Man Chained

The boys were in conference. Nuthin’ said, “I still maintain, fellows, that we ought to call in the police. After all, what can we do? Suppose that gang uses guns against us, then we’re lost.”

Paul answered, “As far as their using guns against us, we will have to risk that. But then, whatever plan we adopt to capture that gang, we’ll use our brains and make it so they won’t have a chance to use their guns. As for calling the police, if we do that, it is very likely that the whole gang will get away. Imagine what the police method would be. They would remove all the stuff from the cave and then wait around for the thieves to come and be caught. But they won’t come because it’s bound to leak out and be given a lot of publicity.”

“And another thing,” chimed in William, “look at all the fun we’ll be missing.”

“But very dangerous fun,” retorted Nuthin’.

“Your imagination is carrying you away,” interposed Ken.

Nuthin’ shrugged his shoulders and withdrew his objections.

Wallace spoke up. “Let’s get down to business,” he said, “and develop some plan.”

“Suppose someone suggests something and then we will all chip in,” remarked Ken.

The boys nodded and Wallace was the first to offer his opinion. “According to our information, which is scanty, they are supposed to return within ten days or two weeks from a week ago Saturday. Now as far as we are concerned, we have to be there on the spot. That means that we must prepare to camp there for about a week, and we have to leave tomorrow.”

“Is that agreeable to everyone or does anyone have any objections or want to add something?” asked Paul.

“Only this,” spoke up Bobolink, “and that’s to keep a constant watch at the cave.”

“We’ll come to that when we work out the details,” interrupted Jack. “For the present, I’m sure that we’re all agreed to the proposal advanced by Wallace.”

For the next three hours the boys sat in a group and designed a plan. Every detail was taken care of and everyone was sure that it would work out well.

Very early the following morning, all the eight boys, with full packs on their backs and wearing their Boy Scout uniforms, marched out of Stanhope and took the road to the mountain. Wallace pointed out to them the abandoned farm house, behind which was the road leading to the mysterious airport. Jack’s immediate suggestion was that they enter and search it. All the boys eagerly assented and lots were drawn for the two who would enter the house, two who would search the yard and barn while the others were to deploy and be on the watch. Paul and Wallace won the chance to enter the house, while Ken and Jack were to explore the yard and barn.

The boys withdrew from the road and put all their packs together, with Bluff to watch over them. William was stationed at one point to carefully watch the main road; he himself was to keep in hiding and not to be seen. Bobolink was directed to watch the back of the house and Nuthin’ was told to walk back on the road about a quarter of a mile and to watch for any suspicious characters and keep a general lookout.

Paul and Wallace approached the house silently, carefully, examining the exterior of the house with each step. Circling the house, they found that several of the windows were broken and nailed with boards. As a whole, the house was not in bad condition and was habitable. Several signs led them to believe that the house had been used on and off recently. Paul pointed to a number of footprints that did not appear to be very old; Wallace spied a banana peel which could not have been more than about ten days or two weeks old. At the back of the house the boys came across pieces that appeared to have been chopped in the recent past. Turning to his friend, Wallace remarked, “Looks like they used this place all right.”

“Yes,” agreed Paul. “And I think that we’ll most likely find a lot of interesting things inside.”

The boys approached the front door and Paul tried the knob. It wouldn’t open. The boys tugged and pushed but the door held fast. “What are we going to do,” asked Paul, “break in the door?”

“No. Let’s pry away the boards from one of the windows and gain entrance that way.”

Paul agreed. At one of the side windows Wallace used his hatchet and pried away three boards giving them enough room to climb through. Wallace was the first to tumble in and Paul quickly followed. With the help of their searchlights, they examined the room. It was very dusty, with cobwebs and several broken chairs strewn about the floor; otherwise the room was completely empty. Paul whispered, “Well, there’s nothing much here, so let’s move on.”

