CHAPTER XII A DARING RESOLVE

“He’s fainted!”

Jake and Jerry stared in bewilderment at the inert body at their feet. Their first thought was not one of triumph at this successful ending to their quest. Rather, it was one of pity for the tortured man whose desperate break for liberty had availed him nothing. Jerry was stirred to action.

“Get him into the lean-to! The poor fellow can’t hurt us now. Quick!” The twins lifted the limp form and carried him gently into the low brush shelter that he had built for protection against the elements. The rude thatched roof held off the rain fairly well, and both boys removed their ponchos, laying one on the ground, placing their unconscious burden upon it, and covering the convict’s body with the other. Jerry pulled open the rough gray shirt at the man’s throat, and fanned the bloodless face with his hat.
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“Get some water, Jake! I think the creek is only a few steps away.”

Jake departed. His brother snapped on his flashlight, and cast its beams full upon his captive’s face. The man was not bald, as Jake had thought when he had first encountered him; his hair had been shaved close to the top of his head, but now a bristling stubble had grown to cover it. The chin and jowls were also darkened with a rough growth of beard showing blackly against the pallid face. Through bluish lips, the breath came in quick sobs. The man’s body, under the close-drawn poncho, was slender and wiry, and although but slightly taller than one of the twins, gave the impression of some strength.

Jake returned with his sou’-wester half full of water. He splattered a few drops over the prisoner’s face, and forced a slight trickle down the man’s throat.

“Don’t choke him!” cautioned Jerry. “Here, I’ll rub his arms and chest. He’s cold, and no wonder! Think of staying in this place for several days, without any blankets or even a coat!”

He began rubbing the man’s limbs briskly, and noted a flush of returning color in the pale features.
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“That ought to bring him around,” observed Jake. “Say, he doesn’t look much like a desperado, does he? Poor fellow, it’s a shame he has to——”

“Shh!” Jerry paused, and tucked the protecting poncho about the body again. He had seen an eyelid flicker in the light of their lamp. The convict moaned feebly, opened his eyes, closed them again as the light struck them. “Give him a little more water, Jakie.”

Slowly their patient revived. His body jerked weakly.

“You’re all right,” said Jake soothingly. “Don’t try to sit up. Can you hear me?”

The man fell back wearily. “You’ll never—take me—there—again——” he murmured faintly. “I—I—water——”

“Here you are. That’s it.” Jake propped him up, and held a handful of water to his mouth. “Shade the light, Jerry. What do you think we ought to do with him now?”
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“He’s half frozen. We’ll have to get him warm.” Jerry had meanwhile noted a small pile of wood heaped under the eaves of the narrow shelter, at the side of which lay the small ax which Ellick had missed after the raid on his kitchen. “It won’t matter now if anybody sees the fire.” Leaving his place at the man’s side, he stirred up the dying flames and placed a few more sticks upon them. “It’s stopped raining for a while, I think. We’ll bring him over here, where he can get warm.”

Skillfully they brought their prisoner, still wrapped in the poncho, to a sitting position at the mouth of the lean-to, close to the reviving fire. The man’s breath was coming more easily now. His eyes were open, and he watched their every move, without attempting to speak.

“Think of it, Jake,” Jerry went on; “he’s been in the woods now for four or five days, without any decent clothes, and only a little food to eat, scared every minute that he will be caught again. It’s no wonder he’s worn out.” He turned to the man. “When did you eat last?”

The one addressed shook his head. “I—don’t know. Last night—got some food—dropped it——”

“That was Stunt Night!” put in Jake. “Sherlock and I found some cans of tomatoes he dropped when you chased him. Say, if we only had—— By jiminy, I just thought!” He reached in his breast pocket. “I got a couple bars of chocolate to eat to-night on the picnic, and just remembered them now.”
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The paper-wrapped candy he drew out was sodden and melted by contact with his body, but the man’s eyes fastened themselves on them with mute pleading as Jake tore away the tinfoil about the sticky mass.

“Here—help yourself. Don’t eat it too fast, though, or it may make you sick.”

With shaking fingers, their starving captive seized the proffered food, and wolfed it ravenously.

“Feel better?”

“I—I—— You boys are all right. Guess it’s no use. But—how did you find me?”

“We’re from Camp Lenape, across the lake. We’ve seen you before,” answered Jake; “once when I ran into you the time that crazy Sherlock Jones shot off his flashlight powder down by Tent Fifteen——”

The man nodded. “I got some food over there. I remember. I tried to find some clothes in a tent, but a big light went off, and——”

“—And you tangled up with me in the woods,” finished the boy. “Guess we were both pretty scared. Then, last night, Jerry here spotted you, coming down from the kitchen——”

“You know who I am?”
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“Sure,” said Jerry. “You’re Burk. But say, you don’t look much like a thief and a jailbird. What did you do it for? I mean, how did you get in trouble in the first place?”

