CHAPTER XXVIII
THE PURSUIT
Fenn darted forward, and would have taken after the man on the run, onlyBart put forth a restraining hand. Fenn looked at his chum in surprise.
"Easy, Stumpy," murmured the tall lad, as he drew his fleshier companionout of hearing of the crowd in front of the animal store. "Do you wantto give the whole thing away? Several times we've lost trace of this manbecause we were in such a rush, and I don't want it to happen again. Younearly spoiled everything, Stumpy."
"I'm sorry," faltered Fenn, "but I want to get at him, and have himexplain."
"So do we all," went on Bart, "but we can do it better by going slow andeasy. He hasn't seen us, and we can trail him and see where he goes."
"Did you notice what he had in the paper?" asked the fat lad excitedly.
"What was it?" asked Frank, who had not caught Fenn's first exclamation.
"A mud turtle. That's what he got in the store."
"Say, you had better talk lower," cautioned Frank, for Fenn had spokenloudly. "People in the crowd are beginning to notice us."
"Oh, I guess there's no danger," decided Bart. "There are lots ofstrangers in town to-day, and we won't attract much attention. But wemust take after this fellow. We'll trail him carefully now. He's stillon this side of the street, and he's going slowly," Bart announced,after taking an observation over the heads of the crowd still in frontof the store window. "Fenn and I will take this side of the street, andyou and Ned can take the other side, Frank. If either of us miss our manwe'll meet later at the hotel. Go ahead now, and keep out of his sight.Go slow, as if you were only looking at the sights, but keep your eye onthe man. We'll try and find where he belongs, who he is, and why hecollects turtles."
Through the crowds that were constantly increasing in size the four ladsthreaded their ways, two on one side of the street, and two on theother. Ahead of them was the mysterious man. He seemed to have no ideathat he was being followed, and appeared only to be looking at thesights. At times the boys found difficulty in keeping within the properdistance of him, and once Ned and Frank lost him, but they soon pickedhim up again, and kept on. He wore a light-colored cap, which made himconspicuous in the press of people.
The man seemed to be in no hurry to get anywhere. He strolled leisurelyalong, looking in store windows, or pausing to observe the linemenstringing the wires. The boys were after him, and their experience inthe woods, trailing game, now served them in good stead. Though theylooked carefully, they could not see any package in the man's hand now,and they wondered what he had done with the turtle.
The pursuit led to the outskirts of the town, and, as the streets becameless congested there was danger of the boys being detected in theirchase, but fortunately for them the man took a notion to swing downthrough a side street and retrace his steps, back toward the centre.Then the pursuit was rendered less likely to be observed.
Reaching the middle of the town the man paused to look at a lineman whowas on top of a particularly tall pole, making some final adjustments tothe wires and lamps. As the boys halted, not to come too close to theirquarry, they saw the lineman signal to have the current turned on. Thelamps glowed, but something seemed to be wrong, for he called for thepower to be turned off while he adjusted a switch. There seemed to besome delay over cutting off the current, and the lineman waited.
The crowd was thicker near the pole, and, not wishing to let themysterious man escape, Bart and Fenn, who were on the same side of thestreet as he was, drew nearer to him in the throng. Frank and Ned wereon the other side of the street. The former chums could observe theobject of their pursuit more closely now. He did not seem to be ahardened character, but on the contrary, his face was refined, and hismanner seemed gentle, though there was a curious, cunning air about him.
While the lineman on the tall pole was waiting for some of his fellowworkmen to change the switch, he looked down into the press of people.He seemed to recognize some one, and waved his hand. To the surprise ofBart and Fenn the mysterious man waved back to the man on the pole.
"Did you see that?" exclaimed Fenn, and in his excitement he had spokenaloud. The next instant he regretted it, for the man, turning, saw him.He gave a start of surprise, and then a look of fear seemed to come overhis face. He gave one glance up at the lineman on his tall perch, wavedwhat seemed to be a farewell, and darted away through the crowd.
"After him, Stumpy!" whispered Bart, excitedly. "He'll get away, I'mafraid!"
The lads started to make their way out of the throng of people who wereall about them. The mysterious man, too, was at this same disadvantage.
Suddenly, amid the stillness that seemed to settle over the crowd, asthey watched the lineman reach far over to make a distant connection,there sounded a cry of fear and pain. High up in the air there was aflash of bluish fire, a sizzling, as of red-hot iron plunged into water,and then a shower of sparks.
"The lineman! The lineman!" screamed several. "He's on a live wire!"
Pausing in their efforts to get out of the crowd, and take up thepursuit, Bart and Fenn saw the lineman leaning over in a dangerousposition. He was in a net-work of wires, and all about him seemed to belong, forked tongues of blue flame, while vicious sparks shot from onewire to the other. The unfortunate man had caught hold of the outer endof a cross-arm on the pole, and, while his feet were on one lower down,he was thus held in this strained position. Around his waist was aleather belt, passed about the pole, and this also retained him inposition.
