack, "we"re losing time standing here!"
Scarcely had the boy uttered the words ere an object came hurtling through the air. It struck the searchlight fairly upon the lens. There was a quick cry of distress from Ned, a rattle of broken gla.s.s, the tinkle of the falling searchlight. For a moment complete silence reigned.
The next instant there was a rush of a heavy body.
Taken by surprise the boys were not prepared for the onslaught. They went down like ten pins. Harry received a blow on the jaw that nearly put him out for the count. Jack declared afterwards that his stomach would never cease aching from the punch that landed there.
Ned had been bringing up the rear of the little party, hence suffered least. He felt about quickly for the searchlight as he lay on the floor.
Before he could recover it the boys heard the outer door slam and knew that someone had pa.s.sed out of the building after the sudden attack. Who it might have been they could only conjecture.
"Oh, my poor jaw!" groaned Harry. "I"m knocked out!"
"No, you"re not!" protested Ned. "That only shook you up!"
"Sure!" agreed Jack. "Shook us all up so we"ll get a little more "pep".
Let"s hurry up and follow that guy!"
"Wait a minute," objected Ned. "We want to find Jimmie first!"
"Right-O!" agreed Harry. "I think my jaw is better now. Where are we going, anyway? Do you suppose that was Jimmie that floored us just now?
Maybe he thought Mackinder had pals coming in!"
"I don"t believe it," stated Ned. "Jimmie must have known that Mackinder was alone with the milk wagon. He also knew that we would follow him here. Possibly the lad is farther along in the warehouse, lost amongst this merchandise. That must have been Mackinder!"
"You"re right, Ned!" declared Jack. "He probably misled Jimmie in here and then dashed out as we came in!"
"But where is Jimmie now?" queried Harry. "I don"t hear him!"
"Oh, Jimmie!" called Ned in a loud tone.
To this hail there was no answer. Complete silence reigned.
"That"s mighty funny!" puzzled Harry. "Get your searchlight and let"s hunt him up. He can"t have gotten far away."
A short search by all three boys resulted in the recovery of the searchlight. Beyond the damaged lens the instrument had suffered no injury. It was still serviceable and cast a strong beam of light.
By its aid the lads followed the pa.s.sage, stepping rapidly forward. They were becoming alarmed over the failure of their chum to respond to their calls. All feared that Mackinder might have done the lad harm.
Momentarily their anxiety increased.
"Here"s a side pa.s.sage!" declared Harry, who brought up the rear of the little procession. "Where does this go?"
"Wait a minute with that searchlight, Ned!" called Jack, who followed Ned closely. "Throw it back here a minute for Harry!"
Before the light could be brought into service Harry had taken a step into the pa.s.sage he had just discovered. A sharp cry of surprise brought Jack and Ned to his side in an instant.
The lads saw Harry bending over the form of their missing chum. Jimmie lay in a heap, blocking the pa.s.sageway.
Fearful that their first suspicions had been correct, the boys scarcely dared investigate. Jack began growling out uncomplimentary remarks concerning Mackinder. Ned quickly forced his way to Harry"s side.
"Here, let me see him!" Ned cried, throwing the flame of his searchlight on the rec.u.mbent form. "Why, he"s all huddled up!"
"All in a bunch!" agreed Harry. "I wonder if he"s hurt!"
"Roll him over," directed Ned. "Let"s get him out of here!"
"Why, he"s tied!" cried Harry, in a startled voice.
"Tied?" questioned Jack, pushing forward. "Who tied him?"
"And gagged!" went on Harry, his voice vibrating with indignation.
"Mackinder will pay for this!" the lad continued. "We"ll get him!"
Without the loss of a moment Harry was swiftly relieving Jimmie of the object which prevented speech. A small block of wood had been forced between Jimmie"s teeth. This had been secured in place by tying a handkerchief over his face. The gag had been extremely effective, even though it was uncomfortable and crude.
As the gag was removed Jimmie wagged his jaw a few times to relieve the strained muscles. He nodded his appreciation.
"How are you feeling, Jimmie?" was Ned"s solicitous inquiry.
"All right," replied the lad. "Untie my hands, will you?"