章节正文
two men. They were Gaff Caven and Pat Malone. At once our hero
drew out of sight again.
"How can you get the best of Vane, Gaff?" asked Malone, after a
pause.
"There is but one way, Malone."
"And that is?"
"Can I trust you?"
"Haven't you trusted me before?"
"We must--" Caven paused. "We won't talk about it in this public
place. Come to my room and I'll lay my plan before you."
Then the two arose and left the reading-room as rapidly as they
had entered it.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HOW A SATCHEL DISAPPEARED.
"They certainly mean mischief," Joe told himself, after the two
men had vanished. He saw them enter an elevator, but did not
know at what floor they alighted.
Looking over the hotel register he was unable to find the names
of either Caven or Malone, or even Ball. Evidently the rascals
were traveling under other names now.
"They'll bear watching," he concluded. "I must put Mr. Vane on
guard as soon as he comes in."
He gave up the idea of leaving a note and took his station in the
corridor of the hotel. After waiting about two hours he saw a
well-known form approaching, dress-suit case in hand.
"Mr. Vane!"
"Oh, Joe, so you're here already! I'm glad I won't have to wait
for you."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to get a room, Mr. Vane. But you
can have mine."
"I telegraphed ahead for a room, Joe."
"Do you know that your enemies are here?" went on our hero.
"My enemies?"
"Gaff Caven and Pat Malone. But they are traveling under other
names."
"Have they seen you?"
"I think not, sir."
Mr. Vane soon had his room assigned to him and he and our hero
passed up in the elevator. As soon as they were in the apartment
by themselves, Joe related what he had seen and heard.
"They are certainly on my trail," mused Maurice Vane. "And they
must have kept pretty close or they wouldn't know that I had
asked you to accompany me."
"They have some plot, Mr. Vane."
"Have you any idea what it is?"
"No, sir, excepting that they are going to try to do you out of
your interest in that mine."
Maurice Vane and Joe talked the matter over for an hour, but
without satisfaction. Then they went to the dining room for
something to eat.
"We start for Montana in the morning," said the gentleman. "I
think the quicker I get on the ground the better it will be for
me."
Although Maurice Vane and Joe did not know it, both were shadowed
by Caven and Malone. The two rascals had disguised themselves by
donning false beards and putting on spectacles.
"They leave in the morning," said Caven. "Malone, we must get
tickets for the same train, and, if possible, the same sleeping
car."
"It's dangerous work," grumbled Pat Malone.
"If you want to back out, say so, and I'll go it alone."
"I don't want to back out. But we must be careful."
"I'll be careful, don't fear," answered the leader of the evil
pair.
At the ticket office of the hotel, Maurice Vane procured the
necessary tickets and sleeper accommodations to the town of
Golden Pass, Idaho. He did not notice that he was watched. A
moment later Gaff Caven stepped up to the desk.
"I want a couple of tickets to Golden Pass, too," he said,
carelessly.
"Yes, sir."
"Let me see, what sleeper did that other gentleman take?"
"Number 2, sir--berths 7 and 8."
"Then give me 9 and 10 or 5 and 6," went on Caven.
"9 and 10--here you are, sir," said the clerk, and made out the
berth checks. Without delay Caven hurried away, followed by
Malone.
"We'll be in the sleepingcompartment right next to that used by
Vane and the boy," chuckled Gaff Caven. "Pat, it ought to be
dead easy."
"Have you the chloroform?"
"Yes, twice as much as we'll need."
"When can we leave the train?"
"At three o'clock, at a town called Snapwood. We can get another
train two hours later,--on the northern route."
All unconscious of being watched so closely, Maurice Vane and Joe
rode to the depot and boarded the train when it came along. Joe
had been looking for Caven and Malone, but without success.
"I cannot see those men anywhere," he said.
"They are probably in hiding," said his employer.
