Skipper said good-by to Freddie and Flossie and thanked Aunt Sarah for his visit. Then he climbed into the front seat next to Uncle Daniel and the station wagon started off.
Mrs. Manily was out in front of the cabin when the Bobbseys drove up. “Good morning!” she called gaily.
The children looked around at the camp. How different it looked from the day before! The tents had been set up again. The mattresses had disappeared from the cabin railing. And the mud and debris had been cleared from the ground.
“We were busy all yesterday afternoon,” the director explained. “We’re almost back to normal again.”
By this time most of the campers had gathered around the visitors. They were wearing the clothes the Bobbseys had gathered the day before.
“You’ve made us all very happy,” Mrs. Manily declared. “I hope you’ll tell all the people who gave the food and clothes how much they’re appreciated.”
There had been a good deal of whispering among the campers. Now they began to sing: “We wish you a happy summer,
We wish you a happy summer,
We wish all the lovely Bobbseys
A happy summer!”
“Oh thank you,” said Nan. “A happy vacation to you!”
She and Bert and Harry waved pleased good-bys as Uncle Daniel, grinning, started the car and drove away. When they reached the Trimble farm, he turned in. There was no sign of anyone around the dilapidated house. Uncle Daniel parked the station wagon and they all got out
“Hello!” Harry called. “Are you here, Mr. Trimble?”
There was no answer.
“His car is here,” Uncle Daniel observed, pointing to an ancient automobile parked by the side of the house. “Mr. Trimble must be around somewhere.”
“Maybe he’s in the barn and can’t hear us,” Nan suggested.
They walked over to the old building and peered inside. It was dusky and there appeared to be no one about. Then they heard a muffled groan.
“Mr. Trimble!” Uncle Daniel called sharply. “Are you in here?”
“Yes,” came a faint reply. “Over in the comer, back of the wagon !”
Quickly they ran to the back of the barn where an old wagon loaded with bales of hay stood. There on the floor lay the old farmer.
Bert and Harry and Uncle Daniel helped Mr. Trimble to his feet.
“I’m glad you found me!” the man exclaimed. “I couldn’t move!”
“What happened?” Nan asked.
“More bad luck with those two fellers Mitch and Clint. They come here to the barn this morning, asking me for money. Claimed I didn’t pay ‘em all I owed ’em.
“I said, ‘You ran away. Anyhow, I haven’t any money.’ They didn’t believe me and looked in all my pockets. Mitch got mad then and knocked me down.”
“How mean !” Nan said. “Did you have any money in the house?”
“A little,” Mr. Trimble answered. “Maybe I’d better go see about it.”
Harry and his father assisted the old man to his house, while Bert and Nan followed. Mr. Trimble opened the kitchen table drawer. “It’s gone! My money’s gone!” he said sadly and sank into a chair.
“Did you hear the men say anything that might be a clue to where they may be?” Bert asked.
“Well, I did hear Clint say he was tired of hiding in Hopkins Woods,” Mr. Trimble replied, “and he was going to leave the bull. So they’ve probably gone by this time.”
“But not Major!” Harry cried excitedly.
The children were eager to start their search. They asked Uncle Daniel to join them but he said he must go to town after completing his business with Mr. Trimble. Harry and the twins started off at once.
Presently Bert said, “Is there any abandoned cabin in this woods?”
“A couple,” Harry answered. “Why?”
“I don’t think Clint and Mitch would have stayed out in the rain if there was a cabin around.”
“That’s right,” said Nan. “Where are they?”
Harry thought a few moments. “One’s on top of a hill. The other’s near a little stream. I’ll see if I can find it. Then we can follow the water.”
It seemed to the twins as if they were going in circles as their cousin tried to locate the stream. But finally he called excitedly, “I see it !”
The children followed its course, scrambling over fallen trees and pushing through underbrush. After a while they saw a rough road that paralleled the water. “The loggers must have cleared this to get the lumber out for the sawmill,” Harry commented.
