Add 45990 from ibiblio

8 files changed, 15004 insertions, 15805 deletions

diff --git a/45990/45990.txt b/45990-0.txt
index 58d1254..4402f41 100644
--- a/45990/45990.txt
+++ b/45990-0.txt
@@ -1,7059 +1,6672 @@
-Project Gutenberg's Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Title: Bobby Blake on the School Nine

-       The Champions of the Monatook Lake League

-

-Author: Frank A. Warner

-

-Illustrator: R. Emmett Owen

-

-Release Date: June 15, 2014 [EBook #45990]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: ASCII

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

-

-

-

-

-

-[Illustration: They slowly and sullenly handed over the contents of

-their pockets.]

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                             BOBBY BLAKE ON

-                            THE SCHOOL NINE

-

-                                   OR

-

-                     THE CHAMPIONS OF THE MONATOOK

-                              LAKE LEAGUE

-

-                                   BY

-

-                            FRANK A. WARNER

-

-              AUTHOR OF "BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL,"

-                   "BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE," "BOBBY

-                   BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS," ETC.

-

-                             ILLUSTRATED BY

-

-                             R. EMMETT OWEN

-

-                               PUBLISHERS

-                              BARSE & CO.

-                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                             Copyright 1917

-                                   by

-                              BARSE & CO.

-

-                     Bobby Blake on the School Nine

-

-                Printed in the United States of America

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                                CONTENTS

-

-                      I FLYING SNOWBALLS

-                     II A FRIEND INTERFERES

-                    III THE COMING STORM

-                     IV HELD UP

-                      V THE TRAMPS' RETREAT

-                     VI HEAVY ODDS

-                    VII PAYING AN OLD DEBT

-                   VIII THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY

-                     IX A COWARDLY TRICK

-                      X ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL

-                     XI TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS

-                    XII A NEW ENEMY

-                   XIII THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE

-                    XIV GLOWING HOPES

-                     XV SPOILING THE FUN

-                    XVI WHO WAS GUILTY?

-                   XVII ON THE TRAIL

-                  XVIII A HARD HIT

-                    XIX SPRING PRACTICE

-                     XX THE SUGAR CAMP

-                    XXI THE FIRST GAME

-                   XXII TO THE RESCUE

-                  XXIII THE EGG AND THE FAN

-                   XXIV AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT

-                    XXV OFF FOR A SWIM

-                   XXVI THE SCAR AND THE LIMP

-                  XXVII A GLEAM OF LIGHT

-                 XXVIII TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING

-                   XXIX A WILD CHASE

-                    XXX WINNING THE PENNANT--CONCLUSION

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                     BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER I

-

-                            FLYING SNOWBALLS

-

-

-"Ouch!"

-

-"That was a dandy!"

-

-"How's that for a straight shot?"

-

-"Thought you could dodge it, did you?"

-

-"Have a heart, fellows! I've got a ton of snow down my back already."

-

-A tumult of shouts and laughter rose into the frosty air from a group of

-boys, ranging in age from ten to twelve years, who were throwing and

-dodging snowballs near the railroad station in the little town of

-Clinton.

-

-Even the fact that four of the group were on their way back to school

-after the Christmas holidays was not sufficient to dampen their youthful

-spirits, and the piles of snow heaped up back of the platform had been

-too tempting to resist.

-

-As though moved by a single spring they had dropped the bags they were

-carrying, and the next instant the air was full of flying snowballs.

-Most of them found their mark, though a few in the excitement of the

-fray passed dangerously near the station windows.

-

-Flushed and eager, the panting warriors advanced or retreated, until a

-stray missile just grazed the ear of the baggage man, who was wheeling a

-load of trunks along the platform. He gave a roar of protest, and the

-boys thought it was time to stop. But they did it reluctantly.

-

-"Too bad to stop right in the middle of the fun," said Bobby Blake, a

-bright wholesome boy of about eleven years, with a frank face and merry

-brown eyes.

-

-"Bailey's got a grouch on this morning," remarked Fred Martin, better

-known among the boys as "Ginger," because of his red hair and equally

-fiery temper.

-

-"I never saw him any other way," put in "Scat" Monroe, one of the

-village boys, who had come down to the station to bid his friends

-good-bye. "I don't believe Bailey ever was a boy."

-

-"Oh, I guess he was--once," said Bobby, with the air of one making a

-generous concession, "but it was so long ago that he's forgotten all

-about it."

-

-"Perhaps you'd be grouchy too if you came near being hit," ventured

-Betty Martin, Fred's sister, "especially if you weren't getting any fun

-out of it."

-

-Betty formed one of a party of girls who bad accompanied the boys to the

-station to see them off. With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, these

-girls had stood huddled together like a flock of snowbirds, watching the

-friendly scuffle and giving a little squeal occasionally when a snowball

-came too close to them.

-

-Fred looked at his sister coldly. He was very fond of Betty, but as the

-only boy in a large family of girls, he felt it was incumbent on him to

-maintain the dignity of the male sex. He had pronounced ideas on the

-necessity of keeping girls in their place, and Betty was something of a

-trial to him because she refused to be squelched.

-

-"Of course, girls feel that way," he said loftily. "They're afraid of

-the least little thing. But men aren't such scare-cats."

-

-"Men!" sniffed Betty scornfully. "You don't call yourself a man, do

-you?"

-

-"Well, I'm going to be some day," her brother retorted, "and that's more

-than you can say."

-

-This was undeniable, and Fred felt that he had scored a point.

-

-Betty was reduced to the defensive.

-

-"I wouldn't want to be," she rejoined rather feebly.

-

-Fred cast a proud look around.

-

-"Sour grapes!" he ejaculated.

-

-Then, elated by his success, he sought rather imprudently to follow it

-up.

-

-"As for me," he declared, "I wouldn't care how hard I was hit. I'd only

-laugh."

-

-Betty saw an opening.

-

-"You wouldn't dare let me throw one at you," she challenged, her eyes

-dancing.

-

-Fred went into pretended convulsions.

-

-"You throw!" he jeered. "A girl throw! Why! you couldn't hit the--the

-side of a house," he ended lamely, his invention failing.

-

-"I couldn't, eh?" cried Betty, a little nettled. "Well, you just stand

-up against that post and see if I can't."

-

-Fred was somewhat startled by her prompt answer to his taunt, but it

-would never do to show the white feather.

-

-"All right," he responded, and took up his position, while Betty stood

-some twenty feet away.

-

-The laughing group of boys and girls gathered around her, and Bobby and

-Scat began to make snowballs for Betty.

-

-"No, you don't!" cried Fred. "I know you fellows. You'll make soakers.

-Let Betty make her own snowballs."

-

-"What do you care, if you're so sure she can't hit you?" said Bobby

-slyly.

-

-"Never you mind," replied Fred, ignoring the thrust. "You leave all that

-to Betty."

-

-The boys desisted and Betty made her own missiles.

-

-"How many chances do I have?" she asked. "Will you give me three shots?"

-

-"Three hundred if you like," replied her brother grandly. "It's all the

-same to me."

-

-He stiffened up sternly against the post. Somewhere he had seen a

-picture of Ajax defying the lightning, and he hoped that he looked like

-that.

-

-Betty poised herself to throw, but at the last moment her tender heart

-misgave her.

-

-"I--I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she faltered.

-

-"Aw, go ahead," urged "Mouser" Pryde, one of the four lads who were

-leaving for school.

-

-"Aim right at his head," added "Pee Wee" Wise, another schoolmate who

-was to accompany Bobby and Fred to Rockledge.

-

-"You can't miss that red mop of his," put in Scat heartlessly.

-

-"N-no," said Betty, dropping her hand to her side. "I guess I don't want

-to."

-

-Fred scented an easy victory, but made a mistake by not being satisfied

-to let well enough alone.

-

-"She knows she can't hit me and she's afraid to try," he gibed.

-

-The light of battle began to glow in Betty's eyes, but still she stood

-irresolute.

-

-"I'll give you a cent if you hit me," pursued Fred.

-

-"My! isn't he reckless with his money?" mocked Pee Wee.

-

-"He talks like a millionaire," added Mouser.

-

-"A whole cent," mused Bobby.

-

-Fred flushed.

-

-"Make it a nickel, then," he said. "And if that isn't enough, I'll give

-you a dime," he added, in a final burst of generosity.

-

-"Have you got it?" Betty asked suspiciously. She knew that Fred was

-usually in a state of bankruptcy.

-

-"I've got it all right," retorted her brother, "and what's more I'm

-going to keep it, because you couldn't hit anything in a thousand

-years."

-

-Whether it was the taunt or the dime or both, Betty was spurred to

-action. She hesitated no longer, but picked up a snowball and threw it

-at the fair mark that Fred presented.

-

-It went wide and Fred laughed gleefully.

-

-"Guess that dime stays right in my pocket," he chuckled.

-

-"Never mind, Betty," encouraged Bobby. "You were just getting the range

-then. Better luck next time."

-

-But the next shot also failed, and Fred's mirth became uproarious.

-

-"I might just as well have made it a dollar," he mocked.

-

-But his smile suddenly faded when Betty's third throw caught him right

-on the point of the nose.

-

-Fortunately the ball was not very hard. It spread all over his face,

-getting into his eyes and filling his mouth, and leaving him for the

-moment blinded and sputtering.

-

-The girls gave little shrieks and the boys doubled up with laughter,

-which increased as the victim brushed away the snow and they caught

-sight of his startled and sheepish face. Betty, in swift penitence, flew

-to his side.

-

-"Oh, Fred!" she wailed, "I hope I didn't hurt you!"

-

-To do Fred justice, he was game, and after the first moment of

-discomfiture he tried to smile, though the attempt was not much of a

-success.

-

-"That's all right, Betty," he said. "You're a better shot than I thought

-you were. Here's your dime," he added, taking the coin from his pocket.

-

-"I don't want it," replied Betty. "I'm sorry I won it."

-

-But Fred insisted and she took it, although reluctantly.

-

-"Too bad you didn't make it a dollar, Fred," joked Pee Wee.

-

-"Couldn't hit you in a thousand years, eh?" chuckled Scat.

-

-"Oh, cut it out, you fellows," protested Fred. "I didn't dodge anyway,

-did I? You've got to give me credit for that."

-

-"That was pretty good work for short distance shooting," remarked Bobby

-Blake, molding a snowball. "But now watch me hit that rock on the other

-side of the road."

-

-"Look out that you don't hit that horse," cautioned Betty.

-

-But the snowball had already left Bobby's hand. He had thought that it

-would easily clear the scraggy old horse that was jogging along drawing

-a sleigh. But the aim was too low, and the snowball hit the horse plump

-in the neck.

-

-The startled brute reared and plunged, and the driver, a big hulky boy

-with pale eyes and a pasty complexion, had all he could do to quiet him.

-

-He succeeded at last, and then, grasping his whip, jumped over the side

-of the sleigh and came running up to the boys, his face convulsed with

-rage.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER II

-

-                          A FRIEND INTERFERES

-

-

-"Oh," gasped Betty, "it's Ap Plunkit!"

-

-"Yes," added Fred, "and he's as mad as a hornet."

-

-Applethwaite Plunkit was the son of a farmer who lived a short distance

-out of town. He was older and larger than the rest of the boys gathered

-on the station platform, and they all disliked him thoroughly because of

-his mean and ugly disposition.

-

-Bobby and Fred had had several squabbles with him when he had attempted

-to bully them, but their quarrels had never yet got to the point of an

-actual fight. But just now, as he strode up to them, it looked as though

-a fight were coming.

-

-Bobby was a plucky boy, and though he never went around looking for

-trouble, he was always willing and able to take his own part when it

-became necessary. But Ap was a great deal bigger and heavier than he,

-and just now had the advantage of the whip. So that Bobby's breath came

-a little faster as Ap came nearer. But he never thought of retreating,

-and faced the bully with an outward calm that he was very far from

-feeling.

-

-"Which one of you fellows hit my horse?" demanded Ap, in a voice that

-trembled with rage.

-

-"I did," replied Bobby, stepping forward a little in advance of the

-group.

-

-"What did you do it for?" cried Ap, at the same time raising his whip.

-

-"I didn't aim at the horse," replied Bobby. "I was trying to hit a rock

-on the other side of the road."

-

-"I don't believe it," snarled the bully.

-

-"I can't help whether you believe it or not," answered Bobby. "It's the

-truth."

-

-"You needn't think you're going to crawl out of it that way," Ap snapped

-back. "You hit my horse on purpose and now I'm going to hit you."

-

-He lifted his whip higher to make good his threat. Bobby's fists

-clenched and his eyes glowed.

-

-"Don't you touch me with that whip, Ap Plunkit," he warned, "or it will

-be the worse for you."

-

-"You bet it will!" cried Fred, rushing forward. "You touch Bobby and

-we'll all pitch into you."

-

-"That's what!" ejaculated Mouser.

-

-"Sure thing," added Pee Wee, who, though lazy and hard to rouse, was

-always loyal to his friends.

-

-For a moment it seemed as though a general scrimmage could not be

-avoided, and the girls gave little frightened shrieks.

-

-Ap hesitated.

-

-"Four against one," he muttered sarcastically. "You're a plucky lot, you

-are."

-

-"Throw down that whip and any one of us will tackle you," cried Fred

-hotly, his fiery temper getting the better of him.

-

-But just then a diversion came from a new quarter.

-

-A boy who was just about equal to Ap in age and weight, who had a lot of

-freckles, a snub nose, a jolly Irish face and a crop of red hair that

-rivaled Fred's own, pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered.

-

-"It's Pat Moriarty," cried Betty in relief.

-

-"Hello, Bobby! Hello, Fred!" called out the newcomer cheerily. "What's

-the rumpus here?"

-

-"It's this Ap Plunkit," explained Bobby. "I hit his horse with a

-snowball by accident."

-

-"And the big coward's brought his whip over to get even," volunteered

-Fred.

-

-"To git even is it," said Pat, as his eyes fell on the bully, who was

-beginning to move backward. "Well, I'll give him the chanst."

-

-He went over rapidly to Ap.

-

-"Why don't you tackle a feller of your size?" he asked scornfully. "Like

-me, fur instance?"

-

-"You keep out of this," muttered Ap uneasily.

-

-"Keep out of it!" jeered Pat pugnaciously. "A Moriarty never keeps out

-of a scrap when he sees a big feller pickin' on a little one."

-

-With a sudden movement he snatched Ap's whip and threw it on the ground.

-

-Resentment flared up in Ap's eyes.

-

-While the two antagonists stand glaring at each other, it may be well,

-for the benefit of those who have not followed the fortunes and

-adventures of Bobby Blake from the beginning, to give a brief outline of

-the preceding volumes in this series.

-

-Bobby was the only child of his parents, who resided in the little

-inland town of Clinton. Although their hearts were bound up in their

-son, they had been sensible enough not to spoil him, and he had grown

-into a bright, manly boy, full of fun and frolic, and a general favorite

-among the boys of the town.

-

-Fred Martin, whose family lived only a few doors away from the Blakes,

-was Bobby's closest friend and companion. The boys were very different

-in temperament, and it was this very unlikeness, perhaps, which had made

-them chums. Fred had a hot temper which was constantly getting him into

-scrapes, and Bobby, who was much cooler and more self-controlled, was

-kept busy a good deal of the time in getting his friend out of trouble.

-They seldom had any differences between themselves and were almost

-constantly together.

-

-Mr. Blake was once suddenly called to South America on business, and it

-was arranged that Mrs. Blake should go with him. What to do with Bobby

-during their absence gave them a good many anxious moments. They finally

-decided to send him to Rockledge School, of which they had heard

-excellent reports, and to Bobby's great delight, Mr. Martin consented to

-let Fred go with him.

-

-The school opened a new world for the boys. They had to study hard, but

-a lot of fun was mixed in with the work and they had many exciting

-adventures. They formed warm friendships, but there were two or three

-bullies in the school who tried to make their lives burdensome. How they

-finally defeated these petty tyrants and came out on top is told in the

-first volume of the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Rockledge School;

-or, Winning the Medal of Honor."

-

-The steamer on which Mr. Blake and his wife had sailed was lost at sea,

-and for a time it was feared that all on board had gone down with her.

-Bobby was heart-broken; so when news came later that his parents had

-been rescued his joy can be imagined. The end of the spring term was

-near, and Bobby and Fred accepted the invitation of one of their

-schoolmates, Perry (nicknamed "Pee Wee") Wise, to spend part of the

-summer vacation on the coast, where Perry's father had a summer home.

-There they had a splendid time. Their most stirring adventure involved

-the search for a missing boat. This is described in the second volume of

-the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Bass Cove; or, The Hunt for the

-Motor Boat _Gem_."

-

-They would have stayed longer at this delightful place, had it not been

-for a message brought to Bobby by an old sea captain who was a friend of

-Mr. Blake. He told Bobby that his parents were on their way home but

-would stop for a while at Porto Rico, where they wanted Bobby to join

-them. Bobby was wild to see his parents again, and his joy was increased

-when Mr. Martin said that he would go too and take Fred along. They

-expected adventure, but got more than they bargained for, and the story

-of how they were cast away and finally picked up by the very ship on

-which Bobby's father and mother were sailing is told in the third volume

-of the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake on a Cruise; or, The Castaways of

-Volcano Island."

-

-Once more at home, the two boys were preparing to go back to Rockledge

-for the fall term, when they suddenly came into possession of a

-pocketbook containing a large sum of money. A strange series of

-happenings led them at last to the owner. In the meantime, their school

-life was full of action, culminating in a lively football game where

-Bobby and Fred helped to defeat Belden School, their chief rival. How

-well they played their part is shown in the fourth volume of the series,

-entitled: "Bobby Blake and His School Chums; or, The Rivals of

-Rockledge."

-

-The uncle of "Mouser" Pryde, one of Bobby's particular friends at

-school, owned a shooting lodge up in the Big Woods, and he invited

-Mouser to ask some of his friends up there to spend part of the

-Christmas holidays. Bobby and Fred were members of the party, and they

-had a glorious time, skating, snowshoeing, fishing through the ice and

-hunting. In turn, they were themselves hunted by a big bear and had a

-narrow escape. Incidentally they were fortunate enough to rescue and

-bring back to his right mind a demented hunter who proved to be Pat

-Moriarty's father. How they did this and won the everlasting gratitude

-of the red-headed Irish boy is described in the fifth volume of the

-series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Snowtop Camp; or, Winter Holidays in

-the Big Woods."

-

-Pat and Ap seemed to be trying to outstare each other, and the rest

-waited in breathless silence during this silent duel of eyes.

-

-But Ap's eyes were the first to fall before the blaze in Pat's.

-

-"I'll get even with that Bobby Blake yet," he mumbled, stooping to pick

-up his whip.

-

-"Well, the next time don't bring along your whip to help you out,"

-replied Bobby.

-

-"An' when you feel like lookin' for trouble, I can find it for you,"

-added Pat. "You'll be rememberin', Ap Plunkit, that I licked you once

-when you gave a hot penny to a monkey, an' I can do it again."

-

-It was evident that Ap did remember perfectly well the fact which Pat

-referred to, for he did not seem to want to stay any longer in the Irish

-lad's vicinity. He picked up his whip, went over to the wagon and

-climbed in. Then he took out his spite by giving his nag a vicious slash

-and drove away. But first he doubled up his fist and shook it at the

-boys, a gesture which they answered with a derisive shout of laughter.

-

-"I think that Ap Plunkit is just horrid," declared Betty, with a stamp

-of her little foot.

-

-"I don't blame him for feeling a little sore," said Bobby, "especially

-before he knew I didn't do it on purpose. But I guess he has a grudge

-against me anyway."

-

-"He was just looking for an excuse to make trouble," put in Fred, "and

-it was just like him to bring his whip along. He never has played fair

-yet."

-

-"He's got a yaller streak in him, I'm thinkin'," chuckled Pat, a broad

-smile covering his jolly face. "I just couldn't help buttin' in when I

-seen him a swingin' of that whip."

-

-"You always stand up for your friends, don't you, Pat?" said Mouser

-admiringly.

-

-"Sure thing," grinned Pat. "Especially when they're the best friends a

-feller ever had. I'll never forget what Bobby and Fred have done for me

-an' my folks."

-

-"Oh, that was nothing," put in Bobby hastily.

-

-"Nothin'!" exclaimed Pat. "It was just everything, an' there isn't a day

-goes by in our house but what we're talkin' about it."

-

-"How did you happen to be Johnny-on-the-spot this morning?" asked Bobby,

-anxious to change the conversation.

-

-"I just was doin' an errand at the grocery store when I heard some one

-say that you boys were goin' off to school this mornin'," answered Pat,

-"an' I dropped everything an' came down here on a dead run to say

-good-bye and wish you slathers of luck. I guess me mother will be after

-wonderin' what's keepin' me, an' she a waitin' fur the butter an'

-sugar," he added, with a grin, "but she won't care when I tell her what

-the reason was."

-

-"I wish you were going along with us, Pat," said Bobby, who was

-genuinely fond of the good-hearted Irish boy.

-

-"Yes," drawled Pee Wee. "We've got a couple of fellows up at Rockledge

-that I'd like to see you handle just as you faced down Ap this morning."

-

-"If there's any kind of a shindig, I'd sure like to be in the thick of

-it," laughed Pat. "But I'll trust you boys not to let them fellers do

-any crowin' over you."

-

-"Right you are," put in Mouser. "There aren't any of 'em that can make

-Bobby and Fred lie down when they get their dander up."

-

-"Oh, dear," sighed Betty, as the toot of the train's whistle was heard

-up the track. "Here it comes. I just hate to have to say good-bye to you

-boys."

-

-"Never mind, Betty," cried Bobby cheerily. "It won't be so very long and

-you'll hear from us every once in a while. And maybe we'll be able to

-come home for a few days at Easter."

-

-There was a scurrying about as the boys got their hand-baggage together

-and brushed the snow from their clothes. The train had now come in

-sight, and a minute later with a great rattle and clamor and hissing of

-steam it drew up to the platform.

-

-"All aboard!" shouted Mouser, and the four boys scrambled up the steps,

-Pee Wee as usual bringing up the rear.

-

-They rushed up the aisle and were lucky enough to find two vacant seats

-next to each other. They turned over the back of one of them, so that

-two of them could sit facing the others, and tucked away their

-belongings in the racks and under the seats. Then they threw up the

-windows so as to have a last word with those they were leaving behind.

-

-The girls had their handkerchiefs out ready to wave a good-bye, and

-Betty was applying hers furtively to one of her eyes.

-

-"I hope your nose isn't hurting you, Fred," she questioned, the mischief

-glinting out in spite of the tears.

-

-"Not a bit of it," answered Fred hastily, as though the subject was not

-to his liking.

-

-"And you're sure you don't need the ten cents?"

-

-"Need nothing," declared Fred, with the magnificent gesture of one to

-whom money was a trifle. "I've got plenty with me."

-

-Betty drew back a little, and Scat and Pat came along and grasped the

-four hands that were thrust out to meet theirs.

-

-"Good luck, fellows," said Scat. "I hope you'll get on the baseball nine

-this spring and lay it all over the teams you play against."

-

-"We're going to do our best," Bobby replied.

-

-"Good-bye, boys!" called out Pat. "I sure am sorry to have you goin'. It

-won't seem like the same old place when you ain't here no more."

-

-"Good-bye, Pat!" the four shouted in chorus.

-

-"If you have any mix-up with Ap while we're gone, be sure to let us

-know," laughed Bobby.

-

-"There won't be any mix-up," put in Fred. "Not if Ap sees Pat first,

-there won't."

-

-"Ap will crawfish all right," confirmed Mouser.

-

-"He's a wonder at backing out," added Pee Wee.

-

-The bell of the engine began to clang and the train started slowly out

-of the station. The little party left behind ran alongside until they

-reached the end of the platform, shouting and waving.

-

-The travelers, with their heads far out of the windows, waved and called

-in return until they were out of sight and hearing.

-

-"Betty's a bully girl, isn't she, Fred?" remarked Bobby, as they settled

-back in their seats. "You're a lucky fellow. I wish I had a sister like

-her."

-

-"Ye-e-s," assented Fred, rather hesitatingly. "Betty's a brick. That

-is," he added hastily, "as far as any girl can be. But don't be wishing

-too hard for sisters, Bobby," he went on darkly. "Girls aren't all

-they're cracked up to be."

-

-"Especially when they know how to throw," put in Bobby, with a roguish

-glint in his eyes.

-

-Fred pretended to think this remark unworthy of an answer, but he rubbed

-his nose reflectively.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER III

-

-                            THE COMING STORM

-

-

-For several minutes the boys were the least bit quiet and subdued. There

-is always something sobering in going away from home and leaving

-relatives and friends behind, especially when the parting is going to

-last for many months, and the warm-hearted farewells of the group at the

-station were still ringing in the boy's ears.

-

-But it is not in boy nature to remain quiet long, and their

-irrepressible spirits soon asserted themselves and caused the young

-travelers to bubble over with fun and merriment.

-

-Besides, Pee Wee and Mouser had said good-bye to their parents the day

-before in their own homes, and had been stopping over night with their

-school chums in Clinton. Their depression was but for the moment and was

-over the thought of leaving behind so much fun and good will as they had

-found at their chums' home town, and they helped Bobby and Fred to

-forget their feeling of homesickness.

-

-There were not many other passengers on the train that morning, so that

-the boys had plenty of room and could give vent to their feelings

-without causing annoyance to others. They snatched each other's caps and

-threw them in the aisles or under the seats, indulged in good-natured

-scuffling, sang bits of the Rockledge songs and cut up "high jinks"

-generally.

-

-Fred and Mouser were seized by a longing for a drink of water at the

-same moment, and they had a race to see who would get to the cooler

-first. Fred won and got first drink while Mouser waited for his turn.

-But Mouser got even by knocking Fred's elbow so that half the water was

-spilled over the front of his coat.

-

-"Quit, I tell you, Mouser," remonstrated Fred, half choking from the

-effort to drink and talk at the same time.

-

-But Mouser kept on, until suddenly Fred saw a chance to get back at him.

-

-"What does it say there?" he asked, pointing to some words engraved on

-the lower part of the cooler. "I can't quite make the letters out from

-here."

-

-Mouser innocently bent over, and Fred, taking advantage of his stooping

-position, tipped his glass and sent a stream of water down his victim's

-neck.

-

-There was a startled howl from Mouser as the cold water trickled down

-his spine. He straightened up with a jerk and chased Fred down the

-aisle, while Bobby and Pee Wee went into whoops of laughter at his

-discomfiture.

-

-"That's no way to drink water, Mouser," chaffed Bobby as soon as he

-could speak. "You want to use your mouth instead of taking in through

-the pores."

-

-"Oh, dry up," ejaculated Mouser, making frantic efforts to stuff his

-handkerchief down his back.

-

-"We're dry enough already," chuckled Pee Wee. "Seems to me it's you that

-needs drying up."

-

-"You will jog my elbow, eh?" jeered Fred, who was delighted at the

-success of his stratagem.

-

-"My turn will come," grunted Mouser. "It's a long worm that has no

-turning," he added, getting mixed up in his proverbs.

-

-Again the boys shouted and Mouser himself, although he tried to keep up

-his dignity, ended by joining in the merriment.

-

-In the scramble for seats when they had first boarded the train, Bobby

-and Fred had had the luck to get the seat that faced forward. Mouser and

-Pee Wee had to ride backward and naturally after a while they objected.

-

-"You fellows have all the best of it," grumbled Pee Wee.

-

-"That's all right," retorted Fred. "That's as it should be. Nothing's

-too good for Bobby and me. The best people ought to have the best of

-everything."

-

-"Sure thing," Bobby backed him up. "The common people ought to be

-satisfied with what they can get. You fellows ought to be glad that we

-let you travel with us at all."

-

-"Those fellows just hate themselves, don't they?" Mouser appealed to his

-seat mate.

-

-"Aren't they the modest little flowers?" agreed Pee Wee.

-

-"What do you say to rushing them and firing them out?" suggested Mouser.

-

-"Oh, don't do that," cried Fred in mock alarm. "Pee Wee might fall on

-one of us, and then there'd be nothing left but a grease spot."

-

-"Might as well have a ton of brick on top of you," confirmed Bobby.

-

-"I'll tell you what," grinned Pee Wee. "We'll draw straws for it and the

-fellows that get the two longest straws get the best seats."

-

-"That would be all right and I'd be glad to do it," said Fred with an

-air of candor. "Only there aren't any straws handy. So we'll have to let

-things stay as they are."

-

-"You don't get out of it that way, you old fox," cried Mouser. "Here's

-an old letter and we'll make strips of paper take the place of the

-straws."

-

-"All right," agreed Fred, driven into the open. "Give me the letter and

-I'll make the strips and you fellows can draw."

-

-"Will you play fair?" asked Mouser suspiciously.

-

-Fred put on an air of offended virtue.

-

-"Do you think I'm a crook?" he asked.

-

-"I don't know," retorted Mouser in a most unflattering way. "A fellow

-that will pour water down my back when I'm trying to do him a favor will

-do anything."

-

-Fred looked at him sadly as though lamenting his lack of faith, but

-proceeded briskly to tear the strips. The boys drew and Bobby had the

-luck to retain his seat, but Fred had to exchange with Mouser.

-

-"It's a shame to have to sit with Pee Wee," said Fred as he squeezed in

-beside the fat boy. "He takes up two-thirds of the seat."

-

-"The conductor ought to charge him double fare," grinned Mouser.

-

-Pee Wee only smiled lazily.

-

-"Look at him," jeered Bobby. "He looks just like the cat that's

-swallowed the canary."

-

-"It would take more than that to make Pee Wee happy," put in Fred. "A

-canary would be a mighty slim meal for him."

-

-"You'd think so if you'd seen how he piled into the buckwheat cakes this

-morning," chuckled Bobby. "Honestly, fellows, I thought that Meena would

-have heart failure trying to cook them fast enough."

-

-"I noticed that you did your part all right," laughed Pee Wee. "I had

-all I could do to get my share of the maple syrup."

-

-"Buckwheats and maple syrup!" groaned Mouser. "Say, fellows! stop

-talking about them or you'll make me so hungry I'll have to bite the

-woodwork."

-

-"We can do better than that," said Fred. "Here comes the train boy.

-Let's get some candy and peanuts."

-

-The boys bought lavishly and munched away contentedly.

-

-"Look at the way the snow's coming down!" exclaimed Fred, gazing out of

-the window.

-

-"It is for a fact," agreed Bobby.

-

-"Looks as though it had settled in for a regular storm," commented

-Mouser.

-

-"Maybe it will be a blizzard," suggested Pee Wee.

-

-As a matter of fact, it appeared to be that already. The snow was

-falling heavily and shutting out the view so that the boys could

-scarcely see the telegraph poles at the side of the track. A fierce wind

-was blowing, and in many places the fence rails were almost covered

-where the snow had drifted.

-

-"Hope we won't have any trouble in getting to Rockledge," remarked Fred

-rather apprehensively.

-

-"Not so bad as that I guess," said Bobby. "There's one place though, a

-little further on, where the track runs through a gulch and that may be

-pretty well filled up if the storm keeps on."

-

-"I wonder if there's anything to eat on the train if we should get

-snowbound," ventured Pee Wee.

-

-"Trust Pee Wee to think of his stomach the first thing," gibed Fred.

-

-"There isn't any dining car on the train," said Mouser. "And we're still

-a good way from the station where it usually stops for lunch."

-

-"We're all right anyway as long as the candy and peanuts hold out,"

-laughed Bobby.

-

-"Yes," mourned Pee Wee, "but there isn't much nourishment in them when a

-fellow's really hungry."

-

-The storm continued without abatement, and the few passengers that got

-on at the way stations looked like so many polar bears as they shook the

-clinging flakes from their clothes and shoes.

-

-"Oh well, what do we care," concluded Pee Wee, settling back in his

-seat. "There's no use borrowing trouble. It always comes soon enough if

-it comes at all."

-

-"We ought to be used to snow by this time," remarked Mouser. "After what

-we went through up in the Big Woods this doesn't seem anything at all."

-

-"Listen to the north pole explorer," mocked Fred. "You'd think, to hear

-him talk, that he'd been up with Cook or Peary."

-

-"Well, I've got it all over those fellows in one way," maintained

-Mouser. "I'll bet they never had a snowslide come down and cover the

-shack they were living in."

-

-"That was a close shave all right," said Bobby a little soberly, as he

-thought of what had been almost a tragedy during their recent holiday at

-Snowtop Camp. "I thought once we were never going to get out of that

-scrape alive."

-

-"It was almost as bad when we were chased by the bear," put in Fred. "We

-did some good little running that day all right. I thought my breath

-would never come back."

-

-"And the running wouldn't have done us any good if it hadn't been for

-good old Don," added Mouser. "How that old dog did stand up to the

-bear."

-

-"He got some fierce old digs from the bear's claws while he was doing

-it," said Bobby.

-

-"He got over them all right," affirmed Mouser. "I got a letter from my

-uncle a couple of days ago, and he says that Don is as good as he ever

-was."

-

-The train for some time past had been going more and more slowly.

-Suddenly it came to a halt, although there was no station in sight. It

-backed up for perhaps three hundred feet, put on all steam and again

-rushed forward only to come to an abrupt stop with a jerk that almost

-threw the boys out of their seats.

-

-They looked at each other in consternation.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER IV

-

-                                HELD UP

-

-

-Once more, as though unwilling to admit that it was conquered, the train

-backed up and then made a forward dash. But the result was the same. The

-snorting monster seemed to give up the struggle, and stood puffing and

-wheezing, with the steam hissing and great volumes of smoke rising from

-the stack.

-

-"We're blocked," cried Bobby.

-

-"It must be that we've got to the gulch," observed Fred.

-

-"A pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Pee Wee.

-

-"We're up against it for fair, I guess," admitted Mouser. "But let's get

-out and see how bad the trouble is."

-

-The boys joined the procession of passengers going down the aisle and

-jumped off the steps of the car into a pile of snow beside the track

-that came up to their knees. Pee Wee, who as usual was last, lost his

-balance as he sprang, and went head over heels into a drift. His

-laughing comrades helped him to his feet.

-

-"Wallowing like a porpoise," grinned Fred.

-

-"You went into that snow as if you liked it," chuckled Bobby.

-

-"Lots of sympathy from you boobs," grumbled Pee Wee, as he brushed the

-snow from his face and hair.

-

-"Lots of that in the dictionary," sang out Mouser. "But come ahead,

-fellows, and see what's doing."

-

-The others waded after Mouser until they stood abreast of the

-locomotive.

-

-It was a scene of wintry desolation that lay stretched before their

-eyes. As far as they could see, they could make out little but the white

-blanket of snow, above which the trees tossed their black and leafless

-branches. Paths and fences were blotted out, and except for the thin

-column of smoke that rose from a farmhouse half a mile away, they might

-have been in an uninhabited world of white.

-

-"Looks like Snowtop, sure enough," muttered Mouser, as he looked around.

-

-The conductor and the engineer, together with the trainmen, had gathered

-in a little group near the engine, and the boys edged closer in order to

-hear what they were saying.

-

-"It's no use," the grizzled old engineer was remarking. "The jig's up as

-far as Seventy-three is concerned. I tried to get the old girl to buck

-the drifts, but she couldn't do it."

-

-The boys thought it was no wonder that Seventy-three had gone on strike,

-as they noted that her cowcatcher was buried while the drift rose higher

-than her stack.

-

-"It's too bad," rejoined the conductor, shaking his head in a perplexed

-fashion. "I've been worrying about the gulch ever since it came on to

-snow so hard. It wouldn't have mattered so much if it hadn't been for

-the wind. That's slacked up some now, but the damage is done already."

-

-"What are you going to do, boss?" asked one of the trainmen.

-

-"You'll have to go back to the last station and wire up to the Junction

-for them to send the snow-plough down and clear the track," responded

-the conductor. "Get a hustle on now and ask them to send it along in a

-hurry."

-

-The trainman started back at as fast a pace as the snow permitted, and

-the engineer climbed back into his cab to get out of the wind while

-waiting for help. The conductor started back for the smoking car, and as

-he went past, Bobby ventured to speak to him.

-

-"How long do you think we'll have to wait here?" he inquired.

-

-"No telling, sonny," the conductor answered. "Perhaps a couple of hours,

-maybe longer. It all depends on how soon they can get that snow-plough

-down to us."

-

-He passed on and Mouser gave a low whistle.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" cried Fred, giving vent to his favorite exclamation.

-"Two long hours in this neck of the woods!"

-

-"And nothing to eat in sight," groaned Pee Wee.

-

-"I wish I'd let Meena put up that lunch for us this morning," said Bobby

-regretfully. "My mother wanted me to bring one along, but I was in a

-hurry and counted on getting something to eat at the railroad lunch

-station."

-

-"What are we going to do?" moaned Pee Wee.

-

-"Fill up on snowballs," suggested Mouser heartlessly.

-

-Pee Wee glared at him.

-

-"I'm almost as bad as Pee Wee," said Fred. "I feel as empty as though I

-hadn't had anything to eat for a week. I could eat the bark off a tree."

-

-"I tell you what, fellows," suggested Bobby, who was usually the leader

-when it came to action; "what do you say to going over to that farmhouse

-and trying to buy something to eat? I don't think they'd let us go away

-hungry."

-

-They followed the direction of his pointing finger, and new hope sprang

-up in them.

-

-"But it's an awful long way off," objected Pee Wee, whose fear of

-exertion was only second to his love of eating.

-

-"Have you got another stone bruise on your foot?" asked Mouser

-sarcastically.

-

-This was a standing joke among the boys. Whenever Pee Wee hung back from

-a walk or a run, he usually put forth the excuse of a stone bruise that

-made him lame for the time.

-

-"No, I haven't any stone bruise," Pee Wee rapped back at him, "but how

-do you know I didn't bark my shins when I had that tumble a few minutes

-ago?"

-

-He put on a pained look which might have deceived those who did not know

-him so well. But the steady stare of his comrades was too much for him

-to stand without wilting, and he had to join rather sheepishly in the

-laugh that followed.

-

-"You stay here then, Pee Wee, while we go over and get something to

-eat," suggested Fred. "We'll ask the farmer to bring you over something

-on a gold tray. He'll be glad to do it."

-

-"Oh, cut it out," grinned Pee Wee. "Go ahead and I'll follow."

-

-"Foxy boy, isn't he?" chuckled Fred. "He wants us to break out the path

-so that it will be easier for him."

-

-"I'd rather have Pee Wee go ahead," remarked Mouser. "He'd be better

-than any snow plough."

-

-With chaff and laughter they started out, Bobby leading the way and the

-rest following in single file. They had pulled their caps down over

-their ears and buttoned their coats tightly about their necks. Luckily

-for them the wind had moderated, although the snow still kept falling,

-but more lightly than before.

-

-They did not do much talking, for they needed all their breath to make

-their way through the drifts. As they had no path to guide them, they

-made straight across the fields, bumping every now and then into a fence

-that they had to climb. They were pretty well winded and panting hard

-when at last they reached the fence that bounded the spacious dooryard

-in front of the farmhouse.

-

-A big black dog came bounding down to the gate barking ferociously. The

-boys took comfort from the fact that the fence was high and that the dog

-was too big and heavy to leap over it.

-

-"He's glad to see us--I don't think," said Fred.

-

-"Seems to have a sweet disposition," muttered Pee Wee.

-

-"Let Mouser get to talking to him," suggested Bobby. "He'll tame him

-down in no time."

-

-Mouser, somewhat flattered, stepped forward. He had gained his nickname

-because he had a number of mice which he had taught to do all sorts of

-clever tricks. His fondness extended to all animals, and he had the

-remarkable power over them with which some people are gifted. No matter

-how savage or frightened they might be, they seemed to yield to his

-charm.

-

-It did not fail him now. He muttered some words soothingly to the dog,

-whose barking grew feebler. Soon it stopped altogether, and in another

-minute or two the brute was wagging his tail and poking his muzzle

-through the rails of the fence for Mouser to pat him.

-

-It was almost uncanny, and the boys held their breath as they watched

-the transformation.

-

-"It's all right now," said Mouser, lifting the latch of the gate. "Come

-along, fellows."

-

-"Gee whiz!" exclaimed Bobby. "How do you do it?"

-

-"You ought to be with a circus," said Fred in undisguised admiration.

-"You'd make a dandy lion tamer."

-

-Mouser was elated at the tribute, but accepted it modestly enough, and

-led the way up to the house, the dog prancing along with them in the

-most friendly manner.

-

-As they reached the door and were about to knock, it was opened, and a

-motherly looking woman appeared on the threshold. There was an

-expression of anxiety on her face.

-

-"Down, Tiger, down," she cried. Then as she saw the evident pleasure of

-the brute in the boys' company, her worried expression changed to one of

-surprise.

-

-"Mercy on us!" she exclaimed. "I was afraid the dog would eat you up.

-He's awfully savage, but we keep him on account of there being so many

-tramps around. I was upstairs when I heard him barking, and I hurried

-down as fast as I could, for I was sure he'd bite you if you came inside

-the gate."

-

-"Oh, Tiger's a good friend of mine, aren't you, Tiger?" laughed Mouser,

-as he stooped to caress the dog.

-

-Tiger licked his hand.

-

-"Well, I never saw anything like it," said their hostess. "I just can't

-understand it. But here I am keeping you standing outside when you must

-be half perished with the cold," she went on with quick sympathy. "Come

-right inside and get warm before you say another word."

-

-She led the way into a bright, cheerful sitting room, where there was a

-big wood fire blazing on the hearth. She bustled around and saw that

-they were comfortably seated before the fire. Then Bobby explained their

-errand.

-

-"I suppose we're sort of tramps ourselves," he said with the winning

-smile that always gained for him instant liking. "But we were on the

-train and it got stalled over there in the gulch on account of the snow.

-We hadn't brought any lunch with us and we thought we'd come over here

-and see if we could buy something to eat."

-

-"You poor starved boys!" she exclaimed with as ready a sympathy as

-though she had been the mother of them all. "Of course you can have all

-you want to eat. It's too early for dinner yet, as Mr. Wilson--that's my

-husband--went to town this morning and will be a little late in getting

-back. But I'll get up something for you right away. You just sit here

-and get warmed through and I'll have it on the table in a jiffy."

-

-"Don't go to too much trouble," put in Bobby. "Anything will do."

-

-She was off at once, and they heard the cheerful clatter of pans and

-dishes in the adjoining kitchen.

-

-The boys stretched out luxuriously before the fire and looked at each

-other in silent ecstasy.

-

-"Talk about luck," murmured Mouser.

-

-"All we want to eat," repeated Pee Wee.

-

-"She didn't know you when she said that," chaffed Fred. "I don't believe

-there's enough in the house to fill that contract."

-

-"Pee Wee will have to go some to get ahead of me," chimed in Bobby.

-

-A savory odor was soon wafted in from the kitchen. Pee Wee sat bolt

-upright and sniffed.

-

-"Say, fellows! do you smell that?" he asked. "If I'm dreaming, don't

-wake me up."

-

-"It's no dream," Mouser assured him. "It's something a good sight more

-real than that."

-

-Before long the door opened to reveal the smiling face of Mrs. Wilson.

-

-"All ready, boys," she announced cheerily. "Come right along."

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER V

-

-                          THE TRAMPS' RETREAT

-

-

-The boys needed no second invitation. Even Pee Wee shook off his usual

-laziness. With a single impulse they sprang from their chairs and

-trooped out into the dining room.

-

-It seemed to the hungry boys as though nothing had ever looked so good

-as the meal that their hostess had provided for them. There was a huge

-dish of bacon and eggs, plates piled high with snowy, puffy biscuit,

-which, as Mrs. Wilson told them, she had "knocked together" in a hurry,

-smoking hot from the oven, a great platter of fried potatoes, and, to

-crown the feast, mince and apple and pumpkin pies whose flaky crusts

-seemed to fairly beg to be eaten.

-

-A simultaneous "ah-h" came from the boys, as they looked at the store of

-good things set before them, and the way they plunged into the meal was

-the sincerest tribute that could be paid to the cookery of their

-hostess. It brought a glow of pleasure into her kindly eyes and a happy

-flush to her cheeks. She fluttered about them like a hen over her

-chicks, renewing the dishes, pressing them to take more--a thing which

-was wholly unnecessary--and joining in their jokes and laughter. It is

-safe to say that a merrier meal had not been enjoyed in that old

-farmhouse for many a day.

-

-But even a meal like that had to come to an end at last, and it was with

-a sigh of perfect satisfaction that the boys finally sat back in their

-chairs and looked about at the complete wreck they had made of the

-viands.

-

-"Looks as if a whirlwind had passed this way," remarked Mouser.

-

-"I never enjoyed a meal so much," said Pee Wee.

-

-"Well, you're certainly a judge," laughed Fred. "When you say a meal's

-the limit you know what you're talking about. And this time I agree with

-you."

-

-"I'm glad you liked things," put in Mrs. Wilson. "It does me good to see

-the way you boys eat."

-

-"I'm afraid you wouldn't make much money if you had us as steady

-boarders," smiled Bobby.

-

-"Come right back to the living room and get yourselves warm as toast

-before you start out again in this wind," urged their hostess.

-

-"We'd like to ever so much," replied Bobby. "But I guess we'd better be

-getting along. Perhaps that snow plough will get down sooner than we

-thought, and everything's been so good here that I'm afraid perhaps

-we've stayed too long already."

-

-They wrapped themselves up warmly, and then Bobby as spokesman turned to

-their hostess.

-

-"How much do we owe you?" he asked, taking out his pocketbook, while the

-others prepared to do the same.

-

-"You don't owe me a cent!" declared Mrs. Wilson with emphasis.

-

-"Oh, but yes," rejoined Bobby, somewhat startled. "We couldn't think of

-letting you go to all that trouble and expense without paying for it."

-

-"I won't take a penny, bless your hearts," Mrs. Wilson repeated. "It's

-been a real joy to have you here. I haven't any children of my own, and

-the old place gets a bit lonesome at times. I haven't had such a good

-time for years as I've had this morning, seeing you eat so hearty and

-listening to your fun. I feel that I owe you a good deal more than you

-do me."

-

-She was firm in her determination, although the boys pressed the matter

-as far as they could without offending her. So they were forced at last

-to yield to her wishes and return the money to their pockets.

-

-It was with the warmest thanks that they left their kind-hearted hostess

-and went down the steps, Tiger accompanying them to the gate. He seemed

-to want to go further and whined softly when Mouser patted him good-bye.

-

-"Isn't she a prince?" said Pee Wee admiringly, as they waved their hands

-in farewell.

-

-"A princess you mean," corrected Mouser.

-

-"Have it your own way," retorted Pee Wee. "Whichever name's the best,

-she's that."

-

-They were in a high state of elation as they ploughed their way across

-the snowy fields. They were blissfully conscious of being, as Mouser put

-it, "full to the chin," and little else was needed at their age to make

-their happiness complete.

-

-But they were sharply awakened by the sound of a whistle.

-

-"That must be our train," cried Fred in alarm.

-

-"That's what it is," assented Bobby, quickening his pace. "We stayed a

-long time at the table, and the snow-plough must have come along sooner

-than they thought it would. Hurry, fellows, hurry!" and he tried to

-break into a run.

-

-The others followed his example, but the snow was too deep for that. It

-clung about their feet and legs until they felt that they were moving in

-a nightmare.

-

-"She's going, fellows!" shouted Mouser in despair, as a stream of smoke

-began to stretch out behind the moving train.

-

-"And all our bags and things are on board!" wailed Fred.

-

-"Now we're in a pretty mess," gasped Pee Wee, slumping down in the snow.

-

-There was no use in hurrying now, and they looked blankly at each other

-as they came to a full stop.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" howled Fred as the only way to relieve his feelings.

-

-"Well, I'll be jiggered!" exclaimed Mouser.

-

-Pee Wee was too tired out from his exertion to say anything, and Bobby,

-too, kept silent, though for a different reason. He was busy thinking of

-the best way to get out of the tangle.

-

-"There's no use in worrying about our baggage, fellows," he said at

-last. "Probably the conductor will take good care of that. And we may be

-able to send a telegram from some place telling the conductor to put our

-things off at Rockledge and leave them in care of the station agent

-there. What we've got to worry about is ourselves. We can't stay here,

-and we've got to find some way to get another train as soon as we can.

-Have any of you fellows got a time table?"

-

-"I had one," replied Mouser, "but it's in my bag on the train."

-

-None of the others had one and Bobby came to a quick decision.

-

-"There's no other way," he announced. "We'll have to go back and ask

-Mrs. Wilson. She'll know all about the trains and what's the best

-station for us to go to."

-

-They trudged back rather forlornly and explained their plight to Mrs.

-Wilson, who was full of sympathy.

-

-"I'd like to have you stay here all night," she volunteered, "and Mr.

-Wilson will take you over to the station in a rig to-morrow morning."

-

-They thanked her heartily, but explained that this was out of the

-question. They would be missed from the train, telegrams would be flying

-back and forth and their parents would be anxious and excited. They must

-get to some place where they could either telegraph or, better yet, get

-a train that would land them in Rockledge that afternoon or evening.

-

-"I'll tell you what to do," she suggested, as a thought struck her. "You

-can't get a train on this line you've been traveling on until very late

-to-night. But there's another road that crosses this at a junction about

-two miles from here and connects with the main line that goes on to

-Rockledge. There's an afternoon train on that line that you'll have

-plenty of time to make, and it will land you in Rockledge before night.

-There's a telegraph office there too, and you can send any messages you

-like before you board the train."

-

-"That's just the very thing," cried Bobby with enthusiasm.

-

-"Just what the doctor ordered," chuckled Mouser.

-

-She gave them very careful directions for finding the station, and as

-there was none too much time and the walking was bound to be slow they

-set out at once, after thanking their friend for having come a second

-time to their relief.

-

-Their path led for the most part through a wood and they passed no other

-houses on their way. Even in summer it was evident that the locality was

-wild and deserted. Now with the snow over everything it was especially

-desolate.

-

-"You might almost think you were up in the Big Woods," commented Mouser.

-

-"That's what," agreed Fred. "It would be a dandy place for train robbers

-and that kind of fellows."

-

-"I'd hate to be wandering around here at night," remarked Pee Wee, who

-was panting with the exertion of keeping up with the others.

-

-"It would give one a sort of creepy feeling, like being in a cemetery,"

-assented Bobby.

-

-Suddenly Fred uttered an exclamation.

-

-"There's a little house right over in that hollow," he cried, pointing

-to the right.

-

-"More like a hut or a shack than a regular house, seems to me," grunted

-Mouser.

-

-"I don't believe there's any one living there," commented Pee Wee.

-

-"Yes, there must be," declared Bobby. "I can see the light of a fire

-shining through the window."

-

-The hut in question was a dilapidated structure of only one story that

-stood in a little hollow just off the road. It was in the last stages of

-decay and looked as though a strong wind would blow it to pieces. There

-were no fences nor barn nor any wagon or farm implement in sight.

-

-Yet that some one lived in the crazy shack was evident, as Bobby had

-said, by the red light that came flickeringly through the only window

-that the cabin possessed.

-

-"Let's stop there for a minute and get warm," suggested Fred. "Then,

-too, we can make sure that we're still on the right road to the

-station."

-

-"What's the use?" cautioned Bobby. "We got left once to-day by stopping

-too long."

-

-"It will only take a minute," urged Fred.

-

-As the others also wanted to stop, and Bobby did not wish to insist too

-much, they all went down into the hollow together.

-

-The snow of course deadened their footsteps, so that whoever was in the

-cabin had no notice of their approach.

-

-Fred, who was in advance, rapped on the door.

-

-There was silence for a moment and then the door swung open and a rough

-looking man appeared on the sill.

-

-"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.

-

-"We wanted to ask directions about the road," said Fred, a little

-dismayed by the fellow's surly manner.

-

-The man looked them over for a moment, noticed that they were well

-dressed and hesitated no longer.

-

-"Come in," he said briefly, and stood aside for them to pass.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER VI

-

-                               HEAVY ODDS

-

-

-Although feeling rather uneasy because of the man's rough manner, the

-boys hardly saw what they could do but accept the invitation, and they

-went inside. The next moment they wished they had not.

-

-There were two other men within the hut besides the one who had opened

-the door. They were seated at a bare pine table, and on the table there

-was a bottle of liquor. There seemed to be no other furniture in the

-miserable room, except a rusty wood stove, which was at white heat, two

-or three stools and a pile of hay in the corner, which evidently served

-as a bed.

-

-The heat inside was stifling, and the room was rank with the fumes of

-liquor. The unshaven faces of the men were flushed, their eyes red and

-bleared, and a greasy pack of cards told of their occupation when they

-had been interrupted.

-

-"Tramps," whispered Bobby to Fred, who was nearest. "Let's get out of

-this."

-

-"You bet," returned Fred, as he made a motion toward the door.

-

-But the man who had let them in now stood with his back against the

-closed door, looking at them with an ugly grin on his face, a face which

-was made still more repellant by a livid scar up near the temple.

-

-"What do these young buckos want here?" asked one of the men at the

-table, rising and coming toward them. As he did so, Bobby noticed that

-he limped a trifle.

-

-"We stopped in for a minute to ask if we were on the right road to the

-station," said Bobby in a tone which he tried to render as careless as

-possible.

-

-"You did, eh?" said the man. "Well, just wait a minute and I'll tell

-you."

-

-He and his companion approached their comrade at the door, and for a few

-moments there was a whispered conversation. Then the man with the scar,

-who seemed to be the leader of the gang, turned to Bobby.

-

-"You're on the right road all right," he said.

-

-"Thank you," returned Bobby. "Then I guess we'll be getting on."

-

-The man laughed at this.

-

-"Guess again, young feller," said one of them.

-

-"What's your hurry?" asked the lame man.

-

-"We don't often have such nice young kids drop in to keep us company,"

-sneered the man with the scar. "Take off your hats and stay awhile."

-

-The boys' hearts sank. They no longer had any doubts of the evil

-intentions of the men who held them virtually prisoners. They had fallen

-into a den of thieves.

-

-"We're going now," declared Bobby, in a last desperate attempt to bluff

-the matter through, "and if you try to stop us it will be the worse for

-you."

-

-The men laughed uproariously.

-

-"A fine young turkey cock he is!" croaked one of them. "We'll have to

-cut his comb for him."

-

-"You'll get your own cut first," shouted Fred, who was blazing with

-anger. "Don't forget that there are policemen and jails for just such

-fellows as you are."

-

-"Shut up, Redhead," commanded the scar-faced man, adding insult to

-injury.

-

-Then his jocular manner passed and was replaced by a wicked snarl.

-

-"Hand over what money you've got in your pockets," he commanded, "and

-turn your pockets inside out. Do it quick too, or we'll skin you alive."

-

-There was no mistaking the menace in his tone. He was in deadly earnest

-and his eyes shone like those of a beast of prey.

-

-There was nothing to do but to obey. His victims were trapped and

-helpless. They were only eleven year old boys, and were no match

-physically even for one such burly ruffian. Against three, resistance

-would have been ridiculous.

-

-Boiling with inward rage, they slowly and sullenly handed over the

-contents of their pockets. None of them had any great amount of

-money--only a few dollars for spending allowance. But taken altogether

-it made quite a respectable sum, over which the robbers gloated with

-evident satisfaction. Probably their chief calculation was the amount of

-liquor it would buy for their spree.

-

-But even with this the thieves were not content. Bobby's silver watch, a

-scarf pin of Mouser's, Fred's seal ring and Pee Wee's gold sleeve

-buttons went to swell the pile. They even carried their meanness so far

-as to rob the lads of their railroad tickets. Then when they found that

-there was nothing else worth the plucking, the leader opened the door.

-

-"Now beat it," he growled, "and thank your lucky stars that we didn't

-swipe your clothes."

-

-Half blinded with wrath, the crestfallen boys climbed out of the hollow

-and into the road which they had left in such high spirits a few minutes

-before. They had been stripped clean. If their outer clothing had fitted

-any of the rascals they would have probably lost that too. They were

-utterly forlorn and downhearted.

-

-If they had lost their possessions after a hot resistance against those

-who were anyway near their age and size, there would at least have been

-the exhilaration of the fight. But even that poor compensation was

-denied them. The odds had been too overwhelming even to think of a

-struggle.

-

-At first they could not even speak to each other. When they attempted to

-find words they were so mad that they could only splutter.

-

-"The skunks!" Fred managed to get out at last.

-

-"The low down brutes," growled Mouser.

-

-"Every cent gone," groaned Pee Wee. "And those sleeve buttons were a

-Christmas gift from my mother."

-

-"And that silver watch was one my father gave me on my last birthday,"

-muttered Bobby thickly.

-

-"If they'd only left us our railroad tickets!" mourned Fred.

-

-"That was the dirtiest trick of all," put in Mouser. "You can understand

-why they took the money and jewelry. But they probably don't have any

-idea in the world of using the tickets."

-

-"Likely enough by this time they've torn them up and thrown them into

-the fire," Pee Wee conjectured.

-

-"Don't speak the word, 'fire,'" said Bobby. "If we hadn't seen the light

-of it through the window, we wouldn't have gone in there at all."

-

-"It was all my fault," moaned Fred. "What a fool stunt it was of me to

-want to stop there anyway."

-

-Bobby could easily have said, "I told you so," but that was not Bobby's

-way.

-

-"It wasn't anybody's fault," he said. "It was just our hard luck. We

-might have done it a thousand times and found only decent people there

-each time."

-

-"Lucky I gave that dime to Betty this morning anyway," grunted Fred.

-"That's one thing the thieves didn't get."

-

-The remark struck the boys as so comical that they broke into laughter.

-It was the one thing needed to relieve the tension. It cleared the air

-and all felt better.

-

-"Talk about looking on the bright side of things," chuckled Pee Wee.

-

-"You're a wonder as a little cheerer-up," commented Mouser.

-

-"That's looking at the doughnut instead of seeing only the hole in the

-doughnut," laughed Bobby.

-

-After all they were alive and unharmed. The thieves might have beaten

-them up or tied them in the cabin while they made their escape.

-

-"Things might have been a great deal worse," said Bobby cheerfully,

-putting their thoughts into words. "The money didn't amount to so much

-after all, and our folks will send us more. And we may be able to have

-the tramps arrested and get back our other things. We'll telegraph just

-as soon as we get to--"

-

-But here he stopped short in dismay.

-

-"We haven't even money enough to pay for the message!" he exclaimed.

-

-"Perhaps the station man will trust us," suggested Fred.

-

-"I think there's a way of sending messages so that the folks who get

-them pay on the other end," said Pee Wee hopefully.

-

-None of the boys were very clear on this point, but it offered a ray of

-cheer.

-

-"We won't need to send more than one message anyway," said practical

-Bobby as they trudged along. "Some of our folks might be away and there

-might be some delay in getting to them. But I know that my father is at

-home and I'll just ask him to send on enough money for the bunch of us.

-Then you fellows can square it up with me afterwards."

-

-They had reached the outskirts of a village now and the walking had

-become easier. They quickened their pace and soon came in sight of the

-station.

-

-"There it is!" cried Fred, and the boys broke into a run.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER VII

-

-                           PAYING AN OLD DEBT

-

-

-As Bobby's watch had been the only one in the party, the boys had not

-been able to keep track of the time during the latter part of their

-journey, and they were a little fearful that they might be late for

-their train.

-

-They were relieved therefore to learn they were in plenty of time. The

-train was not regularly due for half an hour, and owing to the snowstorm

-it would probably be an hour or more behind time.

-

-The station agent at Roseville, as the town was named, had charge of the

-telegraph office as well. He was a kindly man and listened with the

-greatest sympathy to the boys' story. His indignation at the robbers was

-hot, and he promised to put the constable on their trail at once.

-

-"It's a beastly outrage," he stormed. "That old deserted shack has been

-too handy for fellows of that kind. They make it a regular hang-out.

-We'll clean out the gang and burn the place to the ground. I've got to

-stay here now until after the train leaves, but as soon as it's gone,

-I'll get busy."

-

-He assured them that he would send on the telegram to be paid for at the

-other end, and the boys, possessing themselves of some blanks, withdrew

-to a quiet corner to prepare the message.

-

-It proved to be a matter requiring some thought, and several blanks were

-cast aside before it suited them.

-

-"You see," said Bobby, as he sat frowning over his stub of a pencil, "I

-don't want to scare the folks to death by telling them we've been

-robbed. They'd think that perhaps we'd been hurt besides and were

-keeping it quiet so as not to worry 'em. We can write 'em a letter

-afterward and tell 'em all about it."

-

-The final outcome of their combined efforts stated the matter with

-sufficient clearness:

-

-    Lost money and tickets. All safe and sound. Please telegraph

-    twenty dollars to me, care station agent, Roseville. Will

-    explain in letter.

-

-                                                              Bobby.

-

-This suited them all, though Fred suggested that they might save by

-cutting out the "please." He was voted down however, and the telegram

-was handed through the office window and put on the wire at once.

-

-This being attended to, there was nothing to do but to wait. Then a new

-worry assailed them.

-

-"How long do you think it will be before we can get an answer?" asked

-Mouser.

-

-"Not very long," replied Bobby confidently.

-

-"The message must be in Clinton this very minute," chimed in Pee Wee.

-

-"Yes, but that's the least part of it," remarked Fred. "It will have to

-be carried up to your house from the station and I've heard my father

-say that Claxton isn't as quick about those things as he ought to be.

-Sometimes he gets Bailey to deliver for him, and you know what an old

-slow-poke he is."

-

-"And even when it gets to the house your father may be downtown and your

-mother may be out sleigh riding or visiting or something," observed

-Mouser gloomily.

-

-"And then too, it will take some time for your father to get down to the

-telegraph office and send the money," was Pee Wee's contribution.

-

-"Oh, stop your croaking, you fellows," cried Bobby. "I'm sure everything

-will be all right." But, just the same, their doleful suggestions made

-him a little uneasy, and he fidgeted about as he watched the hands of

-the station clock.

-

-"There's another thing," observed Mouser, returning to the charge.

-"Suppose now--just suppose--that the money doesn't get to us before the

-train starts, what are we going to do?"

-

-"Then we'll be stuck," admitted Bobby. "And we'll have to do a whole lot

-more telegraphing to Rockledge telling them that we can't get there till

-to-morrow. But even if the money is late, it's sure to come. We can pay

-for our meals and lodging over night and won't have to go to the

-poorhouse."

-

-"Lucky we got such a dandy feed at Mrs. Wilson's anyway," remarked Pee

-Wee. "That will keep us going until the money comes."

-

-"It was mighty good of her to give us such a meal and not charge a cent

-for it," said Mouser.

-

-"Free meals for five hungry boys," murmured Fred.

-

-"Five!" exclaimed Pee Wee in surprise. "Why, there were only four of

-us."

-

-"Yes," replied Fred, "but you counted for two."

-

-Pee Wee made a rush toward him, but Fred dodged adroitly.

-

-Just then, Mouser, who was looking out of the station window, gave a

-sudden exclamation.

-

-"Look here, fellows," he cried. "See who's coming!"

-

-They crowded together, looking over his shoulder.

-

-"Why, it's Tommy Stone!" ejaculated Bobby.

-

-"He must be going back to Belden School," added Fred.

-

-"And that's his father with him, I guess," put in Pee Wee.

-

-Tommy Stone was a boy who had played quite a part in the lives of Bobby

-and Fred a few months before. He had run away from home to go out West

-to "fight Indians." He had taken his father's pocketbook with him,

-intending to use only enough to pay his fare and send the rest back.

-

-Unluckily for the young Indian fighter--or rather luckily, as it turned

-out--he lost the pocketbook out of the car window. Bobby and Fred were

-standing by the side of the track as the train went thundering past, and

-the wallet fell almost at their feet. They picked it up and were wildly

-excited when they found that it contained no less than four hundred

-dollars.

-

-The boys had dreams of unlimited ice-cream and soda water as the result

-of their find. Still they and their parents made earnest effort to find

-the owner, but as the days passed by and no claimant appeared it looked

-as though the money would become the boys' property.

-

-Late in the fall, Bobby and Fred rescued a small boy from the clutches

-of some larger boys who were amusing themselves by tormenting him. The

-boy turned out to be Tommy Stone. He had been brought back after his

-runaway and sent to Belden School, which was not far from Rockledge.

-Tommy had heard that the boys had found a pocketbook and suspected that

-it was the one that he had lost. He made a clean breast of it, and the

-money was restored to its rightful owner. Mr. Stone wanted to reward the

-boys handsomely, but their parents would not permit them to accept a

-money reward, and Mr. Stone compromised by sending them the material for

-a royal feast at Rockledge.

-

-As for Tommy, he had an interview with his father, the nature of which

-can be guessed at by Tommy's statement afterward that he could not sit

-down for a week unless he had pillows under him.

-

-"He doesn't look like an Indian killer," laughed Mouser.

-

-"Not so that you could notice it," chuckled Pee Wee.

-

-"I don't see any scalps at his belt," grinned Fred.

-

-Tommy caught sight of the boys as he entered the station, and ran

-forward to meet them with exclamations of pleasure and surprise. Mr.

-Stone looked curiously at the group but said nothing, and went over to

-the agent's window to buy his son's ticket.

-

-"What in the world are you fellows doing here?" cried Tommy.

-

-"We're just as much surprised to see you as you are to see us," replied

-Bobby, with a smile.

-

-"On your way to Belden?" inquired Fred.

-

-"Yep," answered Tommy, making a wry face, "and I'm not any too glad,

-either. I've never liked that school. The big fellows are all the time

-taking it out on the little ones."

-

-"You ought to get your father to let you come to Rockledge," suggested

-Bobby.

-

-"Then you'd be going to a real school," remarked Fred, who felt to the

-full the traditional rivalry between Rockledge and its chief rival.

-

-"Not but what we've got some bullies of our own," put in Pee Wee.

-

-"Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, for instance," observed Mouser.

-

-"I'd like first rate to change," admitted Tommy, "and perhaps next year

-I can. But my father has all his arrangements made now, and I'll have to

-stick it out at Belden for the rest of this term."

-

-"Is that your father over there?" asked Bobby.

-

-"Yes."

-

-"Looks as though he had a good right arm," said Fred slyly.

-

-"I'll bet he's practiced with it out in the woodshed," put in Pee Wee.

-

-"What's the price of strap oil, Tommy?" inquired Mouser.

-

-Tommy winced a little at the chaffing. It was evidently a painful

-subject.

-

-Bobby came to his rescue.

-

-"Oh, cut it out, fellows," he remonstrated. "We all make mistakes

-sometimes."

-

-Tommy flashed him a grateful look.

-

-"Yes," he agreed. "But you can bet that I'm not going to make the same

-mistake twice."

-

-"That's the way to talk," rejoined Bobby heartily.

-

-Mr. Stone had completed his purchase and now strolled over to the group.

-He had never seen the boys before, as the return of the pocketbook had

-been made by Mr. Blake.

-

-"Some young friends of yours, Tommy?" he asked, with a genial smile.

-

-"Yes, sir," Tommy answered. "They go to Rockledge School, right on the

-other side of the lake from Belden."

-

-He introduced the boys by name, and Mr. Stone pricked up his ears as he

-heard the names, "Blake" and "Martin."

-

-"What!" he exclaimed. "Can this be the Bobby Blake and Fred Martin who

-found my pocketbook and sent it back to me?"

-

-"That's who they are," replied Tommy, flushing.

-

-Mr. Stone took the boys' hands in both of his and wrung them warmly.

-

-"Well this is a bit of luck," he said heartily. "I can't tell you boys

-how glad I am to see you. I've often wanted to lay eyes on the boys who

-could find four hundred dollars and never rest till they got the money

-back to the owner."

-

-"Oh, that was nothing," answered Bobby, who always felt embarrassed when

-any one praised him.

-

-"It was the only thing to do," added Fred, his face getting almost as

-red as his hair.

-

-"All the same, there are lots of boys who would never have said a word

-about it," persisted Mr. Stone. "I've always felt sorry that your folks

-wouldn't let me show my gratitude by making you boys a present of

-something that would have been worth while."

-

-"You did give us the stuff for a dandy spread."

-

-"Some spread that was too, fellows," put in Pee Wee. "I was in on that

-and it was just scrumptious."

-

-"Trust Pee Wee to remember spreads if he never remembers anything else,"

-laughed Mouser.

-

-Mr. Stone's eyes twinkled as he took in Pee Wee's generous proportions.

-

-"Well, I'm glad if you enjoyed it," he smiled. "But tell me now how you

-boys find yourselves here. I thought you traveled by the road that runs

-through Clinton."

-

-"So we do," replied Bobby, and started to relate the occurrences of the

-morning.

-

-"I see," said Mr. Stone, interrupting before Bobby had got very far into

-his story. "And then you found out you could get a train on this road

-and tramped over here. Well, you won't have long to wait now, for the

-train will be along in a few minutes."

-

-"But that isn't all," put in Fred.

-

-"No?" queried Mr. Stone. "What else is there?"

-

-"We were robbed on the way," answered Fred.

-

-Mr. Stone gasped and Tommy showed symptoms of great excitement. Robbed!

-It was almost as good as Indians.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER VIII

-

-                         THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY

-

-

-Mr. Stone sank down into a seat.

-

-"Robbed!" he repeated. "Now tell me just what you mean."

-

-In simple words the boys told how they had been held up and despoiled by

-the tramps.

-

-Mr. Stone could hardly restrain his rage.

-

-"It's the most atrocious and cowardly thing I've heard of for a long

-time," he ejaculated. "To think of those scoundrels robbing you of

-everything you had, even your railroad tickets! They ought to be drawn

-and quartered."

-

-The boys were rather hazy as to what drawing and quartering involved,

-but they heartily agreed with him.

-

-"I'll have to get busy at once!" Mr. Stone exclaimed, jumping to his

-feet. "There isn't a minute to lose. Those rascals will know that the

-officers will be after them as soon as you tell your story and they'll

-be planning to clear out. They may have started already, for all we

-know. I'll get the constable and some other men after them and I'll go

-along to do all I can to put the thieves in jail.

-

-"But first," he went on, "I'll have to fix up you boys. The train will

-be along in a few minutes. I'll get your tickets for you and give you

-plenty of money besides to get on with."

-

-"I've already telegraphed for money and I'm expecting it every minute,"

-put in Bobby.

-

-"That's all right, but we can't take chances on that. It may not come in

-time for you to catch the train. I'll look after the telegram if it

-comes after you leave, and see that it's sent on to you."

-

-"Of course our folks will make this all right with you," said Fred who,

-like Bobby himself, hated to be under any money obligation.

-

-"That's understood," assented Mr. Stone. "I'll send them a bill."

-

-But from the whimsical droop at the corner of his mouth it was evident

-that if the boys' fathers waited for a bill from Mr. Stone they would

-wait a long time.

-

-He hurried over to the window of the agent's office and bought four

-additional tickets for Rockledge.

-

-"Take these and distribute them among the other boys," he said, as he

-handed them to Bobby. "And here's some money to get on with until you

-hear from your folks," he added, thrusting a number of bills in his

-hand.

-

-"It's awfully good of you, Mr. Stone," replied Bobby, as he put them in

-his pocket. "I don't know how to thank you enough. I'll keep careful

-account and see that you get it back to the last cent."

-

-"Don't worry about that," rejoined Mr. Stone. "I'm only paying back an

-old debt, and even at that I still owe you a lot. Now you boys go right

-ahead and forget all your troubles. I'll take full charge of the answer

-to your telegram and see that it gets to you all right.

-

-"I'd like to stay with you until the train leaves," he went on, "but as

-I said before, every minute is precious now if we want to have any

-chance to nab those villains who robbed you. I'll hustle up the

-constable and I'll let you know later how we come out."

-

-He gave Tommy a kiss and a hug, waved good-bye to the others in a

-gesture that included them all, and went out of the door. Through the

-window they could see him going briskly up the village street in a walk

-that was almost a run.

-

-The boys, left alone, looked gleefully at each other.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" shouted Fred, as he threw his cap to the ceiling.

-

-"All our troubles are over now," exulted Pee Wee.

-

-"Isn't he a brick?" demanded Bobby gratefully.

-

-"Reminds me of the bread cast upon the waters that our minister was

-talking about last Sunday," remarked Mouser. "He said it would come back

-to you after many days, and by ginger I believe it now."

-

-"It's more than bread," gloated Pee Wee. "It's cake."

-

-"If Pee Wee says it's cake, it _is_ cake," mocked Fred. "There's nobody

-knows more than he does about things to eat."

-

-They were now all as full of good spirits as they had formerly been full

-of misery. They had found that their cloud had a silver lining. In fact

-there was not a cloud any longer. It had broken away entirely.

-

-Their satisfaction was still greater when, a few minutes later, they saw

-two sleighs sweep past the station and take the direction that led

-toward the cabin in the woods. There were three determined-looking men

-in each sleigh, and among them they recognized the stalwart figure of

-Mr. Stone.

-

-"They're after them already," cried Fred joyfully. "Gee whiz, Tommy!

-your father is some hustler."

-

-"He sure is," assented Tommy proudly.

-

-"Here's hoping that they catch the thieves!" exclaimed Mouser.

-

-"Wouldn't it be bully!" cried Bobby. "I sure am crazy to get back my

-watch."

-

-"And my scarf pin."

-

-"And my sleeve buttons."

-

-"And my seal ring."

-

-The boys watched the sleighs intently until they were drawn out of

-sight.

-

-"What do you suppose they'll do to the thieves if they catch them?"

-wondered Bobby.

-

-"I don't know," said Mouser, whose notions of legal procedure were

-woefully indistinct. "Hang them, maybe."

-

-"Not so bad as that," objected Pee Wee. "But I'll bet they get a good

-long term in jail."

-

-"Perhaps they'll be drawn and quartered, as Mr. Stone said they ought to

-be," said Fred hopefully. "What do you suppose that means anyway,

-fellows?"

-

-"I'm not sure," answered Bobby, "but I guess it means to be cut up into

-quarters."

-

-"They can cut them up into eighths for all I care," rejoined Fred

-vindictively. "Especially that fellow who called me red-head."

-

-"Well, what if he did?" said Pee Wee mischievously. "He only told the

-truth, didn't he?"

-

-"What difference does that make?" flared up Fred, who was rather

-sensitive on the subject. "You wouldn't like to be called a pig because

-you're as fat as one, would you?"

-

-"Here, fellows, cut out your scrapping," soothed Bobby.

-

-"Let's agree that Pee Wee's as thin as a rail and Fred's hair is as

-black as ink," suggested Mouser. "Then we'll all be happy."

-

-In the general laugh that followed, the rumpled feathers were smoothed

-and all differences forgotten.

-

-A moment later the whistle of the train was heard in the distance.

-

-"Here she comes!" cried Mouser.

-

-"I'm sorry that telegram hasn't come yet," murmured Bobby regretfully.

-

-"Guess old Bailey's rheumatism made him slow in getting up to the

-house," suggested Fred.

-

-"Well, don't let's worry," observed Pee Wee, who was always ready to

-shunt his responsibilities to the shoulders of somebody else. "Mr. Stone

-will look after that."

-

-The boys boarded the train and sank back into their seats with a sigh of

-relief. Their troubles were over. They had been under a strain that

-would have been trying even to those much older than these

-eleven-year-old boys.

-

-"I never thought I'd be cheering for going back to school," remarked

-Fred. "But I'm ready to do it now. All together, fellows:

-

-"Hurrah for Rockledge!"

-

-They shouted it with a will.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER IX

-

-                            A COWARDLY TRICK

-

-

-"We seem to have this car almost all to ourselves," remarked Mouser,

-looking around.

-

-"We ought to call it the Rockledge Special," laughed Pee Wee.

-

-"Perhaps Tommy might object to that," said Bobby.

-

-"Go as far as you like," grinned Tommy.

-

-The travel was indeed very light on that particular day. There were only

-six or eight people scattered through the car. This was due in part to

-the snowstorm. Nobody would do much traveling on such a day unless it

-was absolutely necessary.

-

-Half-way down the car, and on the other side of the aisle, a very old

-man was seated. He was evidently traveling alone. His hair was gray and

-scanty and his face was seamed with wrinkles. It was clear that he was

-very tired, and every once in a while his head would drop on his breast

-in a doze from which he would awake with a start at any sudden jar of

-the train.

-

-"It's too bad that such an old man should have to be going on a journey

-all alone," remarked Bobby with quick sympathy.

-

-"Yes," agreed Fred. "He must be awful old. He looks as if he was as much

-as eighty."

-

-"He's a Grand Army man too," observed Mouser. "You can see that from the

-hat he has there up in the rack."

-

-"He may be going to visit some of his children," suggested Pee Wee.

-

-"More likely he's going to the Old Soldiers' Home," conjectured Bobby.

-"You know there is one a little way the other side of Rockledge."

-

-"I'll bet he could tell some mighty good stories about the war," said

-Fred.

-

-"I'd like to see all that he has seen," mused Bobby.

-

-"Or do all that he has done," added Mouser. "It must be great to have

-been in a big war like that."

-

-"Maybe he was at Gettysburg," guessed Pee Wee.

-

-"Or marched with Grant or Sherman," chimed in Fred.

-

-Their youthful imaginations quickened as they recalled the exciting

-scenes in which the veteran might have played a part, and they had a

-deep respect for him now as he sat there in his old age and weakness.

-

-"I'd almost like to go up and get him to talking," ventured Fred. "We

-might get him started on the war. It's all very well to read about it,

-but there's nothing like hearing from one who has been through it."

-

-"I don't think I would if I were you," objected Bobby. "He's probably

-too tired to do much talking and would rather be left alone."

-

-"There's another fellow going up to him now," replied Fred, "and I'll

-bet he'll get some good stories out of him."

-

-He indicated a large overgrown boy who seemed to be about fourteen years

-old. Up to now, he had been seated on the other side of the aisle from

-the veteran. But now he had risen and gone over in his direction. But

-instead of slipping into the seat beside him, as the boys had expected,

-he sat down in the seat directly behind him.

-

-"Guess again, Fred," laughed Pee Wee good-naturedly.

-

-"Everybody's hunches go wrong sometimes," answered Fred defensively.

-

-"What's the fellow up to anyway?" asked Mouser, with a sudden stirring

-of curiosity.

-

-The newcomer seemed to have a long feather in his hand such as is

-commonly used in feather dusters. While the old man's head drooped in a

-doze, the boy reached over and tickled the back of the old man's neck

-with the tip of the feather.

-

-The veteran reached up his hand fretfully as though to brush away a fly

-that was annoying him. The boy drew back and snickered audibly.

-

-The boys looked at each other indignantly.

-

-"What do you think of that?" demanded Mouser.

-

-"Queer sense of fun some people have," snorted Pee Wee.

-

-"He's a cheap skate," declared Fred angrily.

-

-"He ought to have a thrashing," exclaimed Bobby.

-

-Several times the scene was repeated, and the would-be joker was in high

-glee at the success of his trick.

-

-At last the old man gave up the attempt to sleep, and straightened up

-wearily in his seat.

-

-The joker looked around the car as though seeking for applause, but the

-silly grin on his face stiffened into a scowl as he met only

-contemptuous glances.

-

-But his delicate sense of humor was not yet exhausted. The old man rose

-from his seat to go to the back of the car to get a drink of water. As

-he passed the fellow's seat, the latter reached out the tip of his foot.

-The veteran tripped against it, stumbled and had all he could do to keep

-from falling by clutching the back of a seat.

-

-This was the last straw and the boys were furious. By a common impulse

-they sprang out of their seats and went quickly down the aisle to where

-the fellow was sitting.

-

-"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" snapped Bobby.

-

-"You're too mean to live!" blazed out Fred.

-

-"A fellow that'll torment an old man like that ought to be tarred and

-feathered," blurted Mouser.

-

-"And ridden on a rail," finished Pee Wee.

-

-The fellow looked at them with surprise that was mingled with alarm as

-he noted their wrathful faces. He jumped up and stood with his back

-toward the window.

-

-Now that they saw him at closer range, their first impression of him was

-confirmed. He was strong and muscular, but the strength of his body was

-belied by the weakness of his face. It was a thoroughly mean face,

-pallid and unhealthy looking, with a loose mouth and shifty eyes that

-dropped when you looked straight into them.

-

-"What's the matter with you boobs?" he demanded, in a voice that he

-tried to make threatening. "You'd better mind your own business. Who

-asked you to butt in?"

-

-"We didn't need any asking," replied Bobby. "We saw what you did to that

-old man. You seemed to think it was funny, but we think it's mean and

-sneaking."

-

-"And you've got to stop it," put in Fred.

-

-"It will be the worse for you if you don't," added Mouser.

-

-"I'll do just exactly what I want to do," was the ugly reply, "and I'd

-like to see you Buttinskis stop me."

-

-"We'll stop you quick enough," said Bobby, "and the first thing we're

-going to do is to make you change your seat."

-

-"Oh, you own the car, do you? I've paid my fare on this train and I'll

-sit anywhere I want to. Any one would think you were president of the

-road to hear you talk."

-

-"We'll do something besides talk in a minute," Mouser came back at him.

-

-"What'll you do?" jeered the bully, though his voice now was getting

-unsteady as he saw that the boys were in earnest.

-

-Fred leaned forward, snatched the fellow's cap from his head and threw

-it in a seat some distance away.

-

-"Follow your hat and you'll find your seat," he cried.

-

-The fellow started forward in a rage, but just then the conductor came

-into the car. He came forward briskly.

-

-"Here, none of this!" he exclaimed. "You boys mustn't do any scrapping

-on this train. Get back in your seats now, all of you, and behave

-yourselves."

-

-The boys slowly obeyed, although Fred, whose fighting blood was up, had

-to be urged along a little by the others.

-

-"No sense in not minding the conductor," counseled Bobby. "We've carried

-our point and that's enough."

-

-They had indeed carried their point, for the fellow, having regained his

-cap, slumped down in the seat where Fred had thrown it, and for the rest

-of the trip the old man was left in peace.

-

-Nor did the bully try to get even for his discomfiture. But if looks

-could kill, the boys would surely have been withered up by the angry

-glances he shot at them from time to time.

-

-"He's a sweet specimen, isn't he?" chuckled Mouser.

-

-"A nice thing to have around the house," commented Pee Wee.

-

-"He'd brighten it up on rainy days," laughed Bobby.

-

-"A cute little cut-up, all right," affirmed Fred.

-

-"I'd hate to have him at Rockledge," said Mouser.

-

-"Perhaps he's going there, for all we know," Pee Wee suggested.

-

-"I hope not!" exclaimed Fred. "Bronson and Jinks are about all we can

-stand as it is."

-

-"Wouldn't Bronson and Jinks be glad to have him there?" said Bobby.

-"They'd be as thick as peas in a pod in less than no time."

-

-But further comment was cut short by the brake man throwing open the

-door and shouting:

-

-"All out for Rockledge!"

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER X

-

-                            ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL

-

-

-The boys reached instinctively for their bags. Then they remembered that

-they had none, and looked at each other with a sheepish grin on their

-faces.

-

-"Nothing doing in that line," mourned Fred. "I wonder if we'll find them

-in the station."

-

-They stepped off the platform into a crowd of their schoolmates, who had

-come down to welcome them. There they were, shouting and laughing and

-all talking at once--Billy Bassett, Jimmy Ailshine, "Sparrow" Bangs,

-Howell Purdy and a host of others. They fairly mobbed the newcomers and

-were for dragging them off at once to the trolley car that ran to the

-school. But the boys explained that they first had to look after their

-missing baggage and they all trooped into the station.

-

-"Haven't we got a lot to tell you fellows!" exclaimed Mouser. "You just

-wait till you hear it all!"

-

-"Caught in a snowslide," volunteered Pee Wee.

-

-"Held up by tramps," declared Fred.

-

-"Robbed of all we had," added Bobby.

-

-These tantalizing bits of information only served to whet the appetite

-for more. Their friends crowded around them open-eyed, and questions

-shot out at them like bullets from guns. The boys suddenly found

-themselves exalted to the rank of heroes. But they bore their honors

-meekly enough, although they were almost bursting with the feeling of

-their importance.

-

-They were delighted to find their missing bags and suit-cases waiting

-for them. The conductor had known the station their tickets called for,

-and had left the articles in the care of the Rockledge station agent.

-

-There was a telegram too from Mr. Blake to Bobby. He had wired the money

-to Roseville and Mr. Stone had seen to it that it was sent on to Bobby

-at Rockledge. Mr. Blake's telegram was a lengthy one and full of

-anxiety. In it he told Bobby to wire at once on his arrival at

-Rockledge, which Bobby promptly did.

-

-Mr. Stone had sent a separate telegram also on his own account. He

-stated briefly that the robbers had not yet been caught, but that the

-police were busily hunting for them and hoped to get them soon.

-

-"Well," sighed Bobby, as he folded up the telegram, "I suppose all we

-can do is to watch and wait."

-

-"Wait for the watch you mean," laughed Mouser.

-

-"Now don't start anything like that," grinned Fred. "You'll start Billy

-Bassett going if you do, and I can see that he's got a lot of conundrums

-all ready to fire off at us."

-

-"Who's that talking about me?" laughed Billy, coming forward. "Let him

-say it to my face."

-

-"Ginger thought you'd be springing something on us," replied Pee Wee,

-"and we were getting ready to duck."

-

-Billy looked aggrieved.

-

-"You fellows don't know a good riddle when you hear one," he remarked

-scornfully.

-

-"How do you know?" countered Mouser. "You never give us a chance to try.

-Spring a real good one and see how quick we'll tumble."

-

-Billy looked dubious but took a chance.

-

-"Well, take this one, then," he said. "What is it that happens twice in

-a moment, once in a minute, and not once in a thousand years."

-

-The boys put on their thinking caps, but the problem was beyond them,

-and Billy strutted around with a triumphant look upon his face.

-

-"Don't seem to be any too much brains in this crowd," he said, in a

-superior way.

-

-"Give us time," pleaded Mouser.

-

-"Maybe it's because it's so bad and not because it's so good that we

-can't guess it," conjectured Fred.

-

-"Take all the time you want," said Billy patronizingly, "but I guessed

-it as soon as I heard it."

-

-As they had no evidence to the contrary, they had to take Billy's word

-for this.

-

-They pondered it for several minutes, but no answer was forthcoming.

-

-"Nobody home," taunted Billy. "You're a bunch of dead ones for fair."

-

-"I'll give it up," said Mouser.

-

-"Let's have it, Billy," surrendered Fred.

-

-"I'll be the goat," said Bobby. "What's the answer?"

-

-"The letter M," crowed Billy.

-

-Disgust and discomfiture sat on the boys' faces.

-

-"Rotten," groaned Pee Wee.

-

-"The worst I ever heard," grunted Fred.

-

-"Wish I had a gun," remarked Mouser.

-

-"It's a mighty good one," defended Billy. "But what's the use in giving

-you fellows something to chew over. It's like casting diamonds before

-swine."

-

-"You mean pearls," corrected Mouser.

-

-"Well, I may be mistaken about the diamonds," Billy came back at them,

-"but I'm dead sure about the swine."

-

-The laugh that followed told Billy that he had made a hit, and he

-swelled up like a pouter pigeon.

-

-"I've got another good one," he volunteered, "a regular peach. Why is--"

-

-But here the boys fell on Billy in a body and he was forced to hold his

-"peach" in reserve for another time.

-

-Bobby by this time had finished all he had to do in the station, and the

-boys gathered up their recovered suit-cases and made a bee line for the

-trolley. A car was coming, not a block away, and they piled aboard

-almost before it had come to a stop with wild clatter and hubbub. But

-the motorman and conductor were used to the uproar and the pranks of the

-Rockledge boys, and what few other passengers there were smiled

-indulgently.

-

-Rockledge was a lively little town with good stores and pleasant

-residence streets shaded by handsome oak trees. There were gas and

-electric lights, a number of churches and all the usual appurtenances of

-a bustling village that hoped some day to become a city. And not the

-least of the things in which the townspeople took pride was Rockledge

-School.

-

-Dr. Raymond, the head of the school, had been fortunate in choosing its

-location. He had been able to secure, at a remarkably low price, a

-beautiful private estate, whose owner had died and whose family had

-moved away. There were several buildings on the grounds and these he had

-remodeled and adapted to the purposes of a school, and he had built up

-an institution that was well and favorably known in all that section of

-the State.

-

-The school was select. By this is not meant that it was in the least

-degree snobbish. Dr. Raymond hated anything of that kind, and the school

-was run on a purely democratic basis, with every pupil on exactly the

-same level, whether his parents happened to be rich or poor. But the

-doctor was a great believer in the personal influence of teacher over

-pupil, and this could not be exerted so well if the classes were large.

-So the school was limited to fifty pupils, and this limit was never

-exceeded. At this figure the school was always full, and there was

-usually a waiting list from which any vacancy that might occur could be

-quickly filled.

-

-The doctor himself was a scholar of high standing, and he had surrounded

-himself with an efficient staff of teachers. Discipline was firm without

-being severe, and the boys were put largely on their honor to do the

-right thing. There was a society called the "Sword and Star" to which

-admission could be gained only on the ground of scholarship and good

-behavior.

-

-Bobby had won membership in this the year before and had also gained the

-Medal of Honor which was allotted each year to that pupil who, in the

-judgment both of his teachers and school-fellows, had stood out above

-all others. Fred, who was more flighty and less inclined to study, and

-whose "red-headed" disposition was always getting him into trouble, was

-not yet a member of the society, but had faithfully promised himself

-that he would win membership in the term just beginning.

-

-A ride of only a few minutes brought them close to the school grounds

-and the boys prepared to get off. Tommy Stone was to stay on the trolley

-car, which ran as far as Belden School.

-

-Tommy had kept himself rather in the background during the trip. He

-happened to be the only Belden boy on the car, and, owing to the intense

-rivalry between the two schools, a Belden boy was usually as popular

-with the Rockledge boys as poison ivy at a picnic party. But just now

-Tommy was traveling under the protection of Bobby and his party, and

-this saved him from the horse play he would otherwise have had to

-undergo.

-

-"Good-bye, Tommy!" said Bobby, as he got ready to leave the car. "Tell

-your father when you write to him how much obliged we are to him for all

-he has done for us. I'm going to write him a letter myself about it

-to-morrow."

-

-"Oh, that's all right," said Tommy. "Your father would have done the

-same for me if I'd been in the same fix as you fellows were."

-

-"And tell the Belden boys that we're going to trim 'em good and plenty

-when the baseball season begins," laughed Mouser.

-

-"Don't be too sure of that," grinned Tommy in return. "But I'll tell

-them and they'll be all ready for you."

-

-The boys dropped off the car, and in a few minutes saw the school

-buildings looming up before them.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" cried Fred, dropping his suitcase and executing a jig.

-"The old place certainly looks good to me."

-

-"Seemed a long way off a few hours ago when we didn't have a cent to our

-names," remarked Mouser.

-

-"Looked as if we'd have to walk the ties to get here," laughed Pee Wee.

-

-"And think how many stone bruises you'd have got," suggested Bobby.

-

-"'Barked shins,' you mean," corrected Mouser. "They're the latest thing

-in Pee Wee's collection."

-

-The fat boy grinned. He was too happy or perhaps too lazy to enter any

-protest just then.

-

-The school was beautifully located on a high bluff overlooking Monatook

-Lake, a sheet of water, nearly oval in shape. It was about ten miles

-long and five miles wide at its broadest part. There were several small

-islands scattered over the lake, and, as may be imagined, these were

-favorite resorts of the boys when they were permitted to visit them.

-

-A strong fence guarded the edge of the bluff for the entire length of

-the school grounds. A winding staircase led from the top of the bluff to

-the boathouse and the lake level.

-

-Just now Monatook was clothed in an icy mantle that shone like silver

-under the light of the moon which had just risen. It was a scene of

-wintry splendor that gladdened the heart to look upon.

-

-There were four buildings on the grounds. In the main building, which

-was made of brick and sandstone, the classrooms and dining-room were

-located. The basement had two sections, one for the kitchen and the

-other for the indoor gymnasium.

-

-On the upper floor were ranged the dormitories. These were two in

-number. There were beds for twenty boys in each one. Then there were

-five separate sleeping rooms, each one designed for the use of two boys.

-

-A little off from the main building, but connected with it by a portico,

-was a roomy house in which the doctor and his family lived, together

-with the members of the teaching staff.

-

-Besides these there were a gate-keeper's cottage, where the servants

-slept, and a minor building used for storage purposes.

-

-The grounds were skillfully laid out, and with their well kept lawns and

-shaded paths formed a very attractive campus. To supply the athletic

-needs of the boys there was a football field, a baseball diamond, and

-tennis and basketball courts.

-

-So that the boys who had the luck to be sent by their parents to

-Rockledge School were usually convinced before they had been there long

-that their lines had fallen in pleasant places.

-

-"Well, I suppose the first thing we'll have to do is to report to Dr.

-Raymond," said Bobby.

-

-"He'll know that the school can go on all right now that we're here,"

-grinned Mouser.

-

-"I suppose we'll have to let him know that we're on deck," admitted

-Fred, "but let's get it over in a hurry and get some grub. I'm hungry

-enough to eat nails."

-

-"Couldn't we get something to eat first?" asked Pee Wee wistfully.

-

-"You ate enough at Mrs. Wilson's to last for a week, I should think,"

-said Bobby.

-

-"I notice that you weren't very far behind," retorted Pee Wee.

-

-They trooped into the doctor's office and found him busy with some

-papers, which he laid aside at once, however, as he stood up to greet

-them.

-

-He was a tall, spare man, with a clean-cut face and kindly eyes that

-usually had a humorous twinkle in them, although they could flash fire

-if he caught any of the boys doing a mean or tricky thing. He smiled

-cordially and shook hands with them all.

-

-"You're a little later than you expected to be, aren't you?" he asked.

-"I was looking for you on an earlier train."

-

-"We've had a hard time getting here," smiled Bobby, and in a few words

-he told of the stirring adventures through which the little party had

-gone that day. The doctor listened intently, surprise, indignation and

-sympathy in his eyes.

-

-"It was an outrage!" he exclaimed, when Bobby had finished, "and I will

-get in touch with Mr. Stone at once and lend him any aid I can in

-catching the thieves. But I am very glad and thankful that it was only a

-loss of money and property. Those rascals might have used personal

-violence. I'll telephone to-morrow to a number of different towns,

-giving a description of the tramps and urging the authorities to be on

-the look-out for them. The sooner such fellows are put in jail the

-better."

-

-He made notes of as many points about the robbers as the boys could

-remember, especially of the scar of one man and the limp of the other.

-As to the third man, the boys were somewhat hazy. He was just "plain

-tramp."

-

-"And now," said the doctor, his eyes twinkling, "I suppose there's no

-need of asking you boys whether you are hungry."

-

-There was an eager assent on the part of the other boys and a heart-felt

-groan from Pee Wee.

-

-"Of course it is long after the usual supper hour," smiled the doctor,

-"but go over to the dining-room, find the housekeeper and tell her I

-want her to give you the very best meal she knows how to get up."

-

-There was no need of a second injunction, and the boys wished the head

-of the school good-night and were off to hunt up the housekeeper.

-

-"Isn't the doctor a brick?" ejaculated Mouser. "I thought he'd keep us

-there half an hour or more talking about the work for the coming term

-and what he would expect of us."

-

-"That'll come later," said Fred. "Just now he knew that we were hungry."

-

-"That's what makes him such a bully sort," said Bobby. "He hasn't

-forgotten that he was once a boy himself," he added, with a happy sigh.

-

-And this, perhaps, was as high tribute as could be paid by one of his

-pupils to the master of Rockledge School.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER XI

-

-                         TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS

-

-

-The housekeeper carried out the principal's order to the letter. And she

-did it with the better grace because she herself was fond of the boys.

-She bustled about and in a very short time, which seemed long enough,

-however, to the hungry boys, had a smoking hot meal on the table. The

-boys gathered around and pitched into the good things like so many

-hungry wolves, while the housekeeper watched them with a genial smile on

-her good-natured face.

-

-"Some feed," pronounced Fred, with a sigh of satisfaction, when at last

-they were through.

-

-"We've had a tough day in some ways," declared Pee Wee, "but a mighty

-lucky one in another. Just think of the three cooks we've come up

-against. Meena for breakfast, Mrs. Wilson for dinner, and Mary here for

-supper. Yum-yum!"

-

-"Sounds as if you were a cannibal," commented Mouser, with a grin.

-

-"Oh, Pee Wee hasn't got to that yet," mocked Fred, "but there's no

-telling when he will if that appetite of his holds out."

-

-"I'd hate to be out on a raft with Pee Wee in the middle of the ocean,

-if we were short of grub," chuckled Mouser. "Just think of the hungry

-looks he'd be throwing at me."

-

-"I'd like nothing better than to have Pee Wee along," put in Bobby. "We

-could live off him for a month."

-

-The chaff flew back and forth for a while, and then the call of sleep

-began to make itself felt.

-

-Bobby yawned and reached for his watch.

-

-"I wonder what time--" he began, and then stopped short in chagrin.

-

-"No use, Bobby," said Mouser. "The chances are that you'll never see

-that watch again."

-

-"Maybe it's in some pawnshop by this time," was the cold comfort that

-Fred had to offer.

-

-"No loss without some gain," chimed in Pee Wee. "I won't have the

-trouble of unfastening my sleeve buttons anyway."

-

-"That's looking on the bright side of things all right," laughed Bobby.

-"Come along, fellows, and let's get to bed."

-

-There was no dissenting voice, and they made their way upstairs to the

-old familiar dormitory.

-

-This was one of the brightest and most cheerful rooms in the school and

-not the least of its charm was that it commanded a splendid view of the

-lake. There was ample space for the twenty beds that the room contained.

-A locker stood beside each bed for the exclusive use of the occupant,

-and there was a chair at the head of each bed on which the regulations

-of the school demanded that clothing should be carefully folded and

-arranged each night upon retiring.

-

-Most of the boys had already arrived for the beginning of the term, and

-the room was full of noise and the clatter of tongues. Later on, a

-little more quiet would be insisted upon, but the regular school course

-was not in full swing yet and the boys were allowed a little more

-latitude than usual.

-

-The other occupants of the room clustered instantly about Bobby and his

-party, who were general favorites. They had already learned almost all

-there was to be told about the adventures of the day, but they were

-keenly interested in the exploits of the party during their winter

-holiday in the Big Woods.

-

-"Shiner"--the nickname that had been bestowed on Jimmy Ailshine--Howell

-Purdy and "Sparrow" Bangs, had also been on that memorable trip, but as

-they too had reached school but a little earlier in the day, they had

-been able to tell only enough of their adventures to whet the appetite

-for more. The newcomers were pleased at this, as they had feared that

-all the wind would be taken out of their sails and that the trip would

-be an old story when they arrived upon the scene.

-

-"Sparrow says that you killed a big bear up in the woods," said Sam

-Thompson, one of the younger boys.

-

-"And to hear Sparrow tell it, it must have been a twenty-foot bear at

-least," laughed Frank Durrock.

-

-"No," grinned Fred. "It had only four feet, just like any other bear."

-

-"Smarty!" Frank shot back at him.

-

-"But it seemed like twenty feet when he reared up at us," explained

-Bobby.

-

-"He was an old sockdolager, all right," added Mouser.

-

-"I don't want to see any bear so close again," remarked Pee Wee.

-

-"I've seen him in my sleep once or twice since," said Fred, "and I've

-waked up all in a sweat."

-

-"Just which one of you was it that killed it?" asked Sam, his eyes as

-big as saucers.

-

-"That's something we can't tell," answered Bobby. "We all fired at it,

-but I guess it was Gid Harple, the guide, who did the trick. He was a

-dandy shot, all right."

-

-"Gid's going to fix up the claws and teeth and send 'em down to us,"

-said Mouser. "Then you can see for yourself just what a big fellow that

-bear was."

-

-"I heard that you had a shot at a wildcat too," put in "Skeets" Brody.

-

-"Yes," said Fred, "and that was a fool stunt too. We didn't have much

-chance of getting him, and that left our guns empty when we saw the bear

-the first time. My! but we had a run for it that day. Talk about a

-Marathon!"

-

-"How did Pee Wee manage to make it?" asked Frank skeptically. "I can't

-imagine him putting on speed."

-

-"Pee Wee wasn't with us that time," explained Bobby. "The rest of the

-fellows walked down to the station, but Pee Wee came behind in the

-sleigh with Gid."

-

-"I had more sense than the rest of the gang," put in Pee Wee, with a

-superior air.

-

-"I hear you got a lot of muskrats by stunning them through the ice,"

-said Skeets. "How did you make out with training them, Mouser?"

-

-"Not very well," confessed Mouser. "They're too wild. Gid said I

-couldn't train 'em, and I guess he knew what he was talking about."

-

-The finding of Pat's father in the little shack, and the story of the

-hunting lodge, completely buried in the big snowslide, and the great

-fight they had to get out alive were also subjects of which their

-audience could not have enough. The listeners kept clamoring for more

-details and still more, until in sheer self-defense the boys had to call

-a halt.

