Anderson Crow waved to the men under Crow"s Cliff, and they began to make their arduous way along the bank in the trail of the skiff. Part of the armed posse hurried down and boarded the raft, while others followed the chase by land.
"We"ll beat them to Bracken"s by a mile," cried Jack Barnes.
"If they don"t shoot us," she responded. "Why, oh, why are they so intent upon killing us?"
"They don"t want you to be a widow and--break a--lot of hearts," he said. "If they--hit me now you--won"t be--dangerous as a--widow."
"Oh, you heartless thing! How can you jest about it? I"d--I"d go into mourning, anyway, Jack," she concluded, on second thought. "We are just as good as married, you see."
"It"s nice--of you to say it, dear--but we"re a long--way from--Bracken"s. Gee! That was close!"
A bullet splashed in the water not ten feet from the boat. "The cowards!
They"re actually trying to kill us!" For the first time his face took on a look of alarm and his eyes grew desperate. "I can"t let them shoot at you, Marjory, dear! What the d.i.c.kens they want I don"t know, but I"m going to surrender." He had stopped rowing and was making ready to wave his white handkerchief on high.
"Never!" she cried with blazing eyes. "Give me the oars!" She slid into the other rowing seat and tried to s.n.a.t.c.h the oars from the rowlocks.
"Bravo! I could kiss you a thousand times for that. Come on, you Indians! You"re a darling, Marjory." Again the oars caught the water, and Jack Barnes"s white handkerchief lay in the bottom of the boat. He was rowing for dear life, and there was a smile on his face.
The raft was left far behind and the marksmen were put out of range with surprising ease. Fifteen minutes later the skiff shot across the river and up to the landing of Bracken"s boathouse, while a mile back in the brush Anderson Crow and his men were wrathfully scrambling in pursuit.
"Hey, Bracken! Jimmy!" shouted Jack Barnes, jumping out upon the little wharf. Marjory gave him her hands and was whisked ash.o.r.e and into his arms. "Run into the boathouse, dear. I"ll yank this stuff ash.o.r.e. Where the d.i.c.kens is Bracken?"
The boathouse door opened slowly and a sleepy young man looked forth.
"I thought you"d never come," he yawned.
"Wake up, you old loafer! We"re here and we are pursued! Where are George and Amy?" cried Mr. Barnes, doing herculean duty as a baggage smasher.
"Pursued?" cried the sleepy young man, suddenly awake.
"Yes, and shot at!" cried Marjory, running past him and into the arms of a handsome young woman who was emerging from the house.
"We"ve no time to lose, Jimmy! They are on to us, Heaven knows how. They are not more than ten minutes behind us. Get it over with, Jimmy, for Heaven"s sake! Here, George, grab this trunk!"
CHAPTER IV
Anderson Rectifies an Error
In a jiffy the fugitives and their property were transferred to the interior of the roomy boathouse, the doors bolted, and George Crosby stationed at a window to act as lookout.
"Is it your father?" demanded the Rev. James Bracken, turning to Marjory. Young Mrs. Crosby was looking on eagerly.
"Mr. Brewster is at home and totally oblivious to all this," cried Jack Barnes. "I don"t know what it means. Here"s the license, Jimmy. Are you ready, Marjory?"
"This is rather a squeamish business, Jack--" began the young minister in the negligee shirt. He was pulling on his coat as he made the remark.
"Oh, hurry, Jimmy; please hurry!" cried Marjory Brewster.
"Don"t wait a second, Jimmy Bracken!" cried Amy Crosby, dancing with excitement. "You can"t go back on them now!"
Three minutes later there was no Marjory Brewster, but there was a Mrs.
John Ethelbert Barnes--and she was kissing her husband rapturously.
"Now, tell us everything," cried Mrs. Crosby after the frantic congratulations. The Reverend "Jimmy" Bracken, of the Eleventh Presbyterian Church, was the only one who seemed uncertain as to his position. In the first place, old Judge Brewster was a man of influence in the metropolis, from which all had fled for a sojourn in the hills.
He and his daughter were Episcopalians, but that made them none the less important in the eyes of "Jimmy" Bracken. In the second place, Jack Barnes was a struggling lawyer, in the Year of our Lord 1880, and possessed of objectionable poverty. The young men had been room-mates at college. Friendship had overcome discretion in this instance, at least.
The deed being done, young Mr. Bracken was beginning to wonder if it had not been overdone, so to speak.
"I wish somebody would tell me!" exclaimed Jack Barnes, with a perplexed frown. "The beastly jays shot at us and all that. You"d think I was an outlaw. And they blazed away at Marjory, too, hang them!"
Marjory, too excited to act like a blushing bride, took up the story and told all that had happened. George Crosby became so interested that he forgot to keep guard.
"This is a funny mess!" he exclaimed. "There"s something wrong--"
"Hey, you!" came a shout from the outside.
"There they are!" cried Marjory, flying to her husband"s side. "What are we to do?"
"You mean, what are they to do? We"re married, and they can"t get around that, you know. Let "em come!" cried the groom exultantly. "You don"t regret it, do you, sweetheart?" quite anxiously. She smiled up into his eyes, and he felt very secure.
"What do you fellows want?" demanded Crosby from the window. Anderson Crow was standing on the river bank like a true Napoleon, flanked by three trusty riflemen.
"Who air you?" asked Anderson in return. He was panting heavily, and his legs trembled.
"None of your business! Get off these grounds at once; they"re private!"
"None o" your sa.s.s, now, young man; I"m an officer of the law, an" a detective to boot! We sha"n"t stand any nonsense. The place is surrounded and he can"t escape! Where is he?"
"That"s for you to find out if you"re such a good detective! This is David Bracken"s place, and you can find him at his home on the hilltop yonder!"
"Ask him what we"ve done, George," whispered Barnes.
"We ain"t after Mr. Bracken, young feller, but you know what we _do_ want! He"s in there--you"re shielding him--we won"t parley much longer!
Send him out!" said Anderson Crow.
"If you come a foot nearer you"ll get shot into the middle of kingdom come!" shouted Crosby defiantly.
The inmates gasped, for there was not a firearm on the place.
"Be careful!" warned the Reverend "Jimmy" nervously.
"Goin" to resist, eh? Well, we"ll get him; don"t you worry; an" that ornery female o" hisn", too!"
"Did you hear that?" exclaimed Jack Barnes. "Let me get at the old rat."
He was making for the door when the two women obstructed the way. Both were frantic with fear.