Tom, Dick and Harriet/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX
ON THE TRAIL
ROY and Chub stared at each other blankly.
“Well!” said Roy.
“Foiled again!” muttered Chub darkly.
The barn was dim save about the open door and where, high up, the late sunlight found its way through the dusty window in the loft. They peered about in the shadows, but saw nothing but Methuselah’s eyes gleaming uncannily.
“Maybe he’s in the loft,” said Roy softly.
“Pshaw, there’s nothing up there but bats and spiders and dust,” answered Chub. “What would he be doing here in the dark, anyhow? Come on; I’m freezing.”
“Well, let’s yell out and see if he answers,” Roy suggested.
They called “Dick!” several times, but the only reply was from the parrot, who chuckled wickedly in the darkness.
“Come on,” said Roy.
They left the barn, closing the door behind them, and walked briskly back to the dormitory.
“The only way to do,” said Chub, “is to watch him and not let him know it. After supper we’ll keep him in sight and when he sneaks off we’ll follow him.”
“That’s it! We’ll be detectives,” agreed Roy with enthusiasm. “I’m Sherlock Holmes.”
“I’m Vidocq.”
“Who’s he?”
“A French detective,” answered Chub. “He had Sherlock Holmes fried to a frizzle. Besides, he was real.”
“I’ll bet you Holmes could have given him ten yards and beaten him,” answered Roy stoutly.
“‘I’m Sherlock Holmes’”
“Get out! And Sherlock Holmes is only a fellow in a book, anyway!”
“That doesn’t make any difference. He was the best ever. And I’m he.”
“All right. We’ll see who discovers the secret and nabs the criminal,” said Chub. “That’s the real test. You ought to engage Sid as Doctor Watson; you know Holmes always had to have Watson around to run his errands and all that.”
“That’s all right; Doctor Watson didn’t do any of the real detecting; he was just a sort of a substitute, and sat on the bench. What we ought to do, Chub, is to disguise ourselves; every detective uses a disguise.”
“That’s so, but we haven’t got any,” laughed Chub. “Supposing, though, we turn our sweaters inside out?”
During supper Dick was watched every moment. Every time he put his fork to his mouth Chub scowled knowingly; every time he took a drink of milk Roy looked meaningly at Chub; and when Dick called for a second helping of cold meat the two detectives smiled triumphantly. When Dick came out of the dining-hall Roy and Chub were standing near-by, apparently deeply engrossed in conversation. Chub saw him coming.
“Don’t let him suspect,” he whispered hoarsely.
With amazing effrontery Dick joined them.
“What are you fellows up to?” he asked.
“Nothing,” answered Chub with great unconcern. “Just talking.”
“Yes,” agreed Roy, “just talking.”
“You don’t say!” responded Dick with a grin. “What are you going to do to-night?”
“Study,” answered Chub promptly. “I’ve got a lot to do. And so has Roy. We’re going to be busy.”
“That’s all right; so am I,” said Dick. “Don’t let me disturb you. See you later.”
He put his cap on and walked unhurriedly toward the door.
“Watch him!” hissed Chub.
The door closed behind him. Silently they waited a moment. Then both sprang toward the portal and as Roy put his hand on the knob it was opened quickly from without and Dick confronted them.
“Hello!” he said quizzically. “Going to study outdoors?”
“N—no,” stammered Roy. “We were—”
“Just going to get a breath of air,” said Chub, coming to his assistance.
“Oh,” said Dick, “well, you’ll find plenty of it out there.”
He held the door open and the other two sauntered out, trying to seem at ease. The door closed behind them. They looked at each other and smiled sheepishly.
“Where’s he going?” whispered Chub.
“Study-room, maybe. We’ll wait a bit and then go in. You go up-stairs and I’ll look around down here. He’s on to us, isn’t he?” Chub nodded.
“Sure,” he answered. “But it won’t help him. Vidocq is on his tail—trail, I mean.”
“And so is Sherlock Holmes,” muttered Roy. “Come on; we’ve been out long enough to get the air.”
“I’ve got all I want,” replied Chub with a shiver as they entered the corridor again. “You look in the study-room and I’ll go up-stairs.”