-

-"Have a heart, fellows," said Bobby. "I'm so dead tired that I can

-hardly keep my eyes open."

-

-"Yes," added Fred, "we'll have all the term to tell you about the rest

-of it."

-

-Their hearers had to be content with this, and in a few moments more the

-boys had undressed and were in bed. But it is safe to say that in their

-dreams that night enough bears and wildcats were seen to stock a

-menagerie.

-

-"Say, Fred," was Bobby's last remark that night, as he slipped between

-the sheets, "isn't it bully to be back in the old dormitory again? Just

-suppose the tramps had tied us up in that old shack while they slipped

-out and left us there."

-

-"Ugh!" shuddered Fred, as he snuggled still deeper in his bed. "It gives

-me the cold shivers just to think of it."

-

-It was a hard thing for the boys to get out of their warm beds when the

-rising bell sounded the next morning. But there was no help for it, and

-they washed and dressed in a hurry, cheered by the thought of breakfast

-waiting for them.

-

-Several tables were spread in the large bright dining-room. One of them

-was reserved for Dr. Raymond and his family, together with the head

-teachers. The boys were ranged about the others, with a junior

-instructor sitting at the head of each to keep order. But his duties

-were light, for the boys were so intent upon dispatching their food that

-they had little time left for mischief. Each kept a wary eye on his

-plate, however, for special dainties had a way sometimes of vanishing

-mysteriously, and "eternal vigilance" was the price of pie.

-

-The morning was frosty but sunny, and after they had finished their

-meal, the boys lost no time in getting outdoors. There was little to be

-done on the first day except to gather in the classrooms for a few

-minutes and have their lessons assigned for the following day.

-

-"Any new fellows here this term, Skeets?" Bobby asked, as the latter

-strolled with him and Fred on the hard snowy path in front of the main

-building.

-

-"Two or three came in yesterday, I heard," answered Skeets, "but I've

-only met one of them so far. His name's Tom Hicksley."

-

-"What kind of fellow does he seem to be?" asked Fred.

-

-"I don't care for him very much," replied Skeets. "That is, judging by

-his looks. But you can't always tell by that. There he is now," he

-added, as a boy approached them.

-

-Fred and Bobby looked first at the newcomer and then at each other.

-

-"My! it's the fellow we squelched for teasing the old soldier on the

-train!" gasped Bobby.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XII

-

-                              A NEW ENEMY

-

-

-Tom Hicksley had caught sight of the three boys at the same moment, and

-from the spiteful look that came into his small eyes it was clear that

-he recognized Bobby and Fred.

-

-The boys looked at him coldly but did not speak, and Hicksley, on his

-part, seemed at first as though he were going to pass them without

-saying anything. But the events of the evening before still rankled in

-him, and he suddenly stopped.

-

-"So you're the butt-ins that mixed up in my affairs last night, are

-you?" he asked, in a tone that he tried to make sarcastic.

-

-Fred flared up at once.

-

-"Yes, we did," he shot out; "and we'd do it again if we saw you up to

-your mean tricks. You can't do anything of that kind while we're around

-and expect to get away with it."

-

-"Hello! what's the fuss about?" asked Skeets, with sudden interest.

-

-"You shut up!" commanded Hicksley. "This isn't any of your funeral. I'm

-talking to these two boobs here."

-

-"Don't tell me to shut up!" cried Skeets, who had a hair trigger temper

-very much like Fred's own.

-

-"I'll tell you anything I like," retorted Hicksley, who seemed to be a

-master in the "gentle art of making enemies."

-

-"I'll tell you what it was, Skeets," said Bobby. "I don't wonder that

-he's so ashamed of it that he doesn't want it talked about. We saw him

-teasing an old soldier--a real old man, mind you--who was trying to get

-a little sleep. Then when the old man went up the aisle to get some

-water, this fellow stuck out his foot and tried to trip him up. The man

-had all he could do to keep from falling. That was too much for us

-fellows and we made him stop."

-

-"He ought to have had his head knocked off," growled Skeets.

-

-"It would take more than you fellows to knock my head off," returned

-Hicksley belligerently.

-

-"You'd probably get along as well without it as with it," retorted Fred.

-"We knocked your cap off anyway, and I notice that you changed your seat

-just as we told you to."

-

-"That was because the conductor came along," replied Hicksley. "And it's

-a mighty good thing for you that he did. If he hadn't I'd have knocked

-you into the middle of next week."

-

-"You couldn't knock me into to-morrow, let alone the middle of next

-week," returned Fred, who was now thoroughly aroused.

-

-"Come, come, Fred," said Bobby soothingly. "There's no use in getting

-into a temper about this fellow. He isn't worth it."

-

-"I'll show you whether I'm worth it or not," cried Hicksley, in a rage.

-"Don't you think for a minute that you've heard the last of this. There

-were four of you fellows last night, and there are three of you now. But

-I'll catch each one of you alone some time, and I'll tan each one of you

-within an inch of your life."

-

-"You'd better try it," answered Fred. "You'd be afraid to tackle a live

-one. All you're good for is to torment a helpless old man. You're a nice

-fellow, you are."

-

-The quarrel, although it was none of the boys' seeking, was growing so

-hot that it was perhaps just as well that Mr. Carrier, one of the

-teachers, should come walking briskly along just at that moment. He saw

-from their flushed faces that something unpleasant was in the wind, but

-thought it just as well to ignore it rather than give it importance by

-taking notice of it.

-

-"Good morning, boys," he called cordially. "It's just about time for

-meeting in the main hall. I'm going over there now, and you'd better

-come along with me."

-

-This put an end to the threatening trouble for the time, and the boys

-followed along in his wake, Hicksley some distance behind the other

-three and muttering threats under his breath.

-

-"Isn't he a pippin?" said Bobby, in a low voice, so that Mr. Carrier

-could not hear.

-

-"Looks to me like something that the cat brought in," grumbled Fred,

-whose rumpled feathers took some time for smoothing.

-

-"He's going around looking for trouble," observed Skeets; "and that kind

-is sure to find it before very long."

-

-"No decent fellow will want to have anything to do with him," remarked

-Fred.

-

-"Except perhaps Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks," amended Bobby. "He'll be

-just nuts for them."

-

-"I said _decent_ fellow," repeated Fred.

-

-They soon reached the main assembly room into which the boys were

-streaming from all directions.

-

-Dr. Raymond and the rest of the teaching staff were seated on a platform

-in the front of the room. When the gathering had subsided into silence,

-the principal rose and gave the boys a little informal talk about the

-duties of the coming term and the spirit in which he hoped they would go

-about their work. He dwelt especially on the incentives offered them to

-become members of the "Sword and Star," the main society of the school,

-and as he mentioned the name of the society, the boys who were members

-jumped to their feet and gave the society yell:

-

-                        "One, two, three--_boom!_

-                             Boom Z-z-z-ah!

-                         Rockledge! Rockledge!

-                            Sword and Star!

-                             Who's on top?

-                              We sure are--

-                             _Rock_-ledge!"

-

-The hearty shout brought a flush of pleasure into the doctor's cheeks

-and he looked around upon his charges with a face beaming with pride. He

-concluded his talk with an urgent invitation to each of the boys to

-strive for the Medal of Honor, the highest prize within the gift of the

-school, and then dismissed them to their respective classes.

-

-Here the proceedings were brief. The tasks for the following day were

-assigned and then the boys were left to their own devices until the

-hours set aside that afternoon and evening for preparing their lessons.

-

-"Our soft snap is nearly over," mourned Fred. "From now on it will be

-steady work until the end of the term."

-

-"But think how much fun we'll have in between," comforted Bobby. "I've

-got a hunch that we're going to have the bulliest time at Rockledge that

-we've ever had yet."

-

-"What makes you think that?" asked Fred pessimistically.

-

-"I said it was a hunch, didn't I?" demanded Bobby. "You don't have to

-explain a hunch. You just have it and that's all there is to it."

-

-"I hate to think of buckling down to work again," said Fred. "We had

-such a bully free time up in the woods that I wish it would last

-forever."

-

-"That's all the more reason you ought to be willing to work when the

-time comes," remonstrated Bobby. "Think of the poor fellows that never

-have any outings and have to work hard all the time."

-

-"I suppose you're right," conceded Fred. "I don't know just what it is

-that makes me feel that way. It wasn't so when I got up this morning.

-I'll tell you just what I think it is," he said, as a sudden explanation

-of his mood suggested itself to him. "I'll bet it's that Tom Hicksley. I

-wanted to get a crack at him this morning when Mr. Carrier came along

-and stopped us. I'd have felt better if I'd lit out at him."

-

-"Now, Fred, cut out that fighting talk," said Bobby impatiently.

-"There's nothing in it. What's the use of getting into a row that will

-make your folks feel bad when they hear of it and perhaps bring you up

-before the doctor?"

-

-"I notice that you're ready enough to fight sometimes," grumbled Fred in

-self-defense. "You'd have pitched into Ap Plunkit if he'd hit you with

-that whip yesterday morning, and you were all worked up on the train at

-Hicksley."

-

-"That's a very different thing from looking for trouble," said Bobby

-stoutly. "It's all right to take your own part when people try to bully

-or strike you. But it's always best to keep out of a fight unless you're

-forced into it. There wasn't really any reason to fight Tom Hicksley

-this morning, and you know it."

-

-"Perhaps if you had hair as red as mine you wouldn't find it so easy to

-keep your temper," said Fred, falling back on an excuse he was fond of

-using.

-

-"Maybe not," laughed Bobby, "but you can make a try at it anyhow."

-

-"What's this I hear about fighting?" said Frank Durrock, as he came up

-behind them.

-

-Frank was larger and older than the two boys, and a prime favorite with

-them. He held the post of captain of the school. This carried with it no

-official power, as that rested wholly with the teachers. But Frank was

-supposed to have a general oversight, stop any disorder that went too

-far and in general to act as a sort of big brother to the younger boys.

-

-He was a fine athlete also, and had been captain of the football team on

-which Bobby and Fred had played the preceding fall and which had won the

-Thanksgiving game from Belden. His skill in baseball was also marked,

-and he was expected to play first base on the nine in the spring.

-

-"Oh, Fred was feeling a little sore over a row he had with Hicksley this

-morning," explained Bobby.

-

-"That new fellow?" asked Durrock. "I passed him a little while ago and

-he was talking with Bronson and Jinks. They seemed to be quite chummy

-together."

-

-"What did I tell you?" cried Fred to Bobby. "I knew those fellows would

-get together as sure as shooting."

-

-"They're three of a kind," assented Bobby.

-

-"I don't know anything about what kind of fellow he is," remarked Frank,

-"but somebody was telling me that he was a good baseball player."

-

-The boys did not think it was worth while to tell what they knew of

-Hicksley and so kept quiet.

-

-"He's big and husky and ought to make a good slugger," continued Frank,

-"and we can't have too much batting strength on our nine. So if he can

-field as well as bat, he may be able to get a place on the team."

-

-The prospect was not at all pleasing to Bobby and Fred, but above

-everything else they were loyal to the school, and if the newcomer would

-be a help to the Rockledge nine they were perfectly willing to forget

-their own feeling.

-

-"So you see, Fred," continued Frank, "you don't want to hold any grudge

-you may have against Hicksley. I don't know what your scrap was about

-and I don't want to know, but whatever it is, forget it."

-

-"Sure I will," said Fred heartily.

-

-"You know how it was on the football team," went on Frank. "There were

-fellows on that team that you didn't like--Jinks, for instance--but you

-overlooked that feeling and played good football just the same. And we

-want to do the same thing on the nine.

-

-"I'm especially anxious to get up a strong nine this year," he

-continued, "because we're going to have some pretty nifty teams against

-us. Belden has got two or three new fellows that they say are

-crackerjacks and they'll give us all we want to do to beat 'em.

-

-"Then, too, we're going to have a little different scheme this season

-than we ever had before. While you hunters have been up in the woods

-shooting bears"--here he grinned--"I've been hustling around with a few

-others and organized a new league."

-

-"A new league!" exclaimed Bobby and Fred in the same breath.

-

-"A new league!" repeated Skeets Brody and Sparrow Bangs, who had come up

-just in time to hear the last words. "What do you mean, Frank? Tell us

-all about it."

-

-They gathered about him, their eyes glistening.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XIII

-

-                        THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE

-

-

-"Now, now, don't all get excited," admonished Frank, who, all the same,

-was immensely delighted with the sensation he had stirred up by his

-announcement.

-

-"Don't keep us waiting, Frank," pleaded Fred, who would rather play

-baseball at any time than eat.

-

-"Out with it, like a good fellow," chimed in Bobby, whose pitching had

-won a game from Belden the previous term.

-

-Frank, with the instinct of the true story teller, waited until he had

-got his audience worked up to the proper pitch. Then when they were on

-edge, he proceeded:

-

-"It's this way," he explained. "Up to now we've been going on in a kind

-of rut. Belden is about the only team we've ever played any real games

-with, and that hasn't given us enough practice. We've had our own scrub

-nine to practice with, but as a rule they've been so easy that we

-haven't had to work hard enough to win. The only way we can learn to hit

-different kinds of pitching is to come up against nines that give us a

-stiff fight to win."

-

-"But we have played with village nines sometimes," interrupted Fred.

-

-"We played the Benton team last year and beat them six to five,"

-reminded Bobby.

-

-"Yes, I know," admitted Frank; "but those were only single games, and

-there wasn't enough at stake. It didn't make much difference whether we

-won from them or not as long as we put it all over Belden.

-

-"Now, don't you see how much more exciting it would be to have several

-different teams, all members of one league, each one playing the other a

-certain number of games, each one fighting hard for every game and each

-team working its head off to get the pennant, which would be given to

-the nine that had won the most games at the end of the season?"

-

-The boys broke into a chorus of delighted exclamations.

-

-"That would be bully!" cried Bobby.

-

-"It would be a regular see-saw!" exclaimed Fred. "First one team would

-be in the lead and then the other. It would be a rattling hard fight all

-the way from the start of the season to the finish."

-

-"It's a corker," agreed Skeets.

-

-"A pippin of a scheme," declared Sparrow with emphasis.

-

-"I thought you fellows would like it," said Frank, much pleased at the

-enthusiastic reception of his plan. "I talked it over with Dr. Raymond,

-and he said that he saw no objection to it."

-

-"The doc's a good old sport," commented Fred.

-

-"And Dr. Raymond saw the head of the Belden school and he agreed to it

-too," continued Frank, "while the captain of the Belden nine is fairly

-daffy over it."

-

-"How many clubs are there to be in the league?" asked Bobby.

-

-"We decided that four would be enough," answered Frank. "You see, we

-have only Saturdays to play, and if we had too many clubs in the league

-we couldn't play enough games to really make the thing go. But with four

-teams, each can play three games with every other team and that would

-give us a pretty good line on the strength of each nine."

-

-"Every team would play nine games altogether, then," figured Fred.

-

-"Yes, and that would take nine Saturdays. Allowing for some days when it

-might be too rainy to play that will just about cover the playing season

-before school closes for the summer."

-

-"Who are to be the other two nines besides Belden and ourselves?" asked

-Sparrow.

-

-"We've been scouting around and have found two town nines that will be

-glad to go in with us," answered Frank. "One is at Somerset and the

-other at Ridgefield. They're all within a few miles so that we wouldn't

-have to travel far to play them. The fellows are about the same age as

-we are, from eleven to fourteen."

-

-"What will be the name of the league?" asked Skeets.

-

-"How does Monatook Lake League strike you?" asked Frank. "Both towns are

-right on the lake, just as Rockledge and Belden are."

-

-"Just the thing," was the verdict of all.

-

-"Some of those town boys are dandy players," said Skeets. "I saw the

-Somerset team play once and they certainly put up a fine game."

-

-"And the Ridgefield boys have a pitcher who is a peach, all right," said

-Frank. "But that's just what we're looking for. It wouldn't be any fun

-defeating a lot of dubs."

-

-"We'll have to look out that they don't ring in some good players from

-other towns to fill up weak places on their team," said Fred.

-

-"Of course we'll have to take a chance on that," admitted Frank. "But I

-don't think we'll have to worry much. I know some of the boys on both

-teams and they seem to be pretty square fellows."

-

-"You'll have to limber up that pitching arm of yours and get it in good

-shape, Bobby," cried Fred jubilantly, clapping his friend on the

-shoulder.

-

-"How do you know I'll get a chance to pitch?" asked Bobby modestly. "The

-nine isn't made up yet and won't be till we've had a chance to practice.

-Some of the new fellows may be a good deal better than I am at

-pitching."

-

-"I don't believe they will be," returned Skeets. "Do you remember, Fred,

-that last game when Bobby pitched and we beat Belden by three to two?"

-

-"You bet I do," replied Fred. "And I remember that catch that Bobby made

-in the ninth inning when he rolled over and over and yet held on to the

-ball. If he had let it get away from him, Belden would have won sure."

-

-"I wish we could go right out on the field tomorrow!" exclaimed

-impatient Fred, who was very much worked up over the prospect of sport

-that the new league opened up.

-

-"That would be rushing things for fair," laughed Frank.

-

-"It would hardly do to be playing ball in overcoats and mittens,"

-grinned Skeets.

-

-"Let's see," said Sparrow. "This is the twenty-fifth of January. To the

-twenty-fifth of February is one month and to the twenty-fifth of March

-is another. The field ought to be in shape for playing by that time.

-Don't you think so, Frank?"

-

-"If we have a fairly early spring it ought to," said Frank. "Still in

-this climate I've seen snow on the ground sometimes in April."

-

-"February is a short month," said Fred hopefully. "That will cut the

-time down some."

-

-"Anyway we can do a whole lot of practicing indoors," said Bobby. "The

-gymnasium is good and warm and we can rig up some kind of a cage for

-pitching and catching."

-

-"Just as they do in colleges," said Sparrow proudly. "I tell you,

-fellows, we're some class!"

-

-"I'll bet the town papers'll put in reports of the games," said Fred,

-who already in imagination saw his name in print.

-

-"Sure they will," agreed Skeets. "They'll be glad of a chance to fill up

-space."

-

-This was not very flattering, and Fred, who saw fame coming his way with

-giant strides, rather resented it.

-

-"They won't do it only for that reason," he said indignantly. "I bet

-there'll be some dandy games played and lots of people in the towns will

-come out to see them."

-

-"Maybe, especially as they won't have to pay to get in," retorted

-Skeets, who was not averse at times to stirring Fred up just for the fun

-of seeing him roiled.

-

-"Well, we can always count on big crowds when Rockledge and Belden play

-anyway," put in Bobby, before Fred had a chance to throw back at Skeets.

-

-"We ought to get some kind of monogram sewed on our uniforms or caps to

-show the name of the league," said Sparrow, who was quite as alive as

-Fred was to the new dignity that was coming to them.

-

-"The letters M. L. L. would look nifty, sure enough," agreed Bobby.

-

-"Well there's plenty of time to think of those things before the season

-opens," remarked Frank. "The main thing now is to get up a team that

-will put it all over the other fellows."

-

-"Just think how it would feel to be the champions of the league," said

-Sparrow.

-

-"And to pull up the pennant on the flagpole just back of center field,"

-gloated Fred.

-

-"Rockledge wouldn't be big enough to hold us," said Bobby.

-

-"That's all right, fellows," cautioned Frank. "But remember all the

-other fellows are feeling the same way. It's easy enough to win games in

-our dreams, but the only ones that count are those that are won on the

-diamond."

-

-"We'll win them all right there too," replied Fred, who already saw

-himself cracking out a home run with the bases full. "We'll be there

-with bells on from the time the season opens."

-

-"I bet we'll go all through the season without losing a game," declared

-Sparrow, in a wild flight of fancy.

-

-"Come off the perch," warned Bobby.

-

-"Turn over, turn over, you're on your back," said the irreverent Skeets.

-

-"You'll bring bad luck on us if you talk like that," cautioned Frank.

-"It stands to reason that we'll have to lose some games. The other

-fellows are no slouches, don't you forget that, and they'll be out to

-win just as we are."

-

-"The best teams in the big leagues lose lots of games, even to the

-poorest ones," said Bobby. "You'll notice that the nines that win the

-championships don't often come through the season with much more than

-six hundred per cent."

-

-"Just what does that mean?" asked Skeets, who had never been especially

-strong in mathematics.

-

-Bobby did a swift sum in mental arithmetic.

-

-"That means they won three games out of five," he announced. "So you see

-they had lots of losses before they won the pennant. We've got a swell

-chance of winning every game--I don't think. If we win six out of the

-nine, I shall be perfectly satisfied. That will give us a percentage of

-six hundred and sixty-seven."

-

-"Bobby's right," confirmed Frank. "That would be two out of every three,

-and the team that wins isn't likely to do any better than that. The best

-team in the world will sometimes be whipped by a poor one. That's what

-makes baseball such a bully game. Lots of good luck and hard luck come

-into a game, and it's never settled until the last man is out in the

-ninth inning."

-

-"But in the long run it's the best team that wins," protested Fred,

-still undaunted. "And the best team in the Monatook Lake League this

-year will be the team of Rockledge School."

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XIV

-

-                             GLOWING HOPES

-

-

-The boys all laughed at Fred's declaration, though they hoped ardently

-that it would turn out to be true.

-

-"Well," conceded Frank, "confidence is a good thing, especially if there

-is good hard work back of it. One thing is certain, and that is if any

-team beats Rockledge it will know it's been in a fight."

-

-"I suppose Larry Cronk will be pitching for Belden," mused Fred.

-

-"I suppose so, and he's a corking good pitcher too. But Bobby beat him

-the last time he faced him and I guess he can do it again."

-

-"Trust Bobby," replied Fred loyally.

-

-"Well, I'll have to go now," concluded Frank. "I'm glad you boys think

-the league is going to be a good thing."

-

-"The best thing that ever happened," declared Sparrow.

-

-"I'm tickled to death with it," agreed Fred.

-

-"Hits me awful hard," said Bobby.

-

-"Monatook Lake League sounds mighty good to me," added Skeets.

-

-"There's a lot of work to be done yet in getting it fairly started,"

-observed Frank. "We'll have to work out a schedule of dates and decide

-on the kind of pennant we're going to have and a bunch of things like

-that. But we'll have plenty of time for that, and everything will be

-running slick as grease by the time the season begins. And remember what

-I said, Fred, about cutting out all hard feelings," he concluded.

-

-"I'll do it all right," answered Fred. "I don't like the fellow and I

-never will, but I'll forget all about that when it comes to working for

-the good of the team."

-

-"That's the way I like to hear you talk," returned Frank with a smile,

-as he went away.

-

-"What did Frank mean by that?" asked Skeets curiously.

-

-"Oh, it's about that Tom Hicksley," Fred replied. "Frank has heard that

-he's a good ball player, and if he is, he wants him on the nine. He

-heard Bobby and me talking of the scrap we had with him this morning,

-and he doesn't want trouble in the team."

-

-"Maybe Frank's right, at that," conceded Skeets. "But I don't know that

-it's good dope to have a fellow like that on the nine, no matter how

-good a player he is. He'll be wanting to run things and perhaps break up

-the whole team."

-

-"We'll hope not," said Bobby. "At any rate, there's no use worrying

-about it yet. He may not be so good a player as Frank has heard he is,

-and may not play on the team at all."

-

-"We'll have to look over our baseball togs and see if they're in good

-shape," said Fred. "I know the spikes on my shoes need sharpening."

-

-"And I'll have to pound that new baseball glove of mine until it's good

-and soft and has a big hollow in the middle," added Bobby. "We mustn't

-overlook the least thing that's going to help us to win."

-

-"Won't the Clinton boys open their eyes if we can tell them when we go

-home for the summer vacation that we're the champions of the Monatook

-Lake League?" gloated Fred.

-

-"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," laughed Sparrow.

-"It's a long time yet before the end of the season."

-

-"It's all over but the shouting, the way I look at it," persisted Fred

-defiantly.

-

-"Don't wake him up, he is dreaming," mocked Skeets.

-

-"The pennant bee is buzzing in his bonnet," laughed Sparrow.

-

-For that matter, they all heard the buzzing of the same bee, and it was

-a very pleasant sound to them. To these four eleven-year-old boys the

-words "league" and "pennant" conveyed a sense of dignity and importance

-that they had never felt before.

-

-From that time on, baseball took up a large part of their thoughts, even

-though the ground was covered with snow and the lake held fast in icy

-fetters.

-

-The gymnasium was warm and comfortable, and though they had no regular

-cage and the limited space did not give much chance for batting practice

-the boys got in quite a lot of pitching and catching. And this was

-quickened by the news that came to them that Belden had taken up the

-idea of the league with as much enthusiasm as they had, and were already

-predicting that they would be the victors in the coming struggle. It was

-said that two of the new Belden boys were hard hitters and could "send

-the ball a mile."

-

-"But we heard something like that before the last game, and we licked

-them just the same," remarked Fred, who expected to play short stop, the

-same position he had held the previous season.

-

-"Belden's bark is worse than its bite," confirmed Bobby. "But because

-they didn't come through the last time doesn't say they won't now. We'll

-have to be right up on our toes all the time. It isn't going to be a

-walkover for anybody."

-

-The study hours at Rockledge were not excessive, and had been arranged

-with a view of giving the growing boys all the time they needed for

-wholesome exercise and recreation. Dr. Raymond knew that a well trained

-mind and strong body must go together in order to get the best results.

-And on the occasions of the big baseball and football games he was

-always sure to be present as a keenly interested spectator.

-

-Mr. Carrier, too, the second assistant on the teaching staff, had

-himself been an athlete in his college days, and his advice and coaching

-on the diamond and the gridiron were very valuable to the Rockledge

-boys.

-

-With the lake so near at hand, there were plenty of winter sports. The

-smooth level of the ice, stretching away for miles in every direction,

-made skating a delight and offered a splendid field for hockey games. On

-all fine afternoons and every Saturday from morning till night, the ice

-was alive with darting figures, and rang with the music of steel against

-the frozen surface and the merry laughter of the skaters as they cracked

-the whip or flew by in impromptu races.

-

-There was plenty of snow on the ground this year and this gave a chance

-for some good coasting. Most of the boys had sleds, and Bobby had

-brought along the splendid one that he had received as a Christmas

-present.

-

-He had had considerable trouble in settling on a name. Billy Barry's

-suggestion that it be called "Lightning" and Betty Martin's laughing

-idea that it ought to be called "Oyster," because it "slipped down so

-easily," had received due consideration, but Bobby had finally settled

-on "Red Arrow." This seemed to him to cover both its color and its

-speed. And that speed could not be questioned. It certainly shot down

-hill like an arrow from a how. None of the other sleds at the school

-could do such fetching.

-

-Naturally Bobby took great pride in his sled, and the runners were

-rubbed with emery and oil until they were as smooth as silk and shone

-like silver.

-

-There were several good hills in the vicinity of the school, but most of

-them were dangerous; one because it crossed the railroad at its base and

-others because cross streets, along which there was much travel, offered

-chances for collisions. These were therefore forbidden to the boys.

-

-On one hill, however, they were permitted to coast whenever they wanted

-to do so. This stretched away from the town, and there were no cross

-streets throughout its entire length. It was absolutely safe, and as it

-was very long and reasonably steep, the boys felt no special regret at

-not being allowed to use the other hills.

-

-For several days before Lincoln's Birthday the weather had been mild and

-there was a considerable thaw. The snow on the hill had become soft and

-mushy and coasting had been impossible.

-

-This interfered with the plans of the boys in Bobby's dormitory, who had

-expected to have a big coasting carnival on the night of the holiday,

-when there would be a full moon. Now it looked as if the ground might be

-bare.

-

-But on the eleventh of February there came a sudden change in the

-weather that gladdened the hearts of the would-be coasters. The

-thermometer fell rapidly until it was ten degrees below zero. The hill

-froze solid and was even better than it had been before, because the

-water from the melting snow now formed a glare of ice over the whole

-surface.

-

-Bobby and his chums were jubilant over the change as they got together

-in the gymnasium after breakfast on the morning of the holiday.

-

-"Isn't it just bully?" cried Fred, doing a handspring.

-

-"The hill will be like glass," gloated Mouser.

-

-"I'll bet we fetch further than we ever did before," exulted Bobby, who

-could see himself scudding like the wind on his trusty Red Arrow.

-

-"But, gee! won't it be tough climbing up to the top again," put in Pee

-Wee, who liked well enough to ride down but hated the task of walking

-back.

-

-"Don't worry, Pee Wee," chaffed Fred. "We wouldn't let a hard-working

-fellow like you walk back. We'll take turns drawing you up on our

-sleds."

-

-"Sure we will," added Sparrow. "We'll just fight for the privilege."

-

-"I'd hate to have Pee Wee bark his shins again," laughed Bobby.

-

-The boys were so engrossed in the lively give and take that none of them

-noticed that Tom Hicksley, who had been practicing on the rings and had

-been near enough to hear their conversation, had quietly slipped out of

-the gymnasium.

-

-There had been no open trouble between him and Bobby and his friends

-since that morning when the coming of Mr. Carrier had stopped the

-quarrel. None of the boys took any special pains to avoid him but had

-simply left him alone. Hicksley had cast sullen and angry glances at

-them as they passed him on the campus or in the halls, but they cared

-nothing for that. They did not doubt that he was nursing his grudge and

-would lose no chance to get back at them if he could, but they felt able

-to take care of themselves.

-

-As a matter of fact, Hicksley had only two friends in the school. These

-were Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, the two most detested boys at

-Rockledge. They were of the same type as Hicksley, mean and tyrannical.

-They were two of the largest pupils and took advantage of their size to

-make themselves thoroughly disliked by the other boys.

-

-They had "cottoned" to Hicksley at once, recognizing him as a kindred

-spirit, and the three were almost constantly together.

-

-Bronson and Jinks belonged to neither of the dormitories, but occupied

-one of the smaller rooms together.

-

-To this room Hicksley went straight from the gymnasium and rapped on the

-door.

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER XV

-

-                            SPOILING THE FUN

-

-

-There was a scurrying within the room and Hicksley heard the sound of a

-window being hastily thrown up. Then after a long pause the door was

-slowly opened.

-

-"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Bronson in a tone of relief.

-

-"Sure it is," replied Hicksley tersely. "Who did you think it was?

-What's the matter with you fellows anyway. Any one might think I was a

-cop, from the time you took to open the door."

-

-"Worse than that," grinned Bronson. "I thought you might be Dr. Raymond

-or one of the teachers. We were smoking. Now you've made us throw away

-two perfectly good cigarettes and freeze ourselves by opening the window

-to get the smoke out of the room. Shut the window again, Jack. It's only

-Tom."

-

-"Well, I'm not going to tell on you," replied Hicksley. "That is," he

-added with a grin, "if you've got another cigarette left for me."

-

-It was strictly against the rules to smoke, but in the opinion of these

-worthless fellows rules were made only to be broken, and all three were

-soon puffing away, after making sure that the door was securely locked.

-

-Bronson was a tall, thin boy, with straw-colored hair. Jinks was

-shorter, but very stocky. A squint that made his small eyes look smaller

-still gave him a most unprepossessing appearance.

-

-"Well, what's up?" asked Bronson, seeing from Hicksley's manner that he

-had something to propose.

-

-"I've just heard something that gave me an idea of how to get even with

-that Bobby Blake and the bunch of boobs he goes with," replied Hicksley.

-

-"Hope it's a good idea," said Bronson. "Anything that will down those

-fellows you can count me in on."

-

-"Same here!" ejaculated Jinks. "I never had any use for any of that

-crowd."

-

-"Let's have it, Tom," broke in Bronson impatiently. "Don't keep us

-waiting."

-

-"They're planning to have a big coasting time to-night," explained

-Hicksley. "I heard them talking about it when I was down in the

-gymnasium just now. And while I was listening I thought of a way to

-queer the whole thing."

-

-This sounded promising, and the interest on the faces of the others grew

-intense.

-

-"What is it?" they asked in the same breath, leaning forward eagerly.

-

-Hicksley lowered his voice a trifle and rapidly outlined the plan that

-had come to him.

-

-He was fully satisfied with its reception, for both of his hearers

-roared with delight.

-

-"It's just bully!" cried Bronson.

-

-"Best thing I've heard since Hector was a pup!" ejaculated Jinks.

-

-"That'll put a spoke in their wheel all right," gloated Hicksley.

-

-"Won't they feel sore?"

-

-"They'll be frothing at the mouth."

-

-"We'll have to be hiding somewhere near by where we can see the whole

-thing," said Bronson.

-

-"I wouldn't miss it for a hundred dollars," chuckled Jinks.

-

-"They'll sing small for a long time after that," grinned Hicksley. "But

-now if you think the plan is all right, we'll have to figure out just

-how to go about it. It'll be a lot of hard work, and I don't want to do

-it myself. I don't suppose you fellows want to muss yourselves up

-either."

-

-"I'll tell you what!" exclaimed Bronson. "Do you know who Dago Joe is?"

-

-"He's that Italian fellow down town who goes about doing odd jobs, isn't

-he?" queried Hicksley.

-

-"That's the one," Bronson assented.

-

-"Well, what about him?" asked Hicksley.

-

-"Just this," Bronson answered. "He's just the fellow for this job. He's

-got a hand cart, and that will make it easy for him. Then, too, a dollar

-will look as big to him as a meeting house. But even if he charges more

-than that we can all chip in and it won't make very much for any of us."

-

-"I wouldn't care if it cost us a dollar apiece," said Jinks. "It would

-be worth it."

-

-They talked for a few minutes longer, and then decided that rather than

-let Hicksley do it alone they would all go down together to see Dago

-Joe.

-

-But to their surprise, Joe was at first inclined to balk at the

-proposition. He was poor and had a large family to support and he needed

-every dollar he could get, but he seemed to fear that the plan that the

-bullies suggested might get him into trouble.

-

-"I donta know," he said, shrugging his shoulders and extending the palms

-of his hands. "Perhaps people nota like it. Maybe I be arrest."

-

-"Nonsense, Joe," said Bronson. "There isn't a chance in the world that

-anybody will get on to who did it. It will be after dark anyway. Be a

-sport and take a chance."

-

-"We'll make it two dollars," said Jinks. "It's easy money and you'd be a

-fool not to take it."

-

-Joe still had some qualms, but when the boys raised the price to three

-dollars his scruples vanished.

-

-"You can get the stuff down near the roundhouse," suggested Jinks.

-"There's always plenty of it there."

-

-Joe wanted his three dollars at once, but they compromised by paying him

-half down with a promise of the other half when the work was done.

-

-"Now for the big blowout," chuckled Jinks, as they wended their way back

-to the school.

-

-"It'll be a scream," gloated Bronson.

-

-"A perfect riot," added Hicksley, who was in high feather, now that his

-scheme seemed in a fair way of going through.

-

-As for Dago Joe, he was a busy man for the rest of the day and for some

-time after darkness fell.

-

-There was an unusually good supper that night in honor of the holiday,

-and the boys did it full justice. But they would have lingered still

-longer at the table, if they had not been impatient to get out on the

-hill for their carnival of coasting.

-

-The wind had died down, but the air was keen and brought a frosty glow

-to their eyes and cheeks as they made their way to the hill, drawing

-their sleds behind them by ropes that hung over their shoulders.

-

-"We'll make a new record to-night," said Bobby jubilantly. "I shouldn't

-wonder if we fetched as far as the bridge; and we've never done that

-yet."

-

-"If we don't do it to-night we never shall," replied Fred, as they came

-to the hill.

-

-"It doesn't seem as if the sleds could ever stop when they get started

-on ice like this," exulted Mouser.

-

-"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Sparrow. "The hill's wide

-enough to hold six sleds going down at the same time. There's just about

-seventeen or eighteen of us here. Let's start out in a bunch of six at a

-time and go the whole length. Then, after that, we can have the separate

-races."

-

-"That's all right," agreed Fred. "The trouble is that each fellow will

-want to go off in the first six."

-

-"We'll soon settle that," replied Sparrow. "We'll draw lots and then

-nobody will have any kick coming."

-

-This proposal was greeted with acclamation, and amid a great deal of

-chaff and laughter the lots were drawn.

-

-The lucky ones happened to be Fred, Bobby, Mouser, Sparrow, Skeets and

-Pee Wee.

-

-"We'll let Pee Wee go in the middle," laughed Fred, "and we'd better

-take care to keep close to the side of the road. He'll need more room

-than any of the rest of us."

-

-"I'd hate to have him plunk into me," grinned Bobby. "It would be a case

-for the doctor, for sure."

-

-"For the undertaker, more likely," chuckled Mouser.

-

-"You fellows think you're smart, don't you?" grunted Pee Wee. "All the

-same I bet I'll fetch farther than any of you."

-

-"Hear who's talking," jibed Sparrow. "We'll leave you so far behind you

-won't be able to see us with a telescope."

-

-They ranged their sleds side by side and lay upon them flat on their

-stomachs, holding firmly on the sides in front in order steer correctly.

-

-"Are you all ready?" asked Howell Purdy, who had been chosen to give the

-word.

-

-"Ready," they answered.

-

-"Then go!" shouted Howell.

-

-The six sleds shot forward with a rush.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XVI

-

-                            WHO WAS GUILTY?

-

-

-For the first third of the distance, the ice was as smooth as

-quicksilver, with never a lump or hummock to mar the surface. The sleds

-flew down the frozen surface, gaining a velocity that took the boys'

-breath away and almost frightened them.

-

-Then suddenly there was a jar, a chorus of shouts, and they were thrown

-headlong over the fronts of their sleds, landing in a confused heap of

-limbs and bodies, while the sleds relieved of their burdens swirled

-around aimlessly for a time and finally came to a stop.

-

-A yell of consternation and alarm came from the mass, as the boys tried

-to struggle to their feet.

-

-Those who had been left at the top of the hill, hearing the yells and

-knowing that some accident had happened, came slipping and scrambling

-down to the scene of the disaster.

-

-They helped the half stunned victims to their feet, and for a time there

-was a wild hullabaloo of questions and answers as they tried to solve

-the mystery.

-

-Fortunately none of them was badly hurt, though at the rate they were

-going it might very easily have turned out to be a tragedy.

-

-Most of the boys had rubbed pieces of skin off their arms and legs, and

-Fred had a cut in his scalp from which the blood was flowing.

-

-"What did it?" shouted Howell.

-

-"I don't know," replied Bobby hesitatingly. His head was going round

-like a top.

-

-"M-must have hit a tree trunk or something like that," stammered

-Sparrow.

-

-"That isn't it," replied Howell, looking around him. "There isn't

-anything of that kind in sight as far as I can see. Just wait a minute

-till I get Sam Thompson's flashlight."

-

-Luckily Sam had it with him and promptly handed it over.

-

-Howell flashed it about him and gave a shout.

-

-"It's ashes!" he cried. "The whole hill's littered with 'em."

-

-"Ashes?" came a chorus of surprised questions.

-

-"That's what it is," declared Howell emphatically. "There are heaps and

-heaps of 'em. I'll bet they reach clear down to the bottom of the hill."

-

-He went down further and confirmed what he had said. He had no trouble

-in walking, for he could not have slipped if he had wanted to. The whole

-lower surface of the hill was strewn with ashes that spoiled the

-coasting for that night utterly, and promised to ruin it for many days

-to come.

-

-A wave of wrath and fierce indignation swept over the boys as they heard

-Howell's report.

-

-"Who could have done it?" was the question that came to the lips of all.

-

-"Could it have been the town council?" suggested Skeets. "They might

-have done it to keep the horses from slipping."

-

-"They never did anything like that before," objected Sparrow.

-

-"And if they were the ones, they would have made a clean job of it and

-gone right up to the top of the hill," said Mouser. "But you fellows

-will notice that it was perfectly clear for a long part of the way

-down."

-

-"Mouser is right," declared Bobby. "Somebody did this just to spoil our

-fun."

-

-"And they wanted us to be fooled and get started down so that we'd get a

-tumble when we came to the ashes," added Fred. "That's why they left it

-smooth at the top."

-

-"Some of us might have been killed," groaned Skeets, gingerly soothing

-an injured knee.

-

-"And it's only a bit of luck that we weren't," growled Fred.

-

-"My shins are barked for fair," moaned Pee Wee, "and that's no joke this

-time either."

-

-"Whoever did it was a low-down skunk," burst out Howell angrily.

-

-"He might have been a murderer," added Skeets.

-

-"I'd like to have my hands on him for a minute," declared Fred.

-

-"Well, our fun is over for this night anyway," said Bobby sadly.

-

-"And for a whole lot of other nights," put in Pee Wee. "Those ashes will

-get ground in and there's no sweeping 'em off."

-

-"We'll have to wait for another snow storm before we can do any more

-coasting," wailed Sparrow.

-

-It was a sorely disgruntled band of boys who gathered up their sleds and

-limped slowly to the top of the hill. One of the sleds was smashed and

-all had been more or less scratched and bruised.

-

-Once at the top, they squatted down on their sleds and held a council of

-war.

-

-"Now, fellows," said Bobby, "we've got to get to the bottom of this

-thing somehow. The ashes didn't come there of themselves. Somebody put

-them there, and whoever it was knew that we were out for a grand

-coasting bee to-night. So it must have been some fellow in the school."

-

-"I hate to think that there's any fellow at Rockledge who could do such

-a dirty trick," remarked Howell. "If we can find out who it was we ought

-to tell Doctor Raymond about it and have the fellow sent away from

-school."

-

-"No," objected Bobby. "This is our affair and we oughtn't to bring the

-teachers into it at all."

-

-"The question is who could have done it," put in Skeets.

-

-"Whoever did it is mean enough to steal sheep," growled Fred.

-

-"Or take the pennies from a dead man's eyes," added Mouser.

-

-"I can figure out just three fellows in the school who could do a thing

-like that," said Howell.

-

-"Bill Bronson."

-

-"Jack Jinks."

-

-"Tom Hicksley."

-

-The answers came from as many different lips, and the readiness with

-which they were accepted was not at all flattering to the boys who bore

-the names.

-

-"It may have been one of those three or all three together," said Bobby,

-coming nearer to the mark than he knew.

-

-"That reminds me," cried Fred suddenly. "Tom Hicksley was practicing on

-the flying rings when we were talking this thing over in the gymnasium

-this morning."

-

-"That's so," chimed in Mouser. "And I remember now that he seemed to

-stop all of a sudden and slip away. I didn't think anything about it

-then, but I remember it plainly now."

-

-"He owes some of us a grudge for what happened on the train," remarked

-Pee Wee.

-

-"And he said then he'd get even with us," observed Fred.

-

-"There's one thing we fellows have forgotten," said Skeets. "Whoever did

-this would want to be hiding around and see what happened. We ought to

-hunt them out and pay them up."

-

-This seemed likely enough and the boys looked eagerly about them.

-

-"Doesn't seem to be any place up here where they could hide without our

-seeing them," remarked Mouser.

-

-"No, but there's a lot of bushes at the side of the road half way down

-the hill," put in Sparrow. "Let's go down there."

-

-They went down in a body. There was no one there, but as they got to the

-other side of the bushes they could faintly make out three figures

-retreating in the distance.

-

-They were too far away to be recognized and they had too long a start to

-make it worth while pursuing them, but from their general size and build

-the boys had little doubt as to who they were.

-

-"What did I tell you?" cried Fred. "I knew that they were the only ones

-who could do a thing like that."

-

-"It seems that the whole bunch of them are in it," remarked Mouser.

-

-"I'll bet that Hicksley went straight to them and cooked this up when he

-left the gym this morning," conjectured Sparrow.

-

-"That makes something else we owe those fellows," growled Skeets.

-

-"We owed them enough without that," said Howell. "The big bullies have

-tried to pester the life out of us ever since we've been at Rockledge."

-

-"Our turn will come," replied Bobby with conviction. "But now, fellows,

-we might as well hustle back to the dormitory. There's no use of staying

-here any longer."

-

-They made their way back to the school with very different feelings from

-those they had when they left it.

-

-"A holiday spoiled," grumbled Mouser.

-

-"And there's only two more holidays this month," observed Sparrow.

-

-"Two!" exclaimed Bobby. "There's only one more and that's Washington's

-Birthday."

-

-"How about St. Valentine's Day?" objected Sparrow. "That's only two days

-from now."

-

-"Oh, that's only a fake holiday," replied Fred. "Lessons will go on just

-the same."

-

-"I don't care whether it's a fake holiday or a real one," answered

-Sparrow. "I'm going to get a lot of fun out of it just the same."

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XVII

-

-                              ON THE TRAIL

-

-

-The school chums sat up late in the dormitory that night, nursing their

-bruises, and by the time they had got through applying arnica and other

-lotions, the place smelled like a hospital.

-

-How they could bring the trick home to those who had played it was a

-problem that was too much for them at the present. They felt sure that

-the bullies would deny it if taxed with it, and there was no way of

-actually proving it, no matter how sure they might feel in their own

-minds.

-

-The matter could of course have been carried to the authorities of the

-school, and there is no doubt that they would have looked upon it very

-gravely because of the serious accident that might have resulted from

-it. But their code of schoolboy ethics was to keep the teachers out of

-such things and fight it out among themselves. They felt reasonably sure

-that sometime or other they would get even, and they bided their time.

-

-It was a very lame and sore lot of boys who dragged themselves out of

-bed when the rising hell rang on the following morning.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" exclaimed Fred. "I feel as though I'd been in a

-railroad smash-up."

-

-"I'm one big ache all over," groaned Pee Wee.

-

-"One _big_ ache is right," grinned Mouser. "You couldn't be a little one

-if you tried."

-

-"My joints creak like a wooden doll's, every time I go to move,"

-complained Sparrow.

-

-"I bet I'll go to pieces on the stairs and have to be shoveled up in

-bits," prophesied Skeets.

-

-"We'll each keep a part to remember you by," laughed Bobby. "Quit your

-groaning, you fellows, and let's go down to the table. You'll feel

-better when you get filled up."

-

-The filling up process was carried out with neatness and despatch, and

-when it was over the boys were inclined to look on life in a more

-cheerful way.

-

-"We can't do anything this morning on account of lessons," remarked

-Bobby. "But as soon as they're over this afternoon, let's make a break

-for that hill and see what we can find out."

-

-"And see how Hicksley and his pals act in the classrooms," suggested

-Skeets. "That may give us a tip to go by."

-

-"I don't count much on that," said Mouser. "They'll be on their guard

-and won't want to give themselves away."

-

-To a certain extent this proved true. There was no attempt on the part

-of the bullies to gloat over the victims of their trick. But the boys

-surprised furtive grins and winks that passed between the three when

-they thought no one was looking, and this confirmed their suspicions

-that now were almost certainties.

-

-"They did it all right," pronounced Fred. "I'm sure of it from the way I

-saw them grinning at each other. But they'll laugh on the other side of

-their mouths before long."

-

-As soon as the boys were free from their duties, they went with all

-speed to the scene of their misadventure. And again they lamented, when

-they saw by daylight how thoroughly the hill was spoiled for coasting.

-

-"There must be bushels and bushels of ashes!" exclaimed Mouser, as his

-eyes roamed over the lower half of the hill.

-

-"It beats me how they managed to get it all here," observed Skeets.

-

-"It must have been brought a long way," commented Sparrow. "There's no

-place round here they could have got them from."

-

-"They couldn't have carried all that stuff themselves," said Bobby

-thoughtfully.

-

-"It would have been an awful job," added Howell, "and those fellows

-don't like work well enough for that."

-

-"They might have hired a man with a horse and wagon," suggested Skeets.

-

-"If that's so, there must be some tracks in the snow," returned Bobby.

-"Scatter out, fellows, and see if you can find any marks of hoofs or

-wheels."

-

-They followed his directions, and in a moment there was a cry from

-Sparrow.

-

-"Here're the marks of wheels," he called. "But I don't see any horse

-tracks."

-

-There, indeed, were the clearly defined print of wheels leading in a

-roundabout way toward the town. As they looked a little more closely

-they could see too where a man's feet had broken at places through the

-crust of snow.

-

-"It must have been a hand cart," said Bobby, "and you can see that it

-held ashes from the bits that lie along its tracks. That's what they

-brought it in and you can bet on it."

-

-"There aren't many hand carts in town," observed Fred reflectively. "How

-many do you fellows remember seeing?"

-

-"The laundryman has one," replied Howell, "and the paper man has

-another. Those are the only ones I know of, except that shaky thing of

-Dago Joe's."

-

-"He's the fellow!" cried Fred excitedly. "None of the others would lend

-their carts for anything like that."

-

-"Let's follow up the tracks and see where they lead to," suggested

-Sparrow.

-

-This was detective work to their liking and even Pee Wee made no

-objections to the tramp over the snow.

-

-Their satisfaction was increased when they found that the tracks led

-straight to the roundhouse. Here there were great piles of ashes that

-had been dropped from the fire boxes of the locomotives when they were

-being shifted or put up for the night. It was quite clear that here was

-the place where the hand cart had been filled.

-

-But their elation received a sudden check when they prepared to trace

-the wheel prints to the shabby shack in town where Joe lived with his

-numerous brood. For now they were in the outskirts of the town, where

-wagons were coming and going all the time, and the tracks they had been

-following were lost in a multitude of others.

-

-They looked at each other a little sheepishly.

-

-"Stung!" muttered Fred.

-

-"Bum detectives we are," grinned Sparrow.

-

-"We're up a tree now for sure," declared Sparrow.

-

-"All this walk for nothing," growled Pee Wee.

-

-"We do seem to be stumped," admitted Bobby. "What do you say to going to

-Joe and asking him right up and down whether he did it or not?"

-

-"Swell chance we'd have of getting anything out of him," commented

-Mouser.

-

-"He'd lie about it sure," declared Sparrow.

-

-"I suppose likely he would," agreed Bobby. "But we might be able to tell

-something by the way he acts. It won't do any harm to try anyhow."

-

-They found Dago Joe pottering about some work in the small yard in front

-of his shack. But Joe had seen them coming and his uneasy conscience had

-taken alarm. If he had had time, he would have slipped inside the house

-and had his wife or one of the children deny that he was at home. But it

-was too late for that, and he took refuge in the assumed ignorance that

-had served him many times before.

-

-He greeted them with a genial smile that showed his mouthful of white

-teeth which was the only personal attraction he possessed.

-

-"Goota day," he said blandly.

-

-"How are you, Joe?" said Bobby, as spokesman for the party. "Been pretty

-busy?"

-

-Joe's mouth drooped.

-

-"Not do nottin much," he answered. "Beesness bad, ver' bad."

-

-"Carry any loads of ashes lately?" Bobby went on.

-

-Joe looked puzzled. Then a light came into his face.

-

-"Hash?" he said delightedly. "Me likea hash. Tasta good. Bambino like it

-too."

-

-"Not hash, but ashes," returned Bobby, joining in the laugh of the rest

-of the boys. "You know, ashes--what falls out of the stove, wood ashes,

-coal ashes."

-

-Joe's face resembled that of a graven image.

-

-"No unnerstan," he said, shrugging his shoulders with an air of

-perplexity.

-

-In the face of his determination, the boys saw that it was of no use to

-prolong the conversation.

-

-"You're a good actor, Joe," said Bobby, half vexed, half amused, as the

-boys turned to go.

-

-Joe showed his teeth again in an engaging smile that embraced all the

-party and waved them a cordial good-bye.

-

-"How sweetly the old rascal smiles at us!" grinned Mouser.

-

-"Laughs at us, you mean," snorted Fred. "He's tickled to death inside to

-think of the way he's got the best of us."

-

-"I bet if we asked him if he'd like to have us give him five dollars,

-he'd understand, all right," laughed Sparrow.

-

-"He couldn't grab the money too quick," agreed Skeets.

-

-"Well, we haven't wasted our afternoon anyway," Bobby summed up. "We've

-found out how the ashes were taken there, and we feel dead certain in

-our own minds that Joe did it. We know, of course, that he didn't do it

-of his own accord. Somebody hired him to do it. Now if we could only

-find some one who saw Hicksley and Joe talking together, it would help

-some."

-

-"But that wouldn't prove anything," objected Sparrow. "They might be

-talking about the weather."

-

-"Or about hash," interjected Pee Wee.

-

-"Hash seems to stick in your crop," grinned Skeets.

-

-"I wish some of it were sticking there right now," answered Pee Wee,

-"especially if it were like the hash that Meena makes."

-

-"By the way, fellows," chimed in Fred, "it must be close to supper time

-this very minute. Let's beat it."

-

-They started off on a run.

-

-"The one that gets there last is a Chinaman," Skeets flung back over his

-shoulder.

-

-Pee Wee was the Chinaman.

-

-

-

-

-                             CHAPTER XVIII

-

-                               A HARD HIT

-

-

-The next morning the boys woke to the realization that it was St.

-Valentine's Day. There were valentines in their mail, valentines that

-had been slipped slyly into their pockets, valentines that had found

-their way under their pillows.

-

-Some of them were the grotesque "comics" that were on sale in the

-village stationery store, while others were mere scrawls adorned with

-so-called pictures, and had been made by the boys themselves with pen

-and pencil.

-

-There was not much art about them, but there was a good deal of fun, and

-that was all the boys were looking for. Most of them were based on

-nicknames that the boys carried or on some event in their lives that was

-known to the rest.

-

-Mouser, for instance, was pictured with his own face on the body of a

-mouse who was creeping toward a cage in which a big piece of cheese was

-temptingly displayed.

-

-Skeets was buzzing about as a big mosquito, over the bald head of a fat

-man, who was getting ready to crash him as soon as he should settle

-down.

-

-Fred's red head had been drawn in red ink, and above his flaming mop one

-boy was holding a frying pan and another was breaking eggs to cook an

-omelet.

-

-The boys had learned from Fred of the time when Bobby had coasted down

-the Trent Street hill and gone head over heels into the drift. Bobby's

-head could not be seen but his two heels were waving wildly in the air

-and on one of them was the word "Bobby" and on the other "Blake."

-

-Of course Pee Wee had not been overlooked. He was shown as a big fat

-boy, and each of his knees had a dog's head on it. The dogs were barking

-furiously. This was supposed to indicate his "barked" shins.

-

-Because Billy Bassett was always asking questions with his conundrums,

-he was shown as a great big question mark with the word "guess"

-underneath.

-

-Sparrow Bangs sat on a branch with a flock of birds, singing with all

-his might, while in the bushes a hunter was taking careful aim and

-getting ready to fire.

-

-Under most of the pictures there were verses that brought forth shrieks

-of laughter--usually from all, but sometimes from all but the recipient.

-

-As a rule, it was pure fun without any sting in it, though Fred pointed

-out that the hair in the picture was a good deal redder than that which

-really waved over his freckled forehead. Pee Wee too was sure that he

-was not anyway near so big as the human mountain that his picture showed

-him to be.

-

-There was plenty of chaff and laughter as the boys pored over the

-valentines, and they would have gladly spent more time discussing them.

-But as Fred had said, Valentine's Day was only a "fake" holiday, and the

-hard-hearted teachers insisted on lessons and recitations. So the

-pictures were hastily thrust into pockets until they had more time to

-look at them and the boys trooped over to the classrooms.

-

-Several times through the morning's work, they noticed that Tom Hicksley

-shot furious glances at them and this aroused their curiosity.

-

-"His royal highness seems mighty sore about something this morning,"

-Fred whispered to Bobby.

-

-"Got out of bed the wrong foot first maybe," replied Bobby.

-

-"I hope he's got something to feel sore about," snapped Fred.

-

-What that something was they learned after the lessons were over, and

-they stood chattering with their friends, a little way off from the main

-building.

-

-Hicksley came up to them, accompanied by Bronson and Jinks. There was an

-ugly look in the bully's eyes and he held a folded sheet of paper in his

-hand.

-

-"Which one of you boobs sent me this valentine?" he asked threateningly.

-

-"How do you know that any of us did?" replied Bobby in Yankee fashion,

-answering a question by asking one.

-

-"I know that some of you did, because you butted in on me before,"

-replied Hicksley.

-

-"When was that?" asked Fred aggravatingly.

-

-"You know well enough," growled Hicksley, who was not any too anxious to

-recall his bully-ragging of the old soldier.

-

-"Oh, yes, I remember," put in Mouser, as though he had just thought of

-it. "You remember, fellows, how Hicksley reached out his foot and tried

-to trip the old man up."

-

-"I didn't," cried Hicksley untruthfully. "He fell over it by accident."

-

-"And I suppose it was an accident that you kept at him with the feather

-so that he couldn't get any sleep?" retorted Fred.

-

-"That's neither here nor there," snarled Hicksley, dodging the matter.

-"What I want to know is which one of you sent this valentine?"

-

-"What are you going to do if you find out?" asked Bobby innocently.

-

-"I'm going to give him a trimming that he'll remember," growled

-Hicksley.

-

-Bronson and Jinks ranged up alongside of him as though to assure him of

-their support, and it looked as if trouble were coming.

-

-"Give it to him good and plenty, Tom," said Bronson.

-

-"The whole bunch of them need a licking," added Jinks.

-

-"It will take more than you to give it to us," blazed out Fred

-defiantly.

-

-The bullies were much larger and stronger than any of the boys opposed

-to them. On the other hand, the smaller boys had a larger number, so

-that if a tussle did come, the forces would be about equal.

-

-"What is this valentine you're making all this fuss about?" demanded

-Bobby.

-

-"Here it is," cried Hicksley furiously, thrusting it forward. "And I'm

-going to make the fellow that sent it pay for it."

-

-The boys crowded round and looked at it curiously, at the same time

-keeping wary eyes on the bullies.

-

-The picture was fairly well done, and had evidently taken a great deal

-of work and time on the part of the one who had made it. It represented

-a boy taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten. The boy was grinning, and

-the kitten was pawing wildly about, trying to get back its mouse.

-

-To make sure there could be no mistake, the kitten had a card around its

-neck bearing the words, "I am blind," and under the figure of the boy

-was scrawled the name, "Tom Hicksley."

-

-The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley's temper rose to the boiling

-point.

-

-"Own up now, which one of you did it," he demanded fiercely.

-

-"Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom Hicksley," said Fred.

-

-"What do you suppose the picture means?" inquired Mouser, as though he

-could not quite make it out.

-

-"I think it means that the fellow who would take a dead mouse from a

-blind kitten is about as mean as they make them," put in Sparrow.

-

-"Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I shouldn't wonder," added

-Shiner, pouring oil on the flames.

-

-"Are you going to tell me who did it?" snarled Hicksley once more,

-snatching back the valentine, which he now regretted having shown, and

-doubling up his fist.

-

-"I would have done it if I'd thought of it," Fred came back at him.

-

-Hicksley sprang forward, followed by Bronson and Jinks.

-

-The boys stood their ground and there was a wild mix-up. In a moment

-they were all down in the snow in a flying tangle of arms and legs.

-

-There was no telling how the tussle would have terminated, though

-Hicksley was getting his face well washed with snow that the boys were

-cramming into his mouth and eyes, when a shout arose:

-

-"Cheese it, fellows, there's a teacher coming!"

-

-The combatants scrambled to their feet and scurried in all directions,

-and when Mr. Leith, the head teacher, arrived on the spot, there was no

-one to be seen.

-

-Bobby and his friends found themselves, red, panting and uproariously

-happy, in their dormitory, where they flung their books upon their beds

-and fairly danced about with glee.

-

-"I jammed so much snow in Tom Hicksley's mouth that I bet he'll taste it

-for a month," chortled Fred.

-

-"They tackled the wrong bunch that time," gurgled Mouser.

-

-"They thought we'd run," chuckled Bobby.

-

-"Wasn't that a dandy valentine?" demanded Skeets.

-

-"What a fool he was to show it," grinned Pee Wee. "Now it'll go all over

-the school."

-

-"Who do you suppose sent it?" wondered Shiner.

-

-"I'd give a dollar to know," declared Fred.

-

-"All right," grinned Sparrow, holding out his hand. "Pass over the

-dollar."

-

-"You?" cried the other boys in chorus.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XIX

-

-                            SPRING PRACTICE

-

-

-"I'm the fellow who did it," admitted Sparrow modestly.

-

-"Sparrow, old scout, you're a wonder!" cried Mouser, clapping him on the

-back.

-

-"It hit him right where he lived," chuckled Skeets.

-

-"That pays him up for scattering ashes on the hill," grinned Fred.

-

-"He'll never hear the last of it as long as he stays in school," said

-Shiner. "Every once in a while a dead mouse will turn up on his desk and

-make him hopping mad."

-

-"He'll never be much madder than he was this morning," put in Skeets.

-"His eyes were fairly snapping."

-

-"Bronson and Jinks got theirs, too," said Pee Wee. "I guess they'll

-think twice before they pick on the other fellows again."

-

-"They've been rather quiet since the goat tumbled them over at our last

-initiation," laughed Bobby, referring to an incident of the previous

-term, "but since Hicksley came they've been getting ugly again. I guess

-what they got this morning will hold them for a while."

-

-As a matter of fact, the bullies did seem to be somewhat dashed by the

-stout resistance that the smaller boys had put up and they did not refer

-to the valentine again. They were only too willing to have it forgotten,

-and Tom Hicksley ground his teeth more than once at not having kept it

-to himself.

-

-Spring was now at hand, coming this year a little earlier than usual.

-The snow disappeared from the ground, the ice vanished from the lake,

-and the soft winds that blew up from the south turned the thoughts of

-the boys to track games and baseball.

-

-Fred and Bobby had done a good deal of practicing in the gymnasium and

-were in prime condition. But actual practice on the diamond was the real

-thing they wanted, and they were delighted when the ground had dried out

-enough to play in the open air.

-

-Frank Durrock had been busy for a month past, getting all the details

-perfected for the entrance of Rockledge into the Monatook Lake League.

-But now everything was ready and he could devote himself to picking the

-members of the team.

-

-This proved to be no easy matter. An unusually large number of good

-players were at Rockledge, and the struggle for places on the nine was

-interesting and exciting.

-

-It seemed that Bobby should play in the pitcher's box and Fred at short

-stop. They had both done exceedingly well at those positions the

-previous spring and fall. But there was a new boy, Willis by name, who

-had been a good short stop on his home nine before he had come to the

-school, and it seemed to be a toss up between him and Fred as to who

-could do better in the position.

-

-Bobby, too, had rivalry to face in the person of Tom Hicksley.

-

-On the first day that they actually had field practice, Hicksley came

-out on the ball ground in an old uniform that proclaimed that he had

-once been a member of the "Eagles" of Cresskill, his native town.

-

-Frank knew that he had been a pitcher, and so he put him in the box and

-had him toss up some balls for the rest of the team in batting practice.

-

-And Hicksley did exceedingly well. Whatever his defects in character, he

-certainly knew how to pitch. He had a good outcurve, a fair incurve and

-a high fast ball that Bobby himself generously declared to be a "peach."

-

-Hicksley's height and strength, too, were greater than Bobby's, which

-was not to be wondered at when it was considered that he was three years

-older. But he was inclined to be a little wild, and his control was not

-as good as Bobby's.

-

-But what made his work of special interest to Frank was that he pitched

-with his left hand. Most of the pitchers in the new league were

-right-handed, and the boys were used to hitting that kind of pitching.

-

-Frank felt that with a left-handed pitcher he would have the other

-fellows all at sea when it came to "lining them out," and for that

-reason he watched Hicksley with the closest attention.

-

-"He puts them over all right," conceded Bobby, as he watched Hicksley

-winging them over the plate.

-

-"Yes," said Fred, "when he gets them over at all. But lots of them don't

-even cut the corners. He'll give too many bases on balls."

-

-"And a base on balls is as good for the fellow that gets it as a base

-hit," commented Mouser.

-

-"His arm seems to be all right, but we don't know how he'll act when he

-gets in a pinch," said Skeets dubiously.

-

-"That's what makes Bobby so strong as a pitcher," said Shiner. "No

-matter how tight a hole he finds himself in, he's cool as an iceberg."

-

-"That's so," remarked Pee Wee, who was too fat and too slow to play

-himself, but was an ardent rooter for the home team. "I've never seen

-Bobby get rattled yet."

-

-"That's because there isn't a bit of yellow in him," said Fred, throwing

-his arm affectionately about his chum's shoulder.

-

-"And I'll bet that Hicksley has a yellow streak in him a yard wide,"

-snapped Sparrow.

-

-"Oh he may not be that way when it comes to baseball," remonstrated

-Bobby who always tried to be fair. "At any rate he ought to have a

-chance to show what he can do before we make up our minds about him. You

-fellows know that I don't like him a bit more than you do, but that

-doesn't say he may not be a good baseball player."

-

-Jinks was not on the nine, but Bronson, who was a good batter and a fair

-fielder, was expected to play center field. They were both delighted at

-the showing that their crony was making and were loud in their applause.

-Their praise was so extravagant in fact that it was clear that they did

-it to depreciate Bobby.

-

-"You're the best pitcher we ever had at Rockledge, Tom," cried Bronson,

-casting a side glance at Bobby to make sure that he heard.

-

-"You lay over them all," crowed Jinks. "There's no one else can hold a

-candle to you."

-

-"Here, cut that out, you fellows," called Frank Durrock sharply. "Blake

-has proved what he can do and I don't want any talk like that. He won

-both of the last games he pitched against Belden, and any one who can do

-better than he did will have to be going some."

-

-"You bet they will," cried Fred loyally, and there was a round of hand

-clapping from the other boys, with most of whom Bobby was a prime

-favorite.

-

-Frank's hearty defense put Bobby on his mettle, and when his turn came

-to put the balls over, he did so with a snap and skill that delighted

-his friends.

-

-The practice all around was sharp and spirited, and Frank was greatly

-encouraged as he saw how well the team took hold. But it would not do to

-play too long on the first day, and after an hour or so, he called a

-halt.

-

-"We want to keep an eye on those fellows, Bobby," remarked Fred a little

-uneasily as they were going toward the school. "They're going to crowd

-you out if they can."

-

-"Let them try," replied Bobby. "I'm going to try my best to hold up my

-end with Hicksley and beat him if I can. But if he can prove that he's a

-better pitcher than I am, I won't kick if I have to play second fiddle.

-I'd be willing to do anything to help Rockledge win."

-

-

-

-

-                               CHAPTER XX

-

-                             THE SUGAR CAMP

-

-

-An untimely snow storm that was wholly unlooked for by the boys dismayed

-them by putting a stop to their practice for the time being. But the

-snow, though heavy, did not last long, and began to melt rapidly under

-the rays of the sun.

-

-"See how the water is running down those trees," remarked Shiner,

-looking out of the window one Friday morning.

-

-"That isn't water, boy," said Sparrow. "That's sap. The trees are

-bursting with it just now."

-

-"By the way, fellows," put in Skeets, "have you ever been to a maple

-sugar camp when the sap was running?"

-

-Most of them had not and Skeets went on to explain.

-

-"It's the best fun ever," he said; "and now's just the time to see it

-running full blast when the snow is melting and the air is warm. On a

-day like this the sap comes down in bucketfuls. And you can see just how

-they collect it, and how they boil it down until it's a thick syrup, and

-the way that hot maple sugar does taste--yum yum!" and here he closed

-his eyes in blissful recollection.

-

-"Sounds mighty good to me," said Pee Wee, with whom the memory of Meena

-and her breakfast of buckwheat cakes and maple syrup still lingered.

-

-"You can take out the hot sugar in big spoons and let it cool on a pan

-of snow," continued Skeets, drawing out the details as he saw that his

-friends' mouths were watering in anticipation, "and when you get the

-first taste of it you never want to stop eating."

-

-"I wonder if there's a sugar camp anywhere around here," said Pee Wee

-with great animation.

-

-"I know of one that's about three miles away," said Sparrow. "What do

-you say to our making up a party and going out there to-morrow if Doc

-Raymond will let us go out of bounds?"

-

-There was a general chorus of gleeful assent.

-

-"What we ought to do," said Skeets, "is to have a couple of fellows go

-out there to-day and make arrangements. We want to take up a collection

-and fix it up with the farmer's wife to have hot biscuits and other

-things ready for us. I tell you what, fellows, hot biscuits and fresh

-butter and hot thick maple sugar just out of the boiler--"

-

-"Don't say another word," cried Pee Wee frantically, "or I'll never,

-never be able to wait till to-morrow."

-

-They took stock of their resources and collected several dollars between

-them, enough they thought to cover the expense. Bobby and Fred were

-appointed as a committee of two to go out to the camp that afternoon so

-that everything would be in readiness on the morrow.

-

-Dr. Raymond's permission was readily obtained, and the chums set out on

-their three mile walk. They had no trouble in finding the camp and the

-farmer's wife, a bright, cheery person, was very ready to entertain the

-party and promised to have an abundant lunch provided for them.

-

-The boys would have dearly liked to inspect the camp, but they had

-promised their chums that they would not do so until all could see it

-together, and they kept loyally to their word.

-

-No finer day could have been selected for that particular outing than

-the one that dawned the next morning. The air was mild and the sun

-shining brightly. The only drawback was the walking, as the roads were

-full of mud in some places and melting slush in others, but as they were

-all warmly shod that made little difference.

-

-Pee Wee groaned occasionally as he lagged along in the rear, but they

-had no fear of his dropping out. It would have taken a good deal more

-than a three-mile walk to keep Pee Wee away from that sugar camp after

-Skeets's description.

-

-"There it is," cried Fred at last, pointing to a big grove of trees in

-the rear of a farmhouse.

-

-Pee Wee sniffed the air.

-

-"Seems to me I can smell the sugar cooking from here," he said joyously.

-

-They left the road now, took a short cut across the fields and soon

-entered the grove of maples.

-

-It was an extensive grove, containing several hundred of the stately

-trees. Into each one of these that had reached their full growth a hole

-had been made, a spigot driven in, and a bright tin pail suspended from

-each spigot. Into these pails the sap was falling with a musical drip so

-that a tinkling murmur ran through the grove as though some one were

-gently touching the strings of a zither.

-

-An old horse attached to a low sled was shambling slowly along through

-the woodland paths, stopping at each tree. The driver would empty the

-pail into one of several large cans that the sled contained, replace the

-pail and go on to the next.

-

-"Seems almost a shame to tap those splendid trees," murmured Mouser.

-"It's almost like bleeding them to death."

-

-"Doesn't do them a bit of harm," explained Skeets cheerfully. "The

-farmers take good care not to drain out more sap than the tree can

-spare."

-

-When the sled had made its round, the boys followed it to the shed where

-the sap was boiled down into sugar. Here they saw an enormous caldron

-with a roaring fire underneath. Into this caldron the sap was poured,

-and here its transformation began. A delicious odor arose that made the

-nostrils of the boys dilate hungrily.

-

-Every little while, the man who was supervising the boiling drew out a

-huge ladleful to see how thick it was getting. At a certain stage he

-turned to the boys with a grin.

-

-"Each one of you take one of those pans," he directed, pointing to a

-bright row of dairy tins which the housewife had made ready. "Fill them

-up with snow and pack the snow down hard."

-

-In a twinkling the boys were ready. Then, as each held up his pan, the

-man poured a big ladle of the hot syrup on the snow. The rich golden

-brown against the whiteness of the snow would have delighted the soul of

-an artist. But these lads were not artists, only hungry boys, and their

-only concern was to get the sugar cool enough to eat.

-

-Pee Wee in fact burned his lips and tongue by starting too soon, but he

-soon forgot a trifle like that, and in a moment more he and the others

-were eating as if they had never tasted anything so good in all their

-lives.

-

-"Hot biscuits coming, boys," smiled the farmer. "Better leave some

-room."

-

-"Let them come," mumbled Mouser with his mouth full of sugar. "None of

-them will go away again."

-

-And they made good this prophecy when a little later they were called

-into the farmhouse, where a table was spread, heaped high with fluffy

-biscuits just from the oven. On these the boys spread butter and then

-piled them up with the delicious syrup. There were other things on the

-table too, pickles and pies and cakes, but to these the boys paid slight

-attention. They could have those any day, but to-day maple sugar was

-king.

-

-When at length they were through, they all acknowledged to having eaten

-more than was good for them.

-

-"We'll have to use a derrick to get Pee Wee on his feet," laughed Bobby.

-

-"And borrow the horse and sled to take him back to school," said

-Sparrow.

-

-But it was not quite so bad as that, though after they started back the

-other boys had to moderate their gait in order not to leave Pee Wee too

-far behind.

-

-"Hurry up, Pee Wee," admonished Skeets. "You're slow as molasses."

-

-"Slow as maple syrup when it's cooling," amended Sparrow.

-

-"Well, fellows, this has sure been a bully trip," remarked Shiner,

-summing up the sentiments of all.

-

-"This is the end of a perfect day," Fred chanted gayly, lifting up his

-voice in song.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXI

-

-                             THE FIRST GAME

-

-

-Notwithstanding Fred's jubilant song, the day was not yet ended.

-

-As the boys approached the school, they saw a figure in the road a

-little way ahead that seemed familiar to them. They quickened their

-pace, quickly overtaking Dago Joe.

-

-"Hello, Joe," came from many voices at once.

-

-Joe flashed them a smile, showing his fine, white teeth.

-

-"Hello," he answered genially.

-

-"Wonder if he's as fond of hash as ever," Fred remarked in a low voice

-to Mouser.

-

-"What are you doing up this way, Joe?" asked Bobby.

-

-"Looking for any one?" inquired Sparrow.

-

-But Joe was wary and refused to be drawn out.

-

-"Can't get that old fox to give himself away," muttered Skeets.

-

-Just then Tom Hicksley approached, accompanied by Bronson and Jinks.

-They caught sight of Joe at the same time that he saw them, and tried to

-retreat. Bronson and Jinks succeeded, but Joe was too quick for

-Hicksley, and hurrying forward laid his hand on his arm, while he

-jabbered away excitedly.

-

-"Ha ha!" exclaimed Fred in a tragic way. "I see it all now."

-

-"He's boning Hicksley for something," guessed Sparrow.

-

-"Money, I'll bet," ventured Shiner.

-

-"I shouldn't wonder if it's on account of that job he did for those

-fellows, hauling those ashes," said Bobby.

-

-"Wasn't it luck that we happened along just at this minute?" chuckled

-Mouser delightedly.

-

-As Joe and Hicksley were right in the path that led up to the school,

-the boys sauntered along carelessly until they were nearly abreast of

-them.

-

-For a man who understood so little English, Joe was talking at a great

-rate.

-

-"I wanta ze mon," the boys heard him say.

-

-"I tell you I haven't got it with me just now," Hicksley responded in an

-undertone, trying to quiet the man and keep the boys from hearing.

-

-"I wanta ze mon now," repeated Joe doggedly.

-

-"Oh, give the man his money, Hicksley," broke in Sparrow suddenly.

-

-"He needs it to buy hash with," said the irrepressible Fred.

-

-"Let's take up a collection to help out," suggested Skeets

-sarcastically.

-

-"You fellows shut up," cried Hicksley, turning on them fiercely.

-

-"We know how he earned it," returned Bobby undauntedly.

-

-"You don't know anything of the kind," snarled the bully, but his eyes

-wavered as they met Bobby's fixed upon them.

-

-"It was pretty hard work carting ashes all that way to spoil our coast,"

-went on Bobby. "You'd better pony up, Hicksley."

-

-"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Hicksley.

-

-But as he did not like the way the boys were gathering around him, he

-put his hand in his pocket, drew out the dollar and a half that he had

-promised to pay when the work should be finished and which he had ever

-since been trying to cheat Joe out of, and slunk away, glad to escape

-the contempt that he felt in the eyes and manner of the boys.

-

-"Caught with the goods!" cried Fred jubilantly, throwing his cap into

-the air.

-

-"Couldn't have been nicer if we'd planned it ourselves," exulted

-Sparrow.

-

-"Well, now that we're sure that he did it, what are we going to do about

-it?" asked Skeets.

-

-"Oh, I guess there's nothing to be done," said Bobby slowly. "If it

-wasn't that he's likely to be on the baseball team we might make it hot

-for him. Not with the teachers of course, but among ourselves. But we

-want Rockledge to win the championship, and it won't help any to have

-trouble with any boy on the nine. Besides, he's had a good deal of

-punishment just in the last few minutes. I never saw a fellow look as

-cheap as he did when he faded away just now."

-

-"I guess you're right, Bobby," assented Sparrow. "But all the same he

-wouldn't let up on you if he had you in a fix."

-

-The next day they all felt rather logy after their feast of the day

-before, and Pee Wee, who had a severe stomach ache, did not get up at

-all. Fortunately it was Sunday, and the day of rest helped to get them

-in shape again before their school duties began on Monday morning.

-

-From that time on the weather was all that the boys could ask, and every

-hour the ball players could spare was spent in practice on the diamond.

-

-Gradually, under the coaching of Mr. Carrier, their athletic instructor,

-ably assisted by Frank Durrock, the nine was getting into good form.

-

-Fred, at short stop, was thought to be a shade better than Willis, and

-he was slated to play in the first game.

-

-As to the pitchers, while there was no doubt that they would be Bobby

-and Hicksley, it was by no means certain which of them would twirl in

-the opening game, which was to be with the Somerset nine on the

-Rockledge grounds.

-

-Each was doing well, and each had some points that the other did not

-possess. Hicksley, the older of the two, had more muscular strength, and

-could whip the ball over with more speed than Bobby. But Bobby was a

-better general, a quicker thinker, and he had a control of his curves

-that was far better than his rival's.

-

-"One thing is certain," said Mr. Carrier, in one of his conferences with

-Frank. "We're better fixed in the box than we ever were before. It's

-hard to choose between them, though, take all things together, I think

-Blake is the better pitcher of the two."

-

-"Yes," agreed Frank. "I feel a little safer myself with Bobby in there

-than I do with Hicksley. Hicksley has lots of speed but he's liable to

-go up with a bang. But I've never yet seen Bobby get rattled."

-

-The long expected day arrived at last, and all Rockledge turned out to

-see the game. The stand was full, and Dr. Raymond himself, with most of

-the teachers, sat in a little space that had been railed off and

-decorated with the Rockledge colors.

-

-The Somerset nine, made up of strong, sturdy looking boys, had come over

-with a large number of rooters from their town. They were full of

-confidence, and they went through their preliminary practice with a snap

-and a vim that showed they were good players.

-

-Frank had watched them as they batted out flies, and noted that several

-of them were left-handed batters. He held an anxious conference with Mr.

-Carrier, and then came over to Bobby who was warming up.

-

-"I had expected to have you pitch to-day, Bobby," he said; "but I've

-just been noticing that those fellows have two or three left-handed

-batters. Now you know as well as I do that for that kind it's best to

-have left-handed pitching. They can't hit it so easily."

-

-"Sure," replied Bobby.

-

-"And so I think I'll have to put in Hicksley," continued Frank.

-

-"That's all right," said Bobby heartily, "and I'll be rooting my head

-off for him to win."

-

-"You're a brick, Bobby!" exclaimed Frank. "I was sure you'd understand."

-

-When the umpire cried: "Play ball!" there was a buzz of surprise among

-the spectators, when, instead of Bobby, it was Tom Hicksley who picked

-up the ball and faced the batter.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXII

-

-                             TO THE RESCUE

-

-

-Hicksley started off in good shape. The first man up went out on a foul

-that Sparrow caught after a long run. The second batter, who was

-left-handed, could do nothing with the ball at all and went out on

-strikes. The third man connected and shot a sharp grounder which Fred

-picked up neatly and threw in plenty of time to Durrock at first.

-

-The side was out, and hearty applause greeted Hicksley as he came in to

-the bench, Bobby joining in as heartily as any of the others.

-

-"That was a dandy start!" cried Bronson.

-

-"Keep it up, Tom!" exclaimed Jinks, encouragingly. "They can't touch

-you."

-

-Rockledge was more fortunate in its half of the inning. Frank, who led

-off in the batting order, had two halls and one strike called on him,

-but on his second attempt he sent the ball on a line between center and

-right for three bases. He was tempted to try to stretch it to a home

-run, but Bobby, who was coaching, saw that the ball would get there

-before him and held him at third.

-

-The next batter fouled out, but Mouser, who followed him, sent a neat

-single to left on which Frank scored easily. Barry went out on strikes,

-and Mouser was left on the bag when Spentz died on a weak dribbler to

-the box.

-

-But Rockledge was one run to the good and had shown that they were in a

-batting humor, so that their rooters in the stand were jubilant at the

-promising beginning.

-

-The next two innings went by without a score for either side. Hicksley

-was still pitching well, and the opposing pitcher had tightened up

-considerably.

-

-In the fourth, Somerset broke the ice. The first man up laid down a bunt

-that Hicksley picked up, but threw wild to Durrock, and the batter

-reached second before the ball was recovered. A neat sacrifice put him

-on third, from which he scored on a long fly to right, which Spentz

-gobbled after a long run, but could not return to the plate in time to

-catch the man running in from third after the out. No further damage was

-done as Fred and Durrock disposed of the batter, but the score was tied,

-and it was Somerset's turn to cheer.

-

-But Rockledge got the run right back again in the fifth, and added one

-for good measure. Fred smashing out a rattling two-bagger to left. He

-stole third on the first ball pitched. Two infield flies followed, and

-it began to look as though Fred's hit had gone for nothing. Then Mouser

-brought the stand yelling to its feet by a clean home run, following

-Fred over the plate and making the score three to one.

-

-His comrades gathered around him, pawing and mauling him exultantly.

-

-"That's what you call hitting it a mile!" cried Bobby.

-

-"A lallapaloozer!" shouted Fred, doing a war dance.

-

-"A peach!"

-

-"A pippin!"

-

-"You're all there, Mouser!" yelled Pee Wee.

-

-Mouser grinned appreciatively at the medley of shouts that greeted him,

-and then retired to the bench, where he sat panting and happy.

-

-Radford, the Somerset pitcher, pulled himself together and retired the

-next man on strikes, and Somerset came in for its turn at the bat.

-

-"Go for 'em now, fellows!" shouted their supporters.

-

-"Eat 'em up!"

-

-"Get right after 'em!"

-

-"The game's young yet."

-

-But Hicksley, encouraged by the two-run lead his team had handed him,

-was still more than they could solve, and again they went out into the

-field runless.

-

-The Rockledge boys also had a goose egg for their portion in their half,

-but this did not worry them much. The game was two thirds over, and at

-that stage a lead of two runs looked mighty good to them.

-

-But in the seventh inning their confidence began to give way to anxiety.

-Hicksley began well by retiring the first man on strikes. But then he

-began to lose control. Two batters in succession were given their bases

-on balls. A fine pickup of Fred's disposed of the next batter at first,

-each of the others advancing a base on the play. There was only one

-other to be put out and end the inning without a run being recorded.

-

-But the next batter landed square on the ball, which whizzed like a

-bullet between first and second, and in a jiffy two runs came over the

-plate, tying the score. The batter reached second on the play and then

-imprudently tried to make third. A quick throw to Sparrow caught him ten

-feet from the bag and the side was out.

-

-Hicksley came in shaking and with a strained look in his face. The

-Rockledge rooters yelled encouragement to him, but he paid no attention

-to them and sat moping sullenly on the bench.

-

-Frank and Mr. Carrier had a hurried consultation, and then the former

-came over to Bobby.

-

-"You'd better get out there at one side and warm up," he directed him.

-

-Bobby did as ordered.

-

-"What are you going to do?" demanded Hicksley in a surly tone. "Take me

-out and put that fellow in?"

-

-"Not yet," answered Frank soothingly. "You've had a bad inning, but that

-can happen to any one. Perhaps you'll be all right after a rest. We'll

-see how you start out the next inning."

-

-The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened, had taken a mighty

-brace, and Rockledge went out in one, two, three order.

-

-Hicksley took up his position in the box with an air of confidence that

-Frank felt was assumed.

-

-Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a strike. The next

-two were balls. Then followed another strike and a third ball, making

-the count three and two.

-

-With both batter and pitcher "in the hole," the next was a hall and the

-batter capered happily down to first.

-

-Durrock walked over to Hicksley.

-

-"How about it, Hicksley?" he asked.

-

-"Let me alone," growled Hicksley.

-

-The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing his mate to

-second.

-

-Hicksley now was plainly cracking, and when he issued another "pass,"

-filling the bases, Frank motioned him to retire and beckoned Bobby to

-the box.

-

-Hicksley glared at Bobby as the latter came forward.

-

-"Sorry, Hicksley," said Bobby regretfully, as he reached out for the

-ball. "You pitched a dandy game for the first six innings."

-

-"Yes, you're sorry a lot," snarled Hicksley. "You're tickled to death at

-the chance to show me up."

-

-Instead of handing the ball to Bobby, he threw it angrily on the ground

-and slouched away to the bench.

-

-Bobby's eyes flashed, but he controlled himself, quietly picked up the

-ball and took his position in the box. It was no time now to get angry

-when he needed above all things to keep cool.

-

-It was a trying position for so young a player. The bases were full with

-no one out, and the Somerset rooters were yelling at the top of their

-lungs, trying to rattle him.

-

-A clean hit would bring in at least one run, probably two. Even a long

-fly to the outfield would probably enable the man on third to score.

-

-"Go to it, Bobby, old boy!" called Fred from short.

-

-"You can hold them!" encouraged Mouser.

-

-"We're all behind you, Bobby!" sang out Sparrow.

-

-Bobby sized up the batter and wound up for the first pitch.

-

-

-

-

-                             CHAPTER XXIII

-

-                          THE EGG AND THE FAN

-

-

-The ball whizzed over the plate, cutting an outside corner for a strike.

-

-The Rockledge rooters regarded this as a good omen and greeted it with

-wild shouts. They all had a warm spot in their hearts for Bobby, and

-they had been disgusted at the unsportsmanlike way in which Hicksley had

-left the box.

-

-The next ball was a high fast one, at which the batter refused to bite.

-

-Bobby had seen out of the corner of his eye that the occupant of the

-third bag was taking too big a lead. As the ball came back to him from

-the catcher, he suddenly turned and shot it to third.

-

-The runner tried frantically to get back, but Sparrow had the ball on

-him like a flash.

-

-"You're out!" shouted the umpire.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" yelled Fred. "That was nice work, Bobby."

-

-This relieved the pressure somewhat, and the crowd breathed more freely.

-

-But the danger was still threatening, and the batter was the captain of

-the Somerset team and one of its best hitters. He fouled off the next

-two. On his third attempt, he chopped a bounder to Mouser at second, who

-made a clever stop and threw him out at first, while the runners each

-advanced a base.

-

-"Two down," cried Sparrow from third. "You're getting them, Bobby. Keep

-it up."

-

-Bobby now put on all steam. There was only one more inning after this

-one, and he did not need to save his arm. He sent two outcurves in

-succession. Each went for a strike. Then when the batter was set for

-another of the same kind, Bobby outguessed him with a straight fast one,

-and the ball plunked into the catcher's mitt for an out.

-

-There was a chorus of cheers from the Rockledge rooters as Bobby drew

-off his glove and came in to the bench.

-

-"That's what you call getting out of a hole," cried one.

-

-"The bases full and nobody out and yet they couldn't score," shouted

-another.

-

-"We'll give you a run this time, Bobby, and all you'll need to do then

-will be to hold them down in the ninth," prophesied Frank, as he

-selected his bat.

-

-He started in to make his words good by cracking out a single on the

-second ball pitched. A sacrifice bunt to the right of the pitcher's box

-advanced him to second. The next batter went out on an infield fly that

-held Frank anchored to the bag. Barry was given his base on balls. Then

-Spentz walloped a corker to left, on which Frank scored and Barry

-reached third. A moment later a quick throw caught him napping and the

-side was out.

-

-"We're in the lead now, Bobby," exulted Fred, as Rockledge took the

-field. "Put the kibosh on them just once more and we're all right."

-

-"Make this inning short and sweet, old scout!" sang out Mouser.

-

-And short and sweet was what Bobby made it. He was on his mettle, and

-put every bit of control he had upon the ball. Despite the frantic

-efforts of the Somerset coachers to rattle him, he kept perfectly cool.

-Victory was too close now for him to let it go.

-

-The first batter up knocked a high foul to Sparrow, who held it tight.

-The next sent a weak bounder to Frank, which he tossed to Bobby, who had

-run over to cover the bag. Then Bobby shattered the last hope of

-Somerset by striking out the last man on three pitched balls.

-

-The Rockledge rooters, wild with delight, rushed down from the stands

-and gathered about their favorites, who were grinning happily. They had

-played a good game and deserved to win, but Bobby, because of his

-gallant stand when the team had its back against the wall, came in

-naturally for the lion's share of the applause.

-

-"That was some sweet pitching all right."

-

-"You had them standing on their heads."

-

-"Your nerve was right with you."

-

-"Wait till he tackles Belden. He'll show them a thing or two."

-

-"I'm glad we pulled through all right," said Bobby modestly. "All the

-boys put up a dandy game. And don't forget that Hicksley held them down

-splendidly in the first part of the game."

-

-"That's so," conceded Mouser. "But when it came to the pinch he

-cracked."

-

-"He couldn't stand the gaff," put in Sparrow.

-

-"Any pitcher will get knocked out of the box sometimes," argued Bobby.

-"Then, too, he had been pitching six hard innings and was tired. I was

-fresh when I went in and only had two innings to pitch."

-

-Hicksley had left the bench as soon as the last man was out. He could

-not bear to wait to see the praise that he knew would be showered on his

-rival. He had been joined by Jinks and Bronson, and the three were now

-slouching grumpily toward the school buildings.

-

-"Doesn't seem as if they were tickled to death because Rockledge won,"

-commented Fred, as he looked at the group.

-

-"Well, the rest of us are, anyway," cried Sparrow. "We've made a mighty

-good start, taking the first game."

-

-"I can see the pennant flying from that pole already," jubilated Skeets,

-pointing to the flagstaff back of center field.

-

-"You've got dandy eyesight, Skeets," laughed Bobby. "We've got a long

-way to go yet."

-

-"One swallow doesn't make a summer," cautioned Frank, who, while he was

-as pleased as the rest, did not want his team to be too confident.

-

-"And if the Ridgefield nine is as good as the Somersets, we'll have our

-work cut out for us," remarked Mouser. "Those fellows gave us all we

-wanted to do to win."

-

-"They put up a bully fight," agreed Shiner.

-

-Doctor Raymond came down among the boys to congratulate them on the

-victory they had won for the school, and Mr. Carrier was even more

-enthusiastic over the success of his charges.

-

-"You've made a fine start, boys, and I'm proud of you," he told them.

-"Now, don't let down a bit, but keep it right up to the finish of the

-season."

-

-"We will."

-

-"Trust us."

-

-"We've only begun to fight."

-

-"That's the right spirit," said Mr. Carrier, smiling. "And now to make

-you feel better, I'm going to tell you that I've just received a

-telegram that Ridgefield whipped Belden this afternoon by seven to

-three."

-

-A tremendous shout arose at this. They had counted on Belden as the

-rival from whom they had the most to fear, and they were immensely

-pleased to learn that it had begun the season with a defeat.

-

-It was a jubilant throng of boys that made their way toward the school

-buildings that afternoon. They knew that a rocky road lay ahead of them,

-but a good deal depended upon the start, and it was a great thing to

-know that they had the lead on the other fellows.

-

-"Hicksley acted like a game sport this afternoon when he threw the ball

-down in the box instead of handing it to you," remarked Fred, with whom

-the incident rankled.

-

-"Oh, well," said Bobby, "you must make some allowance for him. It was

-natural that he should feel sore."

-

-"That isn't the point," persisted Fred. "A thoroughbred might have felt

-sore, but he wouldn't have shown it. I tell you, Bobby, you want to look

-out for that fellow. If you could have seen the way he looked at you

-while you were pitching."

-

-"Looks don't hurt," Bobby flung back carelessly.

-

-But a few days later an incident occurred which showed that Hicksley was

-willing to go much further than looks in his hatred of his rival.

-

-It was one of those unseasonably warm days that sometimes come in the

-spring. Recitations were being held in the classroom of Mr. Leith, the

-head teacher, and in order to make the air cooler the electric fan had

-been set going.

-

-The seats of Hicksley, Bronson and Jinks were just behind those of Bobby

-and Fred, and were in the rear of the room.

-

-The lessons were proceeding as usual, when suddenly there was a crash,

-and something wet and sticky and evil smelling was scattered over the

-room. Almost all the boys got some of it, and a large yellow splash

-showed against the immaculate white shirt of Mr. Leith himself.

-

-Somebody had thrown an egg into the electric fan! And it was a very old

-egg, as was proved by the vile odor which spread through the classroom.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXIV

-

-                        AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT

-

-

-The whirling fan, going at tremendous speed, had scattered the contents

-of the egg far and wide, and hardly any one had escaped.

-

-For a moment there was a stunned silence. Then a roar of laughter broke

-from the boys. To them it seemed a capital joke.

-

-But Mr. Leith did not laugh. His black eyes snapped and his face was

-pale with anger.

-

-"Who did that?" he asked, as he took out his handkerchief and wiped the

-smear from the bosom of his shirt.

-

-Naturally there was no answer. The laughter died out, and everything

-became as silent as the grave.

-

-"Such conduct is subversive of all discipline," went on Mr. Leith in his

-stilted way and trying to get control of his voice. "If the boy who did

-that will confess, I will take that into account in the punishment I

-shall lay upon him. But no matter how long it takes, I am determined to

-find the culprit."

-

-Still no answer.

-

-"Well," said Mr. Leith after waiting a moment, "I see that I shall have

-to question each one of you separately."

-

-He called them up one by one, beginning at the front of the room, and

-each one denied knowing anything about it, Bobby among the rest. Then he

-came last to Hicksley.

-

-"I didn't do it," said Hicksley; "but--"

-

-Then he stopped, as though he had gone further than he intended.

-

-"But what?" queried the teacher sharply.

-

-"Nothing," mumbled Hicksley, in apparent confusion.

-

-"You were going to say something else," said Mr. Leith, "and I insist on

-knowing what it was."

-

-Hicksley kept silent. He wanted to give the impression that if he told

-anything it would have to be dragged out of him against his will.

-

-"You had better tell me what you were going to say," snapped the teacher

-severely, "or it will be the worse for you."

-

-"I don't want to tell on anybody," said Hicksley.

-

-"Oh, then you know who threw it," said Mr. Leith, brisking up like a

-hound on the trail.

-

-"Yes," replied Hicksley.

-

-"Who was it?"

-

-"I don't want to tell."

-

-"Who was it, I say?" thundered Mr. Leith in exasperation.

-

-"Blake," blurted out Hicksley, as though he did not want to say it but

-had to yield to force.

-

-Bobby was thunderstruck, and for a minute the room seemed to be whirling

-around him.

-

-"It isn't true," he cried, recovering himself.

-

-"It's a--a whopper!" shouted Fred fiercely. "I was sitting right beside

-Bobby, and he didn't throw it."

-

-"Keep quiet, Martin," commanded Mr. Leith. "Blake, come here."

-

-Bobby went forward and stood in front of the desk.

-

-"Why did you do a thing like that?" asked Mr. Leith.

-

-"I didn't do it," replied Bobby stoutly. "I was as surprised as any one

-else when it happened."

-

-Mr. Leith beckoned to Fred.

-

-"You say that Blake didn't throw it," he said. "Were you looking at him

-at the time?"

-

-"N-no, sir," Fred had to confess, "I was looking at the blackboard. But

-I know I'd have noticed it if he had made any motion. Besides," he added

-in his attempt to help his friend, "if Bobby had been going to do

-anything of that kind he'd have told me beforehand."

-

-"That isn't proof," remarked the teacher; "especially when Hicksley says

-that he actually saw him do it. Do you still stick to that, Hicksley?"

-

-"Yes sir," answered Hicksley, who was scared now at the tempest he had

-raised but had gone too far to back out.

-

-But he carefully avoided meeting the blazing eyes of Bobby.

-

-"Go to your seats," Mr. Leith ordered.

-

-They obeyed, and as Hicksley sank down between Bronson and Jinks, he

-whispered in a panic:

-

-"Don't forget that you fellows have got to stand by me."

-

-Mr. Leith reflected for a moment.

-

-"Did any one else see Blake throw the egg?" he asked at length.

-

-Hicksley nudged his cronies and both raised their hands.

-

-"I did," came from both at once.

-

-Bobby half rose from his seat and Fred clenched his fists.

-

-"It's not so!" exclaimed Bobby.

-

-"The low-down skunks!" ejaculated Fred.

-

-Mr. Leith quieted them with a gesture.

-

-He was a good man, and he tried to be just. But he had been sorely tried

-by this breach of discipline, and his dignity had received a severe

-shock. He could not forget the glaring yellow smear on his shirt front,

-and he felt that he had been made a laughing stock before his class.

-

-He had always liked Bobby, who had stood high in his lessons and whose

-behavior in class had always been good. Yet it was possible that an

-impish spirit of mischief had suddenly taken possession of him, and that

-on the impulse of the moment he might have taken refuge in denial.

-

-And there was the positive testimony of three witnesses that they had

-actually seen Bobby throw the egg. To be sure, he knew something of the

-character of those witnesses, and against any one of them he would have

-been inclined to take Bobby's word in preference. But he knew nothing of

-the grudge the bullies held against Bobby, and to a man of his upright

-character it was inconceivable that three of them should make such a

-charge if it were not true.

-

-He pondered the matter for several minutes, while the class waited

-breathlessly.

-

-"I shall look into this matter further," he finally announced; "but for

-the present, Blake, and until the affair is cleared up, you are not to

-take part in track sports or play on the baseball team."

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXV

-

-                             OFF FOR A SWIM

-

-

-Bobby sat as if stunned. There was bitter revolt in his heart against

-the injustice of it all. And, in addition, he felt as though he would

-like to get at Hicksley and thrash him well.

-

-But for the moment he was helpless. The evidence was against him, and he

-was too proud to make any further protest or appeal to Mr. Leith.

-

-To the rest of the boys, the sentence came like a clap of thunder. They

-were fond of Bobby and believed he was telling the truth. They would

-have been sorry to see him punished for any reason. But it was not only

-the fact of the punishment, but the nature of it, that filled them with

-consternation. Bobby Blake off the ball team! Where would Rockledge be

-now in the race for the pennant of the Monatook Lake League?

-

-The lessons proceeded, but the class might as well have been dismissed

-at once, for only one thought filled the minds of all. And when at last

-the gong rang, there was a rush for Bobby on the campus, and a buzzing

-arose that resembled a hive of angry bees.

-

-It was well for the bullies that, sitting on the rear seats, they had

-slipped out of the door quickly and disappeared. They would surely have

-come to grief in the present excited condition of the boys.

-

-Fred slammed his books so violently on the ground that he broke the

-strap that held them.

-

-"Just wait!" he stormed, "just wait! I'll pitch into that Tom Hicksley

-the minute I see him, big as he is."

-

-"It would have been bad enough of him to tell, even if Bobby had done

-it," growled Mouser.

-

-"He ought to have his head knocked off," raged Skeets.

-

-"Swell chance now we'll have of winning the pennant," groaned Shiner.

-

-"Not a Chinaman's chance," mourned Pee Wee.

-

-"I can see us coming in as tail-enders," prophesied Sparrow.

-

-"Was such a dirty trick ever heard of?" wailed Billy Bassett, appealing

-to high heaven, as though even in his grief he was asking the answer to

-a riddle.

-

-Bobby had had time now to get a grip on himself, and although his heart

-was hot within him, he was outwardly the coolest of them all.

-

-"Tom Hicksley will pay for this all right," he declared. "Some time the

-truth will come out and I hope it will be soon. I haven't any doubt of

-course that he did it himself. Then he got cold feet when he saw how

-angry Mr. Leith was and fibbed out of it."

-

-"Of course, he'd fib out of it!" exclaimed Fred. "Nobody who knows Tom

-Hicksley would expect him to do anything else. But why did he put it on

-you?"

-

-"Because he's sore at me, I suppose," Bobby answered. "He's always hated

-me since that afternoon on the train."

-

-"Yes, but he's just as sore at the rest of us who butted in, as he calls

-it," persisted Fred. "It's something more than that, Bobby. It's because

-you saved the game when he had almost lost it."

-

-"He's never forgiven you for that," agreed Mouser.

-

-"Well, whatever his reason was, I'm the goat all right," said Bobby, in

-a feeble attempt to put the best face on the matter.

-

-"It isn't only you, but it's Rockledge that's the goat," amended

-Sparrow. "We'll be licked out of our boots."

-

-"You fellows will have to play all the harder," said Bobby. "Mr. Leith

-may change his mind when he comes to think it over. I have a hunch that

-Hicksley isn't going to get away with such a whopper as that."

-

-"I'd like to have him by the throat and choke the truth out of him,"

-snapped Fred wrathfully.

-

-"It would be a pretty big job to get any truth out of that fellow,"

-grunted Mouser.

-

-"What did the old weather want to go and get so hot for all of a

-sudden?" burst out Pee Wee. "If it hadn't been for that, the fan

-wouldn't have been going and the whole thing wouldn't have happened."

