The Black Dog Mystery (8 page)

“What’s too far?” said Miss Annie. “Where are you off to, now?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you?” asked Djuna. “I thought I’d take a pretty long ride tomorrow, because that’s the only chance I’ll have before Tommy wants his bike back. He’s got to stay home tomorrow, his mother said.”

“We-e-l-l,” said Miss Annie doubtfully, “I guess it will be all right. But I don’t like the idea of your wandering around by yourself very much. I thought you were planning to go over and help Mr. Boots paint that house for Champ. Don’t you think you’d better do that?”

“Well, I will, if he’s home,” said Djuna. “But he said he was going to go over to Riverton this afternoon and see if he can get some work to do at that Army camp. I’ll go and ask him, right after supper.”

Champ came trotting around the corner of the house. “It’s about time you got home!” exclaimed Djuna. “Do you see what I’ve been making for you?”

He lifted Champ into the box on the handle-bars and wheeled him around the yard two or three times. Champ thought it was a fine idea, and barked excitedly when Djuna lifted him down again.

“All right, I’ll give you a ride tomorrow,” Djuna promised him.

“Give him his dinner and wash your hands and sit down at the table,” said Miss Annie, smiling. “Your supper is going to get cold if you don’t hurry!”

As soon as he had finished supper, Djuna hurried over to Mr. Boots’s shop. But the door was still shut, and Djuna walked slowly home again. He was very tired. He tried to read a book for a while, but found himself getting sleepier and sleepier.

“I guess I’ll go to bed,” he said at last. “I can hardly keep my eyes open, Miss Annie. Will you tie Champ up for me?”

“Yes, you go ahead,” said Miss Annie. “I think I’ll read a while longer.”

Djuna climbed wearily to his room and was asleep almost before he got into bed. A long time afterward, he partly woke up, dreaming that he had heard Champ barking, and that he heard Miss Annie talking to someone. But before he could decide whether he was dreaming or not, he fell asleep again. It was bright morning when he really woke up.

“M
R.
B
OOTS
was here last night,” said Miss Annie, when Djuna came flying downstairs for breakfast.

“He was?” exclaimed Djuna. “When?”

“Oh, a long time after you went to bed,” said Miss Annie. “It must have been nearly ten o’clock. You were sound asleep, I suppose.”

“That’s funny,” said Djuna. “I woke up and heard you talking to somebody, but then I thought I was dreaming, and I guess I went right to sleep again! What did he want? Does he want me to come over this morning?”

Miss Annie shook her head. “No, he came over especially, because he didn’t want you to think he had forgotten about his promise. But he’s to start work this morning, at the Army camp, and he had to go so early that he was afraid he wouldn’t have time to wait for you. Wasn’t that thoughtful of him? Oh, I’m so glad he’s found some work to do! And he said to thank you for telling him about it. Poor Mr. Boots, he looked so tired and worried! I really believe he hasn’t been getting enough to eat! It’s wonderful to think he’s found some work at last. And he was so thankful to you, too.”

“Oh,
I
didn’t do anything,” said Djuna. “All I did was to tell him what Mr. Granger told me to tell him. That’s nothing.”

“Well, you didn’t forget,” said Miss Annie, smiling. “I’m sure that if
I
had seen that bank robbery,
I
wouldn’t have been able to think of anything else.”

Djuna ate his breakfast slowly and thoughtfully. “You know what I think, Miss Annie?” he said at last. “I think something funny has happened to Mr. Boots.”

Miss Annie looked startled. “Why, what makes you say that, Djuna?” she exclaimed. “Do you think he’s in trouble?”

“I don’t know
what’s
the matter with him,” said Djuna. “But just the last day or so he seems sort of queer.”

“Queer?” repeated Miss Annie. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s always going places,” said Djuna. “And he won’t tell anybody where he goes. Ever since day before yesterday.”

“Why, I don’t think that’s so very strange,” said Miss Annie. “You know where he went yesterday afternoon—he went over to see about getting that job.”

“Yes, but why did it take him so long?” persisted Djuna. “He didn’t get back till it was awful late. You said it was ten o’clock, almost. I don’t see why it had to take him all
that
time.”

Miss Annie laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, if I were you,” she said. “He probably had other errands to attend to, besides going to the camp. Don’t you think he’s old enough to take care of himself?”

