Part 42 (1/2)

There was no help for it, and sitting down to the table Dave began to eat and to drink. The sandwiches were fresh, and so was the pie, and as the ride in the keen air had given him an appet.i.te, he disposed of them quickly. The tea tasted rather bitter, but he was dry and speedily drained the cup. The man watched him drink, with evident satisfaction.

”Now you had better lie down and try and get a little rest,” said the fellow of the mask. ”When I want you I'll call you.” And so speaking he left the room, locking the door after him.

As soon as the man was gone Dave tried to loosen the rope that bound his feet together. It was a hard task and took some time, and bending over seemed to make his head swim. When he straightened up his head grew even more dizzy, and almost before he knew it he was staggering around.

”What a queer sensation!” was his thought. ”What in the world is the matter with me?” And then like a flash came the answer. ”That tea! It must have been drugged!”

The captive was right in his surmise. The tea had been drugged, and soon poor Dave felt so dizzy he had to rest on the bed. He tried several times to rouse up, and then his senses forsook him completely.

Dave had been unconscious for about a quarter of an hour when the man came in, looked at him, and shook him. Then he went below.

”Well, we've got him,” he said to the others. ”He is practically dead to the world.”

”Good!” was the answer. ”Better bring him down right away. We want to get this job over.”

CHAPTER XXVI

A DASH FOR LIBERTY

When Dave regained his senses he found himself in the tonneau of a big automobile that was speeding swiftly over a dark country road. On either side of him sat a person who was masked, and in front were two persons whose faces he could not see. His hands were tied behind him, and his ankles were made fast to the foot-rest in the bottom of the tonneau.

He wondered where he was being taken, but knew it would be useless to ask any questions. How long he had been unconscious he did not know, but felt it must have been a considerable time, for it was now night, and whenever they pa.s.sed a farmhouse it was without lights, showing the occupants had gone to bed.

Dave fully realized that he was in a position of peril. His enemies had treated him in an outrageous fas.h.i.+on, and what they proposed to do next there was no telling. He felt that he must escape if it could possibly be accomplished.

He had roused up a little, but now deemed it best to let the others think he was still unconscious. Accordingly, he uttered a deep sigh, and then slipped further down on the seat, and let his head fall forward on his breast.

”Pretty well dosed,” he heard one of the party murmur, and now he was sure he recognized Nick Jasniff's voice.

”Say, s.h.i.+me, I hope you didn't give him too much of the drug,” said another of the party, and Dave felt certain it was Link Merwell who was speaking. ”If he shouldn't recover----”

”Oh, he'll come around all right enough,” growled the man called s.h.i.+me.

He was running the automobile, and now Dave was able to place him as a fellow who worked around a livery stable and garage in Rockville. s.h.i.+me was a drinking man, and his reputation was far from an enviable one.

”How much further have we to go?” asked Jasniff, after a few minutes of silence.

”Not far,” answered the driver of the automobile. ”We'll take to the side road now. Hold fast, it's pretty rough,” and then the touring car turned off the main highway and began b.u.mping over the rocks and ruts of a narrow wood road. The way was uphill, and the driver had to throw in his second speed to gain the top of the rise. Then the car made a sharp turn, and halted in front of a stone building.

”Is this the place?” asked Jasniff.

”Yes,” answered s.h.i.+me. ”Wait till I light a lantern, and then you can bring him in.”

”I shall have to care for him when we are in the house,” said the fourth person of the party who had carried Dave off. It was Doctor Montgomery, and his breath was thick from liquor.

Still thinking he might get a chance to escape if he made out that he was unconscious, Dave hung limp in the automobile, and allowed his captors to lift him out and place him on the ground. Then he was carried into the stone building and placed on a bench.

”You certainly dosed him strongly,” said Hooker Montgomery. ”I had better make an examination. Loosen up his hands and feet.”