Complete Works of L. Frank Baum

by L. Frank Baum

  Danny stood straining his eyes after the departing machine, until he could no longer hear the hum of the motor. Then he turned and quietly ran toward the dark group of buildings.

  CHAPTER XXV

  A SUCCESSFUL RUSE

  As he neared the ranch the light which had been gleaming in the kitchen was extinguished. Danny paused, and saw the Mexican cook go to her quarters and close the door. Then he crept on close to the main bungalow.

  Here lights were lit in each of the rooms and he saw preparations for hasty departure. The tall, blond man was ordering the Japanese to some activity. Just what, Danny could not make out, for the man spoke in German. Sure then that he was not watched from that quarter, Danny slipped close against the bunk house. Creeping in, he saw by the faint light that was burning that O’Hara and the burly man named Whalen were the only occupants. O’Hara seemed asleep, but the other half lay upon his bunk awake and watching him.

  Danny Dexter had not planned his moves but he was ready. He flung open the door, and with a quick, cat-like leap, he was upon the man. Huge and powerful as Whalen was, Danny caught him at a disadvantage. Before he could regain his balance, O’Hara roused from his feigned sleep, sprang upon him, seizing Whalen’s arm, and freeing Danny so he could seize the towels which hung near by and gag the man’s mouth before he could make a sound. Then as O’Hara held him still firmly, Danny bound Tom Whalen’s arms together, then his legs.

  Without another look at him, Danny and O’Hara slipped into the darkness.

  “Have you the papers!” whispered Danny.

  “I put them in their auto,” answered O’Hara. “Didn’t dare keep them; they search me every night.”

  Quietly they glided on to the garage. The door was open and they entered unobserved and crawled down in among the robes in the tonneau of the car. Here they settled down to long and tedious waiting, and now in quick, jerky sentences, old Jim O’Hara recounted the striking chain of events that led up to bis present position.

  However, the two men were pleasantly disappointed in the length of their hiding. Scarcely had they concealed themselves than the Japanese appeared and climbed into the car without a backward glance toward the tonneau. Softly, they hummed out of the garage and turned to the southward.

  When they had gone about a mile, Danny quietly pressed O’Hara’s arm and without a sound unlatched the door of the machine. Then as it noiselessly came open, Danny Dexter slipped out onto the ground. A few feet farther O’Hara did the same. Both lay absolutely still until in the distance they heard the Jap swing to with a slam the open door, and they knew as he continued on his journey that he was entirely without suspicion.

  Danny took an electric torch from the pocket of his coat and flashed it here and there. He was answered by a similar flash not very far to the west and soon Mary Louise drove up to them and reached out eager hands of welcome.

  “Oh, you are safe and here so quickly,” she cried, a little catch in her breath as she realized her plucky vigil was now over.

  She moved over to let Danny have the wheel and O’Hara stepped into the back.

  “Danny,” whispered Mary Louise, as she leaned toward him confidingly on the return trip, “do you think it will be necessary for Uncle Jim to leave the United States now? After risking his life the way he did to secure those papers, don’t you think the government would be lenient in his case?”

  “I hope so,” said Danny in a low tone. “As you know, all Uncle Jim wants is a chance to make good and rectify his old mistake, and I hardly think they will refuse him that.”

  “They shouldn’t,” said Mary Louise with conviction. “It would be mean if they did.”

  Danny glanced sideways at the girl, whose brow showed a few tiny furrows.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your interest in Uncle Jim,” Danny said. “I want you to know that we have both talked the matter over, and I have persuaded Uncle Jim to remain in Albuquerque until the government has acted in the case of Henry Brown and his treasonable outfit. He will certainly be needed as a witness if the government apprehends them and they are brought to trial.”

  “I can be of some assistance to him, too,” said Mary Louise. “After I tell Josie O’Gorman all that has happened, I know she will feel very different about your uncle. Maybe she can interest her father in the case, and no man in the department at Washington has more influence than John O’Gorman.”

