Tavia, as she had said, stood straight out in the middle of the road, watching through the dim light.
The boys were at the car now, and they were speaking to the man!
CHAPTER V
THE POLICE PATROL
For some moments neither girl spoke: Tavia stood out in the road like an officer, while Dorothy did not lift her head from her att.i.tude of prayer. Suddenly Dorothy, in a frenzy of fear, rushed out to where Tavia stood, and threw her arms around her.
"Tavia," she exclaimed, "I must go to them. I cannot stand another moment like this--I am simply choking. Come: See, they have not been able to manage him. He is in the car yet. Oh, do let us go!" and the look on the terrified girl"s face so frightened Tavia she forgot to watch, forgot everything but Dorothy--something would surely happen to her if that anxiety was not soon relieved.
But to go to the boys! Might not that make matters worse?
"Dorothy, darling," began Tavia, "don"t be so frightened. Perhaps they are just talking pleasantly to him--"
"Then I must hear them. I must know what it is all about. Do come!"
and she tried to drag Tavia from the spot to which she seemed riveted.
"If you would only wait here while I go down first, and then if it is all right, that is, if the boys want us to come--"
"No, no," cried Dorothy. "I must go at once! See! Oh, Nat is coming this way--"
"Yes, here comes Nat. It will be all right now," and Tavia was soothing Dorothy as if she were a baby--patting her, smoothing her hair, and even pressing her lips to her cheek. In truth Dorothy appeared as weak as a baby, and seemed to require that help which a loving human hand may impart to a nervous body, at once the sense of protection and the a.s.surance of sympathy.
"Ned is starting up the machine," exclaimed Tavia. "Oh, I know. He is going to give the man a ride."
Little dreaming how truly she spoke, for indeed Ned was going to give the strange man a stranger ride, Tavia showed Dorothy that she believed everything was all right now, and then Nat was there--they could call to him. Yes, he was whistling lightly. How silly they were to have been frightened!
"What is it?" demanded Dorothy, as soon as her cousin could hear her voice.
"I guess it was--"
"Nat! Nat!" screamed Tavia, at the same time running to him and whispering a word in his ear. "There, now, Dorothy. Didn"t I tell you. Only a poor farmer. Where did he say he lived, Nat?"
"Tavia, you told Nat not to tell me--"
"Ha! ha! ha!" roared Nat. "Well, of all things. Not to tell you.
Well I guess I will. Sit right down here, my little Coz, and I shall be delighted to tell you all I know," and at this he drew the almost exhausted girl down to a tree stump, to "tell her." But Tavia kept close at the other side of the young man--she could nudge him if--well, of course, just to make the story funny--perhaps!
"Wanted a ride, that was all," declared Nat. "See, here they are. We must not notice them as they pa.s.s!"
"Why?" asked Dorothy. But in answer Nat squeezed her hand so hard she knew he meant for her to keep quiet.
The car flew past. Ned never glanced at those by the roadside. And how strange he looked--
"Oh, Nat!" almost screamed Dorothy. "That man had on striped clothes--like--"
"Queer kind of sweater. They come in all sorts of stripes," her cousin interrupted, with a side glance at Tavia.
"But his leg was out of the car, and that was--"
"Also striped. Yes, I noticed his suit was not exactly of the newest fall pattern, but there is no telling where a farmer may pick up his duds. Like as not his wife made the trousers out of some good strong bed ticking."
"Nat, you are trying to deceive me. That man is an escaped convict, and Ned is riding alone with him--Oh, what will become of us?" and tears welled to Dorothy"s eyes. That outlet of the overstrained--a good cry--had come to her relief.
"Oh, there!" begged Nat. "Don"t take on so. It will be all right.
Ned will be back for us before you have your eyes dry," and he kissed his little cousin affectionately.
"And it was that awful man out of jail! I knew it! I could tell him before he ever got to the car! I can always tell when he is coming.
Oh! suppose he should kill Ned--" and she burst into a fresh flood of hysterical tears.
Meanwhile Tavia had not yet heard what had happened to induce Ned to take the convict away--for Anderson it was. Nat had told her it was that awful rascal when she cautioned him to hide it from Dorothy.
Certainly it was all very strange, and very dangerous.
"I suppose we have to sit here and wait for Ned to come back," ventured Tavia.
"Or else walk to meet him," suggested Nat, who was really anxious to do something beside sitting there listening to Dorothy cry. "Dry your tears, Dorothy," he said kindly, "and we will walk along. It is pleasant and cool, and it will do us good to have a walk."
"Can"t we get back to Dalton this way?" asked Dorothy. "Isn"t this the road we came out?"
"It may be the road but it is some miles from town," answered Nat.
"Listen! What was that?"
"The gong of an ambulance, it sounded like," exclaimed Tavia. "Hark!"
At that moment a wagon turned a corner and came towards them. It was a black wagon--yes, it did look like an ambulance.
"Oh," shrieked Dorothy. "What ever has happened now?"
"Why, it"s only the "police patrol," answered Nat, trying to be indifferent about the matter. "Probably they"re--"
"h.e.l.lo there, young fellow!" called a man from the wagon. "Have you seen a fellow in stripes about these woods?"
The speaker was addressing Nat, and he wore the uniform of a police officer.
"Yes, we have," answered the young man. "And I can tell you all about him."
The wagon came to a full stop now, and the officer stepped down from the seat at front, while simultaneously, two other officers dropped from the step at the back, so that our friends suddenly became surrounded by bluecoats.
"There," said Tavia aside to Dorothy. "You are not afraid now, are you? We have enough of protection at last."
"Which way did he go?" asked the officer.
"Straight for Danvers," answered Nat, "and in my brother"s custody. We had to go to a shop to get a piece of the machine fixed and left these two young ladies alone here. When we returned the fellow was in our auto--he had taken possession of it, and refused to give it up. We did everything to induce him, but he absolutely refused to leave, and demanded a ride, so, recognizing him from the description as the fellow who had escaped from Danvers, my brother decided there was nothing to do but give him a ride back to the jail."