His cry of alarm had brought several other linemen to the foot of thepole.
"Are you shocked, George?" called one, anxiously.
"No," came the faint reply, "not yet, but something has gone wrong. Oneof the wires has broken, and has charged all the others. I'm safe aslong as I lean over this way, but I can't get back, and I can't getdown."
"Unhook your belt and slide down," suggested one.
"I can't. If I let go with my hands I'll come up against the wirescarrying the main current, and, if I do----" he did not finish, but theyall knew what he meant.
The crowd was horror-struck. The man was in the midst of death. He couldnot move to come down, for fear of coming in contact with wires, which,though previously harmless, were now dangerous because the brokenconductor, carrying a heavy charge, had fallen over them, making themdeadly.
"Hold on, and I'll come up to you!" shouted a lineman, preparing toascend the pole.
"No, don't," cried the unfortunate man.
"Have the current cut off at the power house!" yelled a voice in thecrowd below.
"Yes! That's the thing to do!" echoed a score of others.
A man ran out of the crowd to the telephone--the same telephone overwhich word had been sent to the power station to turn the power on forthe preliminary test. In a few seconds central had given the frantic manthe main electrical station.
"Cut off the power--cut off the power!" he cried. "One of the linemen onthe pole is in danger of being shocked to death."
Anxiously he waited for the reply. None came.
"Ring again, central!" he called frantically. Over the wire he heard thedistant ringing of the bell in the power station. The delay seemed likean hour, though it was only a few seconds.
"Why don't they answer? Why don't they answer?" cried the mandesperately. "Ring 'em again, central. Ring hard!"
"I am ringing hard," responded central. "There doesn't seem to be anyone there."
"There must be!" insisted the man. "It's a matter of life and death! Thecurrent must be shut off!"
He waited, moving about nervously, while holding the receiver to hisear. Those near him could not imagine what was the trouble. Then came aclick in the receiver that showed that some one was at the other end ofthe wire.
"Hello! Hello!" cried the man who was trying to have the power cut off."Why didn't you answer before. Why don't you shut off the current?There's a man being killed--what's that?"
He fairly yelled the last words, and those near him saw a
look of horrorspread over his face.
"What's that?" he shouted. "The electrician has stepped out you say?What? He thought the power was to be left on? Oh! He'll be back in fiveminutes? But that will be too late. Can't you--hold on there--don'tgo away--what's that--yes, I hear you but--don't go away--dosomething--pull out the switch--do something--never mind theelectrician--you do it--don't go away--don't go away--Ah--it's toolate!"
He turned to those standing near him at the telephone.
"The only electrician now at the power station stepped out after turningon the current," the man explained dully, as he hung up the receiver."There was some mistake. He thought the wiring was finished, and thatthe power was to remain turned on. So he went out, and he left a greenman in charge, who doesn't know anything about the engines, or dynamos.This man said he'd run out and get the electrician. I tried tostop him--tried to make him understand that he, himself, must dosomething--must shut off the current--but I couldn't get it through hishead. He dropped the telephone, and ran out after the electrician. Nowthere's no way of shutting off the power until the engineer gets back,and, by that time----" He paused significantly, and rushed out. Nothingmore could be done at the telephone. It was as if the wire was broken.
Up on his high perch the lineman was becoming weaker from the strain,and the fear of death. He looked down at the crowd below. Bart and Fenngazed upward. How they wished they could help!
"Is that man--that mysterious man gone?" asked Bart, in low tones.
"Yes," replied Fenn, "he's hurrying down the street. We'd better takeafter him, if we want to catch him. He's getting to be very suspiciousof us. We ought to catch him."
"I know it. If we could only signal Ned or Frank we might run somechance----"
At that moment another lineman, standing near Bart, turned to him, andasked excitedly, as he saw the rifle in the lad's hand:
"Are you a good shot? A man's life may depend on it! Can you shootstraight?"
"Pretty straight," answered Bart, wondering what was coming next. Thelineman was excited, he approached nearer to Bart, and motioned to hisfriend high up on the pole--the man from whom death seemed but a shortdistance away.
"Is your rifle loaded? Then, if it is, for mercy sakes fire and see ifyou can sever that main feed wire," and the lineman pointed to a thickconductor, which was shooting out blue sparks, and which had charged allthe other wires with the deadly current. "See if you can cut that wire,"went on the lineman eagerly. "It's the only chance to save his life!"
Bart hesitated. He turned to see the man whom they had pursued, makinghis escape. If he got away it might mean that they would never see himagain--never have the theft of the diamond bracelet solved. It was achoice between the honor of the Darewell Chums and the life of a man.Which would Bart choose?
There could be but one answer to this question.
Bart Keene's Hunting Days; or, The Darewell Chums in a Winter Camp Page 28