“Let’s walk on the road,” Nan suggested. “Maybe the cabin is on it.”
They found the walking easier and made faster time. Suddenly Bert stopped. “That looks like a cabin up ahead,” he said.
“You’re right,” Harry commented. “In case somebody is there, let’s cut around and come up to it from the back.”
The cabin was between the road and the stream, so it was not difficult for the children to slip down to the water again and creep up on the little shack from the rear.
The back door was open. While Nan and Harry waited behind a tree Bert approached it stealthily and looked in. He turned toward the others and shook his head. Then he quietly walked back to join them.
“The cabin seems to have two rooms,” he whispered. “The back room is empty, but I thought I heard someone talking in the front.”
“What shall we do now?” Nan asked. “Clint and Mitch must be here !”
“Let’s crawl up under that side window. Maybe we can hear what’s going on,” her brother proposed.
The three children took their places under the open window. They could make out two men’s voices.
“When are we goin’ to get out o’ here?” one voice whined. “Those two kids almost caught us yesterday !”
“Take it easy, Clint !” a gruff voice replied. “We’ll go just as soon as Al gets here with the truck! And don’t think I’m going to leave the bull!”
CHAPTER XVII
BERT’S RESCUE
“FOLLOW me!” Bert whispered. He ran a short distance into the woods from the cabin and ducked behind a tree. Nan and Harry were right back of him and also hid.
“What do you make of that?” Harry asked.
“We’ve found Clint and Mitch!” Bert exclaimed triumphantly.
“But where is Major?” Nan asked in bewilderment. “He can’t be in the house!”
“I have a plan!” Bert said. “We must work fast. Mitch said they were leaving as soon as a truck gets here.”
“Okay,” Harry agreed. “What’ll we do?”
Bert suggested that he would scout around the surrounding area to see if he could find where the stolen bull was hidden. Nan and Harry would stay where they were and watch the cabin.
“If you see the men leave, get a good description of the truck,” he completed his instructions.
“You’ll be careful, won’t you, Bert?” Nan asked fearfully as her twin started off through the woods. Her brother turned and with a grin raised two fingers in a V for victory sign!
Bert made a wide circle around the cabin. Although he searched carefully among the trees, there was no sign of the bull.
“Those thieves must have Major hidden somewhere near here!” he thought desperately.
Just then he noticed an odd-looking group of bushes. They were very thick, and as he looked more closely Bert noticed that they were not rooted to the ground.
“That’s queer!” he said to himself as he crept nearer. “Maybe they’re hiding something!”
When he came up to the bushes, he peered among the withered leaves. Back of the bushes was a strongly built pen. The boy’s ears caught a movement on the other side, then he heard a loud stomping sound like hoofs pawing the ground.
“Major!” Bert thought.
He made his way to the other side and pushed among the bushes. Inside the pen, tossing his head and moving restlessly about, was a handsome bull!
“I’ll hav
e to find a telephone and call the troopers I” Bert thought excitedly as he turned away.
“Not so fast, young man!”
Bert jumped. He had been thinking so hard that he had not noticed a stocky, sunburned man step from behind a tree.
“Wh-who are you?” Bert asked nervously.
“None of your business,” the man replied gruffly. “But it looks like you’re stickin’ your nose in my business so I guess you’d better come along with me.”
Bert started to run, but the burly man stuck out his foot and tripped him. Then he pulled the boy to his feet. Before Bert had a chance to yell, he clapped a hand over his mouth, and dragged him toward the cabin.
When they went in, a thin, swarthy man got up from a stool on which he had been seated. “Who’ve you got there, Mitch?” he whined. “We don’t want nobody else around here!”
“You bet we don’t!” Mitch agreed. “But this kid was snoopin’ around the bull, so I thought we’d better see that he didn’t go no place for a while.”
With those words he pushed Bert into a chair. “Get me that rope, Clint!” he ordered.
Meanwhile, Nan and Harry had watched Bert go off through the woods. They caught a glimpse of him now and then as he searched among the trees. Then he had disappeared. Time dragged by.
