dorothy was not likely to scream—not just at the moment she was thrust into the old shack by her two vigorous
captors. for the black-haired woman clapped her dirty palm right over the girl’s mouth, hissing into her ear
meanwhile:
“let a squawk out o’ ye, me foine lady, and i’ll choke it back inter yer throat like a cork-stopper. understand
me, now?”
dorothy nodded. although she was greatly startled, she was not so frightened that she could not think clearly. what
would these women make by trying to hold her captive here, so near a public street? surely they would not really
injure her if she obeyed them.
“easy, dear,” urged the light-haired woman, who confessed to the name of jane daggett. “we won’t hurt a hair of
her head—but that hat——”
she tore the pretty hat dorothy wore from her head. then off came the girl’s jacket. jane daggett spied the watch
dorothy carried.
218 “the jewelry’s too much for the likes of her,” she said, grinning. “and there’s her ring.”
the black-haired woman tore the ring from dorothy’s finger. “that’s my share, jane,” she said. “don’t you be a
pig, my dear.”
“sure we’ll share an’ share alike,” replied jane daggett, grimly. “take off your dress, my dear,” she
commanded dorothy. “it’s too good for ye. i’ll give ye one o’ me own. it may be a mite too big for ye; but
ye’ll grow to it,” and she chuckled at her own witticism.
“oh, please!” gasped dorothy, now freed from the bigger woman’s hand.
“hush up!” ordered the black-haired virago.
“she’s got a pretty purse, too,” laughed jane daggett, dragging the article from the coat pocket.
dorothy could not help crying a little. she dared not make a loud noise, for she saw that the rougher woman would
instantly strangle her if she did so. but she would not unbutton her dress.
“you’d better mind!” hissed the black-haired woman, in a low voice. “you’d better——”
the unuttered threat made dorothy tremble violently. she felt as though she would faint. things began to turn black
around her. the hideous, grinning faces of her two captors swam before her gaze——
suddenly there came a pounding on the wall of the shack. “hush!” cried jane daggett.
219 “what’s that?” whispered the other woman.
“my poke. what’s th’ matter, poke?”
“cheese it! here’s some fellers——”
the drawling voice of the young man who had got the letter at the post-office ceased. the next instant dorothy heard
the cheerful voice of ned white, her big cousin:
“hullo, you! didn’t a pretty girl just go past here—a girl with red in her hat and a tan coat?”
“don’t know nothin’ erbout no gal,” drawled poke daggett.
now, poke was naturally a coward. his lantern features likely showed that he was telling a falsehood, too. bob niles
’ voice interposed:
“you’ve got good eyes, young fellow. you saw miss dale all right. which way did she go?”
“ain’t seen no gal,” drawled poke.
jane daggett had dorothy by one arm. her lean fingers were bruising the tender flesh warningly. on the other side
stood the black-haired woman with a piece of plank held threateningly to strike. dorothy could see nails in that
plank—if the woman used it, her face would be lacerated!
“hul-lo!” exclaimed ned’s voice, suddenly.
“handkerchief, by jove!” cried bob.
“it’s dorothy’s, too! this rascal——”
there was a sudden spurning of the gravel. poke, lazy as he was, had begun to run. with a shout bob leaped away
after him.
220 but ned turned toward the closed cabin door. the wadded-up handkerchief had dropped from the cuff of dorothy’s
coat just as she was being pushed inside. it was off the sidewalk, and ned’s brain worked quickly.
“come back here, bob!” he yelled. “he’s only putting us off the scent. here she is!”
in a moment ned burst into the shack. jane daggett dodged and ran out. the black-haired virago aimed a blow at ned’
s head with the plank, but missed him by a hair’s breadth.
“look out! look out!” cried dorothy, sinking into a corner, out of the way.
