Fred was panting, his clothes were torn, and his manner that of one overwrought with tremendous excitement. He had come from the deeper woods to the north of Turkey Hill, and was plainly hurrying homeward as fast as his feet would carry him.

Crouching behind the fallen tree, the two boys gazed in astonishment at Sage as he passed them. They could hear his panting breath and see his breast heaving, and into the minds of both leaped the strange thought that only for his exertions his face would have been ghastly pale. There was a wild expression in his eyes, like that of a person in great fear.

Hooker remained kneeling, petrified, but Piper partly rose, his lips open, as if he thought of shouting to the running lad. If this was his intention, however, he changed his mind, not uttering as much as a whisper, and stood staring after the hurrying boy, the crashing sounds of whose movements could be heard for some moments following his disappearance. Presently those sounds died out and silence fell upon the woods.

Shaking off his lethargy, Hooker rose. “Well,” he breathed, “what have you got to say about that, Pipe?”

Sleuth’s forehead was puckered in a momentary frown. Before answering, he climbed to the bole of the tree and stepped down on the other side, Roy following.

“It simply confirms my theory,” announced Piper. “Fred is badly scared. Somewhere yonder in these woods he lately parted from his brother, who is wounded and a fugitive from justice. That’s quite enough to put Fred’s nerves on the blink.”

“But why is he running for home that fashion?”

“For one reason, he doesn’t wish to be seen here in the woods by anyone searching for the bank robbers. For another reason, he must remember that there is a telltale pool of blood on the floor of his father’s stable, every trace of which I’ll guarantee will soon be removed after Fred gets home.”

“I guess you’re right,” admitted Roy regretfully. “I’m sorry about this business – mighty sorry.”

“I, too, am sorry for Sage,” nodded Piper; “but in matters like this, where justice and the rights of peaceable citizens are involved, sentiment must be put aside.”

“Fred’s a good fellow,” muttered Hooker. “We’ve been pretty chummy.”

“Of course he’s a good fellow; nobody disputes that.”

“But to think he has such a brother!”

“That’s his misfortune, not his fault.”

“And he’s trying to help the fellow escape.”

“You’d do the same under similar circumstances, so don’t condemn him. But while we’re gabbing here the fugitive is getting farther away. Of course, if he’s badly hurt, as it seems he must be, he can’t cover ground as fast as he otherwise might.”

“We can’t find him in these woods; we might as well give up that idea.”

“And give up all hope of copping the reward!” exclaimed Sleuth. “Not I. The slope of Turkey Hill isn’t far away, and from it we can get a good view of the swamp and the woods. Perhaps we’ll see something of the fellow by climbing up there. Anyhow, it won’t take us far out of our course, if we’re going to make for that old camp in the swamp, in which I fancy our man, at Fred’s suggestion, may try to hide. Don’t quit. Come on.”

For a short distance Sleuth sought to retrace the trail made by Fred Sage while hurrying homeward, but this was so slow and exasperating that presently he abandoned the effort and made straight for Turkey Hill. There the boys pantingly climbed the first steep slope, soon arriving at a clearing upon the hillside where the timber had been cut away, leaving an expanse of unsightly stumps.

“From this spot,” reminded Piper, “Spotty Davis was seen when he shot Berlin Barker’s hound. Use your eyes, Hooker. See if you can discover anyone moving in the woods or the open places down yonder.”

For some moments they searched the lower expanse of woods and clearings with their eyes.

“I don’t see a thing,” muttered Roy presently. “I don’t believe we’ll be able to – ”

“Look at those crows yonder,” interrupted Sleuth, flinging out his hand.

Some distance away, near the base of the hill to the westward, a number of crows had suddenly risen into the air, cawing wildly.

“We’re not hunting for crows,” reminded Hooker.

“I’ve studied the habits of those birds,” asserted the amateur detective, “and I’ll guarantee they’ve been suddenly alarmed by something moving in the woods near by. Hear them cawing? Take it from me, they are shouting in crow language: ‘Man! man! Here’s a man!’”

