CHAPTER XXV
A NIGHT MESSAGE
The crowd had melted away, Bob Haven was totally engrossed with themagnificent prize he had drawn, and Darry was busily engaged in closingup the records of the sale.
Bart was thoroughly mystified at the strange conduct of Baker, and verymuch disappointed at not finding him, now that he sought the mysteriousman.
McCarthy had gone home, and Lem Wacker was not in evidence. Some boyswere guarding a pile of stuff that had been purchased and thrown aside.Bart set at work cleaning up the package coverings that littered theplace inside and outside.
Things were back to normal when the afternoon express came in. It wasnearly two hours late, and closing time.
There was the usual grist of store packages, which Darry attended to,and several special envelopes. These Bart placed in the safe along withthe proceeds of the day derived from the sale, barely glancing over theduplicate receipt he had signed for the messenger.
He noticed that two of the specials were for the local bank, and thethird for the big pickle factory of Martin & Company, at the edge of thetown.
"Both closed up by this time," ruminated Bart. "We can't deliverto-night. Anything very urgent among that stuff, Darry?"
"Nothing," replied his young assistant.
"You can go home, then," directed Bart. "Pretty tired, eh? A big day'swork, this."
"Say, Bart," spoke up Darry, as he dallied at the door, "who was thefellow that bought that last package?"
"A friend of mine, Darry," answered Bart seriously. "And I am worriedabout him. He is the man I told you about who helped me save my fatherthe night of the fire."
"He acted very queerly. And Lem Wacker, too," added Darry thoughtfully."Is something new up, Bart? The way Wacker carried on, he seemed to havesome idea in his head."
"He had the idea he could bulldoze me," said Bart bluntly, "and foundhe couldn't. What bothers me is, why were both of them so anxious to getthis package?"
Bart took it out of his pocket as he spoke, nodded good night to Darry,and sat down on a bench, turning the parcel over and over in his hand.
"A.A. Adams," he read from the tag, "a queer name, and no one answeringto it here in Pleasantville. I wonder why Baker was so excited when heheard that name? I wonder why Lem Wacker bid it up? Is he aware of themystery surrounding Baker? Has this package got something to do with it?Wacker looked as though he had struck a prosperous streak, and braggedrecklessly about the lot of money he could get. I must find Baker. Hewas in no condition, mentally or physically, to wander about at random."
The package in question, Bart decided, held papers. It had been givenhim in trust, and he could not open it without Baker's permission. Hereplaced it in his pocket and went forth.
Bart visited all of Baker's old familiar haunts in the freight yards,but found no trace of him. Then he called at the Sharp Corner. Itsproprietor claimed that Lem Wacker had not been there since noon.
Bart spoke to two of the yards night watchmen. He described Baker, andrequested them to speak to him if they ran across him, and to tell himthat Bart Stirling was very anxious to see him up at his house.
Affairs at the little express office had settled down to routine when,one morning, Darry Haven dropped into the place.
He found Bart engrossed in reading a letter very carefully. Its envelopelay on the desk. Glancing at it casually, Darry saw that it was fromexpress headquarters.
"Anything wrong?" he inquired, as Bart folded up the letter and placedit in his pocket.
"Not with me, anyway," replied Bart with a smile. "There is somethingwrong at Cardysville, a hundred miles or so down the main line," he wenton.
"And how does that interest you, Bart?"
"Why, it seems I have got to go down there on some business for theCompany."
"To-day?"
"The sooner the better, that letter says. It is from the inspector. Itis quite flattering to me, for he starts out with complimenting theexcellent business system this office has always sustained."
"H'm!" chuckled Darry--"any mention of your valued extra help?"
"No, but that may come along, for you have got to represent me hereagain to-day, and possibly to-morrow."
"Is that so?" said Darry. "Well, I guess I can arrange."
"You see," explained Bart, "the letter is a sort of confidential one.Reading between the lines, I assume that a certain Peter Pope, nowexpress agent at Cardysville, and evidently recently appointed, is arelative of one of the officials of the company. Anyway, he has beenrunning--or not running--things for a week. The inspector writes thatthe man has very little to do, for it is a small station, but that verylittle he appears to do very badly."
"How, Bart?"
"His reports and returns are all mixed up. He doesn't have the leastidea of how to run things intelligently. The inspector asks me to go andsee him, take some of our blanks, open a set of books for him, and tryand install a system that will bring things around clearer."
"Why, Bart," exclaimed Darry, "they have promoted you!"
"I don't see it, Darry."
"That's traveling auditor's work. Besides, a delicate and confidentialmission for an official. Wake up! you've struck a higher rung on theladder, and I'll wager they'll boost you fast."
"Nonsense, Darry, I happen to be handy and accommodating, and they don'twant to turn the fellow down on account of his 'pull.' Maybe they thinkthe offer and suggestions of a boy will have a result where a regularofficial visit would offend Mr. Peter Pope's backer--see?"
All the same, Bart felt very much pleased over this unexpectedcommunication. He blessed his lucky stars that he had such a bright anddependable substitute at hand as Darry Haven.
