“It was a fearful blow,—it must have been!” thought Dick. “I hope they didn’t crack his skull!”
Josiah Crabtree was still groaning in the next room, but Dick paid little attention to the man. Nor did he think of the rascals who had escaped. All his thoughts were centered on Tom.
“If I only knew where to get a doctor,” he mused. Then he ran out of the house by the front door and looked up and down the road.
A carriage was approaching, containing three men. As it drew closer Dick saw that one of the men wore a shining badge on his coat and carried a policeman’s club.
“Want me here?” he cried, on catching sight of the youth.
“Are you a policeman?”
“I am.”
“Then come right in.”
The policeman and the other two men followed Dick into the house. The youth took them first to where Josiah Crabtree lay.
“There is a man who escaped from the jail at Plankville. He tried to get out of a garret window and had a fall. I guess his leg is broken.”
“If that’s the case, he won’t need much watching from me,” replied the policeman, grimly.
“The other two rascals who were with him got away, after hitting my brother with a footstool and hurting him quite badly. Here he is. Can I get a doctor anywhere around here?”
“Doctor Martin lives up the road about half a mile,” said the man who had driven the carriage.
“Will you get him for me, just as soon as you can?”
“I will,” said the man, and went off at once after the physician.
While he was gone Dick told his story to the policeman and the other man, who was a local constable. Both listened with interest, and said they would make a hunt for Pelter and Japson.
“They may go back to New York,” said Dick. “If they do, telephone down there to have them arrested.” And he gave the address of the brokers’ offices.
It was about half an hour later when Doctor Martin, and elderly physician, arrived. Dick escorted him at once to where Tom lay, still in a semi-conscious state.
“A bad case, I am afraid,” said the doctor, after a brief examination. “His skull may be fractured. We had better get him to the hospital at once!”
CHAPTER XXVI
DICK TAKES THE REINS
It was long after dark before an ambulance could be brought to the old house. Tom was still unconscious, in fact he had not even opened his eyes for the past half hour. Dick’s heart was filled with fear. Was it possible that his brother, so full of fun and high spirits, was so badly hurt that he was going to die?
“No! no! Not that!” groaned poor Dick, and sent up an earnest prayer to heaven that Tom might be spared.
The doctor had said that Josiah Crabtree’s leg was broken in two places, above and below the knee. The physician had done what he could for the sufferer, and Crabtree was to be removed to the hospital after Tom was taken there.
Neither the policeman nor the constable had come back to the house, so Dick did not know whether or not the brokers had been captured. To tell the truth, he hardly thought of the men, so anxious was he concerning Tom’s condition.
“Can I go to the hospital with you?” he asked, when they were about to take Tom away.
“If you wish, Mr. Rover,” said the ambulance doctor. “Hop up on the seat with the driver.” And Dick did so.
It was a drive of several miles and during that time Dick said but little. Once Tom roused up, to murmur something about his head, but that was all.
As soon as the hospital was reached, Tom was placed in a private room, Dick asking for such accommodations.
“Do your best for my brother,” said he, to those in attendance. “Don’t let money stand in the way. I’ll see that all bills are paid.”
“We’ll have the best doctor we can get for your brother,” answered the physician in attendance, and then he sent for a specialist.
After that there was nothing to do but to wait. Dick went down to the office and called up the Outlook Hotel in New York by telephone. He found that Sam had just arrived there with his father, and told his younger brother of what had occurred.
“Don’t worry father too much about it,” said he. “Maybe it will all come out right in the end—anyway I hope so.” And then he told Sam to get the police to watch the offices of Pelter, Japson & Company, and also look out for Belright Fogg.
Before the specialist arrived to care for Tom, the ambulance came back with Josiah Crabtree. The former teacher of Putnam Hall showed his cowardly nature by groaning dismally every time he was moved. He was placed in a public ward, and those in attendance were told that he was an escaped prisoner and must not be allowed to get away again, under any circumstances.
“He won’t try it himself for a good many weeks,” said one of the doctors, grimly. “Those breaks are had ones. He’ll be lucky if he gets over them.”
At last the specialist came and took charge of Tom. For over an hour Dick waited for a report on his brother’s condition. When the specialist came to the youth he looked unusually grave.
“Your brother’s case is a peculiar one, Mr. Rover;” said he. “I do not find any crack in the skull. But he has received a great shock, and what the outcome of that will be I cannot say.”
“You don’t think he will—will die?” faltered Dick, hardly able to frame the words.
“Hardly as bad as that, Mr. Rover. But the shock has been a heavy one, and he will need close attention for some time. I will come in again tomorrow morning and see him.”
“Well, do your best,” said Dick, brokenly,
“I always do that,” answered Doctor Garrison, gravely.
There were no accommodations for Dick at the hospital, so he found a room at a hotel several blocks away. From the hotel he sent another telephone message to Sam, telling him what the specialist had said. Then he asked Sam if he would come up.
“If you’ll do that I can go down and help father,” he added.
“All right—I’ll come up tonight or first thing in the morning,” said Sam.
