"What"s the game, Jeff?" asked the man Larry, in milder tones. "We"ll do as you say, all right, all right, but can"t you tell a guy what"s doin"?"
"I don"t know myself, boys, and that"s a fact," said Jeff, seemingly mollified by this submission to his orders. "But the boss wants them two gals--and what he wants he gits, sooner or later."
"Guess he does!" laughed Tim. "You said something that time, Jeff!"
"There"s money in it, I know that," Jeff went on. "Big money--though I"m blowed if I see where! But we"ll get our share if we do our part."
"I can use any that comes my way, all right," said Larry, with a smothered laugh. "Always broke--that"s what I am!"
"How about the morning, Jeff?" asked Tim. "We can"t stay here when it gets to be light. They"d spot us in a minute."
"Won"t be any need then, Tim. We can keep an eye on them from the yacht. And the boss is apt to turn up here himself most any time."
"Why not pull it off to-night, Jeff?" asked Larry. "It"s a good chance, I"d say."
"Ain"t got my orders yet, Larry. As soon as the boss turns up there"ll be plenty doing. Keep an eye out for a red light from the deck. That"ll be a sign to watch out for anything that comes along. We may show it--we may not. But if we do, be lively."
"All right," growled Tim. "But let"s quit this nursemaid job as soon as we can, Jeff. We"re good pals of yours--and this ain"t no game for a grown man, you know that."
""Twon"t be so bad," said Jeff, comfortingly. "Nights ain"t so long--and you can take turns sleeping. It"s all right as long as one of you stays awake."
"So long, Jeff," said both the men who were to stay behind, then, in unison.
"Good-night," answered Jeff. "I"ll have a boat at the point for you at daylight. Good luck!"
And he went off, quietly, walking easily, so that the noise of his footsteps would not reach those on the beach below.
From the beach the voices of the girls rose faintly. Words could not be distinguished, but Bessie and Dolly could both guess that their prolonged absence must be beginning to give Miss Eleanor and the others some uneasiness.
They were trapped, however, although they were in no real danger. The men who had been left on guard were between them and the path; they could not possibly pa.s.s them without arousing them, and they did not care to take the chance of making a wild dash for freedom unless it became absolutely necessary.
Bessie weighed the chances. It seemed likely to her that she and Dolly, taking the two men by surprise, could slip by them and reach the beach safely. But if they did that, the men would know that their plans were known, and that their talk had been overheard, and that would be to throw away half of the advantage they had gained. It would be better a thousand times, Bessie felt, to wait, and take the faint chance that both men might go to sleep together, and so give them the chance to escape unseen.
For some minutes the silence was unbroken save for the faint murmur of the voices from the beach. Then Larry spoke to his companion.
"Say, Tim, don"t think much of this game, do you?" he said.
"Sure don"t!" grunted Tim. "Just like Jeff, though. Takes the easy lay himself and don"t care what he puts up to us."
"Got any money?"
"About five dollars. Why? Want to borrow it? Just as soon you had it as me! Can"t spend it here, anyhow."
"No. Wouldn"t do me any good. Got lots of my own out on the yacht."
"Wish there was a place near here where I could get a drink. Seems like I was choking to death."
"Lots of water right by you," said Larry, with a hoa.r.s.e laugh. "Help yourself--it"s free!"
"Water--pah!" snorted Tim. "That"s not what I want, and you know it, Larry."
"Say, come to think of it, there"s an elegant little roadhouse a ways back in the country here, Tim. About half an hour there and back, I judge."
Tim grunted uneasily.
"Think it"s safe?" he queried. "If Jeff got on to us----"
"Shucks! What could he do? We ain"t his hired hands."
"The boss, though--suppose Jeff told him?"
"He wouldn"t, and how"s he goin" to find out, anyhow? Nothin"s goin" to happen to-night, you can bet on that. Come on, be a sport, Tim! We"ve got as much on Jeff as he"s got on us, if it comes down to that, ain"t we?"
"I dunno. I"m kind of leery, when he told us to stick, Larry."