The latter soon made his school and home arrangements, and Bart leftaffairs in his hands about ten o'clock, catching the train west aftergetting a pass for the Cardysville round trip.
It was two o'clock when the train arrived at Bart's destination. Hefound Cardysville to be a place of about 2,000 inhabitants. Most of thetown, however, lay half-a-mile away from the B. & M. Railroad, anotherline cutting in farther north.
Bart noticed crowds of people and a circus tent in the distance. Theexpress shed was a gloomy little den of a place on a spur track. Nearthe depot was a small lunch counter. Bart got something to eat, andstrolled down the tracks.
As he drew near to the express shed, Bart noticed an old armchair out onits platform.
A very stout man in his shirt sleeves sat in this, smoking a pipe.
He got up and waddled around restlessly. Bart noticed that he approachedthe door of the express office on tiptoe. He acted scared, for, bendinghis ear to listen, he retreated precipitately. Then he stoodstock-still, staring stupidly at the building.
He gave a nervous start as Bart came up behind him--quite a jump, infact. Bart, studying his flabby, uneasy face, wondered what was thematter with the man.
"Hello!" jerked out the Cardysville express agent. "Sort of startledme."
"Are you Mr. Pope?" inquired Bart.
"Yes, that's me," assented the other. "Stranger here? looking for me?"
"I am," answered Bart. "My name is Stirling. I work at the expressoffice at Pleasantville."
"Oh, yes, I've heard of you," said Peter Pope. "The express inspectorwrote me about you. He said you was a young kid, sort of green in thebusiness, who might drop in on me to get some points on the business."
"Quite so," nodded Bart with a side smile, "catching on," as the phrasegoes, and at once falling in with the way the inspector was workingmatters. "We can't learn too much about the express business, you know,and I thought that by comparing notes with you we might dig outsomething of mutual benefit."
"You bet!" responded Pope, perking up quite grandly. "The Vice-Presidentof the express company is my cousin. I've got a big pull. Soon as I getthe ropes learned, I'm going for a manager's job in the city."
"That will be quite fine," said Bart. "I brought some books and blankswith me, and, if you can spare the t
ime, I would like to have you seehow our system strikes you."
"Sure. Come in--no, that is, I'll bring out a chair. I keep only onerecord. I've got this business simplified down to a lead pencil and ascratch book, see?"
Bart did "see," and knew that the express inspector had "seen," also. Hewondered why Pope did not take him into the office. He marveled stillmore as, watching Pope, he noticed he hesitated at the door of theexpress shed. Then Pope moved forward as if actually unwilling to enterthe place.
Half a minute after he had disappeared within the shed, Pope camerushing out, pale and flustered. He tumbled over the chair he wasbringing to Bart, and a book he carried went flying from under his arminto the dirt of the road beyond the platform.
"Why," exclaimed Bart, in some surprise, "what is the matter, Mr. Pope?"
"Matter!" gasped Pope, his eyes rolling, as he backed away from thedoorway, "say, that place is haunted!"
"What place?"
"The express room. I've been worried for an hour. It's nigh tuckered meout."
"What has?" inquired Bart
"Groans, hisses, rustlings. I thought a while back that someone washiding in among the express stuff, and trying to scare me. 'Taint so,though. I went among it, and there's no place for anybody to hide."
"Oh, pshaw!" said Bart reassuringly, "you are only nervous, Mr. Pope.It's some live freight, likely. Can I take a look?"
"Sure--wish you would. I've been posting up on express business, yousee, maybe that's the matter. Read about fellows hiding in boxes, andjumping out and murdering the messenger. Read about enemies sending aman exploding bombs, and blowing him to pieces."
"Nonsense, Mr. Pope!" said Bart, "you don't look as if you had an enemyin the world."
"I haven't," declared Peter Pope, "but every business man has hisrivals, of course. I've heard that those city chaps have an eye on anyfellow that makes a record like I'm making here. They don't want to seehim get ahead. They must guess that I'm in line for a big promotion, andthat might worry them into playing some tragical trick on me."
Bart wanted to laugh outright. He kept a straight face, and solemnlystarted to investigate the trouble. He stepped into the express room andtook a keen look around, Pope timorously following him.
"There!" panted Pope suddenly, "what did I tell you?"
"That's so," said Bart. "It is sort of mysterious. Someone groaned,sure. What have you here, anyway?"
Bart went over to a heap of express matter, come in just that morning.There were several small crates, a box or two, and a very large trunk.Bart centered his attention on this latter. He stooped down as his quickeye observed a row of holes at one end, just under the hauling strap.
"Quiet, for a minute," he whispered warningly to Pope, who, big-eyed andtrembling, resembled a man on the threshold of some most appallingdiscovery.
Bart's strained hearing shortly caught a rustling sound. It was followedby a kind of choking moan. Unmistakably, he decided, both came from thetrunk.
"Is it locked? No," he said, examining the front of the trunk. Then Bartsnapped back its two catches. He seized the cover and threw it back.
"Gracious!" gasped Peter Pope.
Bart himself was a trifle startled.
As the trunk cover lifted, a man stepped out.
Bart Stirling's Road to Success; Or, The Young Express Agent Page 25