“I wonder where he is now,” Nan asked finally. “I wish he’d come back!”
“Bert told us to stay here,” Harry said. “But if we don’t see him in a minute, I vote we go look for him!”
The minute passed and the two were just about to walk toward the cabin when they heard the sounds of a scuffle.
“Oh, look!” Nan cried. “That man is taking Bert into the shack!”
“I’ll get him!” Harry said angrily, starting to run.
“No!” Nan caught her cousin by the arm. “They’ll catch you too ! We must get Dad and Uncle Daniel!
Harry stopped. “I guess you’re right, Nan.”
The two children raced down the rough road, crossed the stream, then cut through several fields. They ran as long as they could, then were forced to slow to a walk.
“I didn’t realize it was so far,” Nan panted.
“We’re almost home,” Harry encouraged her. “The house is just over the next hill.”
The two children began to run again and in a few more minutes collapsed breathless on the front steps of the farmhouse.
Aunt Sarah rushed out to the porch. “What’s the matter?” she cried.
“Bert’s been captured!” Nan managed to say.
By this time the rest of the family had reached the porch. The twins’ father demanded the rest of the story quickly.
“We must save Bert!” Nan finished desperately.
Mrs. Bobbsey grew pale and grasped her husband’s arm. “Oh, Dick!Hurry!”
Uncle Daniel had already run into the house. In a short time he was back. “I’ve called the State Troopers,” he said. “They’ll meet us at the cabin. Nan, you and Harry show your father and me exactly where it is!”
The four dashed toward the car and sped along the road toward the thieves’ hide-out.
“I know that logging road,” Uncle Daniel remarked. “I think it joins this highway just up ahead.” He swung into the side road and they bounced along on its rough surface.
“There’s the cabin!” Harry shouted.
Uncle Daniel slammed on the brakes. “You two stay here,” he instructed as he and Nan’s father jumped from the car.
The two men ran into the cabin, but soon came out. “No one’s here!” Mr. Bobbsey called.
Nan and Harry dashed over to join their fathers. It was true. The cabin was empty ! Harry raced around the side. He found the pen, but it, too, was empty !
“They must have driven away in that truck Mitch was talking about,” Harry said in despair.
“And taken Bert with them I” Nan cried. “Oh, Dad, we must find those men!” She was almost in tears.
“Don’t worry, Nan. We’ll get them!” Mr. Bobbsey’s voice was grim.
At that moment two State Troopers drove up. They introduced themselves as Becker and Keller. When they learned that Mitch and Clint had escaped, the officers shook their heads.
“Those men are pretty slippery customers,” Becker commented. “There’s been a lot of cattle stealing around here lately and we’re pretty sure these fellows Mitch and Clint have been doing it.”
“What’s the next move?” Uncle Daniel asked.
“Maybe we can pick up the truck’s tire tracks,” Nan spoke up.
“Let’s see what we can find,” Keller said.
Carefully the six searched the rough logging road in front of the cabin. “Here are some tracks which look as if a truck might have turned around,” Harry said finally.
After examining the marks in the dirt, the troopers agreed. “Get in our car,” Becker suggested. “We’ll see if we can follow those men.”
For a while the tracks were fairly easy to spot. Several times they disappeared but were soon picked up again.
When Becker had driven about a mile, the logging road ended at a main highway. The trooper stopped the car. “Which way now, I wonder?” he said.
Nan, Harry, and Keller hopped out of the cat. They ran out onto the road and bent over to examine tire tracks, trying to pick up the lost trail. But there had been a great many cars and trucks along the road and it was impossible to tell one mark from another.
“Well, suppose we turn right,” Uncle Daniel proposed. “Blaisdell is in that direction. Perhaps the thieves will try to dispose of Major at the stock auction there.”
Nan and Harry got back into the car and Becker drove down the road. After about twenty minutes he pulled into a gasoline station.
