Turning once more, he started to retrace his steps, intending to pa.s.s around the house and out at the gate that lay some distance away. A mile was not so very far to go, even for a tired boy. And as he had said, that cold bath had worked wonders for his muscles.
Elmer had gone possibly one half of the distance to the gate, when he believed he detected something moving ahead of him. The first thought that flashed across his mind was that it must be Bruno, who was in the act of returning home after a little run about the country.
He hoped the big dog would recognize him as a friend before attempting to jump at him; for Elmer knew that Siberian wolf hounds are not the easiest animals in the world to handle when met in the dark.
So the boy prepared to speak, in the hope that Bruno would recognize his voice. Better after all to arouse the house, than have the dog attack him under the impression that he was a thief.
Again he detected that movement as he stood perfectly still alongside the bush. This time, however, it struck him that it did not seem so much like a dog; and while he was trying to figure this out, another sound came faintly to his ears. Whispers! That meant human beings, and at least two, or they would not be exchanging remarks!
Could it be any of the servants belonging to the house? Their actions would not warrant such an idea, for Elmer could now see that the two dusky figures were creeping along, bending low, and behaving in the most suspicious manner possible.
A sudden thought struck him so forcibly that it sent a shiver through his whole body. What was that the colonel had said over the wire about the two men whom he had had arrested on a charge of stealing his prize fruit, getting away from the poorly guarded lock up in town?
Could it be possible that these shadowy figures were those same rascals; and had they come to the home of Colonel Hitchins, determined after their lawless way, to get even with him for having caused them to suffer a short time in the jail?
Elmer could feel his heart beating like mad as he watched them drawing nearer and nearer.
CHAPTER IX.
FAITHFUL TO HIS FRIEND.
NOW they had stopped again, and seemed to be conferring in whispers.
If Elmer had had the least doubt before concerning their evil intentions, it was no longer in evidence. Honest men do not creep around the house of a rich man at such an hour of the night, and put their heads close together.
He flattened himself out on the ground, having dropped like a stone, though without the least noise.
"How lucky that I happened to come along this way!" was the thought that seemed uppermost in the mind of the scout as he crouched there, waiting.
"If my wheel had stayed all right I would have been far away right now, and never known a thing about this. And it was that tool house that made me go around to the back."
He even grew bolder, and began to speculate as to how he might creep closer to the pair. If he could only overhear what they were saying, it might help more than a little. And, somehow, his desire to be of some a.s.sistance to his good friend the colonel, urged him to make the attempt.
To an ordinary lad it might have seemed an impossible task, for in his clumsiness he must certainly have made some sort of sounds calculated to arouse the suspicions of the men.
Elmer"s experiences in the Canadian Northwest had proven of great value to him ever since he joined the Boy Scouts. And when he started to creep forward, it was with some of the stealth of the cat gliding toward a coveted dinner in the shape of a feeding sparrow.
As he covered several yards of territory, Elmer noticed that he quickly began to catch the sound of conversation. The men were talking low, but one of them had a harsh voice, and while this had come to Elmer at first as an indistinct murmur, presently he began to catch distinct words.
Having attained a place behind another bush, where he could have tossed a pebble and touched the two fellows, had he been of a mind, he strained his ears to catch the tenor of their earnest talk.
The man with the husky voice seemed to be scolding his companion, and accusing him of being either timid or over-particular.
"But ye was jest as dead set on doin" it as I was, Con Stebbins; an" now that we got the chanct ye show signs o" the white feather. Brace up, an"
lets git busy!" he was growling.
"Aw! what"s eatin" ye, Phil?" the other remarked, with a whine. "I"d like tuh do the job jest as much as yerself; but what if we got ketched?
It"d mean a long time in the pen, Phil."
"I tell you we ain"t agoin" to be caught," declared the heavier of the two, in an angry tone. "Ain"t I aknowin" the ropes here; didn"t I uster work for the kunnel as a gardener? That"s what made me so crazy mad when he had me locked up, jest because we went and took some o" his ole peaches, an" sold "em so"s to get the hard stuff."