The floor squeaked as they tiptoed to the door. There was no knob and the door stuck tightly. Wallace used his hatchet and pried it open. The boys stepped into a large foyer. To one side were the stairs leading to the flight above, and across the hall were two doors. They approached the nearest door and endeavored to push it open; it stuck fast. Pulling and tugging, the knob broke loose. Rather than break in, Paul suggested that they try the second door first. The boys entered into a kitchen. On one side was a coal stove and an oil burner; against the window was a table with several dirty dishes; a couple of chairs stood by. While Paul examined the closets, Wallace struck a match and tried the oil burner. It burned and that revealed that it had been in recent use. In the closet, Paul found odds and ends of crockery, rags and several pieces of old clothing.

From the kitchen, a swinging door led into the next room—the room the boys could not enter from without. There they saw two open cots with blankets and pillows. A third cot, folded, stood near by. In the middle of the room were a large, round table and four chairs. On the table lay several used candles, a couple of small liquor glasses stood nearby and an empty whiskey bottle. There were some rags and pieces of clothing strewn about. The boys wheeled around on their heels slowly, examining the room closely. Paul spied an overcoat lying in a heap in a corner. He tiptoed slowly across the room and picked it up; very dusty, still it looked like a good coat. He put his hand into the pocket and his fingers touched a cold and hard object. It was an automatic. He whispered across the room to his friend. Paul snapped open the magazine and found it loaded. Pushing back the safety cap, he put the gun into his pocket. Again he picked up the coat and in the second pocket found a box of cartridges. Whispering across the room, the boys decided to appropriate the automatic and cartridges. Walking silently over to join his friend in front of the fireplace, Paul passed a hand over his brow and whispered anxiously, “We’re in the gang’s hangout all right. And I hate to think what would happen to us if we were caught.”

“It would be just too bad,” answered Wallace. “But it’s too late to withdraw now.”

“Yes. But I’m beginning to think that Nuthin’ was right. We should have called in the police.”

“Too late,” repeated Wallace. “We’ll have to make the best of it.”

Coming out into the hall, the boys mounted the stairs, Paul leading and Wallace following. At the head of the stairs they stopped to look around. There were two doors to their left. No attic. Paul tried the first door. It held fast. Pushing and tugging didn’t seem to help. Wallace whispered, “Let’s try the next door.”

The next door swung open at the mere touch of Paul’s hand. Entering, they found the room very dusty but entirely empty. There was a single closet; opening it, that too was found to be empty. They returned to the hall. Wallace whispered, “You think we ought to break in there?”—meaning the first door they tried but found locked or nailed.

Paul shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. What do you think? Is it worth the trouble?”

“You really can’t tell. From the looks of things, it seems as though they don’t use this floor.”

“Then why should the door be locked?”

“I can’t say. Let’s break in, so we won’t have any regrets.”

Wallace set to with his hatchet. Paul cautioned him to make less noise. But it was necessary to do a lot of chopping before the door would open. Wallace swung the door open and remained at the threshhold. Wallace gasped and Paul quickly reached into his pocket for the gun. They stepped into the room. Sprawled over on the floor was a man chained to a chair. Quickly glancing about to see if anyone else was in the room, they then hurried to pick up man and chair. Upright, the man’s head hung down and had every appearance of being dead. Paul put his ear to the man’s heart, listened closely for several seconds and then whispered, “Still alive.”

“Wonder who he is?” asked Wallace.

“Let’s first set him free.”

The man was chained hands and feet and then the chain ran several times around his body and the chair and both ends of the chain were held fast by a lock. Trying to break the lock was found to be futile. So Paul attacked one of the links with the hatchet. After removing the chains, they stretched the man out on the floor. Paul made a quick search through his coat pockets. From the right one the boy brought out a badge. Wallace craned his neck to see. It was a government agent badge.

“Do you think he is a real government agent?” whispered Wallace.

“Must be.”

“What’ll we do?”

“Take him out of here. Quickly. He needs air and medical treatment.”

