But before the attempt could be repeated, the fleeing vehicle had reached the sharp curve, beyond which stood the old shack. Here the road narrowed; and crowding the left side in an effort to make the turn, the truck struck the pile of slabs, lurched crazily across the road, and crashed head on against the old shanty, through which it plunged for half its length. The boys had a glimpse of a white-shirted figure that catapulted from the rear of the wrecked vehicle to fall face downward among the weeds. It was up in an instant, and darting forward, disappeared in the thicket.
With a shriek of its brakes the blue car slid to a stop, and as the flivver drew up alongside, the boys saw Inspector Baker and his men rush toward the shanty. Before they had covered half the distance, however, a heavy explosion rent the air followed instantly by a sheet of flame. The gasoline tank of the truck had taken fire and exploded, and in a moment the shack was burning fiercely.
Dazed by the force of the collision and half-suffocated by smoke, Latrobe and his two companions staggered from the cabin to be promptly seized by the officers and hustled into the big car.
“We won’t be bothered again very soon by those three rascals,” remarked Ned when the blue car had passed the barrier of vines and disappeared on the highway beyond.
“No, and I guess Slade has had enough for the time being,” added Dick. “At the rate he was traveling when I last saw him, he must be pretty near the Rocky Mountains by now.”
“That’s the end of the old shack and the truck, too,” remarked Charlie Rogers, as he stood watching the blazing heap of ruins.
“Yeah, that’s the finish,” agreed Dave Wilbur. “Truck, shanty, and Ned’s black ants, all gone up in smoke,” he added with a prodigious yawn. “What d’y’say we beat it for home and get a real sleep?”
CHAPTER XXV
PROFITS
The interest that had been aroused by the cave-in of Copper Coleson’s mine was as nothing compared with the excitement which prevailed when it became known that the property had been used as a base by smugglers from Canada. A large number of automobilists made the Coleson place the objective of their Sunday-afternoon drive, but except for wheel and foot tracks about the tightly shuttered building, there was nothing to be seen. The boys who had taken so active a part in the capture of the gang were overwhelmed with praise and bombarded with questions, but acting upon a preconcerted agreement, they gave out very little information.
“Keep ’em guessing,” had been Ned Blake’s brief advice. “We’ll get the fellows together on Monday afternoon and decide what’s to be done.”