The latter question was quickly answered. As they passed through a little locust grove just beyond the station, Jed’s alert ear caught a stifled cry or gurgle to the left of the road, and without pausing an instant, he started toward it. The others followed, and a moment later, they found Jed’s companion bound to a tree and gagged as Allan had been.
His adventures were soon told. He had started along the road leading to the mine, expecting every moment to meet the wagon coming for the chest. Just as he reached the grove, he heard wheels approaching, and stopped, intending to hail it, but before he could open his mouth, some one threw a heavy cloak or sack over his head from behind and pulled it tight, while some one else tripped him up and sat on him. His hands were tied, the gag forced into his mouth, and he was led to the tree and securely fastened. Then to his astonishment, he heard the wagon stop, and the men on it exchange greetings with his captors. The latter then clambered aboard and the wagon continued on toward the station.
“Was it the company’s wagon?” asked Jed.
“I couldn’t swear to it,” answered the other, chafing his wrists to start the circulation, “but it sounded mighty much like it.”
“Well, we must find out,” said Jed, and hurried forward.
As they neared the company’s office, they became aware of a dull pounding, as of some one hammering upon iron. It would cease for a moment and then begin again, louder than before. Not until they came quite near did any of the posse guess what it was; and it was Jed who guessed first.
“There’s somebody shut up in th’ office,” he said. “I’ll bet th’ robbers did it! Well, they’re clever ones fer sure!”
And this conjecture proved to be correct, as Jed found after a few moments’ shouted conversation with the prisoners. The first thing to be done was to get them out, but this was not so easy as might appear, for, as has already been stated, the little building had been built to withstand a siege; it was lined with steel, the windows were heavily barred and the door was armoured. One of the prisoners explained that the door had been locked on them from the outside, but the key was not in the lock.
“They probably throwed it away arter they locked th’ door,” said Jed. “But we can’t find it in th’ dark. Th’ only thing t’ do is t’ break a couple o’ bars out o’ one o’ th’ winders, an’ make a hole big enough fer ’em t’ squeeze through.”
And, after twenty minutes’ hard work, this was accomplished.