After a moment's reflection he wrote the following:

"TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE, "Albany, N.Y.

"Send more men at once; they have us foul. My messenger will wait at the station until a.s.sistance arrives.

HARVEY."

It was a simple matter for the strangers to read this by looking over Jet's shoulder, and as soon as they had done so they slipped quietly out of the building where the following conversation might have been heard:

"That's the boy Joe and Bob brought up from New York."

"I thought so, and now he is working for Harvey."

"Who has gone to the house in the woods to pull the boys, and has got the worst of it."

"I don't reckon we could prevent the operator from sending that message?"

"Not without putting ourselves in the hole."

"We can make sure though that the boy isn't here to show them the place when the officers arrive."

"Which forces us to stay here another day, and according to the looks of things I don't think it safe. What made the fools come after agreeing to lay over in the city till we showed up?"

"That's what I can't say. It's enough to know we've got to bear a hand, for if one of the crowd is caught all hands stand a good chance of being sent up."

"Shall we nab the boy as soon as the train pa.s.ses?"

"No; I've got a better plan than that. We'll wait till the western express arrives, and make him think we're the officers who have come in reply to his telegram."

"Then we must keep out of sight. Let's take a turn around the town where he won't be likely to see us."

The men walked quietly away, and in the depot Jet was congratulating himself upon having been able to give the alarm so quickly.

The operator had been very eager to learn why officers should be summoned from the city; but Jet professed entire ignorance of the matter, repeating again and again that he had only brought the message from a stranger a short distance up the road, and the questioner finally ceased trying to extract information.

There was no difficulty about getting a telegram through, and in a few moments Jet rejoiced at hearing the man say:

"It's done, and now you'll only have to wait until the parties arrive."

"How long before they can come?'

"There's a morning express which leaves Albany in an hour; but it doesn't stop here, so they'll have to wait for the five o'clock train."

Jet was not troubled as to where he should spend the time.

He was so tired that he could sleep anywhere, and walked across the track to the waiting shed, where he laid down on one of the benches, glad of an opportunity to rest his weary limbs.

While paying for the telegram he noticed with surprise that Harvey had intrusted him with twenty dollars, and he said to himself as his eyes were closing in sleep:

"I wonder why he gave me so much? It can't be possible he thought the message would cost all that."

Then he was unconscious of everything around him.

The midnight express arrived, stopped, and with a loud snort from the engine went on again; but the noise barely sufficed to make Jet aware that something unusual had happened.

During the next hour he slept peacefully, and then the two strangers came up the track talking in low tones.

By the glare of the station lamp they saw the sleeping boy.

"What is the use of waiting for the train, when it may be possible the officers will come?"

"The morning express doesn't stop here."

"What of that? The conductor would let the officers off if the chief should ask him as an especial favor."

"Well, how can we hurry matters?"

"He is asleep, and all we have to do is to swear the train has just pa.s.sed. He probably hasn't got a watch, and can't tell whether one hour or four has pa.s.sed since he closed his eyes."

"But if he should be suspicious, he might make trouble."

"Say, you're getting to be a regular coward. We've got to take some chances if we want to prevent Joe and Bob from being pulled, and it will be rough if you and I can't handle a boy like that."

"Do as you please; of course I'm bound to stand at your back all the time."

The first speaker looked around once to make certain no one was near, and then stepping quickly into the shed shook Jet roughly.

CHAPTER XIII

THE SNARE

"What's the matter?" Jet cried, as he arose to a sitting posture, and rubbed his eyes.

"Are you the fellow who sent a message to the Albany chief of police?"

one of the men asked.

"Yes; has there been an answer?"

"I should say so. Don't we look like a pretty substantial reply to almost any kind of a telegram?"

"But how did you get here?"

"On the morning express. It wasn't much of a job to persuade the conductor to slow up about here when he knew what our business was."