The Rough Rider (34 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

At Gunpoint

Gail was changing the bandage on an elderly patient when Dr. Templeton, the administrator, stepped inside the door. “Miss Summers, you have a visitor.”

Turning to face him, Gail asked, “A visitor, sir?”

“Yes, he’s waiting for you in my office.”

“Yes, sir, I’ll be right there.” Gail finished with the new dressing and pulled the sheet back over the patient, saying, “There—that’s better, isn’t it?” She left the room and made her way to Dr. Templeton’s office. When she entered, she found him speaking with a heavyset man with a bushy mustache. “Miss Summers, this is Lieutenant Darvin of the police department,” Dr. Templeton said. He shifted his weight nervously and said, “Why don’t you use that small office over there. You can have some privacy.”

The policeman turned to Dr. Templeton and said, “That will be fine.”

After they entered the room, Gail closed the door and asked at once, “What’s the trouble, Officer?” Apprehension suddenly rose in Gail as she waited to hear what this was all about.

Darvin rolled back on his heels and clasped his hands behind him. He had a reddish face and dark blue eyes. “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you, Miss Summers. It’s about your brother.”

“Jeb? What’s wrong? Where is he?” said Gail.

“Well, that’s what we’d like to find out. We have a warrant
out for his arrest along with some others. One of them is Tug Devaney. Do you know him?”

“Yes, but what’s the charge?” she asked nervously.

“Burglary, Miss Summers. They were caught robbing a warehouse. They all got away, but an eyewitness spotted them and identified Devaney and your brother. It happened right there in the neighborhood, so he knew them both.”

“I don’t think my brother would do anything like that,” Gail said defiantly.

“Well, I hope not, but we still have to pick him up. He’ll be charged, but since he’s a minor that will make a difference.”

“What could happen to him if he’s found guilty?” Gail asked hesitantly.

“Why, off to reform school, I’m afraid.” Darvin’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Would you be knowing where he is, Miss Summers? It’d be best if you tell me. There’s no trouble that way, but if he goes on the run it could turn out worse for him.”

“I haven’t heard from him, so I don’t know, Lieutenant.”

“I see—well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Let me know if you hear from him. It’d be best if he turned himself in!” Darvin nodded politely, and then turned and left the room.

At once, Gail sat down in the chair. Her legs were trembling and she tried hard to think. For a few moments she tried to pray. Finally she pulled herself together enough to leave the room. Dr. Templeton was standing outside in the hall, watching the policeman leave. Gail saw him and said at once, “I have some trouble at home, Doctor. I need to leave the hospital.”

“Of course, Miss Summers,” Dr. Templeton said hastily. “If we can be of any help, please let us know. I’m sorry about this.”

“Thank you, Doctor Templeton.”

When Gail went to get her things, she encountered David coming out of one of the physician’s offices. “What’s wrong?” he said at once, noting that her face was pale.

“It’s . . . Jeb! He’s got himself in some kind of trouble. I’ve got to go see about him.”

A look of genuine concern filled the physician’s face. “I can’t leave right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“No, you wait here! I’ll come back and tell you about it when I know more.”

David protested, but Gail was firm, and insisted he wait to hear from her. She left the hospital at once and walked hurriedly to the apartment. She found out that the police had already been there, and her mother could only wring her hands in despair and weep. Gail said defiantly, “I’m going to find out where he is. Somebody has to know where he is.”

“You can’t go out on the streets asking that!” said her mother, her face in her hands.

“Yes, I can! I’ve got to try to find him.” With that, Gail turned and left.

Gail headed straight for the pool hall and marched inside. She had known several of the young loafers there for years and walked over to one named Dan Sullivan, who was busy playing a game. “Dan,” she said, “you’ve heard about Jeb?”

“Yeah,” Sullivan nodded nervously, “and about Devaney, too! It looks like they messed up.”

“I’ve got to find Jeb. Do you know where they are?” demanded Gail.

Defensively, Sullivan shook his head. “I used to run with Devaney, but he was too wild for me. I don’t know nothing about it, Gail.” Then as if to avoid any further questions, he turned and continued his game.