-

-This kick against nature struck the boys as comical, and the laugh that

-followed cleared the air somewhat and relieved their excited feelings.

-But for the rest of the day and evening, there was but one topic that

-held the attention of any of them.

-

-Bobby felt blue and depressed. He would rather have had any other

-penalty put on him than to be ordered not to play on the team. The very

-sight of his glove and uniform made him miserable.

-

-It would have been bad enough, even if he had been guilty of that

-special bit of mischief. But then he would have "taken his medicine"

-with as good grace as possible. But it made him raging angry to feel

-that he had been made the victim of a contemptible plot by such a fellow

-as Tom Hicksley.

-

-What made it still more exasperating was the fact that he did not see

-any way to get at the real truth. Hicksley had been on the rear row of

-seats, and his only companions were Bronson and Jinks, who were just as

-bad as himself. No one but they had seen the egg thrown, if, as Bobby

-felt sure, Hicksley had thrown it. And now that they had put it on

-Bobby, they had to stand by the falsehood. One was as deep in the mud as

-the others were in the mire, and there was not a chance in the world of

-their confessing.

-

-It hurt Bobby, too, to know that he rested under a cloud in the eyes of

-Mr. Leith, who had practically told him that afternoon that he did not

-believe him. He was a truthful boy and it came hard to have his word

-questioned.

-

-All the next morning he was gloomy and downhearted. In the afternoon,

-Fred, like the loyal friend he was, tried to get his mind off his

-troubles by suggesting that they go swimming.

-

-"Don't let's go to the lake this time," said Fred. "Let's go to

-Beekman's Pond up in the woods. There's a dandy place there for diving."

-

-It was a little early in the season yet for a swim, but the warm

-weather, which still continued, made the prospect an agreeable one. So,

-shortly after dinner, having received permission to go out of bounds,

-Bobby and Fred with half a dozen of the other boys started out for the

-pond.

-

-"Say, fellows," asked Billy as they trudged along, "what's the dif--"

-

-"There goes the human question mark again," interrupted Mouser.

-

-"He's not to blame, he was born that way," said Skeets with large

-toleration.

-

-"Honestly, Billy," chaffed Fred, "I don't believe you can say a single

-sentence that isn't a question."

-

-"Can't I?" said Billy, a little nettled.

-

-"There! what did I tell you?" said Fred, trapping him neatly.

-

-The boys roared, and even Billy grinned.

-

-"Well," he said, "I might as well have the game as the name. What's the

-difference--"

-

-"Stop him, somebody," cried Sparrow, wringing his hands in pretended

-agony.

-

-Billy looked at him scornfully.

-

-"Oh, let him get it out," said Bobby resignedly. "Go ahead, Billy."

-

-"Shoot," said Fred.

-

-"What's the difference," asked Billy, "between a fisherman and a lazy

-scholar?"

-

-"Ask Pee Wee," replied Skeets. "He ought to know."

-

-"Pee Wee isn't a fisherman," objected Mouser.

-

-"Who said he was?" retorted Skeets.

-

-"If you're hinting that I'm a lazy scholar," remarked Pee Wee, "all I've

-got to say is that I'll never be lonesome among you boobs."

-

-"Stop your chinning," said Billy, "and answer my question."

-

-"One catches fish and the other catches a licking," ventured Fred.

-

-"Each one sometimes finds himself in deep water," guessed Skeets.

-

-"No," said Billy. "They're not so bad, but neither one's the real

-answer."

-

-Finally the boys gave it up.

-

-"One baits his hooks and the other hates his books," chirped Billy.

-

-A groan went up from the sufferers.

-

-"I think that's a pippin," remarked Billy proudly; "but I've got another

-one that's better still. Why is a--"

-

-"Sic the dog on him!" ejaculated Mouser.

-

-"What's the use of letting him live?" asked Fred.

-

-"He seems to be human, but is he?" queried Sparrow.

-

-As Beekman's Pond came in sight just then, they broke into a run, and

-Billy had to save his masterpiece for another time.

-

-They found a secluded spot, and with a whoop and a shout were out of

-their clothes in a hurry. Then with a shiver each took the plunge into

-the clear waters of the pond.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXVI

-

-                         THE SCAR AND THE LIMP

-

-

-The chums came up shuddering, with hair plastered over their faces and

-the water streaming from their shoulders.

-

-"Ugh," sputtered Fred, "the water's as cold as ice!"

-

-"A polar bear would like it," chattered Skeets.

-

-"Turn on the hot water faucet, Jeems," laughed Bobby.

-

-"We'll be all right in a minute or two," remarked Sparrow.

-

-They swam around, racing and diving like so many young porpoises, and in

-a little while the blood returned to their chilled surfaces, making them

-perfectly comfortable again.

-

-"Reminds you something of Plunkit's Creek, doesn't it, Fred?" said

-Bobby.

-

-"Yes," agreed Fred, "only this is a good deal longer and wider than

-that."

-

-"Then, too, we haven't got Ap here, watching us from the bank and

-getting ready to set his dog on us," grinned Mouser.

-

-"We don't owe Ap anything," laughed Bobby. "We paid him all up that day

-we made him walk the plank."

-

-"Do you remember how he looked when he struck the water?" chuckled Pee

-Wee.

-

-"I wonder if he and Pat have met each other since we came away," said

-Bobby, as he recalled the scene at the railway station on the morning

-they left Clinton.

-

-"Ap had better keep his whip handy," observed Fred.

-

-"That wouldn't help him much," returned Bobby. "Pat would take it away

-from him and wade into him."

-

-They had been in and out of the water for perhaps an hour, when Bobby,

-who had swum down to where the shore curved a little, suddenly turned

-and swam back again as fast as he could.

-

-"Come along with me, fellows," he cried, "and don't make any more noise

-than you can help."

-

-The others followed him wonderingly until they reached the bend. Then,

-while they hid behind some grasses, Bobby pointed to two men who were

-lounging under a tree a short distance away.

-

-They were smoking stubby pipes as they lay at their ease. Their faces

-were rough and unshaven and their clothing dirty and ragged.

-

-"Don't see much to get excited about," remarked Shiner disappointedly.

-"Just a couple of tramps."

-

-"They're more than that to us," replied Bobby. "They're the very tramps

-who robbed us in that old hut."

-

-The boys were on edge in an instant. Just then one of the men rose,

-stretched himself lazily and took a few steps toward the tree. As he did

-so, the boys saw that he had a perceptible limp.

-

-"And the other one has a scar on his face," whispered Bobby excitedly.

-"You can see it if you look close."

-

-They looked more closely, and Fred in his eagerness rose a little too

-high. His red head caught the eye of the man with the scar, and he

-uttered a startled exclamation.

-

-"Now you've, done it," whispered Mouser disgustedly. "Why didn't you

-keep that red mop of yours out of sight?"

-

-"Hurry, fellows," urged Bobby. "We've got to catch those fellows before

-they can get away. Whip on your clothes and let's get back after them."

-

-The boys swam back as fast as possible and rushed up on the bank.

-

-"Who put a knot in the leg of my pants?" came in a howl from Fred as he

-struggled desperately to unfasten the knot.

-

-"I'd like to catch the fellow who tied my socks together," growled

-Mouser.

-

-"And here's one of my shoes floating in the water," wailed Skeets.

-

-They had to pay the penalty now of the tricks they had played on one

-another, and they felt as though they were in a nightmare as they tried

-frantically to get into their clothes.

-

-"They'll get away sure," groaned Bobby. "Hustle, fellows, hustle! Come

-along just as you are if you can't do any better."

-

-He led the way, and the rest came stumbling after him in all conditions

-of dress and undress. Mouser had stuffed his stockings in his pocket,

-Skeets carried his wet shoes in his hands, while Fred, with one leg in

-his trousers, held up the rest of the garment in his hand and made what

-speed he could.

-

-But when they reached the tree under which the tramps had been sitting,

-they found no one. The birds had flown. They may possibly have

-recognized Fred's red head as that of one of their victims, or they may

-have thought that he was one of a company, including men, who might ask

-them curious and troublesome questions. At any rate they had quickly

-gotten out of sight.

-

-The boys searched about everywhere in that part of the woods, but

-fruitlessly. Pee Wee fell into a small excavation, this time barking his

-shins in reality. But he had no other injury except to his feelings, and

-his comrades hauled him out without much trouble.

-

-"Well," said Fred at last, "there doesn't seem any more reason for

-hurry, and I guess I'll get my pants on."

-

-"And I'll put on my shoes," said Skeets, suiting the action to the word.

-"This stubble has hurt my feet something fierce."

-

-Mouser's socks also took their rightful place, and the boys began to

-feel more like human beings.

-

-"What would you have done anyway, Bobby, if you'd found them under the

-tree?" asked Mouser.

-

-"I don't know exactly," answered Bobby frankly. "Of course, we couldn't

-tackle grown men. But we could have kept them in sight until we met some

-farmers and had them nabbed. Or one of us could have gone back to

-Rockledge and got the constable. But we know that they're hanging round

-in this neighborhood now, and we'll tell the constable about it and

-he'll telephone to all the towns near by to be on the lookout for them."

-

-"I sure would like to get back my ring," said Fred longingly.

-

-"Those sleeve buttons would look mighty good to me," chimed in Pee Wee.

-

-"I could use my scarf pin too," added Mouser.

-

-"I don't _much_ expect to see my watch again," said Bobby, "but there's

-a _chance_ of finding where they pawned 'em if we can get those fellows

-arrested."

-

-"There were only two of 'em," mused Fred. "I wonder where the other one

-was."

-

-"Round at some farmhouse begging for grub maybe," suggested Skeets.

-

-"Or in jail perhaps," guessed Sparrow. "If he isn't, he ought to be."

-

-"He'll get there sooner or later," said Fred, "and so will the rest of

-the bunch."

-

-The boys hurried back to town and put the matter in the hands of the

-constable, who promised that he would do all in his power to catch the

-thieves. But the days passed into weeks with the tramps still at

-liberty, and the chances of the boys ever getting back the stolen

-articles became more and more unlikely.

-

-But this did not hold such a place in their thoughts as the race for the

-championship of the Monatook Lake League, which kept getting hotter and

-hotter as the various teams tried their strength against each other.

-

-It was a case of nip and tuck. First one team and then the other would

-forge to the front. By the time the first five games had been played not

-a single team could be said to be out of it.

-

-But what grieved the Rockledge boys was that their bitter rival, Belden,

-although it started the season with a defeat at the hands of Ridgefield,

-had made a strong rally and was now in front with a total of four

-victories and one lost game. Somerset and Ridgefield were tied for

-second place, while Rockledge--Rockledge, which had so proudly counted

-on the pennant--was _last_!

-

-

-

-

-                             CHAPTER XXVII

-

-                            A GLEAM OF LIGHT

-

-

-There was no trouble at all in finding out the reason why Rockledge was

-the tail-ender. The batting and fielding of the team was all that could

-be asked for. Both in offense and defense they had the edge on their

-rivals. The weakness lay in the pitcher's box.

-

-It was not that Hicksley did not work hard. He had a double reason now

-for pitching at the top of his speed, for he not only wanted to win the

-glory to himself, but he wanted to show that the absence of Bobby did

-not weaken the team.

-

-But the trouble with him was that, as a rule, he could not last for the

-full nine innings. He would go along like a house afire for the first

-half of the game. Then about the fifth or sixth inning, he would begin

-to falter, and in some one of the remaining innings would "go up with a

-bang."

-

-At such times there was no one to come to the rescue, as in the first

-game that Bobby had pulled out of the fire. Spentz, the right fielder,

-who knew a little about twirling, had replaced him once but had not been

-able to undo the damage. In the game with Ridgefield, Hicksley had

-managed to last long enough to win by one run, and in the second game

-with Somerset had pitched fairly well, though he lost. But Ridgefield

-had come back with an easy victory, and Belden had fairly smothered him

-under a shower of hits to every part of the field. So that the outlook

-was very blue for Rockledge, and the boys fairly squirmed under the

-crowing of the Belden fellows whenever they met them on the trolley or

-in the town.

-

-"If we only had Bobby in the box, we'd be going along at the head of the

-procession," groaned Fred.

-

-"That yellow streak of Hicksley's comes out in almost every game,"

-growled Sparrow.

-

-"He can't stand the gaff when it comes to a pinch," assented Skeets

-gloomily.

-

-"A fellow who would lie as he did about Bobby doesn't deserve to have

-any luck," grunted Pee Wee.

-

-"He's a hoodoo," agreed Shiner. "But what are we going to do?" he asked

-despairingly. "We haven't anybody else to take his place, now that Bobby

-is out of it."

-

-Things were at this stage, when Bobby and Fred, who had been on a trip

-to town, were caught on their return in a terrific thunder storm. They

-were lucky enough to find refuge in a culvert under the railroad, and

-there they waited till the storm had spent its fury.

-

-It was one of the worst storms they ever remembered, and peal after peal

-of thunder shook the earth, while streaks of jagged lightning shot

-across the sky.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" exclaimed Fred, after one particularly violent clap of

-thunder, followed by a blinding flash. "I'll bet that hit around here

-somewhere."

-

-"I wouldn't like to be near anything it hit," replied Bobby.

-

-The rain came down in torrents for some time longer, but at last the

-storm abated, rifts of blue sky appeared in the clouds, and the boys

-started off toward the school.

-

-They were taking a short cut through the woods, when they were startled

-at seeing a great tree, that had been split from top to base, lying

-across the path.

-

-"Jiminy Christmas!" exclaimed Bobby. "This is what the lightning hit

-that time."

-

-"It made a clean job of it," cried Fred. "But listen," he added, as

-muffled sounds came from the great tangle of branches. "What's making

-that noise?"

-

-"It's somebody in there!" ejaculated Bobby, as he peered through the

-green welter of boughs and branches. "Quick, Fred, let's get in there."

-

-With much difficulty, they forced their way through the tangle of

-foliage, until they were able to see two dim figures crouching in the

-center of the mass. Their surprise was great and became still greater,

-when they recognized them as two of the smaller of the Rockledge boys,

-Charlie White and Jimmy Thacker.

-

-They were confused by their fright, and were whimpering. They gave only

-broken and stammering replies to the questions of their rescuers, who

-had a good deal of work in getting them out from the boughs that held

-them down.

-

-They were finally pulled out to the open air. They were more frightened

-than hurt, although they had a number of scratches and bruises where the

-branches had swept against them in their fall.

-

-"How did you boys manage to be caught in there?" queried Bobby and Fred

-in one breath.

-

-"We were standing under a tree while it was raining," answered Charlie,

-who was not quite as upset as his companion, "when this other tree was

-hit and fell over. We tried to run, but the branches caught us before we

-could get away."

-

-"I thought sure we were going to get killed!" whimpered Jimmy.

-

-"Don't you fellows know that you ought never to stand under a tree in a

-thunderstorm?" demanded Fred.

-

-"We know it now," returned Charlie; "and you can be sure we'll never do

-it again."

-

-"Are you much hurt?" asked Bobby anxiously.

-

-"I guess not," answered Charlie, "but we've got lots of scratches."

-

-"Let's see if you can walk all right," ordered Bobby.

-

-They made the attempt, and although they were wobbly and uncertain on

-their legs, all were relieved to find that no bones had been broken.

-

-"You'll be all right as soon as you get over your scare," pronounced

-Fred.

-

-"It was mighty lucky for us that you two boys came along," said Jimmy

-gratefully.

-

-"Yes," added Charlie. "We were held down by those heavy branches, and I

-don't see how we would have got out by ourselves."

-

-"After this, Charlie," said Jimmy, looking at his companion, "we ought

-to tell Bobby all we know about the fellow who threw that egg into the

-electric fan."

-

-Their hearers started as though they had been shot.

-

-"Who was it?" cried Fred excitedly.

-

-"Out with it!" commanded Bobby.

-

-

-

-

-                             CHAPTER XXVIII

-

-                     TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING

-

-

-The boys looked for a moment as though they almost regretted having let

-the cat out of the bag.

-

-"Come along, now," urged Bobby eagerly.

-

-"Let's have the whole story," cried Fred.

-

-"It--it was Tom Hicksley," Jimmy stammered.

-

-"I knew it," cried Fred jubilantly.

-

-"Do you know that, or are you only guessing?" asked Bobby, wild with

-anxiety.

-

-"We _saw_ him do it," returned Charlie, who saw now that the only thing

-left was to tell the whole story.

-

-"We were going along the hall to Mr. Carrier's classroom that

-afternoon," put in Jimmy, "and the door into your room was open because

-the day was so warm. We peeped in as we went by, and we saw Hicksley

-take the egg out of his pocket and throw it into the electric fan."

-

-"And why didn't you tell about it before?" asked Fred.

-

-"'Cause we were afraid that Hicksley would lick us if we did," confessed

-Jimmy.

-

-"He's so much bigger than we are, and he jumped on us once for nothing

-at all," added Charlie in self-defense.

-

-"That's all right," said Bobby, who was perfectly willing to excuse

-them, now that he saw he was going to be cleared. "We all know that he's

-a big bully and always picking on the little fellows."

-

-"You come right along with me," said Fred, in a masterful way. "You keep

-out of this, Bobby. I'll have this thing fixed up in a jiffy."

-

-Bobby was perfectly satisfied to leave the settlement of the matter in

-the hands of his loyal friend, and he went on to the dormitory, while

-Fred headed the little procession that a few minutes after marched into

-the office of Mr. Leith.

-

-What went on there was shown the following morning after Mr. Leith had

-called his class to order.

-

-"Blake," he said, clearing his throat, "come up here."

-

-Bobby went up and stood in front of the desk.

-

-"Blake," went on Mr. Leith, "I did a great injustice to you a few weeks

-ago, and I want to apologize to you before the whole class. I have found

-out the real culprit. I know the name of the boy who threw the egg into

-the electric fan."

-

-There was a buzz of wild excitement in the class, and Hicksley, together

-with his two cronies, flushed red and grew pale in turn.

-

-"That will do, Blake," Mr. Leith went on. "You may go to your seat."

-

-Bobby retired, murmuring something, he did not know what.

-

-"Hicksley, come here," commanded the teacher. "And you, Bronson, and

-Jinks, come along."

-

-The three of them, with shuffling steps and hang-dog looks, walked

-slowly up the aisle.

-

-"Hicksley," said Mr. Leith severely, "you said at the time this thing

-happened that you actually saw Blake throw the egg. I do not want to

-condemn you without your being heard, and I am going to give you this

-chance to tell the truth. Are you willing to stand by your statement, or

-do you wish to take it back?"

-

-Hicksley hesitated for a moment and then decided to bluff it out.

-

-"I did see him," he muttered doggedly.

-

-"Martin," directed Mr. Leith. "Step to the door and tell White and

-Thacker to come in."

-

-Fred did as ordered and returned, bringing the two small boys with him.

-

-"Tell me now, boys, what you told me yesterday," the teacher commanded.

-

-They looked fearfully at Hicksley and his companions, who shot

-threatening glances at them. But they went ahead and related what they

-had seen on the afternoon in question. The simple story bore the mark of

-truth on its face and carried conviction.

-

-Mr. Leith dismissed them and turned to the three in front of him.

-

-"What have you to say to this?" he demanded.

-

-They kept silent, with their heads lowered, and after a moment the

-teacher continued:

-

-"I am not going to say anything more just now to add to the shame you

-must be feeling. You are all to report to Doctor Raymond in his study at

-three o'clock this afternoon. That is all for the present."

-

-They stumbled back to their seats, avoiding the contemptuous looks of

-their schoolmates. And that afternoon at the hour named they had the

-interview they dreaded with the head of the school.

-

-That interview was short, but quite long enough to make their faces

-blanch and their hearts quake. If Hicksley had been guilty simply of

-denying the act as having been done by him, that would have been bad

-enough, but the punishment would have been lighter. But to try

-deliberately to put it on another was unforgivable. Hicksley was

-dismissed from the school and Bronson and Jinks were suspended for the

-remainder of the term.

-

-Hicksley, boiling with rage, went to his room to pack. On his way down

-to summon the expressman, he met Bobby coming alone up the stairs.

-

-Hicksley saw his opportunity and plunged heavily into Bobby, sending him

-stumbling backwards down the stairs almost to the lower landing. Had it

-not been for a wild clutch at the banister, Bobby would have fallen flat

-on his back.

-

-All his fighting blood awoke at this unprovoked assault. It was the last

-straw. He had been under great restraint for the past few weeks while

-the injustice done him had rankled sorely. He clenched his fists, and as

-the bully reached the landing he received a blow that drove his head

-back and chased the malicious grin from his face.

-

-In a moment the two boys were fighting, hammer and tongs. Hicksley was

-the larger but Bobby was strong and as quick as a young wildcat.

-Besides, he had no "yellow streak" in him.

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXIX

-

-                              A WILD CHASE

-

-

-Not five minutes had elapsed before Hicksley was lying on the floor of

-the hall, holding his hand to his eyes and nose.

-

-"Get up!" Bobby commanded.

-

-Hicksley did nothing but grunt.

-

-"Have you had enough?" asked Bobby.

-

-"Enough," mumbled the bully, all the fight taken out of him.

-

-He slunk away, while the boys, who had crowded out into the hall at the

-sound of combat and had viewed with rapture the defeat of the bully,

-gathered about Bobby, who, except for a bruise on his forehead, showed

-no sign of the battle.

-

-"Bully for you, Bobby!" crowed Mouser.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" howled Fred in delight. "That was a peach of a scrap."

-

-"He got all that was coming to him," exulted Sparrow.

-

-"Hicksley couldn't lick a postage stamp!" exclaimed Skeets gleefully.

-

-"He must have learned to fight by mail," grinned Shiner.

-

-"A mighty good job you made of it, Bobby," commended Billy Bassett.

-

-"I wasn't looking for trouble," explained Bobby, "but when he butted

-into me and knocked me down the stairs, I couldn't help pitching into

-him."

-

-For the rest of that day and evening little else was thought of or

-spoken of but the "trimming" that Bobby had given to the bully. But

-apart from the satisfaction of having Hicksley get what he so richly

-deserved, a still greater joy was in the hearts of all.

-

-Bobby Blake was back again on the team!

-

-"Now," cried Fred, expressing the hope and belief of all, "you'll see

-Rockledge begin to climb."

-

-And Rockledge did climb with a vengeance.

-

-The very next Saturday with Bobby in the box and pitching gilt-edged

-ball they walked all over Belden, not only beating their chief rival but

-doing it to the score of seven to nothing. The whole team played behind

-their pitcher as though they were inspired with new life. And from that

-time on, the Beldenites drew into their shell and did not do so much

-crowing when they met the Rockledge boys in the town.

-

-But Bobby and his comrades knew that they still had a heavy task before

-them, if they were to win the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.

-

-Belden had now won four games and lost two. Rockledge was even in gains

-and losses, having won three and lost three. If there had been many more

-games to play, Rockledge would have felt much more confident, for she

-was now traveling faster than her rival. But the end of the season was

-coming fearfully close, and there were only three more games to play.

-

-"Belden is the one we've got to beat," declared Frank. "We've got the

-Indian sign, I think, on Somerset and Ridgefield."

-

-As far as Ridgefield was concerned, this seemed true, for Rockledge won

-the game by four to two, his mates handing Bobby a lead in the first

-inning that he was able to keep throughout the game. But as Belden also

-won on the same day from Somerset, though after a harder battle, the

-Rockledge boys were still "trailing" the school across the lake.

-

-The excitement now was reaching fever pitch, and it broke all bounds the

-following Saturday, when Belden came a cropper with Ridgefield, being

-"nosed out" in the ninth by a sudden rally on the part of their

-opponents, while Rockledge won handily from Somerset in a free batting

-game by ten runs to six.

-

-"Hurrah!" yelled Mouser, "we're tied with Belden now."

-

-"Bobby has pulled us up in dandy shape," declared Frank. "You're a

-wonder, Bobby, old scout."

-

-"Just keep it up for one more game, Bobby," pleaded Sparrow.

-

-"Scubbity-_yow_!" shouted Fred. "I'll bet old Belden is shaking in its

-boots."

-

-Somerset and Ridgefield had played good ball in spots, but now they were

-out of the race. Belden and Rockledge had each won five and lost three,

-and the game that was to be played between them on the following

-Saturday would wind up the season and decide which of the teams was to

-win the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.

-

-It was almost impossible for the boys to keep their minds on their

-lessons, but as there were only ten days remaining in the school term

-this did not matter to the same degree as it would have done earlier in

-the year.

-

-But an incident occurred on the Monday following the game with Somerset

-that gave a new slant to their thoughts, and for a few hours drove even

-thoughts of the pennant from the minds of Bobby and his friends.

-

-Shiner had been invited to go for an automobile ride by a friend of his

-family, who was staying for a few days at Rockledge. He came rushing

-into the dormitory with his eyes bulging.

-

-"Say, fellows!" he gasped, "if you want to catch those tramps of yours,

-come along with me."

-

-"What do you mean?" his chums asked in chorus, as they made a wild grab

-for their hats.

-

-"I've seen them," panted Shiner. "But come along and I'll tell you.

-Hustle!"

-

-The boys rushed downstairs to find an automobile waiting. Beside Mr.

-Wharton, the owner, they recognized the constable.

-

-"Tumble in," said Mr. Wharton, smiling, and a half dozen boys swarmed

-into the automobile.

-

-"You see," explained Shiner, "we passed three tramps about two miles

-from here, and I saw that two of them were the ones we saw the day we

-were swimming. I told Mr. Wharton and we put on speed, picked up the

-constable and hurried up for you, so that you could go along and

-identify them."

-

-Mr. Wharton had started the car the moment the boys were inside, and it

-was skimming along like a bird. It went so fast that the boys had to

-hold on to their caps, and although they were all chattering with might

-and main, the wind made it almost impossible for one to hear what the

-others were saying.

-

-In a very few minutes they saw three figures on the lonely country road

-ahead. The one in the center had a limp that was familiar.

-

-The tramps heard the coming car, and at first stood aside to let it

-pass. But as it slowed up on approaching them, they took alarm, climbed

-over a fence and started across the fields toward a piece of woodland a

-little way off.

-

-Their pursuers leaped from the car and gave chase. The lithe limbs of

-the boys gave them an advantage over their heavier companions, and they

-were soon on the heels of the tramps, who turned snarling and faced

-them.

-

-"Keep off or I'll club the life out of you," shouted one, whom they

-recognized as the man with the scar.

-

-"No you won't," cried Bobby, defiantly.

-

-"We want the things you stole from us," sang out Fred.

-

-"Jail for yours!" Mouser shouted.

-

-They circled round the men, thus holding them in check, and in another

-moment Mr. Wharton and the constable had come up and each grabbed one of

-the men by the collar. At the sight of the constable's star, the other

-quickly wilted.

-

-The officer slipped handcuffs on them all and pushed them into the ear,

-while the boys crowded in as best they could, two of them standing on

-the running-board. In triumph, they went back to town and the men were

-placed in jail.

-

-First they were searched, and, greatly to the boys' delight, pawn

-tickets were found that accounted for all the articles that had been

-stolen from them. The money of course was gone, but the boys cared

-little for that, as long as they were sure that they could get back

-their cherished personal possessions.

-

-"We're some demon thief catchers, all right," chuckled Mouser.

-

-"He would call me red-head, would he?" grinned Fred, referring to the

-scar-faced tramp.

-

-"It means good luck for us, fellows," declared Bobby. "Now, I'm _sure_

-we're going to down Belden."

-

-

-

-

-                              CHAPTER XXX

-

-                     WINNING THE PENNANT--CONCLUSION

-

-

-Belden had its own idea as to who was to be "downed," and almost the

-whole school went to Rockledge with colors flying on the great day that

-was to decide who should carry off the flag of the Monatook Lake League.

-

-As the teams had each played a game on the other's grounds, it had been

-left to the toss of a coin as to where the deciding game should take

-place, and Rockledge had won.

-

-This was a good omen in itself, and the Rockledge boys were chock-full

-of confidence, as they slipped into their baseball suits in the

-gymnasium before going on the field.

-

-"We've just _got_ to win to-day, Fred," remarked Bobby. "It would never

-do to lose with all our folks in the stand looking on."

-

-"You bet we'll win," replied Fred emphatically. "If we don't, I'll hunt

-up some hole, slip in and pull the hole in after me."

-

-Mr. and Mrs. Blake had come down on this last day. Fred's father and

-mother were also present, accompanied by Betty. And to give the boys a

-pleasant surprise they had brought Scat Monroe and Pat Moriarty along

-with them.

-

-The weather had been a little threatening in the morning, but about noon

-it cleared beautifully. A great crowd was present, for all the towns

-near Monatook Lake had become interested in the pennant fight, and

-people came in droves to see the deciding game.

-

-Bobby and Fred went up in the stand for a little chat with their friends

-and families before the game began.

-

-"Oh, I'm so glad it's such a beautiful day!" exclaimed Betty gleefully.

-"I was so afraid the rain would come down this morning."

-

-"You wouldn't expect the rain to go up, would you?" asked her brother

-airily.

-

-"Smarty!" said Betty, and she made a little face at him.

-

-"Fred had better behave himself or we'll say 'snowball' to him, won't

-we, Betty?" laughed Bobby.

-

-"I'm rooting for you boys to win to-day," remarked Pat, his freckled

-face wreathed with smiles.

-

-"We're going to fight like the mischief to do it," returned Bobby.

-

-"Put the whitewash brush on them," said Scat.

-

-"Perhaps that's asking a little too much," grinned Fred. "We'll be

-satisfied with the big end of the score."

-

-Their parents smiled on them fondly and urged them to do their best to

-win for Rockledge, and the boys went down on the field with their hearts

-full of determination.

-

-But it was evident from the moment the first ball went over the plate

-that it would be no easy task for either side to win. Each team was

-screwed to the highest pitch and full of determination and enthusiasm.

-

-Bobby started out like a winner. His arm had never felt better, and he

-whipped the ball over the plate at a speed that delighted the

-spectators--always excepting the Belden rooters--but that made Frank

-Durrock a little anxious.

-

-"Easy there, Bobby," he counseled from first base, when the first batter

-had gone out on strikes. "The game's young yet, and you've a long way to

-go."

-

-Bobby realized the wisdom of this, and made the next batter pop up an

-infield fly to Mouser at second. Then he mixed in a slow one that seemed

-easy enough to hit as it came floating up to the plate, but which

-resulted in an easy roller to the box which Bobby had plenty of time to

-throw to first.

-

-"That's what you call a change of pace, old scout," congratulated

-Sparrow, as the nine came in from the field amid a general clapping of

-hands at the promising beginning.

-

-But Bobby was not to carry off the pitching honors of the game without a

-struggle. Larry Cronk, the Belden pitcher, was in splendid form, and he

-had had the benefit of being coached by his brother, who was a student

-at Yale and a member of the Varsity team. The result of this training

-was shown in a new "hop" ball that Larry sprung on them for the first

-time. It came singing over the plate with a jump on it just before it

-reached the batter that at first puzzled the Rockledge boys completely.

-Two of them struck out and the third was an easy victim on a foul.

-

-Now it was Belden's turn to howl. And howl they did.

-

-"Bobby's got his work cut out for him to-day," remarked Sparrow to

-Skeets, as they went out into the field.

-

-"That's just the time Bobby's at his best," returned Skeets confidently.

-

-"Bobby's got that fadeaway of his when it comes to the pinch," added

-Mouser, "and I'll back that against Larry's hop any time."

-

-Bobby was not daunted by this showing on the part of his opponent. But

-he knew that he must not slow down for a second. He must put brains in

-his work as well as muscle, must study and outguess the batters and give

-them just what they did not want.

-

-So he worked with exceeding care, mixing up his curves and his fast and

-slow balls so skillfully that in the first four innings only two hits

-were made off him, and one of them a scratch, and no one got as far as

-second base. And in doing this he nursed his strength, so that he felt

-almost as strong and fresh as at the beginning.

-

-"Talk about a fox," chuckled Fred, "he isn't in it with Bobby."

-

-Larry, too, had kept any one from denting the home plate, but he was so

-exultant over the success of his new delivery that he relied upon it

-almost entirely. And by and by the Rockledge boys began to find him more

-easily than they did at first. They had not yet made more than one clean

-hit, but the bat was beginning to meet the ball more solidly and it was

-only a matter of a little time before they would be lining out base

-hits, unless Larry changed his style and mixed in his other curves.

-

-"We'll straighten them out in the next inning, see if we don't,"

-remarked Spentz confidently.

-

-And so they did. Spentz himself led off with a crashing three-bagger to

-right. Fred brought him home with a sizzling single and stole second on

-the next ball pitched. Larry tightened up then, and although a clever

-sacrifice bunt put Fred on third, he was left there, as the next two

-batters went out on strikes.

-

-Belden's half had been scoreless, so that the end of the fifth inning

-found Rockledge in the lead by one to none. And in such a close game as

-this promised to be, that one run looked as big as a mountain.

-

-But by the time Belden's sixth inning was over, the Rockledge rooters

-were in a panic.

-

-The trouble began when Frank Durrock, old reliable Frank, muffed an easy

-fly that ordinarily he would have "eaten up." Not only did he drop the

-ball, but he let it get so far away from him that the batter took a

-chance of making second. Frank, in his haste to catch him, threw the

-ball over Mouser's head into left field, and before it could be

-recovered, the runner had made the circuit of the bases.

-

-The error seemed to demoralize the whole team. Sparrow booted a

-grounder, and by the time he had got through fumbling, it was too late

-to throw to first. Spentz, in right, dropped a high fly and then threw

-wildly to head off the runner, who was legging it for third. The ball

-went ten feet over Sparrow's head and both boys scored, making the count

-three to one in favor of the visitors. Rockledge had a bad case of

-"rattles."

-

-Bobby walked down to first as though he wanted to talk to Frank, but

-really to give his mates time to recover.

-

-"Play ball!" shouted the Belden rooters.

-

-Bobby took his time in returning, and even when he was back in the box

-found a shoe lace that needed tying. Not until he was fully ready did he

-straighten up.

-

-He put on all speed now and disposed of the next batters in order, two

-on high fouls and one on strikes. He did not want to let any balls go

-far out, in the present nervous conditions of his mates.

-

-As for them, they were full of rage and self-reproach.

-

-"Three runs without a single hit!" groaned Frank.

-

-"Never mind, fellows!" cried Bobby cheerily. "Go right in now and get

-them back again. Knock the cover off the ball."

-

-But this was more easily said than done. Once in that inning and again

-in the seventh and eighth, they got men on the bases, but they could not

-bring them in. In the eighth inning a rattling double play brought

-groans from the Rockledge rooters, as they saw a promising rally nipped

-in the bud.

-

-Bobby had been mowing the Belden boys down almost as fast as they came

-to the plate. He had brought out his fadeaway now and mixed it in so

-well with the others that the batters never had a chance. His mates had

-recovered their nerve and were backing him up splendidly. Nevertheless

-the fact still faced them that their rivals were two runs ahead.

-

-In the ninth inning, after disposing of Belden, Rockledge went in to do

-or die. Yells of encouragement came from their partisans as they made

-their last stand.

-

-"Go to it, boys!"

-

-"You can beat them yet!"

-

-"Never say die!"

-

-"Rockledge! Rockledge! Rockledge!"

-

-But the shouts turned to groans, when Willis, who was playing center

-field in place of Bronson, put up a skyscraper which Cronk gobbled up

-without moving in his tracks. Barry sent a hot grounder to short which

-was fielded cleverly and sent to first ahead of the batter. There was a

-movement in the stand, as the spectators got ready to leave.

-

-But they stopped short when Spentz sent a screaming hit to center for a

-clean single. Frank followed with a grasser between short and second

-that gave him first and sent Spentz to third. Larry faltered and gave

-Fred his base on balls. The bases were full when Bobby came to the bat.

-

-Larry eyed him narrowly and wound a fast one about his neck, at which

-Bobby refused to bite. The next was right in the groove, and Bobby

-caught it square on the end of his bat and sent it whistling over the

-head of the first baseman. It rolled clear to the right field fence, and

-before it could be recovered, the Rockledge runners had gone round the

-bases like so many jack rabbits, and had jumped on the home plate, while

-Bobby pulled up at second.

-

-The game was over, the game was won and the Rockledge boys were the

-champions of the Monatook Lake League!

-

-Bobby's comrades rushed upon him, mauling and pounding him; the shouting

-crowd swooped out from the stand and surrounded him.

-

-"Champions!" "Champions!" "Champions!" they yelled, until their throats

-were husky and their lungs were sore.

-

-It was a long time before Bobby could get through the crowd to where his

-visitors awaited him. There Betty cried one minute and laughed the next,

-in her happy excitement. Mrs. Blake's eyes, too, were moist as she

-hugged her boy, and Mr. Blake cleared his throat as he put his hand on

-Bobby and told him he was proud of him.

-

-Fred, too, came in for his share of well-earned praise and the boys were

-happy beyond words. And Scat and Pat were almost as delighted as though

-they had won the game themselves.

-

-Finally, when matters were somewhat quieted down, some one asked the

-boys about their plans for the summer vacation. How full that summer

-proved to be of stirring and exciting adventure will be told in the next

-volume of this series.

-

-But just now all their thoughts were of the present. Their school term

-was over. There had been some unpleasant features, but in the main their

-experiences had been happy ones.

-

-"We did it, Bobby!" exclaimed Fred joyfully, for perhaps the twentieth

-time.

-

-"We got there," agreed Bobby; "but it was a mighty hard fight."

-

-"That's what makes it all the more worth winning," Fred declared.

-

-"Yes," said Bobby, "I guess the things that come easy aren't worth much.

-That's what makes us feel so good about being champions. For there

-wasn't anything easy about winning the pennant of the Monatook Lake

-League."

-

-

-                                THE END

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                         THE BOBBY BLAKE SERIES

-                           BY FRANK A. WARNER

-

-             BOOKS FOR BOYS FROM EIGHT TO TWELVE YEARS OLD

-

-[Illustration: "Bobby Blake at Rockledge School" book cover]

-

-True stories of life at a modern American boarding school. Bobby attends

-this institution of learning with his particular chum and the boys have

-no end of good times. The tales of outdoor life, especially the exciting

-times they have when engaged in sports against rival schools, are

-written in a manner so true, so realistic, that the reader, too, is

-bound to share with these boys their thrills and pleasures.

-

-                  1 BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL.

-                  2 BOBBY BLAKE AT BASS COVE.

-                  3 BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE.

-                  4 BOBBY BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS.

-                  5 BOBBY BLAKE AT SNOWTOP CAMP.

-                  6 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE.

-                  7 BOBBY BLAKE ON A RANCH.

-                  8 BOBBY BLAKE ON AN AUTO TOUR.

-                  9 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL ELEVEN.

-                  10 BOBBY BLAKE ON A PLANTATION.

-                  11 BOBBY BLAKE IN THE FROZEN NORTH.

-                  12 BOBBY BLAKE ON MYSTERY MOUNTAIN.

-

-                               PUBLISHERS

-                              BARSE & CO.

-                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.

-

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

-

-                       THE BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES

-

-                     Published with the approval of

-                       The Boy Scouts of America

-

-[Illustration: "The Boy Scout Fire Fighters" book cover]

-

-In the boys' world of story books, none better than those about boy

-scouts arrest and grip attention. In a most alluring way, the stories in

-the BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES tell of the glorious good times and wonderful

-adventures of boy scouts.

-

-All the books were written by authors possessed of an intimate knowledge

-of this greatest of all movements organized for the welfare of boys, and

-are published with the approval of the National Headquarters of the Boy

-Scouts of America.

-

-The Chief Scout Librarian, Mr. F. K. Mathiews, writes concerning them:

-"It is a bully bunch of books. I hope you will sell 100,000 copies of

-each one, for these stories are the sort that will help instead of hurt

-our movement."

-

-             THE BOY SCOUT FIRE FIGHTERS--CRUMP

-             THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TROOP--McCLANE

-             THE BOY SCOUT TRAIL BLAZERS--CHELEY

-             THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS--LERRIGO

-             BOY SCOUTS AFLOAT--WALDEN

-             BOY SCOUTS COURAGEOUS--MATHIEWS

-             BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE--LERRIGO

-             BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL--GARTH

-             THE BOY SCOUTS IN AFRICA--CORCORAN

-             THE BOY SCOUTS OF ROUND TABLE PATROL--LERRIGO

-

-                               PUBLISHERS

-                              BARSE & CO.

-                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.

-

-

-

-

-

-End of Project Gutenberg's Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner

-

-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE ***

-

-***** This file should be named 45990.txt or 45990.zip *****

-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:

-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/5/9/9/45990/

-

-Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

-

-

-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions

-will be renamed.

-

-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no

-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation

-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without

-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,

-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to

-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to

-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project

-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you

-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you

-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the

-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose

-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and

-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do

-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is

-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial

-redistribution.

-

-

-

-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

-

-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

-

-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free

-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work

-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project

-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at

-  www.gutenberg.org/license.

-

-

-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic works

-

-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to

-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property

-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all

-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy

-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.

-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the

-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or

-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

-

-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be

-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who

-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few

-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See

-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement

-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

-

-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"

-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the

-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an

-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are

-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from

-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative

-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg

-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project

-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by

-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of

-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with

-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by

-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project

-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

-

-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern

-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in

-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check

-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement

-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or

-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project

-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning

-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United

-States.

-

-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

-

-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate

-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently

-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the

-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,

-copied or distributed:

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived

-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is

-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied

-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees

-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work

-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the

-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1

-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the

-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or

-1.E.9.

-

-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted

-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution

-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional

-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked

-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the

-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

-

-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this

-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

-

-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without

-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with

-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm License.

-

-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,

-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any

-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or

-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than

-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version

-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),

-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a

-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon

-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other

-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

-

-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works

-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-

-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided

-that

-

-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from

-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method

-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is

-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he

-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the

-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments

-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you

-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax

-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and

-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the

-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to

-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

-

-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies

-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he

-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-     License.  You must require such a user to return or

-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium

-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of

-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

-

-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any

-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the

-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days

-     of receipt of the work.

-

-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free

-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

-

-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set

-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from

-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael

-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the

-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

-

-1.F.

-

-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable

-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread

-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm

-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain

-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or

-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual

-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a

-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by

-your equipment.

-

-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right

-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all

-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal

-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT

-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE

-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE

-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE

-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR

-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH

-DAMAGE.

-

-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a

-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can

-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a

-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you

-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with

-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with

-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a

-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity

-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to

-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy

-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further

-opportunities to fix the problem.

-

-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth

-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER

-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO

-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

-

-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.

-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the

-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be

-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by

-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any

-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

-

-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the

-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone

-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance

-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,

-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,

-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,

-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do

-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm

-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any

-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

-

-

-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of

-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers

-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists

-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from

-people in all walks of life.

-

-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's

-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will

-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure

-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.

-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4

-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive

-Foundation

-

-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit

-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the

-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal

-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification

-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg

-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent

-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

-

-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.

-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered

-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809

-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email

-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the

-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

-

-For additional contact information:

-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby

-     Chief Executive and Director

-     gbnewby@pglaf.org

-

-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg

-Literary Archive Foundation

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide

-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of

-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be

-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest

-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations

-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt

-status with the IRS.

-

-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating

-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United

-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a

-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up

-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations

-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To

-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any

-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we

-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition

-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who

-approach us with offers to donate.

-

-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make

-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from

-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

-

-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation

-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other

-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.

-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-

-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works.

-

-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm

-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared

-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project

-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed

-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.