Wallace grabbed the man’s legs and Paul took him under the arms. Thus they carried him downstairs. At the window, Paul said, “We’ll lay him down here for a while. You go and call a couple of the boys.”

He jumped through the window. Hesitating for a moment undecided which way to turn and whom to call, he put his fingers between his lips and sent out a low, shrill whistle. Dropping behind a clump of bushes, he lay there waiting, watching. In about a minute he noticed Ken and Jack appear from somewhere in the rear of the farm yard. They stayed close together and sneaked along from tree to tree. From the expression on their faces Wallace could tell that they were in a quandary as to where the whistle came from. He exposed himself and waved to them. They came on the run. “What’s the matter?” demanded Jack.

“Anything wrong?”—that from Ken.

Wallace waved away their questions and instructed them to wait under the window. He clambered in. The man now had his eyes open and made an effort to move his lips. Paul and Wallace picked him up and handed him out through the window. Jack and Ken gasped. Paul cautioned them. “Be careful. Hold on.”

Outside, Paul instructed Wallace to nail up the window again, while the three of them would take the man to the other side of the road, to where Bluff and their knapsacks were. That accomplished, Bluff was sent out to call in the other boys.

They stretched out a blanket on the grass and with another blanket for a pillow, they made the man comfortable. Paul moistened his lips with water and let him swallow a couple of mouthsful. After which the man fell into a doze.

Nuthin’ added, “He certainly needs medical attention.”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with him organically,” he said. “He must have gone without food for a long time and that weakened him. Also the fact that he was tied to that chair.”

“Perhaps he wouldn’t want us to get a doctor because a doctor would have to notify the police. And he may not want that.”

Paul spoke up. He said, “One of us should run back to the nearest grocery to buy a bottle of fresh milk, several cans of fruit juice and some fresh fruit and vegetables.”

“I w-will g-go,” offered Bluff.

Paul cautioned him. “Make believe that you’re hiking by yourself and don’t answer any questions.”

Bluff nodded and was off. The boys sat down in a circle and Paul said, “Now we’ll hear what the result of your exploration has been, Jack and Ken. Which one of you is going to do the talking?”

“There’s really nothing to tell,” spoke up Jack. “We found nothing suspicious nor unusual.”

“Was the barn just plain empty?” questioned William.

“Yes,” replied Ken, “except for a few sticks and stones.”

“How about the yard?” asked Bobolink.

“We searched thoroughly but we didn’t come across a thing.”

Pause. Silence. Finally Jack said, “Suppose you now tell us all the other things you found in the house.”

Between them, Paul and Wallace related their entire experiences, not omitting any detail. He took out and showed the automatic and the box of cartridges. By the time the narrative was completed, Bluff had returned. Warming up a glass of milk, Paul fed it to the stricken man, a little at a time. Revived, he smiled and opened his lips to speak but Paul cautioned him not to exert any effort and just to rest. He lay down again and fell asleep. About two hours later he awoke and Paul fed him a cup of pineapple juice and a soft boiled egg. The man seemed to regain his strength rapidly. He was now fully able to speak but he uttered only a few words. “Thank you,” he said. “I will now rest a little longer.”

Toward afternoon, the agent recovered sufficiently to sit up and declaim his hunger. But on the recommendation of Paul, to which he agreed, he was given only warm milk and again a soft boiled egg on toast. As he ate, the boys gathered around and watched him. When he had finished his meal, he sat quietly for a short while, passing his hand over his several days growth of beard and laughing in his throat. Finally he spoke, his voice throaty and rusty. He asked, “Do you fellows mind telling me how you came to be in that house?”

The boys shut their mouths and kept quiet. The embarrassing silence lasted for about a minute. At last Paul replied, “Don’t you think, sir, that it is really your task to explain to us how you came to be in the condition in which we found you? We are Boy Scouts and by our treatment of you, it is evident that we are friends and mean you no harm.”