“Oh, rot, Piper! You may be pretty wise about some things, but – ”

“There he is!” rasped Sleuth, suddenly seizing his companion’s arm and pointing with the other hand. “I saw him – I saw him run across a little opening! He’s coming back this way, too!”

“Why – why should he do that?” wondered the bewildered Hooker.

“Because, in all probability, he has discovered a posse of searchers over yonder. He has been compelled to double back on his tracks. We may be able to cut him off if we hustle.”

Without waiting to see if Roy followed, Piper ran down across the clearing, dodging hither and thither to avoid the stumps, and plunged once more into the woods, setting a course calculated to intercept the fleeing man. Once more he had drawn his revolver, which he carried in his hand as he ran.

Roy followed instinctively, although it must be confessed that he had little relish for an encounter with a desperate criminal fleeing from man-hunters. Sleuth was buoyed by excitement and a sort of fictitious courage, which, possibly, might desert him in a twinkling when the decisive moment came. On through the woods he darted, turning hither and thither to avoid the denser thickets. His ears told him that Roy was coming, and that was sufficient. Dead branches snapped beneath their flying feet; in places fallen leaves were scattered with a swish and a rustle; once or twice both lads felt their heart-strings tug as they glimpsed black tree trunks, any one of which for a moment might have been mistaken for a man.

Suddenly they burst out into a rocky bit of pasture land, through which ran a deep gully. And there, not thirty rods away, was the man!

Evidently warned by the sounds they had made while running through the woods, he was looking toward them when they appeared, and in every respect his bearing was that of a creature hunted and nearly cornered.

“Stop!” cried Sleuth, lifting the revolver and halting so suddenly that Hooker nearly bumped against him. “Throw up your hands!”

Instead of obeying, the man turned toward the gully and made a desperate attempt to leap across it. Beneath his feet the ground gave way, and the boys saw him disappear with one arm outflung, as if he had fruitlessly clutched at the empty air.

“Jerusalem!” burst from Roy’s lips. “He’s gone!”

“And if that tumble doesn’t bump him some, I’m mistaken,” said Sleuth. “We can get him before he recovers.”

Nevertheless, he exhibited a certain amount of caution and apprehension as he reached the gully and peered into it.

“He may shoot,” called Hooker, holding back discreetly.

“Not he,” exulted Sleuth. “Here he is! Come on; we’ve got him!”

With seeming recklessness, Piper slid down into the gully, still gripping his revolver in his right hand.

“I never thought it of him,” said Roy, aghast – “never!”

A moment later, peering downward, he saw the other boy bending over the body of a man who lay amid some rocks at the bottom of the gully.

“Come down,” called Piper chokingly, his voice husky and shaking with excitement. “We’ve got him cold! He was knocked out, stunned by that fall.”

Hooker, his courage reviving, descended into the gully, bringing down with him a small mass of loose earth and stones. He found Piper going through the pockets of the unconscious man.

“Here,” said Sleuth, passing over an automatic pistol, “take this thing, Hook. We’ll render him helpless by disarming him so that he can’t do much when he comes round.”

“Hadn’t – hadn’t we better tie his hands behind his back?” faltered Hooker.

“If we have to, we will,” assured Sleuth; “but it will be liable to cause him a great deal of suffering. You can see that he was shot in the right arm and shoulder. That’s where old Quinn plugged him. His coat sleeve is all bloody. The coat was removed while his wound was bandaged, and his arm is hanging loose inside of it now. Certainly he couldn’t run very fast that way. No wonder he didn’t get away.”

“He isn’t – dead – is he?” whispered Roy, staring at the pale face of the unfortunate wretch and noting a little trickle of blood which was running down across the man’s temple from a cut higher up in the edge of his scalp.

“Oh, I guess not,” answered Piper, with an hysterical little gulp of laughter. “He struck his head on the rocks down here when he fell, and that put him to sleep for fair; but I’ll wager he’ll come round all right pretty soon. This is a big piece of work for us, Hook, old pal. Five hundred dollars for the capture of Mr. James Wilson, alias Gentleman Jim, won’t divvy up so bad between us. Eh? What?”

