“Enough of that!”
At last Dirk made out the form of the man who, with the aid of the rascally Indian, had trapped them. He felt only a dull throb of surprise as he recognized him. Brick’s warning at Lake Lenape had been justified, after all. The mysterious fisherman had tracked them down and caught them alone at last.
The man deliberately walked up to Brick, the gleaming nose of his pistol showing in his right hand. With his left he thrust swiftly upward. There was the sound of a blow against flesh, and Brick fell heavily upon the pebbled shore.
“Lie there, both of you. Now, Mink,” their captor addressed the Indian, “dump that stuff out of their canoe and put it in ours. We need it more than that dumb bunch of kids up the lake. Then tie up these two birds tight, and dump them in too. We’ve got to get away before the ones up ahead come back to see what’s wrong. Wish I could see their faces when they find out!”
“What—what are you going to do with us?” asked Dirk hoarsely.
The stranger laughed unpleasantly. “You’ll find out soon enough, kid. Ready, Mink? That’s good. Now, turn over that fancy red canoe and shove it way out in the channel, so that when the main gang come back, they’ll know for sure that these two wise little scouts are drowned to death and sunk to the bottom of the lake!”
CHAPTER XVI
FIRE IN THE FOREST
Trussed with light rope like a pair of fowl ready for slaughter, the two boys were lifted one by one in the Indian’s arms and laid in the bottom of his dirty canoe. Neither could speak, for bandana handkerchiefs were knotted tightly between their teeth, so that they had barely a chance to breathe. They lay on the unyielding ribs of the craft, which apparently leaked, for several inches of chilly water sloshed about beneath them and ran down their necks, soaking their already damp clothing.
The tarpaulin-wrapped bundle containing the provisions stolen from the Lenape trailers was dumped next to their heads. The man with the pistol crouched in the bow, his slicker thrown open, now that the rain had stopped. His dark-skinned henchman, whom he had called Mink, cast another glance at the Sachem, which was caught in the channel current and, bottom upward, drifted toward the outlet. Then, seizing his paddle, he pushed off the heavy-laden vessel and began paddling furiously toward the far shore.
Although they were effectively hidden from the eyes of any returning Lenape canoeists as long as they kept the length of the island between them, the two men kept a wary lookout until they gained the shelter of the far shore, where the deepening twilight hid them from any possibility of discovery. Dirk, squirming painfully in his bonds, could see only the body of the muscular Mink above him, his moving head and arms outlined against the purple sky, in which one star already gleamed. He could hear Brick Ryan breathing heavily beside him, and bit at his gag angrily, realizing that he could help neither his comrade nor himself. If only he had departed with the other members of the party, the two desperate men would not have had opportunity to snare them as they had done. It had been all his own fault, Dirk condemned himself. If only he had listened to Brick——