-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily

-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

-

-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

-

-     www.gutenberg.org

-

-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,

-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to

-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

-

+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45990 ***
+
+[Illustration: They slowly and sullenly handed over the contents of
+their pockets.]
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                             BOBBY BLAKE ON
+                            THE SCHOOL NINE
+
+                                   OR
+
+                     THE CHAMPIONS OF THE MONATOOK
+                              LAKE LEAGUE
+
+                                   BY
+
+                            FRANK A. WARNER
+
+              AUTHOR OF "BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL,"
+                   "BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE," "BOBBY
+                   BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS," ETC.
+
+                             ILLUSTRATED BY
+
+                             R. EMMETT OWEN
+
+                               PUBLISHERS
+                              BARSE & CO.
+                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                             Copyright 1917
+                                   by
+                              BARSE & CO.
+
+                     Bobby Blake on the School Nine
+
+                Printed in the United States of America
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                                CONTENTS
+
+                      I FLYING SNOWBALLS
+                     II A FRIEND INTERFERES
+                    III THE COMING STORM
+                     IV HELD UP
+                      V THE TRAMPS' RETREAT
+                     VI HEAVY ODDS
+                    VII PAYING AN OLD DEBT
+                   VIII THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY
+                     IX A COWARDLY TRICK
+                      X ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL
+                     XI TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS
+                    XII A NEW ENEMY
+                   XIII THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE
+                    XIV GLOWING HOPES
+                     XV SPOILING THE FUN
+                    XVI WHO WAS GUILTY?
+                   XVII ON THE TRAIL
+                  XVIII A HARD HIT
+                    XIX SPRING PRACTICE
+                     XX THE SUGAR CAMP
+                    XXI THE FIRST GAME
+                   XXII TO THE RESCUE
+                  XXIII THE EGG AND THE FAN
+                   XXIV AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT
+                    XXV OFF FOR A SWIM
+                   XXVI THE SCAR AND THE LIMP
+                  XXVII A GLEAM OF LIGHT
+                 XXVIII TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING
+                   XXIX A WILD CHASE
+                    XXX WINNING THE PENNANT--CONCLUSION
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                     BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER I
+
+                            FLYING SNOWBALLS
+
+
+"Ouch!"
+
+"That was a dandy!"
+
+"How's that for a straight shot?"
+
+"Thought you could dodge it, did you?"
+
+"Have a heart, fellows! I've got a ton of snow down my back already."
+
+A tumult of shouts and laughter rose into the frosty air from a group of
+boys, ranging in age from ten to twelve years, who were throwing and
+dodging snowballs near the railroad station in the little town of
+Clinton.
+
+Even the fact that four of the group were on their way back to school
+after the Christmas holidays was not sufficient to dampen their youthful
+spirits, and the piles of snow heaped up back of the platform had been
+too tempting to resist.
+
+As though moved by a single spring they had dropped the bags they were
+carrying, and the next instant the air was full of flying snowballs.
+Most of them found their mark, though a few in the excitement of the
+fray passed dangerously near the station windows.
+
+Flushed and eager, the panting warriors advanced or retreated, until a
+stray missile just grazed the ear of the baggage man, who was wheeling a
+load of trunks along the platform. He gave a roar of protest, and the
+boys thought it was time to stop. But they did it reluctantly.
+
+"Too bad to stop right in the middle of the fun," said Bobby Blake, a
+bright wholesome boy of about eleven years, with a frank face and merry
+brown eyes.
+
+"Bailey's got a grouch on this morning," remarked Fred Martin, better
+known among the boys as "Ginger," because of his red hair and equally
+fiery temper.
+
+"I never saw him any other way," put in "Scat" Monroe, one of the
+village boys, who had come down to the station to bid his friends
+good-bye. "I don't believe Bailey ever was a boy."
+
+"Oh, I guess he was--once," said Bobby, with the air of one making a
+generous concession, "but it was so long ago that he's forgotten all
+about it."
+
+"Perhaps you'd be grouchy too if you came near being hit," ventured
+Betty Martin, Fred's sister, "especially if you weren't getting any fun
+out of it."
+
+Betty formed one of a party of girls who bad accompanied the boys to the
+station to see them off. With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, these
+girls had stood huddled together like a flock of snowbirds, watching the
+friendly scuffle and giving a little squeal occasionally when a snowball
+came too close to them.
+
+Fred looked at his sister coldly. He was very fond of Betty, but as the
+only boy in a large family of girls, he felt it was incumbent on him to
+maintain the dignity of the male sex. He had pronounced ideas on the
+necessity of keeping girls in their place, and Betty was something of a
+trial to him because she refused to be squelched.
+
+"Of course, girls feel that way," he said loftily. "They're afraid of
+the least little thing. But men aren't such scare-cats."
+
+"Men!" sniffed Betty scornfully. "You don't call yourself a man, do
+you?"
+
+"Well, I'm going to be some day," her brother retorted, "and that's more
+than you can say."
+
+This was undeniable, and Fred felt that he had scored a point.
+
+Betty was reduced to the defensive.
+
+"I wouldn't want to be," she rejoined rather feebly.
+
+Fred cast a proud look around.
+
+"Sour grapes!" he ejaculated.
+
+Then, elated by his success, he sought rather imprudently to follow it
+up.
+
+"As for me," he declared, "I wouldn't care how hard I was hit. I'd only
+laugh."
+
+Betty saw an opening.
+
+"You wouldn't dare let me throw one at you," she challenged, her eyes
+dancing.
+
+Fred went into pretended convulsions.
+
+"You throw!" he jeered. "A girl throw! Why! you couldn't hit the--the
+side of a house," he ended lamely, his invention failing.
+
+"I couldn't, eh?" cried Betty, a little nettled. "Well, you just stand
+up against that post and see if I can't."
+
+Fred was somewhat startled by her prompt answer to his taunt, but it
+would never do to show the white feather.
+
+"All right," he responded, and took up his position, while Betty stood
+some twenty feet away.
+
+The laughing group of boys and girls gathered around her, and Bobby and
+Scat began to make snowballs for Betty.
+
+"No, you don't!" cried Fred. "I know you fellows. You'll make soakers.
+Let Betty make her own snowballs."
+
+"What do you care, if you're so sure she can't hit you?" said Bobby
+slyly.
+
+"Never you mind," replied Fred, ignoring the thrust. "You leave all that
+to Betty."
+
+The boys desisted and Betty made her own missiles.
+
+"How many chances do I have?" she asked. "Will you give me three shots?"
+
+"Three hundred if you like," replied her brother grandly. "It's all the
+same to me."
+
+He stiffened up sternly against the post. Somewhere he had seen a
+picture of Ajax defying the lightning, and he hoped that he looked like
+that.
+
+Betty poised herself to throw, but at the last moment her tender heart
+misgave her.
+
+"I--I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she faltered.
+
+"Aw, go ahead," urged "Mouser" Pryde, one of the four lads who were
+leaving for school.
+
+"Aim right at his head," added "Pee Wee" Wise, another schoolmate who
+was to accompany Bobby and Fred to Rockledge.
+
+"You can't miss that red mop of his," put in Scat heartlessly.
+
+"N-no," said Betty, dropping her hand to her side. "I guess I don't want
+to."
+
+Fred scented an easy victory, but made a mistake by not being satisfied
+to let well enough alone.
+
+"She knows she can't hit me and she's afraid to try," he gibed.
+
+The light of battle began to glow in Betty's eyes, but still she stood
+irresolute.
+
+"I'll give you a cent if you hit me," pursued Fred.
+
+"My! isn't he reckless with his money?" mocked Pee Wee.
+
+"He talks like a millionaire," added Mouser.
+
+"A whole cent," mused Bobby.
+
+Fred flushed.
+
+"Make it a nickel, then," he said. "And if that isn't enough, I'll give
+you a dime," he added, in a final burst of generosity.
+
+"Have you got it?" Betty asked suspiciously. She knew that Fred was
+usually in a state of bankruptcy.
+
+"I've got it all right," retorted her brother, "and what's more I'm
+going to keep it, because you couldn't hit anything in a thousand
+years."
+
+Whether it was the taunt or the dime or both, Betty was spurred to
+action. She hesitated no longer, but picked up a snowball and threw it
+at the fair mark that Fred presented.
+
+It went wide and Fred laughed gleefully.
+
+"Guess that dime stays right in my pocket," he chuckled.
+
+"Never mind, Betty," encouraged Bobby. "You were just getting the range
+then. Better luck next time."
+
+But the next shot also failed, and Fred's mirth became uproarious.
+
+"I might just as well have made it a dollar," he mocked.
+
+But his smile suddenly faded when Betty's third throw caught him right
+on the point of the nose.
+
+Fortunately the ball was not very hard. It spread all over his face,
+getting into his eyes and filling his mouth, and leaving him for the
+moment blinded and sputtering.
+
+The girls gave little shrieks and the boys doubled up with laughter,
+which increased as the victim brushed away the snow and they caught
+sight of his startled and sheepish face. Betty, in swift penitence, flew
+to his side.
+
+"Oh, Fred!" she wailed, "I hope I didn't hurt you!"
+
+To do Fred justice, he was game, and after the first moment of
+discomfiture he tried to smile, though the attempt was not much of a
+success.
+
+"That's all right, Betty," he said. "You're a better shot than I thought
+you were. Here's your dime," he added, taking the coin from his pocket.
+
+"I don't want it," replied Betty. "I'm sorry I won it."
+
+But Fred insisted and she took it, although reluctantly.
+
+"Too bad you didn't make it a dollar, Fred," joked Pee Wee.
+
+"Couldn't hit you in a thousand years, eh?" chuckled Scat.
+
+"Oh, cut it out, you fellows," protested Fred. "I didn't dodge anyway,
+did I? You've got to give me credit for that."
+
+"That was pretty good work for short distance shooting," remarked Bobby
+Blake, molding a snowball. "But now watch me hit that rock on the other
+side of the road."
+
+"Look out that you don't hit that horse," cautioned Betty.
+
+But the snowball had already left Bobby's hand. He had thought that it
+would easily clear the scraggy old horse that was jogging along drawing
+a sleigh. But the aim was too low, and the snowball hit the horse plump
+in the neck.
+
+The startled brute reared and plunged, and the driver, a big hulky boy
+with pale eyes and a pasty complexion, had all he could do to quiet him.
+
+He succeeded at last, and then, grasping his whip, jumped over the side
+of the sleigh and came running up to the boys, his face convulsed with
+rage.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER II
+
+                          A FRIEND INTERFERES
+
+
+"Oh," gasped Betty, "it's Ap Plunkit!"
+
+"Yes," added Fred, "and he's as mad as a hornet."
+
+Applethwaite Plunkit was the son of a farmer who lived a short distance
+out of town. He was older and larger than the rest of the boys gathered
+on the station platform, and they all disliked him thoroughly because of
+his mean and ugly disposition.
+
+Bobby and Fred had had several squabbles with him when he had attempted
+to bully them, but their quarrels had never yet got to the point of an
+actual fight. But just now, as he strode up to them, it looked as though
+a fight were coming.
+
+Bobby was a plucky boy, and though he never went around looking for
+trouble, he was always willing and able to take his own part when it
+became necessary. But Ap was a great deal bigger and heavier than he,
+and just now had the advantage of the whip. So that Bobby's breath came
+a little faster as Ap came nearer. But he never thought of retreating,
+and faced the bully with an outward calm that he was very far from
+feeling.
+
+"Which one of you fellows hit my horse?" demanded Ap, in a voice that
+trembled with rage.
+
+"I did," replied Bobby, stepping forward a little in advance of the
+group.
+
+"What did you do it for?" cried Ap, at the same time raising his whip.
+
+"I didn't aim at the horse," replied Bobby. "I was trying to hit a rock
+on the other side of the road."
+
+"I don't believe it," snarled the bully.
+
+"I can't help whether you believe it or not," answered Bobby. "It's the
+truth."
+
+"You needn't think you're going to crawl out of it that way," Ap snapped
+back. "You hit my horse on purpose and now I'm going to hit you."
+
+He lifted his whip higher to make good his threat. Bobby's fists
+clenched and his eyes glowed.
+
+"Don't you touch me with that whip, Ap Plunkit," he warned, "or it will
+be the worse for you."
+
+"You bet it will!" cried Fred, rushing forward. "You touch Bobby and
+we'll all pitch into you."
+
+"That's what!" ejaculated Mouser.
+
+"Sure thing," added Pee Wee, who, though lazy and hard to rouse, was
+always loyal to his friends.
+
+For a moment it seemed as though a general scrimmage could not be
+avoided, and the girls gave little frightened shrieks.
+
+Ap hesitated.
+
+"Four against one," he muttered sarcastically. "You're a plucky lot, you
+are."
+
+"Throw down that whip and any one of us will tackle you," cried Fred
+hotly, his fiery temper getting the better of him.
+
+But just then a diversion came from a new quarter.
+
+A boy who was just about equal to Ap in age and weight, who had a lot of
+freckles, a snub nose, a jolly Irish face and a crop of red hair that
+rivaled Fred's own, pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered.
+
+"It's Pat Moriarty," cried Betty in relief.
+
+"Hello, Bobby! Hello, Fred!" called out the newcomer cheerily. "What's
+the rumpus here?"
+
+"It's this Ap Plunkit," explained Bobby. "I hit his horse with a
+snowball by accident."
+
+"And the big coward's brought his whip over to get even," volunteered
+Fred.
+
+"To git even is it," said Pat, as his eyes fell on the bully, who was
+beginning to move backward. "Well, I'll give him the chanst."
+
+He went over rapidly to Ap.
+
+"Why don't you tackle a feller of your size?" he asked scornfully. "Like
+me, fur instance?"
+
+"You keep out of this," muttered Ap uneasily.
+
+"Keep out of it!" jeered Pat pugnaciously. "A Moriarty never keeps out
+of a scrap when he sees a big feller pickin' on a little one."
+
+With a sudden movement he snatched Ap's whip and threw it on the ground.
+
+Resentment flared up in Ap's eyes.
+
+While the two antagonists stand glaring at each other, it may be well,
+for the benefit of those who have not followed the fortunes and
+adventures of Bobby Blake from the beginning, to give a brief outline of
+the preceding volumes in this series.
+
+Bobby was the only child of his parents, who resided in the little
+inland town of Clinton. Although their hearts were bound up in their
+son, they had been sensible enough not to spoil him, and he had grown
+into a bright, manly boy, full of fun and frolic, and a general favorite
+among the boys of the town.
+
+Fred Martin, whose family lived only a few doors away from the Blakes,
+was Bobby's closest friend and companion. The boys were very different
+in temperament, and it was this very unlikeness, perhaps, which had made
+them chums. Fred had a hot temper which was constantly getting him into
+scrapes, and Bobby, who was much cooler and more self-controlled, was
+kept busy a good deal of the time in getting his friend out of trouble.
+They seldom had any differences between themselves and were almost
+constantly together.
+
+Mr. Blake was once suddenly called to South America on business, and it
+was arranged that Mrs. Blake should go with him. What to do with Bobby
+during their absence gave them a good many anxious moments. They finally
+decided to send him to Rockledge School, of which they had heard
+excellent reports, and to Bobby's great delight, Mr. Martin consented to
+let Fred go with him.
+
+The school opened a new world for the boys. They had to study hard, but
+a lot of fun was mixed in with the work and they had many exciting
+adventures. They formed warm friendships, but there were two or three
+bullies in the school who tried to make their lives burdensome. How they
+finally defeated these petty tyrants and came out on top is told in the
+first volume of the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Rockledge School;
+or, Winning the Medal of Honor."
+
+The steamer on which Mr. Blake and his wife had sailed was lost at sea,
+and for a time it was feared that all on board had gone down with her.
+Bobby was heart-broken; so when news came later that his parents had
+been rescued his joy can be imagined. The end of the spring term was
+near, and Bobby and Fred accepted the invitation of one of their
+schoolmates, Perry (nicknamed "Pee Wee") Wise, to spend part of the
+summer vacation on the coast, where Perry's father had a summer home.
+There they had a splendid time. Their most stirring adventure involved
+the search for a missing boat. This is described in the second volume of
+the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Bass Cove; or, The Hunt for the
+Motor Boat _Gem_."
+
+They would have stayed longer at this delightful place, had it not been
+for a message brought to Bobby by an old sea captain who was a friend of
+Mr. Blake. He told Bobby that his parents were on their way home but
+would stop for a while at Porto Rico, where they wanted Bobby to join
+them. Bobby was wild to see his parents again, and his joy was increased
+when Mr. Martin said that he would go too and take Fred along. They
+expected adventure, but got more than they bargained for, and the story
+of how they were cast away and finally picked up by the very ship on
+which Bobby's father and mother were sailing is told in the third volume
+of the series, entitled: "Bobby Blake on a Cruise; or, The Castaways of
+Volcano Island."
+
+Once more at home, the two boys were preparing to go back to Rockledge
+for the fall term, when they suddenly came into possession of a
+pocketbook containing a large sum of money. A strange series of
+happenings led them at last to the owner. In the meantime, their school
+life was full of action, culminating in a lively football game where
+Bobby and Fred helped to defeat Belden School, their chief rival. How
+well they played their part is shown in the fourth volume of the series,
+entitled: "Bobby Blake and His School Chums; or, The Rivals of
+Rockledge."
+
+The uncle of "Mouser" Pryde, one of Bobby's particular friends at
+school, owned a shooting lodge up in the Big Woods, and he invited
+Mouser to ask some of his friends up there to spend part of the
+Christmas holidays. Bobby and Fred were members of the party, and they
+had a glorious time, skating, snowshoeing, fishing through the ice and
+hunting. In turn, they were themselves hunted by a big bear and had a
+narrow escape. Incidentally they were fortunate enough to rescue and
+bring back to his right mind a demented hunter who proved to be Pat
+Moriarty's father. How they did this and won the everlasting gratitude
+of the red-headed Irish boy is described in the fifth volume of the
+series, entitled: "Bobby Blake at Snowtop Camp; or, Winter Holidays in
+the Big Woods."
+
+Pat and Ap seemed to be trying to outstare each other, and the rest
+waited in breathless silence during this silent duel of eyes.
+
+But Ap's eyes were the first to fall before the blaze in Pat's.
+
+"I'll get even with that Bobby Blake yet," he mumbled, stooping to pick
+up his whip.
+
+"Well, the next time don't bring along your whip to help you out,"
+replied Bobby.
+
+"An' when you feel like lookin' for trouble, I can find it for you,"
+added Pat. "You'll be rememberin', Ap Plunkit, that I licked you once
+when you gave a hot penny to a monkey, an' I can do it again."
+
+It was evident that Ap did remember perfectly well the fact which Pat
+referred to, for he did not seem to want to stay any longer in the Irish
+lad's vicinity. He picked up his whip, went over to the wagon and
+climbed in. Then he took out his spite by giving his nag a vicious slash
+and drove away. But first he doubled up his fist and shook it at the
+boys, a gesture which they answered with a derisive shout of laughter.
+
+"I think that Ap Plunkit is just horrid," declared Betty, with a stamp
+of her little foot.
+
+"I don't blame him for feeling a little sore," said Bobby, "especially
+before he knew I didn't do it on purpose. But I guess he has a grudge
+against me anyway."
+
+"He was just looking for an excuse to make trouble," put in Fred, "and
+it was just like him to bring his whip along. He never has played fair
+yet."
+
+"He's got a yaller streak in him, I'm thinkin'," chuckled Pat, a broad
+smile covering his jolly face. "I just couldn't help buttin' in when I
+seen him a swingin' of that whip."
+
+"You always stand up for your friends, don't you, Pat?" said Mouser
+admiringly.
+
+"Sure thing," grinned Pat. "Especially when they're the best friends a
+feller ever had. I'll never forget what Bobby and Fred have done for me
+an' my folks."
+
+"Oh, that was nothing," put in Bobby hastily.
+
+"Nothin'!" exclaimed Pat. "It was just everything, an' there isn't a day
+goes by in our house but what we're talkin' about it."
+
+"How did you happen to be Johnny-on-the-spot this morning?" asked Bobby,
+anxious to change the conversation.
+
+"I just was doin' an errand at the grocery store when I heard some one
+say that you boys were goin' off to school this mornin'," answered Pat,
+"an' I dropped everything an' came down here on a dead run to say
+good-bye and wish you slathers of luck. I guess me mother will be after
+wonderin' what's keepin' me, an' she a waitin' fur the butter an'
+sugar," he added, with a grin, "but she won't care when I tell her what
+the reason was."
+
+"I wish you were going along with us, Pat," said Bobby, who was
+genuinely fond of the good-hearted Irish boy.
+
+"Yes," drawled Pee Wee. "We've got a couple of fellows up at Rockledge
+that I'd like to see you handle just as you faced down Ap this morning."
+
+"If there's any kind of a shindig, I'd sure like to be in the thick of
+it," laughed Pat. "But I'll trust you boys not to let them fellers do
+any crowin' over you."
+
+"Right you are," put in Mouser. "There aren't any of 'em that can make
+Bobby and Fred lie down when they get their dander up."
+
+"Oh, dear," sighed Betty, as the toot of the train's whistle was heard
+up the track. "Here it comes. I just hate to have to say good-bye to you
+boys."
+
+"Never mind, Betty," cried Bobby cheerily. "It won't be so very long and
+you'll hear from us every once in a while. And maybe we'll be able to
+come home for a few days at Easter."
+
+There was a scurrying about as the boys got their hand-baggage together
+and brushed the snow from their clothes. The train had now come in
+sight, and a minute later with a great rattle and clamor and hissing of
+steam it drew up to the platform.
+
+"All aboard!" shouted Mouser, and the four boys scrambled up the steps,
+Pee Wee as usual bringing up the rear.
+
+They rushed up the aisle and were lucky enough to find two vacant seats
+next to each other. They turned over the back of one of them, so that
+two of them could sit facing the others, and tucked away their
+belongings in the racks and under the seats. Then they threw up the
+windows so as to have a last word with those they were leaving behind.
+
+The girls had their handkerchiefs out ready to wave a good-bye, and
+Betty was applying hers furtively to one of her eyes.
+
+"I hope your nose isn't hurting you, Fred," she questioned, the mischief
+glinting out in spite of the tears.
+
+"Not a bit of it," answered Fred hastily, as though the subject was not
+to his liking.
+
+"And you're sure you don't need the ten cents?"
+
+"Need nothing," declared Fred, with the magnificent gesture of one to
+whom money was a trifle. "I've got plenty with me."
+
+Betty drew back a little, and Scat and Pat came along and grasped the
+four hands that were thrust out to meet theirs.
+
+"Good luck, fellows," said Scat. "I hope you'll get on the baseball nine
+this spring and lay it all over the teams you play against."
+
+"We're going to do our best," Bobby replied.
+
+"Good-bye, boys!" called out Pat. "I sure am sorry to have you goin'. It
+won't seem like the same old place when you ain't here no more."
+
+"Good-bye, Pat!" the four shouted in chorus.
+
+"If you have any mix-up with Ap while we're gone, be sure to let us
+know," laughed Bobby.
+
+"There won't be any mix-up," put in Fred. "Not if Ap sees Pat first,
+there won't."
+
+"Ap will crawfish all right," confirmed Mouser.
+
+"He's a wonder at backing out," added Pee Wee.
+
+The bell of the engine began to clang and the train started slowly out
+of the station. The little party left behind ran alongside until they
+reached the end of the platform, shouting and waving.
+
+The travelers, with their heads far out of the windows, waved and called
+in return until they were out of sight and hearing.
+
+"Betty's a bully girl, isn't she, Fred?" remarked Bobby, as they settled
+back in their seats. "You're a lucky fellow. I wish I had a sister like
+her."
+
+"Ye-e-s," assented Fred, rather hesitatingly. "Betty's a brick. That
+is," he added hastily, "as far as any girl can be. But don't be wishing
+too hard for sisters, Bobby," he went on darkly. "Girls aren't all
+they're cracked up to be."
+
+"Especially when they know how to throw," put in Bobby, with a roguish
+glint in his eyes.
+
+Fred pretended to think this remark unworthy of an answer, but he rubbed
+his nose reflectively.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER III
+
+                            THE COMING STORM
+
+
+For several minutes the boys were the least bit quiet and subdued. There
+is always something sobering in going away from home and leaving
+relatives and friends behind, especially when the parting is going to
+last for many months, and the warm-hearted farewells of the group at the
+station were still ringing in the boy's ears.
+
+But it is not in boy nature to remain quiet long, and their
+irrepressible spirits soon asserted themselves and caused the young
+travelers to bubble over with fun and merriment.
+
+Besides, Pee Wee and Mouser had said good-bye to their parents the day
+before in their own homes, and had been stopping over night with their
+school chums in Clinton. Their depression was but for the moment and was
+over the thought of leaving behind so much fun and good will as they had
+found at their chums' home town, and they helped Bobby and Fred to
+forget their feeling of homesickness.
+
+There were not many other passengers on the train that morning, so that
+the boys had plenty of room and could give vent to their feelings
+without causing annoyance to others. They snatched each other's caps and
+threw them in the aisles or under the seats, indulged in good-natured
+scuffling, sang bits of the Rockledge songs and cut up "high jinks"
+generally.
+
+Fred and Mouser were seized by a longing for a drink of water at the
+same moment, and they had a race to see who would get to the cooler
+first. Fred won and got first drink while Mouser waited for his turn.
+But Mouser got even by knocking Fred's elbow so that half the water was
+spilled over the front of his coat.
+
+"Quit, I tell you, Mouser," remonstrated Fred, half choking from the
+effort to drink and talk at the same time.
+
+But Mouser kept on, until suddenly Fred saw a chance to get back at him.
+
+"What does it say there?" he asked, pointing to some words engraved on
+the lower part of the cooler. "I can't quite make the letters out from
+here."
+
+Mouser innocently bent over, and Fred, taking advantage of his stooping
+position, tipped his glass and sent a stream of water down his victim's
+neck.
+
+There was a startled howl from Mouser as the cold water trickled down
+his spine. He straightened up with a jerk and chased Fred down the
+aisle, while Bobby and Pee Wee went into whoops of laughter at his
+discomfiture.
+
+"That's no way to drink water, Mouser," chaffed Bobby as soon as he
+could speak. "You want to use your mouth instead of taking in through
+the pores."
+
+"Oh, dry up," ejaculated Mouser, making frantic efforts to stuff his
+handkerchief down his back.
+
+"We're dry enough already," chuckled Pee Wee. "Seems to me it's you that
+needs drying up."
+
+"You will jog my elbow, eh?" jeered Fred, who was delighted at the
+success of his stratagem.
+
+"My turn will come," grunted Mouser. "It's a long worm that has no
+turning," he added, getting mixed up in his proverbs.
+
+Again the boys shouted and Mouser himself, although he tried to keep up
+his dignity, ended by joining in the merriment.
+
+In the scramble for seats when they had first boarded the train, Bobby
+and Fred had had the luck to get the seat that faced forward. Mouser and
+Pee Wee had to ride backward and naturally after a while they objected.
+
+"You fellows have all the best of it," grumbled Pee Wee.
+
+"That's all right," retorted Fred. "That's as it should be. Nothing's
+too good for Bobby and me. The best people ought to have the best of
+everything."
+
+"Sure thing," Bobby backed him up. "The common people ought to be
+satisfied with what they can get. You fellows ought to be glad that we
+let you travel with us at all."
+
+"Those fellows just hate themselves, don't they?" Mouser appealed to his
+seat mate.
+
+"Aren't they the modest little flowers?" agreed Pee Wee.
+
+"What do you say to rushing them and firing them out?" suggested Mouser.
+
+"Oh, don't do that," cried Fred in mock alarm. "Pee Wee might fall on
+one of us, and then there'd be nothing left but a grease spot."
+
+"Might as well have a ton of brick on top of you," confirmed Bobby.
+
+"I'll tell you what," grinned Pee Wee. "We'll draw straws for it and the
+fellows that get the two longest straws get the best seats."
+
+"That would be all right and I'd be glad to do it," said Fred with an
+air of candor. "Only there aren't any straws handy. So we'll have to let
+things stay as they are."
+
+"You don't get out of it that way, you old fox," cried Mouser. "Here's
+an old letter and we'll make strips of paper take the place of the
+straws."
+
+"All right," agreed Fred, driven into the open. "Give me the letter and
+I'll make the strips and you fellows can draw."
+
+"Will you play fair?" asked Mouser suspiciously.
+
+Fred put on an air of offended virtue.
+
+"Do you think I'm a crook?" he asked.
+
+"I don't know," retorted Mouser in a most unflattering way. "A fellow
+that will pour water down my back when I'm trying to do him a favor will
+do anything."
+
+Fred looked at him sadly as though lamenting his lack of faith, but
+proceeded briskly to tear the strips. The boys drew and Bobby had the
+luck to retain his seat, but Fred had to exchange with Mouser.
+
+"It's a shame to have to sit with Pee Wee," said Fred as he squeezed in
+beside the fat boy. "He takes up two-thirds of the seat."
+
+"The conductor ought to charge him double fare," grinned Mouser.
+
+Pee Wee only smiled lazily.
+
+"Look at him," jeered Bobby. "He looks just like the cat that's
+swallowed the canary."
+
+"It would take more than that to make Pee Wee happy," put in Fred. "A
+canary would be a mighty slim meal for him."
+
+"You'd think so if you'd seen how he piled into the buckwheat cakes this
+morning," chuckled Bobby. "Honestly, fellows, I thought that Meena would
+have heart failure trying to cook them fast enough."
+
+"I noticed that you did your part all right," laughed Pee Wee. "I had
+all I could do to get my share of the maple syrup."
+
+"Buckwheats and maple syrup!" groaned Mouser. "Say, fellows! stop
+talking about them or you'll make me so hungry I'll have to bite the
+woodwork."
+
+"We can do better than that," said Fred. "Here comes the train boy.
+Let's get some candy and peanuts."
+
+The boys bought lavishly and munched away contentedly.
+
+"Look at the way the snow's coming down!" exclaimed Fred, gazing out of
+the window.
+
+"It is for a fact," agreed Bobby.
+
+"Looks as though it had settled in for a regular storm," commented
+Mouser.
+
+"Maybe it will be a blizzard," suggested Pee Wee.
+
+As a matter of fact, it appeared to be that already. The snow was
+falling heavily and shutting out the view so that the boys could
+scarcely see the telegraph poles at the side of the track. A fierce wind
+was blowing, and in many places the fence rails were almost covered
+where the snow had drifted.
+
+"Hope we won't have any trouble in getting to Rockledge," remarked Fred
+rather apprehensively.
+
+"Not so bad as that I guess," said Bobby. "There's one place though, a
+little further on, where the track runs through a gulch and that may be
+pretty well filled up if the storm keeps on."
+
+"I wonder if there's anything to eat on the train if we should get
+snowbound," ventured Pee Wee.
+
+"Trust Pee Wee to think of his stomach the first thing," gibed Fred.
+
+"There isn't any dining car on the train," said Mouser. "And we're still
+a good way from the station where it usually stops for lunch."
+
+"We're all right anyway as long as the candy and peanuts hold out,"
+laughed Bobby.
+
+"Yes," mourned Pee Wee, "but there isn't much nourishment in them when a
+fellow's really hungry."
+
+The storm continued without abatement, and the few passengers that got
+on at the way stations looked like so many polar bears as they shook the
+clinging flakes from their clothes and shoes.
+
+"Oh well, what do we care," concluded Pee Wee, settling back in his
+seat. "There's no use borrowing trouble. It always comes soon enough if
+it comes at all."
+
+"We ought to be used to snow by this time," remarked Mouser. "After what
+we went through up in the Big Woods this doesn't seem anything at all."
+
+"Listen to the north pole explorer," mocked Fred. "You'd think, to hear
+him talk, that he'd been up with Cook or Peary."
+
+"Well, I've got it all over those fellows in one way," maintained
+Mouser. "I'll bet they never had a snowslide come down and cover the
+shack they were living in."
+
+"That was a close shave all right," said Bobby a little soberly, as he
+thought of what had been almost a tragedy during their recent holiday at
+Snowtop Camp. "I thought once we were never going to get out of that
+scrape alive."
+
+"It was almost as bad when we were chased by the bear," put in Fred. "We
+did some good little running that day all right. I thought my breath
+would never come back."
+
+"And the running wouldn't have done us any good if it hadn't been for
+good old Don," added Mouser. "How that old dog did stand up to the
+bear."
+
+"He got some fierce old digs from the bear's claws while he was doing
+it," said Bobby.
+
+"He got over them all right," affirmed Mouser. "I got a letter from my
+uncle a couple of days ago, and he says that Don is as good as he ever
+was."
+
+The train for some time past had been going more and more slowly.
+Suddenly it came to a halt, although there was no station in sight. It
+backed up for perhaps three hundred feet, put on all steam and again
+rushed forward only to come to an abrupt stop with a jerk that almost
+threw the boys out of their seats.
+
+They looked at each other in consternation.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IV
+
+                                HELD UP
+
+
+Once more, as though unwilling to admit that it was conquered, the train
+backed up and then made a forward dash. But the result was the same. The
+snorting monster seemed to give up the struggle, and stood puffing and
+wheezing, with the steam hissing and great volumes of smoke rising from
+the stack.
+
+"We're blocked," cried Bobby.
+
+"It must be that we've got to the gulch," observed Fred.
+
+"A pretty kettle of fish," grumbled Pee Wee.
+
+"We're up against it for fair, I guess," admitted Mouser. "But let's get
+out and see how bad the trouble is."
+
+The boys joined the procession of passengers going down the aisle and
+jumped off the steps of the car into a pile of snow beside the track
+that came up to their knees. Pee Wee, who as usual was last, lost his
+balance as he sprang, and went head over heels into a drift. His
+laughing comrades helped him to his feet.
+
+"Wallowing like a porpoise," grinned Fred.
+
+"You went into that snow as if you liked it," chuckled Bobby.
+
+"Lots of sympathy from you boobs," grumbled Pee Wee, as he brushed the
+snow from his face and hair.
+
+"Lots of that in the dictionary," sang out Mouser. "But come ahead,
+fellows, and see what's doing."
+
+The others waded after Mouser until they stood abreast of the
+locomotive.
+
+It was a scene of wintry desolation that lay stretched before their
+eyes. As far as they could see, they could make out little but the white
+blanket of snow, above which the trees tossed their black and leafless
+branches. Paths and fences were blotted out, and except for the thin
+column of smoke that rose from a farmhouse half a mile away, they might
+have been in an uninhabited world of white.
+
+"Looks like Snowtop, sure enough," muttered Mouser, as he looked around.
+
+The conductor and the engineer, together with the trainmen, had gathered
+in a little group near the engine, and the boys edged closer in order to
+hear what they were saying.
+
+"It's no use," the grizzled old engineer was remarking. "The jig's up as
+far as Seventy-three is concerned. I tried to get the old girl to buck
+the drifts, but she couldn't do it."
+
+The boys thought it was no wonder that Seventy-three had gone on strike,
+as they noted that her cowcatcher was buried while the drift rose higher
+than her stack.
+
+"It's too bad," rejoined the conductor, shaking his head in a perplexed
+fashion. "I've been worrying about the gulch ever since it came on to
+snow so hard. It wouldn't have mattered so much if it hadn't been for
+the wind. That's slacked up some now, but the damage is done already."
+
+"What are you going to do, boss?" asked one of the trainmen.
+
+"You'll have to go back to the last station and wire up to the Junction
+for them to send the snow-plough down and clear the track," responded
+the conductor. "Get a hustle on now and ask them to send it along in a
+hurry."
+
+The trainman started back at as fast a pace as the snow permitted, and
+the engineer climbed back into his cab to get out of the wind while
+waiting for help. The conductor started back for the smoking car, and as
+he went past, Bobby ventured to speak to him.
+
+"How long do you think we'll have to wait here?" he inquired.
+
+"No telling, sonny," the conductor answered. "Perhaps a couple of hours,
+maybe longer. It all depends on how soon they can get that snow-plough
+down to us."
+
+He passed on and Mouser gave a low whistle.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" cried Fred, giving vent to his favorite exclamation.
+"Two long hours in this neck of the woods!"
+
+"And nothing to eat in sight," groaned Pee Wee.
+
+"I wish I'd let Meena put up that lunch for us this morning," said Bobby
+regretfully. "My mother wanted me to bring one along, but I was in a
+hurry and counted on getting something to eat at the railroad lunch
+station."
+
+"What are we going to do?" moaned Pee Wee.
+
+"Fill up on snowballs," suggested Mouser heartlessly.
+
+Pee Wee glared at him.
+
+"I'm almost as bad as Pee Wee," said Fred. "I feel as empty as though I
+hadn't had anything to eat for a week. I could eat the bark off a tree."
+
+"I tell you what, fellows," suggested Bobby, who was usually the leader
+when it came to action; "what do you say to going over to that farmhouse
+and trying to buy something to eat? I don't think they'd let us go away
+hungry."
+
+They followed the direction of his pointing finger, and new hope sprang
+up in them.
+
+"But it's an awful long way off," objected Pee Wee, whose fear of
+exertion was only second to his love of eating.
+
+"Have you got another stone bruise on your foot?" asked Mouser
+sarcastically.
+
+This was a standing joke among the boys. Whenever Pee Wee hung back from
+a walk or a run, he usually put forth the excuse of a stone bruise that
+made him lame for the time.
+
+"No, I haven't any stone bruise," Pee Wee rapped back at him, "but how
+do you know I didn't bark my shins when I had that tumble a few minutes
+ago?"
+
+He put on a pained look which might have deceived those who did not know
+him so well. But the steady stare of his comrades was too much for him
+to stand without wilting, and he had to join rather sheepishly in the
+laugh that followed.
+
+"You stay here then, Pee Wee, while we go over and get something to
+eat," suggested Fred. "We'll ask the farmer to bring you over something
+on a gold tray. He'll be glad to do it."
+
+"Oh, cut it out," grinned Pee Wee. "Go ahead and I'll follow."
+
+"Foxy boy, isn't he?" chuckled Fred. "He wants us to break out the path
+so that it will be easier for him."
+
+"I'd rather have Pee Wee go ahead," remarked Mouser. "He'd be better
+than any snow plough."
+
+With chaff and laughter they started out, Bobby leading the way and the
+rest following in single file. They had pulled their caps down over
+their ears and buttoned their coats tightly about their necks. Luckily
+for them the wind had moderated, although the snow still kept falling,
+but more lightly than before.
+
+They did not do much talking, for they needed all their breath to make
+their way through the drifts. As they had no path to guide them, they
+made straight across the fields, bumping every now and then into a fence
+that they had to climb. They were pretty well winded and panting hard
+when at last they reached the fence that bounded the spacious dooryard
+in front of the farmhouse.
+
+A big black dog came bounding down to the gate barking ferociously. The
+boys took comfort from the fact that the fence was high and that the dog
+was too big and heavy to leap over it.
+
+"He's glad to see us--I don't think," said Fred.
+
+"Seems to have a sweet disposition," muttered Pee Wee.
+
+"Let Mouser get to talking to him," suggested Bobby. "He'll tame him
+down in no time."
+
+Mouser, somewhat flattered, stepped forward. He had gained his nickname
+because he had a number of mice which he had taught to do all sorts of
+clever tricks. His fondness extended to all animals, and he had the
+remarkable power over them with which some people are gifted. No matter
+how savage or frightened they might be, they seemed to yield to his
+charm.
+
+It did not fail him now. He muttered some words soothingly to the dog,
+whose barking grew feebler. Soon it stopped altogether, and in another
+minute or two the brute was wagging his tail and poking his muzzle
+through the rails of the fence for Mouser to pat him.
+
+It was almost uncanny, and the boys held their breath as they watched
+the transformation.
+
+"It's all right now," said Mouser, lifting the latch of the gate. "Come
+along, fellows."
+
+"Gee whiz!" exclaimed Bobby. "How do you do it?"
+
+"You ought to be with a circus," said Fred in undisguised admiration.
+"You'd make a dandy lion tamer."
+
+Mouser was elated at the tribute, but accepted it modestly enough, and
+led the way up to the house, the dog prancing along with them in the
+most friendly manner.
+
+As they reached the door and were about to knock, it was opened, and a
+motherly looking woman appeared on the threshold. There was an
+expression of anxiety on her face.
+
+"Down, Tiger, down," she cried. Then as she saw the evident pleasure of
+the brute in the boys' company, her worried expression changed to one of
+surprise.
+
+"Mercy on us!" she exclaimed. "I was afraid the dog would eat you up.
+He's awfully savage, but we keep him on account of there being so many
+tramps around. I was upstairs when I heard him barking, and I hurried
+down as fast as I could, for I was sure he'd bite you if you came inside
+the gate."
+
+"Oh, Tiger's a good friend of mine, aren't you, Tiger?" laughed Mouser,
+as he stooped to caress the dog.
+
+Tiger licked his hand.
+
+"Well, I never saw anything like it," said their hostess. "I just can't
+understand it. But here I am keeping you standing outside when you must
+be half perished with the cold," she went on with quick sympathy. "Come
+right inside and get warm before you say another word."
+
+She led the way into a bright, cheerful sitting room, where there was a
+big wood fire blazing on the hearth. She bustled around and saw that
+they were comfortably seated before the fire. Then Bobby explained their
+errand.
+
+"I suppose we're sort of tramps ourselves," he said with the winning
+smile that always gained for him instant liking. "But we were on the
+train and it got stalled over there in the gulch on account of the snow.
+We hadn't brought any lunch with us and we thought we'd come over here
+and see if we could buy something to eat."
+
+"You poor starved boys!" she exclaimed with as ready a sympathy as
+though she had been the mother of them all. "Of course you can have all
+you want to eat. It's too early for dinner yet, as Mr. Wilson--that's my
+husband--went to town this morning and will be a little late in getting
+back. But I'll get up something for you right away. You just sit here
+and get warmed through and I'll have it on the table in a jiffy."
+
+"Don't go to too much trouble," put in Bobby. "Anything will do."
+
+She was off at once, and they heard the cheerful clatter of pans and
+dishes in the adjoining kitchen.
+
+The boys stretched out luxuriously before the fire and looked at each
+other in silent ecstasy.
+
+"Talk about luck," murmured Mouser.
+
+"All we want to eat," repeated Pee Wee.
+
+"She didn't know you when she said that," chaffed Fred. "I don't believe
+there's enough in the house to fill that contract."
+
+"Pee Wee will have to go some to get ahead of me," chimed in Bobby.
+
+A savory odor was soon wafted in from the kitchen. Pee Wee sat bolt
+upright and sniffed.
+
+"Say, fellows! do you smell that?" he asked. "If I'm dreaming, don't
+wake me up."
+
+"It's no dream," Mouser assured him. "It's something a good sight more
+real than that."
+
+Before long the door opened to reveal the smiling face of Mrs. Wilson.
+
+"All ready, boys," she announced cheerily. "Come right along."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER V
+
+                          THE TRAMPS' RETREAT
+
+
+The boys needed no second invitation. Even Pee Wee shook off his usual
+laziness. With a single impulse they sprang from their chairs and
+trooped out into the dining room.
+
+It seemed to the hungry boys as though nothing had ever looked so good
+as the meal that their hostess had provided for them. There was a huge
+dish of bacon and eggs, plates piled high with snowy, puffy biscuit,
+which, as Mrs. Wilson told them, she had "knocked together" in a hurry,
+smoking hot from the oven, a great platter of fried potatoes, and, to
+crown the feast, mince and apple and pumpkin pies whose flaky crusts
+seemed to fairly beg to be eaten.
+
+A simultaneous "ah-h" came from the boys, as they looked at the store of
+good things set before them, and the way they plunged into the meal was
+the sincerest tribute that could be paid to the cookery of their
+hostess. It brought a glow of pleasure into her kindly eyes and a happy
+flush to her cheeks. She fluttered about them like a hen over her
+chicks, renewing the dishes, pressing them to take more--a thing which
+was wholly unnecessary--and joining in their jokes and laughter. It is
+safe to say that a merrier meal had not been enjoyed in that old
+farmhouse for many a day.
+
+But even a meal like that had to come to an end at last, and it was with
+a sigh of perfect satisfaction that the boys finally sat back in their
+chairs and looked about at the complete wreck they had made of the
+viands.
+
+"Looks as if a whirlwind had passed this way," remarked Mouser.
+
+"I never enjoyed a meal so much," said Pee Wee.
+
+"Well, you're certainly a judge," laughed Fred. "When you say a meal's
+the limit you know what you're talking about. And this time I agree with
+you."
+
+"I'm glad you liked things," put in Mrs. Wilson. "It does me good to see
+the way you boys eat."
+
+"I'm afraid you wouldn't make much money if you had us as steady
+boarders," smiled Bobby.
+
+"Come right back to the living room and get yourselves warm as toast
+before you start out again in this wind," urged their hostess.
+
+"We'd like to ever so much," replied Bobby. "But I guess we'd better be
+getting along. Perhaps that snow plough will get down sooner than we
+thought, and everything's been so good here that I'm afraid perhaps
+we've stayed too long already."
+
+They wrapped themselves up warmly, and then Bobby as spokesman turned to
+their hostess.
+
+"How much do we owe you?" he asked, taking out his pocketbook, while the
+others prepared to do the same.
+
+"You don't owe me a cent!" declared Mrs. Wilson with emphasis.
+
+"Oh, but yes," rejoined Bobby, somewhat startled. "We couldn't think of
+letting you go to all that trouble and expense without paying for it."
+
+"I won't take a penny, bless your hearts," Mrs. Wilson repeated. "It's
+been a real joy to have you here. I haven't any children of my own, and
+the old place gets a bit lonesome at times. I haven't had such a good
+time for years as I've had this morning, seeing you eat so hearty and
+listening to your fun. I feel that I owe you a good deal more than you
+do me."
+
+She was firm in her determination, although the boys pressed the matter
+as far as they could without offending her. So they were forced at last
+to yield to her wishes and return the money to their pockets.
+
+It was with the warmest thanks that they left their kind-hearted hostess
+and went down the steps, Tiger accompanying them to the gate. He seemed
+to want to go further and whined softly when Mouser patted him good-bye.
+
+"Isn't she a prince?" said Pee Wee admiringly, as they waved their hands
+in farewell.
+
+"A princess you mean," corrected Mouser.
+
+"Have it your own way," retorted Pee Wee. "Whichever name's the best,
+she's that."
+
+They were in a high state of elation as they ploughed their way across
+the snowy fields. They were blissfully conscious of being, as Mouser put
+it, "full to the chin," and little else was needed at their age to make
+their happiness complete.
+
+But they were sharply awakened by the sound of a whistle.
+
+"That must be our train," cried Fred in alarm.
+
+"That's what it is," assented Bobby, quickening his pace. "We stayed a
+long time at the table, and the snow-plough must have come along sooner
+than they thought it would. Hurry, fellows, hurry!" and he tried to
+break into a run.
+
+The others followed his example, but the snow was too deep for that. It
+clung about their feet and legs until they felt that they were moving in
+a nightmare.
+
+"She's going, fellows!" shouted Mouser in despair, as a stream of smoke
+began to stretch out behind the moving train.
+
+"And all our bags and things are on board!" wailed Fred.
+
+"Now we're in a pretty mess," gasped Pee Wee, slumping down in the snow.
+
+There was no use in hurrying now, and they looked blankly at each other
+as they came to a full stop.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" howled Fred as the only way to relieve his feelings.
+
+"Well, I'll be jiggered!" exclaimed Mouser.
+
+Pee Wee was too tired out from his exertion to say anything, and Bobby,
+too, kept silent, though for a different reason. He was busy thinking of
+the best way to get out of the tangle.
+
+"There's no use in worrying about our baggage, fellows," he said at
+last. "Probably the conductor will take good care of that. And we may be
+able to send a telegram from some place telling the conductor to put our
+things off at Rockledge and leave them in care of the station agent
+there. What we've got to worry about is ourselves. We can't stay here,
+and we've got to find some way to get another train as soon as we can.
+Have any of you fellows got a time table?"
+
+"I had one," replied Mouser, "but it's in my bag on the train."
+
+None of the others had one and Bobby came to a quick decision.
+
+"There's no other way," he announced. "We'll have to go back and ask
+Mrs. Wilson. She'll know all about the trains and what's the best
+station for us to go to."
+
+They trudged back rather forlornly and explained their plight to Mrs.
+Wilson, who was full of sympathy.
+
+"I'd like to have you stay here all night," she volunteered, "and Mr.
+Wilson will take you over to the station in a rig to-morrow morning."
+
+They thanked her heartily, but explained that this was out of the
+question. They would be missed from the train, telegrams would be flying
+back and forth and their parents would be anxious and excited. They must
+get to some place where they could either telegraph or, better yet, get
+a train that would land them in Rockledge that afternoon or evening.
+
+"I'll tell you what to do," she suggested, as a thought struck her. "You
+can't get a train on this line you've been traveling on until very late
+to-night. But there's another road that crosses this at a junction about
+two miles from here and connects with the main line that goes on to
+Rockledge. There's an afternoon train on that line that you'll have
+plenty of time to make, and it will land you in Rockledge before night.
+There's a telegraph office there too, and you can send any messages you
+like before you board the train."
+
+"That's just the very thing," cried Bobby with enthusiasm.
+
+"Just what the doctor ordered," chuckled Mouser.
+
+She gave them very careful directions for finding the station, and as
+there was none too much time and the walking was bound to be slow they
+set out at once, after thanking their friend for having come a second
+time to their relief.
+
+Their path led for the most part through a wood and they passed no other
+houses on their way. Even in summer it was evident that the locality was
+wild and deserted. Now with the snow over everything it was especially
+desolate.
+
+"You might almost think you were up in the Big Woods," commented Mouser.
+
+"That's what," agreed Fred. "It would be a dandy place for train robbers
+and that kind of fellows."
+
+"I'd hate to be wandering around here at night," remarked Pee Wee, who
+was panting with the exertion of keeping up with the others.
+
+"It would give one a sort of creepy feeling, like being in a cemetery,"
+assented Bobby.
+
+Suddenly Fred uttered an exclamation.
+
+"There's a little house right over in that hollow," he cried, pointing
+to the right.
+
+"More like a hut or a shack than a regular house, seems to me," grunted
+Mouser.
+
+"I don't believe there's any one living there," commented Pee Wee.
+
+"Yes, there must be," declared Bobby. "I can see the light of a fire
+shining through the window."
+
+The hut in question was a dilapidated structure of only one story that
+stood in a little hollow just off the road. It was in the last stages of
+decay and looked as though a strong wind would blow it to pieces. There
+were no fences nor barn nor any wagon or farm implement in sight.
+
+Yet that some one lived in the crazy shack was evident, as Bobby had
+said, by the red light that came flickeringly through the only window
+that the cabin possessed.
+
+"Let's stop there for a minute and get warm," suggested Fred. "Then,
+too, we can make sure that we're still on the right road to the
+station."
+
+"What's the use?" cautioned Bobby. "We got left once to-day by stopping
+too long."
+
+"It will only take a minute," urged Fred.
+
+As the others also wanted to stop, and Bobby did not wish to insist too
+much, they all went down into the hollow together.
+
+The snow of course deadened their footsteps, so that whoever was in the
+cabin had no notice of their approach.
+
+Fred, who was in advance, rapped on the door.
+
+There was silence for a moment and then the door swung open and a rough
+looking man appeared on the sill.
+
+"What do you want?" he asked gruffly.
+
+"We wanted to ask directions about the road," said Fred, a little
+dismayed by the fellow's surly manner.
+
+The man looked them over for a moment, noticed that they were well
+dressed and hesitated no longer.
+
+"Come in," he said briefly, and stood aside for them to pass.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER VI
+
+                               HEAVY ODDS
+
+
+Although feeling rather uneasy because of the man's rough manner, the
+boys hardly saw what they could do but accept the invitation, and they
+went inside. The next moment they wished they had not.
+
+There were two other men within the hut besides the one who had opened
+the door. They were seated at a bare pine table, and on the table there
+was a bottle of liquor. There seemed to be no other furniture in the
+miserable room, except a rusty wood stove, which was at white heat, two
+or three stools and a pile of hay in the corner, which evidently served
+as a bed.
+
+The heat inside was stifling, and the room was rank with the fumes of
+liquor. The unshaven faces of the men were flushed, their eyes red and
+bleared, and a greasy pack of cards told of their occupation when they
+had been interrupted.
+
+"Tramps," whispered Bobby to Fred, who was nearest. "Let's get out of
+this."
+
+"You bet," returned Fred, as he made a motion toward the door.
+
+But the man who had let them in now stood with his back against the
+closed door, looking at them with an ugly grin on his face, a face which
+was made still more repellant by a livid scar up near the temple.
+
+"What do these young buckos want here?" asked one of the men at the
+table, rising and coming toward them. As he did so, Bobby noticed that
+he limped a trifle.
+
+"We stopped in for a minute to ask if we were on the right road to the
+station," said Bobby in a tone which he tried to render as careless as
+possible.
+
+"You did, eh?" said the man. "Well, just wait a minute and I'll tell
+you."
+
+He and his companion approached their comrade at the door, and for a few
+moments there was a whispered conversation. Then the man with the scar,
+who seemed to be the leader of the gang, turned to Bobby.
+
+"You're on the right road all right," he said.
+
+"Thank you," returned Bobby. "Then I guess we'll be getting on."
+
+The man laughed at this.
+
+"Guess again, young feller," said one of them.
+
+"What's your hurry?" asked the lame man.
+
+"We don't often have such nice young kids drop in to keep us company,"
+sneered the man with the scar. "Take off your hats and stay awhile."
+
+The boys' hearts sank. They no longer had any doubts of the evil
+intentions of the men who held them virtually prisoners. They had fallen
+into a den of thieves.
+
+"We're going now," declared Bobby, in a last desperate attempt to bluff
+the matter through, "and if you try to stop us it will be the worse for
+you."
+
+The men laughed uproariously.
+
+"A fine young turkey cock he is!" croaked one of them. "We'll have to
+cut his comb for him."
+
+"You'll get your own cut first," shouted Fred, who was blazing with
+anger. "Don't forget that there are policemen and jails for just such
+fellows as you are."
+
+"Shut up, Redhead," commanded the scar-faced man, adding insult to
+injury.
+
+Then his jocular manner passed and was replaced by a wicked snarl.
+
+"Hand over what money you've got in your pockets," he commanded, "and
+turn your pockets inside out. Do it quick too, or we'll skin you alive."
+
+There was no mistaking the menace in his tone. He was in deadly earnest
+and his eyes shone like those of a beast of prey.
+
+There was nothing to do but to obey. His victims were trapped and
+helpless. They were only eleven year old boys, and were no match
+physically even for one such burly ruffian. Against three, resistance
+would have been ridiculous.
+
+Boiling with inward rage, they slowly and sullenly handed over the
+contents of their pockets. None of them had any great amount of
+money--only a few dollars for spending allowance. But taken altogether
+it made quite a respectable sum, over which the robbers gloated with
+evident satisfaction. Probably their chief calculation was the amount of
+liquor it would buy for their spree.
+
+But even with this the thieves were not content. Bobby's silver watch, a
+scarf pin of Mouser's, Fred's seal ring and Pee Wee's gold sleeve
+buttons went to swell the pile. They even carried their meanness so far
+as to rob the lads of their railroad tickets. Then when they found that
+there was nothing else worth the plucking, the leader opened the door.
+
+"Now beat it," he growled, "and thank your lucky stars that we didn't
+swipe your clothes."
+
+Half blinded with wrath, the crestfallen boys climbed out of the hollow
+and into the road which they had left in such high spirits a few minutes
+before. They had been stripped clean. If their outer clothing had fitted
+any of the rascals they would have probably lost that too. They were
+utterly forlorn and downhearted.
+
+If they had lost their possessions after a hot resistance against those
+who were anyway near their age and size, there would at least have been
+the exhilaration of the fight. But even that poor compensation was
+denied them. The odds had been too overwhelming even to think of a
+struggle.
+
+At first they could not even speak to each other. When they attempted to
+find words they were so mad that they could only splutter.
+
+"The skunks!" Fred managed to get out at last.
+
+"The low down brutes," growled Mouser.
+
+"Every cent gone," groaned Pee Wee. "And those sleeve buttons were a
+Christmas gift from my mother."
+
+"And that silver watch was one my father gave me on my last birthday,"
+muttered Bobby thickly.
+
+"If they'd only left us our railroad tickets!" mourned Fred.
+
+"That was the dirtiest trick of all," put in Mouser. "You can understand
+why they took the money and jewelry. But they probably don't have any
+idea in the world of using the tickets."
+
+"Likely enough by this time they've torn them up and thrown them into
+the fire," Pee Wee conjectured.
+
+"Don't speak the word, 'fire,'" said Bobby. "If we hadn't seen the light
+of it through the window, we wouldn't have gone in there at all."
+
+"It was all my fault," moaned Fred. "What a fool stunt it was of me to
+want to stop there anyway."
+
+Bobby could easily have said, "I told you so," but that was not Bobby's
+way.
+
+"It wasn't anybody's fault," he said. "It was just our hard luck. We
+might have done it a thousand times and found only decent people there
+each time."
+
+"Lucky I gave that dime to Betty this morning anyway," grunted Fred.
+"That's one thing the thieves didn't get."
+
+The remark struck the boys as so comical that they broke into laughter.
+It was the one thing needed to relieve the tension. It cleared the air
+and all felt better.
+
+"Talk about looking on the bright side of things," chuckled Pee Wee.
+
+"You're a wonder as a little cheerer-up," commented Mouser.
+
+"That's looking at the doughnut instead of seeing only the hole in the
+doughnut," laughed Bobby.
+
+After all they were alive and unharmed. The thieves might have beaten
+them up or tied them in the cabin while they made their escape.
+
+"Things might have been a great deal worse," said Bobby cheerfully,
+putting their thoughts into words. "The money didn't amount to so much
+after all, and our folks will send us more. And we may be able to have
+the tramps arrested and get back our other things. We'll telegraph just
+as soon as we get to--"
+
+But here he stopped short in dismay.
+
+"We haven't even money enough to pay for the message!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Perhaps the station man will trust us," suggested Fred.
+
+"I think there's a way of sending messages so that the folks who get
+them pay on the other end," said Pee Wee hopefully.
+
+None of the boys were very clear on this point, but it offered a ray of
+cheer.
+
+"We won't need to send more than one message anyway," said practical
+Bobby as they trudged along. "Some of our folks might be away and there
+might be some delay in getting to them. But I know that my father is at
+home and I'll just ask him to send on enough money for the bunch of us.
+Then you fellows can square it up with me afterwards."
+
+They had reached the outskirts of a village now and the walking had
+become easier. They quickened their pace and soon came in sight of the
+station.
+
+"There it is!" cried Fred, and the boys broke into a run.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VII
+
+                           PAYING AN OLD DEBT
+
+
+As Bobby's watch had been the only one in the party, the boys had not
+been able to keep track of the time during the latter part of their
+journey, and they were a little fearful that they might be late for
+their train.
+
+They were relieved therefore to learn they were in plenty of time. The
+train was not regularly due for half an hour, and owing to the snowstorm
+it would probably be an hour or more behind time.
+
+The station agent at Roseville, as the town was named, had charge of the
+telegraph office as well. He was a kindly man and listened with the
+greatest sympathy to the boys' story. His indignation at the robbers was
+hot, and he promised to put the constable on their trail at once.
+
+"It's a beastly outrage," he stormed. "That old deserted shack has been
+too handy for fellows of that kind. They make it a regular hang-out.
+We'll clean out the gang and burn the place to the ground. I've got to
+stay here now until after the train leaves, but as soon as it's gone,
+I'll get busy."
+
+He assured them that he would send on the telegram to be paid for at the
+other end, and the boys, possessing themselves of some blanks, withdrew
+to a quiet corner to prepare the message.
+
+It proved to be a matter requiring some thought, and several blanks were
+cast aside before it suited them.
+
+"You see," said Bobby, as he sat frowning over his stub of a pencil, "I
+don't want to scare the folks to death by telling them we've been
+robbed. They'd think that perhaps we'd been hurt besides and were
+keeping it quiet so as not to worry 'em. We can write 'em a letter
+afterward and tell 'em all about it."
+
+The final outcome of their combined efforts stated the matter with
+sufficient clearness:
+
+    Lost money and tickets. All safe and sound. Please telegraph
+    twenty dollars to me, care station agent, Roseville. Will
+    explain in letter.
+
+                                                              Bobby.
+
+This suited them all, though Fred suggested that they might save by
+cutting out the "please." He was voted down however, and the telegram
+was handed through the office window and put on the wire at once.
+
+This being attended to, there was nothing to do but to wait. Then a new
+worry assailed them.
+
+"How long do you think it will be before we can get an answer?" asked
+Mouser.
+
+"Not very long," replied Bobby confidently.
+
+"The message must be in Clinton this very minute," chimed in Pee Wee.
+
+"Yes, but that's the least part of it," remarked Fred. "It will have to
+be carried up to your house from the station and I've heard my father
+say that Claxton isn't as quick about those things as he ought to be.
+Sometimes he gets Bailey to deliver for him, and you know what an old
+slow-poke he is."
+
+"And even when it gets to the house your father may be downtown and your
+mother may be out sleigh riding or visiting or something," observed
+Mouser gloomily.
+
+"And then too, it will take some time for your father to get down to the
+telegraph office and send the money," was Pee Wee's contribution.
+
+"Oh, stop your croaking, you fellows," cried Bobby. "I'm sure everything
+will be all right." But, just the same, their doleful suggestions made
+him a little uneasy, and he fidgeted about as he watched the hands of
+the station clock.
+
+"There's another thing," observed Mouser, returning to the charge.
+"Suppose now--just suppose--that the money doesn't get to us before the
+train starts, what are we going to do?"
+
+"Then we'll be stuck," admitted Bobby. "And we'll have to do a whole lot
+more telegraphing to Rockledge telling them that we can't get there till
+to-morrow. But even if the money is late, it's sure to come. We can pay
+for our meals and lodging over night and won't have to go to the
+poorhouse."
+
+"Lucky we got such a dandy feed at Mrs. Wilson's anyway," remarked Pee
+Wee. "That will keep us going until the money comes."
+
+"It was mighty good of her to give us such a meal and not charge a cent
+for it," said Mouser.
+
+"Free meals for five hungry boys," murmured Fred.
+
+"Five!" exclaimed Pee Wee in surprise. "Why, there were only four of
+us."
+
+"Yes," replied Fred, "but you counted for two."
+
+Pee Wee made a rush toward him, but Fred dodged adroitly.
+
+Just then, Mouser, who was looking out of the station window, gave a
+sudden exclamation.
+
+"Look here, fellows," he cried. "See who's coming!"
+
+They crowded together, looking over his shoulder.
+
+"Why, it's Tommy Stone!" ejaculated Bobby.
+
+"He must be going back to Belden School," added Fred.
+
+"And that's his father with him, I guess," put in Pee Wee.
+
+Tommy Stone was a boy who had played quite a part in the lives of Bobby
+and Fred a few months before. He had run away from home to go out West
+to "fight Indians." He had taken his father's pocketbook with him,
+intending to use only enough to pay his fare and send the rest back.
+
+Unluckily for the young Indian fighter--or rather luckily, as it turned
+out--he lost the pocketbook out of the car window. Bobby and Fred were
+standing by the side of the track as the train went thundering past, and
+the wallet fell almost at their feet. They picked it up and were wildly
+excited when they found that it contained no less than four hundred
+dollars.
+
+The boys had dreams of unlimited ice-cream and soda water as the result
+of their find. Still they and their parents made earnest effort to find
+the owner, but as the days passed by and no claimant appeared it looked
+as though the money would become the boys' property.
+
+Late in the fall, Bobby and Fred rescued a small boy from the clutches
+of some larger boys who were amusing themselves by tormenting him. The
+boy turned out to be Tommy Stone. He had been brought back after his
+runaway and sent to Belden School, which was not far from Rockledge.
+Tommy had heard that the boys had found a pocketbook and suspected that
+it was the one that he had lost. He made a clean breast of it, and the
+money was restored to its rightful owner. Mr. Stone wanted to reward the
+boys handsomely, but their parents would not permit them to accept a
+money reward, and Mr. Stone compromised by sending them the material for
+a royal feast at Rockledge.
+
+As for Tommy, he had an interview with his father, the nature of which
+can be guessed at by Tommy's statement afterward that he could not sit
+down for a week unless he had pillows under him.
+
+"He doesn't look like an Indian killer," laughed Mouser.
+
+"Not so that you could notice it," chuckled Pee Wee.
+
+"I don't see any scalps at his belt," grinned Fred.
+
+Tommy caught sight of the boys as he entered the station, and ran
+forward to meet them with exclamations of pleasure and surprise. Mr.
+Stone looked curiously at the group but said nothing, and went over to
+the agent's window to buy his son's ticket.
+
+"What in the world are you fellows doing here?" cried Tommy.
+
+"We're just as much surprised to see you as you are to see us," replied
+Bobby, with a smile.
+
+"On your way to Belden?" inquired Fred.
+
+"Yep," answered Tommy, making a wry face, "and I'm not any too glad,
+either. I've never liked that school. The big fellows are all the time
+taking it out on the little ones."
+
+"You ought to get your father to let you come to Rockledge," suggested
+Bobby.
+
+"Then you'd be going to a real school," remarked Fred, who felt to the
+full the traditional rivalry between Rockledge and its chief rival.
+
+"Not but what we've got some bullies of our own," put in Pee Wee.
+
+"Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, for instance," observed Mouser.
+
+"I'd like first rate to change," admitted Tommy, "and perhaps next year
+I can. But my father has all his arrangements made now, and I'll have to
+stick it out at Belden for the rest of this term."
+
+"Is that your father over there?" asked Bobby.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Looks as though he had a good right arm," said Fred slyly.
+
+"I'll bet he's practiced with it out in the woodshed," put in Pee Wee.
+
+"What's the price of strap oil, Tommy?" inquired Mouser.
+
+Tommy winced a little at the chaffing. It was evidently a painful
+subject.
+
+Bobby came to his rescue.
+
+"Oh, cut it out, fellows," he remonstrated. "We all make mistakes
+sometimes."
+
+Tommy flashed him a grateful look.
+
+"Yes," he agreed. "But you can bet that I'm not going to make the same
+mistake twice."
+
+"That's the way to talk," rejoined Bobby heartily.
+
+Mr. Stone had completed his purchase and now strolled over to the group.
+He had never seen the boys before, as the return of the pocketbook had
+been made by Mr. Blake.
+
+"Some young friends of yours, Tommy?" he asked, with a genial smile.
+
+"Yes, sir," Tommy answered. "They go to Rockledge School, right on the
+other side of the lake from Belden."
+
+He introduced the boys by name, and Mr. Stone pricked up his ears as he
+heard the names, "Blake" and "Martin."
+
+"What!" he exclaimed. "Can this be the Bobby Blake and Fred Martin who
+found my pocketbook and sent it back to me?"
+
+"That's who they are," replied Tommy, flushing.
+
+Mr. Stone took the boys' hands in both of his and wrung them warmly.
+
+"Well this is a bit of luck," he said heartily. "I can't tell you boys
+how glad I am to see you. I've often wanted to lay eyes on the boys who
+could find four hundred dollars and never rest till they got the money
+back to the owner."
+
+"Oh, that was nothing," answered Bobby, who always felt embarrassed when
+any one praised him.
+
+"It was the only thing to do," added Fred, his face getting almost as
+red as his hair.
+
+"All the same, there are lots of boys who would never have said a word
+about it," persisted Mr. Stone. "I've always felt sorry that your folks
+wouldn't let me show my gratitude by making you boys a present of
+something that would have been worth while."
+
+"You did give us the stuff for a dandy spread."
+
+"Some spread that was too, fellows," put in Pee Wee. "I was in on that
+and it was just scrumptious."
+
+"Trust Pee Wee to remember spreads if he never remembers anything else,"
+laughed Mouser.
+
+Mr. Stone's eyes twinkled as he took in Pee Wee's generous proportions.
+
+"Well, I'm glad if you enjoyed it," he smiled. "But tell me now how you
+boys find yourselves here. I thought you traveled by the road that runs
+through Clinton."
+
+"So we do," replied Bobby, and started to relate the occurrences of the
+morning.
+
+"I see," said Mr. Stone, interrupting before Bobby had got very far into
+his story. "And then you found out you could get a train on this road
+and tramped over here. Well, you won't have long to wait now, for the
+train will be along in a few minutes."
+
+"But that isn't all," put in Fred.
+
+"No?" queried Mr. Stone. "What else is there?"
+
+"We were robbed on the way," answered Fred.
+
+Mr. Stone gasped and Tommy showed symptoms of great excitement. Robbed!
+It was almost as good as Indians.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER VIII
+
+                         THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY
+
+
+Mr. Stone sank down into a seat.
+
+"Robbed!" he repeated. "Now tell me just what you mean."
+
+In simple words the boys told how they had been held up and despoiled by
+the tramps.
+
+Mr. Stone could hardly restrain his rage.
+
+"It's the most atrocious and cowardly thing I've heard of for a long
+time," he ejaculated. "To think of those scoundrels robbing you of
+everything you had, even your railroad tickets! They ought to be drawn
+and quartered."
+
+The boys were rather hazy as to what drawing and quartering involved,
+but they heartily agreed with him.
+
+"I'll have to get busy at once!" Mr. Stone exclaimed, jumping to his
+feet. "There isn't a minute to lose. Those rascals will know that the
+officers will be after them as soon as you tell your story and they'll
+be planning to clear out. They may have started already, for all we
+know. I'll get the constable and some other men after them and I'll go
+along to do all I can to put the thieves in jail.
+
+"But first," he went on, "I'll have to fix up you boys. The train will
+be along in a few minutes. I'll get your tickets for you and give you
+plenty of money besides to get on with."
+
+"I've already telegraphed for money and I'm expecting it every minute,"
+put in Bobby.
+
+"That's all right, but we can't take chances on that. It may not come in
+time for you to catch the train. I'll look after the telegram if it
+comes after you leave, and see that it's sent on to you."
+
+"Of course our folks will make this all right with you," said Fred who,
+like Bobby himself, hated to be under any money obligation.
+
+"That's understood," assented Mr. Stone. "I'll send them a bill."
+
+But from the whimsical droop at the corner of his mouth it was evident
+that if the boys' fathers waited for a bill from Mr. Stone they would
+wait a long time.
+
+He hurried over to the window of the agent's office and bought four
+additional tickets for Rockledge.
+
+"Take these and distribute them among the other boys," he said, as he
+handed them to Bobby. "And here's some money to get on with until you
+hear from your folks," he added, thrusting a number of bills in his
+hand.
+
+"It's awfully good of you, Mr. Stone," replied Bobby, as he put them in
+his pocket. "I don't know how to thank you enough. I'll keep careful
+account and see that you get it back to the last cent."
+
+"Don't worry about that," rejoined Mr. Stone. "I'm only paying back an
+old debt, and even at that I still owe you a lot. Now you boys go right
+ahead and forget all your troubles. I'll take full charge of the answer
+to your telegram and see that it gets to you all right.
+
+"I'd like to stay with you until the train leaves," he went on, "but as
+I said before, every minute is precious now if we want to have any
+chance to nab those villains who robbed you. I'll hustle up the
+constable and I'll let you know later how we come out."
+
+He gave Tommy a kiss and a hug, waved good-bye to the others in a
+gesture that included them all, and went out of the door. Through the
+window they could see him going briskly up the village street in a walk
+that was almost a run.
+
+The boys, left alone, looked gleefully at each other.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" shouted Fred, as he threw his cap to the ceiling.
+
+"All our troubles are over now," exulted Pee Wee.
+
+"Isn't he a brick?" demanded Bobby gratefully.
+
+"Reminds me of the bread cast upon the waters that our minister was
+talking about last Sunday," remarked Mouser. "He said it would come back
+to you after many days, and by ginger I believe it now."
+
+"It's more than bread," gloated Pee Wee. "It's cake."
+
+"If Pee Wee says it's cake, it _is_ cake," mocked Fred. "There's nobody
+knows more than he does about things to eat."
+
+They were now all as full of good spirits as they had formerly been full
+of misery. They had found that their cloud had a silver lining. In fact
+there was not a cloud any longer. It had broken away entirely.
+
+Their satisfaction was still greater when, a few minutes later, they saw
+two sleighs sweep past the station and take the direction that led
+toward the cabin in the woods. There were three determined-looking men
+in each sleigh, and among them they recognized the stalwart figure of
+Mr. Stone.
+
+"They're after them already," cried Fred joyfully. "Gee whiz, Tommy!
+your father is some hustler."
+
+"He sure is," assented Tommy proudly.
+
+"Here's hoping that they catch the thieves!" exclaimed Mouser.
+
+"Wouldn't it be bully!" cried Bobby. "I sure am crazy to get back my
+watch."
+
+"And my scarf pin."
+
+"And my sleeve buttons."
+
+"And my seal ring."
+
+The boys watched the sleighs intently until they were drawn out of
+sight.
+
+"What do you suppose they'll do to the thieves if they catch them?"
+wondered Bobby.
+
+"I don't know," said Mouser, whose notions of legal procedure were
+woefully indistinct. "Hang them, maybe."
+
+"Not so bad as that," objected Pee Wee. "But I'll bet they get a good
+long term in jail."
+
+"Perhaps they'll be drawn and quartered, as Mr. Stone said they ought to
+be," said Fred hopefully. "What do you suppose that means anyway,
+fellows?"
+
+"I'm not sure," answered Bobby, "but I guess it means to be cut up into
+quarters."
+
+"They can cut them up into eighths for all I care," rejoined Fred
+vindictively. "Especially that fellow who called me red-head."
+
+"Well, what if he did?" said Pee Wee mischievously. "He only told the
+truth, didn't he?"
+
+"What difference does that make?" flared up Fred, who was rather
+sensitive on the subject. "You wouldn't like to be called a pig because
+you're as fat as one, would you?"
+
+"Here, fellows, cut out your scrapping," soothed Bobby.
+
+"Let's agree that Pee Wee's as thin as a rail and Fred's hair is as
+black as ink," suggested Mouser. "Then we'll all be happy."
+
+In the general laugh that followed, the rumpled feathers were smoothed
+and all differences forgotten.
+
+A moment later the whistle of the train was heard in the distance.
+
+"Here she comes!" cried Mouser.
+
+"I'm sorry that telegram hasn't come yet," murmured Bobby regretfully.
+
+"Guess old Bailey's rheumatism made him slow in getting up to the
+house," suggested Fred.
+
+"Well, don't let's worry," observed Pee Wee, who was always ready to
+shunt his responsibilities to the shoulders of somebody else. "Mr. Stone
+will look after that."
+
+The boys boarded the train and sank back into their seats with a sigh of
+relief. Their troubles were over. They had been under a strain that
+would have been trying even to those much older than these
+eleven-year-old boys.
+
+"I never thought I'd be cheering for going back to school," remarked
+Fred. "But I'm ready to do it now. All together, fellows:
+
+"Hurrah for Rockledge!"
+
+They shouted it with a will.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER IX
+
+                            A COWARDLY TRICK
+
+
+"We seem to have this car almost all to ourselves," remarked Mouser,
+looking around.
+
+"We ought to call it the Rockledge Special," laughed Pee Wee.
+
+"Perhaps Tommy might object to that," said Bobby.
+
+"Go as far as you like," grinned Tommy.
+
+The travel was indeed very light on that particular day. There were only
+six or eight people scattered through the car. This was due in part to
+the snowstorm. Nobody would do much traveling on such a day unless it
+was absolutely necessary.
+
+Half-way down the car, and on the other side of the aisle, a very old
+man was seated. He was evidently traveling alone. His hair was gray and
+scanty and his face was seamed with wrinkles. It was clear that he was
+very tired, and every once in a while his head would drop on his breast
+in a doze from which he would awake with a start at any sudden jar of
+the train.
+
+"It's too bad that such an old man should have to be going on a journey
+all alone," remarked Bobby with quick sympathy.
+
+"Yes," agreed Fred. "He must be awful old. He looks as if he was as much
+as eighty."
+
+"He's a Grand Army man too," observed Mouser. "You can see that from the
+hat he has there up in the rack."
+
+"He may be going to visit some of his children," suggested Pee Wee.
+
+"More likely he's going to the Old Soldiers' Home," conjectured Bobby.
+"You know there is one a little way the other side of Rockledge."
+
+"I'll bet he could tell some mighty good stories about the war," said
+Fred.
+
+"I'd like to see all that he has seen," mused Bobby.
+
+"Or do all that he has done," added Mouser. "It must be great to have
+been in a big war like that."
+
+"Maybe he was at Gettysburg," guessed Pee Wee.
+
+"Or marched with Grant or Sherman," chimed in Fred.
+
+Their youthful imaginations quickened as they recalled the exciting
+scenes in which the veteran might have played a part, and they had a
+deep respect for him now as he sat there in his old age and weakness.
+
+"I'd almost like to go up and get him to talking," ventured Fred. "We
+might get him started on the war. It's all very well to read about it,
+but there's nothing like hearing from one who has been through it."
+
+"I don't think I would if I were you," objected Bobby. "He's probably
+too tired to do much talking and would rather be left alone."
+
+"There's another fellow going up to him now," replied Fred, "and I'll
+bet he'll get some good stories out of him."
+
+He indicated a large overgrown boy who seemed to be about fourteen years
+old. Up to now, he had been seated on the other side of the aisle from
+the veteran. But now he had risen and gone over in his direction. But
+instead of slipping into the seat beside him, as the boys had expected,
+he sat down in the seat directly behind him.
+
+"Guess again, Fred," laughed Pee Wee good-naturedly.
+
+"Everybody's hunches go wrong sometimes," answered Fred defensively.
+
+"What's the fellow up to anyway?" asked Mouser, with a sudden stirring
+of curiosity.
+
+The newcomer seemed to have a long feather in his hand such as is
+commonly used in feather dusters. While the old man's head drooped in a
+doze, the boy reached over and tickled the back of the old man's neck
+with the tip of the feather.
+
+The veteran reached up his hand fretfully as though to brush away a fly
+that was annoying him. The boy drew back and snickered audibly.
+
+The boys looked at each other indignantly.
+
+"What do you think of that?" demanded Mouser.
+
+"Queer sense of fun some people have," snorted Pee Wee.
+
+"He's a cheap skate," declared Fred angrily.
+
+"He ought to have a thrashing," exclaimed Bobby.
+
+Several times the scene was repeated, and the would-be joker was in high
+glee at the success of his trick.
+
+At last the old man gave up the attempt to sleep, and straightened up
+wearily in his seat.
+
+The joker looked around the car as though seeking for applause, but the
+silly grin on his face stiffened into a scowl as he met only
+contemptuous glances.
+
+But his delicate sense of humor was not yet exhausted. The old man rose
+from his seat to go to the back of the car to get a drink of water. As
+he passed the fellow's seat, the latter reached out the tip of his foot.
+The veteran tripped against it, stumbled and had all he could do to keep
+from falling by clutching the back of a seat.
+
+This was the last straw and the boys were furious. By a common impulse
+they sprang out of their seats and went quickly down the aisle to where
+the fellow was sitting.
+
+"You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" snapped Bobby.
+
+"You're too mean to live!" blazed out Fred.
+
+"A fellow that'll torment an old man like that ought to be tarred and
+feathered," blurted Mouser.
+
+"And ridden on a rail," finished Pee Wee.
+
+The fellow looked at them with surprise that was mingled with alarm as
+he noted their wrathful faces. He jumped up and stood with his back
+toward the window.
+
+Now that they saw him at closer range, their first impression of him was
+confirmed. He was strong and muscular, but the strength of his body was
+belied by the weakness of his face. It was a thoroughly mean face,
+pallid and unhealthy looking, with a loose mouth and shifty eyes that
+dropped when you looked straight into them.
+
+"What's the matter with you boobs?" he demanded, in a voice that he
+tried to make threatening. "You'd better mind your own business. Who
+asked you to butt in?"
+
+"We didn't need any asking," replied Bobby. "We saw what you did to that
+old man. You seemed to think it was funny, but we think it's mean and
+sneaking."
+
+"And you've got to stop it," put in Fred.
+
+"It will be the worse for you if you don't," added Mouser.
+
+"I'll do just exactly what I want to do," was the ugly reply, "and I'd
+like to see you Buttinskis stop me."
+
+"We'll stop you quick enough," said Bobby, "and the first thing we're
+going to do is to make you change your seat."
+
+"Oh, you own the car, do you? I've paid my fare on this train and I'll
+sit anywhere I want to. Any one would think you were president of the
+road to hear you talk."
+
+"We'll do something besides talk in a minute," Mouser came back at him.
+
+"What'll you do?" jeered the bully, though his voice now was getting
+unsteady as he saw that the boys were in earnest.
+
+Fred leaned forward, snatched the fellow's cap from his head and threw
+it in a seat some distance away.
+
+"Follow your hat and you'll find your seat," he cried.
+
+The fellow started forward in a rage, but just then the conductor came
+into the car. He came forward briskly.
+
+"Here, none of this!" he exclaimed. "You boys mustn't do any scrapping
+on this train. Get back in your seats now, all of you, and behave
+yourselves."
+
+The boys slowly obeyed, although Fred, whose fighting blood was up, had
+to be urged along a little by the others.
+
+"No sense in not minding the conductor," counseled Bobby. "We've carried
+our point and that's enough."
+
+They had indeed carried their point, for the fellow, having regained his
+cap, slumped down in the seat where Fred had thrown it, and for the rest
+of the trip the old man was left in peace.
+
+Nor did the bully try to get even for his discomfiture. But if looks
+could kill, the boys would surely have been withered up by the angry
+glances he shot at them from time to time.
+
+"He's a sweet specimen, isn't he?" chuckled Mouser.
+
+"A nice thing to have around the house," commented Pee Wee.
+
+"He'd brighten it up on rainy days," laughed Bobby.
+
+"A cute little cut-up, all right," affirmed Fred.
+
+"I'd hate to have him at Rockledge," said Mouser.
+
+"Perhaps he's going there, for all we know," Pee Wee suggested.
+
+"I hope not!" exclaimed Fred. "Bronson and Jinks are about all we can
+stand as it is."
+
+"Wouldn't Bronson and Jinks be glad to have him there?" said Bobby.
+"They'd be as thick as peas in a pod in less than no time."
+
+But further comment was cut short by the brake man throwing open the
+door and shouting:
+
+"All out for Rockledge!"
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER X
+
+                            ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL
+
+
+The boys reached instinctively for their bags. Then they remembered that
+they had none, and looked at each other with a sheepish grin on their
+faces.
+
+"Nothing doing in that line," mourned Fred. "I wonder if we'll find them
+in the station."
+
+They stepped off the platform into a crowd of their schoolmates, who had
+come down to welcome them. There they were, shouting and laughing and
+all talking at once--Billy Bassett, Jimmy Ailshine, "Sparrow" Bangs,
+Howell Purdy and a host of others. They fairly mobbed the newcomers and
+were for dragging them off at once to the trolley car that ran to the
+school. But the boys explained that they first had to look after their
+missing baggage and they all trooped into the station.
+
+"Haven't we got a lot to tell you fellows!" exclaimed Mouser. "You just
+wait till you hear it all!"
+
+"Caught in a snowslide," volunteered Pee Wee.
+
+"Held up by tramps," declared Fred.
+
+"Robbed of all we had," added Bobby.
+
+These tantalizing bits of information only served to whet the appetite
+for more. Their friends crowded around them open-eyed, and questions
+shot out at them like bullets from guns. The boys suddenly found
+themselves exalted to the rank of heroes. But they bore their honors
+meekly enough, although they were almost bursting with the feeling of
+their importance.
+
+They were delighted to find their missing bags and suit-cases waiting
+for them. The conductor had known the station their tickets called for,
+and had left the articles in the care of the Rockledge station agent.
+
+There was a telegram too from Mr. Blake to Bobby. He had wired the money
+to Roseville and Mr. Stone had seen to it that it was sent on to Bobby
+at Rockledge. Mr. Blake's telegram was a lengthy one and full of
+anxiety. In it he told Bobby to wire at once on his arrival at
+Rockledge, which Bobby promptly did.
+
+Mr. Stone had sent a separate telegram also on his own account. He
+stated briefly that the robbers had not yet been caught, but that the
+police were busily hunting for them and hoped to get them soon.
+
+"Well," sighed Bobby, as he folded up the telegram, "I suppose all we
+can do is to watch and wait."
+
+"Wait for the watch you mean," laughed Mouser.
+
+"Now don't start anything like that," grinned Fred. "You'll start Billy
+Bassett going if you do, and I can see that he's got a lot of conundrums
+all ready to fire off at us."
+
+"Who's that talking about me?" laughed Billy, coming forward. "Let him
+say it to my face."
+
+"Ginger thought you'd be springing something on us," replied Pee Wee,
+"and we were getting ready to duck."
+
+Billy looked aggrieved.
+
+"You fellows don't know a good riddle when you hear one," he remarked
+scornfully.
+
+"How do you know?" countered Mouser. "You never give us a chance to try.
+Spring a real good one and see how quick we'll tumble."
+
+Billy looked dubious but took a chance.
+
+"Well, take this one, then," he said. "What is it that happens twice in
+a moment, once in a minute, and not once in a thousand years."
+
+The boys put on their thinking caps, but the problem was beyond them,
+and Billy strutted around with a triumphant look upon his face.
+
+"Don't seem to be any too much brains in this crowd," he said, in a
+superior way.
+
+"Give us time," pleaded Mouser.
+
+"Maybe it's because it's so bad and not because it's so good that we
+can't guess it," conjectured Fred.
+
+"Take all the time you want," said Billy patronizingly, "but I guessed
+it as soon as I heard it."
+
+As they had no evidence to the contrary, they had to take Billy's word
+for this.
+
+They pondered it for several minutes, but no answer was forthcoming.
+
+"Nobody home," taunted Billy. "You're a bunch of dead ones for fair."
+
+"I'll give it up," said Mouser.
+
+"Let's have it, Billy," surrendered Fred.
+
+"I'll be the goat," said Bobby. "What's the answer?"
+
+"The letter M," crowed Billy.
+
+Disgust and discomfiture sat on the boys' faces.
+
+"Rotten," groaned Pee Wee.
+
+"The worst I ever heard," grunted Fred.
+
+"Wish I had a gun," remarked Mouser.
+
+"It's a mighty good one," defended Billy. "But what's the use in giving
+you fellows something to chew over. It's like casting diamonds before
+swine."
+
+"You mean pearls," corrected Mouser.
+
+"Well, I may be mistaken about the diamonds," Billy came back at them,
+"but I'm dead sure about the swine."
+
+The laugh that followed told Billy that he had made a hit, and he
+swelled up like a pouter pigeon.
+
+"I've got another good one," he volunteered, "a regular peach. Why is--"
+
+But here the boys fell on Billy in a body and he was forced to hold his
+"peach" in reserve for another time.
+
+Bobby by this time had finished all he had to do in the station, and the
+boys gathered up their recovered suit-cases and made a bee line for the
+trolley. A car was coming, not a block away, and they piled aboard
+almost before it had come to a stop with wild clatter and hubbub. But
+the motorman and conductor were used to the uproar and the pranks of the
+Rockledge boys, and what few other passengers there were smiled
+indulgently.
+
+Rockledge was a lively little town with good stores and pleasant
+residence streets shaded by handsome oak trees. There were gas and
+electric lights, a number of churches and all the usual appurtenances of
+a bustling village that hoped some day to become a city. And not the
+least of the things in which the townspeople took pride was Rockledge
+School.
+
+Dr. Raymond, the head of the school, had been fortunate in choosing its
+location. He had been able to secure, at a remarkably low price, a
+beautiful private estate, whose owner had died and whose family had
+moved away. There were several buildings on the grounds and these he had
+remodeled and adapted to the purposes of a school, and he had built up
+an institution that was well and favorably known in all that section of
+the State.
+
+The school was select. By this is not meant that it was in the least
+degree snobbish. Dr. Raymond hated anything of that kind, and the school
+was run on a purely democratic basis, with every pupil on exactly the
+same level, whether his parents happened to be rich or poor. But the
+doctor was a great believer in the personal influence of teacher over
+pupil, and this could not be exerted so well if the classes were large.
+So the school was limited to fifty pupils, and this limit was never
+exceeded. At this figure the school was always full, and there was
+usually a waiting list from which any vacancy that might occur could be
+quickly filled.
+
+The doctor himself was a scholar of high standing, and he had surrounded
+himself with an efficient staff of teachers. Discipline was firm without
+being severe, and the boys were put largely on their honor to do the
+right thing. There was a society called the "Sword and Star" to which
+admission could be gained only on the ground of scholarship and good
+behavior.
+
+Bobby had won membership in this the year before and had also gained the
+Medal of Honor which was allotted each year to that pupil who, in the
+judgment both of his teachers and school-fellows, had stood out above
+all others. Fred, who was more flighty and less inclined to study, and
+whose "red-headed" disposition was always getting him into trouble, was
+not yet a member of the society, but had faithfully promised himself
+that he would win membership in the term just beginning.
+
+A ride of only a few minutes brought them close to the school grounds
+and the boys prepared to get off. Tommy Stone was to stay on the trolley
+car, which ran as far as Belden School.
+
+Tommy had kept himself rather in the background during the trip. He
+happened to be the only Belden boy on the car, and, owing to the intense
+rivalry between the two schools, a Belden boy was usually as popular
+with the Rockledge boys as poison ivy at a picnic party. But just now
+Tommy was traveling under the protection of Bobby and his party, and
+this saved him from the horse play he would otherwise have had to
+undergo.
+
+"Good-bye, Tommy!" said Bobby, as he got ready to leave the car. "Tell
+your father when you write to him how much obliged we are to him for all
+he has done for us. I'm going to write him a letter myself about it
+to-morrow."
+
+"Oh, that's all right," said Tommy. "Your father would have done the
+same for me if I'd been in the same fix as you fellows were."
+
+"And tell the Belden boys that we're going to trim 'em good and plenty
+when the baseball season begins," laughed Mouser.
+
+"Don't be too sure of that," grinned Tommy in return. "But I'll tell
+them and they'll be all ready for you."
+
+The boys dropped off the car, and in a few minutes saw the school
+buildings looming up before them.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" cried Fred, dropping his suitcase and executing a jig.
+"The old place certainly looks good to me."
+
+"Seemed a long way off a few hours ago when we didn't have a cent to our
+names," remarked Mouser.
+
+"Looked as if we'd have to walk the ties to get here," laughed Pee Wee.
+
+"And think how many stone bruises you'd have got," suggested Bobby.
+
+"'Barked shins,' you mean," corrected Mouser. "They're the latest thing
+in Pee Wee's collection."
+
+The fat boy grinned. He was too happy or perhaps too lazy to enter any
+protest just then.
+
+The school was beautifully located on a high bluff overlooking Monatook
+Lake, a sheet of water, nearly oval in shape. It was about ten miles
+long and five miles wide at its broadest part. There were several small
+islands scattered over the lake, and, as may be imagined, these were
+favorite resorts of the boys when they were permitted to visit them.
+
+A strong fence guarded the edge of the bluff for the entire length of
+the school grounds. A winding staircase led from the top of the bluff to
+the boathouse and the lake level.
+
+Just now Monatook was clothed in an icy mantle that shone like silver
+under the light of the moon which had just risen. It was a scene of
+wintry splendor that gladdened the heart to look upon.
+
+There were four buildings on the grounds. In the main building, which
+was made of brick and sandstone, the classrooms and dining-room were
+located. The basement had two sections, one for the kitchen and the
+other for the indoor gymnasium.
+
+On the upper floor were ranged the dormitories. These were two in
+number. There were beds for twenty boys in each one. Then there were
+five separate sleeping rooms, each one designed for the use of two boys.
+
+A little off from the main building, but connected with it by a portico,
+was a roomy house in which the doctor and his family lived, together
+with the members of the teaching staff.
+
+Besides these there were a gate-keeper's cottage, where the servants
+slept, and a minor building used for storage purposes.
+
+The grounds were skillfully laid out, and with their well kept lawns and
+shaded paths formed a very attractive campus. To supply the athletic
+needs of the boys there was a football field, a baseball diamond, and
+tennis and basketball courts.
+
+So that the boys who had the luck to be sent by their parents to
+Rockledge School were usually convinced before they had been there long
+that their lines had fallen in pleasant places.
+
+"Well, I suppose the first thing we'll have to do is to report to Dr.
+Raymond," said Bobby.
+
+"He'll know that the school can go on all right now that we're here,"
+grinned Mouser.
+
+"I suppose we'll have to let him know that we're on deck," admitted
+Fred, "but let's get it over in a hurry and get some grub. I'm hungry
+enough to eat nails."
+
+"Couldn't we get something to eat first?" asked Pee Wee wistfully.
+
+"You ate enough at Mrs. Wilson's to last for a week, I should think,"
+said Bobby.
+
+"I notice that you weren't very far behind," retorted Pee Wee.
+
+They trooped into the doctor's office and found him busy with some
+papers, which he laid aside at once, however, as he stood up to greet
+them.
+
+He was a tall, spare man, with a clean-cut face and kindly eyes that
+usually had a humorous twinkle in them, although they could flash fire
+if he caught any of the boys doing a mean or tricky thing. He smiled
+cordially and shook hands with them all.
+
+"You're a little later than you expected to be, aren't you?" he asked.
+"I was looking for you on an earlier train."
+
+"We've had a hard time getting here," smiled Bobby, and in a few words
+he told of the stirring adventures through which the little party had
+gone that day. The doctor listened intently, surprise, indignation and
+sympathy in his eyes.
+
+"It was an outrage!" he exclaimed, when Bobby had finished, "and I will
+get in touch with Mr. Stone at once and lend him any aid I can in
+catching the thieves. But I am very glad and thankful that it was only a
+loss of money and property. Those rascals might have used personal
+violence. I'll telephone to-morrow to a number of different towns,
+giving a description of the tramps and urging the authorities to be on
+the look-out for them. The sooner such fellows are put in jail the
+better."
+
+He made notes of as many points about the robbers as the boys could
+remember, especially of the scar of one man and the limp of the other.
+As to the third man, the boys were somewhat hazy. He was just "plain
+tramp."
+
+"And now," said the doctor, his eyes twinkling, "I suppose there's no
+need of asking you boys whether you are hungry."
+
+There was an eager assent on the part of the other boys and a heart-felt
+groan from Pee Wee.
+
+"Of course it is long after the usual supper hour," smiled the doctor,
+"but go over to the dining-room, find the housekeeper and tell her I
+want her to give you the very best meal she knows how to get up."
+
+There was no need of a second injunction, and the boys wished the head
+of the school good-night and were off to hunt up the housekeeper.
+
+"Isn't the doctor a brick?" ejaculated Mouser. "I thought he'd keep us
+there half an hour or more talking about the work for the coming term
+and what he would expect of us."
+
+"That'll come later," said Fred. "Just now he knew that we were hungry."
+
+"That's what makes him such a bully sort," said Bobby. "He hasn't
+forgotten that he was once a boy himself," he added, with a happy sigh.
+
+And this, perhaps, was as high tribute as could be paid by one of his
+pupils to the master of Rockledge School.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XI
+
+                         TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS
+
+
+The housekeeper carried out the principal's order to the letter. And she
+did it with the better grace because she herself was fond of the boys.
+She bustled about and in a very short time, which seemed long enough,
+however, to the hungry boys, had a smoking hot meal on the table. The
+boys gathered around and pitched into the good things like so many
+hungry wolves, while the housekeeper watched them with a genial smile on
+her good-natured face.
+
+"Some feed," pronounced Fred, with a sigh of satisfaction, when at last
+they were through.
+
+"We've had a tough day in some ways," declared Pee Wee, "but a mighty
+lucky one in another. Just think of the three cooks we've come up
+against. Meena for breakfast, Mrs. Wilson for dinner, and Mary here for
+supper. Yum-yum!"
+
+"Sounds as if you were a cannibal," commented Mouser, with a grin.
+
+"Oh, Pee Wee hasn't got to that yet," mocked Fred, "but there's no
+telling when he will if that appetite of his holds out."
+
+"I'd hate to be out on a raft with Pee Wee in the middle of the ocean,
+if we were short of grub," chuckled Mouser. "Just think of the hungry
+looks he'd be throwing at me."
+
+"I'd like nothing better than to have Pee Wee along," put in Bobby. "We
+could live off him for a month."
+
+The chaff flew back and forth for a while, and then the call of sleep
+began to make itself felt.
+
+Bobby yawned and reached for his watch.
+
+"I wonder what time--" he began, and then stopped short in chagrin.
+
+"No use, Bobby," said Mouser. "The chances are that you'll never see
+that watch again."
+
+"Maybe it's in some pawnshop by this time," was the cold comfort that
+Fred had to offer.
+
+"No loss without some gain," chimed in Pee Wee. "I won't have the
+trouble of unfastening my sleeve buttons anyway."
+
+"That's looking on the bright side of things all right," laughed Bobby.
+"Come along, fellows, and let's get to bed."
+
+There was no dissenting voice, and they made their way upstairs to the
+old familiar dormitory.
+
+This was one of the brightest and most cheerful rooms in the school and
+not the least of its charm was that it commanded a splendid view of the
+lake. There was ample space for the twenty beds that the room contained.
+A locker stood beside each bed for the exclusive use of the occupant,
+and there was a chair at the head of each bed on which the regulations
+of the school demanded that clothing should be carefully folded and
+arranged each night upon retiring.
+
+Most of the boys had already arrived for the beginning of the term, and
+the room was full of noise and the clatter of tongues. Later on, a
+little more quiet would be insisted upon, but the regular school course
+was not in full swing yet and the boys were allowed a little more
+latitude than usual.
+
+The other occupants of the room clustered instantly about Bobby and his
+party, who were general favorites. They had already learned almost all
+there was to be told about the adventures of the day, but they were
+keenly interested in the exploits of the party during their winter
+holiday in the Big Woods.
+
+"Shiner"--the nickname that had been bestowed on Jimmy Ailshine--Howell
+Purdy and "Sparrow" Bangs, had also been on that memorable trip, but as
+they too had reached school but a little earlier in the day, they had
+been able to tell only enough of their adventures to whet the appetite
+for more. The newcomers were pleased at this, as they had feared that
+all the wind would be taken out of their sails and that the trip would
+be an old story when they arrived upon the scene.
+
+"Sparrow says that you killed a big bear up in the woods," said Sam
+Thompson, one of the younger boys.
+
+"And to hear Sparrow tell it, it must have been a twenty-foot bear at
+least," laughed Frank Durrock.
+
+"No," grinned Fred. "It had only four feet, just like any other bear."
+
+"Smarty!" Frank shot back at him.
+
+"But it seemed like twenty feet when he reared up at us," explained
+Bobby.
+
+"He was an old sockdolager, all right," added Mouser.
+
+"I don't want to see any bear so close again," remarked Pee Wee.
+
+"I've seen him in my sleep once or twice since," said Fred, "and I've
+waked up all in a sweat."
+
+"Just which one of you was it that killed it?" asked Sam, his eyes as
+big as saucers.
+
+"That's something we can't tell," answered Bobby. "We all fired at it,
+but I guess it was Gid Harple, the guide, who did the trick. He was a
+dandy shot, all right."
+
+"Gid's going to fix up the claws and teeth and send 'em down to us,"
+said Mouser. "Then you can see for yourself just what a big fellow that
+bear was."
+
+"I heard that you had a shot at a wildcat too," put in "Skeets" Brody.
+
+"Yes," said Fred, "and that was a fool stunt too. We didn't have much
+chance of getting him, and that left our guns empty when we saw the bear
+the first time. My! but we had a run for it that day. Talk about a
+Marathon!"
+
+"How did Pee Wee manage to make it?" asked Frank skeptically. "I can't
+imagine him putting on speed."
+
+"Pee Wee wasn't with us that time," explained Bobby. "The rest of the
+fellows walked down to the station, but Pee Wee came behind in the
+sleigh with Gid."
+
+"I had more sense than the rest of the gang," put in Pee Wee, with a
+superior air.
+
+"I hear you got a lot of muskrats by stunning them through the ice,"
+said Skeets. "How did you make out with training them, Mouser?"
+
+"Not very well," confessed Mouser. "They're too wild. Gid said I
+couldn't train 'em, and I guess he knew what he was talking about."
+
+The finding of Pat's father in the little shack, and the story of the
+hunting lodge, completely buried in the big snowslide, and the great
+fight they had to get out alive were also subjects of which their
+audience could not have enough. The listeners kept clamoring for more
+details and still more, until in sheer self-defense the boys had to call
+a halt.
+
+"Have a heart, fellows," said Bobby. "I'm so dead tired that I can
+hardly keep my eyes open."
+
+"Yes," added Fred, "we'll have all the term to tell you about the rest
+of it."
+
+Their hearers had to be content with this, and in a few moments more the
+boys had undressed and were in bed. But it is safe to say that in their
+dreams that night enough bears and wildcats were seen to stock a
+menagerie.
+
+"Say, Fred," was Bobby's last remark that night, as he slipped between
+the sheets, "isn't it bully to be back in the old dormitory again? Just
+suppose the tramps had tied us up in that old shack while they slipped
+out and left us there."
+
+"Ugh!" shuddered Fred, as he snuggled still deeper in his bed. "It gives
+me the cold shivers just to think of it."
+
+It was a hard thing for the boys to get out of their warm beds when the
+rising bell sounded the next morning. But there was no help for it, and
+they washed and dressed in a hurry, cheered by the thought of breakfast
+waiting for them.
+
+Several tables were spread in the large bright dining-room. One of them
+was reserved for Dr. Raymond and his family, together with the head
+teachers. The boys were ranged about the others, with a junior
+instructor sitting at the head of each to keep order. But his duties
+were light, for the boys were so intent upon dispatching their food that
+they had little time left for mischief. Each kept a wary eye on his
+plate, however, for special dainties had a way sometimes of vanishing
+mysteriously, and "eternal vigilance" was the price of pie.
+
+The morning was frosty but sunny, and after they had finished their
+meal, the boys lost no time in getting outdoors. There was little to be
+done on the first day except to gather in the classrooms for a few
+minutes and have their lessons assigned for the following day.
+
+"Any new fellows here this term, Skeets?" Bobby asked, as the latter
+strolled with him and Fred on the hard snowy path in front of the main
+building.
+
+"Two or three came in yesterday, I heard," answered Skeets, "but I've
+only met one of them so far. His name's Tom Hicksley."
+
+"What kind of fellow does he seem to be?" asked Fred.
+
+"I don't care for him very much," replied Skeets. "That is, judging by
+his looks. But you can't always tell by that. There he is now," he
+added, as a boy approached them.
+
+Fred and Bobby looked first at the newcomer and then at each other.
+
+"My! it's the fellow we squelched for teasing the old soldier on the
+train!" gasped Bobby.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XII
+
+                              A NEW ENEMY
+
+
+Tom Hicksley had caught sight of the three boys at the same moment, and
+from the spiteful look that came into his small eyes it was clear that
+he recognized Bobby and Fred.
+
+The boys looked at him coldly but did not speak, and Hicksley, on his
+part, seemed at first as though he were going to pass them without
+saying anything. But the events of the evening before still rankled in
+him, and he suddenly stopped.
+
+"So you're the butt-ins that mixed up in my affairs last night, are
+you?" he asked, in a tone that he tried to make sarcastic.
+
+Fred flared up at once.
+
+"Yes, we did," he shot out; "and we'd do it again if we saw you up to
+your mean tricks. You can't do anything of that kind while we're around
+and expect to get away with it."
+
+"Hello! what's the fuss about?" asked Skeets, with sudden interest.
+
+"You shut up!" commanded Hicksley. "This isn't any of your funeral. I'm
+talking to these two boobs here."
+
+"Don't tell me to shut up!" cried Skeets, who had a hair trigger temper
+very much like Fred's own.
+
+"I'll tell you anything I like," retorted Hicksley, who seemed to be a
+master in the "gentle art of making enemies."
+
+"I'll tell you what it was, Skeets," said Bobby. "I don't wonder that
+he's so ashamed of it that he doesn't want it talked about. We saw him
+teasing an old soldier--a real old man, mind you--who was trying to get
+a little sleep. Then when the old man went up the aisle to get some
+water, this fellow stuck out his foot and tried to trip him up. The man
+had all he could do to keep from falling. That was too much for us
+fellows and we made him stop."
+
+"He ought to have had his head knocked off," growled Skeets.
+
+"It would take more than you fellows to knock my head off," returned
+Hicksley belligerently.
+
+"You'd probably get along as well without it as with it," retorted Fred.
+"We knocked your cap off anyway, and I notice that you changed your seat
+just as we told you to."
+
+"That was because the conductor came along," replied Hicksley. "And it's
+a mighty good thing for you that he did. If he hadn't I'd have knocked
+you into the middle of next week."
+
+"You couldn't knock me into to-morrow, let alone the middle of next
+week," returned Fred, who was now thoroughly aroused.
+
+"Come, come, Fred," said Bobby soothingly. "There's no use in getting
+into a temper about this fellow. He isn't worth it."
+
+"I'll show you whether I'm worth it or not," cried Hicksley, in a rage.
+"Don't you think for a minute that you've heard the last of this. There
+were four of you fellows last night, and there are three of you now. But
+I'll catch each one of you alone some time, and I'll tan each one of you
+within an inch of your life."
+
+"You'd better try it," answered Fred. "You'd be afraid to tackle a live
+one. All you're good for is to torment a helpless old man. You're a nice
+fellow, you are."
+
+The quarrel, although it was none of the boys' seeking, was growing so
+hot that it was perhaps just as well that Mr. Carrier, one of the
+teachers, should come walking briskly along just at that moment. He saw
+from their flushed faces that something unpleasant was in the wind, but
+thought it just as well to ignore it rather than give it importance by
+taking notice of it.
+
+"Good morning, boys," he called cordially. "It's just about time for
+meeting in the main hall. I'm going over there now, and you'd better
+come along with me."
+
+This put an end to the threatening trouble for the time, and the boys
+followed along in his wake, Hicksley some distance behind the other
+three and muttering threats under his breath.
+
+"Isn't he a pippin?" said Bobby, in a low voice, so that Mr. Carrier
+could not hear.
+
+"Looks to me like something that the cat brought in," grumbled Fred,
+whose rumpled feathers took some time for smoothing.
+
+"He's going around looking for trouble," observed Skeets; "and that kind
+is sure to find it before very long."
+
+"No decent fellow will want to have anything to do with him," remarked
+Fred.
+
+"Except perhaps Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks," amended Bobby. "He'll be
+just nuts for them."
+
+"I said _decent_ fellow," repeated Fred.
+
+They soon reached the main assembly room into which the boys were
+streaming from all directions.
+
+Dr. Raymond and the rest of the teaching staff were seated on a platform
+in the front of the room. When the gathering had subsided into silence,
+the principal rose and gave the boys a little informal talk about the
+duties of the coming term and the spirit in which he hoped they would go
+about their work. He dwelt especially on the incentives offered them to
+become members of the "Sword and Star," the main society of the school,
+and as he mentioned the name of the society, the boys who were members
+jumped to their feet and gave the society yell:
+
+                        "One, two, three--_boom!_
+                             Boom Z-z-z-ah!
+                         Rockledge! Rockledge!
+                            Sword and Star!
+                             Who's on top?
+                              We sure are--
+                             _Rock_-ledge!"
+
+The hearty shout brought a flush of pleasure into the doctor's cheeks
+and he looked around upon his charges with a face beaming with pride. He
+concluded his talk with an urgent invitation to each of the boys to
+strive for the Medal of Honor, the highest prize within the gift of the
+school, and then dismissed them to their respective classes.
+
+Here the proceedings were brief. The tasks for the following day were
+assigned and then the boys were left to their own devices until the
+hours set aside that afternoon and evening for preparing their lessons.
+
+"Our soft snap is nearly over," mourned Fred. "From now on it will be
+steady work until the end of the term."
+
+"But think how much fun we'll have in between," comforted Bobby. "I've
+got a hunch that we're going to have the bulliest time at Rockledge that
+we've ever had yet."
+
+"What makes you think that?" asked Fred pessimistically.
+
+"I said it was a hunch, didn't I?" demanded Bobby. "You don't have to
+explain a hunch. You just have it and that's all there is to it."
+
+"I hate to think of buckling down to work again," said Fred. "We had
+such a bully free time up in the woods that I wish it would last
+forever."
+
+"That's all the more reason you ought to be willing to work when the
+time comes," remonstrated Bobby. "Think of the poor fellows that never
+have any outings and have to work hard all the time."
+
+"I suppose you're right," conceded Fred. "I don't know just what it is
+that makes me feel that way. It wasn't so when I got up this morning.
+I'll tell you just what I think it is," he said, as a sudden explanation
+of his mood suggested itself to him. "I'll bet it's that Tom Hicksley. I
+wanted to get a crack at him this morning when Mr. Carrier came along
+and stopped us. I'd have felt better if I'd lit out at him."
+
+"Now, Fred, cut out that fighting talk," said Bobby impatiently.
+"There's nothing in it. What's the use of getting into a row that will
+make your folks feel bad when they hear of it and perhaps bring you up
+before the doctor?"
+
+"I notice that you're ready enough to fight sometimes," grumbled Fred in
+self-defense. "You'd have pitched into Ap Plunkit if he'd hit you with
+that whip yesterday morning, and you were all worked up on the train at
+Hicksley."
+
+"That's a very different thing from looking for trouble," said Bobby
+stoutly. "It's all right to take your own part when people try to bully
+or strike you. But it's always best to keep out of a fight unless you're
+forced into it. There wasn't really any reason to fight Tom Hicksley
+this morning, and you know it."
+
+"Perhaps if you had hair as red as mine you wouldn't find it so easy to
+keep your temper," said Fred, falling back on an excuse he was fond of
+using.
+
+"Maybe not," laughed Bobby, "but you can make a try at it anyhow."
+
+"What's this I hear about fighting?" said Frank Durrock, as he came up
+behind them.
+
+Frank was larger and older than the two boys, and a prime favorite with
+them. He held the post of captain of the school. This carried with it no
+official power, as that rested wholly with the teachers. But Frank was
+supposed to have a general oversight, stop any disorder that went too
+far and in general to act as a sort of big brother to the younger boys.
+
+He was a fine athlete also, and had been captain of the football team on
+which Bobby and Fred had played the preceding fall and which had won the
+Thanksgiving game from Belden. His skill in baseball was also marked,
+and he was expected to play first base on the nine in the spring.
+
+"Oh, Fred was feeling a little sore over a row he had with Hicksley this
+morning," explained Bobby.
+
+"That new fellow?" asked Durrock. "I passed him a little while ago and
+he was talking with Bronson and Jinks. They seemed to be quite chummy
+together."
+
+"What did I tell you?" cried Fred to Bobby. "I knew those fellows would
+get together as sure as shooting."
+
+"They're three of a kind," assented Bobby.
+
+"I don't know anything about what kind of fellow he is," remarked Frank,
+"but somebody was telling me that he was a good baseball player."
+
+The boys did not think it was worth while to tell what they knew of
+Hicksley and so kept quiet.
+
+"He's big and husky and ought to make a good slugger," continued Frank,
+"and we can't have too much batting strength on our nine. So if he can
+field as well as bat, he may be able to get a place on the team."
+
+The prospect was not at all pleasing to Bobby and Fred, but above
+everything else they were loyal to the school, and if the newcomer would
+be a help to the Rockledge nine they were perfectly willing to forget
+their own feeling.
+
+"So you see, Fred," continued Frank, "you don't want to hold any grudge
+you may have against Hicksley. I don't know what your scrap was about
+and I don't want to know, but whatever it is, forget it."
+
+"Sure I will," said Fred heartily.
+
+"You know how it was on the football team," went on Frank. "There were
+fellows on that team that you didn't like--Jinks, for instance--but you
+overlooked that feeling and played good football just the same. And we
+want to do the same thing on the nine.
+
+"I'm especially anxious to get up a strong nine this year," he
+continued, "because we're going to have some pretty nifty teams against
+us. Belden has got two or three new fellows that they say are
+crackerjacks and they'll give us all we want to do to beat 'em.
+
+"Then, too, we're going to have a little different scheme this season
+than we ever had before. While you hunters have been up in the woods
+shooting bears"--here he grinned--"I've been hustling around with a few
+others and organized a new league."
+
+"A new league!" exclaimed Bobby and Fred in the same breath.
+
+"A new league!" repeated Skeets Brody and Sparrow Bangs, who had come up
+just in time to hear the last words. "What do you mean, Frank? Tell us
+all about it."
+
+They gathered about him, their eyes glistening.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIII
+
+                        THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE
+
+
+"Now, now, don't all get excited," admonished Frank, who, all the same,
+was immensely delighted with the sensation he had stirred up by his
+announcement.
+
+"Don't keep us waiting, Frank," pleaded Fred, who would rather play
+baseball at any time than eat.
+
+"Out with it, like a good fellow," chimed in Bobby, whose pitching had
+won a game from Belden the previous term.
+
+Frank, with the instinct of the true story teller, waited until he had
+got his audience worked up to the proper pitch. Then when they were on
+edge, he proceeded:
+
+"It's this way," he explained. "Up to now we've been going on in a kind
+of rut. Belden is about the only team we've ever played any real games
+with, and that hasn't given us enough practice. We've had our own scrub
+nine to practice with, but as a rule they've been so easy that we
+haven't had to work hard enough to win. The only way we can learn to hit
+different kinds of pitching is to come up against nines that give us a
+stiff fight to win."
+
+"But we have played with village nines sometimes," interrupted Fred.
+
+"We played the Benton team last year and beat them six to five,"
+reminded Bobby.
+
+"Yes, I know," admitted Frank; "but those were only single games, and
+there wasn't enough at stake. It didn't make much difference whether we
+won from them or not as long as we put it all over Belden.
+
+"Now, don't you see how much more exciting it would be to have several
+different teams, all members of one league, each one playing the other a
+certain number of games, each one fighting hard for every game and each
+team working its head off to get the pennant, which would be given to
+the nine that had won the most games at the end of the season?"
+
+The boys broke into a chorus of delighted exclamations.
+
+"That would be bully!" cried Bobby.
+
+"It would be a regular see-saw!" exclaimed Fred. "First one team would
+be in the lead and then the other. It would be a rattling hard fight all
+the way from the start of the season to the finish."
+
+"It's a corker," agreed Skeets.
+
+"A pippin of a scheme," declared Sparrow with emphasis.
+
+"I thought you fellows would like it," said Frank, much pleased at the
+enthusiastic reception of his plan. "I talked it over with Dr. Raymond,
+and he said that he saw no objection to it."
+
+"The doc's a good old sport," commented Fred.
+
+"And Dr. Raymond saw the head of the Belden school and he agreed to it
+too," continued Frank, "while the captain of the Belden nine is fairly
+daffy over it."
+
+"How many clubs are there to be in the league?" asked Bobby.
+
+"We decided that four would be enough," answered Frank. "You see, we
+have only Saturdays to play, and if we had too many clubs in the league
+we couldn't play enough games to really make the thing go. But with four
+teams, each can play three games with every other team and that would
+give us a pretty good line on the strength of each nine."
+
+"Every team would play nine games altogether, then," figured Fred.
+
+"Yes, and that would take nine Saturdays. Allowing for some days when it
+might be too rainy to play that will just about cover the playing season
+before school closes for the summer."
+
+"Who are to be the other two nines besides Belden and ourselves?" asked
+Sparrow.
+
+"We've been scouting around and have found two town nines that will be
+glad to go in with us," answered Frank. "One is at Somerset and the
+other at Ridgefield. They're all within a few miles so that we wouldn't
+have to travel far to play them. The fellows are about the same age as
+we are, from eleven to fourteen."
+
+"What will be the name of the league?" asked Skeets.
+
+"How does Monatook Lake League strike you?" asked Frank. "Both towns are
+right on the lake, just as Rockledge and Belden are."
+
+"Just the thing," was the verdict of all.
+
+"Some of those town boys are dandy players," said Skeets. "I saw the
+Somerset team play once and they certainly put up a fine game."
+
+"And the Ridgefield boys have a pitcher who is a peach, all right," said
+Frank. "But that's just what we're looking for. It wouldn't be any fun
+defeating a lot of dubs."
+
+"We'll have to look out that they don't ring in some good players from
+other towns to fill up weak places on their team," said Fred.
+
+"Of course we'll have to take a chance on that," admitted Frank. "But I
+don't think we'll have to worry much. I know some of the boys on both
+teams and they seem to be pretty square fellows."
+
+"You'll have to limber up that pitching arm of yours and get it in good
+shape, Bobby," cried Fred jubilantly, clapping his friend on the
+shoulder.
+
+"How do you know I'll get a chance to pitch?" asked Bobby modestly. "The
+nine isn't made up yet and won't be till we've had a chance to practice.
+Some of the new fellows may be a good deal better than I am at
+pitching."
+
+"I don't believe they will be," returned Skeets. "Do you remember, Fred,
+that last game when Bobby pitched and we beat Belden by three to two?"
+
+"You bet I do," replied Fred. "And I remember that catch that Bobby made
+in the ninth inning when he rolled over and over and yet held on to the
+ball. If he had let it get away from him, Belden would have won sure."
+
+"I wish we could go right out on the field tomorrow!" exclaimed
+impatient Fred, who was very much worked up over the prospect of sport
+that the new league opened up.
+
+"That would be rushing things for fair," laughed Frank.
+
+"It would hardly do to be playing ball in overcoats and mittens,"
+grinned Skeets.
+
+"Let's see," said Sparrow. "This is the twenty-fifth of January. To the
+twenty-fifth of February is one month and to the twenty-fifth of March
+is another. The field ought to be in shape for playing by that time.
+Don't you think so, Frank?"
+
+"If we have a fairly early spring it ought to," said Frank. "Still in
+this climate I've seen snow on the ground sometimes in April."
+
+"February is a short month," said Fred hopefully. "That will cut the
+time down some."
+
+"Anyway we can do a whole lot of practicing indoors," said Bobby. "The
+gymnasium is good and warm and we can rig up some kind of a cage for
+pitching and catching."
+
+"Just as they do in colleges," said Sparrow proudly. "I tell you,
+fellows, we're some class!"
+
+"I'll bet the town papers'll put in reports of the games," said Fred,
+who already in imagination saw his name in print.
+
+"Sure they will," agreed Skeets. "They'll be glad of a chance to fill up
+space."
+
+This was not very flattering, and Fred, who saw fame coming his way with
+giant strides, rather resented it.
+
+"They won't do it only for that reason," he said indignantly. "I bet
+there'll be some dandy games played and lots of people in the towns will
+come out to see them."
+
+"Maybe, especially as they won't have to pay to get in," retorted
+Skeets, who was not averse at times to stirring Fred up just for the fun
+of seeing him roiled.
+
+"Well, we can always count on big crowds when Rockledge and Belden play
+anyway," put in Bobby, before Fred had a chance to throw back at Skeets.
+
+"We ought to get some kind of monogram sewed on our uniforms or caps to
+show the name of the league," said Sparrow, who was quite as alive as
+Fred was to the new dignity that was coming to them.
+
+"The letters M. L. L. would look nifty, sure enough," agreed Bobby.
+
+"Well there's plenty of time to think of those things before the season
+opens," remarked Frank. "The main thing now is to get up a team that
+will put it all over the other fellows."
+
+"Just think how it would feel to be the champions of the league," said
+Sparrow.
+
+"And to pull up the pennant on the flagpole just back of center field,"
+gloated Fred.
+
+"Rockledge wouldn't be big enough to hold us," said Bobby.
+
+"That's all right, fellows," cautioned Frank. "But remember all the
+other fellows are feeling the same way. It's easy enough to win games in
+our dreams, but the only ones that count are those that are won on the
+diamond."
+
+"We'll win them all right there too," replied Fred, who already saw
+himself cracking out a home run with the bases full. "We'll be there
+with bells on from the time the season opens."
+
+"I bet we'll go all through the season without losing a game," declared
+Sparrow, in a wild flight of fancy.
+
+"Come off the perch," warned Bobby.
+
+"Turn over, turn over, you're on your back," said the irreverent Skeets.
+
+"You'll bring bad luck on us if you talk like that," cautioned Frank.
+"It stands to reason that we'll have to lose some games. The other
+fellows are no slouches, don't you forget that, and they'll be out to
+win just as we are."
+
+"The best teams in the big leagues lose lots of games, even to the
+poorest ones," said Bobby. "You'll notice that the nines that win the
+championships don't often come through the season with much more than
+six hundred per cent."
+
+"Just what does that mean?" asked Skeets, who had never been especially
+strong in mathematics.
+
+Bobby did a swift sum in mental arithmetic.
+
+"That means they won three games out of five," he announced. "So you see
+they had lots of losses before they won the pennant. We've got a swell
+chance of winning every game--I don't think. If we win six out of the
+nine, I shall be perfectly satisfied. That will give us a percentage of
+six hundred and sixty-seven."
+
+"Bobby's right," confirmed Frank. "That would be two out of every three,
+and the team that wins isn't likely to do any better than that. The best
+team in the world will sometimes be whipped by a poor one. That's what
+makes baseball such a bully game. Lots of good luck and hard luck come
+into a game, and it's never settled until the last man is out in the
+ninth inning."
+
+"But in the long run it's the best team that wins," protested Fred,
+still undaunted. "And the best team in the Monatook Lake League this
+year will be the team of Rockledge School."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIV
+
+                             GLOWING HOPES
+
+
+The boys all laughed at Fred's declaration, though they hoped ardently
+that it would turn out to be true.
+
+"Well," conceded Frank, "confidence is a good thing, especially if there
+is good hard work back of it. One thing is certain, and that is if any
+team beats Rockledge it will know it's been in a fight."
+
+"I suppose Larry Cronk will be pitching for Belden," mused Fred.
+
+"I suppose so, and he's a corking good pitcher too. But Bobby beat him
+the last time he faced him and I guess he can do it again."
+
+"Trust Bobby," replied Fred loyally.
+
+"Well, I'll have to go now," concluded Frank. "I'm glad you boys think
+the league is going to be a good thing."
+
+"The best thing that ever happened," declared Sparrow.
+
+"I'm tickled to death with it," agreed Fred.
+
+"Hits me awful hard," said Bobby.
+
+"Monatook Lake League sounds mighty good to me," added Skeets.
+
+"There's a lot of work to be done yet in getting it fairly started,"
+observed Frank. "We'll have to work out a schedule of dates and decide
+on the kind of pennant we're going to have and a bunch of things like
+that. But we'll have plenty of time for that, and everything will be
+running slick as grease by the time the season begins. And remember what
+I said, Fred, about cutting out all hard feelings," he concluded.
+
+"I'll do it all right," answered Fred. "I don't like the fellow and I
+never will, but I'll forget all about that when it comes to working for
+the good of the team."
+
+"That's the way I like to hear you talk," returned Frank with a smile,
+as he went away.
+
+"What did Frank mean by that?" asked Skeets curiously.
+
+"Oh, it's about that Tom Hicksley," Fred replied. "Frank has heard that
+he's a good ball player, and if he is, he wants him on the nine. He
+heard Bobby and me talking of the scrap we had with him this morning,
+and he doesn't want trouble in the team."
+
+"Maybe Frank's right, at that," conceded Skeets. "But I don't know that
+it's good dope to have a fellow like that on the nine, no matter how
+good a player he is. He'll be wanting to run things and perhaps break up
+the whole team."
+
+"We'll hope not," said Bobby. "At any rate, there's no use worrying
+about it yet. He may not be so good a player as Frank has heard he is,
+and may not play on the team at all."
+
+"We'll have to look over our baseball togs and see if they're in good
+shape," said Fred. "I know the spikes on my shoes need sharpening."
+
+"And I'll have to pound that new baseball glove of mine until it's good
+and soft and has a big hollow in the middle," added Bobby. "We mustn't
+overlook the least thing that's going to help us to win."
+
+"Won't the Clinton boys open their eyes if we can tell them when we go
+home for the summer vacation that we're the champions of the Monatook
+Lake League?" gloated Fred.
+
+"Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," laughed Sparrow.
+"It's a long time yet before the end of the season."
+
+"It's all over but the shouting, the way I look at it," persisted Fred
+defiantly.
+
+"Don't wake him up, he is dreaming," mocked Skeets.
+
+"The pennant bee is buzzing in his bonnet," laughed Sparrow.
+
+For that matter, they all heard the buzzing of the same bee, and it was
+a very pleasant sound to them. To these four eleven-year-old boys the
+words "league" and "pennant" conveyed a sense of dignity and importance
+that they had never felt before.
+
+From that time on, baseball took up a large part of their thoughts, even
+though the ground was covered with snow and the lake held fast in icy
+fetters.
+
+The gymnasium was warm and comfortable, and though they had no regular
+cage and the limited space did not give much chance for batting practice
+the boys got in quite a lot of pitching and catching. And this was
+quickened by the news that came to them that Belden had taken up the
+idea of the league with as much enthusiasm as they had, and were already
+predicting that they would be the victors in the coming struggle. It was
+said that two of the new Belden boys were hard hitters and could "send
+the ball a mile."
+
+"But we heard something like that before the last game, and we licked
+them just the same," remarked Fred, who expected to play short stop, the
+same position he had held the previous season.
+
+"Belden's bark is worse than its bite," confirmed Bobby. "But because
+they didn't come through the last time doesn't say they won't now. We'll
+have to be right up on our toes all the time. It isn't going to be a
+walkover for anybody."
+
+The study hours at Rockledge were not excessive, and had been arranged
+with a view of giving the growing boys all the time they needed for
+wholesome exercise and recreation. Dr. Raymond knew that a well trained
+mind and strong body must go together in order to get the best results.
+And on the occasions of the big baseball and football games he was
+always sure to be present as a keenly interested spectator.
+
+Mr. Carrier, too, the second assistant on the teaching staff, had
+himself been an athlete in his college days, and his advice and coaching
+on the diamond and the gridiron were very valuable to the Rockledge
+boys.
+
+With the lake so near at hand, there were plenty of winter sports. The
+smooth level of the ice, stretching away for miles in every direction,
+made skating a delight and offered a splendid field for hockey games. On
+all fine afternoons and every Saturday from morning till night, the ice
+was alive with darting figures, and rang with the music of steel against
+the frozen surface and the merry laughter of the skaters as they cracked
+the whip or flew by in impromptu races.
+
+There was plenty of snow on the ground this year and this gave a chance
+for some good coasting. Most of the boys had sleds, and Bobby had
+brought along the splendid one that he had received as a Christmas
+present.
+
+He had had considerable trouble in settling on a name. Billy Barry's
+suggestion that it be called "Lightning" and Betty Martin's laughing
+idea that it ought to be called "Oyster," because it "slipped down so
+easily," had received due consideration, but Bobby had finally settled
+on "Red Arrow." This seemed to him to cover both its color and its
+speed. And that speed could not be questioned. It certainly shot down
+hill like an arrow from a how. None of the other sleds at the school
+could do such fetching.
+
+Naturally Bobby took great pride in his sled, and the runners were
+rubbed with emery and oil until they were as smooth as silk and shone
+like silver.
+
+There were several good hills in the vicinity of the school, but most of
+them were dangerous; one because it crossed the railroad at its base and
+others because cross streets, along which there was much travel, offered
+chances for collisions. These were therefore forbidden to the boys.
+
+On one hill, however, they were permitted to coast whenever they wanted
+to do so. This stretched away from the town, and there were no cross
+streets throughout its entire length. It was absolutely safe, and as it
+was very long and reasonably steep, the boys felt no special regret at
+not being allowed to use the other hills.
+
+For several days before Lincoln's Birthday the weather had been mild and
+there was a considerable thaw. The snow on the hill had become soft and
+mushy and coasting had been impossible.
+
+This interfered with the plans of the boys in Bobby's dormitory, who had
+expected to have a big coasting carnival on the night of the holiday,
+when there would be a full moon. Now it looked as if the ground might be
+bare.
+
+But on the eleventh of February there came a sudden change in the
+weather that gladdened the hearts of the would-be coasters. The
+thermometer fell rapidly until it was ten degrees below zero. The hill
+froze solid and was even better than it had been before, because the
+water from the melting snow now formed a glare of ice over the whole
+surface.
+
+Bobby and his chums were jubilant over the change as they got together
+in the gymnasium after breakfast on the morning of the holiday.
+
+"Isn't it just bully?" cried Fred, doing a handspring.
+
+"The hill will be like glass," gloated Mouser.
+
+"I'll bet we fetch further than we ever did before," exulted Bobby, who
+could see himself scudding like the wind on his trusty Red Arrow.
+
+"But, gee! won't it be tough climbing up to the top again," put in Pee
+Wee, who liked well enough to ride down but hated the task of walking
+back.
+
+"Don't worry, Pee Wee," chaffed Fred. "We wouldn't let a hard-working
+fellow like you walk back. We'll take turns drawing you up on our
+sleds."
+
+"Sure we will," added Sparrow. "We'll just fight for the privilege."
+
+"I'd hate to have Pee Wee bark his shins again," laughed Bobby.
+
+The boys were so engrossed in the lively give and take that none of them
+noticed that Tom Hicksley, who had been practicing on the rings and had
+been near enough to hear their conversation, had quietly slipped out of
+the gymnasium.
+
+There had been no open trouble between him and Bobby and his friends
+since that morning when the coming of Mr. Carrier had stopped the
+quarrel. None of the boys took any special pains to avoid him but had
+simply left him alone. Hicksley had cast sullen and angry glances at
+them as they passed him on the campus or in the halls, but they cared
+nothing for that. They did not doubt that he was nursing his grudge and
+would lose no chance to get back at them if he could, but they felt able
+to take care of themselves.
+
+As a matter of fact, Hicksley had only two friends in the school. These
+were Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, the two most detested boys at
+Rockledge. They were of the same type as Hicksley, mean and tyrannical.
+They were two of the largest pupils and took advantage of their size to
+make themselves thoroughly disliked by the other boys.
+
+They had "cottoned" to Hicksley at once, recognizing him as a kindred
+spirit, and the three were almost constantly together.
+
+Bronson and Jinks belonged to neither of the dormitories, but occupied
+one of the smaller rooms together.
+
+To this room Hicksley went straight from the gymnasium and rapped on the
+door.
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XV
+
+                            SPOILING THE FUN
+
+
+There was a scurrying within the room and Hicksley heard the sound of a
+window being hastily thrown up. Then after a long pause the door was
+slowly opened.
+
+"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Bronson in a tone of relief.
+
+"Sure it is," replied Hicksley tersely. "Who did you think it was?
+What's the matter with you fellows anyway. Any one might think I was a
+cop, from the time you took to open the door."
+
+"Worse than that," grinned Bronson. "I thought you might be Dr. Raymond
+or one of the teachers. We were smoking. Now you've made us throw away
+two perfectly good cigarettes and freeze ourselves by opening the window
+to get the smoke out of the room. Shut the window again, Jack. It's only
+Tom."
+
+"Well, I'm not going to tell on you," replied Hicksley. "That is," he
+added with a grin, "if you've got another cigarette left for me."
+
+It was strictly against the rules to smoke, but in the opinion of these
+worthless fellows rules were made only to be broken, and all three were
+soon puffing away, after making sure that the door was securely locked.
+
+Bronson was a tall, thin boy, with straw-colored hair. Jinks was
+shorter, but very stocky. A squint that made his small eyes look smaller
+still gave him a most unprepossessing appearance.
+
+"Well, what's up?" asked Bronson, seeing from Hicksley's manner that he
+had something to propose.
+
+"I've just heard something that gave me an idea of how to get even with
+that Bobby Blake and the bunch of boobs he goes with," replied Hicksley.
+
+"Hope it's a good idea," said Bronson. "Anything that will down those
+fellows you can count me in on."
+
+"Same here!" ejaculated Jinks. "I never had any use for any of that
+crowd."
+
+"Let's have it, Tom," broke in Bronson impatiently. "Don't keep us
+waiting."
+
+"They're planning to have a big coasting time to-night," explained
+Hicksley. "I heard them talking about it when I was down in the
+gymnasium just now. And while I was listening I thought of a way to
+queer the whole thing."
+
+This sounded promising, and the interest on the faces of the others grew
+intense.
+
+"What is it?" they asked in the same breath, leaning forward eagerly.
+
+Hicksley lowered his voice a trifle and rapidly outlined the plan that
+had come to him.
+
+He was fully satisfied with its reception, for both of his hearers
+roared with delight.
+
+"It's just bully!" cried Bronson.
+
+"Best thing I've heard since Hector was a pup!" ejaculated Jinks.
+
+"That'll put a spoke in their wheel all right," gloated Hicksley.
+
+"Won't they feel sore?"
+
+"They'll be frothing at the mouth."
+
+"We'll have to be hiding somewhere near by where we can see the whole
+thing," said Bronson.
+
+"I wouldn't miss it for a hundred dollars," chuckled Jinks.
+
+"They'll sing small for a long time after that," grinned Hicksley. "But
+now if you think the plan is all right, we'll have to figure out just
+how to go about it. It'll be a lot of hard work, and I don't want to do
+it myself. I don't suppose you fellows want to muss yourselves up
+either."
+
+"I'll tell you what!" exclaimed Bronson. "Do you know who Dago Joe is?"
+
+"He's that Italian fellow down town who goes about doing odd jobs, isn't
+he?" queried Hicksley.
+
+"That's the one," Bronson assented.
+
+"Well, what about him?" asked Hicksley.
+
+"Just this," Bronson answered. "He's just the fellow for this job. He's
+got a hand cart, and that will make it easy for him. Then, too, a dollar
+will look as big to him as a meeting house. But even if he charges more
+than that we can all chip in and it won't make very much for any of us."
+
+"I wouldn't care if it cost us a dollar apiece," said Jinks. "It would
+be worth it."
+
+They talked for a few minutes longer, and then decided that rather than
+let Hicksley do it alone they would all go down together to see Dago
+Joe.
+
+But to their surprise, Joe was at first inclined to balk at the
+proposition. He was poor and had a large family to support and he needed
+every dollar he could get, but he seemed to fear that the plan that the
+bullies suggested might get him into trouble.
+
+"I donta know," he said, shrugging his shoulders and extending the palms
+of his hands. "Perhaps people nota like it. Maybe I be arrest."
+
+"Nonsense, Joe," said Bronson. "There isn't a chance in the world that
+anybody will get on to who did it. It will be after dark anyway. Be a
+sport and take a chance."
+
+"We'll make it two dollars," said Jinks. "It's easy money and you'd be a
+fool not to take it."
+
+Joe still had some qualms, but when the boys raised the price to three
+dollars his scruples vanished.
+
+"You can get the stuff down near the roundhouse," suggested Jinks.
+"There's always plenty of it there."
+
+Joe wanted his three dollars at once, but they compromised by paying him
+half down with a promise of the other half when the work was done.
+
+"Now for the big blowout," chuckled Jinks, as they wended their way back
+to the school.
+
+"It'll be a scream," gloated Bronson.
+
+"A perfect riot," added Hicksley, who was in high feather, now that his
+scheme seemed in a fair way of going through.
+
+As for Dago Joe, he was a busy man for the rest of the day and for some
+time after darkness fell.
+
+There was an unusually good supper that night in honor of the holiday,
+and the boys did it full justice. But they would have lingered still
+longer at the table, if they had not been impatient to get out on the
+hill for their carnival of coasting.
+
+The wind had died down, but the air was keen and brought a frosty glow
+to their eyes and cheeks as they made their way to the hill, drawing
+their sleds behind them by ropes that hung over their shoulders.
+
+"We'll make a new record to-night," said Bobby jubilantly. "I shouldn't
+wonder if we fetched as far as the bridge; and we've never done that
+yet."
+
+"If we don't do it to-night we never shall," replied Fred, as they came
+to the hill.
+
+"It doesn't seem as if the sleds could ever stop when they get started
+on ice like this," exulted Mouser.
+
+"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Sparrow. "The hill's wide
+enough to hold six sleds going down at the same time. There's just about
+seventeen or eighteen of us here. Let's start out in a bunch of six at a
+time and go the whole length. Then, after that, we can have the separate
+races."
+
+"That's all right," agreed Fred. "The trouble is that each fellow will
+want to go off in the first six."
+
+"We'll soon settle that," replied Sparrow. "We'll draw lots and then
+nobody will have any kick coming."
+
+This proposal was greeted with acclamation, and amid a great deal of
+chaff and laughter the lots were drawn.
+
+The lucky ones happened to be Fred, Bobby, Mouser, Sparrow, Skeets and
+Pee Wee.
+
+"We'll let Pee Wee go in the middle," laughed Fred, "and we'd better
+take care to keep close to the side of the road. He'll need more room
+than any of the rest of us."
+
+"I'd hate to have him plunk into me," grinned Bobby. "It would be a case
+for the doctor, for sure."
+
+"For the undertaker, more likely," chuckled Mouser.
+
+"You fellows think you're smart, don't you?" grunted Pee Wee. "All the
+same I bet I'll fetch farther than any of you."
+
+"Hear who's talking," jibed Sparrow. "We'll leave you so far behind you
+won't be able to see us with a telescope."
+
+They ranged their sleds side by side and lay upon them flat on their
+stomachs, holding firmly on the sides in front in order steer correctly.
+
+"Are you all ready?" asked Howell Purdy, who had been chosen to give the
+word.
+
+"Ready," they answered.
+
+"Then go!" shouted Howell.
+
+The six sleds shot forward with a rush.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVI
+
+                            WHO WAS GUILTY?
+
+
+For the first third of the distance, the ice was as smooth as
+quicksilver, with never a lump or hummock to mar the surface. The sleds
+flew down the frozen surface, gaining a velocity that took the boys'
+breath away and almost frightened them.
+
+Then suddenly there was a jar, a chorus of shouts, and they were thrown
+headlong over the fronts of their sleds, landing in a confused heap of
+limbs and bodies, while the sleds relieved of their burdens swirled
+around aimlessly for a time and finally came to a stop.
+
+A yell of consternation and alarm came from the mass, as the boys tried
+to struggle to their feet.
+
+Those who had been left at the top of the hill, hearing the yells and
+knowing that some accident had happened, came slipping and scrambling
+down to the scene of the disaster.
+
+They helped the half stunned victims to their feet, and for a time there
+was a wild hullabaloo of questions and answers as they tried to solve
+the mystery.
+
+Fortunately none of them was badly hurt, though at the rate they were
+going it might very easily have turned out to be a tragedy.
+
+Most of the boys had rubbed pieces of skin off their arms and legs, and
+Fred had a cut in his scalp from which the blood was flowing.
+
+"What did it?" shouted Howell.
+
+"I don't know," replied Bobby hesitatingly. His head was going round
+like a top.
+
+"M-must have hit a tree trunk or something like that," stammered
+Sparrow.
+
+"That isn't it," replied Howell, looking around him. "There isn't
+anything of that kind in sight as far as I can see. Just wait a minute
+till I get Sam Thompson's flashlight."
+
+Luckily Sam had it with him and promptly handed it over.
+
+Howell flashed it about him and gave a shout.
+
+"It's ashes!" he cried. "The whole hill's littered with 'em."
+
+"Ashes?" came a chorus of surprised questions.
+
+"That's what it is," declared Howell emphatically. "There are heaps and
+heaps of 'em. I'll bet they reach clear down to the bottom of the hill."
+
+He went down further and confirmed what he had said. He had no trouble
+in walking, for he could not have slipped if he had wanted to. The whole
+lower surface of the hill was strewn with ashes that spoiled the
+coasting for that night utterly, and promised to ruin it for many days
+to come.
+
+A wave of wrath and fierce indignation swept over the boys as they heard
+Howell's report.
+
+"Who could have done it?" was the question that came to the lips of all.
+
+"Could it have been the town council?" suggested Skeets. "They might
+have done it to keep the horses from slipping."
+
+"They never did anything like that before," objected Sparrow.
+
+"And if they were the ones, they would have made a clean job of it and
+gone right up to the top of the hill," said Mouser. "But you fellows
+will notice that it was perfectly clear for a long part of the way
+down."
+
+"Mouser is right," declared Bobby. "Somebody did this just to spoil our
+fun."
+
+"And they wanted us to be fooled and get started down so that we'd get a
+tumble when we came to the ashes," added Fred. "That's why they left it
+smooth at the top."
+
+"Some of us might have been killed," groaned Skeets, gingerly soothing
+an injured knee.
+
+"And it's only a bit of luck that we weren't," growled Fred.
+
+"My shins are barked for fair," moaned Pee Wee, "and that's no joke this
+time either."
+
+"Whoever did it was a low-down skunk," burst out Howell angrily.
+
+"He might have been a murderer," added Skeets.
+
+"I'd like to have my hands on him for a minute," declared Fred.
+
+"Well, our fun is over for this night anyway," said Bobby sadly.
+
+"And for a whole lot of other nights," put in Pee Wee. "Those ashes will
+get ground in and there's no sweeping 'em off."
+
+"We'll have to wait for another snow storm before we can do any more
+coasting," wailed Sparrow.
+
+It was a sorely disgruntled band of boys who gathered up their sleds and
+limped slowly to the top of the hill. One of the sleds was smashed and
+all had been more or less scratched and bruised.
+
+Once at the top, they squatted down on their sleds and held a council of
+war.
+
+"Now, fellows," said Bobby, "we've got to get to the bottom of this
+thing somehow. The ashes didn't come there of themselves. Somebody put
+them there, and whoever it was knew that we were out for a grand
+coasting bee to-night. So it must have been some fellow in the school."
+
+"I hate to think that there's any fellow at Rockledge who could do such
+a dirty trick," remarked Howell. "If we can find out who it was we ought
+to tell Doctor Raymond about it and have the fellow sent away from
+school."
+
+"No," objected Bobby. "This is our affair and we oughtn't to bring the
+teachers into it at all."
+
+"The question is who could have done it," put in Skeets.
+
+"Whoever did it is mean enough to steal sheep," growled Fred.
+
+"Or take the pennies from a dead man's eyes," added Mouser.
+
+"I can figure out just three fellows in the school who could do a thing
+like that," said Howell.
+
+"Bill Bronson."
+
+"Jack Jinks."
+
+"Tom Hicksley."
+
+The answers came from as many different lips, and the readiness with
+which they were accepted was not at all flattering to the boys who bore
+the names.
+
+"It may have been one of those three or all three together," said Bobby,
+coming nearer to the mark than he knew.
+
+"That reminds me," cried Fred suddenly. "Tom Hicksley was practicing on
+the flying rings when we were talking this thing over in the gymnasium
+this morning."
+
+"That's so," chimed in Mouser. "And I remember now that he seemed to
+stop all of a sudden and slip away. I didn't think anything about it
+then, but I remember it plainly now."
+
+"He owes some of us a grudge for what happened on the train," remarked
+Pee Wee.
+
+"And he said then he'd get even with us," observed Fred.
+
+"There's one thing we fellows have forgotten," said Skeets. "Whoever did
+this would want to be hiding around and see what happened. We ought to
+hunt them out and pay them up."
+
+This seemed likely enough and the boys looked eagerly about them.
+
+"Doesn't seem to be any place up here where they could hide without our
+seeing them," remarked Mouser.
+
+"No, but there's a lot of bushes at the side of the road half way down
+the hill," put in Sparrow. "Let's go down there."
+
+They went down in a body. There was no one there, but as they got to the
+other side of the bushes they could faintly make out three figures
+retreating in the distance.
+
+They were too far away to be recognized and they had too long a start to
+make it worth while pursuing them, but from their general size and build
+the boys had little doubt as to who they were.
+
+"What did I tell you?" cried Fred. "I knew that they were the only ones
+who could do a thing like that."
+
+"It seems that the whole bunch of them are in it," remarked Mouser.
+
+"I'll bet that Hicksley went straight to them and cooked this up when he
+left the gym this morning," conjectured Sparrow.
+
+"That makes something else we owe those fellows," growled Skeets.
+
+"We owed them enough without that," said Howell. "The big bullies have
+tried to pester the life out of us ever since we've been at Rockledge."
+
+"Our turn will come," replied Bobby with conviction. "But now, fellows,
+we might as well hustle back to the dormitory. There's no use of staying
+here any longer."
+
+They made their way back to the school with very different feelings from
+those they had when they left it.
+
+"A holiday spoiled," grumbled Mouser.
+
+"And there's only two more holidays this month," observed Sparrow.
+
+"Two!" exclaimed Bobby. "There's only one more and that's Washington's
+Birthday."
+
+"How about St. Valentine's Day?" objected Sparrow. "That's only two days
+from now."
+
+"Oh, that's only a fake holiday," replied Fred. "Lessons will go on just
+the same."
+
+"I don't care whether it's a fake holiday or a real one," answered
+Sparrow. "I'm going to get a lot of fun out of it just the same."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XVII
+
+                              ON THE TRAIL
+
+
+The school chums sat up late in the dormitory that night, nursing their
+bruises, and by the time they had got through applying arnica and other
+lotions, the place smelled like a hospital.
+
+How they could bring the trick home to those who had played it was a
+problem that was too much for them at the present. They felt sure that
+the bullies would deny it if taxed with it, and there was no way of
+actually proving it, no matter how sure they might feel in their own
+minds.
+
+The matter could of course have been carried to the authorities of the
+school, and there is no doubt that they would have looked upon it very
+gravely because of the serious accident that might have resulted from
+it. But their code of schoolboy ethics was to keep the teachers out of
+such things and fight it out among themselves. They felt reasonably sure
+that sometime or other they would get even, and they bided their time.
+
+It was a very lame and sore lot of boys who dragged themselves out of
+bed when the rising hell rang on the following morning.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" exclaimed Fred. "I feel as though I'd been in a
+railroad smash-up."
+
+"I'm one big ache all over," groaned Pee Wee.
+
+"One _big_ ache is right," grinned Mouser. "You couldn't be a little one
+if you tried."
+
+"My joints creak like a wooden doll's, every time I go to move,"
+complained Sparrow.
+
+"I bet I'll go to pieces on the stairs and have to be shoveled up in
+bits," prophesied Skeets.
+
+"We'll each keep a part to remember you by," laughed Bobby. "Quit your
+groaning, you fellows, and let's go down to the table. You'll feel
+better when you get filled up."
+
+The filling up process was carried out with neatness and despatch, and
+when it was over the boys were inclined to look on life in a more
+cheerful way.
+
+"We can't do anything this morning on account of lessons," remarked
+Bobby. "But as soon as they're over this afternoon, let's make a break
+for that hill and see what we can find out."
+
+"And see how Hicksley and his pals act in the classrooms," suggested
+Skeets. "That may give us a tip to go by."
+
+"I don't count much on that," said Mouser. "They'll be on their guard
+and won't want to give themselves away."
+
+To a certain extent this proved true. There was no attempt on the part
+of the bullies to gloat over the victims of their trick. But the boys
+surprised furtive grins and winks that passed between the three when
+they thought no one was looking, and this confirmed their suspicions
+that now were almost certainties.
+
+"They did it all right," pronounced Fred. "I'm sure of it from the way I
+saw them grinning at each other. But they'll laugh on the other side of
+their mouths before long."
+
+As soon as the boys were free from their duties, they went with all
+speed to the scene of their misadventure. And again they lamented, when
+they saw by daylight how thoroughly the hill was spoiled for coasting.
+
+"There must be bushels and bushels of ashes!" exclaimed Mouser, as his
+eyes roamed over the lower half of the hill.
+
+"It beats me how they managed to get it all here," observed Skeets.
+
+"It must have been brought a long way," commented Sparrow. "There's no
+place round here they could have got them from."
+
+"They couldn't have carried all that stuff themselves," said Bobby
+thoughtfully.
+
+"It would have been an awful job," added Howell, "and those fellows
+don't like work well enough for that."
+
+"They might have hired a man with a horse and wagon," suggested Skeets.
+
+"If that's so, there must be some tracks in the snow," returned Bobby.
+"Scatter out, fellows, and see if you can find any marks of hoofs or
+wheels."
+
+They followed his directions, and in a moment there was a cry from
+Sparrow.
+
+"Here're the marks of wheels," he called. "But I don't see any horse
+tracks."
+
+There, indeed, were the clearly defined print of wheels leading in a
+roundabout way toward the town. As they looked a little more closely
+they could see too where a man's feet had broken at places through the
+crust of snow.
+
+"It must have been a hand cart," said Bobby, "and you can see that it
+held ashes from the bits that lie along its tracks. That's what they
+brought it in and you can bet on it."
+
+"There aren't many hand carts in town," observed Fred reflectively. "How
+many do you fellows remember seeing?"
+
+"The laundryman has one," replied Howell, "and the paper man has
+another. Those are the only ones I know of, except that shaky thing of
+Dago Joe's."
+
+"He's the fellow!" cried Fred excitedly. "None of the others would lend
+their carts for anything like that."
+
+"Let's follow up the tracks and see where they lead to," suggested
+Sparrow.
+
+This was detective work to their liking and even Pee Wee made no
+objections to the tramp over the snow.
+
+Their satisfaction was increased when they found that the tracks led
+straight to the roundhouse. Here there were great piles of ashes that
+had been dropped from the fire boxes of the locomotives when they were
+being shifted or put up for the night. It was quite clear that here was
+the place where the hand cart had been filled.
+
+But their elation received a sudden check when they prepared to trace
+the wheel prints to the shabby shack in town where Joe lived with his
+numerous brood. For now they were in the outskirts of the town, where
+wagons were coming and going all the time, and the tracks they had been
+following were lost in a multitude of others.
+
+They looked at each other a little sheepishly.
+
+"Stung!" muttered Fred.
+
+"Bum detectives we are," grinned Sparrow.
+
+"We're up a tree now for sure," declared Sparrow.
+
+"All this walk for nothing," growled Pee Wee.
+
+"We do seem to be stumped," admitted Bobby. "What do you say to going to
+Joe and asking him right up and down whether he did it or not?"
+
+"Swell chance we'd have of getting anything out of him," commented
+Mouser.
+
+"He'd lie about it sure," declared Sparrow.
+
+"I suppose likely he would," agreed Bobby. "But we might be able to tell
+something by the way he acts. It won't do any harm to try anyhow."
+
+They found Dago Joe pottering about some work in the small yard in front
+of his shack. But Joe had seen them coming and his uneasy conscience had
+taken alarm. If he had had time, he would have slipped inside the house
+and had his wife or one of the children deny that he was at home. But it
+was too late for that, and he took refuge in the assumed ignorance that
+had served him many times before.
+
+He greeted them with a genial smile that showed his mouthful of white
+teeth which was the only personal attraction he possessed.
+
+"Goota day," he said blandly.
+
+"How are you, Joe?" said Bobby, as spokesman for the party. "Been pretty
+busy?"
+
+Joe's mouth drooped.
+
+"Not do nottin much," he answered. "Beesness bad, ver' bad."
+
+"Carry any loads of ashes lately?" Bobby went on.
+
+Joe looked puzzled. Then a light came into his face.
+
+"Hash?" he said delightedly. "Me likea hash. Tasta good. Bambino like it
+too."
+
+"Not hash, but ashes," returned Bobby, joining in the laugh of the rest
+of the boys. "You know, ashes--what falls out of the stove, wood ashes,
+coal ashes."
+
+Joe's face resembled that of a graven image.
+
+"No unnerstan," he said, shrugging his shoulders with an air of
+perplexity.
+
+In the face of his determination, the boys saw that it was of no use to
+prolong the conversation.
+
+"You're a good actor, Joe," said Bobby, half vexed, half amused, as the
+boys turned to go.
+
+Joe showed his teeth again in an engaging smile that embraced all the
+party and waved them a cordial good-bye.
+
+"How sweetly the old rascal smiles at us!" grinned Mouser.
+
+"Laughs at us, you mean," snorted Fred. "He's tickled to death inside to
+think of the way he's got the best of us."
+
+"I bet if we asked him if he'd like to have us give him five dollars,
+he'd understand, all right," laughed Sparrow.
+
+"He couldn't grab the money too quick," agreed Skeets.
+
+"Well, we haven't wasted our afternoon anyway," Bobby summed up. "We've
+found out how the ashes were taken there, and we feel dead certain in
+our own minds that Joe did it. We know, of course, that he didn't do it
+of his own accord. Somebody hired him to do it. Now if we could only
+find some one who saw Hicksley and Joe talking together, it would help
+some."
+
+"But that wouldn't prove anything," objected Sparrow. "They might be
+talking about the weather."
+
+"Or about hash," interjected Pee Wee.
+
+"Hash seems to stick in your crop," grinned Skeets.
+
+"I wish some of it were sticking there right now," answered Pee Wee,
+"especially if it were like the hash that Meena makes."
+
+"By the way, fellows," chimed in Fred, "it must be close to supper time
+this very minute. Let's beat it."
+
+They started off on a run.
+
+"The one that gets there last is a Chinaman," Skeets flung back over his
+shoulder.
+
+Pee Wee was the Chinaman.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XVIII
+
+                               A HARD HIT
+
+
+The next morning the boys woke to the realization that it was St.
+Valentine's Day. There were valentines in their mail, valentines that
+had been slipped slyly into their pockets, valentines that had found
+their way under their pillows.
+
+Some of them were the grotesque "comics" that were on sale in the
+village stationery store, while others were mere scrawls adorned with
+so-called pictures, and had been made by the boys themselves with pen
+and pencil.
+
+There was not much art about them, but there was a good deal of fun, and
+that was all the boys were looking for. Most of them were based on
+nicknames that the boys carried or on some event in their lives that was
+known to the rest.
+
+Mouser, for instance, was pictured with his own face on the body of a
+mouse who was creeping toward a cage in which a big piece of cheese was
+temptingly displayed.
+
+Skeets was buzzing about as a big mosquito, over the bald head of a fat
+man, who was getting ready to crash him as soon as he should settle
+down.
+
+Fred's red head had been drawn in red ink, and above his flaming mop one
+boy was holding a frying pan and another was breaking eggs to cook an
+omelet.
+
+The boys had learned from Fred of the time when Bobby had coasted down
+the Trent Street hill and gone head over heels into the drift. Bobby's
+head could not be seen but his two heels were waving wildly in the air
+and on one of them was the word "Bobby" and on the other "Blake."
+
+Of course Pee Wee had not been overlooked. He was shown as a big fat
+boy, and each of his knees had a dog's head on it. The dogs were barking
+furiously. This was supposed to indicate his "barked" shins.
+
+Because Billy Bassett was always asking questions with his conundrums,
+he was shown as a great big question mark with the word "guess"
+underneath.
+
+Sparrow Bangs sat on a branch with a flock of birds, singing with all
+his might, while in the bushes a hunter was taking careful aim and
+getting ready to fire.
+
+Under most of the pictures there were verses that brought forth shrieks
+of laughter--usually from all, but sometimes from all but the recipient.
+
+As a rule, it was pure fun without any sting in it, though Fred pointed
+out that the hair in the picture was a good deal redder than that which
+really waved over his freckled forehead. Pee Wee too was sure that he
+was not anyway near so big as the human mountain that his picture showed
+him to be.
+
+There was plenty of chaff and laughter as the boys pored over the
+valentines, and they would have gladly spent more time discussing them.
+But as Fred had said, Valentine's Day was only a "fake" holiday, and the
+hard-hearted teachers insisted on lessons and recitations. So the
+pictures were hastily thrust into pockets until they had more time to
+look at them and the boys trooped over to the classrooms.
+
+Several times through the morning's work, they noticed that Tom Hicksley
+shot furious glances at them and this aroused their curiosity.
+
+"His royal highness seems mighty sore about something this morning,"
+Fred whispered to Bobby.
+
+"Got out of bed the wrong foot first maybe," replied Bobby.
+
+"I hope he's got something to feel sore about," snapped Fred.
+
+What that something was they learned after the lessons were over, and
+they stood chattering with their friends, a little way off from the main
+building.
+
+Hicksley came up to them, accompanied by Bronson and Jinks. There was an
+ugly look in the bully's eyes and he held a folded sheet of paper in his
+hand.
+
+"Which one of you boobs sent me this valentine?" he asked threateningly.
+
+"How do you know that any of us did?" replied Bobby in Yankee fashion,
+answering a question by asking one.
+
+"I know that some of you did, because you butted in on me before,"
+replied Hicksley.
+
+"When was that?" asked Fred aggravatingly.
+
+"You know well enough," growled Hicksley, who was not any too anxious to
+recall his bully-ragging of the old soldier.
+
+"Oh, yes, I remember," put in Mouser, as though he had just thought of
+it. "You remember, fellows, how Hicksley reached out his foot and tried
+to trip the old man up."
+
+"I didn't," cried Hicksley untruthfully. "He fell over it by accident."
+
+"And I suppose it was an accident that you kept at him with the feather
+so that he couldn't get any sleep?" retorted Fred.
+
+"That's neither here nor there," snarled Hicksley, dodging the matter.
+"What I want to know is which one of you sent this valentine?"
+
+"What are you going to do if you find out?" asked Bobby innocently.
+
+"I'm going to give him a trimming that he'll remember," growled
+Hicksley.
+
+Bronson and Jinks ranged up alongside of him as though to assure him of
+their support, and it looked as if trouble were coming.
+
+"Give it to him good and plenty, Tom," said Bronson.
+
+"The whole bunch of them need a licking," added Jinks.
+
+"It will take more than you to give it to us," blazed out Fred
+defiantly.
+
+The bullies were much larger and stronger than any of the boys opposed
+to them. On the other hand, the smaller boys had a larger number, so
+that if a tussle did come, the forces would be about equal.
+
+"What is this valentine you're making all this fuss about?" demanded
+Bobby.
+
+"Here it is," cried Hicksley furiously, thrusting it forward. "And I'm
+going to make the fellow that sent it pay for it."
+
+The boys crowded round and looked at it curiously, at the same time
+keeping wary eyes on the bullies.
+
+The picture was fairly well done, and had evidently taken a great deal
+of work and time on the part of the one who had made it. It represented
+a boy taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten. The boy was grinning, and
+the kitten was pawing wildly about, trying to get back its mouse.
+
+To make sure there could be no mistake, the kitten had a card around its
+neck bearing the words, "I am blind," and under the figure of the boy
+was scrawled the name, "Tom Hicksley."
+
+The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley's temper rose to the boiling
+point.
+
+"Own up now, which one of you did it," he demanded fiercely.
+
+"Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom Hicksley," said Fred.
+
+"What do you suppose the picture means?" inquired Mouser, as though he
+could not quite make it out.
+
+"I think it means that the fellow who would take a dead mouse from a
+blind kitten is about as mean as they make them," put in Sparrow.
+
+"Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I shouldn't wonder," added
+Shiner, pouring oil on the flames.
+
+"Are you going to tell me who did it?" snarled Hicksley once more,
+snatching back the valentine, which he now regretted having shown, and
+doubling up his fist.
+
+"I would have done it if I'd thought of it," Fred came back at him.
+
+Hicksley sprang forward, followed by Bronson and Jinks.
+
+The boys stood their ground and there was a wild mix-up. In a moment
+they were all down in the snow in a flying tangle of arms and legs.
+
+There was no telling how the tussle would have terminated, though
+Hicksley was getting his face well washed with snow that the boys were
+cramming into his mouth and eyes, when a shout arose:
+
+"Cheese it, fellows, there's a teacher coming!"
+
+The combatants scrambled to their feet and scurried in all directions,
+and when Mr. Leith, the head teacher, arrived on the spot, there was no
+one to be seen.
+
+Bobby and his friends found themselves, red, panting and uproariously
+happy, in their dormitory, where they flung their books upon their beds
+and fairly danced about with glee.
+
+"I jammed so much snow in Tom Hicksley's mouth that I bet he'll taste it
+for a month," chortled Fred.
+
+"They tackled the wrong bunch that time," gurgled Mouser.
+
+"They thought we'd run," chuckled Bobby.
+
+"Wasn't that a dandy valentine?" demanded Skeets.
+
+"What a fool he was to show it," grinned Pee Wee. "Now it'll go all over
+the school."
+
+"Who do you suppose sent it?" wondered Shiner.
+
+"I'd give a dollar to know," declared Fred.
+
+"All right," grinned Sparrow, holding out his hand. "Pass over the
+dollar."
+
+"You?" cried the other boys in chorus.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XIX
+
+                            SPRING PRACTICE
+
+
+"I'm the fellow who did it," admitted Sparrow modestly.
+
+"Sparrow, old scout, you're a wonder!" cried Mouser, clapping him on the
+back.
+
+"It hit him right where he lived," chuckled Skeets.
+
+"That pays him up for scattering ashes on the hill," grinned Fred.
+
+"He'll never hear the last of it as long as he stays in school," said
+Shiner. "Every once in a while a dead mouse will turn up on his desk and
+make him hopping mad."
+
+"He'll never be much madder than he was this morning," put in Skeets.
+"His eyes were fairly snapping."
+
+"Bronson and Jinks got theirs, too," said Pee Wee. "I guess they'll
+think twice before they pick on the other fellows again."
+
+"They've been rather quiet since the goat tumbled them over at our last
+initiation," laughed Bobby, referring to an incident of the previous
+term, "but since Hicksley came they've been getting ugly again. I guess
+what they got this morning will hold them for a while."
+
+As a matter of fact, the bullies did seem to be somewhat dashed by the
+stout resistance that the smaller boys had put up and they did not refer
+to the valentine again. They were only too willing to have it forgotten,
+and Tom Hicksley ground his teeth more than once at not having kept it
+to himself.
+
+Spring was now at hand, coming this year a little earlier than usual.
+The snow disappeared from the ground, the ice vanished from the lake,
+and the soft winds that blew up from the south turned the thoughts of
+the boys to track games and baseball.
+
+Fred and Bobby had done a good deal of practicing in the gymnasium and
+were in prime condition. But actual practice on the diamond was the real
+thing they wanted, and they were delighted when the ground had dried out
+enough to play in the open air.
+
+Frank Durrock had been busy for a month past, getting all the details
+perfected for the entrance of Rockledge into the Monatook Lake League.
+But now everything was ready and he could devote himself to picking the
+members of the team.
+
+This proved to be no easy matter. An unusually large number of good
+players were at Rockledge, and the struggle for places on the nine was
+interesting and exciting.
+
+It seemed that Bobby should play in the pitcher's box and Fred at short
+stop. They had both done exceedingly well at those positions the
+previous spring and fall. But there was a new boy, Willis by name, who
+had been a good short stop on his home nine before he had come to the
+school, and it seemed to be a toss up between him and Fred as to who
+could do better in the position.
+
+Bobby, too, had rivalry to face in the person of Tom Hicksley.
+
+On the first day that they actually had field practice, Hicksley came
+out on the ball ground in an old uniform that proclaimed that he had
+once been a member of the "Eagles" of Cresskill, his native town.
+
+Frank knew that he had been a pitcher, and so he put him in the box and
+had him toss up some balls for the rest of the team in batting practice.
+
+And Hicksley did exceedingly well. Whatever his defects in character, he
+certainly knew how to pitch. He had a good outcurve, a fair incurve and
+a high fast ball that Bobby himself generously declared to be a "peach."
+
+Hicksley's height and strength, too, were greater than Bobby's, which
+was not to be wondered at when it was considered that he was three years
+older. But he was inclined to be a little wild, and his control was not
+as good as Bobby's.
+
+But what made his work of special interest to Frank was that he pitched
+with his left hand. Most of the pitchers in the new league were
+right-handed, and the boys were used to hitting that kind of pitching.
+
+Frank felt that with a left-handed pitcher he would have the other
+fellows all at sea when it came to "lining them out," and for that
+reason he watched Hicksley with the closest attention.
+
+"He puts them over all right," conceded Bobby, as he watched Hicksley
+winging them over the plate.
+
+"Yes," said Fred, "when he gets them over at all. But lots of them don't
+even cut the corners. He'll give too many bases on balls."
+
+"And a base on balls is as good for the fellow that gets it as a base
+hit," commented Mouser.
+
+"His arm seems to be all right, but we don't know how he'll act when he
+gets in a pinch," said Skeets dubiously.
+
+"That's what makes Bobby so strong as a pitcher," said Shiner. "No
+matter how tight a hole he finds himself in, he's cool as an iceberg."
+
+"That's so," remarked Pee Wee, who was too fat and too slow to play
+himself, but was an ardent rooter for the home team. "I've never seen
+Bobby get rattled yet."
+
+"That's because there isn't a bit of yellow in him," said Fred, throwing
+his arm affectionately about his chum's shoulder.
+
+"And I'll bet that Hicksley has a yellow streak in him a yard wide,"
+snapped Sparrow.
+
+"Oh he may not be that way when it comes to baseball," remonstrated
+Bobby who always tried to be fair. "At any rate he ought to have a
+chance to show what he can do before we make up our minds about him. You
+fellows know that I don't like him a bit more than you do, but that
+doesn't say he may not be a good baseball player."
+
+Jinks was not on the nine, but Bronson, who was a good batter and a fair
+fielder, was expected to play center field. They were both delighted at
+the showing that their crony was making and were loud in their applause.
+Their praise was so extravagant in fact that it was clear that they did
+it to depreciate Bobby.
+
+"You're the best pitcher we ever had at Rockledge, Tom," cried Bronson,
+casting a side glance at Bobby to make sure that he heard.
+
+"You lay over them all," crowed Jinks. "There's no one else can hold a
+candle to you."
+
+"Here, cut that out, you fellows," called Frank Durrock sharply. "Blake
+has proved what he can do and I don't want any talk like that. He won
+both of the last games he pitched against Belden, and any one who can do
+better than he did will have to be going some."
+
+"You bet they will," cried Fred loyally, and there was a round of hand
+clapping from the other boys, with most of whom Bobby was a prime
+favorite.
+
+Frank's hearty defense put Bobby on his mettle, and when his turn came
+to put the balls over, he did so with a snap and skill that delighted
+his friends.
+
+The practice all around was sharp and spirited, and Frank was greatly
+encouraged as he saw how well the team took hold. But it would not do to
+play too long on the first day, and after an hour or so, he called a
+halt.
+
+"We want to keep an eye on those fellows, Bobby," remarked Fred a little
+uneasily as they were going toward the school. "They're going to crowd
+you out if they can."
+
+"Let them try," replied Bobby. "I'm going to try my best to hold up my
+end with Hicksley and beat him if I can. But if he can prove that he's a
+better pitcher than I am, I won't kick if I have to play second fiddle.
+I'd be willing to do anything to help Rockledge win."
+
+
+
+
+                               CHAPTER XX
+
+                             THE SUGAR CAMP
+
+
+An untimely snow storm that was wholly unlooked for by the boys dismayed
+them by putting a stop to their practice for the time being. But the
+snow, though heavy, did not last long, and began to melt rapidly under
+the rays of the sun.
+
+"See how the water is running down those trees," remarked Shiner,
+looking out of the window one Friday morning.
+
+"That isn't water, boy," said Sparrow. "That's sap. The trees are
+bursting with it just now."
+
+"By the way, fellows," put in Skeets, "have you ever been to a maple
+sugar camp when the sap was running?"
+
+Most of them had not and Skeets went on to explain.
+
+"It's the best fun ever," he said; "and now's just the time to see it
+running full blast when the snow is melting and the air is warm. On a
+day like this the sap comes down in bucketfuls. And you can see just how
+they collect it, and how they boil it down until it's a thick syrup, and
+the way that hot maple sugar does taste--yum yum!" and here he closed
+his eyes in blissful recollection.
+
+"Sounds mighty good to me," said Pee Wee, with whom the memory of Meena
+and her breakfast of buckwheat cakes and maple syrup still lingered.
+
+"You can take out the hot sugar in big spoons and let it cool on a pan
+of snow," continued Skeets, drawing out the details as he saw that his
+friends' mouths were watering in anticipation, "and when you get the
+first taste of it you never want to stop eating."
+
+"I wonder if there's a sugar camp anywhere around here," said Pee Wee
+with great animation.
+
+"I know of one that's about three miles away," said Sparrow. "What do
+you say to our making up a party and going out there to-morrow if Doc
+Raymond will let us go out of bounds?"
+
+There was a general chorus of gleeful assent.
+
+"What we ought to do," said Skeets, "is to have a couple of fellows go
+out there to-day and make arrangements. We want to take up a collection
+and fix it up with the farmer's wife to have hot biscuits and other
+things ready for us. I tell you what, fellows, hot biscuits and fresh
+butter and hot thick maple sugar just out of the boiler--"
+
+"Don't say another word," cried Pee Wee frantically, "or I'll never,
+never be able to wait till to-morrow."
+
+They took stock of their resources and collected several dollars between
+them, enough they thought to cover the expense. Bobby and Fred were
+appointed as a committee of two to go out to the camp that afternoon so
+that everything would be in readiness on the morrow.
+
+Dr. Raymond's permission was readily obtained, and the chums set out on
+their three mile walk. They had no trouble in finding the camp and the
+farmer's wife, a bright, cheery person, was very ready to entertain the
+party and promised to have an abundant lunch provided for them.
+
+The boys would have dearly liked to inspect the camp, but they had
+promised their chums that they would not do so until all could see it
+together, and they kept loyally to their word.
+
+No finer day could have been selected for that particular outing than
+the one that dawned the next morning. The air was mild and the sun
+shining brightly. The only drawback was the walking, as the roads were
+full of mud in some places and melting slush in others, but as they were
+all warmly shod that made little difference.
+
+Pee Wee groaned occasionally as he lagged along in the rear, but they
+had no fear of his dropping out. It would have taken a good deal more
+than a three-mile walk to keep Pee Wee away from that sugar camp after
+Skeets's description.
+
+"There it is," cried Fred at last, pointing to a big grove of trees in
+the rear of a farmhouse.
+
+Pee Wee sniffed the air.
+
+"Seems to me I can smell the sugar cooking from here," he said joyously.
+
+They left the road now, took a short cut across the fields and soon
+entered the grove of maples.
+
+It was an extensive grove, containing several hundred of the stately
+trees. Into each one of these that had reached their full growth a hole
+had been made, a spigot driven in, and a bright tin pail suspended from
+each spigot. Into these pails the sap was falling with a musical drip so
+that a tinkling murmur ran through the grove as though some one were
+gently touching the strings of a zither.
+
+An old horse attached to a low sled was shambling slowly along through
+the woodland paths, stopping at each tree. The driver would empty the
+pail into one of several large cans that the sled contained, replace the
+pail and go on to the next.
+
+"Seems almost a shame to tap those splendid trees," murmured Mouser.
+"It's almost like bleeding them to death."
+
+"Doesn't do them a bit of harm," explained Skeets cheerfully. "The
+farmers take good care not to drain out more sap than the tree can
+spare."
+
+When the sled had made its round, the boys followed it to the shed where
+the sap was boiled down into sugar. Here they saw an enormous caldron
+with a roaring fire underneath. Into this caldron the sap was poured,
+and here its transformation began. A delicious odor arose that made the
+nostrils of the boys dilate hungrily.
+
+Every little while, the man who was supervising the boiling drew out a
+huge ladleful to see how thick it was getting. At a certain stage he
+turned to the boys with a grin.
+
+"Each one of you take one of those pans," he directed, pointing to a
+bright row of dairy tins which the housewife had made ready. "Fill them
+up with snow and pack the snow down hard."
+
+In a twinkling the boys were ready. Then, as each held up his pan, the
+man poured a big ladle of the hot syrup on the snow. The rich golden
+brown against the whiteness of the snow would have delighted the soul of
+an artist. But these lads were not artists, only hungry boys, and their
+only concern was to get the sugar cool enough to eat.
+
+Pee Wee in fact burned his lips and tongue by starting too soon, but he
+soon forgot a trifle like that, and in a moment more he and the others
+were eating as if they had never tasted anything so good in all their
+lives.
+
+"Hot biscuits coming, boys," smiled the farmer. "Better leave some
+room."
+
+"Let them come," mumbled Mouser with his mouth full of sugar. "None of
+them will go away again."
+
+And they made good this prophecy when a little later they were called
+into the farmhouse, where a table was spread, heaped high with fluffy
+biscuits just from the oven. On these the boys spread butter and then
+piled them up with the delicious syrup. There were other things on the
+table too, pickles and pies and cakes, but to these the boys paid slight
+attention. They could have those any day, but to-day maple sugar was
+king.
+
+When at length they were through, they all acknowledged to having eaten
+more than was good for them.
+
+"We'll have to use a derrick to get Pee Wee on his feet," laughed Bobby.
+
+"And borrow the horse and sled to take him back to school," said
+Sparrow.
+
+But it was not quite so bad as that, though after they started back the
+other boys had to moderate their gait in order not to leave Pee Wee too
+far behind.
+
+"Hurry up, Pee Wee," admonished Skeets. "You're slow as molasses."
+
+"Slow as maple syrup when it's cooling," amended Sparrow.
+
+"Well, fellows, this has sure been a bully trip," remarked Shiner,
+summing up the sentiments of all.
+
+"This is the end of a perfect day," Fred chanted gayly, lifting up his
+voice in song.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXI
+
+                             THE FIRST GAME
+
+
+Notwithstanding Fred's jubilant song, the day was not yet ended.
+
+As the boys approached the school, they saw a figure in the road a
+little way ahead that seemed familiar to them. They quickened their
+pace, quickly overtaking Dago Joe.
+
+"Hello, Joe," came from many voices at once.
+
+Joe flashed them a smile, showing his fine, white teeth.
+
+"Hello," he answered genially.
+
+"Wonder if he's as fond of hash as ever," Fred remarked in a low voice
+to Mouser.
+
+"What are you doing up this way, Joe?" asked Bobby.
+
+"Looking for any one?" inquired Sparrow.
+
+But Joe was wary and refused to be drawn out.
+
+"Can't get that old fox to give himself away," muttered Skeets.
+
+Just then Tom Hicksley approached, accompanied by Bronson and Jinks.
+They caught sight of Joe at the same time that he saw them, and tried to
+retreat. Bronson and Jinks succeeded, but Joe was too quick for
+Hicksley, and hurrying forward laid his hand on his arm, while he
+jabbered away excitedly.
+
+"Ha ha!" exclaimed Fred in a tragic way. "I see it all now."
+
+"He's boning Hicksley for something," guessed Sparrow.
+
+"Money, I'll bet," ventured Shiner.
+
+"I shouldn't wonder if it's on account of that job he did for those
+fellows, hauling those ashes," said Bobby.
+
+"Wasn't it luck that we happened along just at this minute?" chuckled
+Mouser delightedly.
+
+As Joe and Hicksley were right in the path that led up to the school,
+the boys sauntered along carelessly until they were nearly abreast of
+them.
+
+For a man who understood so little English, Joe was talking at a great
+rate.
+
+"I wanta ze mon," the boys heard him say.
+
+"I tell you I haven't got it with me just now," Hicksley responded in an
+undertone, trying to quiet the man and keep the boys from hearing.
+
+"I wanta ze mon now," repeated Joe doggedly.
+
+"Oh, give the man his money, Hicksley," broke in Sparrow suddenly.
+
+"He needs it to buy hash with," said the irrepressible Fred.
+
+"Let's take up a collection to help out," suggested Skeets
+sarcastically.
+
+"You fellows shut up," cried Hicksley, turning on them fiercely.
+
+"We know how he earned it," returned Bobby undauntedly.
+
+"You don't know anything of the kind," snarled the bully, but his eyes
+wavered as they met Bobby's fixed upon them.
+
+"It was pretty hard work carting ashes all that way to spoil our coast,"
+went on Bobby. "You'd better pony up, Hicksley."
+
+"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Hicksley.
+
+But as he did not like the way the boys were gathering around him, he
+put his hand in his pocket, drew out the dollar and a half that he had
+promised to pay when the work should be finished and which he had ever
+since been trying to cheat Joe out of, and slunk away, glad to escape
+the contempt that he felt in the eyes and manner of the boys.
+
+"Caught with the goods!" cried Fred jubilantly, throwing his cap into
+the air.
+
+"Couldn't have been nicer if we'd planned it ourselves," exulted
+Sparrow.
+
+"Well, now that we're sure that he did it, what are we going to do about
+it?" asked Skeets.
+
+"Oh, I guess there's nothing to be done," said Bobby slowly. "If it
+wasn't that he's likely to be on the baseball team we might make it hot
+for him. Not with the teachers of course, but among ourselves. But we
+want Rockledge to win the championship, and it won't help any to have
+trouble with any boy on the nine. Besides, he's had a good deal of
+punishment just in the last few minutes. I never saw a fellow look as
+cheap as he did when he faded away just now."
+
+"I guess you're right, Bobby," assented Sparrow. "But all the same he
+wouldn't let up on you if he had you in a fix."
+
+The next day they all felt rather logy after their feast of the day
+before, and Pee Wee, who had a severe stomach ache, did not get up at
+all. Fortunately it was Sunday, and the day of rest helped to get them
+in shape again before their school duties began on Monday morning.
+
+From that time on the weather was all that the boys could ask, and every
+hour the ball players could spare was spent in practice on the diamond.
+
+Gradually, under the coaching of Mr. Carrier, their athletic instructor,
+ably assisted by Frank Durrock, the nine was getting into good form.
+
+Fred, at short stop, was thought to be a shade better than Willis, and
+he was slated to play in the first game.
+
+As to the pitchers, while there was no doubt that they would be Bobby
+and Hicksley, it was by no means certain which of them would twirl in
+the opening game, which was to be with the Somerset nine on the
+Rockledge grounds.
+
+Each was doing well, and each had some points that the other did not
+possess. Hicksley, the older of the two, had more muscular strength, and
+could whip the ball over with more speed than Bobby. But Bobby was a
+better general, a quicker thinker, and he had a control of his curves
+that was far better than his rival's.
+
+"One thing is certain," said Mr. Carrier, in one of his conferences with
+Frank. "We're better fixed in the box than we ever were before. It's
+hard to choose between them, though, take all things together, I think
+Blake is the better pitcher of the two."
+
+"Yes," agreed Frank. "I feel a little safer myself with Bobby in there
+than I do with Hicksley. Hicksley has lots of speed but he's liable to
+go up with a bang. But I've never yet seen Bobby get rattled."
+
+The long expected day arrived at last, and all Rockledge turned out to
+see the game. The stand was full, and Dr. Raymond himself, with most of
+the teachers, sat in a little space that had been railed off and
+decorated with the Rockledge colors.
+
+The Somerset nine, made up of strong, sturdy looking boys, had come over
+with a large number of rooters from their town. They were full of
+confidence, and they went through their preliminary practice with a snap
+and a vim that showed they were good players.
+
+Frank had watched them as they batted out flies, and noted that several
+of them were left-handed batters. He held an anxious conference with Mr.
+Carrier, and then came over to Bobby who was warming up.
+
+"I had expected to have you pitch to-day, Bobby," he said; "but I've
+just been noticing that those fellows have two or three left-handed
+batters. Now you know as well as I do that for that kind it's best to
+have left-handed pitching. They can't hit it so easily."
+
+"Sure," replied Bobby.
+
+"And so I think I'll have to put in Hicksley," continued Frank.
+
+"That's all right," said Bobby heartily, "and I'll be rooting my head
+off for him to win."
+
+"You're a brick, Bobby!" exclaimed Frank. "I was sure you'd understand."
+
+When the umpire cried: "Play ball!" there was a buzz of surprise among
+the spectators, when, instead of Bobby, it was Tom Hicksley who picked
+up the ball and faced the batter.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXII
+
+                             TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+Hicksley started off in good shape. The first man up went out on a foul
+that Sparrow caught after a long run. The second batter, who was
+left-handed, could do nothing with the ball at all and went out on
+strikes. The third man connected and shot a sharp grounder which Fred
+picked up neatly and threw in plenty of time to Durrock at first.
+
+The side was out, and hearty applause greeted Hicksley as he came in to
+the bench, Bobby joining in as heartily as any of the others.
+
+"That was a dandy start!" cried Bronson.
+
+"Keep it up, Tom!" exclaimed Jinks, encouragingly. "They can't touch
+you."
+
+Rockledge was more fortunate in its half of the inning. Frank, who led
+off in the batting order, had two halls and one strike called on him,
+but on his second attempt he sent the ball on a line between center and
+right for three bases. He was tempted to try to stretch it to a home
+run, but Bobby, who was coaching, saw that the ball would get there
+before him and held him at third.
+
+The next batter fouled out, but Mouser, who followed him, sent a neat
+single to left on which Frank scored easily. Barry went out on strikes,
+and Mouser was left on the bag when Spentz died on a weak dribbler to
+the box.
+
+But Rockledge was one run to the good and had shown that they were in a
+batting humor, so that their rooters in the stand were jubilant at the
+promising beginning.
+
+The next two innings went by without a score for either side. Hicksley
+was still pitching well, and the opposing pitcher had tightened up
+considerably.
+
+In the fourth, Somerset broke the ice. The first man up laid down a bunt
+that Hicksley picked up, but threw wild to Durrock, and the batter
+reached second before the ball was recovered. A neat sacrifice put him
+on third, from which he scored on a long fly to right, which Spentz
+gobbled after a long run, but could not return to the plate in time to
+catch the man running in from third after the out. No further damage was
+done as Fred and Durrock disposed of the batter, but the score was tied,
+and it was Somerset's turn to cheer.
+
+But Rockledge got the run right back again in the fifth, and added one
+for good measure. Fred smashing out a rattling two-bagger to left. He
+stole third on the first ball pitched. Two infield flies followed, and
+it began to look as though Fred's hit had gone for nothing. Then Mouser
+brought the stand yelling to its feet by a clean home run, following
+Fred over the plate and making the score three to one.
+
+His comrades gathered around him, pawing and mauling him exultantly.
+
+"That's what you call hitting it a mile!" cried Bobby.
+
+"A lallapaloozer!" shouted Fred, doing a war dance.
+
+"A peach!"
+
+"A pippin!"
+
+"You're all there, Mouser!" yelled Pee Wee.
+
+Mouser grinned appreciatively at the medley of shouts that greeted him,
+and then retired to the bench, where he sat panting and happy.
+
+Radford, the Somerset pitcher, pulled himself together and retired the
+next man on strikes, and Somerset came in for its turn at the bat.
+
+"Go for 'em now, fellows!" shouted their supporters.
+
+"Eat 'em up!"
+
+"Get right after 'em!"
+
+"The game's young yet."
+
+But Hicksley, encouraged by the two-run lead his team had handed him,
+was still more than they could solve, and again they went out into the
+field runless.
+
+The Rockledge boys also had a goose egg for their portion in their half,
+but this did not worry them much. The game was two thirds over, and at
+that stage a lead of two runs looked mighty good to them.
+
+But in the seventh inning their confidence began to give way to anxiety.
+Hicksley began well by retiring the first man on strikes. But then he
+began to lose control. Two batters in succession were given their bases
+on balls. A fine pickup of Fred's disposed of the next batter at first,
+each of the others advancing a base on the play. There was only one
+other to be put out and end the inning without a run being recorded.
+
+But the next batter landed square on the ball, which whizzed like a
+bullet between first and second, and in a jiffy two runs came over the
+plate, tying the score. The batter reached second on the play and then
+imprudently tried to make third. A quick throw to Sparrow caught him ten
+feet from the bag and the side was out.
+
+Hicksley came in shaking and with a strained look in his face. The
+Rockledge rooters yelled encouragement to him, but he paid no attention
+to them and sat moping sullenly on the bench.
+
+Frank and Mr. Carrier had a hurried consultation, and then the former
+came over to Bobby.
+
+"You'd better get out there at one side and warm up," he directed him.
+
+Bobby did as ordered.
+
+"What are you going to do?" demanded Hicksley in a surly tone. "Take me
+out and put that fellow in?"
+
+"Not yet," answered Frank soothingly. "You've had a bad inning, but that
+can happen to any one. Perhaps you'll be all right after a rest. We'll
+see how you start out the next inning."
+
+The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened, had taken a mighty
+brace, and Rockledge went out in one, two, three order.
+
+Hicksley took up his position in the box with an air of confidence that
+Frank felt was assumed.
+
+Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a strike. The next
+two were balls. Then followed another strike and a third ball, making
+the count three and two.
+
+With both batter and pitcher "in the hole," the next was a hall and the
+batter capered happily down to first.
+
+Durrock walked over to Hicksley.
+
+"How about it, Hicksley?" he asked.
+
+"Let me alone," growled Hicksley.
+
+The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing his mate to
+second.
+
+Hicksley now was plainly cracking, and when he issued another "pass,"
+filling the bases, Frank motioned him to retire and beckoned Bobby to
+the box.
+
+Hicksley glared at Bobby as the latter came forward.
+
+"Sorry, Hicksley," said Bobby regretfully, as he reached out for the
+ball. "You pitched a dandy game for the first six innings."
+
+"Yes, you're sorry a lot," snarled Hicksley. "You're tickled to death at
+the chance to show me up."
+
+Instead of handing the ball to Bobby, he threw it angrily on the ground
+and slouched away to the bench.
+
+Bobby's eyes flashed, but he controlled himself, quietly picked up the
+ball and took his position in the box. It was no time now to get angry
+when he needed above all things to keep cool.
+
+It was a trying position for so young a player. The bases were full with
+no one out, and the Somerset rooters were yelling at the top of their
+lungs, trying to rattle him.
+
+A clean hit would bring in at least one run, probably two. Even a long
+fly to the outfield would probably enable the man on third to score.
+
+"Go to it, Bobby, old boy!" called Fred from short.
+
+"You can hold them!" encouraged Mouser.
+
+"We're all behind you, Bobby!" sang out Sparrow.
+
+Bobby sized up the batter and wound up for the first pitch.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXIII
+
+                          THE EGG AND THE FAN
+
+
+The ball whizzed over the plate, cutting an outside corner for a strike.
+
+The Rockledge rooters regarded this as a good omen and greeted it with
+wild shouts. They all had a warm spot in their hearts for Bobby, and
+they had been disgusted at the unsportsmanlike way in which Hicksley had
+left the box.
+
+The next ball was a high fast one, at which the batter refused to bite.
+
+Bobby had seen out of the corner of his eye that the occupant of the
+third bag was taking too big a lead. As the ball came back to him from
+the catcher, he suddenly turned and shot it to third.
+
+The runner tried frantically to get back, but Sparrow had the ball on
+him like a flash.
+
+"You're out!" shouted the umpire.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" yelled Fred. "That was nice work, Bobby."
+
+This relieved the pressure somewhat, and the crowd breathed more freely.
+
+But the danger was still threatening, and the batter was the captain of
+the Somerset team and one of its best hitters. He fouled off the next
+two. On his third attempt, he chopped a bounder to Mouser at second, who
+made a clever stop and threw him out at first, while the runners each
+advanced a base.
+
+"Two down," cried Sparrow from third. "You're getting them, Bobby. Keep
+it up."
+
+Bobby now put on all steam. There was only one more inning after this
+one, and he did not need to save his arm. He sent two outcurves in
+succession. Each went for a strike. Then when the batter was set for
+another of the same kind, Bobby outguessed him with a straight fast one,
+and the ball plunked into the catcher's mitt for an out.
+
+There was a chorus of cheers from the Rockledge rooters as Bobby drew
+off his glove and came in to the bench.
+
+"That's what you call getting out of a hole," cried one.
+
+"The bases full and nobody out and yet they couldn't score," shouted
+another.
+
+"We'll give you a run this time, Bobby, and all you'll need to do then
+will be to hold them down in the ninth," prophesied Frank, as he
+selected his bat.
+
+He started in to make his words good by cracking out a single on the
+second ball pitched. A sacrifice bunt to the right of the pitcher's box
+advanced him to second. The next batter went out on an infield fly that
+held Frank anchored to the bag. Barry was given his base on balls. Then
+Spentz walloped a corker to left, on which Frank scored and Barry
+reached third. A moment later a quick throw caught him napping and the
+side was out.
+
+"We're in the lead now, Bobby," exulted Fred, as Rockledge took the
+field. "Put the kibosh on them just once more and we're all right."
+
+"Make this inning short and sweet, old scout!" sang out Mouser.
+
+And short and sweet was what Bobby made it. He was on his mettle, and
+put every bit of control he had upon the ball. Despite the frantic
+efforts of the Somerset coachers to rattle him, he kept perfectly cool.
+Victory was too close now for him to let it go.
+
+The first batter up knocked a high foul to Sparrow, who held it tight.
+The next sent a weak bounder to Frank, which he tossed to Bobby, who had
+run over to cover the bag. Then Bobby shattered the last hope of
+Somerset by striking out the last man on three pitched balls.
+
+The Rockledge rooters, wild with delight, rushed down from the stands
+and gathered about their favorites, who were grinning happily. They had
+played a good game and deserved to win, but Bobby, because of his
+gallant stand when the team had its back against the wall, came in
+naturally for the lion's share of the applause.
+
+"That was some sweet pitching all right."
+
+"You had them standing on their heads."
+
+"Your nerve was right with you."
+
+"Wait till he tackles Belden. He'll show them a thing or two."
+
+"I'm glad we pulled through all right," said Bobby modestly. "All the
+boys put up a dandy game. And don't forget that Hicksley held them down
+splendidly in the first part of the game."
+
+"That's so," conceded Mouser. "But when it came to the pinch he
+cracked."
+
+"He couldn't stand the gaff," put in Sparrow.
+
+"Any pitcher will get knocked out of the box sometimes," argued Bobby.
+"Then, too, he had been pitching six hard innings and was tired. I was
+fresh when I went in and only had two innings to pitch."
+
+Hicksley had left the bench as soon as the last man was out. He could
+not bear to wait to see the praise that he knew would be showered on his
+rival. He had been joined by Jinks and Bronson, and the three were now
+slouching grumpily toward the school buildings.
+
+"Doesn't seem as if they were tickled to death because Rockledge won,"
+commented Fred, as he looked at the group.
+
+"Well, the rest of us are, anyway," cried Sparrow. "We've made a mighty
+good start, taking the first game."
+
+"I can see the pennant flying from that pole already," jubilated Skeets,
+pointing to the flagstaff back of center field.
+
+"You've got dandy eyesight, Skeets," laughed Bobby. "We've got a long
+way to go yet."
+
+"One swallow doesn't make a summer," cautioned Frank, who, while he was
+as pleased as the rest, did not want his team to be too confident.
+
+"And if the Ridgefield nine is as good as the Somersets, we'll have our
+work cut out for us," remarked Mouser. "Those fellows gave us all we
+wanted to do to win."
+
+"They put up a bully fight," agreed Shiner.
+
+Doctor Raymond came down among the boys to congratulate them on the
+victory they had won for the school, and Mr. Carrier was even more
+enthusiastic over the success of his charges.
+
+"You've made a fine start, boys, and I'm proud of you," he told them.
+"Now, don't let down a bit, but keep it right up to the finish of the
+season."
+
+"We will."
+
+"Trust us."
+
+"We've only begun to fight."
+
+"That's the right spirit," said Mr. Carrier, smiling. "And now to make
+you feel better, I'm going to tell you that I've just received a
+telegram that Ridgefield whipped Belden this afternoon by seven to
+three."
+
+A tremendous shout arose at this. They had counted on Belden as the
+rival from whom they had the most to fear, and they were immensely
+pleased to learn that it had begun the season with a defeat.
+
+It was a jubilant throng of boys that made their way toward the school
+buildings that afternoon. They knew that a rocky road lay ahead of them,
+but a good deal depended upon the start, and it was a great thing to
+know that they had the lead on the other fellows.
+
+"Hicksley acted like a game sport this afternoon when he threw the ball
+down in the box instead of handing it to you," remarked Fred, with whom
+the incident rankled.
+
+"Oh, well," said Bobby, "you must make some allowance for him. It was
+natural that he should feel sore."
+
+"That isn't the point," persisted Fred. "A thoroughbred might have felt
+sore, but he wouldn't have shown it. I tell you, Bobby, you want to look
+out for that fellow. If you could have seen the way he looked at you
+while you were pitching."
+
+"Looks don't hurt," Bobby flung back carelessly.
+
+But a few days later an incident occurred which showed that Hicksley was
+willing to go much further than looks in his hatred of his rival.
+
+It was one of those unseasonably warm days that sometimes come in the
+spring. Recitations were being held in the classroom of Mr. Leith, the
+head teacher, and in order to make the air cooler the electric fan had
+been set going.
+
+The seats of Hicksley, Bronson and Jinks were just behind those of Bobby
+and Fred, and were in the rear of the room.
+
+The lessons were proceeding as usual, when suddenly there was a crash,
+and something wet and sticky and evil smelling was scattered over the
+room. Almost all the boys got some of it, and a large yellow splash
+showed against the immaculate white shirt of Mr. Leith himself.
+
+Somebody had thrown an egg into the electric fan! And it was a very old
+egg, as was proved by the vile odor which spread through the classroom.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIV
+
+                        AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT
+
+
+The whirling fan, going at tremendous speed, had scattered the contents
+of the egg far and wide, and hardly any one had escaped.
+
+For a moment there was a stunned silence. Then a roar of laughter broke
+from the boys. To them it seemed a capital joke.
+
+But Mr. Leith did not laugh. His black eyes snapped and his face was
+pale with anger.
+
+"Who did that?" he asked, as he took out his handkerchief and wiped the
+smear from the bosom of his shirt.
+
+Naturally there was no answer. The laughter died out, and everything
+became as silent as the grave.
+
+"Such conduct is subversive of all discipline," went on Mr. Leith in his
+stilted way and trying to get control of his voice. "If the boy who did
+that will confess, I will take that into account in the punishment I
+shall lay upon him. But no matter how long it takes, I am determined to
+find the culprit."
+
+Still no answer.
+
+"Well," said Mr. Leith after waiting a moment, "I see that I shall have
+to question each one of you separately."
+
+He called them up one by one, beginning at the front of the room, and
+each one denied knowing anything about it, Bobby among the rest. Then he
+came last to Hicksley.
+
+"I didn't do it," said Hicksley; "but--"
+
+Then he stopped, as though he had gone further than he intended.
+
+"But what?" queried the teacher sharply.
+
+"Nothing," mumbled Hicksley, in apparent confusion.
+
+"You were going to say something else," said Mr. Leith, "and I insist on
+knowing what it was."
+
+Hicksley kept silent. He wanted to give the impression that if he told
+anything it would have to be dragged out of him against his will.
+
+"You had better tell me what you were going to say," snapped the teacher
+severely, "or it will be the worse for you."
+
+"I don't want to tell on anybody," said Hicksley.
+
+"Oh, then you know who threw it," said Mr. Leith, brisking up like a
+hound on the trail.
+
+"Yes," replied Hicksley.
+
+"Who was it?"
+
+"I don't want to tell."
+
+"Who was it, I say?" thundered Mr. Leith in exasperation.
+
+"Blake," blurted out Hicksley, as though he did not want to say it but
+had to yield to force.
+
+Bobby was thunderstruck, and for a minute the room seemed to be whirling
+around him.
+
+"It isn't true," he cried, recovering himself.
+
+"It's a--a whopper!" shouted Fred fiercely. "I was sitting right beside
+Bobby, and he didn't throw it."
+
+"Keep quiet, Martin," commanded Mr. Leith. "Blake, come here."
+
+Bobby went forward and stood in front of the desk.
+
+"Why did you do a thing like that?" asked Mr. Leith.
+
+"I didn't do it," replied Bobby stoutly. "I was as surprised as any one
+else when it happened."
+
+Mr. Leith beckoned to Fred.
+
+"You say that Blake didn't throw it," he said. "Were you looking at him
+at the time?"
+
+"N-no, sir," Fred had to confess, "I was looking at the blackboard. But
+I know I'd have noticed it if he had made any motion. Besides," he added
+in his attempt to help his friend, "if Bobby had been going to do
+anything of that kind he'd have told me beforehand."
+
+"That isn't proof," remarked the teacher; "especially when Hicksley says
+that he actually saw him do it. Do you still stick to that, Hicksley?"
+
+"Yes sir," answered Hicksley, who was scared now at the tempest he had
+raised but had gone too far to back out.
+
+But he carefully avoided meeting the blazing eyes of Bobby.
+
+"Go to your seats," Mr. Leith ordered.
+
+They obeyed, and as Hicksley sank down between Bronson and Jinks, he
+whispered in a panic:
+
+"Don't forget that you fellows have got to stand by me."
+
+Mr. Leith reflected for a moment.
+
+"Did any one else see Blake throw the egg?" he asked at length.
+
+Hicksley nudged his cronies and both raised their hands.
+
+"I did," came from both at once.
+
+Bobby half rose from his seat and Fred clenched his fists.
+
+"It's not so!" exclaimed Bobby.
+
+"The low-down skunks!" ejaculated Fred.
+
+Mr. Leith quieted them with a gesture.
+
+He was a good man, and he tried to be just. But he had been sorely tried
+by this breach of discipline, and his dignity had received a severe
+shock. He could not forget the glaring yellow smear on his shirt front,
+and he felt that he had been made a laughing stock before his class.
+
+He had always liked Bobby, who had stood high in his lessons and whose
+behavior in class had always been good. Yet it was possible that an
+impish spirit of mischief had suddenly taken possession of him, and that
+on the impulse of the moment he might have taken refuge in denial.
+
+And there was the positive testimony of three witnesses that they had
+actually seen Bobby throw the egg. To be sure, he knew something of the
+character of those witnesses, and against any one of them he would have
+been inclined to take Bobby's word in preference. But he knew nothing of
+the grudge the bullies held against Bobby, and to a man of his upright
+character it was inconceivable that three of them should make such a
+charge if it were not true.
+
+He pondered the matter for several minutes, while the class waited
+breathlessly.
+
+"I shall look into this matter further," he finally announced; "but for
+the present, Blake, and until the affair is cleared up, you are not to
+take part in track sports or play on the baseball team."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXV
+
+                             OFF FOR A SWIM
+
+
+Bobby sat as if stunned. There was bitter revolt in his heart against
+the injustice of it all. And, in addition, he felt as though he would
+like to get at Hicksley and thrash him well.
+
+But for the moment he was helpless. The evidence was against him, and he
+was too proud to make any further protest or appeal to Mr. Leith.
+
+To the rest of the boys, the sentence came like a clap of thunder. They
+were fond of Bobby and believed he was telling the truth. They would
+have been sorry to see him punished for any reason. But it was not only
+the fact of the punishment, but the nature of it, that filled them with
+consternation. Bobby Blake off the ball team! Where would Rockledge be
+now in the race for the pennant of the Monatook Lake League?
+
+The lessons proceeded, but the class might as well have been dismissed
+at once, for only one thought filled the minds of all. And when at last
+the gong rang, there was a rush for Bobby on the campus, and a buzzing
+arose that resembled a hive of angry bees.
+
+It was well for the bullies that, sitting on the rear seats, they had
+slipped out of the door quickly and disappeared. They would surely have
+come to grief in the present excited condition of the boys.
+
+Fred slammed his books so violently on the ground that he broke the
+strap that held them.
+
+"Just wait!" he stormed, "just wait! I'll pitch into that Tom Hicksley
+the minute I see him, big as he is."
+
+"It would have been bad enough of him to tell, even if Bobby had done
+it," growled Mouser.
+
+"He ought to have his head knocked off," raged Skeets.
+
+"Swell chance now we'll have of winning the pennant," groaned Shiner.
+
+"Not a Chinaman's chance," mourned Pee Wee.
+
+"I can see us coming in as tail-enders," prophesied Sparrow.
+
+"Was such a dirty trick ever heard of?" wailed Billy Bassett, appealing
+to high heaven, as though even in his grief he was asking the answer to
+a riddle.
+
+Bobby had had time now to get a grip on himself, and although his heart
+was hot within him, he was outwardly the coolest of them all.
+
+"Tom Hicksley will pay for this all right," he declared. "Some time the
+truth will come out and I hope it will be soon. I haven't any doubt of
+course that he did it himself. Then he got cold feet when he saw how
+angry Mr. Leith was and fibbed out of it."
+
+"Of course, he'd fib out of it!" exclaimed Fred. "Nobody who knows Tom
+Hicksley would expect him to do anything else. But why did he put it on
+you?"
+
+"Because he's sore at me, I suppose," Bobby answered. "He's always hated
+me since that afternoon on the train."
+
+"Yes, but he's just as sore at the rest of us who butted in, as he calls
+it," persisted Fred. "It's something more than that, Bobby. It's because
+you saved the game when he had almost lost it."
+
+"He's never forgiven you for that," agreed Mouser.
+
+"Well, whatever his reason was, I'm the goat all right," said Bobby, in
+a feeble attempt to put the best face on the matter.
+
+"It isn't only you, but it's Rockledge that's the goat," amended
+Sparrow. "We'll be licked out of our boots."
+
+"You fellows will have to play all the harder," said Bobby. "Mr. Leith
+may change his mind when he comes to think it over. I have a hunch that
+Hicksley isn't going to get away with such a whopper as that."
+
+"I'd like to have him by the throat and choke the truth out of him,"
+snapped Fred wrathfully.
+
+"It would be a pretty big job to get any truth out of that fellow,"
+grunted Mouser.
+
+"What did the old weather want to go and get so hot for all of a
+sudden?" burst out Pee Wee. "If it hadn't been for that, the fan
+wouldn't have been going and the whole thing wouldn't have happened."
+
+This kick against nature struck the boys as comical, and the laugh that
+followed cleared the air somewhat and relieved their excited feelings.
+But for the rest of the day and evening, there was but one topic that
+held the attention of any of them.
+
+Bobby felt blue and depressed. He would rather have had any other
+penalty put on him than to be ordered not to play on the team. The very
+sight of his glove and uniform made him miserable.
+
+It would have been bad enough, even if he had been guilty of that
+special bit of mischief. But then he would have "taken his medicine"
+with as good grace as possible. But it made him raging angry to feel
+that he had been made the victim of a contemptible plot by such a fellow
+as Tom Hicksley.
+
+What made it still more exasperating was the fact that he did not see
+any way to get at the real truth. Hicksley had been on the rear row of
+seats, and his only companions were Bronson and Jinks, who were just as
+bad as himself. No one but they had seen the egg thrown, if, as Bobby
+felt sure, Hicksley had thrown it. And now that they had put it on
+Bobby, they had to stand by the falsehood. One was as deep in the mud as
+the others were in the mire, and there was not a chance in the world of
+their confessing.
+
+It hurt Bobby, too, to know that he rested under a cloud in the eyes of
+Mr. Leith, who had practically told him that afternoon that he did not
+believe him. He was a truthful boy and it came hard to have his word
+questioned.
+
+All the next morning he was gloomy and downhearted. In the afternoon,
+Fred, like the loyal friend he was, tried to get his mind off his
+troubles by suggesting that they go swimming.
+
+"Don't let's go to the lake this time," said Fred. "Let's go to
+Beekman's Pond up in the woods. There's a dandy place there for diving."
+
+It was a little early in the season yet for a swim, but the warm
+weather, which still continued, made the prospect an agreeable one. So,
+shortly after dinner, having received permission to go out of bounds,
+Bobby and Fred with half a dozen of the other boys started out for the
+pond.
+
+"Say, fellows," asked Billy as they trudged along, "what's the dif--"
+
+"There goes the human question mark again," interrupted Mouser.
+
+"He's not to blame, he was born that way," said Skeets with large
+toleration.
+
+"Honestly, Billy," chaffed Fred, "I don't believe you can say a single
+sentence that isn't a question."
+
+"Can't I?" said Billy, a little nettled.
+
+"There! what did I tell you?" said Fred, trapping him neatly.
+
+The boys roared, and even Billy grinned.
+
+"Well," he said, "I might as well have the game as the name. What's the
+difference--"
+
+"Stop him, somebody," cried Sparrow, wringing his hands in pretended
+agony.
+
+Billy looked at him scornfully.
+
+"Oh, let him get it out," said Bobby resignedly. "Go ahead, Billy."
+
+"Shoot," said Fred.
+
+"What's the difference," asked Billy, "between a fisherman and a lazy
+scholar?"
+
+"Ask Pee Wee," replied Skeets. "He ought to know."
+
+"Pee Wee isn't a fisherman," objected Mouser.
+
+"Who said he was?" retorted Skeets.
+
+"If you're hinting that I'm a lazy scholar," remarked Pee Wee, "all I've
+got to say is that I'll never be lonesome among you boobs."
+
+"Stop your chinning," said Billy, "and answer my question."
+
+"One catches fish and the other catches a licking," ventured Fred.
+
+"Each one sometimes finds himself in deep water," guessed Skeets.
+
+"No," said Billy. "They're not so bad, but neither one's the real
+answer."
+
+Finally the boys gave it up.
+
+"One baits his hooks and the other hates his books," chirped Billy.
+
+A groan went up from the sufferers.
+
+"I think that's a pippin," remarked Billy proudly; "but I've got another
+one that's better still. Why is a--"
+
+"Sic the dog on him!" ejaculated Mouser.
+
+"What's the use of letting him live?" asked Fred.
+
+"He seems to be human, but is he?" queried Sparrow.
+
+As Beekman's Pond came in sight just then, they broke into a run, and
+Billy had to save his masterpiece for another time.
+
+They found a secluded spot, and with a whoop and a shout were out of
+their clothes in a hurry. Then with a shiver each took the plunge into
+the clear waters of the pond.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXVI
+
+                         THE SCAR AND THE LIMP
+
+
+The chums came up shuddering, with hair plastered over their faces and
+the water streaming from their shoulders.
+
+"Ugh," sputtered Fred, "the water's as cold as ice!"
+
+"A polar bear would like it," chattered Skeets.
+
+"Turn on the hot water faucet, Jeems," laughed Bobby.
+
+"We'll be all right in a minute or two," remarked Sparrow.
+
+They swam around, racing and diving like so many young porpoises, and in
+a little while the blood returned to their chilled surfaces, making them
+perfectly comfortable again.
+
+"Reminds you something of Plunkit's Creek, doesn't it, Fred?" said
+Bobby.
+
+"Yes," agreed Fred, "only this is a good deal longer and wider than
+that."
+
+"Then, too, we haven't got Ap here, watching us from the bank and
+getting ready to set his dog on us," grinned Mouser.
+
+"We don't owe Ap anything," laughed Bobby. "We paid him all up that day
+we made him walk the plank."
+
+"Do you remember how he looked when he struck the water?" chuckled Pee
+Wee.
+
+"I wonder if he and Pat have met each other since we came away," said
+Bobby, as he recalled the scene at the railway station on the morning
+they left Clinton.
+
+"Ap had better keep his whip handy," observed Fred.
+
+"That wouldn't help him much," returned Bobby. "Pat would take it away
+from him and wade into him."
+
+They had been in and out of the water for perhaps an hour, when Bobby,
+who had swum down to where the shore curved a little, suddenly turned
+and swam back again as fast as he could.
+
+"Come along with me, fellows," he cried, "and don't make any more noise
+than you can help."
+
+The others followed him wonderingly until they reached the bend. Then,
+while they hid behind some grasses, Bobby pointed to two men who were
+lounging under a tree a short distance away.
+
+They were smoking stubby pipes as they lay at their ease. Their faces
+were rough and unshaven and their clothing dirty and ragged.
+
+"Don't see much to get excited about," remarked Shiner disappointedly.
+"Just a couple of tramps."
+
+"They're more than that to us," replied Bobby. "They're the very tramps
+who robbed us in that old hut."
+
+The boys were on edge in an instant. Just then one of the men rose,
+stretched himself lazily and took a few steps toward the tree. As he did
+so, the boys saw that he had a perceptible limp.
+
+"And the other one has a scar on his face," whispered Bobby excitedly.
+"You can see it if you look close."
+
+They looked more closely, and Fred in his eagerness rose a little too
+high. His red head caught the eye of the man with the scar, and he
+uttered a startled exclamation.
+
+"Now you've, done it," whispered Mouser disgustedly. "Why didn't you
+keep that red mop of yours out of sight?"
+
+"Hurry, fellows," urged Bobby. "We've got to catch those fellows before
+they can get away. Whip on your clothes and let's get back after them."
+
+The boys swam back as fast as possible and rushed up on the bank.
+
+"Who put a knot in the leg of my pants?" came in a howl from Fred as he
+struggled desperately to unfasten the knot.
+
+"I'd like to catch the fellow who tied my socks together," growled
+Mouser.
+
+"And here's one of my shoes floating in the water," wailed Skeets.
+
+They had to pay the penalty now of the tricks they had played on one
+another, and they felt as though they were in a nightmare as they tried
+frantically to get into their clothes.
+
+"They'll get away sure," groaned Bobby. "Hustle, fellows, hustle! Come
+along just as you are if you can't do any better."
+
+He led the way, and the rest came stumbling after him in all conditions
+of dress and undress. Mouser had stuffed his stockings in his pocket,
+Skeets carried his wet shoes in his hands, while Fred, with one leg in
+his trousers, held up the rest of the garment in his hand and made what
+speed he could.
+
+But when they reached the tree under which the tramps had been sitting,
+they found no one. The birds had flown. They may possibly have
+recognized Fred's red head as that of one of their victims, or they may
+have thought that he was one of a company, including men, who might ask
+them curious and troublesome questions. At any rate they had quickly
+gotten out of sight.
+
+The boys searched about everywhere in that part of the woods, but
+fruitlessly. Pee Wee fell into a small excavation, this time barking his
+shins in reality. But he had no other injury except to his feelings, and
+his comrades hauled him out without much trouble.
+
+"Well," said Fred at last, "there doesn't seem any more reason for
+hurry, and I guess I'll get my pants on."
+
+"And I'll put on my shoes," said Skeets, suiting the action to the word.
+"This stubble has hurt my feet something fierce."
+
+Mouser's socks also took their rightful place, and the boys began to
+feel more like human beings.
+
+"What would you have done anyway, Bobby, if you'd found them under the
+tree?" asked Mouser.
+
+"I don't know exactly," answered Bobby frankly. "Of course, we couldn't
+tackle grown men. But we could have kept them in sight until we met some
+farmers and had them nabbed. Or one of us could have gone back to
+Rockledge and got the constable. But we know that they're hanging round
+in this neighborhood now, and we'll tell the constable about it and
+he'll telephone to all the towns near by to be on the lookout for them."
+
+"I sure would like to get back my ring," said Fred longingly.
+
+"Those sleeve buttons would look mighty good to me," chimed in Pee Wee.
+
+"I could use my scarf pin too," added Mouser.
+
+"I don't _much_ expect to see my watch again," said Bobby, "but there's
+a _chance_ of finding where they pawned 'em if we can get those fellows
+arrested."
+
+"There were only two of 'em," mused Fred. "I wonder where the other one
+was."
+
+"Round at some farmhouse begging for grub maybe," suggested Skeets.
+
+"Or in jail perhaps," guessed Sparrow. "If he isn't, he ought to be."
+
+"He'll get there sooner or later," said Fred, "and so will the rest of
+the bunch."
+
+The boys hurried back to town and put the matter in the hands of the
+constable, who promised that he would do all in his power to catch the
+thieves. But the days passed into weeks with the tramps still at
+liberty, and the chances of the boys ever getting back the stolen
+articles became more and more unlikely.
+
+But this did not hold such a place in their thoughts as the race for the
+championship of the Monatook Lake League, which kept getting hotter and
+hotter as the various teams tried their strength against each other.
+
+It was a case of nip and tuck. First one team and then the other would
+forge to the front. By the time the first five games had been played not
+a single team could be said to be out of it.
+
+But what grieved the Rockledge boys was that their bitter rival, Belden,
+although it started the season with a defeat at the hands of Ridgefield,
+had made a strong rally and was now in front with a total of four
+victories and one lost game. Somerset and Ridgefield were tied for
+second place, while Rockledge--Rockledge, which had so proudly counted
+on the pennant--was _last_!
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVII
+
+                            A GLEAM OF LIGHT
+
+
+There was no trouble at all in finding out the reason why Rockledge was
+the tail-ender. The batting and fielding of the team was all that could
+be asked for. Both in offense and defense they had the edge on their
+rivals. The weakness lay in the pitcher's box.
+
+It was not that Hicksley did not work hard. He had a double reason now
+for pitching at the top of his speed, for he not only wanted to win the
+glory to himself, but he wanted to show that the absence of Bobby did
+not weaken the team.
+
+But the trouble with him was that, as a rule, he could not last for the
+full nine innings. He would go along like a house afire for the first
+half of the game. Then about the fifth or sixth inning, he would begin
+to falter, and in some one of the remaining innings would "go up with a
+bang."
+
+At such times there was no one to come to the rescue, as in the first
+game that Bobby had pulled out of the fire. Spentz, the right fielder,
+who knew a little about twirling, had replaced him once but had not been
+able to undo the damage. In the game with Ridgefield, Hicksley had
+managed to last long enough to win by one run, and in the second game
+with Somerset had pitched fairly well, though he lost. But Ridgefield
+had come back with an easy victory, and Belden had fairly smothered him
+under a shower of hits to every part of the field. So that the outlook
+was very blue for Rockledge, and the boys fairly squirmed under the
+crowing of the Belden fellows whenever they met them on the trolley or
+in the town.
+
+"If we only had Bobby in the box, we'd be going along at the head of the
+procession," groaned Fred.
+
+"That yellow streak of Hicksley's comes out in almost every game,"
+growled Sparrow.
+
+"He can't stand the gaff when it comes to a pinch," assented Skeets
+gloomily.
+
+"A fellow who would lie as he did about Bobby doesn't deserve to have
+any luck," grunted Pee Wee.
+
+"He's a hoodoo," agreed Shiner. "But what are we going to do?" he asked
+despairingly. "We haven't anybody else to take his place, now that Bobby
+is out of it."
+
+Things were at this stage, when Bobby and Fred, who had been on a trip
+to town, were caught on their return in a terrific thunder storm. They
+were lucky enough to find refuge in a culvert under the railroad, and
+there they waited till the storm had spent its fury.
+
+It was one of the worst storms they ever remembered, and peal after peal
+of thunder shook the earth, while streaks of jagged lightning shot
+across the sky.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" exclaimed Fred, after one particularly violent clap of
+thunder, followed by a blinding flash. "I'll bet that hit around here
+somewhere."
+
+"I wouldn't like to be near anything it hit," replied Bobby.
+
+The rain came down in torrents for some time longer, but at last the
+storm abated, rifts of blue sky appeared in the clouds, and the boys
+started off toward the school.
+
+They were taking a short cut through the woods, when they were startled
+at seeing a great tree, that had been split from top to base, lying
+across the path.
+
+"Jiminy Christmas!" exclaimed Bobby. "This is what the lightning hit
+that time."
+
+"It made a clean job of it," cried Fred. "But listen," he added, as
+muffled sounds came from the great tangle of branches. "What's making
+that noise?"
+
+"It's somebody in there!" ejaculated Bobby, as he peered through the
+green welter of boughs and branches. "Quick, Fred, let's get in there."
+
+With much difficulty, they forced their way through the tangle of
+foliage, until they were able to see two dim figures crouching in the
+center of the mass. Their surprise was great and became still greater,
+when they recognized them as two of the smaller of the Rockledge boys,
+Charlie White and Jimmy Thacker.
+
+They were confused by their fright, and were whimpering. They gave only
+broken and stammering replies to the questions of their rescuers, who
+had a good deal of work in getting them out from the boughs that held
+them down.
+
+They were finally pulled out to the open air. They were more frightened
+than hurt, although they had a number of scratches and bruises where the
+branches had swept against them in their fall.
+
+"How did you boys manage to be caught in there?" queried Bobby and Fred
+in one breath.
+
+"We were standing under a tree while it was raining," answered Charlie,
+who was not quite as upset as his companion, "when this other tree was
+hit and fell over. We tried to run, but the branches caught us before we
+could get away."
+
+"I thought sure we were going to get killed!" whimpered Jimmy.
+
+"Don't you fellows know that you ought never to stand under a tree in a
+thunderstorm?" demanded Fred.
+
+"We know it now," returned Charlie; "and you can be sure we'll never do
+it again."
+
+"Are you much hurt?" asked Bobby anxiously.
+
+"I guess not," answered Charlie, "but we've got lots of scratches."
+
+"Let's see if you can walk all right," ordered Bobby.
+
+They made the attempt, and although they were wobbly and uncertain on
+their legs, all were relieved to find that no bones had been broken.
+
+"You'll be all right as soon as you get over your scare," pronounced
+Fred.
+
+"It was mighty lucky for us that you two boys came along," said Jimmy
+gratefully.
+
+"Yes," added Charlie. "We were held down by those heavy branches, and I
+don't see how we would have got out by ourselves."
+
+"After this, Charlie," said Jimmy, looking at his companion, "we ought
+to tell Bobby all we know about the fellow who threw that egg into the
+electric fan."
+
+Their hearers started as though they had been shot.
+
+"Who was it?" cried Fred excitedly.
+
+"Out with it!" commanded Bobby.
+
+
+
+
+                             CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+                     TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING
+
+
+The boys looked for a moment as though they almost regretted having let
+the cat out of the bag.
+
+"Come along, now," urged Bobby eagerly.
+
+"Let's have the whole story," cried Fred.
+
+"It--it was Tom Hicksley," Jimmy stammered.
+
+"I knew it," cried Fred jubilantly.
+
+"Do you know that, or are you only guessing?" asked Bobby, wild with
+anxiety.
+
+"We _saw_ him do it," returned Charlie, who saw now that the only thing
+left was to tell the whole story.
+
+"We were going along the hall to Mr. Carrier's classroom that
+afternoon," put in Jimmy, "and the door into your room was open because
+the day was so warm. We peeped in as we went by, and we saw Hicksley
+take the egg out of his pocket and throw it into the electric fan."
+
+"And why didn't you tell about it before?" asked Fred.
+
+"'Cause we were afraid that Hicksley would lick us if we did," confessed
+Jimmy.
+
+"He's so much bigger than we are, and he jumped on us once for nothing
+at all," added Charlie in self-defense.
+
+"That's all right," said Bobby, who was perfectly willing to excuse
+them, now that he saw he was going to be cleared. "We all know that he's
+a big bully and always picking on the little fellows."
+
+"You come right along with me," said Fred, in a masterful way. "You keep
+out of this, Bobby. I'll have this thing fixed up in a jiffy."
+
+Bobby was perfectly satisfied to leave the settlement of the matter in
+the hands of his loyal friend, and he went on to the dormitory, while
+Fred headed the little procession that a few minutes after marched into
+the office of Mr. Leith.
+
+What went on there was shown the following morning after Mr. Leith had
+called his class to order.
+
+"Blake," he said, clearing his throat, "come up here."
+
+Bobby went up and stood in front of the desk.
+
+"Blake," went on Mr. Leith, "I did a great injustice to you a few weeks
+ago, and I want to apologize to you before the whole class. I have found
+out the real culprit. I know the name of the boy who threw the egg into
+the electric fan."
+
+There was a buzz of wild excitement in the class, and Hicksley, together
+with his two cronies, flushed red and grew pale in turn.
+
+"That will do, Blake," Mr. Leith went on. "You may go to your seat."
+
+Bobby retired, murmuring something, he did not know what.
+
+"Hicksley, come here," commanded the teacher. "And you, Bronson, and
+Jinks, come along."
+
+The three of them, with shuffling steps and hang-dog looks, walked
+slowly up the aisle.
+
+"Hicksley," said Mr. Leith severely, "you said at the time this thing
+happened that you actually saw Blake throw the egg. I do not want to
+condemn you without your being heard, and I am going to give you this
+chance to tell the truth. Are you willing to stand by your statement, or
+do you wish to take it back?"
+
+Hicksley hesitated for a moment and then decided to bluff it out.
+
+"I did see him," he muttered doggedly.
+
+"Martin," directed Mr. Leith. "Step to the door and tell White and
+Thacker to come in."
+
+Fred did as ordered and returned, bringing the two small boys with him.
+
+"Tell me now, boys, what you told me yesterday," the teacher commanded.
+
+They looked fearfully at Hicksley and his companions, who shot
+threatening glances at them. But they went ahead and related what they
+had seen on the afternoon in question. The simple story bore the mark of
+truth on its face and carried conviction.
+
+Mr. Leith dismissed them and turned to the three in front of him.
+
+"What have you to say to this?" he demanded.
+
+They kept silent, with their heads lowered, and after a moment the
+teacher continued:
+
+"I am not going to say anything more just now to add to the shame you
+must be feeling. You are all to report to Doctor Raymond in his study at
+three o'clock this afternoon. That is all for the present."
+
+They stumbled back to their seats, avoiding the contemptuous looks of
+their schoolmates. And that afternoon at the hour named they had the
+interview they dreaded with the head of the school.
+
+That interview was short, but quite long enough to make their faces
+blanch and their hearts quake. If Hicksley had been guilty simply of
+denying the act as having been done by him, that would have been bad
+enough, but the punishment would have been lighter. But to try
+deliberately to put it on another was unforgivable. Hicksley was
+dismissed from the school and Bronson and Jinks were suspended for the
+remainder of the term.
+
+Hicksley, boiling with rage, went to his room to pack. On his way down
+to summon the expressman, he met Bobby coming alone up the stairs.
+
+Hicksley saw his opportunity and plunged heavily into Bobby, sending him
+stumbling backwards down the stairs almost to the lower landing. Had it
+not been for a wild clutch at the banister, Bobby would have fallen flat
+on his back.
+
+All his fighting blood awoke at this unprovoked assault. It was the last
+straw. He had been under great restraint for the past few weeks while
+the injustice done him had rankled sorely. He clenched his fists, and as
+the bully reached the landing he received a blow that drove his head
+back and chased the malicious grin from his face.
+
+In a moment the two boys were fighting, hammer and tongs. Hicksley was
+the larger but Bobby was strong and as quick as a young wildcat.
+Besides, he had no "yellow streak" in him.
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXIX
+
+                              A WILD CHASE
+
+
+Not five minutes had elapsed before Hicksley was lying on the floor of
+the hall, holding his hand to his eyes and nose.
+
+"Get up!" Bobby commanded.
+
+Hicksley did nothing but grunt.
+
+"Have you had enough?" asked Bobby.
+
+"Enough," mumbled the bully, all the fight taken out of him.
+
+He slunk away, while the boys, who had crowded out into the hall at the
+sound of combat and had viewed with rapture the defeat of the bully,
+gathered about Bobby, who, except for a bruise on his forehead, showed
+no sign of the battle.
+
+"Bully for you, Bobby!" crowed Mouser.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" howled Fred in delight. "That was a peach of a scrap."
+
+"He got all that was coming to him," exulted Sparrow.
+
+"Hicksley couldn't lick a postage stamp!" exclaimed Skeets gleefully.
+
+"He must have learned to fight by mail," grinned Shiner.
+
+"A mighty good job you made of it, Bobby," commended Billy Bassett.
+
+"I wasn't looking for trouble," explained Bobby, "but when he butted
+into me and knocked me down the stairs, I couldn't help pitching into
+him."
+
+For the rest of that day and evening little else was thought of or
+spoken of but the "trimming" that Bobby had given to the bully. But
+apart from the satisfaction of having Hicksley get what he so richly
+deserved, a still greater joy was in the hearts of all.
+
+Bobby Blake was back again on the team!
+
+"Now," cried Fred, expressing the hope and belief of all, "you'll see
+Rockledge begin to climb."
+
+And Rockledge did climb with a vengeance.
+
+The very next Saturday with Bobby in the box and pitching gilt-edged
+ball they walked all over Belden, not only beating their chief rival but
+doing it to the score of seven to nothing. The whole team played behind
+their pitcher as though they were inspired with new life. And from that
+time on, the Beldenites drew into their shell and did not do so much
+crowing when they met the Rockledge boys in the town.
+
+But Bobby and his comrades knew that they still had a heavy task before
+them, if they were to win the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.
+
+Belden had now won four games and lost two. Rockledge was even in gains
+and losses, having won three and lost three. If there had been many more
+games to play, Rockledge would have felt much more confident, for she
+was now traveling faster than her rival. But the end of the season was
+coming fearfully close, and there were only three more games to play.
+
+"Belden is the one we've got to beat," declared Frank. "We've got the
+Indian sign, I think, on Somerset and Ridgefield."
+
+As far as Ridgefield was concerned, this seemed true, for Rockledge won
+the game by four to two, his mates handing Bobby a lead in the first
+inning that he was able to keep throughout the game. But as Belden also
+won on the same day from Somerset, though after a harder battle, the
+Rockledge boys were still "trailing" the school across the lake.
+
+The excitement now was reaching fever pitch, and it broke all bounds the
+following Saturday, when Belden came a cropper with Ridgefield, being
+"nosed out" in the ninth by a sudden rally on the part of their
+opponents, while Rockledge won handily from Somerset in a free batting
+game by ten runs to six.
+
+"Hurrah!" yelled Mouser, "we're tied with Belden now."
+
+"Bobby has pulled us up in dandy shape," declared Frank. "You're a
+wonder, Bobby, old scout."
+
+"Just keep it up for one more game, Bobby," pleaded Sparrow.
+
+"Scubbity-_yow_!" shouted Fred. "I'll bet old Belden is shaking in its
+boots."
+
+Somerset and Ridgefield had played good ball in spots, but now they were
+out of the race. Belden and Rockledge had each won five and lost three,
+and the game that was to be played between them on the following
+Saturday would wind up the season and decide which of the teams was to
+win the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.
+
+It was almost impossible for the boys to keep their minds on their
+lessons, but as there were only ten days remaining in the school term
+this did not matter to the same degree as it would have done earlier in
+the year.
+
+But an incident occurred on the Monday following the game with Somerset
+that gave a new slant to their thoughts, and for a few hours drove even
+thoughts of the pennant from the minds of Bobby and his friends.
+
+Shiner had been invited to go for an automobile ride by a friend of his
+family, who was staying for a few days at Rockledge. He came rushing
+into the dormitory with his eyes bulging.
+
+"Say, fellows!" he gasped, "if you want to catch those tramps of yours,
+come along with me."
+
+"What do you mean?" his chums asked in chorus, as they made a wild grab
+for their hats.
+
+"I've seen them," panted Shiner. "But come along and I'll tell you.
+Hustle!"
+
+The boys rushed downstairs to find an automobile waiting. Beside Mr.
+Wharton, the owner, they recognized the constable.
+
+"Tumble in," said Mr. Wharton, smiling, and a half dozen boys swarmed
+into the automobile.
+
+"You see," explained Shiner, "we passed three tramps about two miles
+from here, and I saw that two of them were the ones we saw the day we
+were swimming. I told Mr. Wharton and we put on speed, picked up the
+constable and hurried up for you, so that you could go along and
+identify them."
+
+Mr. Wharton had started the car the moment the boys were inside, and it
+was skimming along like a bird. It went so fast that the boys had to
+hold on to their caps, and although they were all chattering with might
+and main, the wind made it almost impossible for one to hear what the
+others were saying.
+
+In a very few minutes they saw three figures on the lonely country road
+ahead. The one in the center had a limp that was familiar.
+
+The tramps heard the coming car, and at first stood aside to let it
+pass. But as it slowed up on approaching them, they took alarm, climbed
+over a fence and started across the fields toward a piece of woodland a
+little way off.
+
+Their pursuers leaped from the car and gave chase. The lithe limbs of
+the boys gave them an advantage over their heavier companions, and they
+were soon on the heels of the tramps, who turned snarling and faced
+them.
+
+"Keep off or I'll club the life out of you," shouted one, whom they
+recognized as the man with the scar.
+
+"No you won't," cried Bobby, defiantly.
+
+"We want the things you stole from us," sang out Fred.
+
+"Jail for yours!" Mouser shouted.
+
+They circled round the men, thus holding them in check, and in another
+moment Mr. Wharton and the constable had come up and each grabbed one of
+the men by the collar. At the sight of the constable's star, the other
+quickly wilted.
+
+The officer slipped handcuffs on them all and pushed them into the ear,
+while the boys crowded in as best they could, two of them standing on
+the running-board. In triumph, they went back to town and the men were
+placed in jail.
+
+First they were searched, and, greatly to the boys' delight, pawn
+tickets were found that accounted for all the articles that had been
+stolen from them. The money of course was gone, but the boys cared
+little for that, as long as they were sure that they could get back
+their cherished personal possessions.
+
+"We're some demon thief catchers, all right," chuckled Mouser.
+
+"He would call me red-head, would he?" grinned Fred, referring to the
+scar-faced tramp.
+
+"It means good luck for us, fellows," declared Bobby. "Now, I'm _sure_
+we're going to down Belden."
+
+
+
+
+                              CHAPTER XXX
+
+                     WINNING THE PENNANT--CONCLUSION
+
+
+Belden had its own idea as to who was to be "downed," and almost the
+whole school went to Rockledge with colors flying on the great day that
+was to decide who should carry off the flag of the Monatook Lake League.
+
+As the teams had each played a game on the other's grounds, it had been
+left to the toss of a coin as to where the deciding game should take
+place, and Rockledge had won.
+
+This was a good omen in itself, and the Rockledge boys were chock-full
+of confidence, as they slipped into their baseball suits in the
+gymnasium before going on the field.
+
+"We've just _got_ to win to-day, Fred," remarked Bobby. "It would never
+do to lose with all our folks in the stand looking on."
+
+"You bet we'll win," replied Fred emphatically. "If we don't, I'll hunt
+up some hole, slip in and pull the hole in after me."
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Blake had come down on this last day. Fred's father and
+mother were also present, accompanied by Betty. And to give the boys a
+pleasant surprise they had brought Scat Monroe and Pat Moriarty along
+with them.
+
+The weather had been a little threatening in the morning, but about noon
+it cleared beautifully. A great crowd was present, for all the towns
+near Monatook Lake had become interested in the pennant fight, and
+people came in droves to see the deciding game.
+
+Bobby and Fred went up in the stand for a little chat with their friends
+and families before the game began.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad it's such a beautiful day!" exclaimed Betty gleefully.
+"I was so afraid the rain would come down this morning."
+
+"You wouldn't expect the rain to go up, would you?" asked her brother
+airily.
+
+"Smarty!" said Betty, and she made a little face at him.
+
+"Fred had better behave himself or we'll say 'snowball' to him, won't
+we, Betty?" laughed Bobby.
+
+"I'm rooting for you boys to win to-day," remarked Pat, his freckled
+face wreathed with smiles.
+
+"We're going to fight like the mischief to do it," returned Bobby.
+
+"Put the whitewash brush on them," said Scat.
+
+"Perhaps that's asking a little too much," grinned Fred. "We'll be
+satisfied with the big end of the score."
+
+Their parents smiled on them fondly and urged them to do their best to
+win for Rockledge, and the boys went down on the field with their hearts
+full of determination.
+
+But it was evident from the moment the first ball went over the plate
+that it would be no easy task for either side to win. Each team was
+screwed to the highest pitch and full of determination and enthusiasm.
+
+Bobby started out like a winner. His arm had never felt better, and he
+whipped the ball over the plate at a speed that delighted the
+spectators--always excepting the Belden rooters--but that made Frank
+Durrock a little anxious.
+
+"Easy there, Bobby," he counseled from first base, when the first batter
+had gone out on strikes. "The game's young yet, and you've a long way to
+go."
+
+Bobby realized the wisdom of this, and made the next batter pop up an
+infield fly to Mouser at second. Then he mixed in a slow one that seemed
+easy enough to hit as it came floating up to the plate, but which
+resulted in an easy roller to the box which Bobby had plenty of time to
+throw to first.
+
+"That's what you call a change of pace, old scout," congratulated
+Sparrow, as the nine came in from the field amid a general clapping of
+hands at the promising beginning.
+
+But Bobby was not to carry off the pitching honors of the game without a
+struggle. Larry Cronk, the Belden pitcher, was in splendid form, and he
+had had the benefit of being coached by his brother, who was a student
+at Yale and a member of the Varsity team. The result of this training
+was shown in a new "hop" ball that Larry sprung on them for the first
+time. It came singing over the plate with a jump on it just before it
+reached the batter that at first puzzled the Rockledge boys completely.
+Two of them struck out and the third was an easy victim on a foul.
+
+Now it was Belden's turn to howl. And howl they did.
+
+"Bobby's got his work cut out for him to-day," remarked Sparrow to
+Skeets, as they went out into the field.
+
+"That's just the time Bobby's at his best," returned Skeets confidently.
+
+"Bobby's got that fadeaway of his when it comes to the pinch," added
+Mouser, "and I'll back that against Larry's hop any time."
+
+Bobby was not daunted by this showing on the part of his opponent. But
+he knew that he must not slow down for a second. He must put brains in
+his work as well as muscle, must study and outguess the batters and give
+them just what they did not want.
+
+So he worked with exceeding care, mixing up his curves and his fast and
+slow balls so skillfully that in the first four innings only two hits
+were made off him, and one of them a scratch, and no one got as far as
+second base. And in doing this he nursed his strength, so that he felt
+almost as strong and fresh as at the beginning.
+
+"Talk about a fox," chuckled Fred, "he isn't in it with Bobby."
+
+Larry, too, had kept any one from denting the home plate, but he was so
+exultant over the success of his new delivery that he relied upon it
+almost entirely. And by and by the Rockledge boys began to find him more
+easily than they did at first. They had not yet made more than one clean
+hit, but the bat was beginning to meet the ball more solidly and it was
+only a matter of a little time before they would be lining out base
+hits, unless Larry changed his style and mixed in his other curves.
+
+"We'll straighten them out in the next inning, see if we don't,"
+remarked Spentz confidently.
+
+And so they did. Spentz himself led off with a crashing three-bagger to
+right. Fred brought him home with a sizzling single and stole second on
+the next ball pitched. Larry tightened up then, and although a clever
+sacrifice bunt put Fred on third, he was left there, as the next two
+batters went out on strikes.
+
+Belden's half had been scoreless, so that the end of the fifth inning
+found Rockledge in the lead by one to none. And in such a close game as
+this promised to be, that one run looked as big as a mountain.
+
+But by the time Belden's sixth inning was over, the Rockledge rooters
+were in a panic.
+
+The trouble began when Frank Durrock, old reliable Frank, muffed an easy
+fly that ordinarily he would have "eaten up." Not only did he drop the
+ball, but he let it get so far away from him that the batter took a
+chance of making second. Frank, in his haste to catch him, threw the
+ball over Mouser's head into left field, and before it could be
+recovered, the runner had made the circuit of the bases.
+
+The error seemed to demoralize the whole team. Sparrow booted a
+grounder, and by the time he had got through fumbling, it was too late
+to throw to first. Spentz, in right, dropped a high fly and then threw
+wildly to head off the runner, who was legging it for third. The ball
+went ten feet over Sparrow's head and both boys scored, making the count
+three to one in favor of the visitors. Rockledge had a bad case of
+"rattles."
+
+Bobby walked down to first as though he wanted to talk to Frank, but
+really to give his mates time to recover.
+
+"Play ball!" shouted the Belden rooters.
+
+Bobby took his time in returning, and even when he was back in the box
+found a shoe lace that needed tying. Not until he was fully ready did he
+straighten up.
+
+He put on all speed now and disposed of the next batters in order, two
+on high fouls and one on strikes. He did not want to let any balls go
+far out, in the present nervous conditions of his mates.
+
+As for them, they were full of rage and self-reproach.
+
+"Three runs without a single hit!" groaned Frank.
+
+"Never mind, fellows!" cried Bobby cheerily. "Go right in now and get
+them back again. Knock the cover off the ball."
+
+But this was more easily said than done. Once in that inning and again
+in the seventh and eighth, they got men on the bases, but they could not
+bring them in. In the eighth inning a rattling double play brought
+groans from the Rockledge rooters, as they saw a promising rally nipped
+in the bud.
+
+Bobby had been mowing the Belden boys down almost as fast as they came
+to the plate. He had brought out his fadeaway now and mixed it in so
+well with the others that the batters never had a chance. His mates had
+recovered their nerve and were backing him up splendidly. Nevertheless
+the fact still faced them that their rivals were two runs ahead.
+
+In the ninth inning, after disposing of Belden, Rockledge went in to do
+or die. Yells of encouragement came from their partisans as they made
+their last stand.
+
+"Go to it, boys!"
+
+"You can beat them yet!"
+
+"Never say die!"
+
+"Rockledge! Rockledge! Rockledge!"
+
+But the shouts turned to groans, when Willis, who was playing center
+field in place of Bronson, put up a skyscraper which Cronk gobbled up
+without moving in his tracks. Barry sent a hot grounder to short which
+was fielded cleverly and sent to first ahead of the batter. There was a
+movement in the stand, as the spectators got ready to leave.
+
+But they stopped short when Spentz sent a screaming hit to center for a
+clean single. Frank followed with a grasser between short and second
+that gave him first and sent Spentz to third. Larry faltered and gave
+Fred his base on balls. The bases were full when Bobby came to the bat.
+
+Larry eyed him narrowly and wound a fast one about his neck, at which
+Bobby refused to bite. The next was right in the groove, and Bobby
+caught it square on the end of his bat and sent it whistling over the
+head of the first baseman. It rolled clear to the right field fence, and
+before it could be recovered, the Rockledge runners had gone round the
+bases like so many jack rabbits, and had jumped on the home plate, while
+Bobby pulled up at second.
+
+The game was over, the game was won and the Rockledge boys were the
+champions of the Monatook Lake League!
+
+Bobby's comrades rushed upon him, mauling and pounding him; the shouting
+crowd swooped out from the stand and surrounded him.
+
+"Champions!" "Champions!" "Champions!" they yelled, until their throats
+were husky and their lungs were sore.
+
+It was a long time before Bobby could get through the crowd to where his
+visitors awaited him. There Betty cried one minute and laughed the next,
+in her happy excitement. Mrs. Blake's eyes, too, were moist as she
+hugged her boy, and Mr. Blake cleared his throat as he put his hand on
+Bobby and told him he was proud of him.
+
+Fred, too, came in for his share of well-earned praise and the boys were
+happy beyond words. And Scat and Pat were almost as delighted as though
+they had won the game themselves.
+
+Finally, when matters were somewhat quieted down, some one asked the
+boys about their plans for the summer vacation. How full that summer
+proved to be of stirring and exciting adventure will be told in the next
+volume of this series.
+
+But just now all their thoughts were of the present. Their school term
+was over. There had been some unpleasant features, but in the main their
+experiences had been happy ones.
+
+"We did it, Bobby!" exclaimed Fred joyfully, for perhaps the twentieth
+time.
+
+"We got there," agreed Bobby; "but it was a mighty hard fight."
+
+"That's what makes it all the more worth winning," Fred declared.
+
+"Yes," said Bobby, "I guess the things that come easy aren't worth much.
+That's what makes us feel so good about being champions. For there
+wasn't anything easy about winning the pennant of the Monatook Lake
+League."
+
+
+                                THE END
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                         THE BOBBY BLAKE SERIES
+                           BY FRANK A. WARNER
+
+             BOOKS FOR BOYS FROM EIGHT TO TWELVE YEARS OLD
+
+[Illustration: "Bobby Blake at Rockledge School" book cover]
+
+True stories of life at a modern American boarding school. Bobby attends
+this institution of learning with his particular chum and the boys have
+no end of good times. The tales of outdoor life, especially the exciting
+times they have when engaged in sports against rival schools, are
+written in a manner so true, so realistic, that the reader, too, is
+bound to share with these boys their thrills and pleasures.
+
+                  1 BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL.
+                  2 BOBBY BLAKE AT BASS COVE.
+                  3 BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE.
+                  4 BOBBY BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS.
+                  5 BOBBY BLAKE AT SNOWTOP CAMP.
+                  6 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE.
+                  7 BOBBY BLAKE ON A RANCH.
+                  8 BOBBY BLAKE ON AN AUTO TOUR.
+                  9 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL ELEVEN.
+                  10 BOBBY BLAKE ON A PLANTATION.
+                  11 BOBBY BLAKE IN THE FROZEN NORTH.
+                  12 BOBBY BLAKE ON MYSTERY MOUNTAIN.
+
+                               PUBLISHERS
+                              BARSE & CO.
+                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+                       THE BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES
+
+                     Published with the approval of
+                       The Boy Scouts of America
+
+[Illustration: "The Boy Scout Fire Fighters" book cover]
+
+In the boys' world of story books, none better than those about boy
+scouts arrest and grip attention. In a most alluring way, the stories in
+the BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES tell of the glorious good times and wonderful
+adventures of boy scouts.
+
+All the books were written by authors possessed of an intimate knowledge
+of this greatest of all movements organized for the welfare of boys, and
+are published with the approval of the National Headquarters of the Boy
+Scouts of America.
+
+The Chief Scout Librarian, Mr. F. K. Mathiews, writes concerning them:
+"It is a bully bunch of books. I hope you will sell 100,000 copies of
+each one, for these stories are the sort that will help instead of hurt
+our movement."
+
+             THE BOY SCOUT FIRE FIGHTERS--CRUMP
+             THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TROOP--McCLANE
+             THE BOY SCOUT TRAIL BLAZERS--CHELEY
+             THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS--LERRIGO
+             BOY SCOUTS AFLOAT--WALDEN
+             BOY SCOUTS COURAGEOUS--MATHIEWS
+             BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE--LERRIGO
+             BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL--GARTH
+             THE BOY SCOUTS IN AFRICA--CORCORAN
+             THE BOY SCOUTS OF ROUND TABLE PATROL--LERRIGO
+
+                               PUBLISHERS
+                              BARSE & CO.
+                   NEW YORK, N. Y.      NEWARK, N. J.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45990 ***
diff --git a/45990/45990-h/45990-h.htm b/45990-h/45990-h.htm
index 827ad7f..fdaf5f0 100644
--- a/45990/45990-h/45990-h.htm
+++ b/45990-h/45990-h.htm
@@ -1,8746 +1,8332 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"