The train was only half full and for the time being Caven and
Malone kept themselves either in the smoking compartment or in
the dining car. It was dark when they took their seats, and soon
the porter came through to make up the berths for the night.
"I must confess I am rather sleepy," said Maurice Vane.
"So am I," returned our hero. "I am sure I can sleep like a top,
no matter how much the car shakes."
"Then both of us may as well go to bed at once."
So it was arranged, and they had the porter put up their berths a
few minutes later. Maurice Vane took the lower resting place
while our hero climbed to the top.
Although very tired it was some time before Joe could get to
sleep. He heard Maurice Vane breathing heavily and knew that his
employer must be fast in the land of dreams.
When Joe awoke it was with a peculiar, dizzy feeling in his head.
His eyes pained him not a little and for several minutes he could
not remember where he was. Then came a faint recollection of
having tried to arise during the night but of being held down.
"I must have been dreaming," he thought. "But it was exactly as
if somebody was keeping me down and holding something over my
mouth and nose."
He stretched himself and then pushed aside the berth curtain and
gazed out into the aisle of the car. The porter was already at
work, turning some of the berths into seats once more. Joe saw
that it was daylight and consulted the nickel watch he carried.
"Eight o'clock!" he exclaimed. "I've overslept myself sure! Mr.
Vane must be up long ago."
He slipped into his clothing and then knocked on the lower berth.
He heard a deep sigh.
"Mr. Vane!"
"Eh? Oh, Joe, is that you? What time is it?"
"Eight o'clock."
"What!" Maurice Vane started up. "I've certainly slept fast
enough this trip. Are you getting hungry waiting for me?"
"I just woke up myself."
"Oh!" Maurice Vane stretched himself. "My, how dizzy I am."
"I am dizzy too, sir. It must be from the motion of the car."
"Probably, although I rarely feel so, and I ride a great deal. I
feel rather sick at my stomach, too," went on the gentleman, as
he began to dress.
Joe had just started to go to the lavatory to wash up when he
heard his employer utter an exclamation.
"Joe!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Did you see anything of my satchel?"
"You took it into the berth with you."
"I don't see it."
"It must be somewhere around. I saw it when you went to bed."
"Yes, I put it under my pillow."
Both made a hasty search, but the satchel could not be found.
The dress-suit case stood under the seat and Joe's was beside
it.
"This is strange. Can I have been robbed?"
"Was there much in that satchel, Mr. Vane?"
"Yes, those mining shares and some other articles of value."
"Then we must find the satchel by all means."
"I'll question the porter about this."
The colored man was called and questioned, but he denied having
seen the bag. By this time quite a few passengers became
interested.
"Has anybody left this car?" asked Maurice Vane.
"The gen'men that occupied Numbers 9 and 10, sah," said the
porter.
"When did they get off?"
" 'Bout three o'clock, sah--when de train stopped at Snapwood."
"I haven't any tickets for Snapwood," said the conductor, who had
appeared on the scene.
"Then they must have had tickets for some other point," said Joe.
"That looks black for them."
The porter was asked to describe the two men and did so, to the
best of his ability. Then another search was made, and in a
corner, under a seat, a bottle was found, half filled with
chloroform.
"It's as plain as day to me," said Maurice Vane. "Joe, I was
chloroformed."
"Perhaps I was, too. That's what gave us the dizzy feeling."
"And those two men--"
"Must have been Caven and Malone in disguise," finished our hero.
CHAPTER XXVII.
JOE MAKES A DISCOVERY.
"Who are Caven and Malone?" asked the conductor of the train,
while a number of passengers gathered around, to hear what
Maurice Vane and our hero might have to say.
"They are two rascals who are trying to do me out of my share of
a mine," explained Maurice Vane. "I had my mining shares in that
satchel."
"If you wish I'll telegraph back to Snapwood for you," went on
the train official.
"How many miles is that?"
"A little over two hundred."
"What is the next stop of this train?"
"Leadington."