It was eight o’clock in the morning when the youngest Rover boy appeared. He was as anxious as Dick concerning Tom, and both waited for the specialist to appear and report. Tom had regained consciousness for a few minutes, but that was all.
“He is no worse,” reported Doctor Garrison. “I hope to see him improved by this afternoon. I will call again about three o’clock.” And then he left directions with the nurse as to what should be done.
“This is terrible, Dick!” murmured Sam, when the brothers were alone, in the room at the hotel. “Poor Tom! I can’t bear to see him lay as he does!”
“I feel the same way, Sam,” answered Dick. “But I think I ought to go down to New York and help father with his business affairs. He isn’t well enough to do anything alone.”
“That’s true, Dick; and this news about Tom has upset him worse than ever.”
A little later they separated, Sam promising to send word both to New York city and to Valley View farm as soon as there was any change in Tom’s condition. Dick hurried to the railroad station and a little later got a train that took him to the Grand Central Depot.
The youth found his father at the rooms in the Outlook Hotel, he having promised to remain there until Sam returned, or Dick arrived. Mr. Rover looked much careworn, and Dick realized more than ever that his parent was in no physical or mental condition to transact business.
“You ought to return to the farm and rest, Father,” said he, kindly.
“I must fix up these papers first, Dick,” was the answer. “But tell me about poor Tom! Oh, to think that those villains should strike him down that way!”
“They are desperate and will stop at nothing now,” answered the son.
Then he told as much as he could about his stricken brother. Anderson R
over shook his head sadly.
“I am afraid he will never get over it, Dick!” he groaned.
“Let us hope for the best, Father,” answered the son, as bravely as he could.
Then he questioned his father about the investments in the Sunset Irrigation Company and in the lands out west, and soon the pair were going over the matters carefully.
“I think we need the services of a first-class lawyer—one we can trust absolutely,” said Dick.
“But where can you find such a lawyer?” asked the father.
“Oh, there must be plenty of them.” Dick thought for a moment. “One of my best chums at Putnam Hall and at Brill was John Powell—Songbird. You know him. He has an uncle here, Frank Powell, who is a lawyer. The family are well-connected. Perhaps this Frank Powell may be the very man we need. I can call him up on the telephone and find out.”
“Do as you think best, Dick,” sighed Mr. Rover. “From now on I shall leave these business matters in your hands. I realize that I am too feeble to attend to them properly.”
Dick lost no time in communication with Mr. Frank A. A. Powell, as his name appeared in the telephone book. When the youth explained who he was the lawyer said he would be glad to meet the Rovers. His office was not far from the Outlook Hotel, and he said he would call at once, Dick explaining that his father was not feeling very well.
Mr. Powell’s coming inspired Dick with immediate confidence. He was a clean-cut man, with a shrewd manner but a look of absolute honesty.
“My nephew has often spoken of you,” he said, shaking hands with Dick. “I shall be pleased to do what I can for you.”
“It’s a complicated case,” answered Dick. “My father can tell you about it first, and then I’ll tell you what I know, and show you all our papers.”
A talk lasting over an hour followed. The lawyer asked many questions, and studied the various documents with interest.
“From what I can make out, Mr. Rover, that concern—Pelter, Japson & Company—are a set of swindlers,” said he, at last. “If I were you I’d close down on them at once, and with the heaviest possible hand. To give them any leeway at all might be fatal to your interests.”
“Do as you think best,—with Dick’s advice,” returned Mr. Rover. “I am going to leave my business affairs in his hands after this,” he added.
“Then we’ll go ahead at once!” cried the lawyer. “I will draw up the necessary papers and you can sign them. We’ll get after that whole bunch hot-footed!”
“And don’t spare them,” added Dick, thinking of poor Tom. “They deserve all that is coming to them.”
“And they’ll get it,” said the lawyer, briefly.
CHAPTER XXVII
DAN BAXTER GIVES AID
The next morning was a busy one for Dick. He visited the lawyer’s office at an early hour and then went to the police station.
“We are watching those offices in Wall Street,” said the officer at the desk in the station. “But so far neither Pelter nor Japson has shown himself. The clerks say they are out of town one in Boston and the other in Philadelphia, but can’t give any addresses.”
“Well, don’t let up on the watch,” replied Dick. “We want to get them if it can possibly be done. I may have another charge to make against them,” and he told of how Tom had been struck with the footstool and was now in the hospital.
“They sure must be rascals,” returned the man at the desk. “Well, we’d do all we can. But maybe they’ve cleared out for good.”
Towards noon came a telephone message from Sam to the hotel. Dick had just come in and he answered it.
“Tom is a little better,” said the youngest Rover. “He is conscious and has asked about dad and you. He has taken a little nourishment, too.”
“What does the doctor say about the case?” questioned Dick, anxiously.
“He said it is a strange case and that he will watch it closely. I heard him say to the nurse to watch Tom very closely.”
“Why, that he was so low?”
“No, that he might go out of his mind. Oh, Dick, wouldn’t that be awful!” and Sam’s voice showed his distress.
