Fighting Byng: A Novel of Mystery, Intrigue and Adventure

by A. Stone

  CHAPTER VI

  The Purdues finally came ashore, accompanied by two servants, andoccupied the opposite end of the bungalow.

  Purdue, retired capitalist, undoubtedly affluent, cherubic, in facialappearance jolly, and with a bare pate to which still appended aslightly curling fringe below his hat, laughed with you, but alwaysthere came a shrewd glitter in his eyes when trade matters werebroached. The itching palm and a penchant for melons yet to be cutwere easily a part of his inherited tendency.

  Mother Purdue, muchly inclined toward obesity and cynicism, was ahuman interrogation point. Both children apparently loved the fatherbest and made of him a chum.

  The elder married daughter, Mrs. Potter, was Wellesley finished, and agrowing replica of the mother. Her mouth had been spoiled at thefoolish age by a constant effort to produce dimples in her cheeks, butmatrimony and time had been kind and she was now quite sensible. Butsister Norma, a thin, frail slip of a girl--the undoubted makings of abeautiful woman--appeared to have arbitrarily rejected the leastdesirable tendencies of both parents, by the sacrifice of corpulence.

  I was busy with final reports and paid little attention to the newarrivals during the week that followed, but Byng, who ate with meusually, said that they were having the time of their lives, and thatpapa Purdue had evidently forgotten he had stump land for sale. Theirboat drew too much water to navigate the river above, and, at Purdue'ssuggestion, the moonshiner's old flat-bottomed, square-end, scowlikeboat was cleaned out, and, after the motor was overhauled, was used bythem for frequent trips of inspection to their property above, atarpaulin being provided to protect them against the sun.

  One mid-afternoon Byng rushed excitedly to the bungalow. He hadreceived a telephone message from the station, for me. It was fromheadquarters:

  "Sheriff reports your prisoners broke jail last night. Still at large. Report details of escape, insist on posse, and do what you can to apprehend."

  "Didn't I tell ye? Didn't I tell ye?" he repeated, walking about theroom. "That damn sheriff is about half-moonshiner himself, and the oldjail would fall down if ye looked at it," he added excitedly.

  "Where will these fellows strike for, Howard?" I asked, gathering upmy writing.

  "You know Cracker moonshiners as well as I do, maybe. You know theyare like a she-bear, or a fox. The minute they're loose they go backto their hole and cubs. They haven't had any moonshine and theirtongues are hanging fer it. I'll bet you them fellers are back to theold still by this time, digging fer some they've hid and getting readyto make more. They jest can't stay away. They think you've gone, an'the sheriff'll let 'em alone. He always has."

  "But they escaped last night. They must come thirty or forty miles, sowould not have quite time to be there now, would they?" Even as Iasked the question I was shedding white duck for my working clothes.

  "Yes--that's so, but they'll be there before you can get there. Whatare you going to do?"

  "I think I'll try and beat the moonshiners to it and have things readyfor them. As long as you are sure they are going back I think theyought to have a hearty welcome, Howard, don't you?" I asked, puttingon high-top boots and yanking my kit from under the bed which Ithought was used for the last time.

  "Yes, sure, but ye got to take me along," he said, facing me,delighted at the prospect.

  "Howard, these men have likely picked up guns and may put up a nastyfight. I will get them by some kind of strategy as I did before.Besides, if I get it, that's why I am paid. You can't be spared sowell, for you are at the head of a business, by which a lot of peoplelive. You have guests here to look after, too," I urged.

  He stopped at the window and soberly looked out across the river. Thenhe walked to the other window, gazed over a long field of growingcotton, a verdant green punctuation of a new era, a new life to himand the whole section.

  "An' you want me to stay an' let you go up there alone?" he asked inan injured tone, somewhat in the same manner as he had requested me totake him north five years before. I could see Mamma Purdue, out ofstays, sound asleep in a steamer chair at the other end of theveranda, with Papa nearby examining critically the latest vitalstatistics of Wall Street.

  "No, siree--ye got to lemme go this time. Do you 'spose I'm going tolet any damn Cracker moonshiner get a drop on me with a long John,when I got a gun down here that shoots a dozen times while he'sloadin'. Yes, I got guests, but you're the only one I can see now, andI ain't going ter let you enter that swamp with three ag'in' ye. No,sir, ye got to lemme go," he insisted vehemently.

  "All right, Howard, get ready," I replied, seeing there was no use toobject. "When's flood water? We've got to have it to get up that creekwith a boat."

  "She floods to-day at five. I know; for my schooner _Canby_ will crossthe bar then--inbound."