"But how d"ye know the dorg ain"t goin" tuh git back an" tackle us while we"re adoin" the job?" demanded the whining Con.
"Didn"t I tell ye that Bruno knows me, an" that when I kim hyar an hour back I let him loose?" declared the heavy-set man, warmly.
"But he might come back any ole time," protested the other.
"He ain"t goin" tuh," declared Phil. "I orter know his ways right well.
Every time he breaks loose he stays away the hull blessed night. It"s a picnic fur the dorg. Reckon he"s got some friends he visits, an" has a few sc.r.a.ps. Jest ye forgit there is sech a thing as a dorg, and leave it tuh me to fix the game like we wants it."
"Huh! ye sed as how ye knowed jest how the game cud be worked, didn"t ye, Phil?" went on the taller man, nervously.
"Sure I did. All ye got tuh do is to foller me. I"m willin" tuh take the lead. Yuh sed as how yuh had matches along, didn"t yuh, Con?"
"Plenty of "em, Phil," mumbled the other.
"That"s good. All yuh has tuh do is to strike a match, _and then drop it_! I wants tuh make sure both of us has a hand in it, that"s all. Now, are yuh ready to move along, Con?" asked the shorter scoundrel.
The other seemed to want to take one more nervous look around before consenting. Undoubtedly his nerve had failed him in the critical test, and he was now being actually dragged into the thing by his more determined and vindictive partner.
Elmer had been thrilled by what he heard. When he caught the significant word "matches" the terrible truth flashed upon him, and he realized that these rascals, bent on revenge on the colonel because of their recent arrest, meant to set fire to either the stables or the mansion itself.
In either event it was a dreadful thing. No wonder the boy grew cold, and then hot alternately. But he did not flinch. Elmer was made of good stuff, and such an emergency as this called it out.
He shut his teeth so hard together that he could hear the gritting sound, and so excited was he at the moment, that he wondered whether either of the men could have sharp enough hearing to have detected the noise which to his aroused fancy appeared like the creaking of a seldom-used door.
But they gave no sign of any suspicion. Con seemed to have recovered a little of his lost grit, and was allowing the ex-employee of Colonel Hitchins to draw him along again. They made progress slowly, stealthily keeping in the densest shadows, and at times almost creeping on their knees.
"What shall I do?"
That was the thought that flashed through the mind of the boy as he watched the pair of intended incendiaries moving off. He could shout, and thus arouse the house; or after they had gone it was within his power to hasten back to the door, and demand admittance.
Doubtless the colonel would still be in his library, for he seldom retired before midnight, Elmer knew. And once he found a chance to communicate the terrible news to the owner of the place, prompt means could easily be taken for preventing the incendiary fire.
Then, while he was trying to decide which of these courses might prove best, a sudden inspiration a.s.sailed the boy. It was, of course, born of his former experiences among the "men who do things" on the broad plains. Another lad would never had dreamed of such a bold course; or even had it appealed to him, he must have quickly decided against undertaking so hazardous an attempt to balk the wicked designs of these rascals.
But to Elmer it appealed irresistibly. He believed he could do it, given half a chance. And, unable to resist the temptation, he began to creep after the two shadowy figures, now almost beyond range of his vision.
He noticed that they were pa.s.sing around the house. This would indicate that they expected making their attack from the rear. Phil had worked on these grounds, and apparently knew every foot of the estate. Possibly he may, as he said, have been a gardener to Colonel Hitchins; Elmer faintly remembered some man of about his squatty figure, whom he had seen tr.i.m.m.i.n.g hedges, and working among the flowers early in the spring.
All at once the boy had a new thrill. They were certainly headed straight for the very tool house where he had left his wheel! Doubtless there must be some particular object in this action on the part of Phil.
Did he wish to secure some sort of tool to be used in furthering his evil designs?
"Oh!"