Djuna giggled. “He’s pretty old,” he admitted. “Say, look, Miss Annie, if I can’t work on Champ’s house with him, I won’t have anything to do all day except ride Tommy’s bike. Can I take my lunch with me?”

Miss Annie sighed. “You sound as if you were going to ride all the way to Canada,” she said. “Well, yes, I’ll wrap up something for you. Is Champ going to take his lunch, too?”

“I can take some dog-biscuits for him,” said Djuna.

Miss Annie made some sandwiches and wrapped up a big piece of apple pie to put on top of them, and Djuna tied the whole package under the bicycle-seat and started off. He made Champ walk until they got to the top of the hill beyond Miller’s Brook, and then lifted him into the box fastened to the handle-bars. The rest of the road was easy going and they got to Clinton in twenty minutes. There Djuna lifted Champ out of the box and they walked along together on the sidewalk.

Djuna felt his heart beating faster as he came again to the street on which so much excitement had occurred. He looked quickly around in all directions, as if he half expected the bank robbers to appear again, guns in their hands. But everything had settled back to its usual peaceful course, and people were going about their business as if nothing had ever happened. Here and there, two or three men would be standing talking to each other about the robbery, and once or twice Djuna heard people say as he went by, “That’s the boy who almost got shot!” or sometimes they pointed at Champ and said, “See that dog? That’s the one that chased them!” Djuna began to feel embarrassed, and to wish that he hadn’t come; but he made his way along as quickly as he could, and pretended he hadn’t heard what they said.

When he got to the police station, in the middle of the block, he hesitated for a minute, wondering if he dared to go in and ask the questions he wanted to. Champ was trotting on ahead of him, and turned around to see why Djuna had stopped. Then the little black dog walked on into the police station as if he had always been perfectly at home there, so Djuna propped his bicycle against the steps, drew a long breath and followed him into the building.

The first person he saw was the Chief of Police, Captain Crackle, who was sitting at a desk in a room by himself and talking into the telephone. Djuna waited in the doorway until Captain Crackle had finished talking.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Could I ask you a question, please?”

Captain Crackle turned around in surprise.

“Well, bless my soul!” he said in a loud hearty voice. “Look who’s here! If it isn’t Sherlock Holmes himself!”

Djuna’s ears burned. But he stood his ground. “It’s about the robbers,” he said.

“Oh, it is, is it?” said the police chief. “Haven’t got ’em in your pocket, have you?”

“No, sir,” said Djuna. “I just wanted to ask if you’ve caught them yet.”

“No, I haven’t caught them and nobody else has!” snapped Captain Crackle. “What’s on your mind? I’m too busy to fool with you, boy!”

“It’s about the motorcycles,” said Djuna. “The ones the policemen used to chase the robbers, I mean. Can you please tell me how fast they can go?”

Captain Crackle stared at him in amazement. “Well, that’s a question, if I ever heard one!” he gasped. “Don’t bother me, I tell you! I’m busy! Go over across the hall and ask Ryan—he can tell you. Gee, that’s a hot one!”

He picked up the telephone again and paid no more attention to Djuna. Djuna backed out of the room and crossed the hall to the room on the other side. A young man in a police uniform was sitting there, reading a newspaper, with his feet on the desk in front of him.

“Excuse me,” said Djuna. “Are you Mister Ryan?”

The young policeman put down the newspaper. “That’s me,” he said. “What can I do for you, buddy?”

“Could you tell me, please,” said Djuna, “if you chased those robbers yesterday?”

The policeman grinned. “I sure did,” he said. “Me and Taylor. And a fat lot of good
that
was, too! What about it?”

“Well, how fast did you go?” said Djuna.

“Fast?” repeated Ryan. “Plenty fast, don’t worry! What’s the idea?”

“Did you go sixty miles an hour?” persisted Djuna.

“Sixty?” echoed the policeman. “Boy, we were doin’ eighty from the time we shoved off! Why, listen, we were in Grandville inside o’ ten minutes, and that’s ten miles from here! What do you want to know for, kid?”

“Did you catch up with them?” said Djuna hopefully.

“Certainly we didn’t catch up with them!” exclaimed the policemen. “What do you think? Think we caught up with them and then let them go? Shucks, they had two minutes’ head start on us. We never even
saw
’em!”

Djuna looked puzzled. “Well, where
did
they go, then?” he asked.

“Say, listen, are you really dumb, or don’t you read the papers?” asked the officer, grinning. “They just turned off from the main road and took a side road, north.”