"When will we get there?"
"In ten minutes."
A telegram was prepared and sent back to Snapwood as soon as
Leadington was reached. The train was held for five minutes and
it was learned that nobody had been seen at the station there at
three in the morning, as the night operator and station master
were away, there being no passengers to get on the train bound
West.
Maurice Vane was much disturbed and did not know what to do.
"To go back and look for them at Snapwood may be a mere waste of
time," said he. "On the other hand, I don't feel much like going
on while the shares are out of my possession."
"If you wish it, Mr. Vane, I'll go back," said Joe. "You can go
ahead, and if anything turns up I will telegraph to you."
This pleased the gentleman, and he said Joe could go back on the
very next train. The conductor was again consulted, and our hero
left the train bound West a quarter of an hour later.
"Here is some money," said Maurice Vane on parting. "You'll need
it." And he handed over two hundred dollars.
drew out of sight again.
"How can you get the best of Vane, Gaff?" asked Malone, after a
pause.
"There is but one way, Malone."
"And that is?"
"Can I trust you?"
"Haven't you trusted me before?"
"We must--" Caven paused. "We won't talk about it in this public
place. Come to my room and I'll lay my plan before you."
Then the two arose and left the reading-room as rapidly as they
had entered it.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HOW A SATCHEL DISAPPEARED.
"They certainly mean mischief," Joe told himself, after the two
men had vanished. He saw them enter an elevator, but did not
know at what floor they alighted.
Looking over the hotel register he was unable to find the names
of either Caven or Malone, or even Ball. Evidently the rascals
were traveling under other names now.
"They'll bear watching," he concluded. "I must put Mr. Vane on
guard as soon as he comes in."
He gave up the idea of leaving a note and took his station in the
corridor of the hotel. After waiting about two hours he saw a
well-known form approaching, dress-suit case in hand.
"Mr. Vane!"
"Oh, Joe, so you're here already! I'm glad I won't have to wait
for you."
"I'm afraid you won't be able to get a room, Mr. Vane. But you
can have mine."
"I telegraphed ahead for a room, Joe."
"Do you know that your enemies are here?" went on our hero.
"My enemies?"
"Gaff Caven and Pat Malone. But they are traveling under other
names."
"Have they seen you?"
"I think not, sir."
Mr. Vane soon had his room assigned to him and he and our hero
passed up in the elevator. As soon as they were in the apartment
by themselves, Joe related what he had seen and heard.
"They are certainly on my trail," mused Maurice Vane. "And they
must have kept pretty close or they wouldn't know that I had
asked you to accompany me."
"They have some plot, Mr. Vane."
"Have you any idea what it is?"
"No, sir, excepting that they are going to try to do you out of
your interest in that mine."
Maurice Vane and Joe talked the matter over for an hour, but
without satisfaction. Then they went to the dining room for
something to eat.
"We start for Montana in the morning," said the gentleman. "I
think the quicker I get on the ground the better it will be for
me."
Although Maurice Vane and Joe did not know it, both were shadowed
by Caven and Malone. The two rascals had disguised themselves by
donning false beards and putting on spectacles.
"They leave in the morning," said Caven. "Malone, we must get
tickets for the same train, and, if possible, the same sleeping
car."
"It's dangerous work," grumbled Pat Malone.
"If you want to back out, say so, and I'll go it alone."
"I don't want to back out. But we must be careful."
"I'll be careful, don't fear," answered the leader of the evil
pair.
At the ticket office of the hotel, Maurice Vane procured the
necessary tickets and sleeper accommodations to the town of
Golden Pass, Idaho. He did not notice that he was watched. A
moment later Gaff Caven stepped up to the desk.
"I want a couple of tickets to Golden Pass, too," he said,
carelessly.
"Yes, sir."
"Let me see, what sleeper did that other gentleman take?"
"Number 2, sir--berths 7 and 8."