“I know the manager here,” the trooper explained. “Perhaps he’s seen a truck with a bull in it.
“Hi, Jim !” Becker called as a jolly-looking man came up to the car. He explained their errand, but the attendant could not help them.
“I’ve been working on my books,” Jim said, “and haven’t paid much attention to passing trucks.”
They thanked the man and turned out onto the highway again. A few miles farther on, Nan suddenly pointed ahead. “Oh! Isn’t that Bert walking up the road toward us?”
“It sure is!” Mr. Bobbsey exclaimed in relief. When the car drew alongside the boy, his father jumped out.
“Well, son,” he cried happily, “I’m glad you got away from those kidnapers!”
“Oh, Bert! What happened to you?” Nan asked as her brother climbed wearily into the troopers’ car. “We saw that man drag you into the cabin, but when we got Dad and Uncle Daniel and came back, everyone was gone!”
Bert explained that Mitch and Clint had tied him to a chair until a truck arrived. Then they had an argument about what to do with him.
“Clint voted to leave me in the cabin,” Bert said. “But Mitch was afraid I’d be found too soon. I had told him I was alone, but I don’t think he believed me. He suspected that someone would miss me and spread the alarm.”
“Did you find Major?” Harry asked anxiously.
“Yes,” Bert replied, “in a pen. When the men were ready to leave they blindfolded me. I was told to climb into the cab of the truck. After that I heard them drive Major up into the back.”
“How did you get away?” Uncle Daniel asked.
“They let me out a little while ago. Mitch warned me not to take the blindfold off until I had counted to fifty!”
“Too bad we don’t have a description of the truck,” Keller exclaimed in disappointment.
“I can give you one,” Bert said. “I got a look at it out the cabin window before they put the blindfold on me. I saw the license plate and memorized the number!”
CHAPTER XVIII
BLUE RIBBON PRIZE
“GOOD boy!” Keller exclaimed. He drew a notebook from his pocket. “Let’s have it!”
Quickly Bert described the truck and gave the number of the license. Keller spo
ke into his two-way radio and relayed the information to headquarters.
“They’ll broadcast the description,” the trooper explained. “We should have that truck before night unless those thieves hide out someplace else.”
“We’ll drive you back to the cabin to pick up your car, then we’ll be on our way,” Becker said to the Bobbseys.
When Uncle Daniel drove up to Meadowbrook Farm a little later, and the anxious watchers on the porch saw Bert get out, a cheer went up. Flossie and Freddie dashed down and threw their arms around their brother.
“Oh, you’re safe !” Flossie cried. “I was afraid the bad men would take you away forever!”
Bert chuckled as he rumpled his little sister’s hair. “I was just playing detective like you,” he teased.
His mother and aunt both gave him a warm hug. Then Freddie begged to hear what had happened.
Bert was just finishing his account when the thieves’ truck drove into the lane. At the wheel was Trooper Keller.
“This your bull, boy?” the policeman asked with a grin when Harry, followed by Bert, ran down to meet him.
“That’s Major!” Harry replied joyfully as he peered into the back of the vehicle.
Keller leaned over and opened the cab door. “Jump in,” he said, “and show me where Major lives.”
The cousins climbed in and directed the trooper to the barn. The ramp was let down from the truck and Harry led the prize bull into his pen.
“Where did you find him?” Harry asked as they rode back toward the house.
“That was quick service, wasn’t it?” Keller asked with a grin. “Becker will be along in a minute with the thieves. Then you can hear the whole story.”
By the time Harry and Keller reached the front porch of the farmhouse, a police car was parked there. Becker was driving with another trooper beside him. In the back seat were Mitch, Clint, and a stranger handcuffed together.
“Are these the men you saw in the cabin?” Becker asked Bert as the boy went up to the car.
“Yes, sir,” Bert replied, pointing to the stocky, red-faced man. “That’s Mitch, and he’s Clint,” he said, nodding toward the thin swarthy one. “I think that third man is Al, the truck driver.”
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