A smouldering fury came into Burk’s eyes. “I didn’t do it!” he cried. “Do you hear me? I’m not guilty! And for more than a year I’ve been penned up in that place—like an animal—an innocent man!” His voice had risen to a high scream which echoed through the dripping darkness of the forest.

“Say! You mean you——”

The man fell back, exhausted by his short outburst. “I don’t expect you to believe me,” he said wearily. “Nobody believed me. Nobody. But it’s true. There was a mistake, and everything was against me. Guess they were justified—I couldn’t prove I didn’t take the necklace. The evidence was too strong——”

“What necklace?” asked Jake with interest. “They said you stole a necklace somewhere?”

“Don’t bother him now, Jake.”
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Burk sat up again. “I’m all right.” The warmth of the fire and the food they had given him seemed to have bestowed fresh energy. “I want to tell you, even if you don’t believe me. If I had been able to get away this time, I think I could have proved my innocence, but it was no use. But you boys, whoever you are, have been decent to me, and I want you to know I wouldn’t lie to you. By the way, what are your names? I’d like to know. Brothers, aren’t you?”

“Twins. I’m Jerry Utway, and this is Jake. But what about the necklace?”

Both boys had forgotten that they sat in the wet woods in the dead of night, far from their friends, who might miss them at any moment. They were intent only on hearing the story of this strange man.

“It was about a year ago,” began Burk. “I’d always spent most of my time in these mountains—my father was a hunting guide, and I became one, too, after I went through high school. I had a pretty good job as steward and caretaker of a place down on Canoe Mountain, west of Wallistown. It was a sort of hunting lodge, belonging to a club of sportsmen. I lived in the lodge all year round, and took out parties of deer-hunters and fishermen during the season. Well, at this particular time there was only one man staying at the lodge—a man named Collinge, a banker in the city. He was going out fishing that afternoon by himself, and asked me to take care of an expensive pearl necklace he had brought up with him. His daughter was driving up next day with some friends—it was her birthday, and he was giving her the necklace as a present. A party was planned, and I had to get things ready. As it happened, I had a touch of ’flu at the time—I didn’t say anything about it, as I thought it was just a bit of a cold, but I must have had a high fever that day. I took the necklace. He told me to guard it carefully, as it was quite valuable. That’s all.”
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“But what happened?” prompted Jake.

“What happened!” repeated Burk in despair. “That’s the question I’ve been asking myself a hundred times a day, back yonder in the prison.” He shivered. “Mr. Collinge came back that evening and found me lying on my bed, raving with fever. The necklace was nowhere in sight. I couldn’t tell him a thing—I couldn’t remember what I had done with it; I’d been out of my head most of the time. Well, I don’t much blame him for getting angry and thinking I had hidden it, stolen it to sell later. He gave me until morning to produce the necklace or take the consequences of being a thief. When morning came, I was better—but no matter how I hunted all over the place, I couldn’t find the necklace.”

“And you couldn’t remember?”
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“It was gone—that’s all. I was innocent—but how could I prove it? At the trial, Mr. Collinge was decent enough, even if he had lost a great deal of money; he asked the judge to deal with me leniently. But naturally everybody thought I had yielded to temptation, and was refusing to confess. Once in a thousand times, a jury will convict an innocent man. This was the one unlucky time. I went behind the bars.”

Burk stared at the flickering fire for several minutes, lost in unspeakable thoughts.

“Boys, don’t ever do anything that might lead to a prison cell. It’s—it’s—— Well, never mind that. I stood it, and I must stand it again, now you’ve caught me.”

“Where were you going?” asked Jerry curiously.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’ve had a feeling, all the time I was in jail, that if I could only get back to the Canoe Mountain Lodge, I might be able to—to find the necklace and prove I wasn’t guilty. I had a feeling I might remember——”

Jerry’s eyes were alive with enthusiasm. “You think if you got to the lodge, it might all come back to you?”

“That’s what I hoped. As far as I know, the necklace was never found. If that’s true, it must still be there. If I could only——”
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“What do you say, Jakie?” Jerry Utway looked over at Jake, who nodded back.

The convict stared from one to the other. “What do you mean?”

Jerry jumped up, pounding his fist in his palm. “We’ll give you your chance—Jake and I will help you prove you’re not a thief! No matter what happens, you’re going back to Canoe Mountain and try to find that necklace! And we—we’ll go with you!”