"Then give me 9 and 10 or 5 and 6," went on Caven.
"9 and 10--here you are, sir," said the clerk, and made out the
berth checks. Without delay Caven hurried away, followed by
Malone.
"We'll be in the sleepingcompartment right next to that used by
Vane and the boy," chuckled Gaff Caven. "Pat, it ought to be
dead easy."
"Have you the chloroform?"
"Yes, twice as much as we'll need."
"When can we leave the train?"
"At three o'clock, at a town called Snapwood. We can get another
train two hours later,--on the northern route."
All unconscious of being watched so closely, Maurice Vane and Joe
rode to the depot and boarded the train when it came along. Joe
had been looking for Caven and Malone, but without success.
"I cannot see those men anywhere," he said.
"They are probably in hiding," said his employer.
The train was only half full and for the time being Caven and
Malone kept themselves either in the smoking compartment or in
the dining car. It was dark when they took their seats, and soon
the porter came through to make up the berths for the night.
"I must confess I am rather sleepy," said Maurice Vane.
"So am I," returned our hero. "I am sure I can sleep like a top,
no matter how much the car shakes."
"Then both of us may as well go to bed at once."
So it was arranged, and they had the porter put up their berths a
few minutes later. Maurice Vane took the lower resting place
while our hero climbed to the top.
Although very tired it was some time before Joe could get to
sleep. He heard Maurice Vane breathing heavily and knew that his
employer must be fast in the land of dreams.
When Joe awoke it was with a peculiar, dizzy feeling in his head.
His eyes pained him not a little and for several minutes he could
not remember where he was. Then came a faint recollection of
having tried to arise during the night but of being held down.
"I must have been dreaming," he thought. "But it was exactly as
if somebody was keeping me down and holding something over my
mouth and nose."
He stretched himself and then pushed aside the berth curtain and
gazed out into the aisle of the car. The porter was already at
work, turning some of the berths into seats once more. Joe saw
that it was daylight and consulted the nickel watch he carried.
"Eight o'clock!" he exclaimed. "I've overslept myself sure! Mr.
Vane must be up long ago."
He slipped into his clothing and then knocked on the lower berth.
He heard a deep sigh.
"Mr. Vane!"
"Eh? Oh, Joe, is that you? What time is it?"
"Eight o'clock."
"What!" Maurice Vane started up. "I've certainly slept fast
enough this trip. Are you getting hungry waiting for me?"
"I just woke up myself."
"Oh!" Maurice Vane stretched himself. "My, how dizzy I am."
"I am dizzy too, sir. It must be from the motion of the car."
"Probably, although I rarely feel so, and I ride a great deal. I
feel rather sick at my stomach, too," went on the gentleman, as
he began to dress.
Joe had just started to go to the lavatory to wash up when he
heard his employer utter an exclamation.
"Joe!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Did you see anything of my satchel?"
"You took it into the berth with you."
"I don't see it."
"It must be somewhere around. I saw it when you went to bed."
"Yes, I put it under my pillow."
Both made a hasty search, but the satchel could not be found.
The dress-suit case stood under the seat and Joe's was beside
it.
"This is strange. Can I have been robbed?"
"Was there much in that satchel, Mr. Vane?"
"Yes, those mining shares and some other articles of value."
"Then we must find the satchel by all means."
"I'll question the porter about this."
The colored man was called and questioned, but he denied having
seen the bag. By this time quite a few passengers became
interested.
"Has anybody left this car?" asked Maurice Vane.
"The gen'men that occupied Numbers 9 and 10, sah," said the
porter.
"When did they get off?"
" 'Bout three o'clock, sah--when de train stopped at Snapwood."
"I haven't any tickets for Snapwood," said the conductor, who had
appeared on the scene.
"Then they must have had tickets for some other point," said Joe.
"That looks black for them."
The porter was asked to describe the two men and did so, to the
best of his ability. Then another search was made, and in a
corner, under a seat, a bottle was found, half filled with
chloroform.
