<h2 id="c23"><span class="h2line1">CHAPTER XXIII</span> <br/><span class="h2line2"><i>CAPTIVES</i></span></h2>
<p>“Say, what is this?” Doyle demanded in an angry
voice.</p>
<p>“Put up your hands,” the chauffeur ordered again.
“Don’t try any clever business or I’ll let you have it!
Now get out of the car!”</p>
<p>Silently Flash and Doyle obeyed.</p>
<p>“Walk straight ahead down the road,” their captor
commanded.</p>
<p>“Is this a stick-up?” Doyle asked, standing his
ground.</p>
<p>The revolver prodded his back.</p>
<p>“No, it isn’t a stick-up, brother. Move along before
I get impatient.”</p>
<p>“Where are you taking us?”</p>
<p>“You’ll find out soon enough. Keep lookin’ straight
ahead.”</p>
<p>Doyle glanced sideways at Flash as they marched
down the road, hands held high.</p>
<p>“Don’t think I had any part in this!” he muttered.
“I was double-crossed by that swine, Rascomb!”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</div>
<p>“You delivered us both into his hands,” Flash
agreed bitterly. “Maybe now you’re willing to believe
what I told you about him.”</p>
<p>“I’ve been a dumb ox, all right.”</p>
<p>“If you had only listened—”</p>
<p>“Hey, no talk!” ordered the man behind them.
“Keep quiet!”</p>
<p>A few yards farther up the road he commanded the
pair to turn into a path on their right. It led through
dense woods to a small log cabin. Blinds covered all
the windows, but a crack of light shining from beneath
one of them, gave evidence of occupancy.</p>
<p>Keeping his revolver trained upon Flash and Doyle,
the chauffeur rapped twice on the door.</p>
<p>Almost at once it was opened by a burly man whose
fleshy face looked hard and cruel in the dim light.</p>
<p>“You took long enough getting here!” he said
gruffly.</p>
<p>“Made it as quick as I could,” the chauffeur answered.
“You can go now. I’ll take over.”</p>
<p>He held a whispered conference with the burly man
who then walked swiftly away through the forest.
Flash and Doyle were forced to enter the cabin.</p>
<p>The room in which they found themselves was dirty,
and provided with the plainest of furniture. Opening
from it was a second room.</p>
<p>“Get in there!” the chauffeur ordered.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</div>
<p>“Say, listen!” Doyle protested angrily, “Tell us
what this is all about. Why are we being held?”</p>
<p>“Because you’ve learned too much, buddy. You
and your pal.”</p>
<p>“How long are you keeping us here?”</p>
<p>“All depends. If you take it easy and don’t make
no trouble, we may let you out tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“After Herbert Rascomb has skipped the country,”
drawled Flash.</p>
<p>The chauffeur pushed them roughly into the dark
room. Slamming the door, he turned a key in the lock.</p>
<p>Flash and Doyle stood motionless, listening. They
both could hear the wheezing breath of someone who
slept.</p>
<p>“We have company,” Flash muttered.</p>
<p>Tracing the sound, he crossed the room to a cot
which had been set up against a wall. He could not
see the man who lay there. Reaching out, he touched
his hand.</p>
<p>The sleeper instantly awoke. With a startled rasp
in his throat, he swung his feet to the floor and sat up.</p>
<p>“Who is it?” he demanded hoarsely.</p>
<p>Flash thought he recognized the voice.</p>
<p>“Major Hartgrove!”</p>
<p>“And who are you?” the army man countered.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</div>
<p>Flash and Doyle gave their names and sat down on
the edge of the cot. In whispers they told how they
had been tricked by Rascomb’s chauffeur.</p>
<p>“So Rascomb is behind this?” the Major commented.