  As the two young people sat conversing in low tones, heads close together, a soft smile played about the corners of James O’Hara’s lips. Did he see in the charming tableau before him a reflection of his own lost youth? Perhaps. Out of the dim past, recollections of his own youthful romance may have arisen, luring his mind to years long gone by.

  Danny and Mary Louise kept up an intermittent fire of conversation as “Queenie” sped along the sinuous roadway that led to Albuquerque. Now and then, the lovely girl, her face wreathed in smiles, would turn around and address a word or two to the quiet man in the rear.

  In less than an hour’s time, the little machine, under Danny’s practised hand, had reached the outskirts of the busy New Mexican town, which now lay wrapped in night. A few minutes more and the car drew up at the hotel entrance. After a final few minutes of hurried conversation and a chorus of “good-nights,” Mary Louise darted into the entrance and ran straight up to her room. Ten minutes later she was in the depths of slumber.

  Danny, left with Uncle Jim in the Hathaway car, met a twinkle in the older man’s eye that caused him to blush profusely.

  “My boy,” said O’Hara, “you have been mighty fine to me. I don’t know what I could have done without you. Nothing, I’m afraid. You deserve a great deal from life, Danny. I’d be the first to admit it. But the chap who wins Mary Louise will be overpaid, — even you, my boy. She is pure gold. I hope you will win.”

  Danny had tried to interrupt his uncle’s speech several times, but it was useless. The older man laid an affectionate hand on the boy’s shoulder.

  “Say nothing about it,” he said. “Words, after all, are but feeble things. It is life alone that counts.”

  There was a few minutes of silence before either of the two spoke again. Then O’Hara resumed:

  “I want to say just one more thing, Danny, and that concerns my oil well, or, rather, your oil well, for I mean to turn it over to you. When I am free of this trouble, I expect to take personal charge of the well. A few months’ production will suffice to pay all of my debts. Then the well is yours. You will find, my boy, that you will have enough, and more than enough, to live in plenty.”

  Tears stood in the young man’s eyes as Uncle Jim made his generous offer.

  Then he said:

  “No, no, Unde Jim! I couldn’t think of it! If you will let me take half of the work and responsibility, I’ll share the proceeds with you. But on that condition only, Uncle Jim!”

  “Well, well,” said O’Hara. “Have it your own way. We’ll draw up a partnership agreement. There’ll be more than enough room for both of us, I’m sure.”

  “Uncle Jim, I don’t think we ought to lose a minute in rousing the government authorities. Brown evidently has scented danger, though from what source, I don’t know. He was making preparations to leave when I looked through his window. What do you say, uncle? Shall we chance it?”

  “You are right, as usual, Danny,” replied O’Hara. “Let us go at once. I need not reveal my identity to-night. There will be time enough to-morrow or the next day to tell the full story of how I happened to be on the ranch. Then we will see if there is such a thing as mercy for one who has been weak.”

  Danny glanced at the kindly, weather-beaten features of his uncle, and vowed that he would leave no stone unturned to help the good old fellow regain the honor and respect that had formerly been his.

  Then, turning the machine in the opposite direction, he fairly flew over the deserted streets until the municipal building was reached. Rapidly ascending the steps of the building, Danny and O’H
ara fairly rushed into the office of the police magistrate.

  Half-sitting, half-lying, in a large, commodious, upholstered swivel chair was the single individual the office contained. This bestarred person was giving vent to a capacious yawn as the two men hurriedly entered the room. Rubbing his eyes and staggering to his feet, the officer looked at them as though uncertain of the reality of their existence.

  “What’s the matter?” he finally exploded.

  And then, as Danny, prompted from time to time by O’Hara, recited the main outlines of their evening’s experiences, and finally produced their bundle of papers as evidence, amazement and consternation was written in every feature of the man’s countenance.