-    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">

-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">

-  <head>

-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />

-    <title>Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner</title>

-    <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" />

-    <style type="text/css">

-      body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:8%; }

-      p { text-indent:0;margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;text-align:justify; }

-      .sc { font-variant:small-caps; }

-      .larger { font-size:larger; }

-      .xlarge { font-size:x-large; }

-      .lg-container-b { text-align: center; }

-      .linegroup { display: inline-block; text-align: left; }

-      @media handheld { .linegroup { display: block; margin-left: 1.5em; }}

-      .linegroup .group { margin: 1em auto; }

-      .linegroup .line { text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em; }

-      .imgleft { clear:left; float:left; margin:4% 4% 4% 0; }

-      @media handheld {.imgleft { float:left; }}

-      div.pbb { page-break-before:always; }

-      hr.pb { border:none;border-bottom:1px solid silver;margin:1em auto; }

-      @media handheld { hr.pb { display:none; }}

-      .figcenter { clear:both; max-width:100%; margin:2em auto; text-align:center; }

-      div.figcenter p { text-align:center; }

-      .ic002 { width:382px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block; text-align:center; }

-      .ig001 { width:382px; max-width:100%; height:auto; }

-      .ig002 { width:382px; max-width:100%; height:auto; }

-      @media handheld {

-        .ig001 { width:382px; }

-        .ig002 { width:382px; }

-        .ic002 { width:382px; }

-      }

-      .c000 { margin-top:1em }

-      .c001 { text-align:center; }

-      .c002 { margin:auto; }

-      .c003 { vertical-align:top;text-align:right;padding-right:1em; }

-      .c004 { vertical-align:bottom;text-align:left; }

-      .c005 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.4em;page-break-before:auto;

-              margin-top:1em; }

-      .c006 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.2em;page-break-before:auto;

-              margin-top:4em; }

-      .c007 { margin-top:2em;text-indent:1em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }

-      .c008 { text-indent:1em;margin-top:0.0em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }

-      .c009 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.2em;

-              page-break-before:always;margin-top:4em; }

-      .c010 { margin-left:5.56%;margin-right:5.56%;margin-top:1em;text-indent:1em;

-              margin-bottom:0.0em; }

-      .c011 { margin-left:5.56%;margin-right:5.56%;text-align:right; }

-      .c012 { margin-top:1em;text-indent:1em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }

-      .c013 { margin-top:1em; }

-      .c014 { margin-top:2em;text-align:center; }

-      .c015 { width:20% }

-      .c016 { width:100% }

-      .c017 { margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em; }

-      .nf-center { text-align:center; }

-      .nf-center-c0 { text-align:left;margin:0 0; }

-      .nf-center-c1 { text-align:left;margin:1em 0; }

-    </style>

-  </head>

-  <body>

-

-

-<pre>

-

-Project Gutenberg's Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Title: Bobby Blake on the School Nine

-       The Champions of the Monatook Lake League

-

-Author: Frank A. Warner

-

-Illustrator: R. Emmett Owen

-

-Release Date: June 15, 2014 [EBook #45990]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: UTF-8

-

-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE ***

-

-

-

-

-Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

-

-

-

-

-

-

-</pre>

-

-

-<div class='figcenter'>

-<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />

-</div>

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='figcenter'>

-<div class='ic002'>

-<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' class='ig002' />

-<p>They slowly and sullenly handed over the contents of their pockets.</p>

-</div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div><span class='xlarge'>BOBBY BLAKE ON</span></div>

-    <div><span class='xlarge'>THE SCHOOL NINE</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>OR</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'>THE CHAMPIONS OF THE MONATOOK</span></div>

-    <div><span class='larger'>LAKE LEAGUE</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>BY</div>

-    <div class='c000'>FRANK A. WARNER</div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>Author of “Bobby Blake at Rockledge School,”</span></span></div>

-    <div><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>“Bobby Blake on a Cruise,” “Bobby</span></span></div>

-    <div><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>Blake and His School Chums,” Etc.</span></span></div>

-    <div class='c000'><i>ILLUSTRATED BY</i></div>

-    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'>R. EMMETT OWEN</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>PUBLISHERS</div>

-    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>

-    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div>Copyright 1917</div>

-    <div>by</div>

-    <div><span class='sc'>Barse &amp; Co.</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>Bobby Blake on the School Nine</div>

-    <div class='c000'><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='c001'><span class='larger'>CONTENTS</span></div>

-

-<table class='c002' summary='Table of Contents'>

-<tr><td class='c003'>I</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chI'><span class='sc'>Flying Snowballs</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>II</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chII'><span class='sc'>A Friend Interferes</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>III</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIII'><span class='sc'>The Coming Storm</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>IV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIV'><span class='sc'>Held Up</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>V</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chV'><span class='sc'>The Tramps’ Retreat</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>VI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVI'><span class='sc'>Heavy Odds</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>VII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVII'><span class='sc'>Paying an Old Debt</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>VIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVIII'><span class='sc'>The Cloud Breaks Away</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>IX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIX'><span class='sc'>A Cowardly Trick</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>X</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chX'><span class='sc'>Rockledge School</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXI'><span class='sc'>Tom Hicksley Reappears</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXII'><span class='sc'>A New Enemy</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIII'><span class='sc'>The Monatook Lake League</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XIV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIV'><span class='sc'>Glowing Hopes</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXV'><span class='sc'>Spoiling the Fun</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XVI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVI'><span class='sc'>Who Was Guilty?</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XVII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVII'><span class='sc'>On the Trail</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XVIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVIII'><span class='sc'>A Hard Hit</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XIX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIX'><span class='sc'>Spring Practice</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXX'><span class='sc'>The Sugar Camp</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXI'><span class='sc'>The First Game</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXII'><span class='sc'>To the Rescue</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIII'><span class='sc'>The Egg and the Fan</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXIV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIV'><span class='sc'>An Undeserved Punishment</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXV'><span class='sc'>Off for a Swim</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXVI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVI'><span class='sc'>The Scar and the Limp</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXVII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVII'><span class='sc'>A Gleam of Light</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXVIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVIII'><span class='sc'>Tom Hicksley Gets a Thrashing</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXIX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIX'><span class='sc'>A Wild Chase</span></a></td></tr>

-<tr><td class='c003'>XXX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXX'><span class='sc'>Winning the Pennant—Conclusion</span></a></td></tr>

-</table>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div>

-  <h1 class='c005'>BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE</h1>

-</div>

-

-<div>

-  <h2 id='chI' class='c006'>CHAPTER I<br /> <br />FLYING SNOWBALLS</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>“Ouch!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was a dandy!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How’s that for a straight shot?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Thought you could dodge it, did you?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have a heart, fellows! I’ve got a ton of snow

-down my back already.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A tumult of shouts and laughter rose into the

-frosty air from a group of boys, ranging in age

-from ten to twelve years, who were throwing and

-dodging snowballs near the railroad station in

-the little town of Clinton.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Even the fact that four of the group were on

-their way back to school after the Christmas holidays

-was not sufficient to dampen their youthful

-spirits, and the piles of snow heaped up back of

-the platform had been too tempting to resist.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As though moved by a single spring they had

-dropped the bags they were carrying, and the

-next instant the air was full of flying snowballs.

-Most of them found their mark, though a few in

-the excitement of the fray passed dangerously

-near the station windows.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Flushed and eager, the panting warriors advanced

-or retreated, until a stray missile just

-grazed the ear of the baggage man, who was wheeling

-a load of trunks along the platform. He gave

-a roar of protest, and the boys thought it was

-time to stop. But they did it reluctantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Too bad to stop right in the middle of the fun,”

-said Bobby Blake, a bright wholesome boy of about

-eleven years, with a frank face and merry brown

-eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bailey’s got a grouch on this morning,” remarked

-Fred Martin, better known among the boys

-as “Ginger,” because of his red hair and equally

-fiery temper.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I never saw him any other way,” put in

-“Scat” Monroe, one of the village boys, who had

-come down to the station to bid his friends

-good-bye. “I don’t believe Bailey ever was a

-boy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, I guess he was—once,” said Bobby, with

-the air of one making a generous concession, “but

-it was so long ago that he’s forgotten all about it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps you’d be grouchy too if you came

-near being hit,” ventured Betty Martin, Fred’s

-sister, “especially if you weren’t getting any fun

-out of it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Betty formed one of a party of girls who bad accompanied

-the boys to the station to see them off.

-With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, these girls

-had stood huddled together like a flock of snowbirds,

-watching the friendly scuffle and giving a

-little squeal occasionally when a snowball came

-too close to them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred looked at his sister coldly. He was very

-fond of Betty, but as the only boy in a large family

-of girls, he felt it was incumbent on him to

-maintain the dignity of the male sex. He had pronounced

-ideas on the necessity of keeping girls

-in their place, and Betty was something of a trial

-to him because she refused to be squelched.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Of course, girls feel that way,” he said loftily.

-“They’re afraid of the least little thing. But

-men aren’t such scare-cats.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Men!” sniffed Betty scornfully. “You don’t

-call yourself a man, do you?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m going to be some day,” her brother

-retorted, “and that’s more than you can say.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was undeniable, and Fred felt that he had

-scored a point.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Betty was reduced to the defensive.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t want to be,” she rejoined rather

-feebly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred cast a proud look around.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sour grapes!” he ejaculated.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Then, elated by his success, he sought rather

-imprudently to follow it up.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“As for me,” he declared, “I wouldn’t care how

-hard I was hit. I’d only laugh.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Betty saw an opening.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You wouldn’t dare let me throw one at you,”

-she challenged, her eyes dancing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred went into pretended convulsions.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You throw!” he jeered. “A girl throw!

-Why! you couldn’t hit the—the side of a house,”

-he ended lamely, his invention failing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I couldn’t, eh?” cried Betty, a little nettled.

-“Well, you just stand up against that post and

-see if I can’t.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred was somewhat startled by her prompt answer

-to his taunt, but it would never do to show

-the white feather.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All right,” he responded, and took up his

-position, while Betty stood some twenty feet

-away.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The laughing group of boys and girls gathered

-around her, and Bobby and Scat began to make

-snowballs for Betty.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No, you don’t!” cried Fred. “I know you

-fellows. You’ll make soakers. Let Betty make

-her own snowballs.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you care, if you’re so sure she can’t

-hit you?” said Bobby slyly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Never you mind,” replied Fred, ignoring the

-thrust. “You leave all that to Betty.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys desisted and Betty made her own missiles.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How many chances do I have?” she asked.

-“Will you give me three shots?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Three hundred if you like,” replied her brother

-grandly. “It’s all the same to me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He stiffened up sternly against the post. Somewhere

-he had seen a picture of Ajax defying

-the lightning, and he hoped that he looked like

-that.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Betty poised herself to throw, but at the last

-moment her tender heart misgave her.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I—I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” she faltered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Aw, go ahead,” urged “Mouser” Pryde, one

-of the four lads who were leaving for school.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Aim right at his head,” added “Pee Wee”

-Wise, another schoolmate who was to accompany

-Bobby and Fred to Rockledge.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You can’t miss that red mop of his,” put in

-Scat heartlessly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“N-no,” said Betty, dropping her hand to her

-side. “I guess I don’t want to.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred scented an easy victory, but made a mistake

-by not being satisfied to let well enough alone.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“She knows she can’t hit me and she’s afraid

-to try,” he gibed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The light of battle began to glow in Betty’s eyes,

-but still she stood irresolute.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll give you a cent if you hit me,” pursued

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“My! isn’t he reckless with his money?” mocked

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He talks like a millionaire,” added Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A whole cent,” mused Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred flushed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Make it a nickel, then,” he said. “And if that

-isn’t enough, I’ll give you a dime,” he added, in a

-final burst of generosity.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have you got it?” Betty asked suspiciously.

-She knew that Fred was usually in a state of bankruptcy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve got it all right,” retorted her brother,

-“and what’s more I’m going to keep it, because

-you couldn’t hit anything in a thousand years.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Whether it was the taunt or the dime or both,

-Betty was spurred to action. She hesitated no

-longer, but picked up a snowball and threw it at

-the fair mark that Fred presented.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It went wide and Fred laughed gleefully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Guess that dime stays right in my pocket,”

-he chuckled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Never mind, Betty,” encouraged Bobby.

-“You were just getting the range then. Better

-luck next time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the next shot also failed, and Fred’s mirth

-became uproarious.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I might just as well have made it a dollar,” he

-mocked.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But his smile suddenly faded when Betty’s third

-throw caught him right on the point of the nose.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fortunately the ball was not very hard. It

-spread all over his face, getting into his eyes and

-filling his mouth, and leaving him for the moment

-blinded and sputtering.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The girls gave little shrieks and the boys doubled

-up with laughter, which increased as the victim

-brushed away the snow and they caught sight

-of his startled and sheepish face. Betty, in swift

-penitence, flew to his side.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, Fred!” she wailed, “I hope I didn’t hurt

-you!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>To do Fred justice, he was game, and after the

-first moment of discomfiture he tried to smile,

-though the attempt was not much of a success.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, Betty,” he said. “You’re

-a better shot than I thought you were. Here’s

-your dime,” he added, taking the coin from his

-pocket.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t want it,” replied Betty. “I’m sorry

-I won it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Fred insisted and she took it, although reluctantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Too bad you didn’t make it a dollar, Fred,”

-joked Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t hit you in a thousand years, eh?”

-chuckled Scat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out, you fellows,” protested Fred.

-“I didn’t dodge anyway, did I? You’ve got to

-give me credit for that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was pretty good work for short distance

-shooting,” remarked Bobby Blake, molding a

-snowball. “But now watch me hit that rock on

-the other side of the road.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Look out that you don’t hit that horse,” cautioned

-Betty.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the snowball had already left Bobby’s hand.

-He had thought that it would easily clear the

-scraggy old horse that was jogging along drawing

-a sleigh. But the aim was too low, and the snowball

-hit the horse plump in the neck.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The startled brute reared and plunged, and the

-driver, a big hulky boy with pale eyes and a pasty

-complexion, had all he could do to quiet him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He succeeded at last, and then, grasping his

-whip, jumped over the side of the sleigh and came

-running up to the boys, his face convulsed with

-rage.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chII' class='c009'>CHAPTER II<br /> <br />A FRIEND INTERFERES</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>“Oh,” gasped Betty, “it’s Ap Plunkit!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Fred, “and he’s as mad as a hornet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Applethwaite Plunkit was the son of a farmer

-who lived a short distance out of town. He was

-older and larger than the rest of the boys gathered

-on the station platform, and they all disliked

-him thoroughly because of his mean and ugly disposition.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby and Fred had had several squabbles with

-him when he had attempted to bully them, but

-their quarrels had never yet got to the point of

-an actual fight. But just now, as he strode up to

-them, it looked as though a fight were coming.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby was a plucky boy, and though he never

-went around looking for trouble, he was always

-willing and able to take his own part when it became

-necessary. But Ap was a great deal bigger

-and heavier than he, and just now had the advantage

-of the whip. So that Bobby’s breath came a

-little faster as Ap came nearer. But he never

-thought of retreating, and faced the bully with an

-outward calm that he was very far from feeling.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Which one of you fellows hit my horse?” demanded

-Ap, in a voice that trembled with rage.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I did,” replied Bobby, stepping forward a little

-in advance of the group.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did you do it for?” cried Ap, at the same

-time raising his whip.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I didn’t aim at the horse,” replied Bobby. “I

-was trying to hit a rock on the other side of the

-road.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe it,” snarled the bully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I can’t help whether you believe it or not,” answered

-Bobby. “It’s the truth.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You needn’t think you’re going to crawl out

-of it that way,” Ap snapped back. “You hit my

-horse on purpose and now I’m going to hit you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He lifted his whip higher to make good his

-threat. Bobby’s fists clenched and his eyes

-glowed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t you touch me with that whip, Ap Plunkit,”

-he warned, “or it will be the worse for you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You bet it will!” cried Fred, rushing forward.

-“You touch Bobby and we’ll all pitch into you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what!” ejaculated Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” added Pee Wee, who, though

-lazy and hard to rouse, was always loyal to his

-friends.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For a moment it seemed as though a general

-scrimmage could not be avoided, and the girls gave

-little frightened shrieks.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Ap hesitated.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Four against one,” he muttered sarcastically.

-“You’re a plucky lot, you are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Throw down that whip and any one of us will

-tackle you,” cried Fred hotly, his fiery temper getting

-the better of him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But just then a diversion came from a new quarter.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A boy who was just about equal to Ap in age

-and weight, who had a lot of freckles, a snub nose,

-a jolly Irish face and a crop of red hair that

-rivaled Fred’s own, pushed his way through the

-crowd that had gathered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s Pat Moriarty,” cried Betty in relief.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hello, Bobby! Hello, Fred!” called out the

-newcomer cheerily. “What’s the rumpus

-here?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s this Ap Plunkit,” explained Bobby. “I

-hit his horse with a snowball by accident.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And the big coward’s brought his whip over

-to get even,” volunteered Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“To git even is it,” said Pat, as his eyes fell on

-the bully, who was beginning to move backward.

-“Well, I’ll give him the chanst.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He went over rapidly to Ap.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Why don’t you tackle a feller of your size?”

-he asked scornfully. “Like me, fur instance?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You keep out of this,” muttered Ap uneasily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Keep out of it!” jeered Pat pugnaciously.

-“A Moriarty never keeps out of a scrap when he

-sees a big feller pickin’ on a little one.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>With a sudden movement he snatched Ap’s whip

-and threw it on the ground.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Resentment flared up in Ap’s eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>While the two antagonists stand glaring at each

-other, it may be well, for the benefit of those who

-have not followed the fortunes and adventures

-of Bobby Blake from the beginning, to give a brief

-outline of the preceding volumes in this series.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby was the only child of his parents, who resided

-in the little inland town of Clinton. Although

-their hearts were bound up in their son,

-they had been sensible enough not to spoil him,

-and he had grown into a bright, manly boy, full

-of fun and frolic, and a general favorite among

-the boys of the town.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred Martin, whose family lived only a few

-doors away from the Blakes, was Bobby’s closest

-friend and companion. The boys were very different

-in temperament, and it was this very unlikeness,

-perhaps, which had made them chums. Fred

-had a hot temper which was constantly getting him

-into scrapes, and Bobby, who was much cooler

-and more self-controlled, was kept busy a good

-deal of the time in getting his friend out of trouble.

