CHAPTER VIII
ONE, TWO, THREE—A FULL BAG!
At the hot soda place even Jack Benson, fond as he was of such decoctions, at last had his fill.
"Funny Eph hasn't brought the others here," muttered Jack.
"Pardon me, a moment," urged Radwin, rising. "I'll be back directly."
Radwin slipped out to the sidewalk, for he had seen a hovering figure at the curb. However, Radwin kept on down the street, turning in at the third doorway beyond. Now, the hovering figure sauntered past.
"We got the cub," whispered the prowler.
"Good!" whispered Radwin. "Then you're ready for the rest?"
"Huh! It'll be like sleeping on a haymow, if the other two are as easy as that one was."
"All right, then! Be off, and see that you do your work well!"
With that Radwin walked briskly back and into the hot soda place.
"I'm ashamed to tell you what took me out," he laughed, easily. "Boys, after writing that letter in the drug-store, I forgot to mail it, and just felt it in my coat pocket. Well, it's safe in the mail-box, at last."
"We were just saying," Hal announced, "that it's funny the others haven't come along. We better go back and get Eph, anyway?"
"It will be a good idea," nodded Radwin.
Of course, when they reached the corner at which they had left young
Somers, he was not there.
"I wonder if he has gone back and joined the party at the hotel?" queried Hal.
"We can soon find out," declared Jack.
"Suppose you and I walk down there, then, Hastings?" suggested Radwin. "We can leave Benson here, to tell Somers where we are, if he comes back this way."
"You wait here, Hal," suggested Jack. "There's a little matter I want to speak to Mr. Farnum about, anyway."
So Hastings was left at the corner. He saw Jack and the Rhinds man go in through the hotel entrance.
Then, hearing steps, Hal turned to see two sailors approaching. They wore the uniform of the United States Navy. Hastings regarded them with the friendly interest that he, like most other Americans, always felt for sailors. But the two sailors came along, talking earnestly, and did not appear to see young Hastings, who stood in close to the wall.
"When I first seen him fall," one of the sailors was saying, "I mistook him for a Navy officer. He was pretty young, but the uniform fooled me."
"He had the uniform, all right but no signs of rank on it," nodded the other sailor, thoughtfully. "Was he much hurt?"
"Oh, it won't kill him," replied the first sailor. "But—"
"I beg your pardon," interposed Hal, springing in front of the pair.
"It has just struck me that you are speaking of a comrade of mine."
"Well, he had a uniform on, just like your'n, replied the first sailor, looking Hal Hastings over quickly.
"Only the young feller we're talkin' about has red hair," added the second.
"What has happened to him?" demanded Hal, a feeling of alarm sweeping over him.
"Oh, he got in a little fight—that's all," responded the first sailor. "Bit off a little bit bigger chunk of fight than he could handle. He's kinder dazed and silly, now, and talkin' about queer things. Half an hour more, though, messmate, and I guess he'll be able to walk down to the water front all right."
Eph knocked out and dazed—among strangers! That was the sole picture that appeared to Hal Hastings's mind at that moment.
"He's a friend of mine—messmate, at that," Hal declared, quickly. "Where is the place? Or, better still, can you take me to it? I'll reward you."
"Oh, stow the reward, messmate," replied one of the sailors. "We fellers that foller seafighting for a trade have got to stand in together once in a while. When I seen your friend knocked down I jumped in and floored the big rough that hurt your messmate. We'd have brought your friend along, but we didn't know just where to take him."
It was hard for Hal to believe that clear-eyed, level-headed Eph Somers would go into any of the low drinking resorts of the town; but he thought it best not to ask any questions until he found young Somers.
After some two minutes of brisk walking the two sailors turned down into an alleyway.
"The place we're going to is dark on the ground floor," stated one of them. "Don't be afraid to go up a dark stairway, messmate. We'll be with you, anyway."
"I don't believe I'm afraid, thank you," smiled Hal.
One of the sailors, stepping ahead, pushed door open, going in first.
Hal followed, the other sailor bringing up the rear.
Then, like a flash, Hal Hastings felt him self seized on that dark stairway, and a big hand held over his mouth.
Like a tiger Hal fought for a few moments. As nearly as he could judge, in the dark, he had four assailants. He was overborne, at last gagged and tied.
In the meantime Jack and Mr. Radwin had gone to the hotel dining room, to find that the last diners had departed, leaving only a few waiters who were arranging tables.
"No one here," murmured Radwin "Then we'll look through the billiard room, writing room and other places. Young Somers must be with the party somewhere."
Twenty minutes or more they spent in looking through the various public parts of the big hotel. Then they returned to the lobby. Radwin was limping, now, and looked uncomfortable.
"What's the matter?" questioned Jack.
"A nail in my shoe hurts me," lied the other, glibly, sinking into a chair. "Benson, I reckon I'll sit here a few minutes. Then I'll get to my room and call a bell-boy, to see if he can find some one to fix the shoe."
"Too bad," murmured Jack. "But say, I'll go back to the corner, and tell Hal, so he won't be standing on the corner all night."
With that Jack Benson walked briskly out. Up at the next corner, however, instead of finding Hal, the young skipper was accosted by two sailors in United States naval uniform.
"I reckon your name's Benson, messmate?" hailed one of the pair.
"I reckon it is," nodded Jack, looking sharply at them.
"Got a bit of bad news for you, then," added the first speaker. "It ain't so awful bad, though. One of your friends—Winter, I think his name was—"
"No; Somers," corrected the other sailor.
"Well, he saw a row going on, and he had to run down the street and get into it. Too many fellers in the fight, and Winter—"
"Somers," interposed the second sailor.
"Yes; that was it. Somers got pretty badly used up. His scalp was cut some considerable. He was taken into a house nearby, and a doctor called in to stitch him up. Somers sent us to find his messmates. We found your friend, Hastings, and took him around there. Hastings wanted us to find you, and bring you there, messmate."
"Poor old Eph!" muttered Jack. "Tough luck, and at a bad time for us."
"We'll take you 'round to where your messmates are," volunteered the sailor. "Hastings was particular that you come at once."
"I'll get a carriage to bring Mr. Somers home in," Jack suggested.
"Oh, your messmate, Hastings, has sent a feller for a carriage," broke in the first sailor, hastily.
"Good enough," Jack nodded. "Then say, boys, I'll just run back to the hotel. I left Radwin in there. I'll be right back with you. You'll wait for me, surely, won't you?"
"Oh, sure!" chorused both sailors. Then, as Jack Benson scurried down the street, the two supposed sailors turned to each other, chuckling softly.
"Sure we'll waits" repeated one of the pair.
It was several minutes ere Jack returned, coming up almost breathlessly.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, boys," he spoke, hastily. "But I'm here at last."
"Oh, that's all right, messmate. Come along and we'll pilot you straight to your friend, Winter—"
"Somers," corrected the other sailor.
Between the pair, some two minutes later, Jack Benson turned off a side street into an alleyway. The houses down in this alley were dark. Most of the little buildings here were occupied only in the daytime, as junk shops and old rag stores.
"Don't mind the dark," spoke one of the sailors, as he pushed open a door. "There's light enough on the second floor. That's where you'll find your friend, Winter."
"Somers," remonstrated the second sailor.
On the dark stairway Jack Benson found himself suddenly attacked, not only by the sailor pair, but by at least two other men, as well.