  “Jehosaphat!” exclaimed the astounded officer.

  A minute later and the three were motoring furiously through the crisp night air in the direction of the home of Mr. Southwick, the Federal officer for that district.

  CHAPTER XXVI

  A GOOD NIGHT’S WORK

  In record time the little machine drew up before a substantial building located in one of the residential sections of town.

  Alighting, the three men proceeded at once to awaken the government agent. But it was ten minutes before they succeeded in gaining entrance into the building and were ushered into the beautiful library by Mr. Southwick himself.

  As chief of the local division of the Department of Justice — that great department at Washington which fought the agents and spies that Germany had placed in America — Mr. Southwick had distinguished himself during the war in his own state, and indeed his name was a familiar one throughout the whole Southwest.

  A large man physically, he towered well over six feet as he stood before his three nocturnal visitors, clad in a dressing-gown of variegated pattern. A glance at the man revealed the secret of his success. Strength and determination were written in every feature of his massive leonine countenance. His piercing gray eyes were set deeply in his head, which was crowned with a shaggy mane of iron-gray hair. It was plain to the beholder that this man was to be respected as a friend, to be feared as a foe. Obviously, he was one of those mortals who seemed destined to be a power in any field in which he chose to turn his abilities.

  When America was finally drawn into the Great War, it was he who was appointed by the government to fight the enemy’s propaganda in the border states. The appointment was in itself a high tribute to the man, for on every side his post was recognized as one of the most difficult that the country afforded. His name had become a terror to the few enemy sympathizers who were left in the state, and his reputation sufficed to keep these few from any overt acts of destruction.

  Motioning Danny and O’Hara to a seat, he turned to the policeman and went at once to the heart of the matter:

  “I suppose something extremely important must have induced this midnight call. I am ready to hear you.”

  The policeman pointed a finger toward O’Hara and said:

  “This gentleman is the one to tell you about it.”

  Mr. Southwick turned toward O’Hara with a look of inquiry.

  O’Hara met it squarely. Then, searching a moment for words to put the matter succinctly, he said:

  “Mr. Southwick, I have evidence in hand which shows that you are harboring a traitor in your midst. You may know the man. His name is Brown — owner of a big ranch near the city. Without telling the story of how I happened to get there, I’ll simply say that I finally managed to escape with these papers. I arrived in Albuquerque about an hour ago with my nephew here, and we decided to come to you immediately. Here are the papers. I think they will establish the truth of what I have just been saying.”

  The chief reached for the bundle of papers, but said nothing, nor indeed were the onlookers able to discern any expression of surprise on his face as he listened to O’Hara’s disclosure.

  He untied the papers, and spreading them out on the desk at which he sat, he glanced through them hurriedly. When he again looked up, Danny and 0 ‘Hara could see that he had already arrived at a decision.

  “Gentlemen,” he said, “this bundle of papers contains enough evidence to put a dozen men in the penitentiary if we can lay our hands on them. We must immediately gather in as many of these traitors as we can. Burns,” he addressed the policeman, “go out and locate every detective and officer that you can. Have them meet at my residence in half an hour. There’s not a minute to be lost. I will get in touch with several men from my own office. In thirty-five minutes exactly we will start for Brown’s ranch with as much of a force as we can organize.”

  “Sooner if possible, Chief,” suggested Danny. “We left the ranch almost two hours ago, and something was in the wind then. It looked like they were planning to leave. They may be gone now.”

  Burns had left to do Mr. Southwick’s bidding, and the next half hour sped by in hurried preparation.

  From time to time a new arrival swelled the little group of men who were waiting patiently for the minute of departure. Bums was evidently successful in rounding up his men.

  Finally, five minutes before the time of departure, two big motor cars rolled around the corner and stopped in front of the house. A moment later, Bums came up the steps, puffing from bis exertions.