"I thought you had more nerve, Tim. Didn"t ever think you"d stand for no game like this. But, if you"re afraid--"
"Come on!" said Tim, angrily. "I"ll show you if I"m afraid! I guess it"s safe enough."
"That"s more like my old pal Tim. I knew you had nerve enough. Let"s be movin". The sooner we go, the sooner we"ll be back. And we"ll show who"s afraid--eh, old sport?"
"That"s the stuff, Larry! Guess there ain"t no one big enough to tell us what to do."
And, with linked arms, they moved off. Bessie and Dolly, hardly able to believe in the good luck that left the way to the beach clear, held their breath for a moment. Then Bessie, seeing that Dolly was about to rise, whispered to her.
"Not yet, Dolly," she said, tensely. "Wait till we"re sure they can"t see us. No use taking chances now."
"All right, Bessie, but what luck! I was afraid we"d have to stay here until daylight, and I was wondering what Miss Eleanor and the girls would think!"
"So was I. I"m afraid they"re worried about us already. But it wasn"t our fault, and it really is a good thing we heard them, isn"t it? The "boss" they"re talking about must be Mr. Holmes, don"t you think!"
"I don"t see who else it could possibly be. Come on, Bessie. I think it"s time now, they"re out of sight."
Slowly and carefully, to take into account the off chance that Jeff, the other man, might have come back to see if his sentinels were faithful, they slipped across the path and made their way down. And at the bottom, as they reached the beach, Eleanor Mercer spied them, with a glad cry.
"Oh, whatever kept you so long?" she exclaimed. "How glad I am to see you back safely! We couldn"t imagine what on earth was keeping you."
"You shouldn"t have stayed so long," said Margery Burton. "We were just going to start out to look for you."
"You wouldn"t have had very far to go. We"ve been right at the top of the path for three-quarters of an hour," said Dolly, excitedly.
"It wasn"t our fault, really! We couldn"t get here any sooner," said Bessie. "You see--"
And, quietly, being less excited and hysterical than Dolly, she explained what they had discovered, and the trap in which they had allowed themselves to be caught.
"We thought it was better to wait there than to let them know we had heard them," she ended. "You see, they think now that we haven"t any suspicions at all, and that we"ll be off our guard. Don"t you suppose Mr. Holmes must be coming on board that yacht, Miss Eleanor?"
"I certainly do," said Eleanor, her lips firmly set, and an angry gleam in her eyes. "You did exactly the right thing. It was better for us to be worried for a few minutes than to take any chance of spoiling all you"d found out."
"What do you suppose they"ll try to do now?" wondered Margery. "Oh, I"d like to find some way to beat them, so that they"d have to stop this altogether."
"They"ll go too far, some time," said Eleanor, indignantly. "Mr. Holmes seems to forget there is such a thing as the law, but if he doesn"t look out he"ll find that all his money won"t save him from it. And I think the time is coming very soon. My father has some money, too, and I"m pretty sure he"ll spend as much as he needs to to beat these criminals."
"Can"t we go away from here to-night, Miss Eleanor?" asked Dolly. "They said we"d never do that, and it might fool them."
Everyone looked at Dolly in astonishment. It was a strange proposition to come from her, since she usually was the one who wanted to fight if there seemed to be any possibility of success. Now, however, she looked nervous.
"I don"t see how we can, Dolly," said Eleanor. "And, really, I don"t believe there"s any danger here. Mr. Holmes isn"t on the yacht, and these men won"t do anything until he is there to direct them. I shall telegraph to Mr. Jamieson in the morning, and he will probably come here. He can reach here by noon, and I think we will be all right here until then."
Dolly said nothing more to her, but when she was alone with Bessie she expressed herself more freely.
"I"m afraid of those men," she said, with a shiver. "I think they"re far more dangerous than the gypsies were. Didn"t you think, from the way they talked, that they would do anything if they thought they would get well paid for it?"
"Yes, but we"re warned, Dolly. It isn"t as if we didn"t have any idea, as they believe, that there is danger here. So I don"t think we need to be afraid."