“oh, i’d give a dollar if you were a man for a minute!” exclaimed ned, stepping around the woman to dodge her
blows, but having to stand her coarse vituperations.
bob came back with a whoop. the woman dodged out and disappeared up the gully on the trail of jane daggett. dorothy
’s hat, coat, watch, purse and ring went with them.
“they’ve robbed and beaten you, dot,” cried ned, beside himself with rage. “oh! if they’d only been men so we
could hit ’em.”
“well, now,” began bob, when dorothy panted:
“there’s the boy, ned. let’s catch him. never mind my things. that boy got the letter and he knows about tom
moran, i am sure.”
221 “he’s crossed the tracks,” said bob. “if you hadn’t called me back, ned, i’d had him.”
“we’ll get him yet,” declared ned. “come on.”
he took his cousin’s hand. bob seized dorothy’s other hand and she ran between them, down across the railroad
tracks and up the hill. they were going toward rouse’s farm. they saw the lanky, white-haired youth climbing the
heights above them.
suddenly smoke and fire burst out at a point in the upper pasture far from simeon rouse’s house. it was a fodder
stack afire, and dorothy and the two boys saw several figures running about it.
the path over the upland which poke daggett followed led him right past the fired stack of corn fodder. ned and
dorothy both saw this.
“leave me behind, boys—do,” she gasped. “you can overtake him and i can’t.”
“isn’t that tavia?” demanded bob niles. “it is she, i’m sure.”
“and the boys,” cried dorothy. “tell them to stop him, ned!”
ned white raised his voice in a great whoop. he waved his hands and pointed to the running daggett. the latter was
almost up to the stack of burning fodder.
it was tavia’s quick mind that understood ned’s yells and gestures. she sprang straight into the path of the
white-haired youth. he dodged222 her, but came to his knees. joe and johnny, well up in football tactics, tackled
low and brought the fellow down again before he had fairly regained his feet.
“that’s it! hold him!” whooped bob and ned.
they left dorothy behind as they clambered up the rough hillside. the staggering daggett put forth the last ounce of
his faint strength. he rose up, threw off the two smaller boys, and started on.
and just then a new actor appeared in the field—and a most astonishing one. a yell of fright sounded, and there
sprang out of the fodder stack—seemingly from the very heart of the fire—a figure wreathed by smoke and sparks.
indeed, the man’s clothing was afire at several points.
but most striking of all, his hair was the reddest of the red, and his freckles stood out prominently on the
background of his pale skin.
“fire! fire,” he roared. “who’s tr-ryin’ to burn me up? wow! is that you, poke daggett?”
he whirled right into the flying daggett’s arms. he had been trying to beat out the sparks upon his clothing, and
as he collided with poke, the two went to the ground.
“it—it’s that redhead!” gasped tavia. “oh, it’s surely tom moran!”
joe and johnny—and even little roger dale—ran to assist in putting out the fire in the red-haired223 man’s
clothing. poke daggett rose and tried to drag himself away.
but ned and bob arrived, and the former ordered young daggett to stop. “we’ve got a bone to pick with you, you
white-haired rascal. wait! isn’t your name moran?” he asked of the man who had been afire.
“i don’t know—they woke me up so quick,” returned the red-headed one, with a grin. “however did these kids set
the fodder afire? somebody will have to pay simeon rouse for it.”
“we’ll ’tend to that,” returned ned, quickly. “but miss dale is very anxious to meet you.”
“meet me?” asked tom moran, for it was he. “about that runaway the other day? i’m mighty sorry the steers ran—
—”
“that’s not it,” said tavia, briskly. “it’s about your sister celia, and miss olaine, and——”
tom moran’s face changed instantly. he forgot all about poke, who would have crept away had not bob taken a turn in
his jacket collar and held the fellow prisoner.
“i guess you’re saying something now, miss,” said moran, gravely. “what do you know about my little sister?
i’ve been hunting for her a long time. and the other person you speak of——”
then dorothy arrived and, as tavia said, “the court of inquiry went into executive session.”
