He gained the fringe of trees and undergrowth and concealed himself in it. Right in front of him, and at a distance of forty yards, was the main door of Clanhammer Hall. There was no light in the place and the dirty windows stared at him like dead eyes.
Vench looked at his watch and saw that it was barely a quarter after ten. “I’ve got three-quarters of an hour yet,” he murmured. “Hope it shows up on time.”
Fifteen minutes dragged by and Vench grew cold. He moved his arms back and forth to keep up the circulation of his blood, being careful to keep from making any noise while doing so. There was plenty of space in the thicket in which to walk up and down and he began to do so, wearing a path in the snow. This helped him to keep warm and made the time pass a little more quickly. When he looked at his watch it was a quarter of eleven.
And at that moment there was a step on the snow close by. Quick as lightning Vench crouched down behind the nearest bush and looked out. The major was coming up the driveway toward the old school, muffled in his overcoat, his head sunk forward in his collar. It was evident that he had no fear of detection, for he glanced neither to the right nor to the left, but walked confidently up to the door, inserted a key in the lock and opened the barrier. He went in and closed it back of him.
There was no light in the place and no light showed after the major closed the door. It was evident that the major was very familiar with the place, and after watching for at least ten minutes Vench straightened out and once more began his pacing. But a few minutes later he stopped and listened eagerly.
The soft chug of a car was approaching, and in a short time it drew nearer until it was in sight. It had approached by way of the east gate and stood just outside the hall and across from Vench. It was a long black car.
A driver sat at the wheel, a short fat man who looked to be quite old, although there was not much to be seen of him, for he was bundled up in a huge fur coat that made him shapeless, and a fur cap was on his head. As soon as the car had come to a halt he leaned over the wheel and appeared to go to sleep. The door of the car opened and two men got out. Both of them were plainly dressed and looked to be ordinary businessmen. They closed the door of the car, and just before the door shut Vench could see that there was no one else in it.
One of the men opened the front door of the car and shook the driver. “Wake up, Garry,” he said, impatiently. “We’re going inside. As soon as we come down you be ready to go. Get me?”
“All right,” growled the driver, and slumped over the wheel again.
The two men made their way up the steps and entered the building. The major had evidently expected them and had left the door open. When they had gone inside there was no sound, and the man on the wheel did not move.
Vench considered, his pulses pounding rapidly as a sudden thought struck him. Things were working out as he had planned, but he was now considering something which had not occurred to him before. Swiftly he shed his overcoat, dropped it in the bushes, and rubbed his hands together.
Then, his eyes concentrated on the figure over the wheel, Cadet Vench moved swiftly. From the back of the car, his footsteps noiseless in the light snow, he drew nearer to the unheeding driver. Then, with a single bound Cadet Vench leaped to the car and threw himself upon the man at the wheel.
The man was taken completely by surprise and for a second he offered no resistance. In that precious second Vench slipped one hand over his mouth and kept it there. That left him just one hand to fight with, but it was vital that he keep the man from crying out, so he kept his hand glued to the mouth of the driver. For a brief second the man was motionless with surprise and fear, and then he began to struggle furiously.
Vench gripped his throat determinedly, realizing that the struggle must not take much time. He drew the man toward him as he saw that he intended to blow the horn and bring the men in Clanhammer Hall to the spot. The driver fell from the seat and they both rolled to the ground, Vench’s hand still clenched over his mouth. With the other he still choked the man.
The struggle did not take long in actual time but it seemed to Vench that it did. The man was old and stout, not in any kind of physical condition, and he was handicapped by the heavy coat which he wore. Vench felt his struggles grow weaker and weaker, and at last they stopped altogether. When the cadet felt that it was safe he released his hold on the man’s throat but not on his mouth. The man lay still and Vench was satisfied that he was unconscious.
Then Vench released his hold on his mouth and looked around him. The snow was badly kicked up where they had struggled, but there were no other signs. He stripped the big fur coat and the cap from the man’s person and then pulled off his belt. With this he secured the driver’s hands behind his back and then considered.
“I can’t leave him here to freeze in the bushes,” Vench reflected. “But where will I put him?” Then it flashed over him that there was a tool house not far away, the door of which was always unlocked, and he determined to take the man there. But when he tried to lift him he found it a task beyond his strength.
“Nothing left but to drag him,” decided the cadet, and he took the man by the feet and started. Finding this inconvenient he placed his hands beneath the man’s shoulders and dragged him through the thicket and over the campus to the tool house. The door was open and he tumbled the man in.
The driver had regained consciousness but contented himself with groaning. Knowing that if his hands were left tied they might become frost bitten Vench took off the belt and went out, dropping a wooden bar across the holders as he did so. He knew that the man might work his way out, but it would take him several hours to do so.
