Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation

"I shall be here when the case is called," said George, quietly; "for I am very anxious to show that I had nothing whatever to do with the matter; so please let us get on."

"Well, I guess there's no trouble about it, and I don't believe any one will blame me for accommodating you, in view of all the circumstances," said the officer, as he stepped back from the wagon in order that they might drive on. "I hope you will succeed in getting your team, Mr. Harnett. Good-night, gentlemen!"

"Good-night!" cried Bob, as he started the horses with a jerk that nearly threw his passengers from their seats.

And in another instant they were riding at full speed in the direction of Babcock.

"I hardly know what we had better do," said George, thoughtfully. "Here we are starting out on what may be a long journey, with only three dollars in our pockets, and I am not sure but that we ought to go back to town to try to get some more."

"That would never do," replied Bob, decidedly. "If we should do that we could not get to Babcock to-night, and that we must do, if we expect to catch the thieves. We have got food and grain enough to last a day and a half or two days, and we can rough it in the woods, as the men we are chasing are doing."

George would have preferred decidedly to be able to go to a hotel at night, rather than to camp in the woods; but Bob and Ralph were only too well pleased at the idea of living a gipsy life, therefore it was decided to keep on, or, more properly speaking, since no one made any objection to the plan, Bob continued to urge the horses on in the direction the thieves were supposed to have gone.

The night was not so dark but that they could drive a good pace, but had it been daylight there is no question but that Bob's horses would have shown considerably better speed, for their driver was anxious to reach Babcock early, in order that the animals might have as long a rest as possible, before starting on their journey next day, which would likely be a hard one.

Bob sang, laughed, and acted generally as if he was in the best of spirits, while Ralph joined in with him, for he enjoyed this night-drive immensely; but George remained silent, his great desire to get on faster causing the speed at which they were traveling to seem very slow.

It was some time past midnight when they arrived at Babcock, and much as they liked to camp out, both Ralph and Bob would have been better satisfied, just then, if they could have remained all night at the hotel, for they were so tired that sleeping in the open air had not as many charms for them as usual.

"Here's where we would have stopped if we had not been obliged to give up all our money," said Bob, as they drove past the hotel. "But now that we are nothing more nor less than three-dollar paupers, we shall be obliged to do as the thieves are probably doing – make up our bed under the greenwood, or some other kind of a tree."

"It might be worse," said George, who was beginning to recover some of his cheerfulness as his companions lost theirs, "and we will stop at the next clump of trees."

"There will be no doubt about our finding accommodations," laughed Bob, "unless our friends who are the cause of this excursion have engaged all the promising-looking groves."

Above half a mile from the town the road ran through a piece of dense woods, which shut out even the faint rays of the moon, and Bob stopped the horses, while George and Ralph explored, as well as possible in the darkness, for a chance to make a camp.

A small, open space, surrounded by bushes, about ten yards from the road, was the best place they could find, and preparations for the night began at once.

The horses were unharnessed and the carriage backed in among the trees, where it would not be seen by any one who might pass during the night.

The horses were fastened to a couple of trees, where they could feed without danger of getting their halters entangled among the bushes, and each was given a generous supply of grain.

Among other things which Bob had placed into the carriage while waiting at the Kenniston farm was a water-pail, and with this on his arm he started out in search of water for the horses, while George and Ralph attended to the making of what could only be an apology for a camp.

The blankets, cushions and rug were taken from the carriage, and were spread on the ground over a small pile of brush, for the boys were too tired to make any elaborate arrangements for the night.

The carriage cushions formed the pillow to this one bed which was to serve for all three, and with the rug and one blanket under them, and the other blanket over them, George thought they would get along very comfortably.

Bob was not long in finding plenty of water for the horses, and when he returned with it, after it was decided to go supperless to bed, in order to save the provisions, all three lay down on the hastily-improvised bed, little dreaming that they were within but a few rods of those whom they were pursuing.

CHAPTER XVII.

NEAR NEIGHBORS

As may be imagined, the sleep which visited the three boys was not as profound as it would have been had they been in bed at Kenniston farm. In the first place, the bed of brush, which had seemed so soft when they first lay down, seemed suddenly to have developed a great number of hard places, while the ends of the boughs, which had seemed so small when they were cut, apparently increased in size after they had served as a bed for an hour.

Many times during the night did Bob get up to see if the horses were all right, and, while he would not admit that the bed had anything to do with his wakefulness, he knew, as well as did his companions, that when sleeping at home, he hardly opened his eyes once during the entire night.

It was at a very early hour, therefore, that the boys were up, and ready to continue the chase. As a matter of course, after having gone to bed supperless, they were ready for a hearty breakfast, and, since they would have plenty of time to eat it before sunrise, they at once made preparations for breaking their fast.