  "As we will have less than two hours to get to the creek we musthurry," I said. "But keep mum. If Mamma Purdue hears of it she willthink the whole family is going to be kidnapped or murdered," I added,hurrying preparations.

  "We'll have to go in that little skiff of your'n. The Purdue man wentout with the young wimmen a while ago in the other one."

  "Get ready and be down at the mill as soon as you can."

  "I'll be there in a jiffy," he said, hurrying away.

  As I hastened out, Mamma Purdue's astonishment at my changedappearance suddenly converted a waking yawn into an interrogation, butmy intercourse with the visitors had been limited to observation andprevented inquiry.

  Byng, again a woodsman in hunting outfit, brought out the oars andhelped the little electric motor skiff along. His great arms and backdelighted in action, as he lapsed into the silent wildness of awoodsman hunter. He scanned the river banks unceasingly for signs ofthe skulking moonshiners, and when we rounded the bend and passed thespot where our camp was five years before we exchanged glances.Silence was necessary. When about two miles from the creek we met theflat-bottom boat, close to shore, in charge of the "Purdue man" asHoward called him. The two girls were gathering lilies from over thesides. Howard waved at them and, as we passed closely, warned themnot to go ashore at that point.

  "Why did you do that?" I queried, for the shore had the usualappearance except that it seemed to still have its full virgin growthof thick gums and other soft woods the loggers did not yet want.

  "That's Alligator Island. It's more'n a mile long, and they never cutit over 'cause they said the gum logs were no good, but more'n likelyit's something else. I go there hunting, but wear heavy cowhide boots.I can always get a turkey, find a bee tree, and a bear if I want one,an' I've seen bob cats as big as houn' dogs," he told me in asuppressed voice, but never relaxed his scrutiny of grass patches andstumps along the shore on both sides.

  After we passed into the creek he held his rifle at full cock andfaced ahead, the least movement of the high, slough grass was given apiercing search the whole way up the narrowing creek to the oldstill. Evidently the gang hadn't arrived there yet.

  But Howard Byng's sixth sense, his knowledge of woodcraft and thenatives, especially moonshiners, prompted speed for he "just knew"they would make a "bee line" for the old still. His feverish hasteindicated that he felt even more than he voiced. Some uprooted stumpsthat commanded a good view of the still and the creek, too, would hideus and make a good barricade.

  We planted dynamite on both sides of the hole made by my last shot toblow the place up, and we covered the small wires leading to us behindthe stumps.

  I could see why Byng knew the men would come back. There was plenty ofshade and lumber, making reconstruction easy, and daylight inspectionrevealed that my last shot had not quite demolished their outfit.

  Howard insisted on getting out of sight as soon as possible. He actedas though he could see them coming which recalled to my mind hisuncanny premonition when working for me as an "axe-man" five yearsbefore. He found a place for his rifle and held it full cock, glancingoccasionally back of us, to prevent a possible surprise attack fromthe rear. They must come from the river and the
sun being behind uswas to our advantage if they came from the direction expected.

  It wasn't long before Byng started up like a tiger gathering its feetto spring. I could see nothing at first. The narrow creek we came upwas crooked as a corkscrew and was visible but a short distancethrough high swamp grass. However, I soon saw what made him start andhis eyes turn to live coals. Something like a small pole or riflebarrel, that was visible above the grass a half-mile away, movedslowly but surely. Later I could see it was following the meanderingsof the creek. Then, as our eyes became accustomed, we could see two ofthem.

  "They've got a boat and are coming up the creek," he whispered betweenset teeth, the knots again forming on the lower angle of his greatjaw.

  It may be that he guessed the real truth before I did, and his bloodbegan to surge. Intensely excited, we watched the thin rifle barrelsfollow the creek slowly, carefully, stealthily. Soon we noticed twomore, and could hear the muffled exhaust of a motor. I looked at Byngand saw that he understood. He was again like a wild man, burning forrevenge, and he grew worse when the boat rounded the last bend in thecreek, revealing three outlaws in the boat in which we saw the Purduesisters but a short time before. The sun-protecting tarpaulin was tornoff, and it was the four supporting uprights that we saw moving abovethe grass.

  They came slowly, suspiciously watching every quarter like wildanimals. Byng's fingers moved so nervously about the trigger of hisrifle trained upon them that I reached over and touched his shoulderwarningly. I was afraid he would kill them, and moonshining, alone,was no cause for that. He held himself in restraint through powerfuleffort, and awaited signal from me. I could see that he had the samesickening thought. What had they done with the two young ladies--hisguests?