Then Vench sped back to the car before Clanhammer Hall. No one had come out yet and his way was clear. He put on the fur coat and the cap, slumped down in them and hung over the wheel, waiting for the next move in the game that he had decided to play.
CHAPTER 20
The Major Makes a Move
When Don and the colonel swung around in consternation at the sound of the door opening they faced Major Tireson and the old man. There was a look of triumph on the face of the major, and the old man, standing just back of him with a candle in his hand had a slight smile on his otherwise expressionless face.
“So!” cried the major, as they jumped to their feet. “You two are together, it seems.”
The colonel recovered his presence of mind instantly. “Why, yes, we do seem to be together,” he remarked.
“And that boy was with you all day, eh?” questioned the major. “Where did you hide him?”
“I don’t remember, major,” said the colonel. “That happened this morning, and I can’t remember that far back.”
The major’s face darkened. “Trying to be funny, aren’t you, Elmer? It won’t do you any good. We knew that this boy did not get out of the building, and my keeper suspected that you had him with you. He crept up here and heard you talking, and then he told me just now that you were together. But you won’t be for long!”
“No, I suppose not,” the colonel retorted, bitterly.
The major strode up to Don. “I’ve had a lot of trouble with you, young man,” he snarled. “But I’m not going to have any more. Just as soon as we get through with the colonel we’ll take care of you.”
“Just as you please,” returned Don. “But I warn you that it will go hard with you if I once get away.”
“You won’t get away,” assured the major. He turned to the colonel. “You are going away, colonel.”
“Humph,” snorted the colonel. “I thought it was to be tomorrow night.”
“You are going tonight,” the major said. “We’ve had enough out of you, and we don’t propose to take any more. If you feel like telling us where those papers are on the way, all well and good, but if you don’t you’ll start on a long trip.”
“I prefer travelling to talking,” the colonel retorted briefly.
At that moment there came the sound of steps on the stairs and as the major and
the old man did not turn with any degree of surprise the colonel and Don knew that enemies and not friends were approaching. This proved to be the case when two men entered the room and nodded to the major.
“Is the car here?” asked the major.
“Yes,” said one man. “It is waiting at the door. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, he is ready,” nodded the major, pointing toward Morrell. “Take him down, and if he makes any noise just put him to sleep. We can’t afford to have anything happen now.”
“What about the boy?” asked the second man.
“We’ll leave him here for the time being. I haven’t decided yet what disposition will be made of him, but I’ll figure that out later. In the meantime, take the colonel to the place I told you about, and when I give you further orders he is to be taken out of the country.”
“All right, chief,” answered the first man, and he took the colonel by the arm. His companion took the colonel’s other arm.
“Goodbye, Mercer,” said the colonel. “We’ll get the best of these scoundrels yet.”
“I’m sure of it, colonel,” returned Don. “Take good care of yourself, sir.”
“You two have become very friendly in a short time, haven’t you?” sneered the major.
“Well, that’s bound to happen, major,” said Morrell slowly. “When two men get together they feel some sort of natural ties. Some day, if you ever become a man, you’ll know what I mean!”
The major raised his fist in a threatening attitude and Don sprang forward to the colonel’s defense. But the man who held the colonel’s right arm interposed.
“Here, cut that out! If you want to get this man away tonight, you had better start and fight later.”
Grumbling to himself the major left the room, followed by the colonel and his guards. Last of all went the old man, casting over his shoulder at Don a triumphant grin. Then he locked the door and Don was left alone, standing in the center of the floor in the circle of lamp light.
“They certainly put one over on us that time,” he muttered. “I never heard them come up the stairs. Now I wonder what the major will try and do with me?”
In the meantime the colonel was escorted down the stairs to the front door, where the big car stood in the drive, with the driver apparently asleep over the wheel. The door of the car was opened and the colonel was thrust inside, the men watching him closely to see that he did not raise any outcry. When he had been safely installed the major walked around to speak to the driver.
The man at the wheel had awakened and was now sitting and staring straight ahead, more than ever sunk in the fur of his coat and hat, his face in the shadows. He did not bother to turn when the major approached him.
“Drive with your lights off when you go out of here, Garry,” he said. “When they get the colonel at Denning’s place, you put your car up and go home. Do you understand?”
“Right!” growled the driver, his face in the fur.
The major walked back to the car door and spoke to the men inside. The driver looked right and left and then straight ahead. The door was slammed and the major stepped away from the car.
“Go ahead,” he commanded, in a low voice.
Vench reached down, released the brake and started the engine. He backed the car around in the driveway and sent it out of the school yard in low speed, keeping his lights low. It was not until he had rolled out onto the main highway that he switched them on again and picked up speed.
Inwardly, he thanked his lucky stars even while he wondered. He was glad that he had run with the hares on that day, and that he had run with his partner through Spotville Point. The other boys had told him of Dennings and his home at Spotville Point, and Vench knew that this place was to be his destination. He did not know where the house itself was but he did know where the town was. The location of the house would come later.
