by Edith Lavell
CHAPTER XII
_The Money-Bags_
Linda's theories regarding the fourth member of the gang of thieves hadbeen only partially correct. As she had surmised, the "Doc" slipped offin the canoe from Black Jack Island while his companions slept, and hedid stop at Soldiers' Camp. But it was not he who compelled Susie to gowith him, but the girl herself who insisted upon accompanying him.
Susie's desire to reform had been sincere while Linda was with her. Shehad actually meant to cut free from the gang and go back to a normalmode of life--earning her living as she had done when she met herhusband. No more sneaking about in fear of the law, no more hiding inthat desolate camp in the Okefenokee Swamp! She would get a job at anairport, and take up flying again. She might even become famous--likeLinda Carlton!
But unfortunately, after the famous aviatrix left her alone, herenthusiasm faded, and her faith in her ability to make a "come-back"died as suddenly as it was born. How could she ever hope to be freefrom the stain of her last two years of living--since her marriage to"Slats"? If Linda did not turn her over to the police authorities,someone else would. She might have to serve five or ten years in prison.
As the afternoon passed, she grew more and more miserable, more anxiousto get away. If only she had a boat! If her ankle were not so painful,and her bandaged head not so conspicuous! If there were only some wayfor her to escape!
Having no appetite, she made no pretense at preparing any supper forherself. There was still some cold tea left from lunch; she decided tomake that her meal, and an hour later she fell asleep where she was,right on the shore of the island.
The sun was rising over the swamp when she awakened the followingmorning, and she sat up with difficulty, cramped by her uncomfortableposition in sleep.
"I might as well be dead--with Slats," she thought, morbidly, as sheviewed the desolation around her. Again she tried to rise, when thesoft sound of a paddle, dipping into the quiet water attracted herattention. She waited breathlessly. Were the boys coming back so soon?
Not long afterward a canoe came into sight. Susie's heart leaped withjoy when she recognized who was guiding it. The Doc!
"Doc!" she cried. "Bill Rickers!" she added, using the man's real name."It's Susie!"
The man pulled up to the island, amazed at finding her there. In thedawning light he saw the autogiro, lying half on its side.
"Where's Slats?" he demanded.
"Dead," answered the girl, immediately. "We had a wreck.... Will youtake me with you?" she begged. "I'm almost crazy here all by myself."
"I wanted to make a get-away alone," he muttered.
"You have the money!" she cried, jumping at once to the correctconclusion. "Where are the other two men?"
"Asleep at Black Jack Island."
"And where are you going?"
"Out of the swamp--across the state, and then over to our island. Theyacht's due there tomorrow--I want to be ready to go with it."
"O.K. with me," agreed Susie, as if she had been invited to go. "Let'spush off now--or wait--we'll eat some breakfast. There's beans and coldtea."
"Maybe you could be some use," remarked the man, as he ate the meagerbreakfast. "If we could get a plane. And I am sorry for you, Kid--allalone here with Slats dead."
Susie gave him no chance to change his mind. Hobbling out to the little"house" where the boys had put the blanket and the extra food, shepicked up the former, smoothed her dress and her hair, and returned toannounce herself ready. They pushed off again, following the littlestream out of the swamp.
"How do you expect to get across the state?" asked the girl, wearily,when late that afternoon, they brought their canoe to a landing. Shehad slept a little in the boat, but she was still very tired.
"Hitch-hike, I reckon," was the reply. "If we go hirin' any cars,somebody might get suspicious. Once at the coast, I count on rentin' alittle fishing-boat from some fellow--one big enough to take us to theisland."
"I can't hitch-hike," objected Susie.
"Don't then,--stay here," answered the man, indifferently.
"You know I can't do that, either. Let's go to that house over there,and see if we can't get some supper. Maybe they have an old Ford or ateam of horses."
"You foot the bill?" he asked, shrewdly. With all that money in hispossession, this man had no intention of spending any of it on anyonebut himself.
Susie considered a moment. She hadn't any money at all--she always gotwhat she wanted from her husband. But she owned some costly jewelry.
"I'll give you this diamond," she offered, "if you get me safe out ofthe country. And no walkin'!"
"O.K.," he muttered, his greedy eyes gleaming at the sight of thebeautiful jewel. "You win. Go ask the woman yourself."