  Mr. Southwick appeared, and after assuring himself that every man in the party was fully armed, be led the way to the waiting automobiles. The two men at the wheel, who were members of Mr. Southwick’s office, appeared to have received their instructions already. Doubtless, their chief had informed them of the nature of the job to be done.

  Danny and O’Hara were loath to leave Mr. Southwick and his aids, now that the expedition was about to set out. So, after a hurried word with the government official, they again boarded Mary Louise’s little machine and started with the others for the distant ranch.

  For a considerable distance, the three machines sped over the road that Danny and O’Hara had already traveled earlier in the night. To prevent the quarry from escaping, in case the pursuit were discovered prematurely, Mr. Southwick decided to steer a course far to the southward. About five miles from the ranch a wide detour was made, and after an hour of rapid driving over bumpy, dusty roads, the party drew up and halted at a signal from the leading machine.

  Gathering the force around him, Mr. Southwick said:

  “Now, men, I hardly need to tell you that this venture is a dangerous one. We are dealing with desperadoes, and they will fight for their lives.

  I — have been thinking over a plan of action, and I think the best thing to do is to divide ourselves into three groups. Bums, you will command the first group, and when we get within a half mile of the ranch, you will turn to the left and approach from that direction. Maitland, I’ll put you in with Mr. Dexter and Mr. O’Hara. You three will take your position on the right. I’ll take the center and go straight north. If escape is attempted, you must shoot. Under no circumstances must we allow these traitors to escape. Shoot, if necessary. Take no chances, but be sure that bullets are necessary before you start in. Each man will have to take care of himself. And remember, no matter what happens, you are doing no more than any loyal American citizen is expected to do.”

  Approval was written on the faces of the assembled men, and when Mr. Southwick put the question, “Is everybody ready?” their response was unanimous.

  A moment later and the three machines were again in motion.

  The ranch was now very near. The moon shone down with crystalline clearness as the various buildings, separating themselves from the background, appeared to the spectator only as towering black objects.

  “Spread apart, men!” commanded the leader of the party.

  Instantly the machines in command of Burns and Maitland swerved in opposite directions.

  Danny was at the wheel of Maitland’s machine. Knowing the lay of the land, he put on full speed, and was soon leading the others by a comfortable margin.

  As their machine bore down on the ranch, Danny and O’Hara realized that their
course would bring them just to the rear of the Brown bungalow.

  Closer and closer drew the raiding party.

  Suddenly, as their eyes were fixed on the prospect ahead, the sleeping camp seemed roused to activity. Silhouetted figures dashed here and there. It was evident that the noise of the oncoming cars had been heard and the alarm sounded.

  The first clear indication of this came in Danny’s quarter.

  Before the three men had time to form a definite plan, a loud chugging announced the presence of Brown’s huge car in the immediate vicinity. Evidently the occupants of the camp had determined on flight, and, even now, were prepared to dash for the open.

  Suddenly the big car rounded the corner of the bungalow, and instantly picking up speed, darted away to the southward.

  “Stop that car!” shouted Maitland. “Shoot low! Don’t let him get away! Aim for the tires.”

  A fusillade of shots rang out as O’Hara and Maitland poised their rifles an instant and started to pump bullets at the dark retreating mass.

  Another volley, and another.

  There was a sudden snap as a bullet found its way into one of the rear tires of Brown’s car. Then a baffled cry of rage rose on the air.

  Swinging the little machine around at an abrupt angle, Danny started toward the other car, now arrested in its flight. As he pulled up a short distance away, a shot rang out and he heard the whistle of lead as it winged its way past his left ear.

  “Down, men!” he shouted. “Crouch down!” And suiting the action to the word, the three men sought protection in the depths of the machine.

  As they were preparing to return the fire, they heard the noise of Mr. Southwick’s machine as it approached from the opposite side. That redoubtable official had heard the sound of the shots, and as he came up, he took in the situation at a glance.

  “Surrender!” he called out. “Surrender in the name of the Government of the United States!”