University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER III.
HANKY PANKY MYSTIFIES HIS CHUMS.

IMMEDIATELY what had been a peaceful scene became one of wild commotion. Hanky Panky was running uncertainly after his disappearing motorcycle, while the rest of the boys had jumped to their feet, to stare at the strange spectacle.

But there was at least no longer any mystery about what was taking place; for all of them had seen the ragged figure of a darky manage in some fashion to gain a seat in the saddle of the moving motorcycle, and start to propel it, with his feet on the pedal.

And then four fellows made a lurch forward, as though every one had conceived the same notion at once which was to jump on their own machine, and start an immediate pursuit.

Rod realized the folly of all of them going, when the chances were they would only get in each other's way, and have a spill; so he immediately called out:

"Only Josh come with me; the others stay in camp, and look out for trouble too!"

He had mentioned the name of Josh simply because that individual happened to be nearest to the

wheels, and could throw himself into the saddle quicker than any one of the others.

It was almost dark, and before starting Rod would have liked very much to get his acetyline lamp going, so as to see what dangers might lie in store along the downgrade of the poor road; but there would be no time to accomplish that; and so he had to take the chances.

With a whirr both motorcycles shot away, Josh crouching in the saddle like an educated ape in the circus; and with Rod just behind him.

"Keep as much to the left as you can, Josh!" called the other, as they found themselves spinning down the grade; for he was sticking to the right side of the road himself, and this rendered the danger of a collision less likely.

They saw Hanky Panky leap out of the road to allow them free passage. He seemed to shout something after them, but neither could make out the sense of what the owner of the stolen motorcycle said.

Of course they had eyes only for possible perils on the road, and what might lie ahead of them. And in a very brief space of time they glimpsed a moving object which could only be the runaway motorcycle with its black rider.

Both boys started to shout, thinking to thus alarm the thief, and cause him to relinquish his plunder.

Evidently the racket did have some such effect,

for he was seen to slow up, and jumping from the motorcycle, vanish in the woods that bordered the road just at that point.

"Whee! that was a hot little chase, all right, Rod!" exclaimed Josh, as the two of them came to a halt alongside the abandoned machine, which lay on its side, just as it had been thrown when the alarmed thief jumped off.

"Just what it was," replied the other.

"And I certain sure hope now nothing ain't been broke about Hanky's wheel, when it went down with such a crash?" Josh continued, anxiously.

"Oh! I guess not," the other reassured him by saying; "they make motorcycles in a way to stand up against all sorts of hard knocks. Couldn't do anything else, you know, because they're apt to run into trouble any time. But keep an eye out in case that slick rascal tries to jump at us. We'll trundle all the wheels back, till we meet up with Hanky, who can take charge of his own property."

"Listen! sounds like something of a row back there, because the fellows are hollerin' to beat the band!" exclaimed Josh, with a tremor of excitement in his voice.

"Just what I thought might happen," remarked Rod; "and that was why I told Rooster and Elmer to stay there. That sly thief had a partner, and they thought it'd be easy to raid our camp if the whole lot of us ran after Hanky. But it didn't work

as easy as they expected. The boys have chased him off, seems like; because there's our Rooster, crowing as loud as he can."

"And here's Hanky after his wheel," remarked Josh. "Now we can start up, and spin back to camp in a jiffy. Take hold, Hanky, and I hope you find her O. K. right side up with care. But you deserve to lose it, after being so lazy and careless."

The three of them in rapid order started to speed back up the gentle grade, and in quick time reached the spot where the fire gleamed. They found Elmer and Rooster guarding things, each with a heavy billet of wood in his grasp, and walking around as though doing sentry duty.

"Whee!" exclaimed Rooster, who when excited was apt to get very much mixed in his speech, so that his chums were accustomed to solving some of his remarks much as they might a riddle, or a rebus, in the puzzle column; "the woods is full of 'em, sure's you're born, fellows! Why, before you'd gone two minutes another black coon came jumpin' out of the bushes here, and wanted to carry off our good grub and other stuff. Me'n Elmer we grabbed up these sticks, and made him skip out in a big hurry, believe me!"

"A regular scheme to clean us out, all around, I do believe," exclaimed Josh, as he glared around him, as though daring any more of the would-be thieves to show their black faces.

"But we saw something that struck us as mighty queer, suh!" remarked Elmer, with a serious look on his dark face.

"What might that be?" asked Josh, eagerly.

"Why, the ragged fellow who tried to steal the rest of our grub had on striped garments, even if they were faded so you'd hardly see the fact; and from that, suh, I believe these two must be escaped convicts, either from a camp where they have been working on the roads, or else some penitentiary in Southern Tennessee."

"But I thought it was only down in Alabama, Georgia and Florida that they hired out convicts to turpentine-still men, and the like?" remarked Rod.

"Perhaps that is so, suh," the Southern boy went on to say; "I don't pretend to say what the rule is in Tennessee just now; but I do know that they work the convicts on the roads. And believe me, these two must have escaped from the gang. It sometimes happens, though they are generally chased, and recaptured by the guards."

"Then we've just got to keep guard all night," Hanky Panky observed, as he mopped his wet forehead; "and watch our things, if we don't want to find ourselves afoot in these wild regions. I just felt it in my bones we was goin' to run up against something like this down here; and now it comes along."

But presently he seemed to have fully recovered from the fright the sudden appearance of the two black convicts had given him. His machine was safe in the center of the "park" made by the grouping of the motorcycles; and he had ascertained that, beyond a few scratches, it was none the worse for the recent adventure.