“But is he – is he Gentleman Jim?” muttered Roy, staring at the man’s face. “Have we got the right man?”

“The right man?” echoed Piper. “He must be the right one, or Fred Sage never would have tried to help him get away. Isn’t he the man you saw and talked with in the woods beyond Culver’s Bridge?”

“No, he’s not,” answered Roy positively.

“Gee!” gasped Sleuth in dismay. “That’s queer!”

CHAPTER XXIV.
SUSPICION

“Not – not the man?” muttered Piper, still staring at the unconscious captive. “Why, he must be the man – he must be! He can’t be anybody else.”

“He’s not the one I talked with,” reiterated Hooker. “I never saw him before. That man was larger, taller, better looking.”

“Wait a minute,” said Sleuth, thrusting his hand into his pocket and bringing out a clipping from a newspaper. “Here’s the description of James Wilson. About twenty-six years of age, five feet ten inches in height, weight one hundred and sixty pounds, hair slightly curly, eyes blue, teeth white and even.”

“Doesn’t come within a thousand miles of fitting this fellow,” asserted Hooker. “This man is thirty-five, if he’s a minute. He doesn’t stand more than five feet seven or eight, and he won’t weigh a pound over one hundred and forty-five. His hair is coarse, black and bristly. Can’t see the color of his eyes, but look at those teeth! You’d never call them white and even, would you?”

“I should say not,” acknowledged Piper, in a tone of profound regret. “This isn’t Gentleman Jim, but it must be one of his pals. Do you realize what that means, Roy?”

“It means that we’ve caught the wrong bird and won’t get our fingers on that reward money,” sighed the other boy regretfully.

“It means,” said Sleuth grimly, “that Fred Sage was concerned in assisting to escape a member of that gang, to whom he is in no way related. It means that he’s an accomplice. There would be an excuse for his aiding his brother, but not for rendering assistance to any other member of the gang. It looks pretty bad for Fred.”

“I can’t believe it,” muttered Roy – “I can’t believe he’d make himself the accomplice of criminals.”

“I don’t want to believe it, but what else are we to believe?”

“I hope he can explain.”

“I hope he won’t have to.”

“Look out, Pipe, this fellow is coming round.”

The man’s breast heaved, and a faint groan issued from his lips, following which his eyelids fluttered a bit and then lifted slowly. He lay there staring dumbly at the two boys, each of whom menaced him with a loaded pistol. For the time being he did not seem to realize what had happened.

“It’s no use to try to kick up,” Piper stated warningly. “We’ve got you, and we’ll have to plug you if you try any tricks.”

Slowly comprehension seemed to creep into the man’s brain, and presently he made a weak effort, as if trying to sit up, but fell back with a smothered cry that ended in a groan.

“It’s pretty tough,” said Piper; “but you’ll have to make the best of it, my man. Fellows engaged in your line of business have to take their medicine when they run afoul of calamity. What’s your name?”

Until Sleuth had repeated this question three times the man made no attempt to reply. After the third demand he growled falteringly and harshly:

“None of your business.”

“Thanks,” said Piper. “I guess your picture is in the rogues’ gallery somewhere, and your identity will be learned all right when you’re placed on trial. We’ve disarmed you so you can’t make any sort of a fight of it, and we’re going to take you back to Oakdale. Our great regret is that you’re not Gentleman Jim.”

The man looked at them queerly. “Who’s Gentleman Jim?” he growled.

“Bluff,” said Piper – “pure bluff. He’s your pal, and, doubtless, the leader of the gang who broke into the Oakdale bank last night and blew open the vault. Poor job, that. It’s tough to be pinched without ever having lifted a dollar from that bank.”

“You’re a wise young brat!” sneered the man.

“Hark!” exclaimed Hooker at this moment, rising quickly to his feet. “I hear voices. It must be some of the searchers.”

“I hope so,” said Sleuth, who likewise could hear the sound of voices, evidently approaching. “I’ll keep this fellow covered, Roy. See who they are.”

