CHAPTER XIII.
JACK TAKES A FORCED WALK.
When Jack left his brother sitting on the office steps he fully expected to be back in a very few minutes. Noiselessly he ran over the frozen snow toward the side of the bunk house. As he reached it he stopped to listen, and the slight sound of the crackle of snow crust came to his ears.
“Somebody’s out back there,” he thought as he stole silently toward the back, keeping close to the side of the building. When he reached the rear corner he paused again. The sound was now more distinct and, as he held his breath, he could plainly hear someone moving over the snow.
Carefully he stuck his head around the corner, only to feel a powerful pair of arms clasp about his neck. A muffled cry burst from his lips as he was dragged to the snow, but before he could repeat the cry a huge hand was pressed firmly over his mouth effectually blocking the attempt. He struggled with all his strength to free himself, but, soon realizing that he was but a child in the powerful hands of the man who was holding him, he gave it up and lay still. He heard approaching footsteps and knew that he was in the power of at least two men. How many more there might be he had no way of knowing.
“Give me dat rope,” he heard the man who was holding him down whisper.
“Now you mak’ der noise and I keel you queek,” the man whispered in his ear as he removed his hand from over his mouth.
The boy did not for a moment doubt but that he was quite capable of carrying out the threat, so he did as he was ordered. Quickly his hands were tied behind his back and a large handkerchief, which from the odor was none too clean, was bound over his eyes. Then he was roughly jerked to his feet.
At that moment a window, near the farther back corner, was pushed open. Instantly the boy was pushed around the corner and one of his captors again held his hand over his mouth as they crouched on the snow. But whoever had opened the window evidently decided that everything was all right and what he thought he had heard was a false alarm; for, after a moment or two, Jack heard the window shut down.
“We geet away queek now,” one of the men whispered. “Dat feller mebby come out here,” he added, grabbing the boy by the arm.
Silently they stole away through the deep forest at the back of the camp. It was too dark for rapid traveling, but they hurried along as fast as they could go and avoid hitting the trees.