Thanks to the cooked food they had with them, these preparations did not consume very much time, since they were only obliged to take the paper packages from the carriage, and eat such portions of Mrs. Kenniston's samples of cookery as they desired.

Bob gave his horses food and water before he satisfied his own hunger, and, just as he finished this work, he cried, as he held his hand up, warningly:

"Hark! what was that?"

The boys listened intently several moments, but nothing could be heard save the rustling of the leaves, as they were moved back and forth by the morning breeze, or the twitter of birds, as they started out in search of breakfast, and George said, with a laugh:

"This is the first time I ever knew you to betray any caution, my dear boy, and you should be commended for it; but just now I think it is thrown away, for I hardly believe there is any one within half a mile of us who is awake so early."

"I thought I heard some one coming through the bushes," replied Bob, as he began a vigorous attack on the food; "but I guess it was nothing but the wind."

Five minutes passed, during which each one was so busy with his breakfast that he had no time for conversation, and then George motioned his companions to be silent. The warning was useless, for all had heard a sound in the bushes, as if some heavy body was moving through the underbrush, and all paused to listen.

There was evidently some person or animal near by, and moving directly away from them; but it seemed so reasonable to suppose that it was a cow, or some other domestic animal, who had slept out of doors all night, that it was some moments before any one of the three thought of learning the cause of the noise.

Even though they had every reason to believe that those whom they were pursuing would spend the night as they had spent it, each one of that party was so certain the thieves were a long distance away, that the thought that it might be those they were in pursuit of which were making the noise never occurred to them.

It was not until some time after the sounds had died away that George realized how important it was that he should know what had caused them, and then he started up at once, dashing through the underbrush toward the direction from which the noise had come.

Ralph and Bob started impulsively to follow him, and then the latter said, as he pulled his companion back:

"One is enough to find the cow, for that is probably what we have been hearing, and we might as well be eating our breakfast while he is hunting."

Ralph thought, as did Bob, that they had no occasion to disturb themselves simply at a rustling of leaves in the woods, and he willingly followed his companion's suggestion.

But, before either of them could begin their breakfast again, a loud shout was heard from George, which caused them to start to their feet in dismay, for they understood that something serious had caused it.

"Harness the horses quickly!" George shouted again.

And without trying to understand the reason for this peremptory command, Bob and Ralph sprang toward the animals.

It was not an order that could be obeyed very quickly, owing to the lack of facilities in their stable.

The horses were quietly eating their breakfast; the harness was hanging on a tree some distance away, and the carriage had been pulled into the woods so far that it would require at least ten minutes before it could be gotten on to the road.

Bob began to harness one horse, while Ralph attended to the other, and while they were thus employed, George came out of the woods in a very excited condition.

"We have been camping within five rods of the thieves!" he cried. "The noise we heard was probably made by the horses as they led them out into the road, and I got there just in time to see them drive away."

Haste surely made waste then, for all the party were so excited by what they had seen and heard, and so anxious to start in pursuit quickly, that they retarded their own progress by the bungling manner in which they went to work.

Ralph, in his eagerness, got the harness so mixed up that he was obliged to undo all he had done and begin all over again before he could accomplish anything, while Bob searched five minutes for the bridle, which, in the first excitement, he had flung some distance from him among the bushes.

So far as coolness and presence of mind was concerned, George was no better off than his companions. He attempted to pull the carriage into the road, and got it so fastened among the small trees that Ralph was obliged to come to his assistance, lifting it bodily out before it could be extricated.

In this confused way of doing things fully ten minutes of time was wasted, and the thieves had a start of nearly twenty minutes before their pursuers were ready for the chase.

It was useless for them now to reproach themselves with carelessness in not examining the woods when they first awoke, as they should have done, since they knew the thieves would spend the night in some such place, and quite as useless to complain, because they did not attempt to discover the cause of the noise when they first heard it. Had they done either one of these things, which it seemed the most inexperienced in this kind of work would have done, they would have discovered the team and had it then in their possession.

As it was, however, they could only try to atone for their carelessness by being more cautious in the future, which each mentally resolved to be as he clambered into the carriage as soon as the horses were harnessed. This time George sat on the front seat with Bob, where he could more readily leap from the wagon if necessary.

Bob started his horses at full speed, and George was satisfied that there would be no necessity of urging him to drive faster, for he held his steeds well in hand, requiring of them the best possible gait.

"They have got quite a start of us," Bob said, after they had been on the road a few moments, and while Ralph was regretting the absence of a comb, which would enable him to feel so much more comfortable, "but I do not think your horses have had any grain since they stole them, and if that is so, I don't think we shall have any trouble in overtaking them within an hour."

