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He was satisfied that Hocker would help him if he could be made to see the matter in its proper light, so he drew him aside and told all he knew about Bug in a simple, earnest way dwelling especially on the fact that Bug's desire to keep the boys out of a scrape was the sole cause of his own misfortune. The appeal carried conviction with it, and Hocker's sympathies were aroused.
Ned concluded that the road led to the home of the man who owned the mill, and he was about starting off in haste when his eyes fell on a boat that protruded from a clump of bushes a few yards down the shore. On going close he recognized it instantly by the peculiar arrangement of the seats. It was Mose Hocker's boat. Moxley had carried it off when he stole the gun.
The heat was intense, but he managed to get near enough to snatch the bag. One end was badly scorched. He suddenly spied Hocker's gun, and knowing how the owner valued it, he made another rush and carried it off in triumph. Thus laden down he tottered across the floor in imminent fear of dropping through to the wasteway, and overwhelmed at times by the suffocating smoke and fiery sparks.
There is the Victim Friend; the mysterious letter of the injured Female to the Victim Friend; the romantic spot for the Death-Struggle by night; the unexpected appearance of Thomas Hocker to the Policeman; the parlour of the Public House, with Thomas Hocker reading the paper to a strange gentleman; the Family Apartment, with a song by Thomas Hocker; the Inquest Room, with Thomas Hocker boldly looking on; the interior of the Marylebone Theatre, with Thomas Hocker taken into custody; the Police Office with Thomas Hocker "affable" to the spectators; the interior of Newgate, with Thomas Hocker preparing his defence; the Court, where Thomas Hocker, with his dancing-master airs, is put upon his trial, and complimented by the Judge; the Prosecution, the Defence, the Verdict, the Black Cap, the Sentence each of them a line in any Playbill, and how bold a line in Thomas Hocker's life!
"The farmer from whom those chickens were stolen may stray down here in search of the thief, and it is not impossible that Mose Hocker is somewhere about here. This man certainly stole that gun from Hocker's cabin, and if he took the boat at the same time which I believe he did Hocker will surely try to recover his property, and will naturally look for it along the creek."
"She married the Dragon and lived happy ever afterwards." Hocker adopted sterner measures. He seized my arm and twisted it behind me. "She married who?" demanded Hocker: grammar was not Hocker's strong point. "The Dragon," I growled. "She married who?" repeated Hocker. "The Dragon," I whined. "She married who?" for the third time urged Hocker.
It was Mose Hocker's property the identical muzzleloader which Randy had brought up from the depths of Rudy's Hole. Ned could see the silver plate set in the breech, and could partially read the inscription: "John Armstrong, Maker." Randy was equally quick to recognize the gun. He gave a little gasp of astonishment and looked at Ned. The agitation of the boys was not observed by the ruffian.
It's purty hard fer a feller to get into a scrape like this under them circumstances." Hocker's face wore a perplexed expression as he replied slowly: "I'm sure I don't know what to say. Jeffries has the law at his finger ends, and it ain't fur me to contradict him. I reckon things will have to take their course."
Mose Hocker's boat was a large, heavy craft, built on the order of a bateau, and was admirably adapted to Randy's purpose. The boys paddled up stream a little until they were directly below the rock Hocker had designated. Then, while the boat drifted down with a barely perceptible motion, Randy hastily undressed. "It's a pity we didn't bring a fishing line along," observed Ned.
A few moments later they paddled down the creek, cheered loudly by the admiring spectators. The Jolly Rovers were agreeably surprised when they reached Mose Hocker's "place." Instead of the farmhouse, which they had confidently expected, it proved to be a snug little cabin standing in a dense bit of woods along the creek, and distant from Rudy's Hole about one mile.
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