“Did you follow them up the side road?” asked Djuna.

Officer Ryan laughed. “Say, boy, Taylor and me buzz past that side road so fast, we never even see it!” he said. “We pull into Grandville, and they ain’t there, that’s all. So then it’s too late to chase back to the side road, so what can
we
do but telephone on up ahead? Say, what
is
this, an interview? You aren’t going to put this in the paper, are you?”

Djuna shook his head. “No, sir,” he said respectfully. “I was just wondering how they got away, that’s all.”

“Well, you can quit wondering now,” said the young policeman. “Those babies are five hundred miles from here by this time, and still going.”

“Yes, sir,” said Djuna. “Well, thank you very much, Mr. Ryan. Come on, Champ, we’ve got to go, now. Goodbye, Mr. Ryan.”

The policeman watched them march off, and sat down again to his newspaper, shaking his head in wonder. “The questions some kids will ask!” he muttered.

Djuna retrieved his bicycle and with Champ sticking close to his heels walked on down the street.

When they came to the corner where the road to Grandville began, and had left all the stores and houses behind them, Djuna boosted Champ into his box seat again and they set off in earnest. The road climbed a hill, and soon Djuna had to begin pumping hard on the pedals to keep going. By the time they had reached the top of the hill, a mile east of Clinton, he was pretty well winded, and was glad to jump down and rest for a while, to get his breath.

Looking back from the top of the hill, he could see the houses of Clinton spread out below him. Looking east, toward Grandville, he could see the paved road stretching away for miles. But off to the south, a mile away, at the eastern foot of the hill, there was nothing but woods, stretching away in the direction of Riverton. Djuna stood for a long while, leaning against his bicycle and patting Champ, to keep him from trying to jump down out of the box, while his eyes wandered over the landscape.

Finally he stamped his foot in exasperation. “Oh, shucks!” he muttered. “I guess I’d better see where that side road is, anyway.”

It was easy to start the bicycle down hill, and they went flying down the slope like the wind. At the foot of the hill, where the woods began, Djuna noticed an old graveled road leading off through the woods towards the south, and although he kept on past it, he decided that on the way back he would find out where it went.

“That’s probably a short cut to Riverton, Champ,” he said eagerly. “I’ll tell you what let’s do—let’s turn off there when we come back and go over and look at the Army camp. Maybe we can find Mr. Boots and eat our lunch with him; what do you say, Champ?”

Champ gave a bark of hearty assent. He was having the time of his life.

The road to Grandville stretched on and on. They passed field after field of corn, and occasionally an apple orchard, but saw only two or three farmhouses, and these were well back from the road. The sun got hotter, but Djuna pedaled away steadily, and mile after mile was gradually left behind. Djuna kept his eyes open for the side road, but there was no sign of one.

They had ridden four miles before they came to it. Even then, Djuna almost missed seeing it. It was only a narrow dirt road, almost hidden by the fields of corn on each side of it, and if Djuna had not noticed the tattered signboard drooping from a fencepost, he might have thought that the road led only to some farmhouse. Apparently it had not been used by automobiles since the paved road had been built.

Djuna hopped off the bicycle, propped it against the fencepost, and together he and Champ explored a little of the side road. Djuna’s expression grew more and more excited as he walked along. There was an eager look in his eyes. Suddenly he stopped short.

Most of the dirt road had dried out in the sunny weather of that morning and the day before, but there were still some muddy spots left by the thunder-showers on Monday, in places where the road dipped. Champ trotted over them without caring whether his paws got muddy or not, but Djuna decided not to keep on.

“We don’t have to go any farther, Champ!” he cried. “This is far enough! If we don’t get started back, we’ll never get to see Mr. Boots and eat our lunch with him!”

Champ came back reluctantly. He was sure he would find a rabbit if Djuna would only let him hunt a little longer. He looked almost sulky when Djuna lifted him into his limousine seat on the handle-bars.

The ride back toward Clinton seemed to take longer than it had before. The sun was hotter. Djuna’s legs began to ache, as he pushed steadily away at the pedals. The four miles seemed twice as far as they had seemed before. By the time they reached the woods at the foot of the hill just east of Clinton he was soaking with perspiration and was wondering how much farther he could go before taking a rest. But there was no shade along the paved road and he decided to keep on till he found a good shady spot on the gravel road that turned off through the woods.