-They seldom had any differences between

-themselves and were almost constantly together.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Blake was once suddenly called to South

-America on business, and it was arranged that

-Mrs. Blake should go with him. What to do with

-Bobby during their absence gave them a good

-many anxious moments. They finally decided to

-send him to Rockledge School, of which they had

-heard excellent reports, and to Bobby’s great delight,

-Mr. Martin consented to let Fred go with

-him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The school opened a new world for the boys.

-They had to study hard, but a lot of fun was mixed

-in with the work and they had many exciting adventures.

-They formed warm friendships, but

-there were two or three bullies in the school who

-tried to make their lives burdensome. How they

-finally defeated these petty tyrants and came out

-on top is told in the first volume of the series,

-entitled: “Bobby Blake at Rockledge School; or,

-Winning the Medal of Honor.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The steamer on which Mr. Blake and his wife

-had sailed was lost at sea, and for a time it was

-feared that all on board had gone down with her.

-Bobby was heart-broken; so when news came later

-that his parents had been rescued his joy can be

-imagined. The end of the spring term was near,

-and Bobby and Fred accepted the invitation of one

-of their schoolmates, Perry (nicknamed “Pee

-Wee”) Wise, to spend part of the summer vacation

-on the coast, where Perry’s father had a summer

-home. There they had a splendid time.

-Their most stirring adventure involved the search

-for a missing boat. This is described in the second

-volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake

-at Bass Cove; or, The Hunt for the Motor Boat

-<em>Gem</em>.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They would have stayed longer at this delightful

-place, had it not been for a message brought

-to Bobby by an old sea captain who was a friend

-of Mr. Blake. He told Bobby that his parents

-were on their way home but would stop for a while

-at Porto Rico, where they wanted Bobby to join

-them. Bobby was wild to see his parents again,

-and his joy was increased when Mr. Martin said

-that he would go too and take Fred along. They

-expected adventure, but got more than they bargained

-for, and the story of how they were cast

-away and finally picked up by the very ship on

-which Bobby’s father and mother were sailing is

-told in the third volume of the series, entitled:

-“Bobby Blake on a Cruise; or, The Castaways of

-Volcano Island.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Once more at home, the two boys were

-preparing to go back to Rockledge for the fall term, when

-they suddenly came into possession of a pocketbook

-containing a large sum of money. A strange

-series of happenings led them at last to the owner.

-In the meantime, their school life was full of action,

-culminating in a lively football game where

-Bobby and Fred helped to defeat Belden School,

-their chief rival. How well they played their part

-is shown in the fourth volume of the series, entitled:

-“Bobby Blake and His School Chums; or,

-The Rivals of Rockledge.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The uncle of “Mouser” Pryde, one of Bobby’s

-particular friends at school, owned a shooting

-lodge up in the Big Woods, and he invited Mouser

-to ask some of his friends up there to spend part

-of the Christmas holidays. Bobby and Fred were

-members of the party, and they had a glorious

-time, skating, snowshoeing, fishing through the ice

-and hunting. In turn, they were themselves

-hunted by a big bear and had a narrow escape.

-Incidentally they were fortunate enough to rescue

-and bring back to his right mind a demented hunter

-who proved to be Pat Moriarty’s father. How

-they did this and won the everlasting gratitude of

-the red-headed Irish boy is described in the fifth

-volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake at

-Snowtop Camp; or, Winter Holidays in the Big

-Woods.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pat and Ap seemed to be trying to outstare each

-other, and the rest waited in breathless silence

-during this silent duel of eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Ap’s eyes were the first to fall before the

-blaze in Pat’s.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll get even with that Bobby Blake yet,” he

-mumbled, stooping to pick up his whip.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, the next time don’t bring along your

-whip to help you out,” replied Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“An’ when you feel like lookin’ for trouble, I

-can find it for you,” added Pat. “You’ll be rememberin’,

-Ap Plunkit, that I licked you once when

-you gave a hot penny to a monkey, an’ I can do it

-again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was evident that Ap did remember perfectly

-well the fact which Pat referred to, for he did not

-seem to want to stay any longer in the Irish lad’s

-vicinity. He picked up his whip, went over to the

-wagon and climbed in. Then he took out his spite

-by giving his nag a vicious slash and drove away.

-But first he doubled up his fist and shook it at the

-boys, a gesture which they answered with a derisive

-shout of laughter.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I think that Ap Plunkit is just horrid,” declared

-Betty, with a stamp of her little foot.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t blame him for feeling a little sore,”

-said Bobby, “especially before he knew I didn’t

-do it on purpose. But I guess he has a grudge

-against me anyway.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He was just looking for an excuse to make

-trouble,” put in Fred, “and it was just like him

-to bring his whip along. He never has played

-fair yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s got a yaller streak in him, I’m thinkin’,”

-chuckled Pat, a broad smile covering his jolly face.

-“I just couldn’t help buttin’ in when I seen him a

-swingin’ of that whip.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You always stand up for your friends, don’t

-you, Pat?” said Mouser admiringly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” grinned Pat. “Especially when

-they’re the best friends a feller ever had. I’ll

-never forget what Bobby and Fred have done for

-me an’ my folks.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, that was nothing,” put in Bobby hastily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Nothin’!” exclaimed Pat. “It was just

-everything, an’ there isn’t a day goes by in our

-house but what we’re talkin’ about it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How did you happen to be Johnny-on-the-spot

-this morning?” asked Bobby, anxious to change

-the conversation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I just was doin’ an errand at the grocery store

-when I heard some one say that you boys were

-goin’ off to school this mornin’,” answered Pat,

-“an’ I dropped everything an’ came down here

-on a dead run to say good-bye and wish you slathers

-of luck. I guess me mother will be after wonderin’

-what’s keepin’ me, an’ she a waitin’ fur the

-butter an’ sugar,” he added, with a grin, “but she

-won’t care when I tell her what the reason was.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wish you were going along with us, Pat,”

-said Bobby, who was genuinely fond of the good-hearted

-Irish boy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” drawled Pee Wee. “We’ve got a couple

-of fellows up at Rockledge that I’d like to see

-you handle just as you faced down Ap this morning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If there’s any kind of a shindig, I’d sure like

-to be in the thick of it,” laughed Pat. “But I’ll

-trust you boys not to let them fellers do any

-crowin’ over you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Right you are,” put in Mouser. “There

-aren’t any of ’em that can make Bobby and Fred

-lie down when they get their dander up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, dear,” sighed Betty, as the toot of the

-train’s whistle was heard up the track. “Here it

-comes. I just hate to have to say good-bye to you

-boys.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Never mind, Betty,” cried Bobby cheerily.

-“It won’t be so very long and you’ll hear from us

-every once in a while. And maybe we’ll be able

-to come home for a few days at Easter.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a scurrying about as the boys got

-their hand-baggage together and brushed the snow

-from their clothes. The train had now come in

-sight, and a minute later with a great rattle and

-clamor and hissing of steam it drew up to the platform.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All aboard!” shouted Mouser, and the four

-boys scrambled up the steps, Pee Wee as usual

-bringing up the rear.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They rushed up the aisle and were lucky enough

-to find two vacant seats next to each other. They

-turned over the back of one of them, so that two of

-them could sit facing the others, and tucked away

-their belongings in the racks and under the seats.

-Then they threw up the windows so as to have a

-last word with those they were leaving behind.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The girls had their handkerchiefs out ready to

-wave a good-bye, and Betty was applying hers

-furtively to one of her eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hope your nose isn’t hurting you, Fred,” she

-questioned, the mischief glinting out in spite of the

-tears.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not a bit of it,” answered Fred hastily, as

-though the subject was not to his liking.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And you’re sure you don’t need the ten

-cents?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Need nothing,” declared Fred, with the magnificent

-gesture of one to whom money was a trifle.

-“I’ve got plenty with me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Betty drew back a little, and Scat and Pat came

-along and grasped the four hands that were thrust

-out to meet theirs.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Good luck, fellows,” said Scat. “I hope you’ll

-get on the baseball nine this spring and lay it all

-over the teams you play against.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re going to do our best,” Bobby replied.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, boys!” called out Pat. “I sure am

-sorry to have you goin’. It won’t seem like the

-same old place when you ain’t here no more.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, Pat!” the four shouted in chorus.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If you have any mix-up with Ap while we’re

-gone, be sure to let us know,” laughed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There won’t be any mix-up,” put in Fred.

-“Not if Ap sees Pat first, there won’t.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ap will crawfish all right,” confirmed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s a wonder at backing out,” added Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The bell of the engine began to clang and the

-train started slowly out of the station. The little

-party left behind ran alongside until they reached

-the end of the platform, shouting and waving.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The travelers, with their heads far out of the

-windows, waved and called in return until they

-were out of sight and hearing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Betty’s a bully girl, isn’t she, Fred?” remarked

-Bobby, as they settled back in their seats.

-“You’re a lucky fellow. I wish I had a sister like

-her.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ye-e-s,” assented Fred, rather hesitatingly.

-“Betty’s a brick. That is,” he added hastily, “as

-far as any girl can be. But don’t be wishing too

-hard for sisters, Bobby,” he went on darkly.

-“Girls aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Especially when they know how to throw,”

-put in Bobby, with a roguish glint in his eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred pretended to think this remark unworthy

-of an answer, but he rubbed his nose reflectively.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER III<br /> <br />THE COMING STORM</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>For several minutes the boys were the least bit

-quiet and subdued. There is always something

-sobering in going away from home and leaving

-relatives and friends behind, especially when the

-parting is going to last for many months, and the

-warm-hearted farewells of the group at the station

-were still ringing in the boy’s ears.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But it is not in boy nature to remain quiet long,

-and their irrepressible spirits soon asserted themselves

-and caused the young travelers to bubble

-over with fun and merriment.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Besides, Pee Wee and Mouser had said good-bye

-to their parents the day before in their own homes,

-and had been stopping over night with their school

-chums in Clinton. Their depression was but for

-the moment and was over the thought of leaving

-behind so much fun and good will as they had

-found at their chums’ home town, and they helped

-Bobby and Fred to forget their feeling of homesickness.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There were not many other passengers on the

-train that morning, so that the boys had plenty of

-room and could give vent to their feelings without

-causing annoyance to others. They snatched each

-other’s caps and threw them in the aisles or under

-the seats, indulged in good-natured scuffling, sang

-bits of the Rockledge songs and cut up “high

-jinks” generally.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred and Mouser were seized by a longing for a

-drink of water at the same moment, and they had

-a race to see who would get to the cooler first.

-Fred won and got first drink while Mouser waited

-for his turn. But Mouser got even by knocking

-Fred’s elbow so that half the water was spilled

-over the front of his coat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Quit, I tell you, Mouser,” remonstrated Fred,

-half choking from the effort to drink and talk at

-the same time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Mouser kept on, until suddenly Fred saw a

-chance to get back at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What does it say there?” he asked, pointing

-to some words engraved on the lower part of the

-cooler. “I can’t quite make the letters out from

-here.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser innocently bent over, and Fred, taking

-advantage of his stooping position, tipped his

-glass and sent a stream of water down his victim’s

-neck.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a startled howl from Mouser as the

-cold water trickled down his spine. He straightened

-up with a jerk and chased Fred down the

-aisle, while Bobby and Pee Wee went into whoops

-of laughter at his discomfiture.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s no way to drink water, Mouser,”

-chaffed Bobby as soon as he could speak. “You

-want to use your mouth instead of taking in

-through the pores.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, dry up,” ejaculated Mouser, making frantic

-efforts to stuff his handkerchief down his back.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re dry enough already,” chuckled Pee

-Wee. “Seems to me it’s you that needs drying

-up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You will jog my elbow, eh?” jeered Fred, who

-was delighted at the success of his stratagem.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“My turn will come,” grunted Mouser. “It’s

-a long worm that has no turning,” he added, getting

-mixed up in his proverbs.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Again the boys shouted and Mouser himself,

-although he tried to keep up his dignity, ended by

-joining in the merriment.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In the scramble for seats when they had first

-boarded the train, Bobby and Fred had had the

-luck to get the seat that faced forward. Mouser

-and Pee Wee had to ride backward and naturally

-after a while they objected.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You fellows have all the best of it,” grumbled

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” retorted Fred. “That’s as

-it should be. Nothing’s too good for Bobby and

-me. The best people ought to have the best of

-everything.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” Bobby backed him up. “The

-common people ought to be satisfied with what

-they can get. You fellows ought to be glad that

-we let you travel with us at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Those fellows just hate themselves, don’t

-they?” Mouser appealed to his seat mate.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Aren’t they the modest little flowers?” agreed

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you say to rushing them and firing

-them out?” suggested Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, don’t do that,” cried Fred in mock alarm.

-“Pee Wee might fall on one of us, and then there’d

-be nothing left but a grease spot.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Might as well have a ton of brick on top of

-you,” confirmed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what,” grinned Pee Wee. “We’ll

-draw straws for it and the fellows that get the

-two longest straws get the best seats.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That would be all right and I’d be glad to do

-it,” said Fred with an air of candor. “Only there

-aren’t any straws handy. So we’ll have to let

-things stay as they are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You don’t get out of it that way, you old fox,”

-cried Mouser. “Here’s an old letter and we’ll

-make strips of paper take the place of the straws.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All right,” agreed Fred, driven into the open.

-“Give me the letter and I’ll make the strips and

-you fellows can draw.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Will you play fair?” asked Mouser suspiciously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred put on an air of offended virtue.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Do you think I’m a crook?” he asked.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” retorted Mouser in a most unflattering

-way. “A fellow that will pour water

-down my back when I’m trying to do him a favor

-will do anything.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred looked at him sadly as though lamenting

-his lack of faith, but proceeded briskly to tear the

-strips. The boys drew and Bobby had the luck to

-retain his seat, but Fred had to exchange with

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s a shame to have to sit with Pee Wee,”

-said Fred as he squeezed in beside the fat boy.

-“He takes up two-thirds of the seat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The conductor ought to charge him double

-fare,” grinned Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee only smiled lazily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Look at him,” jeered Bobby. “He looks just

-like the cat that’s swallowed the canary.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would take more than that to make Pee Wee

-happy,” put in Fred. “A canary would be a

-mighty slim meal for him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’d think so if you’d seen how he piled into

-the buckwheat cakes this morning,” chuckled

-Bobby. “Honestly, fellows, I thought that Meena

-would have heart failure trying to cook them fast

-enough.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I noticed that you did your part all right,”

-laughed Pee Wee. “I had all I could do to get

-my share of the maple syrup.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Buckwheats and maple syrup!” groaned

-Mouser. “Say, fellows! stop talking about them

-or you’ll make me so hungry I’ll have to bite the

-woodwork.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We can do better than that,” said Fred.

-“Here comes the train boy. Let’s get some candy

-and peanuts.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys bought lavishly and munched away

-contentedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Look at the way the snow’s coming down!”

-exclaimed Fred, gazing out of the window.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It is for a fact,” agreed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks as though it had settled in for a regular

-storm,” commented Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe it will be a blizzard,” suggested Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, it appeared to be that already.

-The snow was falling heavily and shutting

-out the view so that the boys could scarcely

-see the telegraph poles at the side of the track.

-A fierce wind was blowing, and in many places the

-fence rails were almost covered where the snow

-had drifted.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hope we won’t have any trouble in getting to

-Rockledge,” remarked Fred rather apprehensively.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not so bad as that I guess,” said Bobby.

-“There’s one place though, a little further on,

-where the track runs through a gulch and that may

-be pretty well filled up if the storm keeps on.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wonder if there’s anything to eat on the train

-if we should get snowbound,” ventured Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Trust Pee Wee to think of his stomach the

-first thing,” gibed Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There isn’t any dining car on the train,” said

-Mouser. “And we’re still a good way from the

-station where it usually stops for lunch.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re all right anyway as long as the candy

-and peanuts hold out,” laughed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” mourned Pee Wee, “but there isn’t

-much nourishment in them when a fellow’s really

-hungry.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The storm continued without abatement, and the

-few passengers that got on at the way stations

-looked like so many polar bears as they shook the

-clinging flakes from their clothes and shoes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh well, what do we care,” concluded Pee Wee,

-settling back in his seat. “There’s no use

-borrowing trouble. It always comes soon enough if

-it comes at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We ought to be used to snow by this time,”

-remarked Mouser. “After what we went through

-up in the Big Woods this doesn’t seem anything

-at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Listen to the north pole explorer,” mocked

-Fred. “You’d think, to hear him talk, that he’d

-been up with Cook or Peary.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ve got it all over those fellows in one

-way,” maintained Mouser. “I’ll bet they never

-had a snowslide come down and cover the shack

-they were living in.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was a close shave all right,” said Bobby

-a little soberly, as he thought of what had been

-almost a tragedy during their recent holiday at

-Snowtop Camp. “I thought once we were never

-going to get out of that scrape alive.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was almost as bad when we were chased

-by the bear,” put in Fred. “We did some good

-little running that day all right. I thought my

-breath would never come back.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And the running wouldn’t have done us any

-good if it hadn’t been for good old Don,” added

-Mouser. “How that old dog did stand up to the

-bear.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He got some fierce old digs from the bear’s

-claws while he was doing it,” said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He got over them all right,” affirmed Mouser.

-“I got a letter from my uncle a couple of days

-ago, and he says that Don is as good as he ever

-was.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The train for some time past had been going

-more and more slowly. Suddenly it came to a

-halt, although there was no station in sight. It

-backed up for perhaps three hundred feet, put on

-all steam and again rushed forward only to come

-to an abrupt stop with a jerk that almost threw

-the boys out of their seats.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They looked at each other in consternation.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <br />HELD UP</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Once more, as though unwilling to admit that it

-was conquered, the train backed up and then made

-a forward dash. But the result was the same.

-The snorting monster seemed to give up the struggle,

-and stood puffing and wheezing, with the steam

-hissing and great volumes of smoke rising from

-the stack.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re blocked,” cried Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It must be that we’ve got to the gulch,” observed

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A pretty kettle of fish,” grumbled Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re up against it for fair, I guess,” admitted

-Mouser. “But let’s get out and see how bad

-the trouble is.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys joined the procession of passengers

-going down the aisle and jumped off the steps of

-the car into a pile of snow beside the track that

-came up to their knees. Pee Wee, who as usual

-was last, lost his balance as he sprang, and went

-head over heels into a drift. His laughing comrades

-helped him to his feet.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wallowing like a porpoise,” grinned Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You went into that snow as if you liked it,”

-chuckled Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Lots of sympathy from you boobs,” grumbled

-Pee Wee, as he brushed the snow from his face

-and hair.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Lots of that in the dictionary,” sang out

-Mouser. “But come ahead, fellows, and see

-what’s doing.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The others waded after Mouser until they stood

-abreast of the locomotive.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a scene of wintry desolation that lay

-stretched before their eyes. As far as they could

-see, they could make out little but the white blanket

-of snow, above which the trees tossed their black

-and leafless branches. Paths and fences were

-blotted out, and except for the thin column of

-smoke that rose from a farmhouse half a mile

-away, they might have been in an uninhabited

-world of white.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks like Snowtop, sure enough,” muttered

-Mouser, as he looked around.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The conductor and the engineer, together with

-the trainmen, had gathered in a little group near

-the engine, and the boys edged closer in order

-to hear what they were saying.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s no use,” the grizzled old engineer was remarking.

-“The jig’s up as far as Seventy-three

-is concerned. I tried to get the old girl to buck

-the drifts, but she couldn’t do it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys thought it was no wonder that Seventy-three

-had gone on strike, as they noted that her

-cowcatcher was buried while the drift rose higher

-than her stack.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s too bad,” rejoined the conductor, shaking

-his head in a perplexed fashion. “I’ve been worrying

-about the gulch ever since it came on to

-snow so hard. It wouldn’t have mattered so

-much if it hadn’t been for the wind. That’s

-slacked up some now, but the damage is done already.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do, boss?” asked one

-of the trainmen.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ll have to go back to the last station and

-wire up to the Junction for them to send the snow-plough

-down and clear the track,” responded the

-conductor. “Get a hustle on now and ask them

-to send it along in a hurry.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The trainman started back at as fast a pace as

-the snow permitted, and the engineer climbed back

-into his cab to get out of the wind while waiting

-for help. The conductor started back for the

-smoking car, and as he went past, Bobby ventured

-to speak to him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How long do you think we’ll have to wait

-here?” he inquired.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No telling, sonny,” the conductor answered.

-“Perhaps a couple of hours, maybe longer. It all

-depends on how soon they can get that snow-plough

-down to us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He passed on and Mouser gave a low whistle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” cried Fred, giving vent to his

-favorite exclamation. “Two long hours in this

-neck of the woods!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And nothing to eat in sight,” groaned Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wish I’d let Meena put up that lunch for us

-this morning,” said Bobby regretfully. “My

-mother wanted me to bring one along, but I was in

-a hurry and counted on getting something to eat

-at the railroad lunch station.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What are we going to do?” moaned Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Fill up on snowballs,” suggested Mouser

-heartlessly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee glared at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m almost as bad as Pee Wee,” said Fred.

-“I feel as empty as though I hadn’t had anything

-to eat for a week. I could eat the bark off a tree.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I tell you what, fellows,” suggested Bobby,

-who was usually the leader when it came to action;

-“what do you say to going over to that

-farmhouse and trying to buy something to eat? I

-don’t think they’d let us go away hungry.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They followed the direction of his pointing

-finger, and new hope sprang up in them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But it’s an awful long way off,” objected Pee

-Wee, whose fear of exertion was only second to his

-love of eating.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have you got another stone bruise on your

-foot?” asked Mouser sarcastically.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was a standing joke among the boys.

-Whenever Pee Wee hung back from a walk or a

-run, he usually put forth the excuse of a stone

-bruise that made him lame for the time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No, I haven’t any stone bruise,” Pee Wee

-rapped back at him, “but how do you know I

-didn’t bark my shins when I had that tumble a

-few minutes ago?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He put on a pained look which might have deceived

-those who did not know him so well. But

-the steady stare of his comrades was too much for

-him to stand without wilting, and he had to join

-rather sheepishly in the laugh that followed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You stay here then, Pee Wee, while we go

-over and get something to eat,” suggested Fred.

-“We’ll ask the farmer to bring you over something

-on a gold tray. He’ll be glad to do it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out,” grinned Pee Wee. “Go ahead

-and I’ll follow.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Foxy boy, isn’t he?” chuckled Fred. “He

-wants us to break out the path so that it will be

-easier for him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d rather have Pee Wee go ahead,” remarked

-Mouser. “He’d be better than any snow plough.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>With chaff and laughter they started out, Bobby

-leading the way and the rest following in single

-file. They had pulled their caps down over their

-ears and buttoned their coats tightly about their

-necks. Luckily for them the wind had moderated,

-although the snow still kept falling, but more

-lightly than before.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They did not do much talking, for they needed

-all their breath to make their way through the

-drifts. As they had no path to guide them, they

-made straight across the fields, bumping every

-now and then into a fence that they had to climb.

-They were pretty well winded and panting hard

-when at last they reached the fence that bounded

-the spacious dooryard in front of the farmhouse.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A big black dog came bounding down to the

-gate barking ferociously. The boys took comfort

-from the fact that the fence was high and that the

-dog was too big and heavy to leap over it.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s glad to see us—I don’t think,” said Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Seems to have a sweet disposition,” muttered

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let Mouser get to talking to him,” suggested

-Bobby. “He’ll tame him down in no time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser, somewhat flattered, stepped forward.

-He had gained his nickname because he had a

-number of mice which he had taught to do all sorts

-of clever tricks. His fondness extended to all

-animals, and he had the remarkable power over

-them with which some people are gifted. No matter

-how savage or frightened they might be, they

-seemed to yield to his charm.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It did not fail him now. He muttered some

-words soothingly to the dog, whose barking grew

-feebler. Soon it stopped altogether, and in another

-minute or two the brute was wagging his

-tail and poking his muzzle through the rails of the

-fence for Mouser to pat him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was almost uncanny, and the boys held their

-breath as they watched the transformation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s all right now,” said Mouser, lifting the

-latch of the gate. “Come along, fellows.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Gee whiz!” exclaimed Bobby. “How do you

-do it?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You ought to be with a circus,” said Fred in

-undisguised admiration. “You’d make a dandy

-lion tamer.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser was elated at the tribute, but accepted it

-modestly enough, and led the way up to the house,

-the dog prancing along with them in the most

-friendly manner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As they reached the door and were about to

-knock, it was opened, and a motherly looking

-woman appeared on the threshold. There was

-an expression of anxiety on her face.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Down, Tiger, down,” she cried. Then as she

-saw the evident pleasure of the brute in the boys’

-company, her worried expression changed to one

-of surprise.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Mercy on us!” she exclaimed. “I was afraid

-the dog would eat you up. He’s awfully savage,

-but we keep him on account of there being so

-many tramps around. I was upstairs when I

-heard him barking, and I hurried down as fast as

-I could, for I was sure he’d bite you if you came

-inside the gate.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, Tiger’s a good friend of mine, aren’t you,

-Tiger?” laughed Mouser, as he stooped to caress

-the dog.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tiger licked his hand.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I never saw anything like it,” said their

-hostess. “I just can’t understand it. But here

-I am keeping you standing outside when you must

-be half perished with the cold,” she went on with

-quick sympathy. “Come right inside and get

-warm before you say another word.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>She led the way into a bright, cheerful sitting

-room, where there was a big wood fire blazing on

-the hearth. She bustled around and saw that they

-were comfortably seated before the fire. Then

-Bobby explained their errand.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose we’re sort of tramps ourselves,” he

-said with the winning smile that always gained

-for him instant liking. “But we were on the train

-and it got stalled over there in the gulch on account

-of the snow. We hadn’t brought any lunch

-with us and we thought we’d come over here and

-see if we could buy something to eat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You poor starved boys!” she exclaimed with

-as ready a sympathy as though she had been the

-mother of them all. “Of course you can have all

-you want to eat. It’s too early for dinner yet,

-as Mr. Wilson—that’s my husband—went to town

-this morning and will be a little late in getting

-back. But I’ll get up something for you right

-away. You just sit here and get warmed through

-and I’ll have it on the table in a jiffy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t go to too much trouble,” put in Bobby.

-“Anything will do.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>She was off at once, and they heard the cheerful

-clatter of pans and dishes in the adjoining

-kitchen.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys stretched out luxuriously before the

-fire and looked at each other in silent ecstasy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Talk about luck,” murmured Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All we want to eat,” repeated Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“She didn’t know you when she said that,”

-chaffed Fred. “I don’t believe there’s enough in

-the house to fill that contract.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee will have to go some to get ahead of

-me,” chimed in Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A savory odor was soon wafted in from the

-kitchen. Pee Wee sat bolt upright and sniffed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows! do you smell that?” he asked.

-“If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s no dream,” Mouser assured him. “It’s

-something a good sight more real than that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Before long the door opened to reveal the smiling

-face of Mrs. Wilson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All ready, boys,” she announced cheerily.

-“Come right along.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chV' class='c009'>CHAPTER V<br /> <br />THE TRAMPS’ RETREAT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The boys needed no second invitation. Even

-Pee Wee shook off his usual laziness. With a

-single impulse they sprang from their chairs and

-trooped out into the dining room.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It seemed to the hungry boys as though nothing

-had ever looked so good as the meal that their

-hostess had provided for them. There was a huge

-dish of bacon and eggs, plates piled high with

-snowy, puffy biscuit, which, as Mrs. Wilson told

-them, she had “knocked together” in a hurry,

-smoking hot from the oven, a great platter of fried

-potatoes, and, to crown the feast, mince and apple

-and pumpkin pies whose flaky crusts seemed to

-fairly beg to be eaten.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A simultaneous “ah-h” came from the boys, as

-they looked at the store of good things set before

-them, and the way they plunged into the meal was

-the sincerest tribute that could be paid to the cookery

-of their hostess. It brought a glow of pleasure

-into her kindly eyes and a happy flush to her

-cheeks. She fluttered about them like a hen over

-her chicks, renewing the dishes, pressing them to

-take more—a thing which was wholly unnecessary—and

-joining in their jokes and laughter. It is

-safe to say that a merrier meal had not been enjoyed

-in that old farmhouse for many a day.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But even a meal like that had to come to an end

-at last, and it was with a sigh of perfect satisfaction

-that the boys finally sat back in their chairs

-and looked about at the complete wreck they had

-made of the viands.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks as if a whirlwind had passed this way,”

-remarked Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I never enjoyed a meal so much,” said Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, you’re certainly a judge,” laughed Fred.

-“When you say a meal’s the limit you know what

-you’re talking about. And this time I agree with

-you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m glad you liked things,” put in Mrs. Wilson.

-“It does me good to see the way you boys

-eat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m afraid you wouldn’t make much money if

-you had us as steady boarders,” smiled Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come right back to the living room and get

-yourselves warm as toast before you start out

-again in this wind,” urged their hostess.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’d like to ever so much,” replied Bobby.

-“But I guess we’d better be getting along.

-Perhaps that snow plough will get down sooner than

-we thought, and everything’s been so good here

-that I’m afraid perhaps we’ve stayed too long

-already.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They wrapped themselves up warmly, and then

-Bobby as spokesman turned to their hostess.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How much do we owe you?” he asked, taking

-out his pocketbook, while the others prepared to

-do the same.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You don’t owe me a cent!” declared Mrs. Wilson

-with emphasis.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, but yes,” rejoined Bobby, somewhat

-startled. “We couldn’t think of letting you go to

-all that trouble and expense without paying for

-it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I won’t take a penny, bless your hearts,” Mrs.

-Wilson repeated. “It’s been a real joy to have

-you here. I haven’t any children of my own, and

-the old place gets a bit lonesome at times. I

-haven’t had such a good time for years as I’ve

-had this morning, seeing you eat so hearty and

-listening to your fun. I feel that I owe you a

-good deal more than you do me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>She was firm in her determination, although the

-boys pressed the matter as far as they could without

-offending her. So they were forced at last to

-yield to her wishes and return the money to their

-pockets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was with the warmest thanks that they left

-their kind-hearted hostess and went down the

-steps, Tiger accompanying them to the gate. He

-seemed to want to go further and whined softly

-when Mouser patted him good-bye.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Isn’t she a prince?” said Pee Wee admiringly,

-as they waved their hands in farewell.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A princess you mean,” corrected Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have it your own way,” retorted Pee Wee.

-“Whichever name’s the best, she’s that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were in a high state of elation as they

-ploughed their way across the snowy fields. They

-were blissfully conscious of being, as Mouser put

-it, “full to the chin,” and little else was needed

-at their age to make their happiness complete.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But they were sharply awakened by the sound

-of a whistle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That must be our train,” cried Fred in alarm.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what it is,” assented Bobby, quickening

-his pace. “We stayed a long time at the table,

-and the snow-plough must have come along sooner

-than they thought it would. Hurry, fellows,

-hurry!” and he tried to break into a run.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The others followed his example, but the snow

-was too deep for that. It clung about their feet

-and legs until they felt that they were moving in

-a nightmare.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“She’s going, fellows!” shouted Mouser in

-despair, as a stream of smoke began to stretch out

-behind the moving train.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And all our bags and things are on board!”

-wailed Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now we’re in a pretty mess,” gasped Pee Wee,

-slumping down in the snow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was no use in hurrying now, and they

-looked blankly at each other as they came to a full

-stop.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” howled Fred as the only way

-to relieve his feelings.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ll be jiggered!” exclaimed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee was too tired out from his exertion to

-say anything, and Bobby, too, kept silent, though

-for a different reason. He was busy thinking of

-the best way to get out of the tangle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s no use in worrying about our baggage,

-fellows,” he said at last. “Probably the conductor

-will take good care of that. And we may be

-able to send a telegram from some place telling

-the conductor to put our things off at Rockledge

-and leave them in care of the station agent there.

-What we’ve got to worry about is ourselves. We

-can’t stay here, and we’ve got to find some way to

-get another train as soon as we can. Have any

-of you fellows got a time table?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I had one,” replied Mouser, “but it’s in my

-bag on the train.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>None of the others had one and Bobby came to

-a quick decision.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s no other way,” he announced.

-“We’ll have to go back and ask Mrs. Wilson.

-She’ll know all about the trains and what’s the

-best station for us to go to.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They trudged back rather forlornly and explained

-their plight to Mrs. Wilson, who was full

-of sympathy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have you stay here all night,” she

-volunteered, “and Mr. Wilson will take you over

-to the station in a rig to-morrow morning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They thanked her heartily, but explained that

-this was out of the question. They would be

-missed from the train, telegrams would be flying

-back and forth and their parents would be anxious

-and excited. They must get to some place where

-they could either telegraph or, better yet, get a

-train that would land them in Rockledge that afternoon

-or evening.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what to do,” she suggested, as a

-thought struck her. “You can’t get a train on

-this line you’ve been traveling on until very late

-to-night. But there’s another road that crosses

-this at a junction about two miles from here and

-connects with the main line that goes on to Rockledge.

-There’s an afternoon train on that line

-that you’ll have plenty of time to make, and it will

-land you in Rockledge before night. There’s a

-telegraph office there too, and you can send any

-messages you like before you board the train.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s just the very thing,” cried Bobby with

-enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just what the doctor ordered,” chuckled

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>She gave them very careful directions for finding

-the station, and as there was none too much

-time and the walking was bound to be slow they

-set out at once, after thanking their friend for

-having come a second time to their relief.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their path led for the most part through a wood

-and they passed no other houses on their way.

-Even in summer it was evident that the locality

-was wild and deserted. Now with the snow over

-everything it was especially desolate.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You might almost think you were up in the

-Big Woods,” commented Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what,” agreed Fred. “It would be a

-dandy place for train robbers and that kind of

-fellows.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to be wandering around here at

-night,” remarked Pee Wee, who was panting with

-the exertion of keeping up with the others.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would give one a sort of creepy feeling, like

-being in a cemetery,” assented Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Suddenly Fred uttered an exclamation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s a little house right over in that hollow,”

-he cried, pointing to the right.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“More like a hut or a shack than a regular

-house, seems to me,” grunted Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe there’s any one living there,”

-commented Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, there must be,” declared Bobby. “I can

-see the light of a fire shining through the window.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The hut in question was a dilapidated structure

-of only one story that stood in a little hollow just

-off the road. It was in the last stages of decay

-and looked as though a strong wind would blow it

-to pieces. There were no fences nor barn nor

-any wagon or farm implement in sight.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Yet that some one lived in the crazy shack was

-evident, as Bobby had said, by the red light that

-came flickeringly through the only window that

-the cabin possessed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s stop there for a minute and get warm,”

-suggested Fred. “Then, too, we can make sure

-that we’re still on the right road to the station.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the use?” cautioned Bobby. “We got

-left once to-day by stopping too long.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It will only take a minute,” urged Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As the others also wanted to stop, and Bobby

-did not wish to insist too much, they all went down

-into the hollow together.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The snow of course deadened their footsteps, so

-that whoever was in the cabin had no notice of

-their approach.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred, who was in advance, rapped on the door.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was silence for a moment and then the

-door swung open and a rough looking man appeared

-on the sill.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you want?” he asked gruffly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We wanted to ask directions about the road,”

-said Fred, a little dismayed by the fellow’s surly

-manner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The man looked them over for a moment, noticed

-that they were well dressed and hesitated no

-longer.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come in,” he said briefly, and stood aside for

-them to pass.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <br />HEAVY ODDS</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Although feeling rather uneasy because of the

-man’s rough manner, the boys hardly saw what

-they could do but accept the invitation, and they

-went inside. The next moment they wished they

-had not.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There were two other men within the hut besides

-the one who had opened the door. They

-were seated at a bare pine table, and on the table

-there was a bottle of liquor. There seemed to be

-no other furniture in the miserable room, except

-a rusty wood stove, which was at white heat, two

-or three stools and a pile of hay in the corner,

-which evidently served as a bed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The heat inside was stifling, and the room was

-rank with the fumes of liquor. The unshaven

-faces of the men were flushed, their eyes red and

-bleared, and a greasy pack of cards told of their

-occupation when they had been interrupted.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Tramps,” whispered Bobby to Fred, who was

-nearest. “Let’s get out of this.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You bet,” returned Fred, as he made a motion

-toward the door.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the man who had let them in now stood with

-his back against the closed door, looking at them

-with an ugly grin on his face, a face which was

-made still more repellant by a livid scar up near

-the temple.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do these young buckos want here?”

-asked one of the men at the table, rising and coming

-toward them. As he did so, Bobby noticed

-that he limped a trifle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We stopped in for a minute to ask if we were

-on the right road to the station,” said Bobby in

-a tone which he tried to render as careless as possible.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You did, eh?” said the man. “Well, just wait

-a minute and I’ll tell you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He and his companion approached their comrade

-at the door, and for a few moments there was

-a whispered conversation. Then the man with

-the scar, who seemed to be the leader of the gang,

-turned to Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re on the right road all right,” he said.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Thank you,” returned Bobby. “Then I guess

-we’ll be getting on.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The man laughed at this.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Guess again, young feller,” said one of them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s your hurry?” asked the lame man.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We don’t often have such nice young kids drop

-in to keep us company,” sneered the man with the

-scar. “Take off your hats and stay awhile.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys’ hearts sank. They no longer had any

-doubts of the evil intentions of the men who held

-them virtually prisoners. They had fallen into a

-den of thieves.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re going now,” declared Bobby, in a last

-desperate attempt to bluff the matter through,

-“and if you try to stop us it will be the worse for

-you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The men laughed uproariously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A fine young turkey cock he is!” croaked

-one of them. “We’ll have to cut his comb for

-him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ll get your own cut first,” shouted Fred,

-who was blazing with anger. “Don’t forget that

-there are policemen and jails for just such fellows

-as you are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Shut up, Redhead,” commanded the scar-faced

-man, adding insult to injury.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Then his jocular manner passed and was replaced

-by a wicked snarl.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hand over what money you’ve got in your

-pockets,” he commanded, “and turn your pockets

-inside out. Do it quick too, or we’ll skin you

-alive.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was no mistaking the menace in his tone.

-He was in deadly earnest and his eyes shone like

-those of a beast of prey.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was nothing to do but to obey. His victims

-were trapped and helpless. They were only

-eleven year old boys, and were no match physically

-even for one such burly ruffian. Against three,

-resistance would have been ridiculous.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Boiling with inward rage, they slowly and sullenly

-handed over the contents of their pockets.

-None of them had any great amount of money—only

-a few dollars for spending allowance. But

-taken altogether it made quite a respectable sum,

-over which the robbers gloated with evident satisfaction.

-Probably their chief calculation was the

-amount of liquor it would buy for their spree.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But even with this the thieves were not content.

-Bobby’s silver watch, a scarf pin of Mouser’s,

-Fred’s seal ring and Pee Wee’s gold sleeve buttons

-went to swell the pile. They even carried

-their meanness so far as to rob the lads of their

-railroad tickets. Then when they found that there

-was nothing else worth the plucking, the leader

-opened the door.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now beat it,” he growled, “and thank your

-lucky stars that we didn’t swipe your clothes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Half blinded with wrath, the crestfallen boys

-climbed out of the hollow and into the road which

-they had left in such high spirits a few minutes

-before. They had been stripped clean. If their

-outer clothing had fitted any of the rascals they

-would have probably lost that too. They were

-utterly forlorn and downhearted.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>If they had lost their possessions after a hot

-resistance against those who were anyway near

-their age and size, there would at least have been

-the exhilaration of the fight. But even that poor

-compensation was denied them. The odds had

-been too overwhelming even to think of a struggle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>At first they could not even speak to each other.

-When they attempted to find words they were so

-mad that they could only splutter.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The skunks!” Fred managed to get out at

-last.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The low down brutes,” growled Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Every cent gone,” groaned Pee Wee. “And

-those sleeve buttons were a Christmas gift from

-my mother.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And that silver watch was one my father gave

-me on my last birthday,” muttered Bobby thickly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If they’d only left us our railroad tickets!”

-mourned Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was the dirtiest trick of all,” put in

-Mouser. “You can understand why they took the

-money and jewelry. But they probably don’t

-have any idea in the world of using the tickets.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Likely enough by this time they’ve torn them

-up and thrown them into the fire,” Pee Wee conjectured.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t speak the word, ‘fire,’” said Bobby.

-“If we hadn’t seen the light of it through the window,

-we wouldn’t have gone in there at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was all my fault,” moaned Fred. “What

-a fool stunt it was of me to want to stop there

-anyway.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby could easily have said, “I told you so,”

-but that was not Bobby’s way.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It wasn’t anybody’s fault,” he said. “It was

-just our hard luck. We might have done it a

-thousand times and found only decent people there

-each time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Lucky I gave that dime to Betty this morning

-anyway,” grunted Fred. “That’s one thing the

-thieves didn’t get.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The remark struck the boys as so comical that

-they broke into laughter. It was the one thing

-needed to relieve the tension. It cleared the air

-and all felt better.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Talk about looking on the bright side of

-things,” chuckled Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re a wonder as a little cheerer-up,” commented

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s looking at the doughnut instead of seeing

-only the hole in the doughnut,” laughed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>After all they were alive and unharmed. The

-thieves might have beaten them up or tied them

-in the cabin while they made their escape.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Things might have been a great deal worse,”

-said Bobby cheerfully, putting their thoughts into

-words. “The money didn’t amount to so much

-after all, and our folks will send us more. And

-we may be able to have the tramps arrested and

-get back our other things. We’ll telegraph just

-as soon as we get to—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But here he stopped short in dismay.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We haven’t even money enough to pay for the

-message!” he exclaimed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps the station man will trust us,” suggested

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I think there’s a way of sending messages so

-that the folks who get them pay on the other end,”

-said Pee Wee hopefully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>None of the boys were very clear on this point,

-but it offered a ray of cheer.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We won’t need to send more than one message

-anyway,” said practical Bobby as they trudged

-along. “Some of our folks might be away and

-there might be some delay in getting to them.

-But I know that my father is at home and I’ll just

-ask him to send on enough money for the bunch

-of us. Then you fellows can square it up with

-me afterwards.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They had reached the outskirts of a village now

-and the walking had become easier. They quickened

-their pace and soon came in sight of the

-station.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There it is!” cried Fred, and the boys broke

-into a run.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <br />PAYING AN OLD DEBT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>As Bobby’s watch had been the only one in the

-party, the boys had not been able to keep track of

-the time during the latter part of their journey,

-and they were a little fearful that they might be

-late for their train.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were relieved therefore to learn they were

-in plenty of time. The train was not regularly

-due for half an hour, and owing to the snowstorm

-it would probably be an hour or more behind time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The station agent at Roseville, as the town was

-named, had charge of the telegraph office as well.

-He was a kindly man and listened with the greatest

-sympathy to the boys’ story. His indignation

-at the robbers was hot, and he promised to put the

-constable on their trail at once.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s a beastly outrage,” he stormed. “That

-old deserted shack has been too handy for fellows

-of that kind. They make it a regular hang-out.

-We’ll clean out the gang and burn the place to

-the ground. I’ve got to stay here now until after

-the train leaves, but as soon as it’s gone, I’ll get

-busy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He assured them that he would send on the telegram

-to be paid for at the other end, and the boys,

-possessing themselves of some blanks, withdrew to

-a quiet corner to prepare the message.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It proved to be a matter requiring some thought,

-and several blanks were cast aside before it suited

-them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You see,” said Bobby, as he sat frowning over

-his stub of a pencil, “I don’t want to scare the

-folks to death by telling them we’ve been robbed.

-They’d think that perhaps we’d been hurt besides

-and were keeping it quiet so as not to worry ’em.

-We can write ’em a letter afterward and tell ’em

-all about it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The final outcome of their combined efforts

-stated the matter with sufficient clearness:</p>

-

-<p class='c010'>Lost money and tickets. All safe and sound.

-Please telegraph twenty dollars to me, care station

-agent, Roseville. Will explain in letter.</p>

-

-<div class='c011'>Bobby.</div>

-

-<p class='c012'>This suited them all, though Fred suggested that

-they might save by cutting out the “please.” He

-was voted down however, and the telegram was

-handed through the office window and put on the

-wire at once.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This being attended to, there was nothing to do

-but to wait. Then a new worry assailed them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How long do you think it will be before we

-can get an answer?” asked Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not very long,” replied Bobby confidently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The message must be in Clinton this very minute,”

-chimed in Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, but that’s the least part of it,” remarked

-Fred. “It will have to be carried up to your

-house from the station and I’ve heard my father

-say that Claxton isn’t as quick about those things

-as he ought to be. Sometimes he gets Bailey to

-deliver for him, and you know what an old slow-poke

-he is.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And even when it gets to the house your father

-may be downtown and your mother may be out

-sleigh riding or visiting or something,” observed

-Mouser gloomily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And then too, it will take some time for your

-father to get down to the telegraph office and send

-the money,” was Pee Wee’s contribution.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, stop your croaking, you fellows,” cried

-Bobby. “I’m sure everything will be all right.”

-But, just the same, their doleful suggestions made

-him a little uneasy, and he fidgeted about as he

-watched the hands of the station clock.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s another thing,” observed Mouser, returning

-to the charge. “Suppose now—just

-suppose—that the money doesn’t get to us before the

-train starts, what are we going to do?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Then we’ll be stuck,” admitted Bobby. “And

-we’ll have to do a whole lot more telegraphing to

-Rockledge telling them that we can’t get there till

-to-morrow. But even if the money is late, it’s

-sure to come. We can pay for our meals and

-lodging over night and won’t have to go to the

-poorhouse.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Lucky we got such a dandy feed at Mrs. Wilson’s

-anyway,” remarked Pee Wee. “That will

-keep us going until the money comes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was mighty good of her to give us such a

-meal and not charge a cent for it,” said Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Free meals for five hungry boys,” murmured

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Five!” exclaimed Pee Wee in surprise.

-“Why, there were only four of us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” replied Fred, “but you counted for

-two.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee made a rush toward him, but Fred

-dodged adroitly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Just then, Mouser, who was looking out of the

-station window, gave a sudden exclamation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Look here, fellows,” he cried. “See who’s

-coming!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They crowded together, looking over his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Why, it’s Tommy Stone!” ejaculated Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He must be going back to Belden School,”

-added Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And that’s his father with him, I guess,” put

-in Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tommy Stone was a boy who had played quite

-a part in the lives of Bobby and Fred a few months

-before. He had run away from home to go out

-West to “fight Indians.” He had taken his

-father’s pocketbook with him, intending to use

-only enough to pay his fare and send the rest back.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Unluckily for the young Indian fighter—or

-rather luckily, as it turned out—he lost the pocketbook

-out of the car window. Bobby and Fred

-were standing by the side of the track as the train

-went thundering past, and the wallet fell almost

-at their feet. They picked it up and were wildly

-excited when they found that it contained no less

-than four hundred dollars.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys had dreams of unlimited ice-cream

-and soda water as the result of their find. Still

-they and their parents made earnest effort to find

-the owner, but as the days passed by and no claimant

-appeared it looked as though the money would

-become the boys’ property.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Late in the fall, Bobby and Fred rescued a small

-boy from the clutches of some larger boys who

-were amusing themselves by tormenting him.

-The boy turned out to be Tommy Stone. He had

-been brought back after his runaway and sent to

-Belden School, which was not far from Rockledge.

-Tommy had heard that the boys had found a

-pocketbook and suspected that it was the one that

-he had lost. He made a clean breast of it, and

-the money was restored to its rightful owner.

-Mr. Stone wanted to reward the boys handsomely,

-but their parents would not permit them to accept

-a money reward, and Mr. Stone compromised by

-sending them the material for a royal feast at

-Rockledge.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As for Tommy, he had an interview with his father,

-the nature of which can be guessed at by

-Tommy’s statement afterward that he could not

-sit down for a week unless he had pillows under

-him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He doesn’t look like an Indian killer,” laughed

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not so that you could notice it,” chuckled Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t see any scalps at his belt,” grinned

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tommy caught sight of the boys as he entered

-the station, and ran forward to meet them with

-exclamations of pleasure and surprise. Mr. Stone

-looked curiously at the group but said nothing,

-and went over to the agent’s window to buy his

-son’s ticket.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What in the world are you fellows doing

-here?” cried Tommy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re just as much surprised to see you as

-you are to see us,” replied Bobby, with a smile.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“On your way to Belden?” inquired Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yep,” answered Tommy, making a wry face,

-“and I’m not any too glad, either. I’ve never

-liked that school. The big fellows are all the time

-taking it out on the little ones.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You ought to get your father to let you come

-to Rockledge,” suggested Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Then you’d be going to a real school,” remarked

-Fred, who felt to the full the traditional

-rivalry between Rockledge and its chief rival.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not but what we’ve got some bullies of our

-own,” put in Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, for instance,”

-observed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like first rate to change,” admitted

-Tommy, “and perhaps next year I can. But my

-father has all his arrangements made now, and

-I’ll have to stick it out at Belden for the rest of

-this term.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Is that your father over there?” asked Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks as though he had a good right arm,”

-said Fred slyly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet he’s practiced with it out in the woodshed,”

-put in Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the price of strap oil, Tommy?” inquired

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tommy winced a little at the chaffing. It was

-evidently a painful subject.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby came to his rescue.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out, fellows,” he remonstrated.

-“We all make mistakes sometimes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tommy flashed him a grateful look.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” he agreed. “But you can bet that I’m

-not going to make the same mistake twice.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s the way to talk,” rejoined Bobby

-heartily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone had completed his purchase and now

-strolled over to the group. He had never seen

-the boys before, as the return of the pocketbook

-had been made by Mr. Blake.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Some young friends of yours, Tommy?” he

-asked, with a genial smile.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, sir,” Tommy answered. “They go to

-Rockledge School, right on the other side of the

-lake from Belden.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He introduced the boys by name, and Mr. Stone

-pricked up his ears as he heard the names,

-“Blake” and “Martin.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What!” he exclaimed. “Can this be the

-Bobby Blake and Fred Martin who found my

-pocketbook and sent it back to me?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s who they are,” replied Tommy, flushing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone took the boys’ hands in both of his

-and wrung them warmly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well this is a bit of luck,” he said heartily.

-“I can’t tell you boys how glad I am to see you.

-I’ve often wanted to lay eyes on the boys who

-could find four hundred dollars and never rest

-till they got the money back to the owner.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, that was nothing,” answered Bobby, who

-always felt embarrassed when any one praised

-him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was the only thing to do,” added Fred, his

-face getting almost as red as his hair.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All the same, there are lots of boys who would

-never have said a word about it,” persisted Mr.

-Stone. “I’ve always felt sorry that your folks

-wouldn’t let me show my gratitude by making you

-boys a present of something that would have been

-worth while.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You did give us the stuff for a dandy spread.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Some spread that was too, fellows,” put in

-Pee Wee. “I was in on that and it was just

-scrumptious.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Trust Pee Wee to remember spreads if he

-never remembers anything else,” laughed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone’s eyes twinkled as he took in Pee

-Wee’s generous proportions.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m glad if you enjoyed it,” he smiled.

-“But tell me now how you boys find yourselves

-here. I thought you traveled by the road that

-runs through Clinton.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“So we do,” replied Bobby, and started to

-relate the occurrences of the morning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I see,” said Mr. Stone, interrupting before

-Bobby had got very far into his story. “And

-then you found out you could get a train on this

-road and tramped over here. Well, you won’t

-have long to wait now, for the train will be along

-in a few minutes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But that isn’t all,” put in Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No?” queried Mr. Stone. “What else is

-there?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We were robbed on the way,” answered Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone gasped and Tommy showed symptoms

-of great excitement. Robbed! It was almost

-as good as Indians.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <br />THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Mr. Stone sank down into a seat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Robbed!” he repeated. “Now tell me just

-what you mean.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In simple words the boys told how they had been

-held up and despoiled by the tramps.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone could hardly restrain his rage.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s the most atrocious and cowardly thing

-I’ve heard of for a long time,” he ejaculated.

-“To think of those scoundrels robbing you of

-everything you had, even your railroad tickets!

-They ought to be drawn and quartered.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys were rather hazy as to what drawing

-and quartering involved, but they heartily agreed

-with him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll have to get busy at once!” Mr. Stone exclaimed,

-jumping to his feet. “There isn’t a minute

-to lose. Those rascals will know that the officers

-will be after them as soon as you tell your

-story and they’ll be planning to clear out. They

-may have started already, for all we know. I’ll

-get the constable and some other men after them

-and I’ll go along to do all I can to put the thieves

-in jail.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But first,” he went on, “I’ll have to fix up

-you boys. The train will be along in a few minutes.

-I’ll get your tickets for you and give you

-plenty of money besides to get on with.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve already telegraphed for money and I’m

-expecting it every minute,” put in Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, but we can’t take chances on

-that. It may not come in time for you to catch

-the train. I’ll look after the telegram if it comes

-after you leave, and see that it’s sent on to you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Of course our folks will make this all right

-with you,” said Fred who, like Bobby himself,

-hated to be under any money obligation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s understood,” assented Mr. Stone.

-“I’ll send them a bill.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But from the whimsical droop at the corner of

-his mouth it was evident that if the boys’ fathers

-waited for a bill from Mr. Stone they would wait

-a long time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He hurried over to the window of the agent’s office

-and bought four additional tickets for Rockledge.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Take these and distribute them among the

-other boys,” he said, as he handed them to Bobby.

-“And here’s some money to get on with until you

-hear from your folks,” he added, thrusting a number

-of bills in his hand.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s awfully good of you, Mr. Stone,” replied

-Bobby, as he put them in his pocket. “I don’t

-know how to thank you enough. I’ll keep careful

-account and see that you get it back to the last

-cent.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t worry about that,” rejoined Mr. Stone.

-“I’m only paying back an old debt, and even at

-that I still owe you a lot. Now you boys go right

-ahead and forget all your troubles. I’ll take full

-charge of the answer to your telegram and see that

-it gets to you all right.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to stay with you until the train leaves,”

-he went on, “but as I said before, every minute

-is precious now if we want to have any chance to

-nab those villains who robbed you. I’ll hustle

-up the constable and I’ll let you know later how

-we come out.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He gave Tommy a kiss and a hug, waved good-bye

-to the others in a gesture that included them

-all, and went out of the door. Through the window

-they could see him going briskly up the village

-street in a walk that was almost a run.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys, left alone, looked gleefully at each

-other.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” shouted Fred, as he threw his

-cap to the ceiling.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All our troubles are over now,” exulted Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Isn’t he a brick?” demanded Bobby gratefully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Reminds me of the bread cast upon the waters

-that our minister was talking about last Sunday,”

-remarked Mouser. “He said it would come back

-to you after many days, and by ginger I believe

-it now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s more than bread,” gloated Pee Wee.

-“It’s cake.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If Pee Wee says it’s cake, it <em>is</em> cake,” mocked

-Fred. “There’s nobody knows more than he does

-about things to eat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were now all as full of good spirits as they

-had formerly been full of misery. They had found

-that their cloud had a silver lining. In fact there

-was not a cloud any longer. It had broken away

-entirely.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their satisfaction was still greater when, a few

-minutes later, they saw two sleighs sweep past the

-station and take the direction that led toward the

-cabin in the woods. There were three determined-looking

-men in each sleigh, and among them they

-recognized the stalwart figure of Mr. Stone.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’re after them already,” cried Fred joyfully.

-“Gee whiz, Tommy! your father is some

-hustler.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He sure is,” assented Tommy proudly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here’s hoping that they catch the thieves!”

-exclaimed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wouldn’t it be bully!” cried Bobby. “I sure

-am crazy to get back my watch.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And my scarf pin.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And my sleeve buttons.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And my seal ring.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys watched the sleighs intently until they

-were drawn out of sight.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you suppose they’ll do to the thieves

-if they catch them?” wondered Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” said Mouser, whose notions of

-legal procedure were woefully indistinct. “Hang

-them, maybe.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not so bad as that,” objected Pee Wee. “But

-I’ll bet they get a good long term in jail.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps they’ll be drawn and quartered, as

-Mr. Stone said they ought to be,” said Fred hopefully.

-“What do you suppose that means anyway,

-fellows?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m not sure,” answered Bobby, “but I guess

-it means to be cut up into quarters.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They can cut them up into eighths for all I

-care,” rejoined Fred vindictively. “Especially

-that fellow who called me red-head.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, what if he did?” said Pee Wee mischievously.

-“He only told the truth, didn’t he?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What difference does that make?” flared up

-Fred, who was rather sensitive on the subject.

-“You wouldn’t like to be called a pig because

-you’re as fat as one, would you?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here, fellows, cut out your scrapping,”

-soothed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s agree that Pee Wee’s as thin as a rail

-and Fred’s hair is as black as ink,” suggested

-Mouser. “Then we’ll all be happy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In the general laugh that followed, the rumpled

-feathers were smoothed and all differences forgotten.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A moment later the whistle of the train was

-heard in the distance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here she comes!” cried Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m sorry that telegram hasn’t come yet,”

-murmured Bobby regretfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Guess old Bailey’s rheumatism made him slow

-in getting up to the house,” suggested Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, don’t let’s worry,” observed Pee Wee,

-who was always ready to shunt his responsibilities

-to the shoulders of somebody else. “Mr. Stone

-will look after that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys boarded the train and sank back into

-their seats with a sigh of relief. Their troubles

-were over. They had been under a strain that

-would have been trying even to those much older

-than these eleven-year-old boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I never thought I’d be cheering for going back

-to school,” remarked Fred. “But I’m ready to do

-it now. All together, fellows:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hurrah for Rockledge!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They shouted it with a will.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <br />A COWARDLY TRICK</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>“We seem to have this car almost all to ourselves,”

-remarked Mouser, looking around.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We ought to call it the Rockledge Special,”

-laughed Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps Tommy might object to that,” said

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Go as far as you like,” grinned Tommy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The travel was indeed very light on that particular

-day. There were only six or eight people

-scattered through the car. This was due in part

-to the snowstorm. Nobody would do much traveling

-on such a day unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Half-way down the car, and on the other side of

-the aisle, a very old man was seated. He was evidently

-traveling alone. His hair was gray and

-scanty and his face was seamed with wrinkles.

-It was clear that he was very tired, and every once

-in a while his head would drop on his breast in a

-doze from which he would awake with a start at

-any sudden jar of the train.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s too bad that such an old man should have

-to be going on a journey all alone,” remarked

-Bobby with quick sympathy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Fred. “He must be awful old.

-He looks as if he was as much as eighty.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s a Grand Army man too,” observed

-Mouser. “You can see that from the hat he has

-there up in the rack.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He may be going to visit some of his children,”

-suggested Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“More likely he’s going to the Old Soldiers’

-Home,” conjectured Bobby. “You know

-there is one a little way the other side of Rockledge.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet he could tell some mighty good stories

-about the war,” said Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to see all that he has seen,” mused

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Or do all that he has done,” added Mouser.

-“It must be great to have been in a big war like

-that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe he was at Gettysburg,” guessed Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Or marched with Grant or Sherman,” chimed

-in Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their youthful imaginations quickened as they

-recalled the exciting scenes in which the veteran

-might have played a part, and they had a deep

-respect for him now as he sat there in his old

-age and weakness.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d almost like to go up and get him to talking,”

-ventured Fred. “We might get him started

-on the war. It’s all very well to read about it,

-but there’s nothing like hearing from one who has

-been through it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t think I would if I were you,” objected

-Bobby. “He’s probably too tired to do much talking

-and would rather be left alone.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s another fellow going up to him now,”

-replied Fred, “and I’ll bet he’ll get some good

-stories out of him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He indicated a large overgrown boy who seemed

-to be about fourteen years old. Up to now, he

-had been seated on the other side of the aisle from

-the veteran. But now he had risen and gone over

-in his direction. But instead of slipping into the

-seat beside him, as the boys had expected, he sat

-down in the seat directly behind him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Guess again, Fred,” laughed Pee Wee good-naturedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Everybody’s hunches go wrong sometimes,”

-answered Fred defensively.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the fellow up to anyway?” asked

-Mouser, with a sudden stirring of curiosity.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The newcomer seemed to have a long feather in

-his hand such as is commonly used in feather

-dusters. While the old man’s head drooped in a

-doze, the boy reached over and tickled the back

-of the old man’s neck with the tip of the feather.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The veteran reached up his hand fretfully as

-though to brush away a fly that was annoying him.

-The boy drew back and snickered audibly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys looked at each other indignantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you think of that?” demanded

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Queer sense of fun some people have,” snorted

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s a cheap skate,” declared Fred angrily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He ought to have a thrashing,” exclaimed

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Several times the scene was repeated, and the

-would-be joker was in high glee at the success of

-his trick.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>At last the old man gave up the attempt to

-sleep, and straightened up wearily in his seat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The joker looked around the car as though seeking

-for applause, but the silly grin on his face

-stiffened into a scowl as he met only contemptuous

-glances.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But his delicate sense of humor was not yet exhausted.

-The old man rose from his seat to go to

-the back of the car to get a drink of water. As

-he passed the fellow’s seat, the latter reached out

-the tip of his foot. The veteran tripped against

-it, stumbled and had all he could do to keep from

-falling by clutching the back of a seat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was the last straw and the boys were furious.

-By a common impulse they sprang out of

-their seats and went quickly down the aisle to

-where the fellow was sitting.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”

-snapped Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re too mean to live!” blazed out Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A fellow that’ll torment an old man like that

-ought to be tarred and feathered,” blurted

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And ridden on a rail,” finished Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The fellow looked at them with surprise that

-was mingled with alarm as he noted their wrathful

-faces. He jumped up and stood with his back

-toward the window.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Now that they saw him at closer range, their

-first impression of him was confirmed. He was

-strong and muscular, but the strength of his body

-was belied by the weakness of his face. It was

-a thoroughly mean face, pallid and unhealthy

-looking, with a loose mouth and shifty eyes that

-dropped when you looked straight into them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the matter with you boobs?” he demanded,

-in a voice that he tried to make threatening.

-“You’d better mind your own business.

-Who asked you to butt in?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We didn’t need any asking,” replied Bobby.

-“We saw what you did to that old man. You

-seemed to think it was funny, but we think it’s

-mean and sneaking.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And you’ve got to stop it,” put in Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It will be the worse for you if you don’t,”

-added Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll do just exactly what I want to do,” was

-the ugly reply, “and I’d like to see you Buttinskis

-stop me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll stop you quick enough,” said Bobby,

-“and the first thing we’re going to do is to make

-you change your seat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, you own the car, do you? I’ve paid my

-fare on this train and I’ll sit anywhere I want to.

-Any one would think you were president of the

-road to hear you talk.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll do something besides talk in a minute,”

-Mouser came back at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’ll you do?” jeered the bully, though his

-voice now was getting unsteady as he saw that the

-boys were in earnest.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred leaned forward, snatched the fellow’s cap

-from his head and threw it in a seat some distance

-away.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Follow your hat and you’ll find your seat,” he

-cried.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The fellow started forward in a rage, but just

-then the conductor came into the car. He came

-forward briskly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here, none of this!” he exclaimed. “You

-boys mustn’t do any scrapping on this train. Get

-back in your seats now, all of you, and behave

-yourselves.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys slowly obeyed, although Fred, whose

-fighting blood was up, had to be urged along a

-little by the others.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No sense in not minding the conductor,” counseled

-Bobby. “We’ve carried our point and

-that’s enough.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They had indeed carried their point, for the fellow,

-having regained his cap, slumped down in the

-seat where Fred had thrown it, and for the rest

-of the trip the old man was left in peace.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Nor did the bully try to get even for his discomfiture.

-But if looks could kill, the boys would

-surely have been withered up by the angry glances

-he shot at them from time to time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s a sweet specimen, isn’t he?” chuckled

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A nice thing to have around the house,” commented

-Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’d brighten it up on rainy days,” laughed

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A cute little cut-up, all right,” affirmed

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have him at Rockledge,” said

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps he’s going there, for all we know,”

-Pee Wee suggested.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hope not!” exclaimed Fred. “Bronson and

-Jinks are about all we can stand as it is.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wouldn’t Bronson and Jinks be glad to have

-him there?” said Bobby. “They’d be as thick

-as peas in a pod in less than no time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But further comment was cut short by the brake

-man throwing open the door and shouting:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All out for Rockledge!”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chX' class='c009'>CHAPTER X<br /> <br />ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The boys reached instinctively for their bags.

-Then they remembered that they had none, and

-looked at each other with a sheepish grin on their

-faces.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Nothing doing in that line,” mourned Fred.

-“I wonder if we’ll find them in the station.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They stepped off the platform into a crowd of

-their schoolmates, who had come down to welcome

-them. There they were, shouting and laughing

-and all talking at once—Billy Bassett, Jimmy

-Ailshine, “Sparrow” Bangs, Howell Purdy and

-a host of others. They fairly mobbed the newcomers

-and were for dragging them off at once

-to the trolley car that ran to the school. But the

-boys explained that they first had to look after

-their missing baggage and they all trooped into

-the station.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Haven’t we got a lot to tell you fellows!” exclaimed

-Mouser. “You just wait till you hear it

-all!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Caught in a snowslide,” volunteered Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Held up by tramps,” declared Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Robbed of all we had,” added Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>These tantalizing bits of information only

-served to whet the appetite for more. Their

-friends crowded around them open-eyed, and

-questions shot out at them like bullets from guns.

-The boys suddenly found themselves exalted to

-the rank of heroes. But they bore their honors

-meekly enough, although they were almost bursting

-with the feeling of their importance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were delighted to find their missing bags

-and suit-cases waiting for them. The conductor

-had known the station their tickets called for, and

-had left the articles in the care of the Rockledge

-station agent.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a telegram too from Mr. Blake to

-Bobby. He had wired the money to Roseville and

-Mr. Stone had seen to it that it was sent on to

-Bobby at Rockledge. Mr. Blake’s telegram was a

-lengthy one and full of anxiety. In it he told

-Bobby to wire at once on his arrival at Rockledge,

-which Bobby promptly did.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone had sent a separate telegram also on

-his own account. He stated briefly that the robbers

-had not yet been caught, but that the police

-were busily hunting for them and hoped to get

-them soon.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well,” sighed Bobby, as he folded up the

-telegram, “I suppose all we can do is to watch and

-wait.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wait for the watch you mean,” laughed

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now don’t start anything like that,” grinned

-Fred. “You’ll start Billy Bassett going if you

-do, and I can see that he’s got a lot of conundrums

-all ready to fire off at us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who’s that talking about me?” laughed Billy,

-coming forward. “Let him say it to my face.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ginger thought you’d be springing something

-on us,” replied Pee Wee, “and we were getting

-ready to duck.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Billy looked aggrieved.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You fellows don’t know a good riddle when

-you hear one,” he remarked scornfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How do you know?” countered Mouser.

-“You never give us a chance to try. Spring a

-real good one and see how quick we’ll tumble.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Billy looked dubious but took a chance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, take this one, then,” he said. “What

-is it that happens twice in a moment, once in a

-minute, and not once in a thousand years.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys put on their thinking caps, but the

-problem was beyond them, and Billy strutted

-around with a triumphant look upon his face.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t seem to be any too much brains in this

-crowd,” he said, in a superior way.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Give us time,” pleaded Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe it’s because it’s so bad and not because

-it’s so good that we can’t guess it,” conjectured

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Take all the time you want,” said Billy patronizingly,

-“but I guessed it as soon as I heard

-it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As they had no evidence to the contrary, they

-had to take Billy’s word for this.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They pondered it for several minutes, but no

-answer was forthcoming.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Nobody home,” taunted Billy. “You’re a

-bunch of dead ones for fair.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll give it up,” said Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s have it, Billy,” surrendered Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll be the goat,” said Bobby. “What’s the

-answer?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The letter M,” crowed Billy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Disgust and discomfiture sat on the boys’ faces.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Rotten,” groaned Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The worst I ever heard,” grunted Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wish I had a gun,” remarked Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s a mighty good one,” defended Billy.

-“But what’s the use in giving you fellows something

-to chew over. It’s like casting diamonds

-before swine.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You mean pearls,” corrected Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I may be mistaken about the diamonds,”

-Billy came back at them, “but I’m dead sure about

-the swine.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The laugh that followed told Billy that he had

-made a hit, and he swelled up like a pouter pigeon.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve got another good one,” he volunteered,

-“a regular peach. Why is—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But here the boys fell on Billy in a body and

-he was forced to hold his “peach” in reserve for

-another time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby by this time had finished all he had to

-do in the station, and the boys gathered up their

-recovered suit-cases and made a bee line for the

-trolley. A car was coming, not a block away, and

-they piled aboard almost before it had come to a

-stop with wild clatter and hubbub. But the motorman

-and conductor were used to the uproar

-and the pranks of the Rockledge boys, and what

-few other passengers there were smiled indulgently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Rockledge was a lively little town with good

-stores and pleasant residence streets shaded by

-handsome oak trees. There were gas and electric

-lights, a number of churches and all the usual appurtenances

-of a bustling village that hoped some

-day to become a city. And not the least of the

-things in which the townspeople took pride was

-Rockledge School.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond, the head of the school, had been

-fortunate in choosing its location. He had been

-able to secure, at a remarkably low price, a beautiful

-private estate, whose owner had died and

-whose family had moved away. There were several

-buildings on the grounds and these he had

-remodeled and adapted to the purposes of a school,

-and he had built up an institution that was well

-and favorably known in all that section of the

-State.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The school was select. By this is not meant that

-it was in the least degree snobbish. Dr. Raymond

-hated anything of that kind, and the school was

-run on a purely democratic basis, with every pupil

-on exactly the same level, whether his parents happened

-to be rich or poor. But the doctor was a

-great believer in the personal influence of teacher

-over pupil, and this could not be exerted so well

-if the classes were large. So the school was limited

-to fifty pupils, and this limit was never exceeded.

-At this figure the school was always full,

-and there was usually a waiting list from which

-any vacancy that might occur could be quickly

-filled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The doctor himself was a scholar of high standing,

-and he had surrounded himself with an efficient

-staff of teachers. Discipline was firm without

-being severe, and the boys were put largely

-on their honor to do the right thing. There was

-a society called the “Sword and Star” to which

-admission could be gained only on the ground of

-scholarship and good behavior.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby had won membership in this the year

-before and had also gained the Medal of Honor

-which was allotted each year to that pupil who,

-in the judgment both of his teachers and school-fellows,

-had stood out above all others. Fred,

-who was more flighty and less inclined to study,

-and whose “red-headed” disposition was always

-getting him into trouble, was not yet a member

-of the society, but had faithfully promised himself

-that he would win membership in the term

-just beginning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A ride of only a few minutes brought them close

-to the school grounds and the boys prepared to get

-off. Tommy Stone was to stay on the trolley car,

-which ran as far as Belden School.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Tommy had kept himself rather in the background

-during the trip. He happened to be the

-only Belden boy on the car, and, owing to the intense

-rivalry between the two schools, a Belden

-boy was usually as popular with the Rockledge

-boys as poison ivy at a picnic party. But just

-now Tommy was traveling under the protection

-of Bobby and his party, and this saved him from

-the horse play he would otherwise have had to

-undergo.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, Tommy!” said Bobby, as he got

-ready to leave the car. “Tell your father when

-you write to him how much obliged we are to him

-for all he has done for us. I’m going to write

-him a letter myself about it to-morrow.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, that’s all right,” said Tommy. “Your father

-would have done the same for me if I’d been

-in the same fix as you fellows were.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And tell the Belden boys that we’re going to

-trim ’em good and plenty when the baseball season

-begins,” laughed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t be too sure of that,” grinned Tommy in

-return. “But I’ll tell them and they’ll be all

-ready for you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys dropped off the car, and in a few minutes

-saw the school buildings looming up before

-them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” cried Fred, dropping his suitcase

-and executing a jig. “The old place certainly

-looks good to me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Seemed a long way off a few hours ago when

-we didn’t have a cent to our names,” remarked

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looked as if we’d have to walk the ties to get

-here,” laughed Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And think how many stone bruises you’d have

-got,” suggested Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“‘Barked shins,’ you mean,” corrected

-Mouser. “They’re the latest thing in Pee Wee’s

-collection.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The fat boy grinned. He was too happy or perhaps

-too lazy to enter any protest just then.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The school was beautifully located on a high

-bluff overlooking Monatook Lake, a sheet of water,

-nearly oval in shape. It was about ten miles

-long and five miles wide at its broadest part.

-There were several small islands scattered over

-the lake, and, as may be imagined, these were favorite

-resorts of the boys when they were permitted

-to visit them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A strong fence guarded the edge of the bluff for

-the entire length of the school grounds. A winding

-staircase led from the top of the bluff to the

-boathouse and the lake level.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Just now Monatook was clothed in an icy mantle

-that shone like silver under the light of the

-moon which had just risen. It was a scene of

-wintry splendor that gladdened the heart to look

-upon.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There were four buildings on the grounds. In

-the main building, which was made of brick and

-sandstone, the classrooms and dining-room were

-located. The basement had two sections, one for

-the kitchen and the other for the indoor gymnasium.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>On the upper floor were ranged the dormitories.

-These were two in number. There were beds for

-twenty boys in each one. Then there were five

-separate sleeping rooms, each one designed for the

-use of two boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A little off from the main building, but connected

-with it by a portico, was a roomy house in which

-the doctor and his family lived, together with the

-members of the teaching staff.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Besides these there were a gate-keeper’s cottage,

-where the servants slept, and a minor building

-used for storage purposes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The grounds were skillfully laid out, and with

-their well kept lawns and shaded paths formed a

-very attractive campus. To supply the athletic

-needs of the boys there was a football field, a baseball

-diamond, and tennis and basketball courts.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>So that the boys who had the luck to be sent by

-their parents to Rockledge School were usually

-convinced before they had been there long that

-their lines had fallen in pleasant places.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I suppose the first thing we’ll have to

-do is to report to Dr. Raymond,” said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’ll know that the school can go on all right

-now that we’re here,” grinned Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose we’ll have to let him know that we’re

-on deck,” admitted Fred, “but let’s get it over in

-a hurry and get some grub. I’m hungry enough

-to eat nails.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t we get something to eat first?”

-asked Pee Wee wistfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You ate enough at Mrs. Wilson’s to last for

-a week, I should think,” said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I notice that you weren’t very far behind,”

-retorted Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They trooped into the doctor’s office and found

-him busy with some papers, which he laid aside

-at once, however, as he stood up to greet them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He was a tall, spare man, with a clean-cut face

-and kindly eyes that usually had a humorous twinkle

-in them, although they could flash fire if he

-caught any of the boys doing a mean or tricky

-thing. He smiled cordially and shook hands with

-them all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re a little later than you expected to be,

-aren’t you?” he asked. “I was looking for you

-on an earlier train.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ve had a hard time getting here,” smiled

-Bobby, and in a few words he told of the stirring

-adventures through which the little party had

-gone that day. The doctor listened intently, surprise,

-indignation and sympathy in his eyes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was an outrage!” he exclaimed, when Bobby

-had finished, “and I will get in touch with Mr.

-Stone at once and lend him any aid I can in catching

-the thieves. But I am very glad and thankful

-that it was only a loss of money and property.

-Those rascals might have used personal violence.

-I’ll telephone to-morrow to a number of different

-towns, giving a description of the tramps and urging

-the authorities to be on the look-out for them.

-The sooner such fellows are put in jail the better.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He made notes of as many points about the robbers

-as the boys could remember, especially of the

-scar of one man and the limp of the other. As

-to the third man, the boys were somewhat hazy.

-He was just “plain tramp.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And now,” said the doctor, his eyes twinkling,

-“I suppose there’s no need of asking you boys

-whether you are hungry.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was an eager assent on the part of the

-other boys and a heart-felt groan from Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Of course it is long after the usual supper

-hour,” smiled the doctor, “but go over to the dining-room,

-find the housekeeper and tell her I want

-her to give you the very best meal she knows how

-to get up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was no need of a second injunction, and

-the boys wished the head of the school good-night

-and were off to hunt up the housekeeper.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Isn’t the doctor a brick?” ejaculated Mouser.

-“I thought he’d keep us there half an hour or

-more talking about the work for the coming term

-and what he would expect of us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’ll come later,” said Fred. “Just now

-he knew that we were hungry.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes him such a bully sort,”

-said Bobby. “He hasn’t forgotten that he was

-once a boy himself,” he added, with a happy sigh.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And this, perhaps, was as high tribute as could

-be paid by one of his pupils to the master of Rockledge

-School.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <br />TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The housekeeper carried out the principal’s order

-to the letter. And she did it with the better

-grace because she herself was fond of the boys.

-She bustled about and in a very short time, which

-seemed long enough, however, to the hungry boys,

-had a smoking hot meal on the table. The boys

-gathered around and pitched into the good things

-like so many hungry wolves, while the housekeeper

-watched them with a genial smile on her good-natured

-face.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Some feed,” pronounced Fred, with a sigh of

-satisfaction, when at last they were through.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ve had a tough day in some ways,” declared

-Pee Wee, “but a mighty lucky one in another.

-Just think of the three cooks we’ve come

-up against. Meena for breakfast, Mrs. Wilson

-for dinner, and Mary here for supper. Yum-yum!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sounds as if you were a cannibal,” commented

-Mouser, with a grin.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, Pee Wee hasn’t got to that yet,” mocked

-Fred, “but there’s no telling when he will if that

-appetite of his holds out.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to be out on a raft with Pee Wee in

-the middle of the ocean, if we were short of grub,”

-chuckled Mouser. “Just think of the hungry

-looks he’d be throwing at me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like nothing better than to have Pee Wee

-along,” put in Bobby. “We could live off him for

-a month.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The chaff flew back and forth for a while, and

-then the call of sleep began to make itself felt.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby yawned and reached for his watch.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wonder what time—” he began, and then

-stopped short in chagrin.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No use, Bobby,” said Mouser. “The chances

-are that you’ll never see that watch again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe it’s in some pawnshop by this time,”

-was the cold comfort that Fred had to offer.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No loss without some gain,” chimed in Pee

-Wee. “I won’t have the trouble of unfastening

-my sleeve buttons anyway.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s looking on the bright side of things all

-right,” laughed Bobby. “Come along, fellows,

-and let’s get to bed.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was no dissenting voice, and they made

-their way upstairs to the old familiar dormitory.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was one of the brightest and most cheerful

-rooms in the school and not the least of its charm

-was that it commanded a splendid view of the lake.

-There was ample space for the twenty beds that

-the room contained. A locker stood beside each

-bed for the exclusive use of the occupant, and

-there was a chair at the head of each bed on which

-the regulations of the school demanded that clothing

-should be carefully folded and arranged each

-night upon retiring.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Most of the boys had already arrived for the

-beginning of the term, and the room was full of

-noise and the clatter of tongues. Later on, a little

-more quiet would be insisted upon, but the regular

-school course was not in full swing yet and

-the boys were allowed a little more latitude than

-usual.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The other occupants of the room clustered instantly

-about Bobby and his party, who were general

-favorites. They had already learned almost

-all there was to be told about the adventures of the

-day, but they were keenly interested in the exploits

-of the party during their winter holiday in

-the Big Woods.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Shiner”—the nickname that had been bestowed

-on Jimmy Ailshine—Howell Purdy and

-“Sparrow” Bangs, had also been on that memorable

-trip, but as they too had reached school

-but a little earlier in the day, they had been able

-to tell only enough of their adventures to whet

-the appetite for more. The newcomers were

-pleased at this, as they had feared that all the wind

-would be taken out of their sails and that the trip

-would be an old story when they arrived upon the

-scene.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sparrow says that you killed a big bear up in

-the woods,” said Sam Thompson, one of the

-younger boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And to hear Sparrow tell it, it must have been

-a twenty-foot bear at least,” laughed Frank Durrock.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No,” grinned Fred. “It had only four feet,

-just like any other bear.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Smarty!” Frank shot back at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But it seemed like twenty feet when he reared

-up at us,” explained Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He was an old sockdolager, all right,” added

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to see any bear so close again,”

-remarked Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve seen him in my sleep once or twice since,”

-said Fred, “and I’ve waked up all in a sweat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just which one of you was it that killed it?”

-asked Sam, his eyes as big as saucers.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s something we can’t tell,” answered

-Bobby. “We all fired at it, but I guess it was

-Gid Harple, the guide, who did the trick. He was

-a dandy shot, all right.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Gid’s going to fix up the claws and teeth and

-send ’em down to us,” said Mouser. “Then you

-can see for yourself just what a big fellow that

-bear was.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I heard that you had a shot at a wildcat too,”

-put in “Skeets” Brody.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Fred, “and that was a fool stunt

-too. We didn’t have much chance of getting him,

-and that left our guns empty when we saw the bear

-the first time. My! but we had a run for it that

-day. Talk about a Marathon!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How did Pee Wee manage to make it?” asked

-Frank skeptically. “I can’t imagine him putting

-on speed.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee wasn’t with us that time,” explained

-Bobby. “The rest of the fellows walked down to

-the station, but Pee Wee came behind in the sleigh

-with Gid.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I had more sense than the rest of the gang,”

-put in Pee Wee, with a superior air.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hear you got a lot of muskrats by stunning

-them through the ice,” said Skeets. “How did

-you make out with training them, Mouser?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not very well,” confessed Mouser. “They’re

-too wild. Gid said I couldn’t train ’em, and I

-guess he knew what he was talking about.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The finding of Pat’s father in the little shack,

-and the story of the hunting lodge, completely

-buried in the big snowslide, and the great fight

-they had to get out alive were also subjects of

-which their audience could not have enough. The

-listeners kept clamoring for more details and still

-more, until in sheer self-defense the boys had to

-call a halt.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have a heart, fellows,” said Bobby. “I’m so

-dead tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Fred, “we’ll have all the term

-to tell you about the rest of it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their hearers had to be content with this, and

-in a few moments more the boys had undressed

-and were in bed. But it is safe to say that in their

-dreams that night enough bears and wildcats were

-seen to stock a menagerie.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Say, Fred,” was Bobby’s last remark that

-night, as he slipped between the sheets, “isn’t it

-bully to be back in the old dormitory again? Just

-suppose the tramps had tied us up in that old

-shack while they slipped out and left us there.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ugh!” shuddered Fred, as he snuggled still

-deeper in his bed. “It gives me the cold shivers

-just to think of it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a hard thing for the boys to get out of

-their warm beds when the rising bell sounded the

-next morning. But there was no help for it, and

-they washed and dressed in a hurry, cheered by

-the thought of breakfast waiting for them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Several tables were spread in the large bright

-dining-room. One of them was reserved for Dr.

-Raymond and his family, together with the head

-teachers. The boys were ranged about the others,

-with a junior instructor sitting at the head of each

-to keep order. But his duties were light, for the

-boys were so intent upon dispatching their food

-that they had little time left for mischief. Each

-kept a wary eye on his plate, however, for special

-dainties had a way sometimes of vanishing mysteriously,

-and “eternal vigilance” was the price

-of pie.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The morning was frosty but sunny, and after

-they had finished their meal, the boys lost no time

-in getting outdoors. There was little to be done

-on the first day except to gather in the classrooms

-for a few minutes and have their lessons assigned

-for the following day.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Any new fellows here this term, Skeets?”

-Bobby asked, as the latter strolled with him and

-Fred on the hard snowy path in front of the main

-building.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Two or three came in yesterday, I heard,” answered

-Skeets, “but I’ve only met one of them so

-far. His name’s Tom Hicksley.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What kind of fellow does he seem to be?”

-asked Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t care for him very much,” replied

-Skeets. “That is, judging by his looks. But you

-can’t always tell by that. There he is now,” he

-added, as a boy approached them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred and Bobby looked first at the newcomer

-and then at each other.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“My! it’s the fellow we squelched for teasing

-the old soldier on the train!” gasped Bobby.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <br />A NEW ENEMY</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Tom Hicksley had caught sight of the three

-boys at the same moment, and from the spiteful

-look that came into his small eyes it was clear that

-he recognized Bobby and Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys looked at him coldly but did not speak,

-and Hicksley, on his part, seemed at first as

-though he were going to pass them without saying

-anything. But the events of the evening before

-still rankled in him, and he suddenly stopped.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“So you’re the butt-ins that mixed up in my

-affairs last night, are you?” he asked, in a tone

-that he tried to make sarcastic.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred flared up at once.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, we did,” he shot out; “and we’d do it

-again if we saw you up to your mean tricks. You

-can’t do anything of that kind while we’re around

-and expect to get away with it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hello! what’s the fuss about?” asked Skeets,

-with sudden interest.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You shut up!” commanded Hicksley. “This

-isn’t any of your funeral. I’m talking to these

-two boobs here.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t tell me to shut up!” cried Skeets, who

-had a hair trigger temper very much like Fred’s

-own.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you anything I like,” retorted Hicksley,

-who seemed to be a master in the “gentle art

-of making enemies.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what it was, Skeets,” said Bobby.

-“I don’t wonder that he’s so ashamed of it that

-he doesn’t want it talked about. We saw him

-teasing an old soldier—a real old man, mind you—who

-was trying to get a little sleep. Then when

-the old man went up the aisle to get some water,

-this fellow stuck out his foot and tried to trip

-him up. The man had all he could do to keep

-from falling. That was too much for us fellows

-and we made him stop.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He ought to have had his head knocked off,”

-growled Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would take more than you fellows to knock

-my head off,” returned Hicksley belligerently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’d probably get along as well without it

-as with it,” retorted Fred. “We knocked your

-cap off anyway, and I notice that you changed

-your seat just as we told you to.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was because the conductor came along,”

-replied Hicksley. “And it’s a mighty good thing

-for you that he did. If he hadn’t I’d have knocked

-you into the middle of next week.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You couldn’t knock me into to-morrow, let

-alone the middle of next week,” returned Fred,

-who was now thoroughly aroused.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come, come, Fred,” said Bobby soothingly.

-“There’s no use in getting into a temper about

-this fellow. He isn’t worth it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll show you whether I’m worth it or not,”

-cried Hicksley, in a rage. “Don’t you think for

-a minute that you’ve heard the last of this. There

-were four of you fellows last night, and there are

-three of you now. But I’ll catch each one of you

-alone some time, and I’ll tan each one of you

-within an inch of your life.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’d better try it,” answered Fred. “You’d

-be afraid to tackle a live one. All you’re good for

-is to torment a helpless old man. You’re a nice

-fellow, you are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The quarrel, although it was none of the boys’

-seeking, was growing so hot that it was perhaps

-just as well that Mr. Carrier, one of the teachers,

-should come walking briskly along just at that moment.

-He saw from their flushed faces that something

-unpleasant was in the wind, but thought it

-just as well to ignore it rather than give it importance

-by taking notice of it.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Good morning, boys,” he called cordially.

-“It’s just about time for meeting in the main hall.

-I’m going over there now, and you’d better come

-along with me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This put an end to the threatening trouble for

-the time, and the boys followed along in his wake,

-Hicksley some distance behind the other three and

-muttering threats under his breath.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Isn’t he a pippin?” said Bobby, in a low voice,

-so that Mr. Carrier could not hear.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks to me like something that the cat

-brought in,” grumbled Fred, whose rumpled feathers

-took some time for smoothing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s going around looking for trouble,” observed

-Skeets; “and that kind is sure to find it

-before very long.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No decent fellow will want to have anything

-to do with him,” remarked Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Except perhaps Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks,”

-amended Bobby. “He’ll be just nuts for them.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I said <em>decent</em> fellow,” repeated Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They soon reached the main assembly room into

-which the boys were streaming from all directions.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond and the rest of the teaching staff

-were seated on a platform in the front of the room.

-When the gathering had subsided into silence, the

-principal rose and gave the boys a little informal

-talk about the duties of the coming term and the

-spirit in which he hoped they would go about their

-work. He dwelt especially on the incentives offered

-them to become members of the “Sword and

-Star,” the main society of the school, and as he

-mentioned the name of the society, the boys who

-were members jumped to their feet and gave the

-society yell:</p>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c0'>

-<div class='nf-center c013'  >

-    <div>“One, two, three—<em>boom!</em></div>

-    <div>Boom Z-z-z-ah!</div>

-    <div>Rockledge! Rockledge!</div>

-    <div>Sword and Star!</div>

-    <div>Who’s on top?</div>

-    <div>We sure are—</div>

-    <div><em>Rock</em>-ledge!”</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c012'>The hearty shout brought a flush of pleasure

-into the doctor’s cheeks and he looked around upon

-his charges with a face beaming with pride. He

-concluded his talk with an urgent invitation to

-each of the boys to strive for the Medal of Honor,

-the highest prize within the gift of the school, and

-then dismissed them to their respective classes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Here the proceedings were brief. The tasks for

-the following day were assigned and then the boys

-were left to their own devices until the hours set

-aside that afternoon and evening for preparing

-their lessons.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Our soft snap is nearly over,” mourned Fred.

-“From now on it will be steady work until the

-end of the term.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But think how much fun we’ll have in between,”

-comforted Bobby. “I’ve got a hunch

-that we’re going to have the bulliest time at Rockledge

-that we’ve ever had yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What makes you think that?” asked Fred pessimistically.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I said it was a hunch, didn’t I?” demanded

-Bobby. “You don’t have to explain a hunch.

-You just have it and that’s all there is to it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hate to think of buckling down to work

-again,” said Fred. “We had such a bully free

-time up in the woods that I wish it would last forever.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all the more reason you ought to be

-willing to work when the time comes,” remonstrated

-Bobby. “Think of the poor fellows that

-never have any outings and have to work hard all

-the time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose you’re right,” conceded Fred. “I

-don’t know just what it is that makes me feel that

-way. It wasn’t so when I got up this morning.

-I’ll tell you just what I think it is,” he said, as a

-sudden explanation of his mood suggested itself

-to him. “I’ll bet it’s that Tom Hicksley. I

-wanted to get a crack at him this morning when

-Mr. Carrier came along and stopped us. I’d have

-felt better if I’d lit out at him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now, Fred, cut out that fighting talk,” said

-Bobby impatiently. “There’s nothing in it.

-What’s the use of getting into a row that will make

-your folks feel bad when they hear of it and perhaps

-bring you up before the doctor?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I notice that you’re ready enough to fight

-sometimes,” grumbled Fred in self-defense.

-“You’d have pitched into Ap Plunkit if he’d hit

-you with that whip yesterday morning, and you

-were all worked up on the train at Hicksley.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s a very different thing from looking for

-trouble,” said Bobby stoutly. “It’s all right to

-take your own part when people try to bully or

-strike you. But it’s always best to keep out of a

-fight unless you’re forced into it. There wasn’t

-really any reason to fight Tom Hicksley this morning,

-and you know it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps if you had hair as red as mine you

-wouldn’t find it so easy to keep your temper,”

-said Fred, falling back on an excuse he was fond

-of using.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe not,” laughed Bobby, “but you can

-make a try at it anyhow.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s this I hear about fighting?” said

-Frank Durrock, as he came up behind them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank was larger and older than the two boys,

-and a prime favorite with them. He held the post

-of captain of the school. This carried with it no

-official power, as that rested wholly with the

-teachers. But Frank was supposed to have a general

-oversight, stop any disorder that went too far and

-in general to act as a sort of big brother to the

-younger boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He was a fine athlete also, and had been captain

-of the football team on which Bobby and

-Fred had played the preceding fall and which had

-won the Thanksgiving game from Belden. His

-skill in baseball was also marked, and he was expected

-to play first base on the nine in the spring.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, Fred was feeling a little sore over a row

-he had with Hicksley this morning,” explained

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That new fellow?” asked Durrock. “I passed

-him a little while ago and he was talking with

-Bronson and Jinks. They seemed to be quite

-chummy together.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did I tell you?” cried Fred to Bobby.

-“I knew those fellows would get together as sure

-as shooting.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’re three of a kind,” assented Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know anything about what kind of

-fellow he is,” remarked Frank, “but somebody

-was telling me that he was a good baseball player.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys did not think it was worth while to tell

-what they knew of Hicksley and so kept quiet.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s big and husky and ought to make a good

-slugger,” continued Frank, “and we can’t have

-too much batting strength on our nine. So if he

-can field as well as bat, he may be able to get a

-place on the team.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The prospect was not at all pleasing to Bobby

-and Fred, but above everything else they were

-loyal to the school, and if the newcomer would be

-a help to the Rockledge nine they were perfectly

-willing to forget their own feeling.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“So you see, Fred,” continued Frank, “you

-don’t want to hold any grudge you may have

-against Hicksley. I don’t know what your scrap

-was about and I don’t want to know, but whatever

-it is, forget it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure I will,” said Fred heartily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You know how it was on the football team,”

-went on Frank. “There were fellows on that

-team that you didn’t like—Jinks, for instance—but

-you overlooked that feeling and played good

-football just the same. And we want to do the

-same thing on the nine.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m especially anxious to get up a strong nine

-this year,” he continued, “because we’re going

-to have some pretty nifty teams against us. Belden

-has got two or three new fellows that they say

-are crackerjacks and they’ll give us all we want

-to do to beat ’em.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Then, too, we’re going to have a little different

-scheme this season than we ever had before.

-While you hunters have been up in the woods

-shooting bears”—here he grinned—“I’ve been

-hustling around with a few others and organized

-a new league.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A new league!” exclaimed Bobby and Fred in

-the same breath.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A new league!” repeated Skeets Brody and

-Sparrow Bangs, who had come up just in time to

-hear the last words. “What do you mean, Frank?

-Tell us all about it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They gathered about him, their eyes glistening.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <br />THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>“Now, now, don’t all get excited,” admonished

-Frank, who, all the same, was immensely delighted

-with the sensation he had stirred up by his announcement.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t keep us waiting, Frank,” pleaded Fred,

-who would rather play baseball at any time than

-eat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Out with it, like a good fellow,” chimed in

-Bobby, whose pitching had won a game from Belden

-the previous term.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank, with the instinct of the true story teller,

-waited until he had got his audience worked up to

-the proper pitch. Then when they were on edge,

-he proceeded:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s this way,” he explained. “Up to now

-we’ve been going on in a kind of rut. Belden is

-about the only team we’ve ever played any real

-games with, and that hasn’t given us enough practice.

-We’ve had our own scrub nine to practice

-with, but as a rule they’ve been so easy that we

-haven’t had to work hard enough to win. The

-only way we can learn to hit different kinds of

-pitching is to come up against nines that give us

-a stiff fight to win.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But we have played with village nines sometimes,”

-interrupted Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We played the Benton team last year and beat

-them six to five,” reminded Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, I know,” admitted Frank; “but those

-were only single games, and there wasn’t enough

-at stake. It didn’t make much difference whether

-we won from them or not as long as we put it all

-over Belden.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now, don’t you see how much more exciting it

-would be to have several different teams, all members

-of one league, each one playing the other a

-certain number of games, each one fighting hard

-for every game and each team working its head

-off to get the pennant, which would be given to

-the nine that had won the most games at the end

-of the season?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys broke into a chorus of delighted exclamations.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That would be bully!” cried Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would be a regular see-saw!” exclaimed

-Fred. “First one team would be in the lead and

-then the other. It would be a rattling hard fight

-all the way from the start of the season to the

-finish.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s a corker,” agreed Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A pippin of a scheme,” declared Sparrow with

-emphasis.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I thought you fellows would like it,” said

-Frank, much pleased at the enthusiastic reception

-of his plan. “I talked it over with Dr. Raymond,

-and he said that he saw no objection to it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The doc’s a good old sport,” commented Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And Dr. Raymond saw the head of the Belden

-school and he agreed to it too,” continued Frank,

-“while the captain of the Belden nine is fairly

-daffy over it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How many clubs are there to be in the

-league?” asked Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We decided that four would be enough,” answered

-Frank. “You see, we have only Saturdays

-to play, and if we had too many clubs in the

-league we couldn’t play enough games to really

-make the thing go. But with four teams, each can

-play three games with every other team and that

-would give us a pretty good line on the strength

-of each nine.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Every team would play nine games altogether,

-then,” figured Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, and that would take nine Saturdays. Allowing

-for some days when it might be too rainy

-to play that will just about cover the playing season

-before school closes for the summer.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who are to be the other two nines besides

-Belden and ourselves?” asked Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ve been scouting around and have found

-two town nines that will be glad to go in with us,”

-answered Frank. “One is at Somerset and the

-other at Ridgefield. They’re all within a few

-miles so that we wouldn’t have to travel far to

-play them. The fellows are about the same age

-as we are, from eleven to fourteen.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What will be the name of the league?” asked

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How does Monatook Lake League strike you?”

-asked Frank. “Both towns are right on the lake,

-just as Rockledge and Belden are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just the thing,” was the verdict of all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Some of those town boys are dandy players,”

-said Skeets. “I saw the Somerset team play once

-and they certainly put up a fine game.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And the Ridgefield boys have a pitcher who is

-a peach, all right,” said Frank. “But that’s just

-what we’re looking for. It wouldn’t be any fun

-defeating a lot of dubs.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to look out that they don’t ring in

-some good players from other towns to fill up

-weak places on their team,” said Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Of course we’ll have to take a chance on that,”

-admitted Frank. “But I don’t think we’ll have

-to worry much. I know some of the boys on both

-teams and they seem to be pretty square fellows.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ll have to limber up that pitching arm of

-yours and get it in good shape, Bobby,” cried Fred

-jubilantly, clapping his friend on the shoulder.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How do you know I’ll get a chance to pitch?”

-asked Bobby modestly. “The nine isn’t made up

-yet and won’t be till we’ve had a chance to practice.

-Some of the new fellows may be a good

-deal better than I am at pitching.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe they will be,” returned Skeets.

-“Do you remember, Fred, that last game when

-Bobby pitched and we beat Belden by three to

-two?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You bet I do,” replied Fred. “And I remember

-that catch that Bobby made in the ninth inning

-when he rolled over and over and yet held

-on to the ball. If he had let it get away from him,

-Belden would have won sure.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wish we could go right out on the field tomorrow!”

-exclaimed impatient Fred, who was

-very much worked up over the prospect of sport

-that the new league opened up.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That would be rushing things for fair,”

-laughed Frank.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would hardly do to be playing ball in overcoats

-and mittens,” grinned Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s see,” said Sparrow. “This is the

-twenty-fifth of January. To the twenty-fifth of

-February is one month and to the twenty-fifth of

-March is another. The field ought to be in shape

-for playing by that time. Don’t you think so,

-Frank?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If we have a fairly early spring it ought to,”

-said Frank. “Still in this climate I’ve seen snow

-on the ground sometimes in April.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“February is a short month,” said Fred hopefully.

-“That will cut the time down some.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Anyway we can do a whole lot of practicing

-indoors,” said Bobby. “The gymnasium is good

-and warm and we can rig up some kind of a cage

-for pitching and catching.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just as they do in colleges,” said Sparrow

-proudly. “I tell you, fellows, we’re some class!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet the town papers’ll put in reports of the

-games,” said Fred, who already in imagination

-saw his name in print.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure they will,” agreed Skeets. “They’ll be

-glad of a chance to fill up space.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was not very flattering, and Fred, who saw

-fame coming his way with giant strides, rather resented

-it.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They won’t do it only for that reason,” he said

-indignantly. “I bet there’ll be some dandy games

-played and lots of people in the towns will come

-out to see them.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe, especially as they won’t have to pay to

-get in,” retorted Skeets, who was not averse at

-times to stirring Fred up just for the fun of seeing

-him roiled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, we can always count on big crowds when

-Rockledge and Belden play anyway,” put in

-Bobby, before Fred had a chance to throw back at

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We ought to get some kind of monogram

-sewed on our uniforms or caps to show the name

-of the league,” said Sparrow, who was quite as

-alive as Fred was to the new dignity that was coming

-to them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The letters M. L. L. would look nifty, sure

-enough,” agreed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well there’s plenty of time to think of those

-things before the season opens,” remarked Frank.

-“The main thing now is to get up a team that will

-put it all over the other fellows.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just think how it would feel to be the champions

-of the league,” said Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And to pull up the pennant on the flagpole just

-back of center field,” gloated Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Rockledge wouldn’t be big enough to hold us,”

-said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, fellows,” cautioned Frank.

-“But remember all the other fellows are feeling

-the same way. It’s easy enough to win games in

-our dreams, but the only ones that count are those

-that are won on the diamond.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll win them all right there too,” replied

-Fred, who already saw himself cracking out a

-home run with the bases full. “We’ll be there

-with bells on from the time the season opens.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I bet we’ll go all through the season without

-losing a game,” declared Sparrow, in a wild flight

-of fancy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come off the perch,” warned Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Turn over, turn over, you’re on your back,”

-said the irreverent Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ll bring bad luck on us if you talk like

-that,” cautioned Frank. “It stands to reason

-that we’ll have to lose some games. The other

-fellows are no slouches, don’t you forget that, and

-they’ll be out to win just as we are.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The best teams in the big leagues lose lots of

-games, even to the poorest ones,” said Bobby.