On the beach, between the sea and the tents, the blaze of the camp fire flickered in the darkness, casting an uneven light on the beach. On the yacht all was still and peaceful. One by one her lights had gone out, until only the anchor lights, which she was required by law to show, remained.
"They"ve gone to sleep on board the yacht," whispered Bessie. "That looks as if they didn"t mean to do anything to-night, doesn"t it, Dolly?"
"I suppose so, Bessie. But I"m not satisfied."
Neither, wholly, in spite of her rea.s.suring words, was Eleanor. Had there been any way of moving from the camp that night, she would probably have taken it. But there seemed to be nothing for it but to wait there until morning, at least.
"We"ll stay here," she said, as good-nights were being exchanged, "but we"ll set a guard for the night. Margery, I wish you and Mary King would take the first watch. You"ll be relieved at one o"clock. You"re not too tired, are you?"
"No, indeed," said both girls.
"I think I ought to take the watch. This is partly on my account," said Bessie.
"Sleep first, and perhaps you can take the second spell, with Dolly," said Eleanor. "You"ve had a harder day than the rest of us, and you must be tired now."
Bessie and Dolly were, indeed, very tired. The fact that the camp was not to be left unguarded while they slept seemed to rea.s.sure Dolly, and she and Bessie were soon sound asleep. Only the noise of the light surf disturbed the intense stillness, and that had a soothing, musical quality that made it far from a disturbance to those who slept.
But that peace was to be rudely shattered before the first watch was over. It was just after midnight when a wild tumult aroused the camp, and Bessie and Dolly, springing to their feet, saw that the beach was as light as day--and that the light did not come from the camp fire. Confused and sleepy as they were, they saw the cause in a moment--the big living tent, in which meals were to be eaten in case of rainy weather, was all ablaze, and the wind that had sprung up during the night was blowing the sparks to the other tents, which caught fire as the girls, frightened and almost panic stricken, rushed out.
For a moment there was no concerted effort, but then Eleanor took command of the situation, and in a moment a line had been formed, and pails full of water from the sea were being handed from one girl to another.
The yacht had sprung into life at the first sign of the fire, and now, as the girls worked, they heard the sound of oars, as boats were hurriedly pushed ash.o.r.e. In a minute a dozen men had joined them in their fight against the fire, and, thanks to this unexpected aid, one or two of the tents, which had been furthest from the one in which the blaze had started, were saved.
The men from the yacht worked heroically, but their presence and their shouts created a new confusion. And in the midst of it Bessie, a pail of water in her hand, saw a man seize Zara and carry her, struggling, toward a boat. She was just about to cry out when a hand covered her mouth, and the next instant she was lifted in strong arms, carried to the boat, and pushed in.
Then two men sprang aboard, and one held the girls, while the other pulled quickly toward the yacht. They were prisoners!
CHAPTER XV.
DOLLY RANSOM MAKES GOOD.
"Keep still, and you won"t be hurt!" commanded the man who held them. Bessie had no choice in the matter for his hand covered her mouth, and, even had she wished to do so, she could not have cried out.
In a moment, too, looking toward Zara, she saw that she had fainted, and her own predicament was made worse than ever, since the ruffian who held her could now devote all his attention to her. So, utterly helpless, and almost ready to despair, Bessie had to submit to being carried up the little companion ladder that ran to the yacht"s deck.
As soon as she was on deck a handkerchief was slipped over her eyes, and, though she could hear the low murmur of voices, and was almost sure that one was that of Mr. Holmes, her arch enemy, she could not be positive. Her one hope now was that Dolly or some one of the others on the beach would have seen her abduction. But, even if they had, what could they do?
"Suppose they did see," poor Bessie thought to herself; "they couldn"t do anything. It would take a lot of strong men to come on board this yacht and get us off, and the girls wouldn"t be able to do anything at all."
She was not left long on the yacht"s deck. Almost at once she was carried below, and in a few minutes she found herself in a cabin, where the handkerchief was taken from her eyes. The cabin was a pretty one, but Bessie was in no mood to appreciate that. She hated the sight of its luxury; all she wanted was to be back with the girls on the beach, no matter how great the discomfort after the fire might be.
