Roy Blakeley in the Haunted Camp Part 20

The information being uncertain, local police officials and the county officer accompanied the ambulance to the camp, where it was found that the young man, who is a stranger to the scouts, had sustained injuries to his head and body. The hospital officials say that he will recover.

His injuries were caused by the falling of a roof. The fellow was of a rough appearance, his clothing in the last stages of shabbiness.

Detective Ferrett's skill and long experience enabled him to judge at once that the fellow was of the criminal cla.s.s. He had been palming himself off on the youngsters as an unfortunate, out of work, and they had been helping him.

An inspection of his coat label and comparison of his face with a police alarm picture which the detective had, enabled him to make the identification. Owing to the almost emaciated condition of the fugitive and to his injury, it has not been possible to verify the identification by measurements, but there seems no doubt that he is the man wanted by the Canadian authorities.

These have been notified and Dominion detectives will visit Bridgeboro as soon as the patient has fully regained consciousness and it is possible to compel him to confront those who know him face to face.

Detective Ferrett, whose skill and shrewdness and remarkable memory enabled him to bring this brutal criminal within the reach of justice, warns parents not to let their children play in spots unfrequented by their elders, because of the numerous thugs and desperate characters cast adrift by the war and the present period of unemployment. These, he says, are usually to be found on the outskirts of small towns. Many of them come from New York. They pretend to be fond of camping and so lure and then rob their adventure loving victims....

There was considerable more of this nonsensical twaddle. It was the silly custom of the Bridgeboro Record to make heroes of the town and county officials, and soberly to print the rubbish which they uttered for the pleasure of seeing their names in print.

"Can you beat that?" Westy asked.

"Outskirts of towns!" said Dorry. "Why we met him in Bennett's Candy Store!"

"He calls us children," said Pee-wee.

"Now that you speak of it," said Warde Hollister, "it seems funny that he should have gone right into stores in Bridgeboro."

"Parents should be warned against letting their children go into candy stores," said Roy.

The next day it appeared that the doctors of Bridgeboro were not quite equal to coping with poor Blythe's case, and the Bridgeboro Record stated that a specialist from New York had been summoned to determine whether the desperate scoundrel was feigning unconsciousness in order to baffle the authorities. It appeared that not only thugs and bandits, but occasionally a surgeon who knew his business, came from New York.

And then something happened....

CHAPTER XXIX

A DISCOVERY

The doctor from New York discovered something which the eagle eye of Detective Ferrett had not discovered. And which the Bridgeboro doctors had not discovered. It was nothing new. It was just two or three tiny cracks in the skull of the fugitive criminal, not far from the rapidly healing cut which he received in his deed of heroism. It might have been two or three years old, the doctor said. He seemed keenly interested in it.

As a consequence of this, Detective Ferrett and a young doctor from the hospital called at the homes of several of the older scouts and questioned them about Blythe's demeanor at camp. The boys had tried to tell the detective of their companion's peculiarities but he had not condescended to listen. He listened now. And the outcome of all this business was another article in the Bridgeboro Record:

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES CAUSED BY CRACKED SKULL?

A delicate operation was performed yesterday on the skull of Darrell, the Canadian fugitive who is recovering from injuries in the Bridgeboro hospital. The shaving of the hair from his head for the purpose of dressing a slight wound received on the day of his capture was the means of revealing a small damage to the skull, evidently caused by a previous accident. It was found that the crushed area of bone caused a depression deep enough to press upon the brain which might account for his mental state which is said to be abnormal.

Darrell has been subject to occasional fits of depression and is said to have become easily excited. The present indications are that the operation was successful. The patient is resting easily and talks more rationally than at any time since his capture. A police guard is being kept at his bedside and it is the intention of the authorities to question him when he is able to submit to such examination.

County Detective Ferrett, whose skill is responsible for the capture of Darrell where he was in hiding at Camp Merritt, thinks that the damage to his skull may very likely have been caused by a blow received in an altercation at the time he killed his victim.

And so a few days elapsed, and the poor helpless victim was surrounded by officials enough, both local and Canadian, to capture the whole hospital. But the victim, pale and swathed and bandaged, had the advantage of them, and they could only wait. Old Mother Nature cannot be hurried by the law. Much of the time Blythe slept. Then, one fine day, he asked for Roy and Pee-wee. They asked him what he wanted of Roy and Pee-wee and he said he wanted to hear them jolly each other....

CHAPTER x.x.x

THE VISIT

"I guess we ought to have a rehearsal, hey?" laughed Roy.

"We don't need any rehearsal," said Pee-wee; "when we get there you just start jollying me and I'll answer you back. I don't care what you say, you can say anything you want. I'll say a lot of things about the Silver Foxes, hey? And you knock the Ravens; knock them good and hard, I don't care. Call me a raving Raven because that always made him laugh."

"Don't worry," Roy said, "he only has to look at you to laugh."

"Shall I wear all my stuff so you can make fun of me?" Pee-wee asked.

"Have a heart," said Roy, "you don't want to kill him."

"Let's ask Warde to go too," said Pee-wee, "because he--I kind of think he doesn't believe Blythe is a criminal. Maybe the others think so, but he doesn't--that's what I think. And you don't because you said so."

Then he added anxiously, "Do you?"

"I--I guess not, Kid," Roy answered doubtfully. He was almost ashamed to say this, seeing the st.u.r.dy little champion at his side.

"We'll get Warde," Pee-wee said, "because he likes Warde, and Warde's pretty good at jollying me, too. And that'll be good because we're the three that stick up for Blythe, hey? And if any of those men say anything there'll be three of us to answer them."

"They won't let us stay long, Kid," Roy said.

"I don't care, anyway we'll see him; and I'm going to tell him that the three of us know he's innocent."

"No, don't tell him that, Kid," said Roy more thoughtfully. "Let's not speak about that. If he's innocent--"

"What do you mean, _if?_" Pee-wee asked.

"I mean it looks bad for him, Kid," said Roy frankly. "If his brain wasn't just right, then it wasn't so bad. See? He's the one that did it, you saw the pictures, Kid, and the label on his coat. But if he didn't know all about what he was doing then it wasn't so bad. The grown people know best, Kid. But that isn't saying we can't be friends with him."

"You go back on what you said?" Pee-wee demanded grimly.

"Oh, I don't know, Kid," Roy answered, nettled and annoyed; "let's not talk about it. We're going to see him anyway. Come on, let's get Warde, that's a good idea."

Without another word Pee-wee turned up the next corner toward his home.

"Aren't you going, Kid?" Roy called.

"Go ahead," said Pee-wee, never turning, "I'll be there. I know the way."

Roy watched the st.u.r.dy little figure trudging along the side street. He knew that Pee-wee was both angry and disgusted; he could tell by his walk. But the Raven mascot was not too preoccupied with his mighty wrath to forget to tip his scout hat to a lady whom he pa.s.sed. He observed all the scout laws and rules. There were no two ways about anything with Pee-wee. Loyalty meant more than just friends.h.i.+p. It meant confidence, faith.

This staunchness somewhat daunted Roy. It made him feel not quite sure of himself; a little ashamed. But after all it was just Pee-wee's way; his faith was so strong that he shut his eyes to facts.