Roy nodded and they separated. Chub found both dormitories seemingly empty, but to make certain that Dick was not in hiding he looked under all the beds. This took some time and when he got down-stairs again and sought Roy he was not to be found. There were several boys in the study-room and as Chub entered unconcernedly Whitcomb looked up from his book with a frown.
“It’s the middle window on the end,” he said. “And please shut it after you; I’m getting tired.”
“What are you gibbering about?” asked Chub.
“Oh,” said Whitcomb, “I thought you were in it too.”
“In what?”
“The game—or whatever it is. First Dick Somes comes in and jumps out of the window. Then Roy comes along and I tell him about it and he jumps out. And neither of them closes the window after him, and I’m tired of jumping up, and— Hi! Where are you going? Well, say, shut it after you, will you?” But Chub was outside, up to his knees in a snowbank. Whitcomb sighed, pushed back his chair and slammed down the window for the third time. “Isn’t it great to be crazy?” he muttered disgustedly.
Of course Chub might just as well have gone out through the front door, but he felt that that would have been far from professional. He struggled out of the snowbank and peered about him. It was very dark and very cold. Lights shone from the windows of School Hall and from the Cottage, but there was no sound to be heard and there was no one in sight. Chub realized that the correct thing to do was to examine the snow for footprints, find the criminal’s and follow his track. But he had no lantern, not even so much as a match, and so that course was out of the question. He wondered where Roy had gone. Perhaps he had discovered Dick and was on his trail. Well, it was bitterly cold and there was no sense in standing there at the edge of the drive and freezing to death. He’d go over to the library and see if either Dick or Roy were there. He crossed to School Hall and as he turned the corner to reach the doorway a figure detached itself from the shadows in the angle of the wall and slunk across the path into a thicket of leafless shrubbery. Chub paused and drew back into the darkness, his heart thumping with excitement. The other chap was discernible, but Chub could not distinguish his features. For several minutes the two stood motionless, watching each other. Chub’s toes and fingers began to ache with the cold. He wished Dick would go on so that he could move after him and get warmed up a bit. Finally, just when Chub decided that he would have to stamp his feet to keep them from freezing, the other chap called across sternly.
“You might as well come out,” he said. “I see you and I know who you are.”
Chub gave a snort of disgust and walked into the light.
“Is that you, Roy?” he called.
“Yes, is that— Say, I thought you were Dick!” responded Roy disappointedly, as he scrambled out of the thicket.
“That’s who I thought you were,” Chub answered. “Did you see him?”
“No, he jumped out of the window in the study-room. I went after him, but when I got out he was gone. Then I came over to the library and he wasn’t there. I was wondering where to look for him when you came sneaking around the corner there. Where do you suppose he got to?”
“How do I know?” answered Chub shortly. “You’re a nice Sherlock Holmes, you are!”
“And you’re a fine Vidocq,” replied Roy just as scathingly. Then they laughed.
“Well, we mustn’t stand here in the light,” said Chub. “Because if he is around here he will see us.” They drew back into the shadow and the protection of the building. “What shall we do now?”
“I guess the best thing to do is to go back and get to work,” replied Roy. “I’ve got some studying to do to-night.”
“So have I. I say, let’s let him go to thunder. Who cares where he is, anyway? If he doesn’t want us to know what he’s up to I guess we can worry along without knowing, eh? Besides—”
“Hist!” cautioned Roy. “What’s that?”
A figure emerged from the darkness and paused some thirty feet away.
“It’s Dick!” whispered Chub, gripping Roy’s arm tightly.
“He sees us,” Roy whispered back. “He’s watching us.”
There was a moment of suspense. Then:
“What are you boys doing there?” asked Mr. Buckman’s voice.
“Foiled again!” sighed Chub. “We’re just playing a—a sort of game, sir,” he answered.
“Who are you?”
“Porter and Eaton, sir.”
“Well, have you got your lessons yet?”
“No, sir.”
“Then you take my advice and go indoors and get them.”
“Yes, sir; we were just going,” answered Roy meekly. The instructor swung past them toward the entrance of School Hall and the boys went silently back to the dormitory. As they entered the study-room Whitcomb looked up wearily.
“I don’t want to be fussy,” he said, “but would you mind using one of the other windows for a while? That one blows right on my back, and I’ve got the sniffles now.”