Zara, who had not yet revived, was brought down after her and laid on a sofa. Then she and Bessie were left alone with the big man who had carried Bessie from the beach. She thought that he was Jeff, the man who had left the two faithless sentinels to watch the path from the cliff. And she noticed, to her surprise, that, though his speech and manners were rough, there was a look about him that was not unkindly.
"Now, see here, sis," he said, gently enough, "we don"t aim to treat you badly here. You"ve run away from home, and that"s not right. We"re going to see that you get back to them as has the best right to look after you, but we don"t want you to be uncomfortable."
"How can I help it?" asked Bessie, indignantly.
"Just you behave yourself and keep quiet, and you"ll be all right," said Jeff. Bessie was sure of his ident.i.ty now. "You"ll have this pretty room here to yourselves, and you"ll have lots to eat. It"ll be better food than you got with that pack of chattering girls, too. We"ll up anchor and be off pretty soon, and then you can come up on deck and have a good time. But as long as we"re here, why, you"ll have to stay below."
Bessie got her first gleam of hope from that speech. If they stayed in Green Cove a little while, there was always the chance that something might happen.
"You see, sis," said Jeff, with a grin, "after a while your folks there will find you"re missing, and, like enough, they"ll suspicion that we done it; took you off, I mean. "Twouldn"t make no great difference if they did know it," Jeff went on. "But the boss thinks it"s just as well if we throw them off a bit--guess he wants to have some fun with them."
"Who is your "boss"?" asked Bessie, quickly. "I should think you would be ashamed of yourself, treating girls who can"t fight back this way! Do you call yourself a man?"
"Easy there, sis!" said Jeff, with a roar of laughter. "You can"t make me mad. Orders is orders, you know, and you did wrong when you run away like you did. And I ain"t tellin" you who the boss is. What you don"t know won"t hurt you--and that goes for your friends, too."
He left them alone then, and a faint hope was left behind him. Now that she had the chance, Bessie turned her attention to Zara. There was water in the cabin, and in a few minutes she had revived her chum, and was able to tell her what had happened. Poor Zara seemed to be completely overcome.
"Oh, Bessie, we haven"t got a chance this time!" she said. "I"ll have to go back and work for Farmer Weeks, and you--will they make you go back to Maw Hoover?"
"Never say die, Zara! As long as the yacht stays in the cove there is a chance that we"ll be rescued. That man didn"t know it, but he"ll never be able to make Miss Eleanor believe we"re not on this yacht. Listen--what"s that?"
There was a sound of hasty footsteps outside, and Jeff came in hurriedly. He slipped back a panel at one side of the cabin, and revealed a little closet.
"In there with you--both of you!" he said. "And I"m sorry, but you"ll have to be quiet, and there"s only one way."
In a trice their hands and feet were bound, and handkerchiefs were stuffed into their mouths. Then they were pushed into the closet and the panel was slipped back into place. They were helpless. Unable to speak, or to beat hands or feet against the thin wood, there was no way in which they could make their presence known. And in a moment they knew the reason for this precaution. For, through the wood of the panel, wafer thin, they heard Miss Eleanor"s voice.
"You can"t deceive me, sir!" they heard her say. "Those girls must be on this yacht, and I warn you that you had better give them up. Kidnapping is a serious offence in this state."
"You can see for yourself they"re not here, ma"am," said Jeff. "And I don"t take this kindly at all, ma"am. Why, when I saw the fire in your camp, I went ash.o.r.e with my men to try to help you--and now you make this charge against us."
"I certainly do!" said Eleanor, with spirit. "I am quite sure that this is the only place where my girls can be, and I mean to have them back. As to the fire, you helped us, it is true. But I am as certain as I can be of anything that you had something to do with starting it before you tried to put it out!"
"There"s no use talking to you, ma"am, and I won"t try it," said Jeff. "If you"re crazy enough to believe anything like that, I could talk all day and you"d still believe it. Here"s the yacht--you"re welcome to go over her and see for yourself. You won"t find the girls, because they"re not aboard. That"s a good reason, I guess."