It was thus, by strange coincidence, that Susie and the Doc rode acrossGeorgia that evening in the same Ford that had driven Linda and theboys to Jacksonville the night before. They reached a seaport town alittle after midnight, and Susie succeeded in finding a house to stayin, though her companion preferred to remain out-doors, for he saidhe "didn't trust nobody." In the morning, when she joined him, he hadrented an old motor-boat from a fisherman. "Rent" was the word he used,but he had not the slightest intention of returning it.
"You can run her, Susie," he said. "You're better at engines than I am,and she'll need coaxing. I'll steer."
It was a difficult cruise, for at times the engine coughed and died,and Susie had to try all sorts of methods to start her up again. Whenthey finally came within sight of the island, the motor sputtered itslast and refused to function any longer. The man managed to get theboat inshore by riding the waves, and using the oars kept at the bottomof the boat for just such an emergency.
About the time Linda Carlton and Dot Crowley were eating their lunch onBlack Jack Island, Susie and the Doc were making their landing. Theypulled in at the opposite shore from the one which the girls later usedin the autogiro. The man's first concern was with the hiding-placewhere he expected to find the boxes of jewels. His disappointment waskeen when he discovered that they had been taken away.
"The cops has found us out!" he snarled angrily at Susie, as if it wereher fault. "They'll be back again--I'll bet you! We gotta get out ofhere!"
"How?" demanded Susie. "Not in that boat?"
"Nope. Maybe the yacht will be along early, but it ain't likely. Itusually runs after dark."
Dumping his bags in the sand not far from the hole, he tried to thinkwhat would be best to do.
"We gotta act quick, Susie--if the cops come. No use tryin' to putup a fight--with only one gun, and them two bags to guard.... Youwatch on that other shore, and I'll go back to the one we came in on.Whatever they come in--airplane or boat--we gotta swipe. Hide if yousee anything comin', give 'em a chance to get into the island--and grabtheir boat. Give me a signal----"
"How?" she interrupted.
"You take the gun, and shoot when you're ready to push off.... If Isee anybody on my side, I'll whistle, as near like a bird as I can." Hegrinned to himself; if the police came in anything but an airplane, hewouldn't bother with Susie. Let her face the music!
"O.K. But I couldn't run, Doc. Don't forget that."
"I ain't forgettin'," he returned.
They separated, and for two hours waited tensely, keeping a sharplook-out for the rescuing yacht, hoping against hope that it wouldarrive before the police. But at three o'clock their worst fears wererealized. Susie saw the autogiro coming towards them, and hobbled offinto the depths of the island to conceal herself. Lying flat on thesand, she was not able to identify the people who got out of the plane,but she could see that they both wore riding-breeches, and she believedthey were men. So she kept still until they had disappeared into theunderbrush. Then she began to creep laboriously, in a round-aboutfashion, to the autogiro.
Susie's progress was slow; she did not reach the plane until afterLinda and Dot had succeeded in emptying the bags of the money, andrefilled them with sand. The girls had just recognized the man on
theshore, and were creeping farther into the island, out of sight of him,when the shot of the pistol rang out above the roar of the ocean. Theyhad no way of knowing that Susie had fired it.
A moment later they heard the rustle and crackle of underbrush, as theman came towards them. From her hiding place, now some distance fromthe bags, Linda raised her head cautiously, and saw the thief retrievethe bags with a grab. Then he dashed back to the shore, circled theisland on the harder sand, and reached the opposite shore, where theautogiro was standing.
"Why doesn't he come after us?" whispered Linda, in amazement.
"He will soon, I'm afraid," replied Dot hoarsely, clutching herrevolver tightly. "But I'm going to shoot if he does!"
"So am I," answered Linda, calmly. "We've got the advantage--we'rehidden."
Tensely they waited for five minutes--possibly ten; then something theyhad not thought of happened. The engine of the autogiro began to roar!
"They're stealing the Ladybug!" cried Linda, aghast at such acalamity. "Susie must be with him! Dot, we can't let them do that!"
Regardless of the danger, Linda jumped up excitedly, and rushed to aclearing, where she had a view of the shore. She was just in time tosee her beloved autogiro taxi along the beach and rise into the air.
Dot dashed to her side, and the two girls stood together in helplessagony of spirit.
"Prisoners!" cried Dot, at last, dropping her useless revolver into thesand.
"Robinson Crusoes!" added Linda, bitterly. "No better off! No plane!"
"With thousands of dollars!" groaned her companion, ironically. "Wheremoney is no good at all!"