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.”
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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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
“we’re going to get our colonel back, all right,” affirmed rhodes, his tone grim.
in a short time they reached spotville point and vench once more ran the big car down the back lane. at a point some hundred yards from the dark house he brought the car to a stop and got out.
“let’s go, fellows,” urged vench, slipping off his overcoat. “and quiet is the word!”