"It's as plain as day to me," said Maurice Vane. "Joe, I was
chloroformed."
"Perhaps I was, too. That's what gave us the dizzy feeling."
"And those two men--"
"Must have been Caven and Malone in disguise," finished our hero.
CHAPTER XXVII.
JOE MAKES A DISCOVERY.
"Who are Caven and Malone?" asked the conductor of the train,
while a number of passengers gathered around, to hear what
Maurice Vane and our hero might have to say.
"They are two rascals who are trying to do me out of my share of
a mine," explained Maurice Vane. "I had my mining shares in that
satchel."
"If you wish I'll telegraph back to Snapwood for you," went on
the train official.
"How many miles is that?"
"A little over two hundred."
"What is the next stop of this train?"
"Leadington."
"When will we get there?"
"In ten minutes."
A telegram was prepared and sent back to Snapwood as soon as
Leadington was reached. The train was held for five minutes and
it was learned that nobody had been seen at the station there at
three in the morning, as the night operator and station master
were away, there being no passengers to get on the train bound
West.
Maurice Vane was much disturbed and did not know what to do.
"To go back and look for them at Snapwood may be a mere waste of
time," said he. "On the other hand, I don't feel much like going
on while the shares are out of my possession."
"If you wish it, Mr. Vane, I'll go back," said Joe. "You can go
ahead, and if anything turns up I will telegraph to you."
This pleased the gentleman, and he said Joe could go back on the
very next train. The conductor was again consulted, and our hero
left the train bound West a quarter of an hour later.
"Here is some money," said Maurice Vane on parting. "You'll need
it." And he handed over two hundred dollars.
- register [´redʒistə]
n.&v.登记簿 (初中英语单词) - unable [ʌn´eibəl] a.不能的；无能为力的 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- waiting [´weitiŋ] n.等候；伺候 (初中英语单词)
- satisfaction [,sætis´fækʃən] n.满意；满足 (初中英语单词)
- sleeping [´sli:piŋ] n.&a.睡着(的) (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- peculiar [pi´kju:liə] a.特有的；奇异的 (初中英语单词)
- daylight [´deilait] n.日光；黎明 (初中英语单词)
- rarely [´reəli] ad.难得；非凡地 (初中英语单词)
- stomach [´stʌmək] n.胃；胃口，食欲 (初中英语单词)
- employer [im´plɔiə] n.雇佣者，雇主 (初中英语单词)
- conductor [kən´dʌktə] n.指导者；向导者 (初中英语单词)
- ability [ə´biliti] n.(办事)能力；才干 (初中英语单词)
- telegraph [´teligrɑ:f] n.&v.(打)电报；电告 (初中英语单词)
- telegram [´teligræm] n.电报 (初中英语单词)
- operator [´ɔpəreitə] n.操作者；接线员 (初中英语单词)
- elevator [´eliveitə] n.电梯；升降机 (高中英语单词)
- related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)
- hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)
- unconscious [ʌn´kɔnʃəs] a.无意识的；不觉察的 (高中英语单词)
- porter [´pɔ:tə] n.守门人；勤杂工人 (高中英语单词)
- recollection [,rekə´lekʃən] n.回忆；追想；记忆力 (高中英语单词)
- nickel [´nikəl] n.镍 vt.把...镀镍 (高中英语单词)
- motion [´məuʃən] n.手势 vt.打手势 (高中英语单词)
- mining [´mainiŋ] n.采矿；矿业 (高中英语单词)
- learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
- montana [mɔn´tænə] n.蒙大拿 (英语四级单词)
- compartment [kəm´pɑ:tmənt] n.间隔；隔室 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- parting [´pɑ:tiŋ] a.&n.分离(的) (英语四级单词)
- sleeper [´sli:pə] n.睡眠者；(铁路)枕木 (英语六级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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