The man stroked his chin and hesitated. He let his sharp eyes roam from one silent boy to another, judging them, evaluating their characters. Wallace held out the badge they had found on him and asked, “Is this yours, sir?”

He glanced at it, nodded, took it and dropped it in his pocket. “Thank you,” he muttered. He still seemed to hesitate. Finally he spoke, low and throaty. “My name is Tom Woods and I want to thank you boys for saving my life. Another day and I would have passed out.”

“How long have you been a prisoner there?” questioned Jack.

“What day is this?”

“Monday.”

He thought for a moment. “Since Saturday morning,” he replied.

“Do you know if the gang is coming back for you?” Ken asked.

The agent shrugged his shoulders. “I really don’t know. But I imagine that they were going to let me rot there until doomsday.” He again let his eyes roam from one face to another. “I was in luck to have you boys find me. Once more, I thank you. You saved my life and I hope that someday I shall be able to repay the debt.”

Wallace leaned over and whispered something to Paul who nodded. For several seconds the boys waited for the man to speak, but he kept his mouth tightly shut. Wallace whispered, “Mr. Woods, did you know that they are scheduled to make a shipment one of these days?”

Though the question had been in a low whisper, the agent had caught every syllable; at the word “shipment” he winced, but so imperceptibly that only three of the boys had noticed it. He smiled wanly. He confessed. “I am a government agent. It appears that you boys have information—valuable information—which I desire.” He paused and stroked his chin. “It’s only fair then, I guess, that I tell you how I came to be chained to that chair in the farm house—a most inconvenient situation.” And he laughed in his throat. “I have been on this case for several months. I suppose you know that we are dealing with a gang of arms smugglers?” He put the statement in the form of a question and he noticed that several of the boys nodded, which was the clue he wanted.

“Well,” he continued, speaking low, almost in a whisper, “There really isn’t much to tell. I happened to come upon their hangout—an apartment in the city. Keeping a steady watch for several days, I learned their movements. One night, I watched them leave their apartment one by one and I decided to go up and investigate. I got in all right, but two of their comrades whom I had never seen leave or enter the building, were there to greet me. After that, things happened so fast I still find it difficult to recall all the details. At any rate, the next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor of a car traveling at a good rate of speed. I made believe that I was still unconscious and listened to their talk, but they said nothing to give away their secrets. Eventually they brought me to this farm house and chained me to the chair. The rest you know already.”

The boys stared at him in astonishment and silence prevailed for a short while. Finally he said, “Now it’s your turn to tell me all you know. I’m under the impression that you boys have a great deal of valuable information.”

The fellows looked at one another and kept quiet. They left it to Paul to do all the talking and tell as little or as much as he felt would be advisable. Paul, however, saw no reason for withholding any details of the information and he told all. As he progressed in his narrative, Tom Woods gasped with surprise several times. He listened attentively, wrinkling his brow and his jaw set as he did so. When the story was at last completely told, he confessed his amazement. For a short while he kept perfectly silent and concentrating on some plan he had in mind. He asked, “What time is it now?”

“Almost three o’clock,” answered William.

“How far away is this camping ground you were heading for?”

“Close to ten miles,” he was told.

The government agent shook his head. He suggested, “The first thing we ought to do right now is to find a camping spot. I don’t think I’m strong enough yet to walk ten miles. Tomorrow, maybe, but not today. However, would you boys object if we found some spot about a mile or two from here and pitched camp?”

“I don’t think so,” replied Paul and turned to the boys for affirmation.

“Then we’ll do that,” Woods said, “and then we will devise a complete plan of action. You boys know so much and are so familiar with the surroundings that I shall have to include you in all my plans to capture the gang.”

The boys immediately set off. Tom Woods accompanied by Wallace followed at a slower pace. They found a good spot and pitched camp. After supper, the boys gathered around the camp fire and together with the agent devised a plan of action for the next few days.