It proved to be a posse headed by Constable Abel Hubbard. From this armed body of men the captive had fled, having discovered them ahead of him in the woods. Hooker, seeing and recognizing the men, raised a shout that brought them hurrying to the gully, and soon the two boys were vainly trying to answer a score of questions hurled at them promiscuously.

“Well, I swan to man!” spluttered Constable Hubbard when he presently understood the situation. “I swan to man, if these two younkers ain’t ketched one of the rascals! That’s purty clever work for boys, feller citizens.”

With scarcely an exception they agreed that it was, and Sleuth and Roy were showered with congratulations.

“We’re rather glad you turned up, constable,” said Piper pompously. “It relieves us of the trouble of marching this poor wretch back to the lockup. We’ll turn him over to you with the understanding that we’re to receive the reward, in case there’s one offered for his apprehension.”

After a time the prisoner was lifted to his feet and boosted out of the gully, to be marched away toward town by the rejoicing posse. The shortest route was pursued, which led them down across the fields to the Barville road and thence into Lake Street.

Piper and Hooker followed.

The appearance of the party in the village created a great sensation; but when the citizens were informed that Sleuth and Roy had effected the man’s capture, the sensation was even greater. The boys were plied with questions. Hooker felt like running away, but Piper seemed to enjoy it all hugely, and was tireless in describing how the man had been trailed, although, for some reason, to the relief of his companion, he avoided mentioning Fred Sage or speaking of the telltale pool of blood upon the floor of Andrew Sage’s stable.

The captive was confined under guard in the village lockup, and a doctor was called to give his injury proper attention.

The boys could not learn that anything further in connection with the bank robbery had transpired. Several armed posses were still searching in the vicinity of Oakdale, and the surrounding country and towns had been warned by telephoning, which made it seem most improbable that the associates of the captured burglar could escape.

“I’m going home for breakfast,” Hooker finally announced.

“I’ve just discovered that I’m hungry myself,” said Sleuth.

At a street corner, having gotten away from the crowd, they paused a moment. Piper, who had borne himself with no small amount of pride beneath the eyes of the townspeople, now betrayed a disposition to be somewhat downcast and gloomy.

“Look here,” said Roy, “I took special notice that you didn’t mention Fred Sage in connection with the matter. You dodged that, and so I kept still, too.”

“I was in hopes you’d follow my lead, Hook. Forgot to warn you until it was too late.”

“But what’s your idea in shielding Sage, if you think he’s guilty?”

“Is he guilty?”

“Why, you know it certainly seems that – ”

“It seems so,” nodded Piper; “but, still, I can’t bring myself to believe that our respected schoolmate and comrade would make himself the accomplice of criminals. I had this thing figured down to a fine point, Roy, but I’m willing to admit that my calculations were decidedly upset. I don’t want to make any charges against Fred until I talk with him face to face.”

“I’m glad,” breathed Roy – “I’m mighty glad of that. I thought you were absolutely positive. I own up it does look queer for Fred, but perhaps he can explain. I’m sure he can. I’ll go to him – ”

“No, you won’t,” interrupted Sleuth sharply. “You keep away from him, Hooker. You let me do this. You’d make a mess of it. There are other features of this affair that puzzle me a bit. For instance, there are the missing securities. Queer business that a bank vault which was only partly broken open should be discovered short to the extent of twenty thousand dollars in negotiable securities.”

“Haven’t you any theory at all, Sleuth?”

“Only one. As long as I’ve trusted you this far, I may as well go the limit. Swear silence.”

“All right.”

“Cross your heart.”

“Here goes.”

“Then listen,” whispered Sleuth, after an unnecessary glance around, as if to make sure no one was within earshot. “I’ve never had much confidence in that smug, smooth-faced, canting cashier, Timmick. I know Urian Eliot trusts him, but I wouldn’t. I thought he acted queer while I was watching him in the bank after the attempted robbery was discovered.”

“By Jove!” cried Hooker. “I’ve always said he was a sneak. I told Sage so myself. You’ve hit it – I’ll bet you’ve hit it, Sleuth!”

“Not so loud! Cautious! cautious!” warned Piper. “Now don’t forget your oath. Don’t breathe this suspicion to a soul. If the robbers didn’t get those securities last night, and it’s a certain fact that they didn’t, someone removed them from the vault at an earlier date. The investigation by the president and the directors led to the discovery that they were gone.”

