Though Josh Owen smoked many pipefuls, time soon began to drag on that worthy"s hands. Hours slipped by.
"I"d no business to let Danny go," growled Owen, uneasily, time after time, often rising and pacing about, though never straying away from the two boys. "That young feller thinks a heap too much o" liquor for one so young. He"s spendin" time, as well as money, over in Dunhaven. It won"t be so bad if he don"t take too much, and get talkative."
Two or three times Josh thought he heard someone moving in the woods.
Each time he called softly, or signaled, but there came no response.
Despite his inward suffering, Jack Benson dozed at last. So, as he afterwards learned, did Hal. Yet these drowsings must have been short.
They were filled with horrible dreams of disgrace, imprisonment, and all the misfortunes that healthy young minds in torment could bring up.
At last Jack awoke, with a start, to realize that it was daylight.
Josh Owen was on his feet, his taste for tobacco gone. He was listening, peering between the trees, and making many impatient remarks under his breath.
"Hullo, uncle! Gettin" weary, carryin" "round my share of the money?"
chuckled the voice of Dan Jaggers. Then that s.h.a.ggy young bully stepped out from behind a tree.
"Ye"ve been long enough," growled his relieved uncle. "But I"m glad t"
see ye"re in good enough shape."
"Oh, I"m all right," admitted Jaggers, serenely, as he came forward.
"I"ve been back here for hours."
"What are ye telling me?" demanded Josh Owen.
"The facts. Ye see, Uncle Josh, I wanted to know whether ye"d forgit ye had my money, an" stray off. So I"ve been watchin" round, "thout making no noise, for hours." Josh Owen had no means of knowing whether this statement was the truth or not, but he growled:
"Then ye must know for sure, now, lad, that I"m square with my own nephew.
What"d ye bring back with ye?"
"Something to eat."
"And something to drink, hey? I guess we"ll eat first."
Dan retraced his way through the woods a few paces, returning with packages.
"You younkers can see us eat, if you want to," said Josh Owen, with a malicious leer, as he spread a piece of paper on the ground and began to lay out the meal. "When are you two going to eat? I don"t know.
Maybe not for a few days yet. Ye see, it ain"t so easy to make an enemy of a man by sneaky tricks, and then get on his right side again."
This picnic breakfast lasted a long time, it seemed to watchful Jack Benson. But at last it was over. Josh brought out his ill-smelling pipe once more, settling himself, with his back against a tree-trunk, to enjoy himself.
"Bring anything to drink, Danny boy?" inquired Owen, after a few minutes.
"Here"s some beer," proposed Jaggers, pa.s.sing over the bottle.
Josh opened it, took a long drink, then sat with the bottle poised on one of his knees.
"I don"t believe ye"d better have any of this, Danny, lad," declared Owen, with a grin.
"Don"t want any," responded Jaggers, in a rather sulky voice.
Dan got up and strolled about, his hands in his pockets, whistling softly but cheerily. Josh Owen finished his unwise beverage, and tossed the bottle a few feet away. Presently the man"s eyes closed, but he opened them as though with an effort.
"S"here, Danny," he demanded, thickly, drowsily, "watcher put in that stuff?"
Dan Joggers did not reply, but he turned to watch his uncle, a look of the lowest cunning in the young bully"s eyes. For a brief s.p.a.ce of time Owen fought against his drowsiness. Then he lurched, falling over on one side, unconscious--drugged.
In a twinkling, then, Dan Jaggers knelt beside his uncle, rifling the other man"s pockets until he had brought to light both their shares in the evil-doing of the night.
CHAPTER VIII
A SWIFT STROKE FOR HONOR
For the s.p.a.ce of a few moments Dan Jaggers stared at the money clutched in his hands in a way that betrayed the extent of its fascinating hold upon his mind.
Then he glanced down at his unconscious uncle.
"Ugh!" he grunted, giving that prostrate form a slight but contemptuous kick. "If I hadn"t done something like this you would. Oh, ye-eh, there"s honor among thieves, but it"s no good trusting to that honor.
Every man for himself, in the woods!"
One more gloating look the s.h.a.ggy young bully took at all that money, before thrusting it deep down in a pocket and pinning the opening securely.
"Don"t ye wish ye was me, with all this money to have a good time on?"
he demanded, jeeringly, of Jack Benson. "But maybe ye"ve framed up some kind of a yarn that yer boss, Farnum, will be willin" to believe.
If ye hain"t, then mebbe ye"d better never git close to him again."
Dan Jaggers again turned his attention to his overcome uncle, kneeling beside the ex-foreman and watching his face closely.
And then a strange thing happened, or so it would have seemed, had Dan Jaggers possessed eyes in the back of his head. For Jack Benson likewise his chum had striven many times through the night to free their wrists of the cords that bound them. Jack was the first to succeed, at a cost of hours of effort and thinking. He wriggled one hand out from under the knots just as Dan turned for that last look at the prostrate man.
How fearfully numbed Jack Benson"s wrists were, after that long spell of being tied up. Yet the boy knew that he must quickly restore circulation there and get his hands ready for use before it was all too late.
It must be one swift, decisive, conquering stroke for honor"s sake.
Jack"s trembling right hand went into one of his trousers pockets. He found his clasp-knife, yanked it out, opened one of the blades, and Hal Hastings, who had been watching every move with breathless interest, now rolled noiselessly so that his chum could reach the rope that held him captive.
In another twinkling Hal was free. Just then, Jaggers, fancying he heard some noise in their direction, turned slowly. By the time Jaggers had them within his range of vision each boy was lying as before, his hands behind his back.
With a heartless chuckle, Dan turned back for one last look at his uncle.
Jack rose, almost fearing to breathe. Hal started to follow suit.
There was some swift stealthy toe-work. Just as Dan Jaggers turned more sharply Jack Benson hurled himself through the air, catching and clutching at his enemy"s neck. Both rolled over together, Dan, with his greater strength, fighting like a panther and bear in one.
It was Hal Hastings"s chance. As he darted forward he espied a serviceable-looking stick on the ground. He s.n.a.t.c.hed it up with a single breathless swoop, then poised himself over the struggling fighters, stick uplifted.
Down came that slender cudgel, striking Dan a light blow squarely top of his head.