It was hard indeed to keep the spirits of Hanky Panky down, he was such a lively fellow most of the time. The crackling of the camp-fire appeared to stir him to showing off some of his accomplishments; and before long he was daring Josh to tie him up with a piece of rope which he produced.

"Fix it just like you want, and give me five minutes to get loose, and see if I can't do it," he went on to boast.

Josh was generally willing to accommodate whenever the amateur magician seemed desirous of showing them a new trick. So he proceeded to wind the rope around the other, knotting it in numerous places, until it looked as though Hanky Panky must lie there until some one took pity on him, and undid the bonds.

"Now all I ask is that you turn your backs just five minutes," declared the one who was tied up so neatly; "and remember on your honor, Josh, not to peek even a little bit. Here you go, now; Rod, you count the time, and when the limit's up, why you c'n whirl around on me if you want."

So they left him there to himself, bound, and apparently as helpless as a babe a week old. Josh was chuckling to himself the while.

"Guess Hanky he's run up against a snag when he 'lowed me to tie him any- which-way I wanted," he went on to say. "I certain sure did twist them ropes, and put in the knots. And it's goin' to take a long time to undo the same again, when he knuckles down, and says as how he gives the job up, because the combination didn't work. Oh! when it comes to tying knots, I don't take lessons from nobody, even if he does make out to be a great magician. You wait and see, that's all."

"Time's up, Hanky Panky!" announced Rod, just then.

Josh whirled around, expecting to see the other squirming helplessly there on the ground. Imagine his utter astonishment upon discovering the wonderful Hanky Panky coolly looping up the rope, knots and all, and quite free from any impediment.

"However did you do it, Hanky?" he gasped, darting forward to examine the rope, as though suspecting that a knife had been used to cut it in many pieces; but failing to find the slightest trace of such a thing.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out, Josh," remarked the other, coolly, handing over the rope for examination.

Josh was utterly bewildered, and even Rod and Elmer expressed their surprise.

"Of course there's some trick about it, which we can't get on to," remarked the former; "but I've heard of men who allowed themselves to be bound with chains that had locks on them, and shortly afterward walked out in front of the audience with their arms and legs free. It's always been a mystery to me, and I guess to a lot of other people. But I say, Hanky Panky, that ought to be a mighty useful trick of yours in case you ever fall into the hands of enemies, who would want to keep you a prisoner, and tie up your hands and ankles with ropes."

"Yes, that's so," agreed Rooster; "and we're mighty glad you know how to slip out of your bonds that slick way, old fellow. If you keep on learnin' things, p'raps now some time or other you'll be able to just take off your head, and pass it around for examination, then clap it back again where it belongs."

"Oh! I don't know about that," said Hanky Panky, with a dry chuckle; "because you see, my head's got something in it. Now, if it was you----

"Don't you dare insinuate that mine's empty," ejaculated Rooster, pretending to be ready to throw a monkey wrench at the offender.

"Well, I've accomplished my object, anyway," declared the other.

"What was that?" asked Elmer.

"To prove to you all that while I might not be a first-class scout or woodsman, there is one thing in which I excel, and that's in the realm of mystery. None of you can hold a candle to me there."

"Yes, you sure hold the palm there, Hanky Panky," admitted Josh; "but I'd give a heap to know just however you got loose from them ropes and knots the way you did. It was like a miracle to me, that's what."

"Oh! that's only one little thing I've got up my sleeve to show you fellers now and then," observed the other proudly swelling his breast as a victor should, according to his notion. "You see, I've just about made up my mind to take up the study of the Black Art as a regular business. I just love to delve in everything that hinges on mystery and magic. While I'm down here in Dixie I hope to be able to get the foot of a rabbit that's been caught in a graveyard by the full of the moon. They say that brings good luck to the owner. And if I can only run across one of them old voodoo men I've heard so much about, among the negroes of the South, I'm going to do all I can to learn how he bewitches people so."

"If I was you, suh," remarked Elmer just then,

"I think I'd cut out some of that same talk about witches and the like. I'm telling you this because I happen to know there have been stories told about this very region through which we're passing right now. Some folks say it's haunted ground. All sorts of terrible things are told by the darkies about the ghosts of Walnut Ridge. So, take my advice, suh, and whisper it, when you say anything about the supernatural, down in this heah section. Believe me, I mean it."

Rooster listened to all this with paling face, for be it confessed he had always been a little inclined to believe in things that were connected with the return of spirits to this world. Perhaps more boys do than would like to confess to the fact; at any rate it is often impossible to coax one to walk into a country graveyard of a dark night, when the hour is close to twelve.

He was looking in absolute horror at Elmer while the Southern lad went on to remark as he did.

"Yes," he burst out with, "and I just guess the reckless fellow's gone and done it a'ready, because right now there's a mysterious light comin' bobbin' along the road up yonder; and it's like as not one of them ghosts alookin' for Hanky Panky!"

And as the others turned quickly to see what Rooster meant, they discovered that, sure enough, there was a queer light advancing toward them, now stopping, anon moving at right angles, then back

again with a swift motion, only to be lowered close to the ground in the most mysterious fashion.

They all stared hard at the strange light.

"Whatever in the wide world can it be?" muttered Josh, usually as brave as a lion when it came to meeting any trouble that he could understand, but just now betraying positive signs of uneasiness.

"Anyhow, we're agoin' to know pretty soon," continued Rooster, grimly; "'cause she's making a pace thisaways right smart now. Rod, tell me, can ghosts climb trees, do you think? And hadn't we better be apickin' out the ones we want to use while we've got the chance?"

Somehow nobody laughed at Rooster's remark, silly though it must have sounded to some of the rest; in fact, every fellow was staring at the queer bobbing light, and trying the best he knew how to figure out just what it might mean.