Perhaps, if Bob had spoken exactly as he thought, he would have insisted that his horses were so much faster, that the twenty minutes' advantage which the thieves had could be more than compensated for in speed; but just then he refrained from saying anything which might make his troubled friend feel uncomfortable or disagreeable.

"Did you see the place where they slept last night?" Ralph asked of George, for as yet he had not told them of what he had seen when he ran through the woods.

"Yes; I came right upon it when I first left you. They had made a sort of hut of boughs near a clearing, in which I should judge the horses had been feeding. The instant I saw the camp, and so near ours that a stone could have been thrown from one to the other, I thought it had been made by the thieves, and I ran at full speed for the road, following a trail that looked as if a carriage had but just passed that way. I got out of the woods just as they turned the bend in the road, and simply had the satisfaction of seeing my team driven away at a gallop, when, if I had done what almost any child would have thought of doing, it would have been in my possession."

"Could you see the men?"

"No; the top of the carriage was up, and I could see no one. They were probably looking out through the window and saw me, for if they stayed so near us since we stopped last night, they must know who we are, and will try to escape, even if they kill the horses."

"I'm not so sure that they could have known who we were," said Bob, "for I have been trying to think if we said anything about the team, or what we were there for, and I do not believe we did."

If the men whom they were pursuing did not know that this party who had encamped so near them were the ones in search of the team, it would be a great point in favor of our boys, for the others would not be likely to push their horses so hard. Therefore, each one tried to recall the conversation, and the result of this thought relieved George's mind somewhat, for no one could remember that a thing had been said which might betray their errand.

The road over which they were traveling was a good one, and the horses were urged along by Bob at a lively rate, save on ascending ground, when they were allowed to choose their own pace, in order that they might not become "blown."

At no one place, owing to the trees on each side, could they see very far ahead on the road, which prevented them from knowing whether they were gaining on the fugitives or not, although Bob firmly believed they were, for his horses had never shown better speed, nor been more in the humor for traveling.

"We shall be on our way home in less than two hours," he said, triumphantly, as the horses dashed down a long hill at a pace that would be hard to beat; and then, as they began the ascent of the next hill, all their hopes were dashed.

During the last ten minutes, it had seemed to Ralph that the easy-running carriage dragged, and as the horses neared the top of the hill, he discovered the trouble.

"The hind axle is heated," he shouted, "and the wheel no longer turns."

It surely seemed as if everything was conspiring in favor of the thieves, for the pursuers were now seriously crippled by a "hot box."

CHAPTER XVIII.

IN A TRAP

It seemed so impossible to Bob that such a misfortune could overtake them just when success appeared certain, that he could not believe what Ralph had said was true until he had jumped out and examined the axle.

There was no doubt then but that they would be delayed for a long time, for the axle was already so hot that it was smoking, and they had neither oil nor water with which to cool it.

In the valley or ravine through which they had just ridden there was no stream, and the only thing which could be done was to look for one further ahead, since they had passed the last house fully three miles behind.

"It's no use crying about it," said Bob, with an assumption of cheerfulness he was far from feeling, "for here we are, and the sooner we mend matters the sooner we shall be riding on again."

"But what can we do?" asked Ralph, feeling thoroughly discouraged at this accident, which, however quickly it might be repaired, would give the thieves a chance of making good their escape. "Even if we had a whole ocean of water, you haven't got any oil after the axle is cool, nor even a wrench with which to take the wheel off."

"One of us must walk on ahead until he comes to some house, where oil and a wrench can be borrowed. Bob must drive his horses on at a walk, and halt at the first water he sees. It's an unlucky accident for us, and it seems strange that it should have happened just when it did."

"It isn't so very strange," said Bob, as he started his team along at a walk, "and, as usual, it's all my fault. When we moved the other day, we left our oil behind in the stable, and I knew the wagon needed oiling when I got down to Kenniston's. I was just going to do it when you drove up, and then, like an idiot, I forgot it."

It would do no good to discuss the causes of the accident after it had occurred. The only question was as to how the damage could be repaired, and, after that was decided, to set about doing it at once.

"I will go on ahead for the oil," said Ralph, starting out at a run as he spoke, and in few moments he was lost to view, as he disappeared behind the trees, where the road made a decided curve.

Bob and George walked, while the horses dragged the carriage with its one useless wheel, and in this fashion the boys, who a few moments before had believed that in two hours they would have overtaken the thieves and recovered the property, continued on their journey, as sad and dispirited as before they had been happy and confident.

"If this hadn't happened," said Bob, bitterly, "we should have caught the men before noon; but now it is an open question as to whether they won't get away."