“Timmick did it,” said Hooker. “He’s the man.”

CHAPTER XXV.
THE BOY WHO ACTED GUILTY

The bank officials were perplexed and mystified. With the arrival of Urian Eliot the inner door of the vault had been opened by Timmick. It was evident to them all that the looters had been driven away before they could open this door, and therefore there was every reason to believe that the contents of the vault would be found undisturbed.

In order that a thorough examination might be made in the presence of the president and the others, the cash and securities contained in the various compartments of the vault had been removed and placed upon a long oak table in the adjoining directors’ room. This done, the officials gathered about the table and began the investigation, the president, pencil in hand, checking everything off on a list that had been furnished him by Timmick.

Then it was that they were shocked to discover that twenty thousand dollars’ worth of negotiable securities could not be found. The suggestion that these securities had been overlooked sent Timmick and one of the directors back to the vault, but without avail. In a few moments the cashier and his companion returned, and Timmick’s face was pale and his voice husky as he said:

“Those securities must be here on this table. They’re not in the vault. They must be here. They can’t be gone.”

“We’ll go over the list again,” said Urian Eliot. “Let’s do it slowly, carefully and systematically.”

Their great care in this second inspection simply served to confirm the fact that the securities were missing, whereupon Timmick collapsed upon a chair, seemingly on the verge of fainting.

“It’s awful – incomprehensible!” he whispered hoarsely, staring at the faces of the other men. “I can’t understand it.”

“Nor I,” snapped the little jeweler, rapping his knuckles sharply on the table and facing the cashier with a piercing eye. “If you can’t explain it, Mr. Timmick, I don’t know who can.”

“Why – why,” faltered the distressed cashier, “I hope – you don’t mean, sir – ”

“I’m sure Mr. Sprague will not be hasty with an insinuation,” interrupted Urian Eliot. “I’m sure we all have the utmost confidence in your integrity, Timmick.”

It was noticeable, however, that none of the others said a word in support of this assertion, and Mr. Lucius Timmick looked very ill indeed by the white light of the shaded chandelier.

It was some time after daylight before the officials came forth from the bank and made inquiries concerning the search for the fugitive crooks. Later they learned of the remarkable capture by two boys of the wounded member of the gang, and when the prisoner had been attended by a physician they sought to obtain some information from him by giving him a mild sort of “third degree” treatment. The effort, however, resulted most unsatisfactorily. The prisoner, stretched on a cot in the lockup, grimly defied them and sullenly refused to answer a single question.

“Aw, go on,” he growled. “You couldn’t make me snitch if you skinned me.”

“Your accomplices are certain to be captured,” asserted Lemuel Hayden. “They can’t get away. It is your opportunity to obtain a little clemency by confessing before any of the others do so.”

“Bite it off,” advised the prisoner. “You’re wasting your wind, old geezer. I never ties up with squealers.”

About this time Roy Hooker, crowding down a breakfast rendered tasteless by his excitement, was telling his astounded mother a story that made her gasp and throw up her hands.

“Mercy!” she cried, staring at him. “You caught one of the robbers – you and Billy Piper? I never heard of such a thing! Two boys catching a desperate burglar!”

“We caught him,” laughed Roy, “though perhaps it wouldn’t have been so easy, only he was pretty weak from his wound and the loss of blood.”

“You’ll be killed some day, Roy,” prophesied his mother. “Now there’s your father; I didn’t want him to go out with the men who are hunting the robbers, but he just would go. I’m worried to death for fear he’ll get shot or something.”

“Wonder what he will say when he hears what Sleuth and I did,” chuckled Roy, gulping down a final mouthful and pushing back from the table. “Bet he don’t do as much.” He rose and grabbed his cap.

“Where are you going now?” asked Mrs. Hooker apprehensively. “I won’t be able to rest easy a minute.”

“Oh, there’s something doing in Oakdale this morning. Only a dead one could hang around home with so much going on. Don’t worry, mother; nothing will happen to me. They ought to be marching in some of the other crooks pretty soon, and I want to see ’em when they come.”