Within an hour, Gail had exhausted every possibility she could think of. But nobody she talked to either knew or wanted to say anything about Devaney or Jeb. She started home slowly, her heart despondent. When she was a block from the house, she saw her stepbrother, Bart, up ahead walking the same way. “Bart, wait!” She ran to catch up with him. He was fidgety and didn’t seem to want to talk, and there was a look of apprehension on his face as they walked side by side.

“Bart, what do you know about this robbery?”

“Me? I don’t know nothing—I wasn’t there!” he said quickly.

But there was something in his tone and mannerism that alerted Gail. She began to question him, and when he tried to walk off, she grabbed his arm and pulled him back, saying fiercely, “Bart, this isn’t a game! You realize that Jeb could go to jail for this? You know where he is, don’t you?”

“Let me go!” Bart had lost all of his toughness and looked merely frightened now. He would have walked away, but Gail caught him again and whirled him around. Her eyes were flashing and she said, “You know more than you’re saying. Now tell me!” She kept at him until finally his hands began to tremble.

“Listen, I can’t tell you. If I did, Devaney—there’s no telling what he’d do to me.”

“You’re going to tell me or I’ll go to the police and tell them you were in on it.”

“You wouldn’t do that!”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll do whatever I have to do to help Jeb get out of this mess. Now, do you know where they are?”

Bart was thoroughly afraid of Devaney. He knew the gang leader had no scruples and could be very dangerous. Everyone knew that Devaney had used a knife twice on those who had crossed him. Fearing what could happen, Bart said. “Gail, he’d kill me if I told where he was!”

“He won’t know. Where is he?”

“You’ve got to promise me that you won’t tell a word about how you found out!” said Bart as his eyes darted up and down the street, afraid somehow that someone was watching them.

“All right, I promise. Now, out with it!” insisted Gail.

“I ain’t for sure, but there’s a hideout that Tug uses sometimes. It’s a room up over the old furniture factory. The factory’s closed down now and it’s just an empty building. But there’s a way to get in through the back. We used to go there
and have our meetings. I don’t think anybody knows about it except the gang. But, you can’t—”

As Gail loosed his arm and turned and ran down the street, he cried, “Hey! Remember—you promised not to say a word about me!” He bit his lip as Gail disappeared around the corner. He pulled his shoulders together and said, “Ain’t none of my affair. I ain’t got nothing to do with it.”

****

Aaron stepped down from the cab, paid his fare, and stood staring at Baxter Hospital for a moment. Then he climbed the stairs and entered the hospital. He went at once to the head nurse, Agnes Smith, who was busy trying to give instructions to one of her nurses. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Miss Summers, Miss Smith,” said Aaron when she had finished.

“You wait here and I’ll get her. She’s down the hall.”

Aaron nodded and as the nurse disappeared, he took a note out of his pocket and stared at it. “I must see you at once, Aaron.” It was simply signed, “Gail.” A special messenger had brought it, and he had come to town hurriedly. He was mystified, for it was not like Gail to do such a thing. He was still wondering about it as she appeared around the corner down the hall. He looked at her and saw that her face was pale and her lips were pulled together in a thin line. “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.

“Come down here where we can talk.” She led him into a side room where supplies were kept, and at once turned and said, “It’s Jeb—he’s in terrible trouble. We’ve got to help him.”

Aaron listened, his eyes narrowing as Gail quickly explained in detail what Lieutenant Darvin had told her about Jeb. As soon as she finished, he said, “Where is he? Do you know?”

“Yes. I can’t tell you how I know. Aaron, we’ve got to get him away.”

“But he needs to turn himself in,” said Aaron.

“Aaron, I want you to help, but you have to promise me something.”

“What is it?”

“If we get him away from there, I . . . I don’t want him to think we’re like policemen. I don’t want to force him to do anything. It has to be his choice whether he gives himself up. You have to promise me that.”

Aaron paused and saw the lines of strain on her face. He thought hard for a moment, shrugged, then said, “It’d be better if he did, but, okay—I promise. Now, where is he? I think it would be better if I went alone.”

“No, I’m going with you.” She listened as Aaron argued against it, but said defiantly, “You can’t go unless I tell you where it is, and I’m not telling unless I go with you.”