"It will be strange if they don't escape," and George's voice sounded no more cheerful than did Bob's; "for even if they were not sure who their neighbors were last night, they must have been suspicious, and will do all they can to throw us off the scent. But there," he added, with a shrug of the shoulder indicative of resolution; "what's the use of mourning over what can't be helped? All we can say or do won't change matters, and we might as well look cheerful as cry."

"I know that," replied Bob, with a grimace; "but when a fellow is disabled, in the woods, and probably two or three miles from any house, the most appropriate thing is to cry, even if the tears don't do any good."

At this moment, as if in answer to Bob's assertion that they were probably a long distance from any house, and very much to their surprise, Ralph was seen coming down the road waving his hands triumphantly.

"What is the matter?" cried George, not daring to believe that Ralph had already seen a house.

"There's a farm-house just around the bend here, with everything we need in the stable," shouted Ralph, while he was yet some distance away. "I told the owner that we had a hot axle, and were anxious to get on as quickly as possible, and he says we can borrow one of his wagons, or take anything we need to fix ours."

It is needless to say how delighted George and Bob were by the information Ralph had brought. Instead of losing nearly the whole of that day, as they had feared they should, by walking several miles before finding a stable, they could repair damages in a comparatively short time, and could, perhaps, yet overtake the men before night.

"Hurrah!" shouted Bob, as he urged his horses into a trot, the party running behind.

And in a few moments they were in the stable-yard of a large farm, where the proprietor was awaiting their arrival, ready to lend them any assistance in his power.

Both he, as well as they, knew exactly what to do for this outgrowth of carelessness, and pail after pail of water was dashed on to the hub of the wheel to cool it off, even while he was yet repeating his offer to loan them one of his wagons if they were in a hurry to be on their journey again.

Leaving Bob and Ralph to continue the cold-water application, since not more than two could work at a time advantageously, George went with the farmer to see what sort of a vehicle they could borrow in exchange for their own.

He returned very shortly, however, with the word that he thought it best for them to get their own carriage into working order, since those belonging to the farmer were all so heavy that they would probably gain in speed, if they waited for their own, more than they would lose in time.

This decision was about what Bob had expected, and he continued his work, which had not been delayed during George's absence, until it was thought that they could remove the wheel.

It was a hard, and quite a long job; but it was accomplished finally, and then, when the iron was nearly cold, a plentiful amount of oil was applied; the other wheels were lubricated, and the boys were ready to continue their journey again, having lost by this accident not more than an hour's time.

"You are all right now," said the farmer, after he had positively refused to take any payment for his own time or for the use of his tools, "an' I reckon the waiting here won't make much of any difference to you."

"It wouldn't have been of any account if we hadn't been chasing a pair of horses of mine that were stolen at Sawyer. We were close behind them, and should have overtaken them by this time if it hadn't been for this delay."

"What is the color of your horses?" asked the man, evincing such a sudden interest that it seemed certain he knew something about the missing property.

"A pair of small, dark chestnut horses, in a box buggy, driven by two young men," replied Bob, quickly, confident that they were about to hear some good news, and answering all possible questions at once, in order that they might not be delayed any longer than necessary.

"Then it is fortunate for you that you had trouble which made you stop here, or else you would have gone on and missed them," replied the man, speaking slowly, as if there was no possible reason why the boys should hurry on in pursuit.

"When did you see them?" asked George, hurriedly. "Tell us at once, so that we needn't lose any more time."

"There's no need for you to rush," drawled the man, much as if he enjoyed keeping the boys in suspense, "for if you stay right where you are, you will see them. They've got to come back this way, sure."

The boys looked around as if they expected to see the thieves pop out from some hiding-place near by, and after waiting a moment to enjoy the effect his words had produced, the farmer asked, as he pointed nearly opposite the house to where a road branched off from the highway, leading, apparently, into the woods:

"Do you see that road?" And then, as if realizing how useless such a question was when the road was so well defined, he continued: "Wa-al, I reckon that the same team you are huntin' after was driv up that road about an hour or so ago. It was a small pair of dark chestnut hosses, an' good ones, with a fancy buggy, an' two young fellers drivin'."

"Where does that road lead to?" asked Bob, excitedly.

"That's the joke of it," said the farmer, with a laugh. "It don't lead nowhere 'cept inter my wood-lot, an' that's what made me notice ther team so perticularly, 'cause I couldn't make out what they wanted up there. I tell you what it is, boys, you've got your hoss-thieves in a trap, an' you kin pull 'em out whenever you want to."

"Are you sure that there isn't any way out of that? Can't they strike the main road by driving across some field?" asked George.

"Wa-al, I've driv over that road as many as forty times every year for the last thirty, haulin' down wood, an' I wouldn't undertake to git a wheel-barrer out any other way than I went in. You kin stay here an' ketch 'em when they come out, or go in after 'em —they'll be there!"