L. P. Wyman

“ Golden and Uncle Ben at once made their way to the car, while Mr. Switzer searched through the crowd for his officers. Bob and Jack hurried to where they had left their wheels and were back at the corner in almost no time, where they were soon joined by the three officers.
"Now, where to?" asked the chief, as he took his seat by the driver.
"Norridgewock first," answered Bob, as he jumped into his saddle, and he added, as he turned on the power, "here's where we break all the speed laws ever made."
"You boys keep within sight of us," shouted Mr. Golden, as they dashed across the bridge. ”

“ ON THE ROAD TO BOSTON
"Well, the die is cast one way or the other," thought Bob, as he ate the last scrap of his dinner; "that sure did taste good." Then as a sudden thought struck him, he began hurriedly to search his pockets. As good luck would have it, he found a small note book, containing several blank leaves and a stub of a lead pencil. Hastily, he tore out a page and wrote the following note:
"I am confined in a house in the woods, have no idea where, but it must be within twenty or thirty miles of Skowhegan. King and Reed are taking me to Boston tonight, in a car. Secret still safe." ”

“ Springing from the bushes the two boys darted toward the boathouse, and before the intruders could recover from their surprise, they were grabbed and thrown to the ground. It is not to be supposed that they gave in without a struggle, and for a few moments the fight waged fast and furious. But the Golden boys were strong and the fight was over by the time Mike showed up.
"Ah, I thought so," muttered Bob, as he turned his captive over. "What are you doing here this time of night, Will Jenkins?"
"You let me up," was the dogged reply. "Can't a fellow take a walk without being jumped on?" ”

“ BOB BEGINS WORK ON A FAKE CELL.
About noon, the hunchback brought Bob's dinner to him, and two hours later, King opened the door, saying, "Well, son, I guess I've got all you'll need, and now I want you to get to work at once."
"All right, I suppose I might as well begin now as any time."
"Now, let me tell you something," continued King, as they started down the stairs. "I know all about electricity and storage batteries and I'm going to watch you every minute, and if you try to fool me and don't make that cell right, I give you fair warning that it'll be the worse for you." ”

“ Quickly, the captain sprang up the ladder, and bracing himself, pushed with all his strength against the door, but it did not so much as budge.
"We're trapped, sure as fate," he said, as he gave it up and came down the ladder. "Where do you suppose those fellows were hid all the time?"
"They probably had some secret hiding place which we didn't find," declared Mr. Golden.
"I guess that's about the size of it. Here, Bill, I guess you and Fred are the strongest, you two get up on that ladder and see if you can make any impression on that door. ”

“ He finally reached the bottom without any mishap and, so far as he could tell, without being heard. Unlocking the door, he stepped softly out on the porch. It was a beautiful starlight night and, although there was no moon, it did not seem very dark. Bob was just beginning to feel easier, when he heard a low growl and, looking round, he saw a huge mastiff eyeing him a few feet away. "Good dog," he whispered, thinking he might make friends with him, but the brute continued to growl and slowly crept nearer. ”

“ Bob thought he might as well promise as he knew they would make it impossible for him to escape if he did not, and he dreaded being tied, so he gave his word.
"All right then," said King, "but mind now, that you keep it, because if you make any trouble, I'll have to tie you up and gag you."
"Are we going all the way tonight?"
King laughed. "I guess not; if we drove too fast, it would excite suspicion, and we'd have to drive like the dickens to make it in one night. No, we'll make Portland by daylight and lie low there till dark. But come on, now; there's Bill with the car. ”

“ Bob noticed that it was nearly ten o'clock when he closed his book, took his electric torch and getting a pail from the kitchen, started for the spring. The night was pitch dark, as it was cloudy and there was no moon, but the torch lit up the path in front of him so that he had no trouble in following it. As he reached the spring, he thought he heard a slight rustling in the bushes, but beyond thinking, "Guess that's a rabbit," he paid no attention to it. ”

“ King dropped his fist, and the two looked each other in the eyes for a full minute without speaking. "You'll work tonight or you'll get no supper," he finally threatened.
"Get no supper, eh?" snapped Bob. "If I get no supper tonight, there'll be no cell made tomorrow, just remember that," and then, as King did not at once reply, he continued, "Now see here, no one yet, except my parents, ever made me do a thing I'd made up my mind not to do, and I've made it up good and hard, right now, and you can't make me back down. ”

“ Jack and Bob Golden, 15 and 17 years old respectively, were sons of a rich manufacturer, who had made a large part of his fortune through his own inventions. Mr. Golden was an indulgent father and seeing that his inventive genius had descended to his sons, had fitted up a modern machine shop and laboratory for them and had supplied them liberally with money for experiments. ”

“ While eating supper, Bob and Jack in turn, gave a full account of their adventures, except that they said nothing about being so nearly killed by gas, and their mother's face paled as she realized how nearly she had lost one, if not both of her boys. When they had finished, their father said:
"We must keep a sharp lookout for those rascals, although I hardly think they will dare to show up here again."
"Say, dad," asked Jack, "where's that detective?" ”

“ King was watching the cell while he was standing about three feet to one side. Suddenly, Bob drew back his right arm and before King could defend himself, he struck. The blow was a jim dandy, as Bob afterward expressed it. It caught King fairly on the jaw and he went down like a log, knocking over the tank as he fell. Bob quickly leaned over him and took the key of the laboratory from his pocket, where he had seen him put it several times.
"Now, if I can only get out," he thought as he unlocked the door and stole softly up the stairs. ”