Seeing the stubborn set of her face, Aaron said abruptly, “All right! I’ve got to have a few minutes, though—I have an errand to run. I’ll meet you outside in an hour.” He turned, and as soon as he left, he walked quickly to a seedy section of town that contained a series of pawn shops. He entered one, and when the owner came to ask what he needed, Aaron looked at the glass case in front and said, “I’ll take that .44. Do you have any shells for it?”

The owner gave him a quick look and said, “I’ll have to have your name and some identification, sir.”

“That’s fine,” Aaron said briefly. “Let’s see the gun.”

Ten minutes later, he was out of the pawn shop, walking back toward the hospital. Inside his coat pocket was tucked the gun. His mind was working rapidly, and by the time Gail came out of the hospital, he said at once, “There may be trouble, Gail. I’d rather you didn’t go—you might get hurt.”

Gail looked up at him and her lips were firm. “I’m going and that’s all there is to it. Do you promise you won’t make Jeb turn himself in?”

When he nodded, she said, “Let’s go then.”

****

Tug Devaney was sound asleep and did not even hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Jeb, however, was awake. He had not slept much since the two had fled and the gang had scattered. He, himself, had not been actively involved. Tug had not even told him where they were going, but he had begged so hard that Tug had finally said, “Okay, you can tag along, but that’s all.” When they had made their way to the dark street, they had come to a corner and Tug had simply said, “You stay here. If you see any cops, come running down the street yelling.”

That had been all Jeb had known until suddenly Tug and the three others had come rushing down the street, feet pounding. They had passed Jeb without speaking, and when he saw the pursuer, he turned and fled with them. They had taken a circuitous route until they finally ended up at this hideout, but the other three had left almost at once.

As the hours ticked by, Jeb had asked himself a thousand times why he’d gone and done such a foolish thing. But he had no answer, and sat in the darkness shaking his head, afraid at what could happen now. As he heard the footsteps approaching stealthily, he thought,
It’s the police—I’m going to jail!
He got up and turned to face the door. He thought of waking Tug, but he knew that Tug kept a gun and was afraid that he would use it. All he wanted was to get out of here, even if it meant getting arrested. Tug had refused to let him go, saying, “No, you’d spill the beans, boy. You stay with me till this blows over.”

The doorknob turned and the door slowly opened. Jeb could make out two figures standing there, and then—he saw that one of them was Gail. When he spoke her name, Tug instantly came awake. Seeing the two strange figures in the door, he made a wild grab for his gun that lay on the table next to him.

“Hold it right there or you’re dead!” Aaron had entered the room and laid the muzzle of the pistol on Devaney, his
finger tightening on the trigger, for the man’s hand was almost touching the revolver on the table.

“I ain’t shooting!” Devaney cried out sharply, throwing his hands up. “Who are you, anyway?” Then he saw Gail and let loose a relieved sigh. “Oh, it’s you, Gail! How’d you find us?”

Gail did not even answer. She looked at Jeb and said, “Come on, Jeb, we’re leaving.” At once, Jeb turned to her, and as soon as he reached her, tears formed in his eyes. “I . . . I’m sorry, sis.”

Aaron did not turn, but kept his gun leveled at Devaney. He walked over to the table, picked up the pistol, and slowly slipped it into his pocket. “Don’t follow us,” he warned. “Or it will be unpleasant for you.” He backed out of the room, thinking the man might have another gun. When Aaron stepped outside and shut the door, he said, “Let’s get out of here.”

They left the building at once and turned and walked quickly down the dark street. As soon as they were two blocks away, Aaron said, “Here—we’ve got to get you out of sight, Jeb.” He turned to the boy and said, “It would be best if you give yourself up.”

Fear swept through the boy. “No, I ain’t gonna do that. Let’s just run away.”

Aaron knew it would go better for the boy if he went immediately to the police station, but he saw the fear in Jeb’s eyes and remembered his promise to Gail. “All right, we’ll go somewhere and talk about it.”

“Where can we go?” Gail said. “They’ll be looking everywhere for him.”

Aaron had already thought about this. “I know a place,” he said. “Uncle Mark has a hunting camp right in the middle of nowhere. It’s in the upper part of the state in the middle of the woods. Dad and I spent a couple of days there. It’s a good place to hide.”

“We can’t just disappear. Our people would be worried sick,” said Gail.