But what puzzled the cadet was the man who had come out of Clanhammer Hall. Vench had fully expected to see Don brought out, and the sight of the portly colonel astonished him. He quickly arrived at the correct answer, although he had no means of knowing how the colonel had come to be in Clanhammer Hall or why he was being taken away.
The drive to Spotville Point took longer than Vench had thought, for he was only vaguely familiar with the roads and was following a general sense of direction more than anything else. He was worried for fear that some happening might come up which would spoil his game, in which case he planned to make a sudden and savage attack on the two men, counting on the colonel to come to his aid. But at the end of half an hour he had arrived safely at Spotville Point, and now his only difficulty lay in not giving away the fact that he did not know where Denning’s house was. He was turning over in his mind the advisability of pretending that his engine was breaking down and stopping somewhere when one of the men pulled down a sliding glass window back of him and spoke into his ear.
“Take the back road, Garry,” he said. “We don’t want to go up the main street. Slow down, or you’ll miss it.”
Vench obediently slowed down, and the man ducked back, closing the slide. To his right was a lane, and Vench turned the car into it.
“You’ll never know how much I thank you for that one, mister!” he thought.
The car lurched for a short distance down this lane and then two houses loomed up out of the blackness. Vench was not sure which one was Denning’s but noting that one was not in as good a state of repair as the other one he took a desperate chance and drove into the yard. It was evidently all right, for nothing was said, and he brought the car to a stop before the front steps.
The men immediately jumped out and helped the colonel after them. Without paying any attention to Vench they took the colonel up on the porch, and one man produced a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. All three of them walked in, the door was closed and Vench was left alone.
Without showing undue haste he turned the car around and rolled out of the yard. When once he gained the highway he turned on speed and fairly tore back for the school. He was amazed at his luck. No one had looked closely at him and his deception was unknown and unsuspected. His colonel was in a place where he could be reached easily, and although his investigations had not brought Don back he had at least fallen on a trail rich in promise. Vench drove the big car rapidly back to the school and jumped from it at the east gate.
He made his way around Clinton Hall and into the shadows of Locke. He was reasonably sure that Major Tireson was in bed by this time, but he wished to take no chances and so he proceeded with the utmost caution. When he got under the window of the room occupied by the three boys his groping fingers encountered the hanging cord and he pulled it sharply and continuously, so as to shake vigorously the bed in which Rhodes was sleeping. After a few moments there was an answering pull on the cord, and he made his way around to the side door and waited.
It seemed an age before the door back of him was pulled open and Rhodes, Terry and Jim appeared, wrapped in their uniform overcoats. He motioned to them to be quiet and led them to the big car, which he had halted beyond Clanhammer Hall. They all crowded into the broad front seat, and before driving out of the yard Vench threw off the fur coat, which was cumbersome, and donned his cold overcoat, which he found lying in the bushes where he had left it.
Then Vench drove the car out of the drive and once more headed for Spotville Point. The cadets, who had kept silent up until now, could contain their curiosity no longer.
“For the love of Mike, Vench, what is up?” inquired Rhodes.
“Have you found Don?” asked Jim.
“I’m sorry to say that I haven’t,” returned the cadet at the wheel. “But unless I am greatly mistaken I have found Colonel Morrell!”
“What!” cried the cadets.
“Yes,” nodded Vench. He told them the story of the events of the night and then went on: “This is what gave me the idea. While I was walking around this afternoon looking for clues along the lake front I ran across my
friend Paul Morro, the man who cut me dead down at the drugstore. Among other things he told me that Major Tireson went to Clanhammer Hall every night and entered with his own key. As soon as I heard that I made up my mind to find out once and for all and right away why he should care to go into that old building so often. I returned to the school and immediately ran into astonishing luck.
“No one was in the central hall of Locke when I entered, and I was walking along on my way to hunt up you fellows, when I passed the office. I had on rubbers and consequently made no noise, and it was owing to this fact that I stumbled across unexpected information. The major was at his desk, telephoning, and he was directing that a closed car be sent to the door of Clanhammer Hall that very night. That was all I heard, but it was enough to make me go out there and look in on the mysterious doings. I expected that he was going to move Don, but not being sure I didn’t want to ask you fellows to spend several cold hours out there for what might prove to be a goose chase. I am disappointed that it didn’t turn out to be Don, but we can rescue the colonel, unless some unexpected hitch turns up.”
“You’ve done a good piece of work, Vench,” complimented Rhodes, warmly.
“I think I can see the whole thing,” struck in Terry.
“What do you mean?” asked Jim.
“Why, it is perfectly plain. The major has somehow or other removed Don, who may have stumbled onto something just as Vench did. If we can bring the colonel back he will have Tireson arrested and we ought to have plain sailing.”
The Mercer Boys at Woodcrest Page 13