“ The blow was not hard enough to cause the Winner to swerve from her course or to upset the boat, but it threw the girls into a panic, and standing up in the boat, it almost immediately capsized.
"Quick, reverse her," shouted Jack and forgetful of the race Bob pushed back the switch and shot in the reverse, at the same time turning the tiller wheel to its full limit. It took but a moment for the boat to turn and start back full speed, while the Winner shot past, her course unchanged.
"The miserable cowards," muttered Bob, "they aren't going to stop." ”

“ Slowly twisting the grips, they increased their speed till Bob declared that they were going fully a mile a minute, which he declared was plenty fast enough for him. But, even then they had not used nearly all their power. They were delighted with the result of their work, and as they slowed down, Jack said:
"This must be about the next thing to flying."
"I guess it is," agreed Bob, "but next summer if father'll let us, we'll do some real flying. I say, son, do you realize what these cells will mean to an airplane? Just think of the great decrease in weight and the increase in power." ”

“ As they were on the way back to the house, Jack turned to Bob, who was walking beside him and said:
"I hope to goodness that our adventures for today are about through. I tell you what, coming so near to death twice in one day is a bit too strenuous to suit me."
They soon reached the house and entered by the front door, which they found unlocked, with drawn revolvers. The room smelled strongly of gas, but they quickly opened the windows, and it was soon nearly all driven out. They searched the house as before, but with no success and finally came to the laboratory. ”

“ Golden had got into communication, by telephone, with a well-known detective agency in Boston and they had promised to have one of their best men there on the four-forty train.
"Yes, I guess we can do something now. We'll run across in the Sprite, and catch the four o'clock trolley to town, which will get us there in time to meet that detective, Mr. Sharp."
Glad of anything which promised action, Jack grabbed his cap and started for the boathouse. It had been a terrible day to him, for he was lost without Bob, and the thought that he might never see him again nearly drove him frantic. ”

“ But there, I'll bet you haven't had any lunch and are as hungry as two young bears. Come right in and we'll have something to eat in less than no time."
"How are all the folks?" asked Aunt Lucy, as they sat down.
"Fine and dandy," replied Jack, "but my goodness, Bob, we must call them up right off. Can I use the 'phone, auntie?"
The 'phone was in the front hall and Jack was gone some little time, but at last he returned. Just as they began to eat, the door opened and Uncle Ben entered the room. He was no less delighted to see the boys than Aunt Lucy had been, and the meal was a merry one. ”

“ You'll never catch 'em at this rate and it's the only chance I see."
"All right, here you are," answered the chief, leaning out and handing each of the boys a revolver. "Go get 'em. But you look sharp, now. Those fellows are probably armed and won't hesitate to shoot if they are cornered."
"Yes, boys," joined in Mr. Golden, "don't you get too close to them."
"We'll be careful," replied Bob. "Come on, Jack, now let her out and we'll show them some real speed," and as they turned on the power, they rapidly left the car behind. ”

“ Uncle Ben agreed with his brother that the boys should be very careful, saying:
"There's been a lot in the papers about those fellows, that is if they're the ones we think they are, and they have a reputation for daring that has seldom been equaled."
"Well," remarked Bob, "I hope they keep away, as I've had all of their company that I care about for a while at least." 142
"Same here," agreed Jack, "but I say, it's mighty funny what's got that Sharp detective." ”

“ Bob ran the Sprite at about half speed, for, although they had an electric searchlight, he did not want to take any chances with the girls on board. They were about half way home and near the middle of the lake, when suddenly a rowboat loomed up dead ahead, and coming directly toward them. In it were two men. One was at the oars, while the other was sitting in the bow. In a moment the two boats were within speaking distance and a voice, which both boys recognized as King's hailed them.
"I say, boys, can you give us a few matches; our lantern has gone out and we haven't a single one left." ”

“ But the robbers had too great a start and reached the top several hundred yards ahead. The road was now slightly down hill for a mile or more, and they could see that, under the reckless driving of the robber, whose car must have been making nearly seventy miles an hour, they were rapidly losing ground, for Mr. Golden had told Sandy not to go faster than he considered safe.
"I want to catch them as badly as any one, but I'm not going to risk killing all of us to do it," he declared.
"He'll wreck his car and break their necks, sure as fate, if he don't slow up," thought Bob. ”

“ Darkness was just falling as they started, and at first, their pace was very slow, as the road was too rough for any but the very slowest speed, at which a car could be run. In about twenty minutes, they came to the end of the woods road and the car turned into a much smoother highway, and Reed sent her forward at a lively clip.
"Now, kid, you get down on the bottom of the car till it gets a little darker," ordered King, and Bob had to obey. ”

“ Golden, as he bade him goodby. "Go to Uncle Ben's tonight, and tomorrow, you had better go to the agency and have them detail a man to help you in your search," and then he added sadly, "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, but if you don't get into trouble, it won't do any harm."
"Don't worry about me," assured Jack, "I'll look out for myself and," he added, "I'll find Bob if I have to go through Boston with a fine tooth comb." ”

“ Mr. Golden finally consented, but made them promise that they would be very careful and not run any risks. Getting the cook to put them up a good lunch, they were soon ready to start.
"That house," explained Bob, as they rode along side by side, "can't be many miles this side of Oakland. We'll go to Waterville first and then cross over to Oakland, then we'll take the road to Norridgewock and look for that woods road. I suppose we might go by the way of Norridgewock. It would be shorter, but I guess the roads are better the other way." ”