“You mean that he might go—go insane, or something like that?”
“Yes,—not for always, you understand, but temporarily.”
“Well, all they can do is to watch him, Sam. And you keep close by, in case anything more happens,” added Dick, and then told his brother of what had been done in the metropolis towards straightening out the business tangle.
Mr. Powell was to see some people in Brooklyn regarding the land deal in which Anderson Rover held an interest, and he had asked Dick to meet him in that borough at four o’clock. At three o’clock Dick left the Outlook Hotel to keep the engagement.
“You had better stay here until I get back, in case any word comes in about Tom,” said he to his father.
“Very well, Dick; I shall be glad of the rest,” replied Anderson Rover.
He had already given the particulars of how he had been kidnapped while on his way to meet Japson. The broker had come up accompanied by the disguised Crabtree, and he had been forced into a taxicab and a sponge saturated with chloroform had been held to his nose. He had become unconscious, and while in that condition had been taken to some house up in Harlem. From there he had been transferred to the Ellen Rodney on the evening before the boys had discovered his whereabouts.
“They treated me very harshly,” Mr. Rover had said. “Mr. Crabtree was particularly mean.”
“Well, he is suffering for it,” Dick had answered. “Sam telephoned that his leg was in very bad shape and the doctors thought he would be a cripple for life.”
To get to Brooklyn Dick took the subway, crossing under the East River. He did not know much about the place, but had received instructions how to reach the offices where he was to meet Mr. Powell and the others.
There was a great rush on the streets, owing to a small fire in the vicinity. Dick stopped for a minute to watch a fire engine at work on a corner, and as he did so, somebody tapped him on the shoulder.
“Dick Rover! of all people!” came the exclamation. “What are you doing in Brooklyn?”
Dick turned quickly, to find himself confronted by a tall, heavy-set youth, dressed in a business suit.
“Dan Baxter!” he cried. “How are you?” and he shook hands.
As my old readers well know, Dan Baxter was an old acquaintance of the Rover boys. When at Putnam Hall he had been a great bully, and had tried more than once to get the best of our heroes. But he had been foiled, and then he had drifted to the West and South, and there the Rovers had found him, away from home and practically penniless. They had set him on his feet, and he had gotten a position as a traveling salesman, and now he counted the Rovers his best friends, and was willing to do anything for them.
“Oh, I’m pretty well,” answered Dan Baxter, with a grin. “My job agrees with me.”
“What are you doing, Dan?”
“Oh, I’m still selling jewelry—doing first-rate, too,” added the former bully, a bit proudly.
“I am mighty glad to hear it.”
“How are you and the others getting along, Dick?” went on Baxter curiously. “Thought you were at Brill College.”
“I’m here on business,” and Dick gave the other a brief account of what had happened.
“Sorry Tom got hurt and hope he will come out all right,” said Dan Baxter, sympathetically. “But who are those men you mentioned?”
“A firm of brokers; named Pelter, Japson & Company.”
“What!” ejaculated Dan Baxter. “Did you say Japson?”
“Yes, Dan. Do you know him?”
“Sure I do. He used to be in a jewelry firm in Albany. They tried to stick our firm—but we shut down on ’em. But that isn’t all, Dick. I saw Japson today—not two hours ag
o.”
“You did? Where?” And now Dick was all attention.
“I visited a—er—a lady friend of mine. She lives in an apartment house near Prospect Park. I might as well tell you that some day we are going to be married. Well, when I was coming out of the place I saw Japson go in—he and two other men.”
“Dan, show me that place—and do it as quickly as possible!” cried Dick. “Come on—don’t tell me you can’t. I’ll pay you for your time!” And Dick caught the other youth by the arm.
“I’ll do it willingly, Dick, and there won’t be any time to pay for, even if it takes a week!” cried Dan Baxter. “I am glad to be able to do you a favor, indeed I am!” And he gazed admiringly at the oldest Rover boy. “Just you come with me.”
Dan Baxter led the way to the nearest elevated station and they ran upstairs to the platform and soon boarded a car bound for the vicinity of Prospect Park.
“The young lady lives in the Nirwick Apartments,” explained Baxter. “It is a big place, with elevator service. I don’t know to which apartment Japson went, but maybe the elevator man can tell us.”
“Describe the other two men to me, if you can, Dan.”
The young traveling salesman did so, and Dick came to the conclusion that one of the men must have been Pelter. The identity of the third was a mystery.
“Maybe it was that Belright Fogg,” thought the youth. “Well, I’ll soon find out—if they are still at the apartment house—and I hope they are.”
At last the elevated train reached the proper station and Dick and Baxter alighted. The latter led the way for a distance of two blocks.
“There is the apartment,” said Baxter, pointing the building out. “If you want those men arrested, hadn’t you better call a policeman or two?”
“I can do that later,—after I have spotted them,” answered Dick.
A colored man ran the elevator. He had often seen Dan and knew him.
“The gentlemen you mean went up to the fourth floor—to the apartment that was rented last week.”
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 269