-“You’ll notice that the nines that win the championships

-don’t often come through the season

-with much more than six hundred per cent.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just what does that mean?” asked Skeets, who

-had never been especially strong in mathematics.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby did a swift sum in mental arithmetic.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That means they won three games out of five,”

-he announced. “So you see they had lots of losses

-before they won the pennant. We’ve got a swell

-chance of winning every game—I don’t think. If

-we win six out of the nine, I shall be perfectly

-satisfied. That will give us a percentage of six

-hundred and sixty-seven.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s right,” confirmed Frank. “That

-would be two out of every three, and the team that

-wins isn’t likely to do any better than that. The

-best team in the world will sometimes be whipped

-by a poor one. That’s what makes baseball such

-a bully game. Lots of good luck and hard luck

-come into a game, and it’s never settled until the

-last man is out in the ninth inning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But in the long run it’s the best team that

-wins,” protested Fred, still undaunted. “And

-the best team in the Monatook Lake League this

-year will be the team of Rockledge School.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <br />GLOWING HOPES</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The boys all laughed at Fred’s declaration,

-though they hoped ardently that it would turn out

-to be true.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well,” conceded Frank, “confidence is a good

-thing, especially if there is good hard work back

-of it. One thing is certain, and that is if any team

-beats Rockledge it will know it’s been in a fight.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose Larry Cronk will be pitching for

-Belden,” mused Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose so, and he’s a corking good pitcher

-too. But Bobby beat him the last time he faced

-him and I guess he can do it again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Trust Bobby,” replied Fred loyally.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ll have to go now,” concluded Frank.

-“I’m glad you boys think the league is going to

-be a good thing.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The best thing that ever happened,” declared

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m tickled to death with it,” agreed Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hits me awful hard,” said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Monatook Lake League sounds mighty good to

-me,” added Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s a lot of work to be done yet in getting

-it fairly started,” observed Frank. “We’ll have

-to work out a schedule of dates and decide on

-the kind of pennant we’re going to have and a

-bunch of things like that. But we’ll have plenty

-of time for that, and everything will be running

-slick as grease by the time the season begins.

-And remember what I said, Fred, about cutting

-out all hard feelings,” he concluded.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll do it all right,” answered Fred. “I don’t

-like the fellow and I never will, but I’ll forget all

-about that when it comes to working for the good

-of the team.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s the way I like to hear you talk,” returned

-Frank with a smile, as he went away.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did Frank mean by that?” asked Skeets

-curiously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, it’s about that Tom Hicksley,” Fred replied.

-“Frank has heard that he’s a good ball

-player, and if he is, he wants him on the nine. He

-heard Bobby and me talking of the scrap we had

-with him this morning, and he doesn’t want trouble

-in the team.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Maybe Frank’s right, at that,” conceded

-Skeets. “But I don’t know that it’s good dope to

-have a fellow like that on the nine, no matter how

-good a player he is. He’ll be wanting to run

-things and perhaps break up the whole team.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll hope not,” said Bobby. “At any rate,

-there’s no use worrying about it yet. He may

-not be so good a player as Frank has heard he is,

-and may not play on the team at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to look over our baseball togs and

-see if they’re in good shape,” said Fred. “I know

-the spikes on my shoes need sharpening.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And I’ll have to pound that new baseball

-glove of mine until it’s good and soft and has a

-big hollow in the middle,” added Bobby. “We

-mustn’t overlook the least thing that’s going to

-help us to win.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Won’t the Clinton boys open their eyes if we

-can tell them when we go home for the summer

-vacation that we’re the champions of the Monatook

-Lake League?” gloated Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t count your chickens before they’re

-hatched,” laughed Sparrow. “It’s a long time

-yet before the end of the season.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s all over but the shouting, the way I look

-at it,” persisted Fred defiantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t wake him up, he is dreaming,” mocked

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The pennant bee is buzzing in his bonnet,”

-laughed Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For that matter, they all heard the buzzing of

-the same bee, and it was a very pleasant sound to

-them. To these four eleven-year-old boys the

-words “league” and “pennant” conveyed a sense

-of dignity and importance that they had never

-felt before.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>From that time on, baseball took up a large part

-of their thoughts, even though the ground was

-covered with snow and the lake held fast in icy

-fetters.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The gymnasium was warm and comfortable,

-and though they had no regular cage and the limited

-space did not give much chance for batting

-practice the boys got in quite a lot of pitching and

-catching. And this was quickened by the news

-that came to them that Belden had taken up the

-idea of the league with as much enthusiasm as

-they had, and were already predicting that they

-would be the victors in the coming struggle. It

-was said that two of the new Belden boys were

-hard hitters and could “send the ball a mile.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But we heard something like that before the

-last game, and we licked them just the same,” remarked

-Fred, who expected to play short stop,

-the same position he had held the previous season.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Belden’s bark is worse than its bite,” confirmed

-Bobby. “But because they didn’t come

-through the last time doesn’t say they won’t now.

-We’ll have to be right up on our toes all the time.

-It isn’t going to be a walkover for anybody.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The study hours at Rockledge were not excessive,

-and had been arranged with a view of giving

-the growing boys all the time they needed for

-wholesome exercise and recreation. Dr. Raymond

-knew that a well trained mind and strong

-body must go together in order to get the best results.

-And on the occasions of the big baseball

-and football games he was always sure to be present

-as a keenly interested spectator.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Carrier, too, the second assistant on the

-teaching staff, had himself been an athlete in his

-college days, and his advice and coaching on the

-diamond and the gridiron were very valuable to

-the Rockledge boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>With the lake so near at hand, there were plenty

-of winter sports. The smooth level of the ice,

-stretching away for miles in every direction, made

-skating a delight and offered a splendid field for

-hockey games. On all fine afternoons and every

-Saturday from morning till night, the ice was alive

-with darting figures, and rang with the music of

-steel against the frozen surface and the merry

-laughter of the skaters as they cracked the whip or

-flew by in impromptu races.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was plenty of snow on the ground this

-year and this gave a chance for some good coasting.

-Most of the boys had sleds, and Bobby had

-brought along the splendid one that he had received

-as a Christmas present.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He had had considerable trouble in settling on

-a name. Billy Barry’s suggestion that it be called

-“Lightning” and Betty Martin’s laughing idea

-that it ought to be called “Oyster,” because it

-“slipped down so easily,” had received due consideration,

-but Bobby had finally settled on “Red

-Arrow.” This seemed to him to cover both its

-color and its speed. And that speed could not be

-questioned. It certainly shot down hill like an

-arrow from a how. None of the other sleds at the

-school could do such fetching.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Naturally Bobby took great pride in his sled,

-and the runners were rubbed with emery and oil

-until they were as smooth as silk and shone like

-silver.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There were several good hills in the vicinity of

-the school, but most of them were dangerous; one

-because it crossed the railroad at its base and others

-because cross streets, along which there was

-much travel, offered chances for collisions. These

-were therefore forbidden to the boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>On one hill, however, they were permitted to

-coast whenever they wanted to do so. This

-stretched away from the town, and there were no

-cross streets throughout its entire length. It was

-absolutely safe, and as it was very long and reasonably

-steep, the boys felt no special regret at

-not being allowed to use the other hills.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For several days before Lincoln’s Birthday the

-weather had been mild and there was a considerable

-thaw. The snow on the hill had become soft

-and mushy and coasting had been impossible.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This interfered with the plans of the boys in

-Bobby’s dormitory, who had expected to have a

-big coasting carnival on the night of the holiday,

-when there would be a full moon. Now it looked

-as if the ground might be bare.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But on the eleventh of February there came a

-sudden change in the weather that gladdened the

-hearts of the would-be coasters. The thermometer

-fell rapidly until it was ten degrees below

-zero. The hill froze solid and was even better

-than it had been before, because the water from

-the melting snow now formed a glare of ice over

-the whole surface.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby and his chums were jubilant over the

-change as they got together in the gymnasium

-after breakfast on the morning of the holiday.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Isn’t it just bully?” cried Fred, doing a handspring.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The hill will be like glass,” gloated Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet we fetch further than we ever did

-before,” exulted Bobby, who could see himself scudding

-like the wind on his trusty Red Arrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But, gee! won’t it be tough climbing up to the

-top again,” put in Pee Wee, who liked well enough

-to ride down but hated the task of walking back.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t worry, Pee Wee,” chaffed Fred. “We

-wouldn’t let a hard-working fellow like you walk

-back. We’ll take turns drawing you up on our

-sleds.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure we will,” added Sparrow. “We’ll just

-fight for the privilege.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have Pee Wee bark his shins

-again,” laughed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys were so engrossed in the lively give

-and take that none of them noticed that Tom

-Hicksley, who had been practicing on the rings

-and had been near enough to hear their conversation,

-had quietly slipped out of the gymnasium.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There had been no open trouble between him

-and Bobby and his friends since that morning

-when the coming of Mr. Carrier had stopped the

-quarrel. None of the boys took any special pains

-to avoid him but had simply left him alone.

-Hicksley had cast sullen and angry glances at

-them as they passed him on the campus or in the

-halls, but they cared nothing for that. They did

-not doubt that he was nursing his grudge and

-would lose no chance to get back at them if he

-could, but they felt able to take care of themselves.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, Hicksley had only two

-friends in the school. These were Bill Bronson

-and Jack Jinks, the two most detested boys at

-Rockledge. They were of the same type as Hicksley,

-mean and tyrannical. They were two of the

-largest pupils and took advantage of their size to

-make themselves thoroughly disliked by the other

-boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They had “cottoned” to Hicksley at once, recognizing

-him as a kindred spirit, and the three

-were almost constantly together.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bronson and Jinks belonged to neither of the

-dormitories, but occupied one of the smaller rooms

-together.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>To this room Hicksley went straight from the

-gymnasium and rapped on the door.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <br />SPOILING THE FUN</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>There was a scurrying within the room and

-Hicksley heard the sound of a window being

-hastily thrown up. Then after a long pause the

-door was slowly opened.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, it’s you, is it?” said Bronson in a tone of

-relief.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure it is,” replied Hicksley tersely. “Who

-did you think it was? What’s the matter with you

-fellows anyway. Any one might think I was a

-cop, from the time you took to open the door.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Worse than that,” grinned Bronson. “I

-thought you might be Dr. Raymond or one of the

-teachers. We were smoking. Now you’ve made

-us throw away two perfectly good cigarettes and

-freeze ourselves by opening the window to get the

-smoke out of the room. Shut the window again,

-Jack. It’s only Tom.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m not going to tell on you,” replied

-Hicksley. “That is,” he added with a grin, “if

-you’ve got another cigarette left for me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was strictly against the rules to smoke, but in

-the opinion of these worthless fellows rules were

-made only to be broken, and all three were soon

-puffing away, after making sure that the door was

-securely locked.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bronson was a tall, thin boy, with straw-colored

-hair. Jinks was shorter, but very stocky. A

-squint that made his small eyes look smaller still

-gave him a most unprepossessing appearance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, what’s up?” asked Bronson, seeing from

-Hicksley’s manner that he had something to propose.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve just heard something that gave me an

-idea of how to get even with that Bobby Blake

-and the bunch of boobs he goes with,” replied

-Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hope it’s a good idea,” said Bronson. “Anything

-that will down those fellows you can count

-me in on.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Same here!” ejaculated Jinks. “I never had

-any use for any of that crowd.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s have it, Tom,” broke in Bronson impatiently.

-“Don’t keep us waiting.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’re planning to have a big coasting time

-to-night,” explained Hicksley. “I heard them

-talking about it when I was down in the gymnasium

-just now. And while I was listening I

-thought of a way to queer the whole thing.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This sounded promising, and the interest on the

-faces of the others grew intense.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What is it?” they asked in the same breath,

-leaning forward eagerly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley lowered his voice a trifle and rapidly

-outlined the plan that had come to him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He was fully satisfied with its reception, for

-both of his hearers roared with delight.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s just bully!” cried Bronson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Best thing I’ve heard since Hector was a

-pup!” ejaculated Jinks.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’ll put a spoke in their wheel all right,”

-gloated Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Won’t they feel sore?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’ll be frothing at the mouth.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to be hiding somewhere near by

-where we can see the whole thing,” said Bronson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t miss it for a hundred dollars,”

-chuckled Jinks.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’ll sing small for a long time after that,”

-grinned Hicksley. “But now if you think the plan

-is all right, we’ll have to figure out just how to go

-about it. It’ll be a lot of hard work, and I don’t

-want to do it myself. I don’t suppose you fellows

-want to muss yourselves up either.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what!” exclaimed Bronson. “Do

-you know who Dago Joe is?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s that Italian fellow down town who goes

-about doing odd jobs, isn’t he?” queried Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s the one,” Bronson assented.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, what about him?” asked Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just this,” Bronson answered. “He’s just

-the fellow for this job. He’s got a hand cart, and

-that will make it easy for him. Then, too, a dollar

-will look as big to him as a meeting house.

-But even if he charges more than that we can all

-chip in and it won’t make very much for any of

-us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t care if it cost us a dollar apiece,”

-said Jinks. “It would be worth it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They talked for a few minutes longer, and then

-decided that rather than let Hicksley do it alone

-they would all go down together to see Dago Joe.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But to their surprise, Joe was at first inclined

-to balk at the proposition. He was poor and had

-a large family to support and he needed every

-dollar he could get, but he seemed to fear that the

-plan that the bullies suggested might get him into

-trouble.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I donta know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders

-and extending the palms of his hands. “Perhaps

-people nota like it. Maybe I be arrest.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Nonsense, Joe,” said Bronson. “There isn’t

-a chance in the world that anybody will get on to

-who did it. It will be after dark anyway. Be a

-sport and take a chance.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll make it two dollars,” said Jinks. “It’s

-easy money and you’d be a fool not to take it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe still had some qualms, but when the boys

-raised the price to three dollars his scruples vanished.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You can get the stuff down near the roundhouse,”

-suggested Jinks. “There’s always plenty

-of it there.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe wanted his three dollars at once, but they

-compromised by paying him half down with a

-promise of the other half when the work was done.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now for the big blowout,” chuckled Jinks, as

-they wended their way back to the school.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’ll be a scream,” gloated Bronson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A perfect riot,” added Hicksley, who was in

-high feather, now that his scheme seemed in a fair

-way of going through.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As for Dago Joe, he was a busy man for the

-rest of the day and for some time after darkness

-fell.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was an unusually good supper that night

-in honor of the holiday, and the boys did it full

-justice. But they would have lingered still longer

-at the table, if they had not been impatient to get

-out on the hill for their carnival of coasting.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The wind had died down, but the air was keen

-and brought a frosty glow to their eyes and cheeks

-as they made their way to the hill, drawing their

-sleds behind them by ropes that hung over their

-shoulders.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll make a new record to-night,” said Bobby

-jubilantly. “I shouldn’t wonder if we fetched as

-far as the bridge; and we’ve never done that yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If we don’t do it to-night we never shall,” replied

-Fred, as they came to the hill.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It doesn’t seem as if the sleds could ever stop

-when they get started on ice like this,” exulted

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” suggested Sparrow.

-“The hill’s wide enough to hold six sleds

-going down at the same time. There’s just about

-seventeen or eighteen of us here. Let’s start out

-in a bunch of six at a time and go the whole length.

-Then, after that, we can have the separate races.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” agreed Fred. “The trouble

-is that each fellow will want to go off in the first

-six.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll soon settle that,” replied Sparrow.

-“We’ll draw lots and then nobody will have any

-kick coming.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This proposal was greeted with acclamation,

-and amid a great deal of chaff and laughter the

-lots were drawn.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The lucky ones happened to be Fred, Bobby,

-Mouser, Sparrow, Skeets and Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll let Pee Wee go in the middle,” laughed

-Fred, “and we’d better take care to keep close to

-the side of the road. He’ll need more room than

-any of the rest of us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have him plunk into me,” grinned

-Bobby. “It would be a case for the doctor, for

-sure.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“For the undertaker, more likely,” chuckled

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You fellows think you’re smart, don’t you?”

-grunted Pee Wee. “All the same I bet I’ll fetch

-farther than any of you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hear who’s talking,” jibed Sparrow. “We’ll

-leave you so far behind you won’t be able to see

-us with a telescope.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They ranged their sleds side by side and lay

-upon them flat on their stomachs, holding firmly

-on the sides in front in order steer correctly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Are you all ready?” asked Howell Purdy, who

-had been chosen to give the word.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ready,” they answered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Then go!” shouted Howell.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The six sleds shot forward with a rush.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <br />WHO WAS GUILTY?</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>For the first third of the distance, the ice was as

-smooth as quicksilver, with never a lump or hummock

-to mar the surface. The sleds flew down

-the frozen surface, gaining a velocity that took

-the boys’ breath away and almost frightened them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Then suddenly there was a jar, a chorus of

-shouts, and they were thrown headlong over the

-fronts of their sleds, landing in a confused heap

-of limbs and bodies, while the sleds relieved of

-their burdens swirled around aimlessly for a time

-and finally came to a stop.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A yell of consternation and alarm came from

-the mass, as the boys tried to struggle to their

-feet.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Those who had been left at the top of the hill,

-hearing the yells and knowing that some accident

-had happened, came slipping and scrambling down

-to the scene of the disaster.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They helped the half stunned victims to their

-feet, and for a time there was a wild hullabaloo of

-questions and answers as they tried to solve the

-mystery.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fortunately none of them was badly hurt, though

-at the rate they were going it might very easily

-have turned out to be a tragedy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Most of the boys had rubbed pieces of skin off

-their arms and legs, and Fred had a cut in his

-scalp from which the blood was flowing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did it?” shouted Howell.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” replied Bobby hesitatingly.

-His head was going round like a top.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“M-must have hit a tree trunk or something like

-that,” stammered Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That isn’t it,” replied Howell, looking around

-him. “There isn’t anything of that kind in sight

-as far as I can see. Just wait a minute till I get

-Sam Thompson’s flashlight.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Luckily Sam had it with him and promptly

-handed it over.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Howell flashed it about him and gave a shout.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s ashes!” he cried. “The whole hill’s littered

-with ’em.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ashes?” came a chorus of surprised questions.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what it is,” declared Howell emphatically.

-“There are heaps and heaps of ’em. I’ll

-bet they reach clear down to the bottom of the

-hill.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He went down further and confirmed what he

-had said. He had no trouble in walking, for he

-could not have slipped if he had wanted to. The

-whole lower surface of the hill was strewn with

-ashes that spoiled the coasting for that night utterly,

-and promised to ruin it for many days to

-come.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A wave of wrath and fierce indignation swept

-over the boys as they heard Howell’s report.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who could have done it?” was the question

-that came to the lips of all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Could it have been the town council?” suggested

-Skeets. “They might have done it to keep

-the horses from slipping.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They never did anything like that before,” objected

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And if they were the ones, they would have

-made a clean job of it and gone right up to the

-top of the hill,” said Mouser. “But you fellows

-will notice that it was perfectly clear for a long

-part of the way down.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Mouser is right,” declared Bobby. “Somebody

-did this just to spoil our fun.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And they wanted us to be fooled and get

-started down so that we’d get a tumble when we

-came to the ashes,” added Fred. “That’s why

-they left it smooth at the top.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Some of us might have been killed,” groaned

-Skeets, gingerly soothing an injured knee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And it’s only a bit of luck that we weren’t,”

-growled Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“My shins are barked for fair,” moaned Pee

-Wee, “and that’s no joke this time either.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it was a low-down skunk,” burst

-out Howell angrily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He might have been a murderer,” added

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have my hands on him for a minute,”

-declared Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, our fun is over for this night anyway,”

-said Bobby sadly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And for a whole lot of other nights,” put in

-Pee Wee. “Those ashes will get ground in and

-there’s no sweeping ’em off.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to wait for another snow storm

-before we can do any more coasting,” wailed

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a sorely disgruntled band of boys who

-gathered up their sleds and limped slowly to the

-top of the hill. One of the sleds was smashed and

-all had been more or less scratched and bruised.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Once at the top, they squatted down on their

-sleds and held a council of war.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now, fellows,” said Bobby, “we’ve got to get

-to the bottom of this thing somehow. The ashes

-didn’t come there of themselves. Somebody put

-them there, and whoever it was knew that we were

-out for a grand coasting bee to-night. So it must

-have been some fellow in the school.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hate to think that there’s any fellow at Rockledge

-who could do such a dirty trick,” remarked

-Howell. “If we can find out who it was we ought

-to tell Doctor Raymond about it and have the fellow

-sent away from school.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No,” objected Bobby. “This is our affair and

-we oughtn’t to bring the teachers into it at all.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The question is who could have done it,” put

-in Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it is mean enough to steal sheep,”

-growled Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Or take the pennies from a dead man’s eyes,”

-added Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I can figure out just three fellows in the school

-who could do a thing like that,” said Howell.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bill Bronson.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Jack Jinks.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Tom Hicksley.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The answers came from as many different lips,

-and the readiness with which they were accepted

-was not at all flattering to the boys who bore the

-names.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It may have been one of those three or all

-three together,” said Bobby, coming nearer to the

-mark than he knew.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That reminds me,” cried Fred suddenly.

-“Tom Hicksley was practicing on the flying rings

-when we were talking this thing over in the gymnasium

-this morning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” chimed in Mouser. “And I remember

-now that he seemed to stop all of a sudden

-and slip away. I didn’t think anything about it

-then, but I remember it plainly now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He owes some of us a grudge for what

-happened on the train,” remarked Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And he said then he’d get even with us,” observed

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There’s one thing we fellows have forgotten,”

-said Skeets. “Whoever did this would want to

-be hiding around and see what happened. We

-ought to hunt them out and pay them up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This seemed likely enough and the boys looked

-eagerly about them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t seem to be any place up here where

-they could hide without our seeing them,” remarked

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No, but there’s a lot of bushes at the side of

-the road half way down the hill,” put in Sparrow.

-“Let’s go down there.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They went down in a body. There was no one

-there, but as they got to the other side of the

-bushes they could faintly make out three figures

-retreating in the distance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were too far away to be recognized and

-they had too long a start to make it worth while

-pursuing them, but from their general size and

-build the boys had little doubt as to who they were.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did I tell you?” cried Fred. “I knew

-that they were the only ones who could do a thing

-like that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It seems that the whole bunch of them are in

-it,” remarked Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet that Hicksley went straight to them

-and cooked this up when he left the gym this

-morning,” conjectured Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That makes something else we owe those fellows,”

-growled Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We owed them enough without that,” said

-Howell. “The big bullies have tried to pester the

-life out of us ever since we’ve been at Rockledge.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Our turn will come,” replied Bobby with

-conviction. “But now, fellows, we might as well

-hustle back to the dormitory. There’s no use of

-staying here any longer.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They made their way back to the school with

-very different feelings from those they had when

-they left it.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A holiday spoiled,” grumbled Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And there’s only two more holidays this

-month,” observed Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Two!” exclaimed Bobby. “There’s only one

-more and that’s Washington’s Birthday.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How about St. Valentine’s Day?” objected

-Sparrow. “That’s only two days from now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, that’s only a fake holiday,” replied Fred.

-“Lessons will go on just the same.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t care whether it’s a fake holiday or a

-real one,” answered Sparrow. “I’m going to get

-a lot of fun out of it just the same.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVII<br /> <br />ON THE TRAIL</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The school chums sat up late in the dormitory

-that night, nursing their bruises, and by the time

-they had got through applying arnica and other

-lotions, the place smelled like a hospital.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>How they could bring the trick home to those

-who had played it was a problem that was too

-much for them at the present. They felt sure that

-the bullies would deny it if taxed with it, and

-there was no way of actually proving it, no matter

-how sure they might feel in their own minds.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The matter could of course have been carried

-to the authorities of the school, and there is no

-doubt that they would have looked upon it very

-gravely because of the serious accident that might

-have resulted from it. But their code of schoolboy

-ethics was to keep the teachers out of such

-things and fight it out among themselves. They

-felt reasonably sure that sometime or other they

-would get even, and they bided their time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a very lame and sore lot of boys who

-dragged themselves out of bed when the rising hell

-rang on the following morning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” exclaimed Fred. “I feel as

-though I’d been in a railroad smash-up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m one big ache all over,” groaned Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“One <em>big</em> ache is right,” grinned Mouser.

-“You couldn’t be a little one if you tried.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“My joints creak like a wooden doll’s, every

-time I go to move,” complained Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I bet I’ll go to pieces on the stairs and have to

-be shoveled up in bits,” prophesied Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll each keep a part to remember you by,”

-laughed Bobby. “Quit your groaning, you fellows,

-and let’s go down to the table. You’ll feel

-better when you get filled up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The filling up process was carried out with neatness

-and despatch, and when it was over the boys

-were inclined to look on life in a more cheerful

-way.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We can’t do anything this morning on account

-of lessons,” remarked Bobby. “But as soon as

-they’re over this afternoon, let’s make a break for

-that hill and see what we can find out.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And see how Hicksley and his pals act in the

-classrooms,” suggested Skeets. “That may give

-us a tip to go by.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t count much on that,” said Mouser.

-“They’ll be on their guard and won’t want to give

-themselves away.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>To a certain extent this proved true. There

-was no attempt on the part of the bullies to gloat

-over the victims of their trick. But the boys surprised

-furtive grins and winks that passed between

-the three when they thought no one was

-looking, and this confirmed their suspicions that

-now were almost certainties.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They did it all right,” pronounced Fred.

-“I’m sure of it from the way I saw them grinning

-at each other. But they’ll laugh on the other side

-of their mouths before long.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As soon as the boys were free from their duties,

-they went with all speed to the scene of their

-misadventure. And again they lamented, when

-they saw by daylight how thoroughly the hill was

-spoiled for coasting.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There must be bushels and bushels of ashes!”

-exclaimed Mouser, as his eyes roamed over the

-lower half of the hill.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It beats me how they managed to get it all

-here,” observed Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It must have been brought a long way,” commented

-Sparrow. “There’s no place round here

-they could have got them from.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They couldn’t have carried all that stuff themselves,”

-said Bobby thoughtfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would have been an awful job,” added Howell,

-“and those fellows don’t like work well enough

-for that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They might have hired a man with a horse

-and wagon,” suggested Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If that’s so, there must be some tracks in the

-snow,” returned Bobby. “Scatter out, fellows,

-and see if you can find any marks of hoofs or

-wheels.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They followed his directions, and in a moment

-there was a cry from Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here’re the marks of wheels,” he called.

-“But I don’t see any horse tracks.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There, indeed, were the clearly defined print of

-wheels leading in a roundabout way toward the

-town. As they looked a little more closely they

-could see too where a man’s feet had broken at

-places through the crust of snow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It must have been a hand cart,” said Bobby,

-“and you can see that it held ashes from the bits

-that lie along its tracks. That’s what they

-brought it in and you can bet on it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There aren’t many hand carts in town,” observed

-Fred reflectively. “How many do you fellows

-remember seeing?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The laundryman has one,” replied Howell,

-“and the paper man has another. Those are the

-only ones I know of, except that shaky thing of

-Dago Joe’s.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s the fellow!” cried Fred excitedly.

-“None of the others would lend their carts for

-anything like that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s follow up the tracks and see where they

-lead to,” suggested Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was detective work to their liking and even

-Pee Wee made no objections to the tramp over the

-snow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their satisfaction was increased when they

-found that the tracks led straight to the roundhouse.

-Here there were great piles of ashes that

-had been dropped from the fire boxes of the locomotives

-when they were being shifted or put up

-for the night. It was quite clear that here was

-the place where the hand cart had been filled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But their elation received a sudden check when

-they prepared to trace the wheel prints to the

-shabby shack in town where Joe lived with his numerous

-brood. For now they were in the outskirts

-of the town, where wagons were coming and

-going all the time, and the tracks they had been

-following were lost in a multitude of others.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They looked at each other a little sheepishly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Stung!” muttered Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bum detectives we are,” grinned Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re up a tree now for sure,” declared Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All this walk for nothing,” growled Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We do seem to be stumped,” admitted Bobby.

-“What do you say to going to Joe and asking him

-right up and down whether he did it or not?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Swell chance we’d have of getting anything

-out of him,” commented Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’d lie about it sure,” declared Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I suppose likely he would,” agreed Bobby.

-“But we might be able to tell something by the

-way he acts. It won’t do any harm to try anyhow.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They found Dago Joe pottering about some

-work in the small yard in front of his shack. But

-Joe had seen them coming and his uneasy conscience

-had taken alarm. If he had had time, he

-would have slipped inside the house and had his

-wife or one of the children deny that he was at

-home. But it was too late for that, and he took

-refuge in the assumed ignorance that had served

-him many times before.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He greeted them with a genial smile that

-showed his mouthful of white teeth which was the

-only personal attraction he possessed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Goota day,” he said blandly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How are you, Joe?” said Bobby, as spokesman

-for the party. “Been pretty busy?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe’s mouth drooped.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not do nottin much,” he answered. “Beesness

-bad, ver’ bad.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Carry any loads of ashes lately?” Bobby went

-on.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe looked puzzled. Then a light came into his

-face.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hash?” he said delightedly. “Me likea hash.

-Tasta good. Bambino like it too.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not hash, but ashes,” returned Bobby, joining

-in the laugh of the rest of the boys. “You know,

-ashes—what falls out of the stove, wood ashes,

-coal ashes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe’s face resembled that of a graven image.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No unnerstan,” he said, shrugging his shoulders

-with an air of perplexity.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In the face of his determination, the boys saw

-that it was of no use to prolong the conversation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re a good actor, Joe,” said Bobby, half

-vexed, half amused, as the boys turned to go.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe showed his teeth again in an engaging smile

-that embraced all the party and waved them a cordial

-good-bye.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How sweetly the old rascal smiles at us!”

-grinned Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Laughs at us, you mean,” snorted Fred.

-“He’s tickled to death inside to think of the way

-he’s got the best of us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I bet if we asked him if he’d like to have us

-give him five dollars, he’d understand, all right,”

-laughed Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He couldn’t grab the money too quick,”

-agreed Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, we haven’t wasted our afternoon anyway,”

-Bobby summed up. “We’ve found out

-how the ashes were taken there, and we feel dead

-certain in our own minds that Joe did it. We

-know, of course, that he didn’t do it of his own accord.

-Somebody hired him to do it. Now if we

-could only find some one who saw Hicksley and

-Joe talking together, it would help some.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But that wouldn’t prove anything,” objected

-Sparrow. “They might be talking about the

-weather.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Or about hash,” interjected Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hash seems to stick in your crop,” grinned

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wish some of it were sticking there right

-now,” answered Pee Wee, “especially if it were

-like the hash that Meena makes.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“By the way, fellows,” chimed in Fred, “it

-must be close to supper time this very minute.

-Let’s beat it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They started off on a run.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The one that gets there last is a Chinaman,”

-Skeets flung back over his shoulder.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee was the Chinaman.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> <br />A HARD HIT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The next morning the boys woke to the realization

-that it was St. Valentine’s Day. There were

-valentines in their mail, valentines that had been

-slipped slyly into their pockets, valentines that

-had found their way under their pillows.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Some of them were the grotesque “comics”

-that were on sale in the village stationery store,

-while others were mere scrawls adorned with so-called

-pictures, and had been made by the boys

-themselves with pen and pencil.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was not much art about them, but there

-was a good deal of fun, and that was all the boys

-were looking for. Most of them were based on

-nicknames that the boys carried or on some event

-in their lives that was known to the rest.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser, for instance, was pictured with his own

-face on the body of a mouse who was creeping toward

-a cage in which a big piece of cheese was

-temptingly displayed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Skeets was buzzing about as a big mosquito,

-over the bald head of a fat man, who was getting

-ready to crash him as soon as he should settle

-down.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred’s red head had been drawn in red ink, and

-above his flaming mop one boy was holding a frying

-pan and another was breaking eggs to cook an

-omelet.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys had learned from Fred of the time

-when Bobby had coasted down the Trent Street

-hill and gone head over heels into the drift.

-Bobby’s head could not be seen but his two heels

-were waving wildly in the air and on one of them

-was the word “Bobby” and on the other “Blake.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Of course Pee Wee had not been overlooked.

-He was shown as a big fat boy, and each of his

-knees had a dog’s head on it. The dogs were

-barking furiously. This was supposed to indicate

-his “barked” shins.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Because Billy Bassett was always asking questions

-with his conundrums, he was shown as a

-great big question mark with the word “guess”

-underneath.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Sparrow Bangs sat on a branch with a flock of

-birds, singing with all his might, while in the

-bushes a hunter was taking careful aim and getting

-ready to fire.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Under most of the pictures there were verses

-that brought forth shrieks of laughter—usually

-from all, but sometimes from all but the recipient.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As a rule, it was pure fun without any sting in

-it, though Fred pointed out that the hair in the

-picture was a good deal redder than that which

-really waved over his freckled forehead. Pee Wee

-too was sure that he was not anyway near so big

-as the human mountain that his picture showed

-him to be.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was plenty of chaff and laughter as the

-boys pored over the valentines, and they would

-have gladly spent more time discussing them.

-But as Fred had said, Valentine’s Day was only

-a “fake” holiday, and the hard-hearted teachers

-insisted on lessons and recitations. So the pictures

-were hastily thrust into pockets until they

-had more time to look at them and the boys trooped

-over to the classrooms.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Several times through the morning’s work, they

-noticed that Tom Hicksley shot furious glances at

-them and this aroused their curiosity.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“His royal highness seems mighty sore about

-something this morning,” Fred whispered to

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Got out of bed the wrong foot first maybe,”

-replied Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I hope he’s got something to feel sore about,”

-snapped Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>What that something was they learned after the

-lessons were over, and they stood chattering with

-their friends, a little way off from the main building.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley came up to them, accompanied by Bronson

-and Jinks. There was an ugly look in the

-bully’s eyes and he held a folded sheet of paper

-in his hand.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Which one of you boobs sent me this valentine?”

-he asked threateningly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How do you know that any of us did?” replied

-Bobby in Yankee fashion, answering a question by

-asking one.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I know that some of you did, because you

-butted in on me before,” replied Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“When was that?” asked Fred aggravatingly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You know well enough,” growled Hicksley,

-who was not any too anxious to recall his bully-ragging

-of the old soldier.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, yes, I remember,” put in Mouser, as

-though he had just thought of it. “You remember,

-fellows, how Hicksley reached out his foot and

-tried to trip the old man up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I didn’t,” cried Hicksley untruthfully. “He

-fell over it by accident.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And I suppose it was an accident that you kept

-at him with the feather so that he couldn’t get any

-sleep?” retorted Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s neither here nor there,” snarled

-Hicksley, dodging the matter. “What I want to know

-is which one of you sent this valentine?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do if you find out?”

-asked Bobby innocently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m going to give him a trimming that he’ll remember,”

-growled Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bronson and Jinks ranged up alongside of him

-as though to assure him of their support, and it

-looked as if trouble were coming.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Give it to him good and plenty, Tom,” said

-Bronson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The whole bunch of them need a licking,”

-added Jinks.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It will take more than you to give it to us,”

-blazed out Fred defiantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The bullies were much larger and stronger than

-any of the boys opposed to them. On the other

-hand, the smaller boys had a larger number, so

-that if a tussle did come, the forces would be about

-equal.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What is this valentine you’re making all this

-fuss about?” demanded Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here it is,” cried Hicksley furiously, thrusting

-it forward. “And I’m going to make the fellow

-that sent it pay for it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys crowded round and looked at it curiously,

-at the same time keeping wary eyes on the

-bullies.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The picture was fairly well done, and had evidently

-taken a great deal of work and time on the

-part of the one who had made it. It represented

-a boy taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten.

-The boy was grinning, and the kitten was pawing

-wildly about, trying to get back its mouse.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>To make sure there could be no mistake, the

-kitten had a card around its neck bearing the

-words, “I am blind,” and under the figure of the

-boy was scrawled the name, “Tom Hicksley.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley’s

-temper rose to the boiling point.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Own up now, which one of you did it,” he demanded

-fiercely.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom

-Hicksley,” said Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you suppose the picture means?” inquired

-Mouser, as though he could not quite make

-it out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I think it means that the fellow who would take

-a dead mouse from a blind kitten is about as mean

-as they make them,” put in Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I

-shouldn’t wonder,” added Shiner, pouring oil on

-the flames.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Are you going to tell me who did it?” snarled

-Hicksley once more, snatching back the valentine,

-which he now regretted having shown, and doubling

-up his fist.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I would have done it if I’d thought of it,”

-Fred came back at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley sprang forward, followed by Bronson

-and Jinks.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys stood their ground and there was a

-wild mix-up. In a moment they were all down in

-the snow in a flying tangle of arms and legs.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was no telling how the tussle would have

-terminated, though Hicksley was getting his face

-well washed with snow that the boys were cramming

-into his mouth and eyes, when a shout arose:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Cheese it, fellows, there’s a teacher coming!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The combatants scrambled to their feet and

-scurried in all directions, and when Mr. Leith, the

-head teacher, arrived on the spot, there was no one

-to be seen.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby and his friends found themselves, red,

-panting and uproariously happy, in their dormitory,

-where they flung their books upon their beds

-and fairly danced about with glee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I jammed so much snow in Tom Hicksley’s

-mouth that I bet he’ll taste it for a month,” chortled

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They tackled the wrong bunch that time,” gurgled

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They thought we’d run,” chuckled Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wasn’t that a dandy valentine?” demanded

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What a fool he was to show it,” grinned Pee

-Wee. “Now it’ll go all over the school.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who do you suppose sent it?” wondered

-Shiner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d give a dollar to know,” declared Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“All right,” grinned Sparrow, holding out his

-hand. “Pass over the dollar.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You?” cried the other boys in chorus.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIX<br /> <br />SPRING PRACTICE</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>“I’m the fellow who did it,” admitted Sparrow

-modestly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sparrow, old scout, you’re a wonder!” cried

-Mouser, clapping him on the back.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It hit him right where he lived,” chuckled

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That pays him up for scattering ashes on the

-hill,” grinned Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’ll never hear the last of it as long as he

-stays in school,” said Shiner. “Every once in a

-while a dead mouse will turn up on his desk and

-make him hopping mad.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’ll never be much madder than he was this

-morning,” put in Skeets. “His eyes were fairly

-snapping.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bronson and Jinks got theirs, too,” said Pee

-Wee. “I guess they’ll think twice before they

-pick on the other fellows again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’ve been rather quiet since the goat tumbled

-them over at our last initiation,” laughed

-Bobby, referring to an incident of the previous

-term, “but since Hicksley came they’ve been getting

-ugly again. I guess what they got this morning

-will hold them for a while.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, the bullies did seem to be

-somewhat dashed by the stout resistance that the

-smaller boys had put up and they did not refer to

-the valentine again. They were only too willing

-to have it forgotten, and Tom Hicksley ground his

-teeth more than once at not having kept it to himself.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Spring was now at hand, coming this year a little

-earlier than usual. The snow disappeared

-from the ground, the ice vanished from the lake,

-and the soft winds that blew up from the south

-turned the thoughts of the boys to track games and

-baseball.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred and Bobby had done a good deal of practicing

-in the gymnasium and were in prime condition.

-But actual practice on the diamond was

-the real thing they wanted, and they were delighted

-when the ground had dried out enough to play in

-the open air.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank Durrock had been busy for a month past,

-getting all the details perfected for the entrance

-of Rockledge into the Monatook Lake League.

-But now everything was ready and he could devote

-himself to picking the members of the team.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This proved to be no easy matter. An

-unusually large number of good players were at

-Rockledge, and the struggle for places on the nine

-was interesting and exciting.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It seemed that Bobby should play in the pitcher’s

-box and Fred at short stop. They had both

-done exceedingly well at those positions the previous

-spring and fall. But there was a new boy,

-Willis by name, who had been a good short stop

-on his home nine before he had come to the school,

-and it seemed to be a toss up between him and

-Fred as to who could do better in the position.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby, too, had rivalry to face in the person of

-Tom Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>On the first day that they actually had field practice,

-Hicksley came out on the ball ground in an

-old uniform that proclaimed that he had once been

-a member of the “Eagles” of Cresskill, his native

-town.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank knew that he had been a pitcher, and so

-he put him in the box and had him toss up some

-balls for the rest of the team in batting practice.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And Hicksley did exceedingly well. Whatever

-his defects in character, he certainly knew how to

-pitch. He had a good outcurve, a fair incurve

-and a high fast ball that Bobby himself generously

-declared to be a “peach.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley’s height and strength, too, were greater

-than Bobby’s, which was not to be wondered at

-when it was considered that he was three years

-older. But he was inclined to be a little wild, and

-his control was not as good as Bobby’s.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But what made his work of special interest to

-Frank was that he pitched with his left hand.

-Most of the pitchers in the new league were right-handed,

-and the boys were used to hitting that kind

-of pitching.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank felt that with a left-handed pitcher he

-would have the other fellows all at sea when it

-came to “lining them out,” and for that reason

-he watched Hicksley with the closest attention.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He puts them over all right,” conceded Bobby,

-as he watched Hicksley winging them over the

-plate.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Fred, “when he gets them over at

-all. But lots of them don’t even cut the corners.

-He’ll give too many bases on balls.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And a base on balls is as good for the fellow

-that gets it as a base hit,” commented Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“His arm seems to be all right, but we don’t

-know how he’ll act when he gets in a pinch,” said

-Skeets dubiously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes Bobby so strong as a

-pitcher,” said Shiner. “No matter how tight a

-hole he finds himself in, he’s cool as an iceberg.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” remarked Pee Wee, who was too

-fat and too slow to play himself, but was an ardent

-rooter for the home team. “I’ve never seen

-Bobby get rattled yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s because there isn’t a bit of yellow in

-him,” said Fred, throwing his arm affectionately

-about his chum’s shoulder.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And I’ll bet that Hicksley has a yellow streak

-in him a yard wide,” snapped Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh he may not be that way when it comes to

-baseball,” remonstrated Bobby who always tried

-to be fair. “At any rate he ought to have a chance

-to show what he can do before we make up our

-minds about him. You fellows know that I don’t

-like him a bit more than you do, but that doesn’t

-say he may not be a good baseball player.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Jinks was not on the nine, but Bronson, who was

-a good batter and a fair fielder, was expected to

-play center field. They were both delighted at

-the showing that their crony was making and were

-loud in their applause. Their praise was so extravagant

-in fact that it was clear that they did it

-to depreciate Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re the best pitcher we ever had at Rockledge,

-Tom,” cried Bronson, casting a side glance

-at Bobby to make sure that he heard.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You lay over them all,” crowed Jinks.

-“There’s no one else can hold a candle to you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Here, cut that out, you fellows,” called Frank

-Durrock sharply. “Blake has proved what he can

-do and I don’t want any talk like that. He won

-both of the last games he pitched against Belden,

-and any one who can do better than he did will

-have to be going some.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You bet they will,” cried Fred loyally, and

-there was a round of hand clapping from the other

-boys, with most of whom Bobby was a prime favorite.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank’s hearty defense put Bobby on his mettle,

-and when his turn came to put the balls over, he

-did so with a snap and skill that delighted his

-friends.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The practice all around was sharp and spirited,

-and Frank was greatly encouraged as he saw how

-well the team took hold. But it would not do to

-play too long on the first day, and after an hour or

-so, he called a halt.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We want to keep an eye on those fellows,

-Bobby,” remarked Fred a little uneasily as they

-were going toward the school. “They’re going

-to crowd you out if they can.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let them try,” replied Bobby. “I’m going to

-try my best to hold up my end with Hicksley and

-beat him if I can. But if he can prove that he’s a

-better pitcher than I am, I won’t kick if I have to

-play second fiddle. I’d be willing to do anything

-to help Rockledge win.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XX<br /> <br />THE SUGAR CAMP</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>An untimely snow storm that was wholly unlooked

-for by the boys dismayed them by putting a

-stop to their practice for the time being. But the

-snow, though heavy, did not last long, and began to

-melt rapidly under the rays of the sun.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“See how the water is running down those

-trees,” remarked Shiner, looking out of the window

-one Friday morning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That isn’t water, boy,” said Sparrow.

-“That’s sap. The trees are bursting with it just

-now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“By the way, fellows,” put in Skeets, “have

-you ever been to a maple sugar camp when the sap

-was running?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Most of them had not and Skeets went on to

-explain.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s the best fun ever,” he said; “and now’s

-just the time to see it running full blast when the

-snow is melting and the air is warm. On a day

-like this the sap comes down in bucketfuls. And

-you can see just how they collect it, and how they

-boil it down until it’s a thick syrup, and the way

-that hot maple sugar does taste—yum yum!” and

-here he closed his eyes in blissful recollection.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sounds mighty good to me,” said Pee Wee,

-with whom the memory of Meena and her breakfast

-of buckwheat cakes and maple syrup still

-lingered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You can take out the hot sugar in big spoons

-and let it cool on a pan of snow,” continued Skeets,

-drawing out the details as he saw that his friends’

-mouths were watering in anticipation, “and when

-you get the first taste of it you never want to stop

-eating.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wonder if there’s a sugar camp anywhere

-around here,” said Pee Wee with great animation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I know of one that’s about three miles away,”

-said Sparrow. “What do you say to our making

-up a party and going out there to-morrow if Doc

-Raymond will let us go out of bounds?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a general chorus of gleeful assent.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What we ought to do,” said Skeets, “is to have

-a couple of fellows go out there to-day and make

-arrangements. We want to take up a collection

-and fix it up with the farmer’s wife to have hot

-biscuits and other things ready for us. I tell you

-what, fellows, hot biscuits and fresh butter and

-hot thick maple sugar just out of the boiler—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t say another word,” cried Pee Wee

-frantically, “or I’ll never, never be able to wait till

-to-morrow.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They took stock of their resources and collected

-several dollars between them, enough they thought

-to cover the expense. Bobby and Fred were appointed

-as a committee of two to go out to the

-camp that afternoon so that everything would be

-in readiness on the morrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond’s permission was readily obtained,

-and the chums set out on their three mile

-walk. They had no trouble in finding the camp

-and the farmer’s wife, a bright, cheery person,

-was very ready to entertain the party and promised

-to have an abundant lunch provided for them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys would have dearly liked to inspect the

-camp, but they had promised their chums that

-they would not do so until all could see it together,

-and they kept loyally to their word.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>No finer day could have been selected for that

-particular outing than the one that dawned the

-next morning. The air was mild and the sun shining

-brightly. The only drawback was the walking,

-as the roads were full of mud in some places and

-melting slush in others, but as they were all

-warmly shod that made little difference.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee groaned occasionally as he lagged

-along in the rear, but they had no fear of his dropping

-out. It would have taken a good deal more

-than a three-mile walk to keep Pee Wee away from

-that sugar camp after Skeets’s description.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There it is,” cried Fred at last, pointing to a

-big grove of trees in the rear of a farmhouse.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee sniffed the air.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Seems to me I can smell the sugar cooking

-from here,” he said joyously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They left the road now, took a short cut across

-the fields and soon entered the grove of maples.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was an extensive grove, containing several

-hundred of the stately trees. Into each one of

-these that had reached their full growth a hole

-had been made, a spigot driven in, and a bright

-tin pail suspended from each spigot. Into these

-pails the sap was falling with a musical drip so

-that a tinkling murmur ran through the grove

-as though some one were gently touching the

-strings of a zither.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>An old horse attached to a low sled was shambling

-slowly along through the woodland paths,

-stopping at each tree. The driver would empty

-the pail into one of several large cans that the

-sled contained, replace the pail and go on to the

-next.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Seems almost a shame to tap those splendid

-trees,” murmured Mouser. “It’s almost like

-bleeding them to death.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t do them a bit of harm,” explained

-Skeets cheerfully. “The farmers take good care

-not to drain out more sap than the tree can spare.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>When the sled had made its round, the boys followed

-it to the shed where the sap was boiled

-down into sugar. Here they saw an enormous

-caldron with a roaring fire underneath. Into this

-caldron the sap was poured, and here its transformation

-began. A delicious odor arose that made

-the nostrils of the boys dilate hungrily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Every little while, the man who was supervising

-the boiling drew out a huge ladleful to see how

-thick it was getting. At a certain stage he turned

-to the boys with a grin.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Each one of you take one of those pans,” he

-directed, pointing to a bright row of dairy tins

-which the housewife had made ready. “Fill them

-up with snow and pack the snow down hard.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In a twinkling the boys were ready. Then, as

-each held up his pan, the man poured a big ladle of

-the hot syrup on the snow. The rich golden brown

-against the whiteness of the snow would have delighted

-the soul of an artist. But these lads were

-not artists, only hungry boys, and their only concern

-was to get the sugar cool enough to eat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Pee Wee in fact burned his lips and tongue by

-starting too soon, but he soon forgot a trifle like

-that, and in a moment more he and the others were

-eating as if they had never tasted anything so

-good in all their lives.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hot biscuits coming, boys,” smiled the farmer.

-“Better leave some room.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let them come,” mumbled Mouser with his

-mouth full of sugar. “None of them will go away

-again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And they made good this prophecy when a little

-later they were called into the farmhouse, where a

-table was spread, heaped high with fluffy biscuits

-just from the oven. On these the boys spread butter

-and then piled them up with the delicious

-syrup. There were other things on the table too,

-pickles and pies and cakes, but to these the boys

-paid slight attention. They could have those any

-day, but to-day maple sugar was king.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>When at length they were through, they all

-acknowledged to having eaten more than was good

-for them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to use a derrick to get Pee Wee on

-his feet,” laughed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And borrow the horse and sled to take him

-back to school,” said Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But it was not quite so bad as that, though after

-they started back the other boys had to moderate

-their gait in order not to leave Pee Wee too far

-behind.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hurry up, Pee Wee,” admonished Skeets.

-“You’re slow as molasses.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Slow as maple syrup when it’s cooling,”

-amended Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, fellows, this has sure been a bully trip,”

-remarked Shiner, summing up the sentiments of

-all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“This is the end of a perfect day,” Fred chanted

-gayly, lifting up his voice in song.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXI<br /> <br />THE FIRST GAME</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Notwithstanding Fred’s jubilant song, the day

-was not yet ended.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As the boys approached the school, they saw a

-figure in the road a little way ahead that seemed

-familiar to them. They quickened their pace,

-quickly overtaking Dago Joe.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hello, Joe,” came from many voices at once.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Joe flashed them a smile, showing his fine, white

-teeth.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hello,” he answered genially.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wonder if he’s as fond of hash as ever,” Fred

-remarked in a low voice to Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What are you doing up this way, Joe?” asked

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looking for any one?” inquired Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Joe was wary and refused to be drawn out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Can’t get that old fox to give himself away,”

-muttered Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Just then Tom Hicksley approached, accompanied

-by Bronson and Jinks. They caught sight

-of Joe at the same time that he saw them, and

-tried to retreat. Bronson and Jinks succeeded,

-but Joe was too quick for Hicksley, and hurrying

-forward laid his hand on his arm, while he jabbered

-away excitedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ha ha!” exclaimed Fred in a tragic way. “I

-see it all now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s boning Hicksley for something,” guessed

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Money, I’ll bet,” ventured Shiner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I shouldn’t wonder if it’s on account of that

-job he did for those fellows, hauling those ashes,”

-said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wasn’t it luck that we happened along just at

-this minute?” chuckled Mouser delightedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As Joe and Hicksley were right in the path that

-led up to the school, the boys sauntered along carelessly

-until they were nearly abreast of them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For a man who understood so little English, Joe

-was talking at a great rate.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wanta ze mon,” the boys heard him say.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I tell you I haven’t got it with me just now,”

-Hicksley responded in an undertone, trying to

-quiet the man and keep the boys from hearing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wanta ze mon now,” repeated Joe doggedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, give the man his money, Hicksley,” broke

-in Sparrow suddenly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He needs it to buy hash with,” said the irrepressible

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s take up a collection to help out,” suggested

-Skeets sarcastically.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You fellows shut up,” cried Hicksley, turning

-on them fiercely.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We know how he earned it,” returned Bobby

-undauntedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You don’t know anything of the kind,” snarled

-the bully, but his eyes wavered as they met

-Bobby’s fixed upon them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was pretty hard work carting ashes all that

-way to spoil our coast,” went on Bobby. “You’d

-better pony up, Hicksley.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”

-growled Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But as he did not like the way the boys were

-gathering around him, he put his hand in his

-pocket, drew out the dollar and a half that he had

-promised to pay when the work should be finished

-and which he had ever since been trying to cheat

-Joe out of, and slunk away, glad to escape the contempt

-that he felt in the eyes and manner of the

-boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Caught with the goods!” cried Fred jubilantly,

-throwing his cap into the air.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t have been nicer if we’d planned it

-ourselves,” exulted Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, now that we’re sure that he did it, what

-are we going to do about it?” asked Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, I guess there’s nothing to be done,” said

-Bobby slowly. “If it wasn’t that he’s likely to be

-on the baseball team we might make it hot for him.

-Not with the teachers of course, but among ourselves.

-But we want Rockledge to win the championship,

-and it won’t help any to have trouble

-with any boy on the nine. Besides, he’s had a

-good deal of punishment just in the last few minutes.

-I never saw a fellow look as cheap as he did

-when he faded away just now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I guess you’re right, Bobby,” assented Sparrow.

-“But all the same he wouldn’t let up on you

-if he had you in a fix.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The next day they all felt rather logy after their

-feast of the day before, and Pee Wee, who had a

-severe stomach ache, did not get up at all. Fortunately

-it was Sunday, and the day of rest helped

-to get them in shape again before their school

-duties began on Monday morning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>From that time on the weather was all that the

-boys could ask, and every hour the ball players

-could spare was spent in practice on the diamond.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Gradually, under the coaching of Mr. Carrier,

-their athletic instructor, ably assisted by Frank

-Durrock, the nine was getting into good form.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred, at short stop, was thought to be a shade

-better than Willis, and he was slated to play in the

-first game.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As to the pitchers, while there was no doubt that

-they would be Bobby and Hicksley, it was by no

-means certain which of them would twirl in the

-opening game, which was to be with the Somerset

-nine on the Rockledge grounds.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Each was doing well, and each had some points

-that the other did not possess. Hicksley, the older

-of the two, had more muscular strength, and could

-whip the ball over with more speed than Bobby.

-But Bobby was a better general, a quicker thinker,

-and he had a control of his curves that was far

-better than his rival’s.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“One thing is certain,” said Mr. Carrier, in one

-of his conferences with Frank. “We’re better

-fixed in the box than we ever were before. It’s

-hard to choose between them, though, take all

-things together, I think Blake is the better pitcher

-of the two.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Frank. “I feel a little safer myself

-with Bobby in there than I do with Hicksley.

-Hicksley has lots of speed but he’s liable to go up

-with a bang. But I’ve never yet seen Bobby get

-rattled.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The long expected day arrived at last, and all

-Rockledge turned out to see the game. The stand

-was full, and Dr. Raymond himself, with most of

-the teachers, sat in a little space that had been

-railed off and decorated with the Rockledge colors.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The Somerset nine, made up of strong, sturdy

-looking boys, had come over with a large number

-of rooters from their town. They were full of

-confidence, and they went through their preliminary

-practice with a snap and a vim that showed

-they were good players.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank had watched them as they batted out flies,

-and noted that several of them were left-handed

-batters. He held an anxious conference with Mr.

-Carrier, and then came over to Bobby who was

-warming up.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I had expected to have you pitch to-day,

-Bobby,” he said; “but I’ve just been noticing that

-those fellows have two or three left-handed batters.

-Now you know as well as I do that for that

-kind it’s best to have left-handed pitching. They

-can’t hit it so easily.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sure,” replied Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And so I think I’ll have to put in Hicksley,”

-continued Frank.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” said Bobby heartily, “and

-I’ll be rooting my head off for him to win.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re a brick, Bobby!” exclaimed Frank. “I

-was sure you’d understand.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>When the umpire cried: “Play ball!” there was

-a buzz of surprise among the spectators, when, instead

-of Bobby, it was Tom Hicksley who picked

-up the ball and faced the batter.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXII<br /> <br />TO THE RESCUE</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Hicksley started off in good shape. The first

-man up went out on a foul that Sparrow caught

-after a long run. The second batter, who was left-handed,

-could do nothing with the ball at all and

-went out on strikes. The third man connected and

-shot a sharp grounder which Fred picked up neatly

-and threw in plenty of time to Durrock at first.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The side was out, and hearty applause greeted

-Hicksley as he came in to the bench, Bobby joining

-in as heartily as any of the others.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was a dandy start!” cried Bronson.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Keep it up, Tom!” exclaimed Jinks, encouragingly.

-“They can’t touch you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Rockledge was more fortunate in its half of the

-inning. Frank, who led off in the batting order,

-had two halls and one strike called on him, but on

-his second attempt he sent the ball on a line between

-center and right for three bases. He was

-tempted to try to stretch it to a home run, but

-Bobby, who was coaching, saw that the ball would

-get there before him and held him at third.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The next batter fouled out, but Mouser, who followed

-him, sent a neat single to left on which Frank

-scored easily. Barry went out on strikes, and

-Mouser was left on the bag when Spentz died on a

-weak dribbler to the box.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Rockledge was one run to the good and had

-shown that they were in a batting humor, so that

-their rooters in the stand were jubilant at the

-promising beginning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The next two innings went by without a score for

-either side. Hicksley was still pitching well, and

-the opposing pitcher had tightened up considerably.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In the fourth, Somerset broke the ice. The first

-man up laid down a bunt that Hicksley picked up,

-but threw wild to Durrock, and the batter reached

-second before the ball was recovered. A neat sacrifice

-put him on third, from which he scored on a

-long fly to right, which Spentz gobbled after a

-long run, but could not return to the plate in time

-to catch the man running in from third after the

-out. No further damage was done as Fred and

-Durrock disposed of the batter, but the score was

-tied, and it was Somerset’s turn to cheer.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Rockledge got the run right back again in

-the fifth, and added one for good measure. Fred

-smashing out a rattling two-bagger to left. He

-stole third on the first ball pitched. Two infield

-flies followed, and it began to look as though

-Fred’s hit had gone for nothing. Then Mouser

-brought the stand yelling to its feet by a clean

-home run, following Fred over the plate and making

-the score three to one.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>His comrades gathered around him, pawing and

-mauling him exultantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call hitting it a mile!” cried

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A lallapaloozer!” shouted Fred, doing a war

-dance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A peach!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A pippin!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re all there, Mouser!” yelled Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser grinned appreciatively at the medley of

-shouts that greeted him, and then retired to the

-bench, where he sat panting and happy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Radford, the Somerset pitcher, pulled himself

-together and retired the next man on strikes, and

-Somerset came in for its turn at the bat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Go for ’em now, fellows!” shouted their supporters.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Eat ’em up!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Get right after ’em!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The game’s young yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Hicksley, encouraged by the two-run lead

-his team had handed him, was still more than they

-could solve, and again they went out into the

-field runless.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The Rockledge boys also had a goose egg for

-their portion in their half, but this did not worry

-them much. The game was two thirds over, and

-at that stage a lead of two runs looked mighty good

-to them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But in the seventh inning their confidence began

-to give way to anxiety. Hicksley began well by

-retiring the first man on strikes. But then he

-began to lose control. Two batters in succession

-were given their bases on balls. A fine pickup of

-Fred’s disposed of the next batter at first, each of

-the others advancing a base on the play. There

-was only one other to be put out and end the inning

-without a run being recorded.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the next batter landed square on the ball,

-which whizzed like a bullet between first and second,

-and in a jiffy two runs came over the plate,

-tying the score. The batter reached second on the

-play and then imprudently tried to make third. A

-quick throw to Sparrow caught him ten feet from

-the bag and the side was out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley came in shaking and with a strained

-look in his face. The Rockledge rooters yelled encouragement

-to him, but he paid no attention to

-them and sat moping sullenly on the bench.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Frank and Mr. Carrier had a hurried consultation,

-and then the former came over to Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’d better get out there at one side and

-warm up,” he directed him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby did as ordered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do?” demanded Hicksley

-in a surly tone. “Take me out and put that

-fellow in?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not yet,” answered Frank soothingly.

-“You’ve had a bad inning, but that can happen

-to any one. Perhaps you’ll be all right after

-a rest. We’ll see how you start out the next inning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened,

-had taken a mighty brace, and Rockledge

-went out in one, two, three order.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley took up his position in the box with an

-air of confidence that Frank felt was assumed.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a

-strike. The next two were balls. Then followed

-another strike and a third ball, making the count

-three and two.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>With both batter and pitcher “in the hole,” the

-next was a hall and the batter capered happily

-down to first.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Durrock walked over to Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How about it, Hicksley?” he asked.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let me alone,” growled Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing

-his mate to second.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley now was plainly cracking, and when

-he issued another “pass,” filling the bases, Frank

-motioned him to retire and beckoned Bobby to the

-box.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley glared at Bobby as the latter came forward.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sorry, Hicksley,” said Bobby regretfully, as

-he reached out for the ball. “You pitched a dandy

-game for the first six innings.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, you’re sorry a lot,” snarled Hicksley.

-“You’re tickled to death at the chance to show me

-up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Instead of handing the ball to Bobby, he threw

-it angrily on the ground and slouched away to the

-bench.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby’s eyes flashed, but he controlled himself,

-quietly picked up the ball and took his position in

-the box. It was no time now to get angry when he

-needed above all things to keep cool.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a trying position for so young a player.

-The bases were full with no one out, and the

-Somerset rooters were yelling at the top of their

-lungs, trying to rattle him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A clean hit would bring in at least one run, probably

-two. Even a long fly to the outfield would

-probably enable the man on third to score.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Go to it, Bobby, old boy!” called Fred from

-short.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You can hold them!” encouraged Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re all behind you, Bobby!” sang out Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby sized up the batter and wound up for the

-first pitch.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIII<br /> <br />THE EGG AND THE FAN</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The ball whizzed over the plate, cutting an outside

-corner for a strike.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The Rockledge rooters regarded this as a good

-omen and greeted it with wild shouts. They all

-had a warm spot in their hearts for Bobby, and

-they had been disgusted at the unsportsmanlike

-way in which Hicksley had left the box.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The next ball was a high fast one, at which the

-batter refused to bite.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby had seen out of the corner of his eye that

-the occupant of the third bag was taking too big

-a lead. As the ball came back to him from the

-catcher, he suddenly turned and shot it to third.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The runner tried frantically to get back, but

-Sparrow had the ball on him like a flash.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’re out!” shouted the umpire.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” yelled Fred. “That was nice

-work, Bobby.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This relieved the pressure somewhat, and the

-crowd breathed more freely.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the danger was still threatening, and the

-batter was the captain of the Somerset team and

-one of its best hitters. He fouled off the next two.

-On his third attempt, he chopped a bounder to

-Mouser at second, who made a clever stop and

-threw him out at first, while the runners each advanced

-a base.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Two down,” cried Sparrow from third.

-“You’re getting them, Bobby. Keep it up.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby now put on all steam. There was only

-one more inning after this one, and he did not

-need to save his arm. He sent two outcurves in

-succession. Each went for a strike. Then when

-the batter was set for another of the same kind,

-Bobby outguessed him with a straight fast one,

-and the ball plunked into the catcher’s mitt for an

-out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a chorus of cheers from the Rockledge

-rooters as Bobby drew off his glove and

-came in to the bench.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call getting out of a hole,”

-cried one.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The bases full and nobody out and yet they

-couldn’t score,” shouted another.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll give you a run this time, Bobby, and all

-you’ll need to do then will be to hold them down in

-the ninth,” prophesied Frank, as he selected his

-bat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He started in to make his words good by

-cracking out a single on the second ball pitched. A sacrifice

-bunt to the right of the pitcher’s box advanced

-him to second. The next batter went out

-on an infield fly that held Frank anchored to the

-bag. Barry was given his base on balls. Then

-Spentz walloped a corker to left, on which Frank

-scored and Barry reached third. A moment later

-a quick throw caught him napping and the side was

-out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re in the lead now, Bobby,” exulted Fred,

-as Rockledge took the field. “Put the kibosh on

-them just once more and we’re all right.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Make this inning short and sweet, old scout!”

-sang out Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And short and sweet was what Bobby made it.

-He was on his mettle, and put every bit of control

-he had upon the ball. Despite the frantic efforts

-of the Somerset coachers to rattle him, he kept perfectly

-cool. Victory was too close now for him

-to let it go.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The first batter up knocked a high foul to Sparrow,

-who held it tight. The next sent a weak

-bounder to Frank, which he tossed to Bobby, who

-had run over to cover the bag. Then Bobby shattered

-the last hope of Somerset by striking out the

-last man on three pitched balls.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The Rockledge rooters, wild with delight,

-rushed down from the stands and gathered about

-their favorites, who were grinning happily. They

-had played a good game and deserved to win, but

-Bobby, because of his gallant stand when the team

-had its back against the wall, came in naturally

-for the lion’s share of the applause.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That was some sweet pitching all right.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You had them standing on their heads.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Your nerve was right with you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Wait till he tackles Belden. He’ll show them

-a thing or two.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m glad we pulled through all right,” said

-Bobby modestly. “All the boys put up a dandy

-game. And don’t forget that Hicksley held them

-down splendidly in the first part of the game.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” conceded Mouser. “But when it

-came to the pinch he cracked.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He couldn’t stand the gaff,” put in Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Any pitcher will get knocked out of the box

-sometimes,” argued Bobby. “Then, too, he had

-been pitching six hard innings and was tired. I

-was fresh when I went in and only had two innings

-to pitch.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley had left the bench as soon as the last

-man was out. He could not bear to wait to see the

-praise that he knew would be showered on his

-rival. He had been joined by Jinks and Bronson,

-and the three were now slouching grumpily toward

-the school buildings.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t seem as if they were tickled to death

-because Rockledge won,” commented Fred, as he

-looked at the group.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, the rest of us are, anyway,” cried Sparrow.

-“We’ve made a mighty good start, taking

-the first game.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I can see the pennant flying from that pole

-already,” jubilated Skeets, pointing to the flagstaff

-back of center field.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ve got dandy eyesight, Skeets,” laughed

-Bobby. “We’ve got a long way to go yet.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“One swallow doesn’t make a summer,” cautioned

-Frank, who, while he was as pleased as the

-rest, did not want his team to be too confident.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And if the Ridgefield nine is as good as the

-Somersets, we’ll have our work cut out for us,”

-remarked Mouser. “Those fellows gave us all we

-wanted to do to win.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They put up a bully fight,” agreed Shiner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Doctor Raymond came down among the boys to

-congratulate them on the victory they had won for

-the school, and Mr. Carrier was even more enthusiastic

-over the success of his charges.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ve made a fine start, boys, and I’m proud

-of you,” he told them. “Now, don’t let down a

-bit, but keep it right up to the finish of the season.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We will.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Trust us.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ve only begun to fight.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s the right spirit,” said Mr. Carrier,

-smiling. “And now to make you feel better, I’m

-going to tell you that I’ve just received a telegram

-that Ridgefield whipped Belden this afternoon

-by seven to three.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A tremendous shout arose at this. They had

-counted on Belden as the rival from whom they

-had the most to fear, and they were immensely

-pleased to learn that it had begun the season with

-a defeat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a jubilant throng of boys that made their

-way toward the school buildings that afternoon.

-They knew that a rocky road lay ahead of them,

-but a good deal depended upon the start, and it

-was a great thing to know that they had the lead on

-the other fellows.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hicksley acted like a game sport this afternoon

-when he threw the ball down in the box instead of

-handing it to you,” remarked Fred, with whom the

-incident rankled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, well,” said Bobby, “you must make some

-allowance for him. It was natural that he should

-feel sore.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That isn’t the point,” persisted Fred. “A

-thoroughbred might have felt sore, but he wouldn’t

-have shown it. I tell you, Bobby, you want to look

-out for that fellow. If you could have seen the

-way he looked at you while you were pitching.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Looks don’t hurt,” Bobby flung back carelessly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But a few days later an incident occurred which

-showed that Hicksley was willing to go much

-further than looks in his hatred of his rival.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was one of those unseasonably warm days

-that sometimes come in the spring. Recitations

-were being held in the classroom of Mr. Leith, the

-head teacher, and in order to make the air cooler

-the electric fan had been set going.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The seats of Hicksley, Bronson and Jinks were

-just behind those of Bobby and Fred, and were in

-the rear of the room.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The lessons were proceeding as usual, when suddenly

-there was a crash, and something wet and

-sticky and evil smelling was scattered over the

-room. Almost all the boys got some of it, and a

-large yellow splash showed against the immaculate

-white shirt of Mr. Leith himself.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Somebody had thrown an egg into the electric

-fan! And it was a very old egg, as was proved by

-the vile odor which spread through the classroom.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIV<br /> <br />AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The whirling fan, going at tremendous speed,

-had scattered the contents of the egg far and wide,

-and hardly any one had escaped.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For a moment there was a stunned silence.

-Then a roar of laughter broke from the boys. To

-them it seemed a capital joke.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Mr. Leith did not laugh. His black eyes

-snapped and his face was pale with anger.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who did that?” he asked, as he took out his

-handkerchief and wiped the smear from the bosom

-of his shirt.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Naturally there was no answer. The laughter

-died out, and everything became as silent as the

-grave.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Such conduct is subversive of all discipline,”

-went on Mr. Leith in his stilted way and trying to

-get control of his voice. “If the boy who did that

-will confess, I will take that into account in the

-punishment I shall lay upon him. But no matter

-how long it takes, I am determined to find the culprit.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Still no answer.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well,” said Mr. Leith after waiting a moment,

-“I see that I shall have to question each one of you

-separately.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He called them up one by one, beginning at the

-front of the room, and each one denied knowing

-anything about it, Bobby among the rest. Then

-he came last to Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I didn’t do it,” said Hicksley; “but—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Then he stopped, as though he had gone further

-than he intended.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“But what?” queried the teacher sharply.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Nothing,” mumbled Hicksley, in apparent confusion.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You were going to say something else,” said

-Mr. Leith, “and I insist on knowing what it was.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley kept silent. He wanted to give the impression

-that if he told anything it would have to

-be dragged out of him against his will.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You had better tell me what you were going to

-say,” snapped the teacher severely, “or it will be

-the worse for you.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to tell on anybody,” said Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, then you know who threw it,” said Mr.

-Leith, brisking up like a hound on the trail.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” replied Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who was it?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to tell.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who was it, I say?” thundered Mr. Leith in

-exasperation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Blake,” blurted out Hicksley, as though he

-did not want to say it but had to yield to force.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby was thunderstruck, and for a minute the

-room seemed to be whirling around him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It isn’t true,” he cried, recovering himself.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s a—a whopper!” shouted Fred fiercely.

-“I was sitting right beside Bobby, and he didn’t

-throw it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Keep quiet, Martin,” commanded Mr. Leith.

-“Blake, come here.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby went forward and stood in front of the

-desk.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Why did you do a thing like that?” asked Mr.

-Leith.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I didn’t do it,” replied Bobby stoutly. “I was

-as surprised as any one else when it happened.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith beckoned to Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You say that Blake didn’t throw it,” he said.

-“Were you looking at him at the time?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“N-no, sir,” Fred had to confess, “I was looking

-at the blackboard. But I know I’d have noticed

-it if he had made any motion. Besides,” he

-added in his attempt to help his friend, “if Bobby

-had been going to do anything of that kind he’d

-have told me beforehand.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That isn’t proof,” remarked the teacher;

-“especially when Hicksley says that he actually

-saw him do it. Do you still stick to that, Hicksley?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes sir,” answered Hicksley, who was scared

-now at the tempest he had raised but had gone too

-far to back out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But he carefully avoided meeting the blazing

-eyes of Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Go to your seats,” Mr. Leith ordered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They obeyed, and as Hicksley sank down between

-Bronson and Jinks, he whispered in a panic:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t forget that you fellows have got to stand

-by me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith reflected for a moment.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Did any one else see Blake throw the egg?” he

-asked at length.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley nudged his cronies and both raised

-their hands.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I did,” came from both at once.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby half rose from his seat and Fred clenched

-his fists.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s not so!” exclaimed Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“The low-down skunks!” ejaculated Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith quieted them with a gesture.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He was a good man, and he tried to be just.

-But he had been sorely tried by this breach of

-discipline, and his dignity had received a severe

-shock. He could not forget the glaring yellow

-smear on his shirt front, and he felt that he had

-been made a laughing stock before his class.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He had always liked Bobby, who had stood high

-in his lessons and whose behavior in class had always

-been good. Yet it was possible that an impish

-spirit of mischief had suddenly taken possession

-of him, and that on the impulse of the moment

-he might have taken refuge in denial.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And there was the positive testimony of three

-witnesses that they had actually seen Bobby throw

-the egg. To be sure, he knew something of the

-character of those witnesses, and against any one

-of them he would have been inclined to take

-Bobby’s word in preference. But he knew nothing

-of the grudge the bullies held against Bobby,

-and to a man of his upright character it was inconceivable

-that three of them should make such a

-charge if it were not true.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He pondered the matter for several minutes,

-while the class waited breathlessly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I shall look into this matter further,” he finally

-announced; “but for the present, Blake, and

-until the affair is cleared up, you are not to take

-part in track sports or play on the baseball team.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXV<br /> <br />OFF FOR A SWIM</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Bobby sat as if stunned. There was bitter revolt

-in his heart against the injustice of it all.

-And, in addition, he felt as though he would like to

-get at Hicksley and thrash him well.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But for the moment he was helpless. The evidence

-was against him, and he was too proud to

-make any further protest or appeal to Mr. Leith.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>To the rest of the boys, the sentence came like a

-clap of thunder. They were fond of Bobby and

-believed he was telling the truth. They would

-have been sorry to see him punished for any reason.

-But it was not only the fact of the punishment,

-but the nature of it, that filled them with

-consternation. Bobby Blake off the ball team!

-Where would Rockledge be now in the race for

-the pennant of the Monatook Lake League?</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The lessons proceeded, but the class might as

-well have been dismissed at once, for only one

-thought filled the minds of all. And when at last

-the gong rang, there was a rush for Bobby on the

-campus, and a buzzing arose that resembled a hive

-of angry bees.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was well for the bullies that, sitting on the

-rear seats, they had slipped out of the door quickly

-and disappeared. They would surely have come

-to grief in the present excited condition of the

-boys.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred slammed his books so violently on the

-ground that he broke the strap that held them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just wait!” he stormed, “just wait! I’ll

-pitch into that Tom Hicksley the minute I see him,

-big as he is.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would have been bad enough of him to tell,

-even if Bobby had done it,” growled Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He ought to have his head knocked off,” raged

-Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Swell chance now we’ll have of winning the

-pennant,” groaned Shiner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Not a Chinaman’s chance,” mourned Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I can see us coming in as tail-enders,” prophesied

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Was such a dirty trick ever heard of?” wailed

-Billy Bassett, appealing to high heaven, as though

-even in his grief he was asking the answer to a

-riddle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby had had time now to get a grip on himself,

-and although his heart was hot within him,

-he was outwardly the coolest of them all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Tom Hicksley will pay for this all right,” he

-declared. “Some time the truth will come out and

-I hope it will be soon. I haven’t any doubt of

-course that he did it himself. Then he got cold

-feet when he saw how angry Mr. Leith was and

-fibbed out of it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Of course, he’d fib out of it!” exclaimed Fred.

-“Nobody who knows Tom Hicksley would expect

-him to do anything else. But why did he put it

-on you?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Because he’s sore at me, I suppose,” Bobby

-answered. “He’s always hated me since that

-afternoon on the train.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes, but he’s just as sore at the rest of us who

-butted in, as he calls it,” persisted Fred. “It’s

-something more than that, Bobby. It’s because

-you saved the game when he had almost lost it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s never forgiven you for that,” agreed

-Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well, whatever his reason was, I’m the goat all

-right,” said Bobby, in a feeble attempt to put the

-best face on the matter.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It isn’t only you, but it’s Rockledge that’s the

-goat,” amended Sparrow. “We’ll be licked out

-of our boots.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You fellows will have to play all the harder,”

-said Bobby. “Mr. Leith may change his mind

-when he comes to think it over. I have a hunch

-that Hicksley isn’t going to get away with such a

-whopper as that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have him by the throat and choke the

-truth out of him,” snapped Fred wrathfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It would be a pretty big job to get any truth

-out of that fellow,” grunted Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What did the old weather want to go and get

-so hot for all of a sudden?” burst out Pee Wee.

-“If it hadn’t been for that, the fan wouldn’t have

-been going and the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This kick against nature struck the boys as comical,

-and the laugh that followed cleared the air

-somewhat and relieved their excited feelings. But

-for the rest of the day and evening, there was

-but one topic that held the attention of any of

-them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby felt blue and depressed. He would

-rather have had any other penalty put on him than

-to be ordered not to play on the team. The very

-sight of his glove and uniform made him miserable.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It would have been bad enough, even if he had

-been guilty of that special bit of mischief. But

-then he would have “taken his medicine” with as

-good grace as possible. But it made him raging

-angry to feel that he had been made the victim of

-a contemptible plot by such a fellow as Tom

-Hicksley.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>What made it still more exasperating was the

-fact that he did not see any way to get at the real

-truth. Hicksley had been on the rear row of

-seats, and his only companions were Bronson and

-Jinks, who were just as bad as himself. No one

-but they had seen the egg thrown, if, as Bobby

-felt sure, Hicksley had thrown it. And now that

-they had put it on Bobby, they had to stand by the

-falsehood. One was as deep in the mud as the

-others were in the mire, and there was not a chance

-in the world of their confessing.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It hurt Bobby, too, to know that he rested under

-a cloud in the eyes of Mr. Leith, who had practically

-told him that afternoon that he did not believe

-him. He was a truthful boy and it came

-hard to have his word questioned.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>All the next morning he was gloomy and downhearted.

-In the afternoon, Fred, like the loyal

-friend he was, tried to get his mind off his troubles

-by suggesting that they go swimming.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t let’s go to the lake this time,” said Fred.

-“Let’s go to Beekman’s Pond up in the woods.

-There’s a dandy place there for diving.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a little early in the season yet for a

-swim, but the warm weather, which still continued,

-made the prospect an agreeable one. So, shortly

-after dinner, having received permission to go

-out of bounds, Bobby and Fred with half a dozen

-of the other boys started out for the pond.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows,” asked Billy as they trudged

-along, “what’s the dif—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There goes the human question mark again,”

-interrupted Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s not to blame, he was born that way,” said

-Skeets with large toleration.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Honestly, Billy,” chaffed Fred, “I don’t believe

-you can say a single sentence that isn’t a

-question.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Can’t I?” said Billy, a little nettled.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There! what did I tell you?” said Fred, trapping

-him neatly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys roared, and even Billy grinned.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well,” he said, “I might as well have the game

-as the name. What’s the difference—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Stop him, somebody,” cried Sparrow, wringing

-his hands in pretended agony.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Billy looked at him scornfully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, let him get it out,” said Bobby resignedly.

-“Go ahead, Billy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Shoot,” said Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the difference,” asked Billy, “between

-a fisherman and a lazy scholar?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ask Pee Wee,” replied Skeets. “He ought

-to know.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee isn’t a fisherman,” objected Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who said he was?” retorted Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If you’re hinting that I’m a lazy scholar,” remarked

-Pee Wee, “all I’ve got to say is that I’ll

-never be lonesome among you boobs.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Stop your chinning,” said Billy, “and answer

-my question.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“One catches fish and the other catches a licking,”

-ventured Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Each one sometimes finds himself in deep

-water,” guessed Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No,” said Billy. “They’re not so bad, but

-neither one’s the real answer.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Finally the boys gave it up.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“One baits his hooks and the other hates his

-books,” chirped Billy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>A groan went up from the sufferers.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I think that’s a pippin,” remarked Billy

-proudly; “but I’ve got another one that’s better

-still. Why is a—”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Sic the dog on him!” ejaculated Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What’s the use of letting him live?” asked

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He seems to be human, but is he?” queried

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As Beekman’s Pond came in sight just then, they

-broke into a run, and Billy had to save his masterpiece

-for another time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They found a secluded spot, and with a whoop

-and a shout were out of their clothes in a hurry.

-Then with a shiver each took the plunge into the

-clear waters of the pond.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVI<br /> <br />THE SCAR AND THE LIMP</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The chums came up shuddering, with hair plastered

-over their faces and the water streaming

-from their shoulders.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ugh,” sputtered Fred, “the water’s as cold as

-ice!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A polar bear would like it,” chattered Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Turn on the hot water faucet, Jeems,” laughed

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll be all right in a minute or two,” remarked

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They swam around, racing and diving like so

-many young porpoises, and in a little while the

-blood returned to their chilled surfaces, making

-them perfectly comfortable again.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Reminds you something of Plunkit’s Creek,

-doesn’t it, Fred?” said Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Fred, “only this is a good deal

-longer and wider than that.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Then, too, we haven’t got Ap here, watching

-us from the bank and getting ready to set his dog

-on us,” grinned Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We don’t owe Ap anything,” laughed Bobby.

-“We paid him all up that day we made him walk

-the plank.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Do you remember how he looked when he

-struck the water?” chuckled Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wonder if he and Pat have met each other

-since we came away,” said Bobby, as he recalled

-the scene at the railway station on the morning

-they left Clinton.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Ap had better keep his whip handy,” observed

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That wouldn’t help him much,” returned

-Bobby. “Pat would take it away from him and

-wade into him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They had been in and out of the water for perhaps

-an hour, when Bobby, who had swum down to

-where the shore curved a little, suddenly turned

-and swam back again as fast as he could.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come along with me, fellows,” he cried, “and

-don’t make any more noise than you can help.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The others followed him wonderingly until they

-reached the bend. Then, while they hid behind

-some grasses, Bobby pointed to two men who were

-lounging under a tree a short distance away.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were smoking stubby pipes as they lay at

-their ease. Their faces were rough and unshaven

-and their clothing dirty and ragged.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t see much to get excited about,”

-remarked Shiner disappointedly. “Just a couple of

-tramps.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’re more than that to us,” replied Bobby.

-“They’re the very tramps who robbed us in that

-old hut.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys were on edge in an instant. Just then

-one of the men rose, stretched himself lazily and

-took a few steps toward the tree. As he did so,

-the boys saw that he had a perceptible limp.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And the other one has a scar on his face,”

-whispered Bobby excitedly. “You can see it if

-you look close.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They looked more closely, and Fred in his eagerness

-rose a little too high. His red head caught

-the eye of the man with the scar, and he uttered

-a startled exclamation.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now you’ve, done it,” whispered Mouser disgustedly.

-“Why didn’t you keep that red mop of

-yours out of sight?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hurry, fellows,” urged Bobby. “We’ve got

-to catch those fellows before they can get away.

-Whip on your clothes and let’s get back after

-them.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys swam back as fast as possible and

-rushed up on the bank.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who put a knot in the leg of my pants?” came

-in a howl from Fred as he struggled desperately

-to unfasten the knot.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’d like to catch the fellow who tied my socks

-together,” growled Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And here’s one of my shoes floating in the

-water,” wailed Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They had to pay the penalty now of the tricks

-they had played on one another, and they felt as

-though they were in a nightmare as they tried

-frantically to get into their clothes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“They’ll get away sure,” groaned Bobby.

-“Hustle, fellows, hustle! Come along just as you

-are if you can’t do any better.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He led the way, and the rest came stumbling

-after him in all conditions of dress and undress.

-Mouser had stuffed his stockings in his pocket,

-Skeets carried his wet shoes in his hands, while

-Fred, with one leg in his trousers, held up the rest

-of the garment in his hand and made what speed

-he could.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But when they reached the tree under which

-the tramps had been sitting, they found no one.

-The birds had flown. They may possibly have recognized

-Fred’s red head as that of one of their

-victims, or they may have thought that he was one

-of a company, including men, who might ask them

-curious and troublesome questions. At any rate

-they had quickly gotten out of sight.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys searched about everywhere in that part

-of the woods, but fruitlessly. Pee Wee fell into a

-small excavation, this time barking his shins in

-reality. But he had no other injury except to his

-feelings, and his comrades hauled him out without

-much trouble.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Well,” said Fred at last, “there doesn’t seem

-any more reason for hurry, and I guess I’ll get my

-pants on.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And I’ll put on my shoes,” said Skeets, suiting

-the action to the word. “This stubble has

-hurt my feet something fierce.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mouser’s socks also took their rightful place,

-and the boys began to feel more like human beings.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What would you have done anyway, Bobby, if

-you’d found them under the tree?” asked Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t know exactly,” answered Bobby

-frankly. “Of course, we couldn’t tackle grown

-men. But we could have kept them in sight until

-we met some farmers and had them nabbed. Or

-one of us could have gone back to Rockledge and

-got the constable. But we know that they’re hanging

-round in this neighborhood now, and we’ll tell

-the constable about it and he’ll telephone to all the

-towns near by to be on the lookout for them.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I sure would like to get back my ring,” said

-Fred longingly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Those sleeve buttons would look mighty good

-to me,” chimed in Pee Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I could use my scarf pin too,” added Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I don’t <em>much</em> expect to see my watch again,”

-said Bobby, “but there’s a <em>chance</em> of finding where

-they pawned ’em if we can get those fellows arrested.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“There were only two of ’em,” mused Fred.

-“I wonder where the other one was.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Round at some farmhouse begging for grub

-maybe,” suggested Skeets.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Or in jail perhaps,” guessed Sparrow. “If

-he isn’t, he ought to be.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’ll get there sooner or later,” said Fred,

-“and so will the rest of the bunch.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys hurried back to town and put the matter

-in the hands of the constable, who promised

-that he would do all in his power to catch the

-thieves. But the days passed into weeks with the

-tramps still at liberty, and the chances of the boys

-ever getting back the stolen articles became more

-and more unlikely.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But this did not hold such a place in their

-thoughts as the race for the championship of the

-Monatook Lake League, which kept getting hotter

-and hotter as the various teams tried their

-strength against each other.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a case of nip and tuck. First one team

-and then the other would forge to the front. By

-the time the first five games had been played not

-a single team could be said to be out of it.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But what grieved the Rockledge boys was that

-their bitter rival, Belden, although it started the

-season with a defeat at the hands of Ridgefield,

-had made a strong rally and was now in front with

-a total of four victories and one lost game.

-Somerset and Ridgefield were tied for second

-place, while Rockledge—Rockledge, which had so

-proudly counted on the pennant—was <em>last</em>!</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVII<br /> <br />A GLEAM OF LIGHT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>There was no trouble at all in finding out the

-reason why Rockledge was the tail-ender. The

-batting and fielding of the team was all that could

-be asked for. Both in offense and defense they

-had the edge on their rivals. The weakness lay in

-the pitcher’s box.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was not that Hicksley did not work hard. He

-had a double reason now for pitching at the top of

-his speed, for he not only wanted to win the glory

-to himself, but he wanted to show that the absence

-of Bobby did not weaken the team.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the trouble with him was that, as a rule, he

-could not last for the full nine innings. He would

-go along like a house afire for the first half of the

-game. Then about the fifth or sixth inning, he

-would begin to falter, and in some one of the remaining

-innings would “go up with a bang.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>At such times there was no one to come to the

-rescue, as in the first game that Bobby had pulled

-out of the fire. Spentz, the right fielder, who knew

-a little about twirling, had replaced him once but

-had not been able to undo the damage. In the

-game with Ridgefield, Hicksley had managed to

-last long enough to win by one run, and in the second

-game with Somerset had pitched fairly well,

-though he lost. But Ridgefield had come back with

-an easy victory, and Belden had fairly smothered

-him under a shower of hits to every part of the

-field. So that the outlook was very blue for Rockledge,

-and the boys fairly squirmed under the

-crowing of the Belden fellows whenever they met

-them on the trolley or in the town.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“If we only had Bobby in the box, we’d be going

-along at the head of the procession,” groaned

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That yellow streak of Hicksley’s comes out in

-almost every game,” growled Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He can’t stand the gaff when it comes to a

-pinch,” assented Skeets gloomily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A fellow who would lie as he did about Bobby

-doesn’t deserve to have any luck,” grunted Pee

-Wee.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s a hoodoo,” agreed Shiner. “But what

-are we going to do?” he asked despairingly. “We

-haven’t anybody else to take his place, now that

-Bobby is out of it.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Things were at this stage, when Bobby and Fred,

-who had been on a trip to town, were caught on

-their return in a terrific thunder storm. They

-were lucky enough to find refuge in a culvert under

-the railroad, and there they waited till the

-storm had spent its fury.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was one of the worst storms they ever remembered,

-and peal after peal of thunder shook the

-earth, while streaks of jagged lightning shot across

-the sky.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” exclaimed Fred, after one particularly

-violent clap of thunder, followed by a

-blinding flash. “I’ll bet that hit around here

-somewhere.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t like to be near anything it hit,” replied

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The rain came down in torrents for some time

-longer, but at last the storm abated, rifts of blue

-sky appeared in the clouds, and the boys started

-off toward the school.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were taking a short cut through the woods,

-when they were startled at seeing a great tree,

-that had been split from top to base, lying across

-the path.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Jiminy Christmas!” exclaimed Bobby. “This

-is what the lightning hit that time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It made a clean job of it,” cried Fred. “But

-listen,” he added, as muffled sounds came from the

-great tangle of branches. “What’s making that

-noise?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It’s somebody in there!” ejaculated Bobby, as

-he peered through the green welter of boughs and

-branches. “Quick, Fred, let’s get in there.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>With much difficulty, they forced their way

-through the tangle of foliage, until they were able

-to see two dim figures crouching in the center of

-the mass. Their surprise was great and became

-still greater, when they recognized them as two of

-the smaller of the Rockledge boys, Charlie White

-and Jimmy Thacker.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were confused by their fright, and were

-whimpering. They gave only broken and stammering

-replies to the questions of their rescuers,

-who had a good deal of work in getting them out

-from the boughs that held them down.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They were finally pulled out to the open air.

-They were more frightened than hurt, although

-they had a number of scratches and bruises where

-the branches had swept against them in their fall.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“How did you boys manage to be caught in

-there?” queried Bobby and Fred in one breath.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We were standing under a tree while it was

-raining,” answered Charlie, who was not quite

-as upset as his companion, “when this other tree

-was hit and fell over. We tried to run, but the

-branches caught us before we could get away.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I thought sure we were going to get killed!”

-whimpered Jimmy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Don’t you fellows know that you ought never

-to stand under a tree in a thunderstorm?” demanded

-Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We know it now,” returned Charlie; “and you

-can be sure we’ll never do it again.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Are you much hurt?” asked Bobby anxiously.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I guess not,” answered Charlie, “but we’ve

-got lots of scratches.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s see if you can walk all right,” ordered

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They made the attempt, and although they were

-wobbly and uncertain on their legs, all were relieved

-to find that no bones had been broken.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You’ll be all right as soon as you get over your

-scare,” pronounced Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It was mighty lucky for us that you two boys

-came along,” said Jimmy gratefully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Charlie. “We were held down

-by those heavy branches, and I don’t see how we

-would have got out by ourselves.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“After this, Charlie,” said Jimmy, looking at

-his companion, “we ought to tell Bobby all we

-know about the fellow who threw that egg into the

-electric fan.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their hearers started as though they had been

-shot.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Who was it?” cried Fred excitedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Out with it!” commanded Bobby.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVIII<br /> <br />TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>The boys looked for a moment as though they

-almost regretted having let the cat out of the bag.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Come along, now,” urged Bobby eagerly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Let’s have the whole story,” cried Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It—it was Tom Hicksley,” Jimmy stammered.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I knew it,” cried Fred jubilantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Do you know that, or are you only guessing?”

-asked Bobby, wild with anxiety.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We <em>saw</em> him do it,” returned Charlie, who saw

-now that the only thing left was to tell the whole

-story.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We were going along the hall to Mr. Carrier’s

-classroom that afternoon,” put in Jimmy, “and

-the door into your room was open because the day

-was so warm. We peeped in as we went by, and

-we saw Hicksley take the egg out of his pocket and

-throw it into the electric fan.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“And why didn’t you tell about it before?”

-asked Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“’Cause we were afraid that Hicksley would

-lick us if we did,” confessed Jimmy.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He’s so much bigger than we are, and he

-jumped on us once for nothing at all,” added

-Charlie in self-defense.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” said Bobby, who was perfectly

-willing to excuse them, now that he saw he

-was going to be cleared. “We all know that he’s

-a big bully and always picking on the little fellows.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You come right along with me,” said Fred, in

-a masterful way. “You keep out of this, Bobby.

-I’ll have this thing fixed up in a jiffy.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby was perfectly satisfied to leave the settlement

-of the matter in the hands of his loyal

-friend, and he went on to the dormitory, while

-Fred headed the little procession that a few minutes

-after marched into the office of Mr. Leith.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>What went on there was shown the following

-morning after Mr. Leith had called his class to

-order.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Blake,” he said, clearing his throat, “come up

-here.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby went up and stood in front of the desk.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Blake,” went on Mr. Leith, “I did a great injustice

-to you a few weeks ago, and I want to

-apologize to you before the whole class. I have

-found out the real culprit. I know the name of the

-boy who threw the egg into the electric fan.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>There was a buzz of wild excitement in the class,

-and Hicksley, together with his two cronies, flushed

-red and grew pale in turn.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That will do, Blake,” Mr. Leith went on.

-“You may go to your seat.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby retired, murmuring something, he did not

-know what.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hicksley, come here,” commanded the teacher.

-“And you, Bronson, and Jinks, come along.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The three of them, with shuffling steps and hang-dog

-looks, walked slowly up the aisle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hicksley,” said Mr. Leith severely, “you said

-at the time this thing happened that you actually

-saw Blake throw the egg. I do not want to condemn

-you without your being heard, and I am

-going to give you this chance to tell the truth.

-Are you willing to stand by your statement, or do

-you wish to take it back?”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley hesitated for a moment and then decided

-to bluff it out.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I did see him,” he muttered doggedly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Martin,” directed Mr. Leith. “Step to the

-door and tell White and Thacker to come in.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred did as ordered and returned, bringing the

-two small boys with him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Tell me now, boys, what you told me yesterday,”

-the teacher commanded.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They looked fearfully at Hicksley and his companions,

-who shot threatening glances at them.

-But they went ahead and related what they had

-seen on the afternoon in question. The simple

-story bore the mark of truth on its face and carried

-conviction.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith dismissed them and turned to the three

-in front of him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What have you to say to this?” he demanded.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They kept silent, with their heads lowered, and

-after a moment the teacher continued:</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I am not going to say anything more just now

-to add to the shame you must be feeling. You are

-all to report to Doctor Raymond in his study at

-three o’clock this afternoon. That is all for the

-present.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They stumbled back to their seats, avoiding the

-contemptuous looks of their schoolmates. And

-that afternoon at the hour named they had the

-interview they dreaded with the head of the school.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>That interview was short, but quite long enough

-to make their faces blanch and their hearts quake.

-If Hicksley had been guilty simply of denying the

-act as having been done by him, that would have

-been bad enough, but the punishment would have

-been lighter. But to try deliberately to put it on

-another was unforgivable. Hicksley was dismissed

-from the school and Bronson and Jinks

-were suspended for the remainder of the term.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley, boiling with rage, went to his room to

-pack. On his way down to summon the expressman,

-he met Bobby coming alone up the stairs.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley saw his opportunity and plunged heavily

-into Bobby, sending him stumbling backwards

-down the stairs almost to the lower landing. Had

-it not been for a wild clutch at the banister, Bobby

-would have fallen flat on his back.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>All his fighting blood awoke at this unprovoked

-assault. It was the last straw. He had been under

-great restraint for the past few weeks while

-the injustice done him had rankled sorely. He

-clenched his fists, and as the bully reached the

-landing he received a blow that drove his head

-back and chased the malicious grin from his face.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In a moment the two boys were fighting, hammer

-and tongs. Hicksley was the larger but Bobby was

-strong and as quick as a young wildcat. Besides,

-he had no “yellow streak” in him.</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIX<br /> <br />A WILD CHASE</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Not five minutes had elapsed before Hicksley

-was lying on the floor of the hall, holding his hand

-to his eyes and nose.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Get up!” Bobby commanded.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Hicksley did nothing but grunt.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Have you had enough?” asked Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Enough,” mumbled the bully, all the fight

-taken out of him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He slunk away, while the boys, who had crowded

-out into the hall at the sound of combat and had

-viewed with rapture the defeat of the bully, gathered

-about Bobby, who, except for a bruise on his

-forehead, showed no sign of the battle.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bully for you, Bobby!” crowed Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” howled Fred in delight.

-“That was a peach of a scrap.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He got all that was coming to him,” exulted

-Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hicksley couldn’t lick a postage stamp!” exclaimed

-Skeets gleefully.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He must have learned to fight by mail,”

-grinned Shiner.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“A mighty good job you made of it, Bobby,”

-commended Billy Bassett.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I wasn’t looking for trouble,” explained

-Bobby, “but when he butted into me and knocked

-me down the stairs, I couldn’t help pitching into

-him.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>For the rest of that day and evening little else

-was thought of or spoken of but the “trimming”

-that Bobby had given to the bully. But apart

-from the satisfaction of having Hicksley get what

-he so richly deserved, a still greater joy was in

-the hearts of all.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby Blake was back again on the team!</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Now,” cried Fred, expressing the hope and

-belief of all, “you’ll see Rockledge begin to

-climb.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And Rockledge did climb with a vengeance.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The very next Saturday with Bobby in the box

-and pitching gilt-edged ball they walked all over

-Belden, not only beating their chief rival but doing

-it to the score of seven to nothing. The whole

-team played behind their pitcher as though they

-were inspired with new life. And from that time

-on, the Beldenites drew into their shell and did

-not do so much crowing when they met the Rockledge

-boys in the town.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Bobby and his comrades knew that

-they still had a heavy task before them, if they

-were to win the pennant of the Monatook Lake

-League.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Belden had now won four games and lost two.

-Rockledge was even in gains and losses, having

-won three and lost three. If there had been many

-more games to play, Rockledge would have felt

-much more confident, for she was now traveling

-faster than her rival. But the end of the season

-was coming fearfully close, and there were only

-three more games to play.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Belden is the one we’ve got to beat,” declared

-Frank. “We’ve got the Indian sign, I think, on

-Somerset and Ridgefield.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As far as Ridgefield was concerned, this seemed

-true, for Rockledge won the game by four to two,

-his mates handing Bobby a lead in the first inning

-that he was able to keep throughout the game.

-But as Belden also won on the same day from

-Somerset, though after a harder battle, the Rockledge

-boys were still “trailing” the school across

-the lake.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The excitement now was reaching fever pitch,

-and it broke all bounds the following Saturday,

-when Belden came a cropper with Ridgefield, being

-“nosed out” in the ninth by a sudden rally

-on the part of their opponents, while Rockledge

-won handily from Somerset in a free batting game

-by ten runs to six.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Hurrah!” yelled Mouser, “we’re tied with Belden

-now.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bobby has pulled us up in dandy shape,” declared

-Frank. “You’re a wonder, Bobby, old

-scout.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Just keep it up for one more game, Bobby,”

-pleaded Sparrow.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” shouted Fred. “I’ll bet old

-Belden is shaking in its boots.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Somerset and Ridgefield had played good ball

-in spots, but now they were out of the race. Belden

-and Rockledge had each won five and lost

-three, and the game that was to be played between

-them on the following Saturday would wind up the

-season and decide which of the teams was to win

-the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was almost impossible for the boys to keep

-their minds on their lessons, but as there were only

-ten days remaining in the school term this did not

-matter to the same degree as it would have done

-earlier in the year.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But an incident occurred on the Monday following

-the game with Somerset that gave a new

-slant to their thoughts, and for a few hours drove

-even thoughts of the pennant from the minds of

-Bobby and his friends.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Shiner had been invited to go for an automobile

-ride by a friend of his family, who was staying

-for a few days at Rockledge. He came rushing

-into the dormitory with his eyes bulging.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows!” he gasped, “if you want to

-catch those tramps of yours, come along with

-me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“What do you mean?” his chums asked in

-chorus, as they made a wild grab for their hats.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’ve seen them,” panted Shiner. “But come

-along and I’ll tell you. Hustle!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The boys rushed downstairs to find an automobile

-waiting. Beside Mr. Wharton, the owner,

-they recognized the constable.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Tumble in,” said Mr. Wharton, smiling, and

-a half dozen boys swarmed into the automobile.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You see,” explained Shiner, “we passed three

-tramps about two miles from here, and I saw that

-two of them were the ones we saw the day we were

-swimming. I told Mr. Wharton and we put on

-speed, picked up the constable and hurried up

-for you, so that you could go along and identify

-them.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. Wharton had started the car the moment

-the boys were inside, and it was skimming along

-like a bird. It went so fast that the boys had to

-hold on to their caps, and although they were all

-chattering with might and main, the wind made it

-almost impossible for one to hear what the others

-were saying.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In a very few minutes they saw three figures on

-the lonely country road ahead. The one in the

-center had a limp that was familiar.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The tramps heard the coming car, and at first

-stood aside to let it pass. But as it slowed up on

-approaching them, they took alarm, climbed over

-a fence and started across the fields toward a piece

-of woodland a little way off.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their pursuers leaped from the car and gave

-chase. The lithe limbs of the boys gave them an

-advantage over their heavier companions, and

-they were soon on the heels of the tramps, who

-turned snarling and faced them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Keep off or I’ll club the life out of you,”

-shouted one, whom they recognized as the man

-with the scar.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“No you won’t,” cried Bobby, defiantly.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We want the things you stole from us,” sang

-out Fred.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Jail for yours!” Mouser shouted.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>They circled round the men, thus holding them

-in check, and in another moment Mr. Wharton and

-the constable had come up and each grabbed one

-of the men by the collar. At the sight of the constable’s

-star, the other quickly wilted.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The officer slipped handcuffs on them all and

-pushed them into the ear, while the boys crowded

-in as best they could, two of them standing on

-the running-board. In triumph, they went back

-to town and the men were placed in jail.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>First they were searched, and, greatly to the

-boys’ delight, pawn tickets were found that accounted

-for all the articles that had been stolen

-from them. The money of course was gone, but

-the boys cared little for that, as long as they were

-sure that they could get back their cherished personal

-possessions.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re some demon thief catchers, all right,”

-chuckled Mouser.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“He would call me red-head, would he?”