“I should have known!”</p>
<p>“How did they get you here, Major?” questioned
Flash.</p>
<p>“Earlier this evening I was attacked by a man who
entered my hotel room by using the fire escape.”</p>
<p>“The man who was guarding the cabin?”</p>
<p>“Yes, he took me by surprise, overpowered me, and
at the point of a pistol made me go down the fire escape
to a waiting car. I was brought here.”</p>
<p>“And were you robbed?”</p>
<p>The Major did not reply immediately. He thought
a moment and then said:</p>
<p>“I may as well tell you now. I doubt if I’ll ever get
out of this alive anyway. Yes, I was robbed.”</p>
<p>“Not money?” Doyle prompted.</p>
<p>“No, I had possession of important government papers.
Correspondence which never should fall into
the hands of an enemy. I had plans and specifications
for a new tank the army is considering.”</p>
<p>“Nothing pertaining to Bailey Brooks’ parachute?”
Flash asked quickly.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</div>
<p>“Those plans were among my papers,” admitted the
Major. “Captain Johns and I have been working on
them intensively the past few days. The truth is,
Brooks’ parachute hasn’t quite come up to our strict
requirements. Our experts have suggested several
changes which are being tried out.”</p>
<p>“Then the government has decided to purchase the
parachute?”</p>
<p>“It depends upon a final test which is to be held tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“And if it should fail?”</p>
<p>“The test will be successful,” declared the Major
confidently. “Bailey Brooks himself is making the
jump. But it is a grave matter for the plans to fall
into the hands of the enemy.”</p>
<p>Flash fell silent as he thought over what he had
learned. He knew that Rascomb had been intensely
interested in the Bailey Brooks’ invention. Unquestionably,
he had engineered the theft. But it was difficult
to understand why the man delayed his get-away
now that the plans were in his possession.</p>
<p>Arising abruptly, Flash began to explore the prison
room.</p>
<p>“Any chance of getting out of here?”</p>
<p>“None whatsoever,” the Major responded. “There
is no window. If we try to break down the door, we’ll
only stop a bullet.”</p>
<p>“They’ll probably let us out tomorrow,” Doyle said.
“After Rascomb has safely fled the country.”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</div>
<p>“And then it will be too late!” Flash exclaimed. “If
only we could get out of here tonight! Rascomb
might still be captured.”</p>
<p>The three prisoners were startled to hear a sharp
rap on the door.</p>
<p>“Quiet in there!”</p>
<p>For a long while Flash and his two companions conversed
in whispers. After they had discussed every
angle of the situation, and were agreed that it was
hopeless, they lapsed into moody silence.</p>
<p>Presently Flash aroused himself.</p>
<p>“I have an idea,” he told the others. “It probably
won’t work, but I’ll try it!”</p>
<p>In whispers he revealed what he intended to do.
Then walking over to the door, he pounded to attract
the guard’s attention.</p>
<p>“Lay off of that!” the man ordered.</p>
<p>“Listen, we’re suffocating in here,” Flash protested.</p>
<p>“Now ain’t that too bad?” the chauffeur asked sarcastically.
“And us with the air conditioner busted
down!”</p>
<p>“Open the door.”</p>
<p>“I ain’t that big a fool!”</p>
<p>“At least give us some water to drink.”</p>
<p>“So you want water?”</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</div>
<p>Flash was prepared to have the request turned
down. To his surprise the guard made no answer.
But a minute later he unlocked the door. A beam of
light shot across the floor.</p>
<p>“Stand back, all of you,” he ordered, covering the
three.</p>
<p>Keeping his back to the door, the chauffeur deposited
a bottle of water on the table.</p>
<p>“Help yourselves,” he said.</p>
<p>Flash moved to the table. With pretended eagerness
he reached for the bottle. His hand brushed
carelessly against it.</p>
<p>Over it went, rolling across the table. He made an
elaborate effort to save the contents.</p>
<p>For a fleeting instant the guard’s attention focused
suspiciously upon Flash, and his gaze was diverted
from Doyle and Major Hartgrove.</p>
<p>That instant was sufficient. Acting together, they
leaped upon him, knocking the revolver from his hand.</p>
<div class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</div>
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