The suddenness of the assault, and the violence with which he was handled, rendered Chase for a few seconds speechless with surprise and alarm; and when he recovered himself sufficiently to understand what was going on, it was too late to resist and dangerous to cry out, for his hands and feet were securely tied, and a pistol was levelled at his head.
“We’ve got nothing against you, and we don’t want to hurt you,” whispered the man who held the weapon; “but you mustn’t make any fuss—mind that.”
“What are you going to do with me, anyhow? and what do you mean by assaulting me in this manner?” asked Chase, as soon as he could speak.
“Keep perfectly still, now, and don’t say another word,” was the satisfactory reply. “It’s enough for you to know that you are wanted.”
As the man said this he lifted his prisoner from the ground as easily as though he had been an infant, and placing him on his shoulders started through the bushes toward the beach; while the other put his lantern into his pocket, and hurried along in advance of him, keeping a sharp lookout on all sides. Although Chase’s brain was in a great whirl, he retained his wits sufficiently to notice that the course the men were pursuing would take them within a short distance of Mr. Gaylord’s house. He could see the lights in the window, which appeared to be dancing about among the trees as he bobbed up and down on the shoulders of the man who carried him, and he listened intently, hoping that some of the Club’s hounds would discover him and his captors, and give the alarm; but nothing of the kind happened. The men moved rapidly, but with cautious footsteps, and in a few minutes carried their prisoner down the bank and laid him in a yawl, which was moored at the jetty in front of Mr. Gaylord’s boat-house.
As he was placed on the bottom of the boat, under the thwarts, with his face downward, and the gunwales were so high that he could not look over them, he could not tell in what direction the men were taking him. They moved steadily for two hours without exchanging a word, and during that time Chase had ample leisure to think over his situation. At last his ears told him that the men had taken in their oars, and were pushing the yawl through a dense thicket of bushes, and a few minutes afterward a sudden jar, which was followed by a violent rocking of the boat, indicated that it had come in contact with something.
“Here we are at last,” said one of the men, and Chase thought, from the tone in which he spoke the words, that he was glad that the work was over.
“I wish I was somewhere else,” said the prisoner. “Now, perhaps you will be good enough to tell me why you brought me here?”
“That’s something that we have nothing to do with,” answered the man, as he busied himself in untying his captive’s feet, while the rattle of the painter showed that his companion was engaged in making the yawl fast. “It is no part of our business to answer questions. All I can tell you is that we’re not going to hurt you if you behave yourself.”
This assurance removed a heavy burden of anxiety from the mind of the prisoner, who now, being relieved of all apprehensions concerning his personal safety, raised himself to a sitting posture and began to look about him with some curiosity. He noted two things: that the yawl was lying alongside a small schooner, and that the schooner was anchored in a little cove which was surrounded on all sides by a dense wall of trees and bushes. He did not have time to make any further observations, for his captors, who seemed to be in a great hurry to dispose of him, assisted him rather roughly out of the boat to the deck of the vessel, dragged him down a hatchway, and thrusting him into a little locker, left him to his meditations.