Outside the house, however, he paused, as if doubtful concerning the course he would pursue, and for some moments he seemed struggling with contending desires.

“Sleuth didn’t want me to see Fred,” he muttered. “He made me promise I wouldn’t tell Sage anything. Fred’s my friend. If he’s mixed up in this rotten business it’s a shame. I’d like to see him a minute; I must see him. I won’t give anything away, but I’d like to see how he’ll behave. I’m just going up to his house, that’s all.”

Having arrived at this decision, he hurried up Willow Street, crossing to Main only after the heart of the village had been left behind. As he drew near the home of the Sages his pace slackened somewhat, and he began to realize that he almost dreaded to meet Fred face to face. Even when he had reached the proper point to turn in from the street he hesitated and was almost tempted to retrace his steps.

At that moment, as if he had seen Hooker, Fred came out of the house, and Roy walked into the yard.

“Hello, Hook,” said Sage. “What’s the latest? Have they caught any of the robbers? My father is down town now.”

It seemed rather singular to Hooker that Fred also was not in the village, and, furthermore, Roy imagined he could perceive something unnatural and distraught in his friend’s manner.

“S’pose you’ve heard about Pipe and me?” said Roy.

“No. I’ve been staying home with mother. She’s nervous. Father deposits at the bank, you know, and he wanted to find out if there had really been a robbery. What about you and Sleuth?”

“We caught one of the gang,” announced the visitor proudly.

“You – you did?” faltered Sage, seeming to stiffen a bit. “Really and truly did you and Sleuth catch one of them?”

“Really and truly, old man. We ran him down over behind Turkey Hill and nabbed him. He’s in the lockup now.”

“Back of Turkey Hill!” said Fred, a bit huskily, and the other boy fancied his face lost color somewhat. “How – how did you do it?”

“Oh, the fellow was wounded, and it wasn’t much of a trick. Old Quinn blazed away blindly at the robbers when they ran, and he happened to hit this one. Of course,” he continued, with a pardonable touch of pride, “some folks seem to think we did quite a thing in nabbing him.”

“I don’t wonder,” muttered Fred. “Tell me just how you did it.”

With a sudden impulse, Roy strode past his companion, saying: “Come on into the stable and I’ll tell you.”

“We can talk just as well out here,” said Sage hastily. “Let’s not go in there.”

“But I want to go in there,” persisted Hooker, keeping on, although his friend had grasped his arm.

The sliding doors were now nearly closed, but Hooker thrust one of them back sufficiently to enter, and Fred, ceasing to object, followed into the building.

At a glance Roy perceived a large damp spot upon the floor, where upon his previous visit there had been a pool of blood. Every trace of the blood stains was gone. Turning quickly to Sage, Hooker saw that he was being watched narrowly, but instantly Fred’s eyelids drooped.

“Sleuth was right in his suspicions, after all,” thought the visitor, with sinking heart. “If there wasn’t something wrong, they’d never removed those stains and kept still about it.”

“Tell me,” urged Fred, “how you happened to find this wounded robber. How did you trace him?”

“I didn’t say we traced him.”

“No, but I supposed – that is, I imagined you must have been led in some way to search for him over by Turkey Hill.”

“He’s in it – in it up to the neck,” thought Roy, almost bitterly. “It’s a shame! He seemed like such a fine fellow!”

“What’s the matter?” asked the other lad nervously. “Why don’t you tell me all about it?”

“Oh, yes, I – I will. You see, it was this way.” He began his story at the point where he and Piper had discovered the fugitive from their position in the clearing on the northern shoulder of the hill. In the midst of the narrative, through which he was hurrying, the boys were startled by the swift tread of feet, and a moment later several persons, led by Constable Hubbard, entered the stable.

“What – what is it?” demanded Fred Sage at sight of the men. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re a-looking for one of them there bank robber critters,” answered the constable, “and for sartain reasons we’re led to believe he’s hiding round these premises somewhere. The buildings are surrounded complete, and he can’t git away.”