-grinned Fred, referring to the scar-faced tramp.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“It means good luck for us, fellows,” declared

-Bobby. “Now, I’m <em>sure</em> we’re going to down Belden.”</p>

-

-<div class='chapter'>

-  <h2 id='chXXX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXX<br /> <br />WINNING THE PENNANT—CONCLUSION</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p class='c007'>Belden had its own idea as to who was to be

-“downed,” and almost the whole school went

-to Rockledge with colors flying on the great day

-that was to decide who should carry off the flag

-of the Monatook Lake League.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As the teams had each played a game on the

-other’s grounds, it had been left to the toss of a

-coin as to where the deciding game should take

-place, and Rockledge had won.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>This was a good omen in itself, and the Rockledge

-boys were chock-full of confidence, as they

-slipped into their baseball suits in the gymnasium

-before going on the field.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ve just <em>got</em> to win to-day, Fred,” remarked

-Bobby. “It would never do to lose with all our

-folks in the stand looking on.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You bet we’ll win,” replied Fred emphatically.

-“If we don’t, I’ll hunt up some hole, slip in and

-pull the hole in after me.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Mr. and Mrs. Blake had come down on this last

-day. Fred’s father and mother were also

-present, accompanied by Betty. And to give the boys

-a pleasant surprise they had brought Scat Monroe

-and Pat Moriarty along with them.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The weather had been a little threatening in the

-morning, but about noon it cleared beautifully.

-A great crowd was present, for all the towns near

-Monatook Lake had become interested in the pennant

-fight, and people came in droves to see the

-deciding game.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby and Fred went up in the stand for a little

-chat with their friends and families before the

-game began.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Oh, I’m so glad it’s such a beautiful day!”

-exclaimed Betty gleefully. “I was so afraid the

-rain would come down this morning.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You wouldn’t expect the rain to go up, would

-you?” asked her brother airily.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Smarty!” said Betty, and she made a little face

-at him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Fred had better behave himself or we’ll say

-‘snowball’ to him, won’t we, Betty?” laughed

-Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“I’m rooting for you boys to win to-day,” remarked

-Pat, his freckled face wreathed with

-smiles.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’re going to fight like the mischief to do

-it,” returned Bobby.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Put the whitewash brush on them,” said Scat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Perhaps that’s asking a little too much,”

-grinned Fred. “We’ll be satisfied with the big

-end of the score.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Their parents smiled on them fondly and urged

-them to do their best to win for Rockledge, and

-the boys went down on the field with their hearts

-full of determination.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But it was evident from the moment the first

-ball went over the plate that it would be no easy

-task for either side to win. Each team was

-screwed to the highest pitch and full of determination

-and enthusiasm.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby started out like a winner. His arm had

-never felt better, and he whipped the ball over

-the plate at a speed that delighted the spectators—always

-excepting the Belden rooters—but that

-made Frank Durrock a little anxious.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Easy there, Bobby,” he counseled from first

-base, when the first batter had gone out on strikes.

-“The game’s young yet, and you’ve a long way

-to go.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby realized the wisdom of this, and made the

-next batter pop up an infield fly to Mouser at

-second. Then he mixed in a slow one that seemed

-easy enough to hit as it came floating up to the

-plate, but which resulted in an easy roller to the

-box which Bobby had plenty of time to throw to

-first.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call a change of pace, old

-scout,” congratulated Sparrow, as the nine came

-in from the field amid a general clapping of hands

-at the promising beginning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But Bobby was not to carry off the pitching

-honors of the game without a struggle. Larry

-Cronk, the Belden pitcher, was in splendid form,

-and he had had the benefit of being coached by his

-brother, who was a student at Yale and a member

-of the Varsity team. The result of this training

-was shown in a new “hop” ball that Larry

-sprung on them for the first time. It came singing

-over the plate with a jump on it just before

-it reached the batter that at first puzzled the Rockledge

-boys completely. Two of them struck out

-and the third was an easy victim on a foul.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Now it was Belden’s turn to howl. And howl

-they did.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s got his work cut out for him to-day,”

-remarked Sparrow to Skeets, as they went out into

-the field.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s just the time Bobby’s at his best,” returned

-Skeets confidently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s got that fadeaway of his when it

-comes to the pinch,” added Mouser, “and I’ll back

-that against Larry’s hop any time.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby was not daunted by this showing on the

-part of his opponent. But he knew that he must

-not slow down for a second. He must put brains

-in his work as well as muscle, must study and outguess

-the batters and give them just what they

-did not want.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>So he worked with exceeding care, mixing up his

-curves and his fast and slow balls so skillfully that

-in the first four innings only two hits were made

-off him, and one of them a scratch, and no one got

-as far as second base. And in doing this he nursed

-his strength, so that he felt almost as strong and

-fresh as at the beginning.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Talk about a fox,” chuckled Fred, “he isn’t

-in it with Bobby.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Larry, too, had kept any one from denting the

-home plate, but he was so exultant over the success

-of his new delivery that he relied upon it almost

-entirely. And by and by the Rockledge boys

-began to find him more easily than they did at

-first. They had not yet made more than one clean

-hit, but the bat was beginning to meet the ball

-more solidly and it was only a matter of a little

-time before they would be lining out base hits,

-unless Larry changed his style and mixed in his

-other curves.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We’ll straighten them out in the next inning,

-see if we don’t,” remarked Spentz confidently.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>And so they did. Spentz himself led off with

-a crashing three-bagger to right. Fred brought

-him home with a sizzling single and stole second

-on the next ball pitched. Larry tightened up then,

-and although a clever sacrifice bunt put Fred on

-third, he was left there, as the next two batters

-went out on strikes.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Belden’s half had been scoreless, so that the end

-of the fifth inning found Rockledge in the lead by

-one to none. And in such a close game as this

-promised to be, that one run looked as big as a

-mountain.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But by the time Belden’s sixth inning was over,

-the Rockledge rooters were in a panic.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The trouble began when Frank Durrock, old reliable

-Frank, muffed an easy fly that ordinarily

-he would have “eaten up.” Not only did he drop

-the ball, but he let it get so far away from him

-that the batter took a chance of making second.

-Frank, in his haste to catch him, threw the ball

-over Mouser’s head into left field, and before it

-could be recovered, the runner had made the circuit

-of the bases.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The error seemed to demoralize the whole team.

-Sparrow booted a grounder, and by the time he

-had got through fumbling, it was too late to throw

-to first. Spentz, in right, dropped a high fly and

-then threw wildly to head off the runner, who was

-legging it for third. The ball went ten feet over

-Sparrow’s head and both boys scored, making the

-count three to one in favor of the visitors. Rockledge

-had a bad case of “rattles.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby walked down to first as though he wanted

-to talk to Frank, but really to give his mates time

-to recover.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Play ball!” shouted the Belden rooters.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby took his time in returning, and even when

-he was back in the box found a shoe lace that

-needed tying. Not until he was fully ready did

-he straighten up.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>He put on all speed now and disposed of the

-next batters in order, two on high fouls and one

-on strikes. He did not want to let any balls go

-far out, in the present nervous conditions of his

-mates.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>As for them, they were full of rage and self-reproach.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Three runs without a single hit!” groaned

-Frank.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Never mind, fellows!” cried Bobby cheerily.

-“Go right in now and get them back again. Knock

-the cover off the ball.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But this was more easily said than done. Once

-in that inning and again in the seventh and eighth,

-they got men on the bases, but they could not bring

-them in. In the eighth inning a rattling double

-play brought groans from the Rockledge rooters,

-as they saw a promising rally nipped in the bud.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby had been mowing the Belden boys down

-almost as fast as they came to the plate. He had

-brought out his fadeaway now and mixed it in so

-well with the others that the batters never had a

-chance. His mates had recovered their nerve and

-were backing him up splendidly. Nevertheless the

-fact still faced them that their rivals were two runs

-ahead.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>In the ninth inning, after disposing of Belden,

-Rockledge went in to do or die. Yells of encouragement

-came from their partisans as they made

-their last stand.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Go to it, boys!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“You can beat them yet!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Never say die!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Rockledge! Rockledge! Rockledge!”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But the shouts turned to groans, when Willis,

-who was playing center field in place of Bronson,

-put up a skyscraper which Cronk gobbled up without

-moving in his tracks. Barry sent a hot

-grounder to short which was fielded cleverly and

-sent to first ahead of the batter. There was a

-movement in the stand, as the spectators got ready

-to leave.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But they stopped short when Spentz sent a

-screaming hit to center for a clean single. Frank

-followed with a grasser between short and second

-that gave him first and sent Spentz to third.

-Larry faltered and gave Fred his base on balls.

-The bases were full when Bobby came to the bat.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Larry eyed him narrowly and wound a fast one

-about his neck, at which Bobby refused to bite.

-The next was right in the groove, and Bobby

-caught it square on the end of his bat and sent it

-whistling over the head of the first baseman. It

-rolled clear to the right field fence, and before it

-could be recovered, the Rockledge runners had

-gone round the bases like so many jack rabbits,

-and had jumped on the home plate, while Bobby

-pulled up at second.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>The game was over, the game was won and the

-Rockledge boys were the champions of the Monatook

-Lake League!</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Bobby’s comrades rushed upon him, mauling

-and pounding him; the shouting crowd swooped

-out from the stand and surrounded him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Champions!” “Champions!” “Champions!”

-they yelled, until their throats were husky and

-their lungs were sore.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>It was a long time before Bobby could get

-through the crowd to where his visitors awaited

-him. There Betty cried one minute and laughed

-the next, in her happy excitement. Mrs. Blake’s

-eyes, too, were moist as she hugged her boy, and

-Mr. Blake cleared his throat as he put his hand

-on Bobby and told him he was proud of him.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Fred, too, came in for his share of well-earned

-praise and the boys were happy beyond words.

-And Scat and Pat were almost as delighted as

-though they had won the game themselves.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>Finally, when matters were somewhat quieted

-down, some one asked the boys about their plans

-for the summer vacation. How full that summer

-proved to be of stirring and exciting adventure

-will be told in the next volume of this series.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>But just now all their thoughts were of the present.

-Their school term was over. There had

-been some unpleasant features, but in the main

-their experiences had been happy ones.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We did it, Bobby!” exclaimed Fred joyfully,

-for perhaps the twentieth time.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“We got there,” agreed Bobby; “but it was a

-mighty hard fight.”</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes it all the more worth winning,”

-Fred declared.</p>

-

-<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Bobby, “I guess the things that

-come easy aren’t worth much. That’s what makes

-us feel so good about being champions. For there

-wasn’t anything easy about winning the pennant

-of the Monatook Lake League.”</p>

-

-<div class='c014'>THE END</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div><span class='larger'>THE BOBBY BLAKE SERIES</span></div>

-    <div>BY FRANK A. WARNER</div>

-    <div class='c000'>BOOKS FOR BOYS FROM EIGHT TO TWELVE YEARS OLD</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='imgleft c015'  >

-<img src='images/illus-ad1.jpg' alt='' class='c016' />

-</div>

-

-<p class='c017'>True stories of life at a modern American boarding school. Bobby attends

-this institution of learning with his particular chum and the boys have

-no end of good times. The tales of outdoor life, especially the exciting

-times they have when engaged in sports against rival schools, are

-written in a manner so true, so realistic, that the reader, too, is

-bound to share with these boys their thrills and pleasures.</p>

-

-<div class='lg-container-b'>

-  <div class='linegroup'>

-    <div class='group'>

-      <div class='line'>1 BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL.</div>

-      <div class='line'>2 BOBBY BLAKE AT BASS COVE.</div>

-      <div class='line'>3 BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE.</div>

-      <div class='line'>4 BOBBY BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS.</div>

-      <div class='line'>5 BOBBY BLAKE AT SNOWTOP CAMP.</div>

-      <div class='line'>6 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE.</div>

-      <div class='line'>7 BOBBY BLAKE ON A RANCH.</div>

-      <div class='line'>8 BOBBY BLAKE ON AN AUTO TOUR.</div>

-      <div class='line'>9 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL ELEVEN.</div>

-      <div class='line'>10 BOBBY BLAKE ON A PLANTATION.</div>

-      <div class='line'>11 BOBBY BLAKE IN THE FROZEN NORTH.</div>

-      <div class='line'>12 BOBBY BLAKE ON MYSTERY MOUNTAIN.</div>

-    </div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div>PUBLISHERS</div>

-    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>

-    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='pbb'></div>

-<hr class='pb' />

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div><span class='larger'>THE BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES</span></div>

-    <div class='c000'>Published with the approval of</div>

-    <div>The Boy Scouts of America</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='imgleft c015'  >

-<img src='images/illus-ad2.jpg' alt='' class='c016' />

-</div>

-

-<p class='c017'>In the boys’ world of story books, none better than those about boy

-scouts arrest and grip attention. In a most alluring way, the stories in

-the BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES tell of the glorious good times and wonderful

-adventures of boy scouts.</p>

-

-<p class='c017'>All the books were written by authors possessed of an intimate knowledge

-of this greatest of all movements organized for the welfare of boys, and

-are published with the approval of the National Headquarters of the Boy

-Scouts of America.</p>

-

-<p class='c017'>The Chief Scout Librarian, Mr. F. K. Mathiews, writes concerning them:

-“It is a bully bunch of books. I hope you will sell 100,000 copies of

-each one, for these stories are the sort that will help instead of hurt

-our movement.”</p>

-

-<div class='lg-container-b'>

-  <div class='linegroup'>

-    <div class='group'>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT FIRE FIGHTERS—CRUMP</div>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TROOP—McCLANE</div>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT TRAIL BLAZERS—CHELEY</div>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS—LERRIGO</div>

-      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS AFLOAT—WALDEN</div>

-      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS COURAGEOUS—MATHIEWS</div>

-      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE—LERRIGO</div>

-      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL—GARTH</div>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS IN AFRICA—CORCORAN</div>

-      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS OF ROUND TABLE PATROL—LERRIGO</div>

-    </div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-<div class='nf-center-c1'>

-  <div class='nf-center'>

-    <div>PUBLISHERS</div>

-    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>

-    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>

-  </div>

-</div>

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-<pre>

-

-

-

-

-

-End of Project Gutenberg's Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner

-

-*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE ***

-

-***** This file should be named 45990-h.htm or 45990-h.zip *****

-This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:

-        http://www.gutenberg.org/4/5/9/9/45990/

-

-Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed

-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

-

-

-Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions

-will be renamed.

-

-Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no

-one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation

-(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without

-permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,

-set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to

-copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to

-protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project

-Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you

-charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you

-do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the

-rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose

-such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and

-research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do

-practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is

-subject to the trademark license, especially commercial

-redistribution.

-

-

-

-*** START: FULL LICENSE ***

-

-THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

-PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

-

-To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free

-distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work

-(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project

-Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at

-  www.gutenberg.org/license.

-

-

-Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic works

-

-1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to

-and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property

-(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all

-the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy

-all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.

-If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the

-terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or

-entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

-

-1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be

-used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who

-agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few

-things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works

-even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See

-paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement

-and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works.  See paragraph 1.E below.

-

-1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"

-or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the

-collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an

-individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are

-located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from

-copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative

-works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg

-are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project

-Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by

-freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of

-this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with

-the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by

-keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project

-Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.

-

-1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern

-what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in

-a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check

-the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement

-before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or

-creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project

-Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning

-the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United

-States.

-

-1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

-

-1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate

-access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently

-whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the

-phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project

-Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,

-copied or distributed:

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or

-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

-

-1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived

-from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is

-posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied

-and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees

-or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work

-with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the

-work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1

-through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the

-Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or

-1.E.9.

-

-1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted

-with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution

-must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional

-terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked

-to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the

-permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

-

-1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this

-work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.

-

-1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this

-electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without

-prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with

-active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm License.

-

-1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,

-compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any

-word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or

-distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than

-"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version

-posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),

-you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a

-copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon

-request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other

-form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

-

-1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,

-performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works

-unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

-

-1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing

-access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided

-that

-

-- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from

-     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method

-     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is

-     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he

-     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the

-     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments

-     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you

-     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax

-     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and

-     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the

-     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to

-     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."

-

-- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies

-     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he

-     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm

-     License.  You must require such a user to return or

-     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium

-     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of

-     Project Gutenberg-tm works.

-

-- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any

-     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the

-     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days

-     of receipt of the work.

-

-- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free

-     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.

-

-1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm

-electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set

-forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from

-both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael

-Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the

-Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

-

-1.F.

-

-1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable

-effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread

-public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm

-collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain

-"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or

-corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual

-property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a

-computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by

-your equipment.

-

-1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right

-of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project

-Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project

-Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all

-liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal

-fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT

-LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE

-PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE

-TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE

-LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR

-INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH

-DAMAGE.

-

-1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a

-defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can

-receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a

-written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you

-received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with

-your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with

-the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a

-refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity

-providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to

-receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy

-is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further

-opportunities to fix the problem.

-

-1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth

-in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER

-WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO

-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

-

-1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied

-warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.

-If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the

-law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be

-interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by

-the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any

-provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

-

-1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the

-trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone

-providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance

-with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,

-promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,

-harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,

-that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do

-or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm

-work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any

-Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

-

-

-Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of

-electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers

-including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists

-because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from

-people in all walks of life.

-

-Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the

-assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's

-goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will

-remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project

-Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure

-and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.

-To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

-and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4

-and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org

-

-

-Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive

-Foundation

-

-The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit

-501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the

-state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal

-Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification

-number is 64-6221541.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg

-Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent

-permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.

-

-The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.

-Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered

-throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at 809

-North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887.  Email

-contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the

-Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

-

-For additional contact information:

-     Dr. Gregory B. Newby

-     Chief Executive and Director

-     gbnewby@pglaf.org

-

-Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg

-Literary Archive Foundation

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide

-spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of

-increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be

-freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest

-array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations

-($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt

-status with the IRS.

-

-The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating

-charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United

-States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a

-considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up

-with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations

-where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To

-SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any

-particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we

-have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition

-against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who

-approach us with offers to donate.

-

-International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make

-any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from

-outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

-

-Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation

-methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other

-ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.

-To donate, please visit:  www.gutenberg.org/donate

-

-

-Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic

-works.

-

-Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm

-concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared

-with anyone.  For forty years, he produced and distributed Project

-Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

-

-Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed

-editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.

-unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily

-keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

-

-Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:

-

-     www.gutenberg.org

-

-This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,

-including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary

-Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to

-subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

-

-

-

-</pre>

-

-  </body>

-  <!-- created with fpn.py 2.01 on 2014-06-15 15:54:51 GMT -->

-</html>

+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <title>Bobby Blake on the School Nine, by Frank A. Warner</title>
+    <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" />
+    <style type="text/css">
+      body { margin-left:8%;margin-right:8%; }
+      p { text-indent:0;margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;text-align:justify; }
+      .sc { font-variant:small-caps; }
+      .larger { font-size:larger; }
+      .xlarge { font-size:x-large; }
+      .lg-container-b { text-align: center; }
+      .linegroup { display: inline-block; text-align: left; }
+      @media handheld { .linegroup { display: block; margin-left: 1.5em; }}
+      .linegroup .group { margin: 1em auto; }
+      .linegroup .line { text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em; }
+      .imgleft { clear:left; float:left; margin:4% 4% 4% 0; }
+      @media handheld {.imgleft { float:left; }}
+      div.pbb { page-break-before:always; }
+      hr.pb { border:none;border-bottom:1px solid silver;margin:1em auto; }
+      @media handheld { hr.pb { display:none; }}
+      .figcenter { clear:both; max-width:100%; margin:2em auto; text-align:center; }
+      div.figcenter p { text-align:center; }
+      .ic002 { width:382px; max-width:100%; display:inline-block; text-align:center; }
+      .ig001 { width:382px; max-width:100%; height:auto; }
+      .ig002 { width:382px; max-width:100%; height:auto; }
+      @media handheld {
+        .ig001 { width:382px; }
+        .ig002 { width:382px; }
+        .ic002 { width:382px; }
+      }
+      .c000 { margin-top:1em }
+      .c001 { text-align:center; }
+      .c002 { margin:auto; }
+      .c003 { vertical-align:top;text-align:right;padding-right:1em; }
+      .c004 { vertical-align:bottom;text-align:left; }
+      .c005 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.4em;page-break-before:auto;
+              margin-top:1em; }
+      .c006 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.2em;page-break-before:auto;
+              margin-top:4em; }
+      .c007 { margin-top:2em;text-indent:1em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }
+      .c008 { text-indent:1em;margin-top:0.0em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }
+      .c009 { text-align:center;font-weight:normal;font-size:1.2em;
+              page-break-before:always;margin-top:4em; }
+      .c010 { margin-left:5.56%;margin-right:5.56%;margin-top:1em;text-indent:1em;
+              margin-bottom:0.0em; }
+      .c011 { margin-left:5.56%;margin-right:5.56%;text-align:right; }
+      .c012 { margin-top:1em;text-indent:1em;margin-bottom:0.0em; }
+      .c013 { margin-top:1em; }
+      .c014 { margin-top:2em;text-align:center; }
+      .c015 { width:20% }
+      .c016 { width:100% }
+      .c017 { margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em; }
+      .nf-center { text-align:center; }
+      .nf-center-c0 { text-align:left;margin:0 0; }
+      .nf-center-c1 { text-align:left;margin:1em 0; }
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45990 ***</div>
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' />
+</div>
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='figcenter'>
+<div class='ic002'>
+<img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' class='ig002' />
+<p>They slowly and sullenly handed over the contents of their pockets.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div><span class='xlarge'>BOBBY BLAKE ON</span></div>
+    <div><span class='xlarge'>THE SCHOOL NINE</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>OR</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'>THE CHAMPIONS OF THE MONATOOK</span></div>
+    <div><span class='larger'>LAKE LEAGUE</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>BY</div>
+    <div class='c000'>FRANK A. WARNER</div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>Author of “Bobby Blake at Rockledge School,”</span></span></div>
+    <div><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>“Bobby Blake on a Cruise,” “Bobby</span></span></div>
+    <div><span class='larger'><span class='sc'>Blake and His School Chums,” Etc.</span></span></div>
+    <div class='c000'><i>ILLUSTRATED BY</i></div>
+    <div class='c000'><span class='larger'>R. EMMETT OWEN</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>PUBLISHERS</div>
+    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>
+    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>Copyright 1917</div>
+    <div>by</div>
+    <div><span class='sc'>Barse &amp; Co.</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>Bobby Blake on the School Nine</div>
+    <div class='c000'><i>Printed in the United States of America</i></div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='c001'><span class='larger'>CONTENTS</span></div>
+
+<table class='c002' summary='Table of Contents'>
+<tr><td class='c003'>I</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chI'><span class='sc'>Flying Snowballs</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>II</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chII'><span class='sc'>A Friend Interferes</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>III</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIII'><span class='sc'>The Coming Storm</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>IV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIV'><span class='sc'>Held Up</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>V</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chV'><span class='sc'>The Tramps’ Retreat</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>VI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVI'><span class='sc'>Heavy Odds</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>VII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVII'><span class='sc'>Paying an Old Debt</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>VIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chVIII'><span class='sc'>The Cloud Breaks Away</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>IX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chIX'><span class='sc'>A Cowardly Trick</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>X</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chX'><span class='sc'>Rockledge School</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXI'><span class='sc'>Tom Hicksley Reappears</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXII'><span class='sc'>A New Enemy</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIII'><span class='sc'>The Monatook Lake League</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XIV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIV'><span class='sc'>Glowing Hopes</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXV'><span class='sc'>Spoiling the Fun</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XVI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVI'><span class='sc'>Who Was Guilty?</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XVII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVII'><span class='sc'>On the Trail</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XVIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXVIII'><span class='sc'>A Hard Hit</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XIX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXIX'><span class='sc'>Spring Practice</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXX'><span class='sc'>The Sugar Camp</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXI'><span class='sc'>The First Game</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXII'><span class='sc'>To the Rescue</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIII'><span class='sc'>The Egg and the Fan</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXIV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIV'><span class='sc'>An Undeserved Punishment</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXV</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXV'><span class='sc'>Off for a Swim</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXVI</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVI'><span class='sc'>The Scar and the Limp</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXVII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVII'><span class='sc'>A Gleam of Light</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXVIII</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXVIII'><span class='sc'>Tom Hicksley Gets a Thrashing</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXIX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXIX'><span class='sc'>A Wild Chase</span></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td class='c003'>XXX</td><td class='c004'><a href='#chXXX'><span class='sc'>Winning the Pennant—Conclusion</span></a></td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div>
+  <h1 class='c005'>BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE</h1>
+</div>
+
+<div>
+  <h2 id='chI' class='c006'>CHAPTER I<br /> <br />FLYING SNOWBALLS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>“Ouch!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was a dandy!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How’s that for a straight shot?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Thought you could dodge it, did you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have a heart, fellows! I’ve got a ton of snow
+down my back already.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A tumult of shouts and laughter rose into the
+frosty air from a group of boys, ranging in age
+from ten to twelve years, who were throwing and
+dodging snowballs near the railroad station in
+the little town of Clinton.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Even the fact that four of the group were on
+their way back to school after the Christmas holidays
+was not sufficient to dampen their youthful
+spirits, and the piles of snow heaped up back of
+the platform had been too tempting to resist.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As though moved by a single spring they had
+dropped the bags they were carrying, and the
+next instant the air was full of flying snowballs.
+Most of them found their mark, though a few in
+the excitement of the fray passed dangerously
+near the station windows.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Flushed and eager, the panting warriors advanced
+or retreated, until a stray missile just
+grazed the ear of the baggage man, who was wheeling
+a load of trunks along the platform. He gave
+a roar of protest, and the boys thought it was
+time to stop. But they did it reluctantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Too bad to stop right in the middle of the fun,”
+said Bobby Blake, a bright wholesome boy of about
+eleven years, with a frank face and merry brown
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bailey’s got a grouch on this morning,” remarked
+Fred Martin, better known among the boys
+as “Ginger,” because of his red hair and equally
+fiery temper.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I never saw him any other way,” put in
+“Scat” Monroe, one of the village boys, who had
+come down to the station to bid his friends
+good-bye. “I don’t believe Bailey ever was a
+boy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, I guess he was—once,” said Bobby, with
+the air of one making a generous concession, “but
+it was so long ago that he’s forgotten all about it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps you’d be grouchy too if you came
+near being hit,” ventured Betty Martin, Fred’s
+sister, “especially if you weren’t getting any fun
+out of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Betty formed one of a party of girls who bad accompanied
+the boys to the station to see them off.
+With flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes, these girls
+had stood huddled together like a flock of snowbirds,
+watching the friendly scuffle and giving a
+little squeal occasionally when a snowball came
+too close to them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred looked at his sister coldly. He was very
+fond of Betty, but as the only boy in a large family
+of girls, he felt it was incumbent on him to
+maintain the dignity of the male sex. He had pronounced
+ideas on the necessity of keeping girls
+in their place, and Betty was something of a trial
+to him because she refused to be squelched.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Of course, girls feel that way,” he said loftily.
+“They’re afraid of the least little thing. But
+men aren’t such scare-cats.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Men!” sniffed Betty scornfully. “You don’t
+call yourself a man, do you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m going to be some day,” her brother
+retorted, “and that’s more than you can say.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was undeniable, and Fred felt that he had
+scored a point.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Betty was reduced to the defensive.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t want to be,” she rejoined rather
+feebly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred cast a proud look around.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sour grapes!” he ejaculated.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Then, elated by his success, he sought rather
+imprudently to follow it up.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“As for me,” he declared, “I wouldn’t care how
+hard I was hit. I’d only laugh.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Betty saw an opening.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You wouldn’t dare let me throw one at you,”
+she challenged, her eyes dancing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred went into pretended convulsions.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You throw!” he jeered. “A girl throw!
+Why! you couldn’t hit the—the side of a house,”
+he ended lamely, his invention failing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I couldn’t, eh?” cried Betty, a little nettled.
+“Well, you just stand up against that post and
+see if I can’t.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred was somewhat startled by her prompt answer
+to his taunt, but it would never do to show
+the white feather.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All right,” he responded, and took up his
+position, while Betty stood some twenty feet
+away.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The laughing group of boys and girls gathered
+around her, and Bobby and Scat began to make
+snowballs for Betty.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No, you don’t!” cried Fred. “I know you
+fellows. You’ll make soakers. Let Betty make
+her own snowballs.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you care, if you’re so sure she can’t
+hit you?” said Bobby slyly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Never you mind,” replied Fred, ignoring the
+thrust. “You leave all that to Betty.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys desisted and Betty made her own missiles.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How many chances do I have?” she asked.
+“Will you give me three shots?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Three hundred if you like,” replied her brother
+grandly. “It’s all the same to me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He stiffened up sternly against the post. Somewhere
+he had seen a picture of Ajax defying
+the lightning, and he hoped that he looked like
+that.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Betty poised herself to throw, but at the last
+moment her tender heart misgave her.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I—I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” she faltered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Aw, go ahead,” urged “Mouser” Pryde, one
+of the four lads who were leaving for school.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Aim right at his head,” added “Pee Wee”
+Wise, another schoolmate who was to accompany
+Bobby and Fred to Rockledge.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You can’t miss that red mop of his,” put in
+Scat heartlessly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“N-no,” said Betty, dropping her hand to her
+side. “I guess I don’t want to.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred scented an easy victory, but made a mistake
+by not being satisfied to let well enough alone.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“She knows she can’t hit me and she’s afraid
+to try,” he gibed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The light of battle began to glow in Betty’s eyes,
+but still she stood irresolute.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll give you a cent if you hit me,” pursued
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“My! isn’t he reckless with his money?” mocked
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He talks like a millionaire,” added Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A whole cent,” mused Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred flushed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Make it a nickel, then,” he said. “And if that
+isn’t enough, I’ll give you a dime,” he added, in a
+final burst of generosity.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have you got it?” Betty asked suspiciously.
+She knew that Fred was usually in a state of bankruptcy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve got it all right,” retorted her brother,
+“and what’s more I’m going to keep it, because
+you couldn’t hit anything in a thousand years.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Whether it was the taunt or the dime or both,
+Betty was spurred to action. She hesitated no
+longer, but picked up a snowball and threw it at
+the fair mark that Fred presented.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It went wide and Fred laughed gleefully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Guess that dime stays right in my pocket,”
+he chuckled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Never mind, Betty,” encouraged Bobby.
+“You were just getting the range then. Better
+luck next time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the next shot also failed, and Fred’s mirth
+became uproarious.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I might just as well have made it a dollar,” he
+mocked.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But his smile suddenly faded when Betty’s third
+throw caught him right on the point of the nose.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fortunately the ball was not very hard. It
+spread all over his face, getting into his eyes and
+filling his mouth, and leaving him for the moment
+blinded and sputtering.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The girls gave little shrieks and the boys doubled
+up with laughter, which increased as the victim
+brushed away the snow and they caught sight
+of his startled and sheepish face. Betty, in swift
+penitence, flew to his side.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, Fred!” she wailed, “I hope I didn’t hurt
+you!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>To do Fred justice, he was game, and after the
+first moment of discomfiture he tried to smile,
+though the attempt was not much of a success.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, Betty,” he said. “You’re
+a better shot than I thought you were. Here’s
+your dime,” he added, taking the coin from his
+pocket.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t want it,” replied Betty. “I’m sorry
+I won it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Fred insisted and she took it, although reluctantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Too bad you didn’t make it a dollar, Fred,”
+joked Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t hit you in a thousand years, eh?”
+chuckled Scat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out, you fellows,” protested Fred.
+“I didn’t dodge anyway, did I? You’ve got to
+give me credit for that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was pretty good work for short distance
+shooting,” remarked Bobby Blake, molding a
+snowball. “But now watch me hit that rock on
+the other side of the road.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Look out that you don’t hit that horse,” cautioned
+Betty.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the snowball had already left Bobby’s hand.
+He had thought that it would easily clear the
+scraggy old horse that was jogging along drawing
+a sleigh. But the aim was too low, and the snowball
+hit the horse plump in the neck.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The startled brute reared and plunged, and the
+driver, a big hulky boy with pale eyes and a pasty
+complexion, had all he could do to quiet him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He succeeded at last, and then, grasping his
+whip, jumped over the side of the sleigh and came
+running up to the boys, his face convulsed with
+rage.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chII' class='c009'>CHAPTER II<br /> <br />A FRIEND INTERFERES</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>“Oh,” gasped Betty, “it’s Ap Plunkit!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Fred, “and he’s as mad as a hornet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Applethwaite Plunkit was the son of a farmer
+who lived a short distance out of town. He was
+older and larger than the rest of the boys gathered
+on the station platform, and they all disliked
+him thoroughly because of his mean and ugly disposition.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby and Fred had had several squabbles with
+him when he had attempted to bully them, but
+their quarrels had never yet got to the point of
+an actual fight. But just now, as he strode up to
+them, it looked as though a fight were coming.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby was a plucky boy, and though he never
+went around looking for trouble, he was always
+willing and able to take his own part when it became
+necessary. But Ap was a great deal bigger
+and heavier than he, and just now had the advantage
+of the whip. So that Bobby’s breath came a
+little faster as Ap came nearer. But he never
+thought of retreating, and faced the bully with an
+outward calm that he was very far from feeling.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Which one of you fellows hit my horse?” demanded
+Ap, in a voice that trembled with rage.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I did,” replied Bobby, stepping forward a little
+in advance of the group.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did you do it for?” cried Ap, at the same
+time raising his whip.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I didn’t aim at the horse,” replied Bobby. “I
+was trying to hit a rock on the other side of the
+road.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe it,” snarled the bully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I can’t help whether you believe it or not,” answered
+Bobby. “It’s the truth.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You needn’t think you’re going to crawl out
+of it that way,” Ap snapped back. “You hit my
+horse on purpose and now I’m going to hit you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He lifted his whip higher to make good his
+threat. Bobby’s fists clenched and his eyes
+glowed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t you touch me with that whip, Ap Plunkit,”
+he warned, “or it will be the worse for you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You bet it will!” cried Fred, rushing forward.
+“You touch Bobby and we’ll all pitch into you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what!” ejaculated Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” added Pee Wee, who, though
+lazy and hard to rouse, was always loyal to his
+friends.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For a moment it seemed as though a general
+scrimmage could not be avoided, and the girls gave
+little frightened shrieks.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Ap hesitated.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Four against one,” he muttered sarcastically.
+“You’re a plucky lot, you are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Throw down that whip and any one of us will
+tackle you,” cried Fred hotly, his fiery temper getting
+the better of him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But just then a diversion came from a new quarter.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A boy who was just about equal to Ap in age
+and weight, who had a lot of freckles, a snub nose,
+a jolly Irish face and a crop of red hair that
+rivaled Fred’s own, pushed his way through the
+crowd that had gathered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s Pat Moriarty,” cried Betty in relief.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hello, Bobby! Hello, Fred!” called out the
+newcomer cheerily. “What’s the rumpus
+here?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s this Ap Plunkit,” explained Bobby. “I
+hit his horse with a snowball by accident.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And the big coward’s brought his whip over
+to get even,” volunteered Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“To git even is it,” said Pat, as his eyes fell on
+the bully, who was beginning to move backward.
+“Well, I’ll give him the chanst.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He went over rapidly to Ap.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Why don’t you tackle a feller of your size?”
+he asked scornfully. “Like me, fur instance?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You keep out of this,” muttered Ap uneasily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Keep out of it!” jeered Pat pugnaciously.
+“A Moriarty never keeps out of a scrap when he
+sees a big feller pickin’ on a little one.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>With a sudden movement he snatched Ap’s whip
+and threw it on the ground.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Resentment flared up in Ap’s eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>While the two antagonists stand glaring at each
+other, it may be well, for the benefit of those who
+have not followed the fortunes and adventures
+of Bobby Blake from the beginning, to give a brief
+outline of the preceding volumes in this series.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby was the only child of his parents, who resided
+in the little inland town of Clinton. Although
+their hearts were bound up in their son,
+they had been sensible enough not to spoil him,
+and he had grown into a bright, manly boy, full
+of fun and frolic, and a general favorite among
+the boys of the town.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred Martin, whose family lived only a few
+doors away from the Blakes, was Bobby’s closest
+friend and companion. The boys were very different
+in temperament, and it was this very unlikeness,
+perhaps, which had made them chums. Fred
+had a hot temper which was constantly getting him
+into scrapes, and Bobby, who was much cooler
+and more self-controlled, was kept busy a good
+deal of the time in getting his friend out of trouble.
+They seldom had any differences between
+themselves and were almost constantly together.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Blake was once suddenly called to South
+America on business, and it was arranged that
+Mrs. Blake should go with him. What to do with
+Bobby during their absence gave them a good
+many anxious moments. They finally decided to
+send him to Rockledge School, of which they had
+heard excellent reports, and to Bobby’s great delight,
+Mr. Martin consented to let Fred go with
+him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The school opened a new world for the boys.
+They had to study hard, but a lot of fun was mixed
+in with the work and they had many exciting adventures.
+They formed warm friendships, but
+there were two or three bullies in the school who
+tried to make their lives burdensome. How they
+finally defeated these petty tyrants and came out
+on top is told in the first volume of the series,
+entitled: “Bobby Blake at Rockledge School; or,
+Winning the Medal of Honor.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The steamer on which Mr. Blake and his wife
+had sailed was lost at sea, and for a time it was
+feared that all on board had gone down with her.
+Bobby was heart-broken; so when news came later
+that his parents had been rescued his joy can be
+imagined. The end of the spring term was near,
+and Bobby and Fred accepted the invitation of one
+of their schoolmates, Perry (nicknamed “Pee
+Wee”) Wise, to spend part of the summer vacation
+on the coast, where Perry’s father had a summer
+home. There they had a splendid time.
+Their most stirring adventure involved the search
+for a missing boat. This is described in the second
+volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake
+at Bass Cove; or, The Hunt for the Motor Boat
+<em>Gem</em>.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They would have stayed longer at this delightful
+place, had it not been for a message brought
+to Bobby by an old sea captain who was a friend
+of Mr. Blake. He told Bobby that his parents
+were on their way home but would stop for a while
+at Porto Rico, where they wanted Bobby to join
+them. Bobby was wild to see his parents again,
+and his joy was increased when Mr. Martin said
+that he would go too and take Fred along. They
+expected adventure, but got more than they bargained
+for, and the story of how they were cast
+away and finally picked up by the very ship on
+which Bobby’s father and mother were sailing is
+told in the third volume of the series, entitled:
+“Bobby Blake on a Cruise; or, The Castaways of
+Volcano Island.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Once more at home, the two boys were
+preparing to go back to Rockledge for the fall term, when
+they suddenly came into possession of a pocketbook
+containing a large sum of money. A strange
+series of happenings led them at last to the owner.
+In the meantime, their school life was full of action,
+culminating in a lively football game where
+Bobby and Fred helped to defeat Belden School,
+their chief rival. How well they played their part
+is shown in the fourth volume of the series, entitled:
+“Bobby Blake and His School Chums; or,
+The Rivals of Rockledge.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The uncle of “Mouser” Pryde, one of Bobby’s
+particular friends at school, owned a shooting
+lodge up in the Big Woods, and he invited Mouser
+to ask some of his friends up there to spend part
+of the Christmas holidays. Bobby and Fred were
+members of the party, and they had a glorious
+time, skating, snowshoeing, fishing through the ice
+and hunting. In turn, they were themselves
+hunted by a big bear and had a narrow escape.
+Incidentally they were fortunate enough to rescue
+and bring back to his right mind a demented hunter
+who proved to be Pat Moriarty’s father. How
+they did this and won the everlasting gratitude of
+the red-headed Irish boy is described in the fifth
+volume of the series, entitled: “Bobby Blake at
+Snowtop Camp; or, Winter Holidays in the Big
+Woods.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pat and Ap seemed to be trying to outstare each
+other, and the rest waited in breathless silence
+during this silent duel of eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Ap’s eyes were the first to fall before the
+blaze in Pat’s.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll get even with that Bobby Blake yet,” he
+mumbled, stooping to pick up his whip.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, the next time don’t bring along your
+whip to help you out,” replied Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“An’ when you feel like lookin’ for trouble, I
+can find it for you,” added Pat. “You’ll be rememberin’,
+Ap Plunkit, that I licked you once when
+you gave a hot penny to a monkey, an’ I can do it
+again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was evident that Ap did remember perfectly
+well the fact which Pat referred to, for he did not
+seem to want to stay any longer in the Irish lad’s
+vicinity. He picked up his whip, went over to the
+wagon and climbed in. Then he took out his spite
+by giving his nag a vicious slash and drove away.
+But first he doubled up his fist and shook it at the
+boys, a gesture which they answered with a derisive
+shout of laughter.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I think that Ap Plunkit is just horrid,” declared
+Betty, with a stamp of her little foot.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t blame him for feeling a little sore,”
+said Bobby, “especially before he knew I didn’t
+do it on purpose. But I guess he has a grudge
+against me anyway.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He was just looking for an excuse to make
+trouble,” put in Fred, “and it was just like him
+to bring his whip along. He never has played
+fair yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s got a yaller streak in him, I’m thinkin’,”
+chuckled Pat, a broad smile covering his jolly face.
+“I just couldn’t help buttin’ in when I seen him a
+swingin’ of that whip.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You always stand up for your friends, don’t
+you, Pat?” said Mouser admiringly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” grinned Pat. “Especially when
+they’re the best friends a feller ever had. I’ll
+never forget what Bobby and Fred have done for
+me an’ my folks.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, that was nothing,” put in Bobby hastily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Nothin’!” exclaimed Pat. “It was just
+everything, an’ there isn’t a day goes by in our
+house but what we’re talkin’ about it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How did you happen to be Johnny-on-the-spot
+this morning?” asked Bobby, anxious to change
+the conversation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I just was doin’ an errand at the grocery store
+when I heard some one say that you boys were
+goin’ off to school this mornin’,” answered Pat,
+“an’ I dropped everything an’ came down here
+on a dead run to say good-bye and wish you slathers
+of luck. I guess me mother will be after wonderin’
+what’s keepin’ me, an’ she a waitin’ fur the
+butter an’ sugar,” he added, with a grin, “but she
+won’t care when I tell her what the reason was.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wish you were going along with us, Pat,”
+said Bobby, who was genuinely fond of the good-hearted
+Irish boy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” drawled Pee Wee. “We’ve got a couple
+of fellows up at Rockledge that I’d like to see
+you handle just as you faced down Ap this morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If there’s any kind of a shindig, I’d sure like
+to be in the thick of it,” laughed Pat. “But I’ll
+trust you boys not to let them fellers do any
+crowin’ over you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Right you are,” put in Mouser. “There
+aren’t any of ’em that can make Bobby and Fred
+lie down when they get their dander up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, dear,” sighed Betty, as the toot of the
+train’s whistle was heard up the track. “Here it
+comes. I just hate to have to say good-bye to you
+boys.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Never mind, Betty,” cried Bobby cheerily.
+“It won’t be so very long and you’ll hear from us
+every once in a while. And maybe we’ll be able
+to come home for a few days at Easter.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a scurrying about as the boys got
+their hand-baggage together and brushed the snow
+from their clothes. The train had now come in
+sight, and a minute later with a great rattle and
+clamor and hissing of steam it drew up to the platform.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All aboard!” shouted Mouser, and the four
+boys scrambled up the steps, Pee Wee as usual
+bringing up the rear.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They rushed up the aisle and were lucky enough
+to find two vacant seats next to each other. They
+turned over the back of one of them, so that two of
+them could sit facing the others, and tucked away
+their belongings in the racks and under the seats.
+Then they threw up the windows so as to have a
+last word with those they were leaving behind.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The girls had their handkerchiefs out ready to
+wave a good-bye, and Betty was applying hers
+furtively to one of her eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hope your nose isn’t hurting you, Fred,” she
+questioned, the mischief glinting out in spite of the
+tears.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not a bit of it,” answered Fred hastily, as
+though the subject was not to his liking.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And you’re sure you don’t need the ten
+cents?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Need nothing,” declared Fred, with the magnificent
+gesture of one to whom money was a trifle.
+“I’ve got plenty with me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Betty drew back a little, and Scat and Pat came
+along and grasped the four hands that were thrust
+out to meet theirs.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Good luck, fellows,” said Scat. “I hope you’ll
+get on the baseball nine this spring and lay it all
+over the teams you play against.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re going to do our best,” Bobby replied.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, boys!” called out Pat. “I sure am
+sorry to have you goin’. It won’t seem like the
+same old place when you ain’t here no more.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, Pat!” the four shouted in chorus.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If you have any mix-up with Ap while we’re
+gone, be sure to let us know,” laughed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There won’t be any mix-up,” put in Fred.
+“Not if Ap sees Pat first, there won’t.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ap will crawfish all right,” confirmed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s a wonder at backing out,” added Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The bell of the engine began to clang and the
+train started slowly out of the station. The little
+party left behind ran alongside until they reached
+the end of the platform, shouting and waving.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The travelers, with their heads far out of the
+windows, waved and called in return until they
+were out of sight and hearing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Betty’s a bully girl, isn’t she, Fred?” remarked
+Bobby, as they settled back in their seats.
+“You’re a lucky fellow. I wish I had a sister like
+her.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ye-e-s,” assented Fred, rather hesitatingly.
+“Betty’s a brick. That is,” he added hastily, “as
+far as any girl can be. But don’t be wishing too
+hard for sisters, Bobby,” he went on darkly.
+“Girls aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Especially when they know how to throw,”
+put in Bobby, with a roguish glint in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred pretended to think this remark unworthy
+of an answer, but he rubbed his nose reflectively.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER III<br /> <br />THE COMING STORM</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>For several minutes the boys were the least bit
+quiet and subdued. There is always something
+sobering in going away from home and leaving
+relatives and friends behind, especially when the
+parting is going to last for many months, and the
+warm-hearted farewells of the group at the station
+were still ringing in the boy’s ears.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But it is not in boy nature to remain quiet long,
+and their irrepressible spirits soon asserted themselves
+and caused the young travelers to bubble
+over with fun and merriment.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Besides, Pee Wee and Mouser had said good-bye
+to their parents the day before in their own homes,
+and had been stopping over night with their school
+chums in Clinton. Their depression was but for
+the moment and was over the thought of leaving
+behind so much fun and good will as they had
+found at their chums’ home town, and they helped
+Bobby and Fred to forget their feeling of homesickness.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There were not many other passengers on the
+train that morning, so that the boys had plenty of
+room and could give vent to their feelings without
+causing annoyance to others. They snatched each
+other’s caps and threw them in the aisles or under
+the seats, indulged in good-natured scuffling, sang
+bits of the Rockledge songs and cut up “high
+jinks” generally.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred and Mouser were seized by a longing for a
+drink of water at the same moment, and they had
+a race to see who would get to the cooler first.
+Fred won and got first drink while Mouser waited
+for his turn. But Mouser got even by knocking
+Fred’s elbow so that half the water was spilled
+over the front of his coat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Quit, I tell you, Mouser,” remonstrated Fred,
+half choking from the effort to drink and talk at
+the same time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Mouser kept on, until suddenly Fred saw a
+chance to get back at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What does it say there?” he asked, pointing
+to some words engraved on the lower part of the
+cooler. “I can’t quite make the letters out from
+here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser innocently bent over, and Fred, taking
+advantage of his stooping position, tipped his
+glass and sent a stream of water down his victim’s
+neck.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a startled howl from Mouser as the
+cold water trickled down his spine. He straightened
+up with a jerk and chased Fred down the
+aisle, while Bobby and Pee Wee went into whoops
+of laughter at his discomfiture.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s no way to drink water, Mouser,”
+chaffed Bobby as soon as he could speak. “You
+want to use your mouth instead of taking in
+through the pores.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, dry up,” ejaculated Mouser, making frantic
+efforts to stuff his handkerchief down his back.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re dry enough already,” chuckled Pee
+Wee. “Seems to me it’s you that needs drying
+up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You will jog my elbow, eh?” jeered Fred, who
+was delighted at the success of his stratagem.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“My turn will come,” grunted Mouser. “It’s
+a long worm that has no turning,” he added, getting
+mixed up in his proverbs.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Again the boys shouted and Mouser himself,
+although he tried to keep up his dignity, ended by
+joining in the merriment.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In the scramble for seats when they had first
+boarded the train, Bobby and Fred had had the
+luck to get the seat that faced forward. Mouser
+and Pee Wee had to ride backward and naturally
+after a while they objected.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You fellows have all the best of it,” grumbled
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” retorted Fred. “That’s as
+it should be. Nothing’s too good for Bobby and
+me. The best people ought to have the best of
+everything.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure thing,” Bobby backed him up. “The
+common people ought to be satisfied with what
+they can get. You fellows ought to be glad that
+we let you travel with us at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Those fellows just hate themselves, don’t
+they?” Mouser appealed to his seat mate.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Aren’t they the modest little flowers?” agreed
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you say to rushing them and firing
+them out?” suggested Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, don’t do that,” cried Fred in mock alarm.
+“Pee Wee might fall on one of us, and then there’d
+be nothing left but a grease spot.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Might as well have a ton of brick on top of
+you,” confirmed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what,” grinned Pee Wee. “We’ll
+draw straws for it and the fellows that get the
+two longest straws get the best seats.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That would be all right and I’d be glad to do
+it,” said Fred with an air of candor. “Only there
+aren’t any straws handy. So we’ll have to let
+things stay as they are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You don’t get out of it that way, you old fox,”
+cried Mouser. “Here’s an old letter and we’ll
+make strips of paper take the place of the straws.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All right,” agreed Fred, driven into the open.
+“Give me the letter and I’ll make the strips and
+you fellows can draw.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Will you play fair?” asked Mouser suspiciously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred put on an air of offended virtue.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Do you think I’m a crook?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” retorted Mouser in a most unflattering
+way. “A fellow that will pour water
+down my back when I’m trying to do him a favor
+will do anything.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred looked at him sadly as though lamenting
+his lack of faith, but proceeded briskly to tear the
+strips. The boys drew and Bobby had the luck to
+retain his seat, but Fred had to exchange with
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s a shame to have to sit with Pee Wee,”
+said Fred as he squeezed in beside the fat boy.
+“He takes up two-thirds of the seat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The conductor ought to charge him double
+fare,” grinned Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee only smiled lazily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Look at him,” jeered Bobby. “He looks just
+like the cat that’s swallowed the canary.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would take more than that to make Pee Wee
+happy,” put in Fred. “A canary would be a
+mighty slim meal for him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’d think so if you’d seen how he piled into
+the buckwheat cakes this morning,” chuckled
+Bobby. “Honestly, fellows, I thought that Meena
+would have heart failure trying to cook them fast
+enough.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I noticed that you did your part all right,”
+laughed Pee Wee. “I had all I could do to get
+my share of the maple syrup.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Buckwheats and maple syrup!” groaned
+Mouser. “Say, fellows! stop talking about them
+or you’ll make me so hungry I’ll have to bite the
+woodwork.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We can do better than that,” said Fred.
+“Here comes the train boy. Let’s get some candy
+and peanuts.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys bought lavishly and munched away
+contentedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Look at the way the snow’s coming down!”
+exclaimed Fred, gazing out of the window.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It is for a fact,” agreed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks as though it had settled in for a regular
+storm,” commented Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe it will be a blizzard,” suggested Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, it appeared to be that already.
+The snow was falling heavily and shutting
+out the view so that the boys could scarcely
+see the telegraph poles at the side of the track.
+A fierce wind was blowing, and in many places the
+fence rails were almost covered where the snow
+had drifted.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hope we won’t have any trouble in getting to
+Rockledge,” remarked Fred rather apprehensively.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not so bad as that I guess,” said Bobby.
+“There’s one place though, a little further on,
+where the track runs through a gulch and that may
+be pretty well filled up if the storm keeps on.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wonder if there’s anything to eat on the train
+if we should get snowbound,” ventured Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Trust Pee Wee to think of his stomach the
+first thing,” gibed Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There isn’t any dining car on the train,” said
+Mouser. “And we’re still a good way from the
+station where it usually stops for lunch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re all right anyway as long as the candy
+and peanuts hold out,” laughed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” mourned Pee Wee, “but there isn’t
+much nourishment in them when a fellow’s really
+hungry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The storm continued without abatement, and the
+few passengers that got on at the way stations
+looked like so many polar bears as they shook the
+clinging flakes from their clothes and shoes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh well, what do we care,” concluded Pee Wee,
+settling back in his seat. “There’s no use
+borrowing trouble. It always comes soon enough if
+it comes at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We ought to be used to snow by this time,”
+remarked Mouser. “After what we went through
+up in the Big Woods this doesn’t seem anything
+at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Listen to the north pole explorer,” mocked
+Fred. “You’d think, to hear him talk, that he’d
+been up with Cook or Peary.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ve got it all over those fellows in one
+way,” maintained Mouser. “I’ll bet they never
+had a snowslide come down and cover the shack
+they were living in.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was a close shave all right,” said Bobby
+a little soberly, as he thought of what had been
+almost a tragedy during their recent holiday at
+Snowtop Camp. “I thought once we were never
+going to get out of that scrape alive.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was almost as bad when we were chased
+by the bear,” put in Fred. “We did some good
+little running that day all right. I thought my
+breath would never come back.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And the running wouldn’t have done us any
+good if it hadn’t been for good old Don,” added
+Mouser. “How that old dog did stand up to the
+bear.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He got some fierce old digs from the bear’s
+claws while he was doing it,” said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He got over them all right,” affirmed Mouser.
+“I got a letter from my uncle a couple of days
+ago, and he says that Don is as good as he ever
+was.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The train for some time past had been going
+more and more slowly. Suddenly it came to a
+halt, although there was no station in sight. It
+backed up for perhaps three hundred feet, put on
+all steam and again rushed forward only to come
+to an abrupt stop with a jerk that almost threw
+the boys out of their seats.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They looked at each other in consternation.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER IV<br /> <br />HELD UP</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Once more, as though unwilling to admit that it
+was conquered, the train backed up and then made
+a forward dash. But the result was the same.
+The snorting monster seemed to give up the struggle,
+and stood puffing and wheezing, with the steam
+hissing and great volumes of smoke rising from
+the stack.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re blocked,” cried Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It must be that we’ve got to the gulch,” observed
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A pretty kettle of fish,” grumbled Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re up against it for fair, I guess,” admitted
+Mouser. “But let’s get out and see how bad
+the trouble is.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys joined the procession of passengers
+going down the aisle and jumped off the steps of
+the car into a pile of snow beside the track that
+came up to their knees. Pee Wee, who as usual
+was last, lost his balance as he sprang, and went
+head over heels into a drift. His laughing comrades
+helped him to his feet.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wallowing like a porpoise,” grinned Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You went into that snow as if you liked it,”
+chuckled Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Lots of sympathy from you boobs,” grumbled
+Pee Wee, as he brushed the snow from his face
+and hair.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Lots of that in the dictionary,” sang out
+Mouser. “But come ahead, fellows, and see
+what’s doing.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The others waded after Mouser until they stood
+abreast of the locomotive.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a scene of wintry desolation that lay
+stretched before their eyes. As far as they could
+see, they could make out little but the white blanket
+of snow, above which the trees tossed their black
+and leafless branches. Paths and fences were
+blotted out, and except for the thin column of
+smoke that rose from a farmhouse half a mile
+away, they might have been in an uninhabited
+world of white.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks like Snowtop, sure enough,” muttered
+Mouser, as he looked around.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The conductor and the engineer, together with
+the trainmen, had gathered in a little group near
+the engine, and the boys edged closer in order
+to hear what they were saying.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s no use,” the grizzled old engineer was remarking.
+“The jig’s up as far as Seventy-three
+is concerned. I tried to get the old girl to buck
+the drifts, but she couldn’t do it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys thought it was no wonder that Seventy-three
+had gone on strike, as they noted that her
+cowcatcher was buried while the drift rose higher
+than her stack.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s too bad,” rejoined the conductor, shaking
+his head in a perplexed fashion. “I’ve been worrying
+about the gulch ever since it came on to
+snow so hard. It wouldn’t have mattered so
+much if it hadn’t been for the wind. That’s
+slacked up some now, but the damage is done already.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do, boss?” asked one
+of the trainmen.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ll have to go back to the last station and
+wire up to the Junction for them to send the snow-plough
+down and clear the track,” responded the
+conductor. “Get a hustle on now and ask them
+to send it along in a hurry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The trainman started back at as fast a pace as
+the snow permitted, and the engineer climbed back
+into his cab to get out of the wind while waiting
+for help. The conductor started back for the
+smoking car, and as he went past, Bobby ventured
+to speak to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How long do you think we’ll have to wait
+here?” he inquired.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No telling, sonny,” the conductor answered.
+“Perhaps a couple of hours, maybe longer. It all
+depends on how soon they can get that snow-plough
+down to us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He passed on and Mouser gave a low whistle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” cried Fred, giving vent to his
+favorite exclamation. “Two long hours in this
+neck of the woods!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And nothing to eat in sight,” groaned Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wish I’d let Meena put up that lunch for us
+this morning,” said Bobby regretfully. “My
+mother wanted me to bring one along, but I was in
+a hurry and counted on getting something to eat
+at the railroad lunch station.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What are we going to do?” moaned Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Fill up on snowballs,” suggested Mouser
+heartlessly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee glared at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m almost as bad as Pee Wee,” said Fred.
+“I feel as empty as though I hadn’t had anything
+to eat for a week. I could eat the bark off a tree.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I tell you what, fellows,” suggested Bobby,
+who was usually the leader when it came to action;
+“what do you say to going over to that
+farmhouse and trying to buy something to eat? I
+don’t think they’d let us go away hungry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They followed the direction of his pointing
+finger, and new hope sprang up in them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But it’s an awful long way off,” objected Pee
+Wee, whose fear of exertion was only second to his
+love of eating.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have you got another stone bruise on your
+foot?” asked Mouser sarcastically.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was a standing joke among the boys.
+Whenever Pee Wee hung back from a walk or a
+run, he usually put forth the excuse of a stone
+bruise that made him lame for the time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No, I haven’t any stone bruise,” Pee Wee
+rapped back at him, “but how do you know I
+didn’t bark my shins when I had that tumble a
+few minutes ago?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He put on a pained look which might have deceived
+those who did not know him so well. But
+the steady stare of his comrades was too much for
+him to stand without wilting, and he had to join
+rather sheepishly in the laugh that followed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You stay here then, Pee Wee, while we go
+over and get something to eat,” suggested Fred.
+“We’ll ask the farmer to bring you over something
+on a gold tray. He’ll be glad to do it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out,” grinned Pee Wee. “Go ahead
+and I’ll follow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Foxy boy, isn’t he?” chuckled Fred. “He
+wants us to break out the path so that it will be
+easier for him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d rather have Pee Wee go ahead,” remarked
+Mouser. “He’d be better than any snow plough.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>With chaff and laughter they started out, Bobby
+leading the way and the rest following in single
+file. They had pulled their caps down over their
+ears and buttoned their coats tightly about their
+necks. Luckily for them the wind had moderated,
+although the snow still kept falling, but more
+lightly than before.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They did not do much talking, for they needed
+all their breath to make their way through the
+drifts. As they had no path to guide them, they
+made straight across the fields, bumping every
+now and then into a fence that they had to climb.
+They were pretty well winded and panting hard
+when at last they reached the fence that bounded
+the spacious dooryard in front of the farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A big black dog came bounding down to the
+gate barking ferociously. The boys took comfort
+from the fact that the fence was high and that the
+dog was too big and heavy to leap over it.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s glad to see us—I don’t think,” said Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Seems to have a sweet disposition,” muttered
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let Mouser get to talking to him,” suggested
+Bobby. “He’ll tame him down in no time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser, somewhat flattered, stepped forward.
+He had gained his nickname because he had a
+number of mice which he had taught to do all sorts
+of clever tricks. His fondness extended to all
+animals, and he had the remarkable power over
+them with which some people are gifted. No matter
+how savage or frightened they might be, they
+seemed to yield to his charm.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It did not fail him now. He muttered some
+words soothingly to the dog, whose barking grew
+feebler. Soon it stopped altogether, and in another
+minute or two the brute was wagging his
+tail and poking his muzzle through the rails of the
+fence for Mouser to pat him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was almost uncanny, and the boys held their
+breath as they watched the transformation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s all right now,” said Mouser, lifting the
+latch of the gate. “Come along, fellows.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Gee whiz!” exclaimed Bobby. “How do you
+do it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You ought to be with a circus,” said Fred in
+undisguised admiration. “You’d make a dandy
+lion tamer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser was elated at the tribute, but accepted it
+modestly enough, and led the way up to the house,
+the dog prancing along with them in the most
+friendly manner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As they reached the door and were about to
+knock, it was opened, and a motherly looking
+woman appeared on the threshold. There was
+an expression of anxiety on her face.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Down, Tiger, down,” she cried. Then as she
+saw the evident pleasure of the brute in the boys’
+company, her worried expression changed to one
+of surprise.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Mercy on us!” she exclaimed. “I was afraid
+the dog would eat you up. He’s awfully savage,
+but we keep him on account of there being so
+many tramps around. I was upstairs when I
+heard him barking, and I hurried down as fast as
+I could, for I was sure he’d bite you if you came
+inside the gate.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, Tiger’s a good friend of mine, aren’t you,
+Tiger?” laughed Mouser, as he stooped to caress
+the dog.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tiger licked his hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I never saw anything like it,” said their
+hostess. “I just can’t understand it. But here
+I am keeping you standing outside when you must
+be half perished with the cold,” she went on with
+quick sympathy. “Come right inside and get
+warm before you say another word.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>She led the way into a bright, cheerful sitting
+room, where there was a big wood fire blazing on
+the hearth. She bustled around and saw that they
+were comfortably seated before the fire. Then
+Bobby explained their errand.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose we’re sort of tramps ourselves,” he
+said with the winning smile that always gained
+for him instant liking. “But we were on the train
+and it got stalled over there in the gulch on account
+of the snow. We hadn’t brought any lunch
+with us and we thought we’d come over here and
+see if we could buy something to eat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You poor starved boys!” she exclaimed with
+as ready a sympathy as though she had been the
+mother of them all. “Of course you can have all
+you want to eat. It’s too early for dinner yet,
+as Mr. Wilson—that’s my husband—went to town
+this morning and will be a little late in getting
+back. But I’ll get up something for you right
+away. You just sit here and get warmed through
+and I’ll have it on the table in a jiffy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t go to too much trouble,” put in Bobby.
+“Anything will do.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>She was off at once, and they heard the cheerful
+clatter of pans and dishes in the adjoining
+kitchen.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys stretched out luxuriously before the
+fire and looked at each other in silent ecstasy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Talk about luck,” murmured Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All we want to eat,” repeated Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“She didn’t know you when she said that,”
+chaffed Fred. “I don’t believe there’s enough in
+the house to fill that contract.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee will have to go some to get ahead of
+me,” chimed in Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A savory odor was soon wafted in from the
+kitchen. Pee Wee sat bolt upright and sniffed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows! do you smell that?” he asked.
+“If I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s no dream,” Mouser assured him. “It’s
+something a good sight more real than that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Before long the door opened to reveal the smiling
+face of Mrs. Wilson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All ready, boys,” she announced cheerily.
+“Come right along.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chV' class='c009'>CHAPTER V<br /> <br />THE TRAMPS’ RETREAT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The boys needed no second invitation. Even
+Pee Wee shook off his usual laziness. With a
+single impulse they sprang from their chairs and
+trooped out into the dining room.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It seemed to the hungry boys as though nothing
+had ever looked so good as the meal that their
+hostess had provided for them. There was a huge
+dish of bacon and eggs, plates piled high with
+snowy, puffy biscuit, which, as Mrs. Wilson told
+them, she had “knocked together” in a hurry,
+smoking hot from the oven, a great platter of fried
+potatoes, and, to crown the feast, mince and apple
+and pumpkin pies whose flaky crusts seemed to
+fairly beg to be eaten.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A simultaneous “ah-h” came from the boys, as
+they looked at the store of good things set before
+them, and the way they plunged into the meal was
+the sincerest tribute that could be paid to the cookery
+of their hostess. It brought a glow of pleasure
+into her kindly eyes and a happy flush to her
+cheeks. She fluttered about them like a hen over
+her chicks, renewing the dishes, pressing them to
+take more—a thing which was wholly unnecessary—and
+joining in their jokes and laughter. It is
+safe to say that a merrier meal had not been enjoyed
+in that old farmhouse for many a day.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But even a meal like that had to come to an end
+at last, and it was with a sigh of perfect satisfaction
+that the boys finally sat back in their chairs
+and looked about at the complete wreck they had
+made of the viands.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks as if a whirlwind had passed this way,”
+remarked Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I never enjoyed a meal so much,” said Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, you’re certainly a judge,” laughed Fred.
+“When you say a meal’s the limit you know what
+you’re talking about. And this time I agree with
+you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m glad you liked things,” put in Mrs. Wilson.
+“It does me good to see the way you boys
+eat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m afraid you wouldn’t make much money if
+you had us as steady boarders,” smiled Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come right back to the living room and get
+yourselves warm as toast before you start out
+again in this wind,” urged their hostess.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’d like to ever so much,” replied Bobby.
+“But I guess we’d better be getting along.
+Perhaps that snow plough will get down sooner than
+we thought, and everything’s been so good here
+that I’m afraid perhaps we’ve stayed too long
+already.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They wrapped themselves up warmly, and then
+Bobby as spokesman turned to their hostess.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How much do we owe you?” he asked, taking
+out his pocketbook, while the others prepared to
+do the same.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You don’t owe me a cent!” declared Mrs. Wilson
+with emphasis.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, but yes,” rejoined Bobby, somewhat
+startled. “We couldn’t think of letting you go to
+all that trouble and expense without paying for
+it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I won’t take a penny, bless your hearts,” Mrs.
+Wilson repeated. “It’s been a real joy to have
+you here. I haven’t any children of my own, and
+the old place gets a bit lonesome at times. I
+haven’t had such a good time for years as I’ve
+had this morning, seeing you eat so hearty and
+listening to your fun. I feel that I owe you a
+good deal more than you do me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>She was firm in her determination, although the
+boys pressed the matter as far as they could without
+offending her. So they were forced at last to
+yield to her wishes and return the money to their
+pockets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was with the warmest thanks that they left
+their kind-hearted hostess and went down the
+steps, Tiger accompanying them to the gate. He
+seemed to want to go further and whined softly
+when Mouser patted him good-bye.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Isn’t she a prince?” said Pee Wee admiringly,
+as they waved their hands in farewell.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A princess you mean,” corrected Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have it your own way,” retorted Pee Wee.
+“Whichever name’s the best, she’s that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were in a high state of elation as they
+ploughed their way across the snowy fields. They
+were blissfully conscious of being, as Mouser put
+it, “full to the chin,” and little else was needed
+at their age to make their happiness complete.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But they were sharply awakened by the sound
+of a whistle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That must be our train,” cried Fred in alarm.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what it is,” assented Bobby, quickening
+his pace. “We stayed a long time at the table,
+and the snow-plough must have come along sooner
+than they thought it would. Hurry, fellows,
+hurry!” and he tried to break into a run.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The others followed his example, but the snow
+was too deep for that. It clung about their feet
+and legs until they felt that they were moving in
+a nightmare.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“She’s going, fellows!” shouted Mouser in
+despair, as a stream of smoke began to stretch out
+behind the moving train.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And all our bags and things are on board!”
+wailed Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now we’re in a pretty mess,” gasped Pee Wee,
+slumping down in the snow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was no use in hurrying now, and they
+looked blankly at each other as they came to a full
+stop.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” howled Fred as the only way
+to relieve his feelings.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ll be jiggered!” exclaimed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee was too tired out from his exertion to
+say anything, and Bobby, too, kept silent, though
+for a different reason. He was busy thinking of
+the best way to get out of the tangle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s no use in worrying about our baggage,
+fellows,” he said at last. “Probably the conductor
+will take good care of that. And we may be
+able to send a telegram from some place telling
+the conductor to put our things off at Rockledge
+and leave them in care of the station agent there.
+What we’ve got to worry about is ourselves. We
+can’t stay here, and we’ve got to find some way to
+get another train as soon as we can. Have any
+of you fellows got a time table?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I had one,” replied Mouser, “but it’s in my
+bag on the train.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>None of the others had one and Bobby came to
+a quick decision.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s no other way,” he announced.
+“We’ll have to go back and ask Mrs. Wilson.
+She’ll know all about the trains and what’s the
+best station for us to go to.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They trudged back rather forlornly and explained
+their plight to Mrs. Wilson, who was full
+of sympathy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have you stay here all night,” she
+volunteered, “and Mr. Wilson will take you over
+to the station in a rig to-morrow morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They thanked her heartily, but explained that
+this was out of the question. They would be
+missed from the train, telegrams would be flying
+back and forth and their parents would be anxious
+and excited. They must get to some place where
+they could either telegraph or, better yet, get a
+train that would land them in Rockledge that afternoon
+or evening.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what to do,” she suggested, as a
+thought struck her. “You can’t get a train on
+this line you’ve been traveling on until very late
+to-night. But there’s another road that crosses
+this at a junction about two miles from here and
+connects with the main line that goes on to Rockledge.
+There’s an afternoon train on that line
+that you’ll have plenty of time to make, and it will
+land you in Rockledge before night. There’s a
+telegraph office there too, and you can send any
+messages you like before you board the train.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s just the very thing,” cried Bobby with
+enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just what the doctor ordered,” chuckled
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>She gave them very careful directions for finding
+the station, and as there was none too much
+time and the walking was bound to be slow they
+set out at once, after thanking their friend for
+having come a second time to their relief.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their path led for the most part through a wood
+and they passed no other houses on their way.
+Even in summer it was evident that the locality
+was wild and deserted. Now with the snow over
+everything it was especially desolate.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You might almost think you were up in the
+Big Woods,” commented Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what,” agreed Fred. “It would be a
+dandy place for train robbers and that kind of
+fellows.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to be wandering around here at
+night,” remarked Pee Wee, who was panting with
+the exertion of keeping up with the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would give one a sort of creepy feeling, like
+being in a cemetery,” assented Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Suddenly Fred uttered an exclamation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s a little house right over in that hollow,”
+he cried, pointing to the right.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“More like a hut or a shack than a regular
+house, seems to me,” grunted Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe there’s any one living there,”
+commented Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, there must be,” declared Bobby. “I can
+see the light of a fire shining through the window.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The hut in question was a dilapidated structure
+of only one story that stood in a little hollow just
+off the road. It was in the last stages of decay
+and looked as though a strong wind would blow it
+to pieces. There were no fences nor barn nor
+any wagon or farm implement in sight.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Yet that some one lived in the crazy shack was
+evident, as Bobby had said, by the red light that
+came flickeringly through the only window that
+the cabin possessed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s stop there for a minute and get warm,”
+suggested Fred. “Then, too, we can make sure
+that we’re still on the right road to the station.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the use?” cautioned Bobby. “We got
+left once to-day by stopping too long.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It will only take a minute,” urged Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As the others also wanted to stop, and Bobby
+did not wish to insist too much, they all went down
+into the hollow together.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The snow of course deadened their footsteps, so
+that whoever was in the cabin had no notice of
+their approach.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred, who was in advance, rapped on the door.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was silence for a moment and then the
+door swung open and a rough looking man appeared
+on the sill.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you want?” he asked gruffly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We wanted to ask directions about the road,”
+said Fred, a little dismayed by the fellow’s surly
+manner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The man looked them over for a moment, noticed
+that they were well dressed and hesitated no
+longer.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come in,” he said briefly, and stood aside for
+them to pass.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER VI<br /> <br />HEAVY ODDS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Although feeling rather uneasy because of the
+man’s rough manner, the boys hardly saw what
+they could do but accept the invitation, and they
+went inside. The next moment they wished they
+had not.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There were two other men within the hut besides
+the one who had opened the door. They
+were seated at a bare pine table, and on the table
+there was a bottle of liquor. There seemed to be
+no other furniture in the miserable room, except
+a rusty wood stove, which was at white heat, two
+or three stools and a pile of hay in the corner,
+which evidently served as a bed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The heat inside was stifling, and the room was
+rank with the fumes of liquor. The unshaven
+faces of the men were flushed, their eyes red and
+bleared, and a greasy pack of cards told of their
+occupation when they had been interrupted.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Tramps,” whispered Bobby to Fred, who was
+nearest. “Let’s get out of this.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You bet,” returned Fred, as he made a motion
+toward the door.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the man who had let them in now stood with
+his back against the closed door, looking at them
+with an ugly grin on his face, a face which was
+made still more repellant by a livid scar up near
+the temple.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do these young buckos want here?”
+asked one of the men at the table, rising and coming
+toward them. As he did so, Bobby noticed
+that he limped a trifle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We stopped in for a minute to ask if we were
+on the right road to the station,” said Bobby in
+a tone which he tried to render as careless as possible.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You did, eh?” said the man. “Well, just wait
+a minute and I’ll tell you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He and his companion approached their comrade
+at the door, and for a few moments there was
+a whispered conversation. Then the man with
+the scar, who seemed to be the leader of the gang,
+turned to Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re on the right road all right,” he said.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Thank you,” returned Bobby. “Then I guess
+we’ll be getting on.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The man laughed at this.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Guess again, young feller,” said one of them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s your hurry?” asked the lame man.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We don’t often have such nice young kids drop
+in to keep us company,” sneered the man with the
+scar. “Take off your hats and stay awhile.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys’ hearts sank. They no longer had any
+doubts of the evil intentions of the men who held
+them virtually prisoners. They had fallen into a
+den of thieves.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re going now,” declared Bobby, in a last
+desperate attempt to bluff the matter through,
+“and if you try to stop us it will be the worse for
+you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The men laughed uproariously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A fine young turkey cock he is!” croaked
+one of them. “We’ll have to cut his comb for
+him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ll get your own cut first,” shouted Fred,
+who was blazing with anger. “Don’t forget that
+there are policemen and jails for just such fellows
+as you are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Shut up, Redhead,” commanded the scar-faced
+man, adding insult to injury.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Then his jocular manner passed and was replaced
+by a wicked snarl.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hand over what money you’ve got in your
+pockets,” he commanded, “and turn your pockets
+inside out. Do it quick too, or we’ll skin you
+alive.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was no mistaking the menace in his tone.
+He was in deadly earnest and his eyes shone like
+those of a beast of prey.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was nothing to do but to obey. His victims
+were trapped and helpless. They were only
+eleven year old boys, and were no match physically
+even for one such burly ruffian. Against three,
+resistance would have been ridiculous.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Boiling with inward rage, they slowly and sullenly
+handed over the contents of their pockets.
+None of them had any great amount of money—only
+a few dollars for spending allowance. But
+taken altogether it made quite a respectable sum,
+over which the robbers gloated with evident satisfaction.
+Probably their chief calculation was the
+amount of liquor it would buy for their spree.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But even with this the thieves were not content.
+Bobby’s silver watch, a scarf pin of Mouser’s,
+Fred’s seal ring and Pee Wee’s gold sleeve buttons
+went to swell the pile. They even carried
+their meanness so far as to rob the lads of their
+railroad tickets. Then when they found that there
+was nothing else worth the plucking, the leader
+opened the door.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now beat it,” he growled, “and thank your
+lucky stars that we didn’t swipe your clothes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Half blinded with wrath, the crestfallen boys
+climbed out of the hollow and into the road which
+they had left in such high spirits a few minutes
+before. They had been stripped clean. If their
+outer clothing had fitted any of the rascals they
+would have probably lost that too. They were
+utterly forlorn and downhearted.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>If they had lost their possessions after a hot
+resistance against those who were anyway near
+their age and size, there would at least have been
+the exhilaration of the fight. But even that poor
+compensation was denied them. The odds had
+been too overwhelming even to think of a struggle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>At first they could not even speak to each other.
+When they attempted to find words they were so
+mad that they could only splutter.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The skunks!” Fred managed to get out at
+last.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The low down brutes,” growled Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Every cent gone,” groaned Pee Wee. “And
+those sleeve buttons were a Christmas gift from
+my mother.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And that silver watch was one my father gave
+me on my last birthday,” muttered Bobby thickly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If they’d only left us our railroad tickets!”
+mourned Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was the dirtiest trick of all,” put in
+Mouser. “You can understand why they took the
+money and jewelry. But they probably don’t
+have any idea in the world of using the tickets.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Likely enough by this time they’ve torn them
+up and thrown them into the fire,” Pee Wee conjectured.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t speak the word, ‘fire,’” said Bobby.
+“If we hadn’t seen the light of it through the window,
+we wouldn’t have gone in there at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was all my fault,” moaned Fred. “What
+a fool stunt it was of me to want to stop there
+anyway.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby could easily have said, “I told you so,”
+but that was not Bobby’s way.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It wasn’t anybody’s fault,” he said. “It was
+just our hard luck. We might have done it a
+thousand times and found only decent people there
+each time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Lucky I gave that dime to Betty this morning
+anyway,” grunted Fred. “That’s one thing the
+thieves didn’t get.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The remark struck the boys as so comical that
+they broke into laughter. It was the one thing
+needed to relieve the tension. It cleared the air
+and all felt better.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Talk about looking on the bright side of
+things,” chuckled Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re a wonder as a little cheerer-up,” commented
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s looking at the doughnut instead of seeing
+only the hole in the doughnut,” laughed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>After all they were alive and unharmed. The
+thieves might have beaten them up or tied them
+in the cabin while they made their escape.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Things might have been a great deal worse,”
+said Bobby cheerfully, putting their thoughts into
+words. “The money didn’t amount to so much
+after all, and our folks will send us more. And
+we may be able to have the tramps arrested and
+get back our other things. We’ll telegraph just
+as soon as we get to—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But here he stopped short in dismay.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We haven’t even money enough to pay for the
+message!” he exclaimed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps the station man will trust us,” suggested
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I think there’s a way of sending messages so
+that the folks who get them pay on the other end,”
+said Pee Wee hopefully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>None of the boys were very clear on this point,
+but it offered a ray of cheer.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We won’t need to send more than one message
+anyway,” said practical Bobby as they trudged
+along. “Some of our folks might be away and
+there might be some delay in getting to them.
+But I know that my father is at home and I’ll just
+ask him to send on enough money for the bunch
+of us. Then you fellows can square it up with
+me afterwards.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They had reached the outskirts of a village now
+and the walking had become easier. They quickened
+their pace and soon came in sight of the
+station.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There it is!” cried Fred, and the boys broke
+into a run.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER VII<br /> <br />PAYING AN OLD DEBT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>As Bobby’s watch had been the only one in the
+party, the boys had not been able to keep track of
+the time during the latter part of their journey,
+and they were a little fearful that they might be
+late for their train.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were relieved therefore to learn they were
+in plenty of time. The train was not regularly
+due for half an hour, and owing to the snowstorm
+it would probably be an hour or more behind time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The station agent at Roseville, as the town was
+named, had charge of the telegraph office as well.
+He was a kindly man and listened with the greatest
+sympathy to the boys’ story. His indignation
+at the robbers was hot, and he promised to put the
+constable on their trail at once.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s a beastly outrage,” he stormed. “That
+old deserted shack has been too handy for fellows
+of that kind. They make it a regular hang-out.
+We’ll clean out the gang and burn the place to
+the ground. I’ve got to stay here now until after
+the train leaves, but as soon as it’s gone, I’ll get
+busy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He assured them that he would send on the telegram
+to be paid for at the other end, and the boys,
+possessing themselves of some blanks, withdrew to
+a quiet corner to prepare the message.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It proved to be a matter requiring some thought,
+and several blanks were cast aside before it suited
+them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You see,” said Bobby, as he sat frowning over
+his stub of a pencil, “I don’t want to scare the
+folks to death by telling them we’ve been robbed.
+They’d think that perhaps we’d been hurt besides
+and were keeping it quiet so as not to worry ’em.
+We can write ’em a letter afterward and tell ’em
+all about it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The final outcome of their combined efforts
+stated the matter with sufficient clearness:</p>
+
+<p class='c010'>Lost money and tickets. All safe and sound.
+Please telegraph twenty dollars to me, care station
+agent, Roseville. Will explain in letter.</p>
+
+<div class='c011'>Bobby.</div>
+
+<p class='c012'>This suited them all, though Fred suggested that
+they might save by cutting out the “please.” He
+was voted down however, and the telegram was
+handed through the office window and put on the
+wire at once.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This being attended to, there was nothing to do
+but to wait. Then a new worry assailed them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How long do you think it will be before we
+can get an answer?” asked Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not very long,” replied Bobby confidently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The message must be in Clinton this very minute,”
+chimed in Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, but that’s the least part of it,” remarked
+Fred. “It will have to be carried up to your
+house from the station and I’ve heard my father
+say that Claxton isn’t as quick about those things
+as he ought to be. Sometimes he gets Bailey to
+deliver for him, and you know what an old slow-poke
+he is.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And even when it gets to the house your father
+may be downtown and your mother may be out
+sleigh riding or visiting or something,” observed
+Mouser gloomily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And then too, it will take some time for your
+father to get down to the telegraph office and send
+the money,” was Pee Wee’s contribution.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, stop your croaking, you fellows,” cried
+Bobby. “I’m sure everything will be all right.”
+But, just the same, their doleful suggestions made
+him a little uneasy, and he fidgeted about as he
+watched the hands of the station clock.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s another thing,” observed Mouser, returning
+to the charge. “Suppose now—just
+suppose—that the money doesn’t get to us before the
+train starts, what are we going to do?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Then we’ll be stuck,” admitted Bobby. “And
+we’ll have to do a whole lot more telegraphing to
+Rockledge telling them that we can’t get there till
+to-morrow. But even if the money is late, it’s
+sure to come. We can pay for our meals and
+lodging over night and won’t have to go to the
+poorhouse.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Lucky we got such a dandy feed at Mrs. Wilson’s
+anyway,” remarked Pee Wee. “That will
+keep us going until the money comes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was mighty good of her to give us such a
+meal and not charge a cent for it,” said Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Free meals for five hungry boys,” murmured
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Five!” exclaimed Pee Wee in surprise.
+“Why, there were only four of us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” replied Fred, “but you counted for
+two.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee made a rush toward him, but Fred
+dodged adroitly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Just then, Mouser, who was looking out of the
+station window, gave a sudden exclamation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Look here, fellows,” he cried. “See who’s
+coming!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They crowded together, looking over his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Why, it’s Tommy Stone!” ejaculated Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He must be going back to Belden School,”
+added Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And that’s his father with him, I guess,” put
+in Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tommy Stone was a boy who had played quite
+a part in the lives of Bobby and Fred a few months
+before. He had run away from home to go out
+West to “fight Indians.” He had taken his
+father’s pocketbook with him, intending to use
+only enough to pay his fare and send the rest back.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Unluckily for the young Indian fighter—or
+rather luckily, as it turned out—he lost the pocketbook
+out of the car window. Bobby and Fred
+were standing by the side of the track as the train
+went thundering past, and the wallet fell almost
+at their feet. They picked it up and were wildly
+excited when they found that it contained no less
+than four hundred dollars.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys had dreams of unlimited ice-cream
+and soda water as the result of their find. Still
+they and their parents made earnest effort to find
+the owner, but as the days passed by and no claimant
+appeared it looked as though the money would
+become the boys’ property.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Late in the fall, Bobby and Fred rescued a small
+boy from the clutches of some larger boys who
+were amusing themselves by tormenting him.
+The boy turned out to be Tommy Stone. He had
+been brought back after his runaway and sent to
+Belden School, which was not far from Rockledge.
+Tommy had heard that the boys had found a
+pocketbook and suspected that it was the one that
+he had lost. He made a clean breast of it, and
+the money was restored to its rightful owner.
+Mr. Stone wanted to reward the boys handsomely,
+but their parents would not permit them to accept
+a money reward, and Mr. Stone compromised by
+sending them the material for a royal feast at
+Rockledge.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As for Tommy, he had an interview with his father,
+the nature of which can be guessed at by
+Tommy’s statement afterward that he could not
+sit down for a week unless he had pillows under
+him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He doesn’t look like an Indian killer,” laughed
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not so that you could notice it,” chuckled Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t see any scalps at his belt,” grinned
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tommy caught sight of the boys as he entered
+the station, and ran forward to meet them with
+exclamations of pleasure and surprise. Mr. Stone
+looked curiously at the group but said nothing,
+and went over to the agent’s window to buy his
+son’s ticket.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What in the world are you fellows doing
+here?” cried Tommy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re just as much surprised to see you as
+you are to see us,” replied Bobby, with a smile.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“On your way to Belden?” inquired Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yep,” answered Tommy, making a wry face,
+“and I’m not any too glad, either. I’ve never
+liked that school. The big fellows are all the time
+taking it out on the little ones.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You ought to get your father to let you come
+to Rockledge,” suggested Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Then you’d be going to a real school,” remarked
+Fred, who felt to the full the traditional
+rivalry between Rockledge and its chief rival.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not but what we’ve got some bullies of our
+own,” put in Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks, for instance,”
+observed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like first rate to change,” admitted
+Tommy, “and perhaps next year I can. But my
+father has all his arrangements made now, and
+I’ll have to stick it out at Belden for the rest of
+this term.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Is that your father over there?” asked Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks as though he had a good right arm,”
+said Fred slyly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet he’s practiced with it out in the woodshed,”
+put in Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the price of strap oil, Tommy?” inquired
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tommy winced a little at the chaffing. It was
+evidently a painful subject.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby came to his rescue.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, cut it out, fellows,” he remonstrated.
+“We all make mistakes sometimes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tommy flashed him a grateful look.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” he agreed. “But you can bet that I’m
+not going to make the same mistake twice.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s the way to talk,” rejoined Bobby
+heartily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone had completed his purchase and now
+strolled over to the group. He had never seen
+the boys before, as the return of the pocketbook
+had been made by Mr. Blake.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Some young friends of yours, Tommy?” he
+asked, with a genial smile.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, sir,” Tommy answered. “They go to
+Rockledge School, right on the other side of the
+lake from Belden.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He introduced the boys by name, and Mr. Stone
+pricked up his ears as he heard the names,
+“Blake” and “Martin.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What!” he exclaimed. “Can this be the
+Bobby Blake and Fred Martin who found my
+pocketbook and sent it back to me?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s who they are,” replied Tommy, flushing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone took the boys’ hands in both of his
+and wrung them warmly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well this is a bit of luck,” he said heartily.
+“I can’t tell you boys how glad I am to see you.
+I’ve often wanted to lay eyes on the boys who
+could find four hundred dollars and never rest
+till they got the money back to the owner.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, that was nothing,” answered Bobby, who
+always felt embarrassed when any one praised
+him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was the only thing to do,” added Fred, his
+face getting almost as red as his hair.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All the same, there are lots of boys who would
+never have said a word about it,” persisted Mr.
+Stone. “I’ve always felt sorry that your folks
+wouldn’t let me show my gratitude by making you
+boys a present of something that would have been
+worth while.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You did give us the stuff for a dandy spread.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Some spread that was too, fellows,” put in
+Pee Wee. “I was in on that and it was just
+scrumptious.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Trust Pee Wee to remember spreads if he
+never remembers anything else,” laughed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone’s eyes twinkled as he took in Pee
+Wee’s generous proportions.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m glad if you enjoyed it,” he smiled.
+“But tell me now how you boys find yourselves
+here. I thought you traveled by the road that
+runs through Clinton.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“So we do,” replied Bobby, and started to
+relate the occurrences of the morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I see,” said Mr. Stone, interrupting before
+Bobby had got very far into his story. “And
+then you found out you could get a train on this
+road and tramped over here. Well, you won’t
+have long to wait now, for the train will be along
+in a few minutes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But that isn’t all,” put in Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No?” queried Mr. Stone. “What else is
+there?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We were robbed on the way,” answered Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone gasped and Tommy showed symptoms
+of great excitement. Robbed! It was almost
+as good as Indians.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER VIII<br /> <br />THE CLOUD BREAKS AWAY</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Mr. Stone sank down into a seat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Robbed!” he repeated. “Now tell me just
+what you mean.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In simple words the boys told how they had been
+held up and despoiled by the tramps.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone could hardly restrain his rage.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s the most atrocious and cowardly thing
+I’ve heard of for a long time,” he ejaculated.
+“To think of those scoundrels robbing you of
+everything you had, even your railroad tickets!
+They ought to be drawn and quartered.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys were rather hazy as to what drawing
+and quartering involved, but they heartily agreed
+with him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll have to get busy at once!” Mr. Stone exclaimed,
+jumping to his feet. “There isn’t a minute
+to lose. Those rascals will know that the officers
+will be after them as soon as you tell your
+story and they’ll be planning to clear out. They
+may have started already, for all we know. I’ll
+get the constable and some other men after them
+and I’ll go along to do all I can to put the thieves
+in jail.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But first,” he went on, “I’ll have to fix up
+you boys. The train will be along in a few minutes.
+I’ll get your tickets for you and give you
+plenty of money besides to get on with.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve already telegraphed for money and I’m
+expecting it every minute,” put in Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, but we can’t take chances on
+that. It may not come in time for you to catch
+the train. I’ll look after the telegram if it comes
+after you leave, and see that it’s sent on to you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Of course our folks will make this all right
+with you,” said Fred who, like Bobby himself,
+hated to be under any money obligation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s understood,” assented Mr. Stone.
+“I’ll send them a bill.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But from the whimsical droop at the corner of
+his mouth it was evident that if the boys’ fathers
+waited for a bill from Mr. Stone they would wait
+a long time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He hurried over to the window of the agent’s office
+and bought four additional tickets for Rockledge.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Take these and distribute them among the
+other boys,” he said, as he handed them to Bobby.
+“And here’s some money to get on with until you
+hear from your folks,” he added, thrusting a number
+of bills in his hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s awfully good of you, Mr. Stone,” replied
+Bobby, as he put them in his pocket. “I don’t
+know how to thank you enough. I’ll keep careful
+account and see that you get it back to the last
+cent.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t worry about that,” rejoined Mr. Stone.
+“I’m only paying back an old debt, and even at
+that I still owe you a lot. Now you boys go right
+ahead and forget all your troubles. I’ll take full
+charge of the answer to your telegram and see that
+it gets to you all right.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to stay with you until the train leaves,”
+he went on, “but as I said before, every minute
+is precious now if we want to have any chance to
+nab those villains who robbed you. I’ll hustle
+up the constable and I’ll let you know later how
+we come out.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He gave Tommy a kiss and a hug, waved good-bye
+to the others in a gesture that included them
+all, and went out of the door. Through the window
+they could see him going briskly up the village
+street in a walk that was almost a run.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys, left alone, looked gleefully at each
+other.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” shouted Fred, as he threw his
+cap to the ceiling.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All our troubles are over now,” exulted Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Isn’t he a brick?” demanded Bobby gratefully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Reminds me of the bread cast upon the waters
+that our minister was talking about last Sunday,”
+remarked Mouser. “He said it would come back
+to you after many days, and by ginger I believe
+it now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s more than bread,” gloated Pee Wee.
+“It’s cake.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If Pee Wee says it’s cake, it <em>is</em> cake,” mocked
+Fred. “There’s nobody knows more than he does
+about things to eat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were now all as full of good spirits as they
+had formerly been full of misery. They had found
+that their cloud had a silver lining. In fact there
+was not a cloud any longer. It had broken away
+entirely.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their satisfaction was still greater when, a few
+minutes later, they saw two sleighs sweep past the
+station and take the direction that led toward the
+cabin in the woods. There were three determined-looking
+men in each sleigh, and among them they
+recognized the stalwart figure of Mr. Stone.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’re after them already,” cried Fred joyfully.
+“Gee whiz, Tommy! your father is some
+hustler.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He sure is,” assented Tommy proudly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here’s hoping that they catch the thieves!”
+exclaimed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wouldn’t it be bully!” cried Bobby. “I sure
+am crazy to get back my watch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And my scarf pin.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And my sleeve buttons.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And my seal ring.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys watched the sleighs intently until they
+were drawn out of sight.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you suppose they’ll do to the thieves
+if they catch them?” wondered Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” said Mouser, whose notions of
+legal procedure were woefully indistinct. “Hang
+them, maybe.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not so bad as that,” objected Pee Wee. “But
+I’ll bet they get a good long term in jail.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps they’ll be drawn and quartered, as
+Mr. Stone said they ought to be,” said Fred hopefully.
+“What do you suppose that means anyway,
+fellows?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m not sure,” answered Bobby, “but I guess
+it means to be cut up into quarters.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They can cut them up into eighths for all I
+care,” rejoined Fred vindictively. “Especially
+that fellow who called me red-head.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, what if he did?” said Pee Wee mischievously.
+“He only told the truth, didn’t he?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What difference does that make?” flared up
+Fred, who was rather sensitive on the subject.
+“You wouldn’t like to be called a pig because
+you’re as fat as one, would you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here, fellows, cut out your scrapping,”
+soothed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s agree that Pee Wee’s as thin as a rail
+and Fred’s hair is as black as ink,” suggested
+Mouser. “Then we’ll all be happy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In the general laugh that followed, the rumpled
+feathers were smoothed and all differences forgotten.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A moment later the whistle of the train was
+heard in the distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here she comes!” cried Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m sorry that telegram hasn’t come yet,”
+murmured Bobby regretfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Guess old Bailey’s rheumatism made him slow
+in getting up to the house,” suggested Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, don’t let’s worry,” observed Pee Wee,
+who was always ready to shunt his responsibilities
+to the shoulders of somebody else. “Mr. Stone
+will look after that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys boarded the train and sank back into
+their seats with a sigh of relief. Their troubles
+were over. They had been under a strain that
+would have been trying even to those much older
+than these eleven-year-old boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I never thought I’d be cheering for going back
+to school,” remarked Fred. “But I’m ready to do
+it now. All together, fellows:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hurrah for Rockledge!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They shouted it with a will.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER IX<br /> <br />A COWARDLY TRICK</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>“We seem to have this car almost all to ourselves,”
+remarked Mouser, looking around.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We ought to call it the Rockledge Special,”
+laughed Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps Tommy might object to that,” said
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Go as far as you like,” grinned Tommy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The travel was indeed very light on that particular
+day. There were only six or eight people
+scattered through the car. This was due in part
+to the snowstorm. Nobody would do much traveling
+on such a day unless it was absolutely necessary.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Half-way down the car, and on the other side of
+the aisle, a very old man was seated. He was evidently
+traveling alone. His hair was gray and
+scanty and his face was seamed with wrinkles.
+It was clear that he was very tired, and every once
+in a while his head would drop on his breast in a
+doze from which he would awake with a start at
+any sudden jar of the train.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s too bad that such an old man should have
+to be going on a journey all alone,” remarked
+Bobby with quick sympathy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Fred. “He must be awful old.
+He looks as if he was as much as eighty.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s a Grand Army man too,” observed
+Mouser. “You can see that from the hat he has
+there up in the rack.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He may be going to visit some of his children,”
+suggested Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“More likely he’s going to the Old Soldiers’
+Home,” conjectured Bobby. “You know
+there is one a little way the other side of Rockledge.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet he could tell some mighty good stories
+about the war,” said Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to see all that he has seen,” mused
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Or do all that he has done,” added Mouser.
+“It must be great to have been in a big war like
+that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe he was at Gettysburg,” guessed Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Or marched with Grant or Sherman,” chimed
+in Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their youthful imaginations quickened as they
+recalled the exciting scenes in which the veteran
+might have played a part, and they had a deep
+respect for him now as he sat there in his old
+age and weakness.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d almost like to go up and get him to talking,”
+ventured Fred. “We might get him started
+on the war. It’s all very well to read about it,
+but there’s nothing like hearing from one who has
+been through it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t think I would if I were you,” objected
+Bobby. “He’s probably too tired to do much talking
+and would rather be left alone.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s another fellow going up to him now,”
+replied Fred, “and I’ll bet he’ll get some good
+stories out of him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He indicated a large overgrown boy who seemed
+to be about fourteen years old. Up to now, he
+had been seated on the other side of the aisle from
+the veteran. But now he had risen and gone over
+in his direction. But instead of slipping into the
+seat beside him, as the boys had expected, he sat
+down in the seat directly behind him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Guess again, Fred,” laughed Pee Wee good-naturedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Everybody’s hunches go wrong sometimes,”
+answered Fred defensively.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the fellow up to anyway?” asked
+Mouser, with a sudden stirring of curiosity.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The newcomer seemed to have a long feather in
+his hand such as is commonly used in feather
+dusters. While the old man’s head drooped in a
+doze, the boy reached over and tickled the back
+of the old man’s neck with the tip of the feather.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The veteran reached up his hand fretfully as
+though to brush away a fly that was annoying him.
+The boy drew back and snickered audibly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys looked at each other indignantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you think of that?” demanded
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Queer sense of fun some people have,” snorted
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s a cheap skate,” declared Fred angrily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He ought to have a thrashing,” exclaimed
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Several times the scene was repeated, and the
+would-be joker was in high glee at the success of
+his trick.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>At last the old man gave up the attempt to
+sleep, and straightened up wearily in his seat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The joker looked around the car as though seeking
+for applause, but the silly grin on his face
+stiffened into a scowl as he met only contemptuous
+glances.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But his delicate sense of humor was not yet exhausted.
+The old man rose from his seat to go to
+the back of the car to get a drink of water. As
+he passed the fellow’s seat, the latter reached out
+the tip of his foot. The veteran tripped against
+it, stumbled and had all he could do to keep from
+falling by clutching the back of a seat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was the last straw and the boys were furious.
+By a common impulse they sprang out of
+their seats and went quickly down the aisle to
+where the fellow was sitting.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”
+snapped Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re too mean to live!” blazed out Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A fellow that’ll torment an old man like that
+ought to be tarred and feathered,” blurted
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And ridden on a rail,” finished Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The fellow looked at them with surprise that
+was mingled with alarm as he noted their wrathful
+faces. He jumped up and stood with his back
+toward the window.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Now that they saw him at closer range, their
+first impression of him was confirmed. He was
+strong and muscular, but the strength of his body
+was belied by the weakness of his face. It was
+a thoroughly mean face, pallid and unhealthy
+looking, with a loose mouth and shifty eyes that
+dropped when you looked straight into them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the matter with you boobs?” he demanded,
+in a voice that he tried to make threatening.
+“You’d better mind your own business.
+Who asked you to butt in?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We didn’t need any asking,” replied Bobby.
+“We saw what you did to that old man. You
+seemed to think it was funny, but we think it’s
+mean and sneaking.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And you’ve got to stop it,” put in Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It will be the worse for you if you don’t,”
+added Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll do just exactly what I want to do,” was
+the ugly reply, “and I’d like to see you Buttinskis
+stop me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll stop you quick enough,” said Bobby,
+“and the first thing we’re going to do is to make
+you change your seat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, you own the car, do you? I’ve paid my
+fare on this train and I’ll sit anywhere I want to.
+Any one would think you were president of the
+road to hear you talk.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll do something besides talk in a minute,”
+Mouser came back at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’ll you do?” jeered the bully, though his
+voice now was getting unsteady as he saw that the
+boys were in earnest.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred leaned forward, snatched the fellow’s cap
+from his head and threw it in a seat some distance
+away.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Follow your hat and you’ll find your seat,” he
+cried.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The fellow started forward in a rage, but just
+then the conductor came into the car. He came
+forward briskly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here, none of this!” he exclaimed. “You
+boys mustn’t do any scrapping on this train. Get
+back in your seats now, all of you, and behave
+yourselves.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys slowly obeyed, although Fred, whose
+fighting blood was up, had to be urged along a
+little by the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No sense in not minding the conductor,” counseled
+Bobby. “We’ve carried our point and
+that’s enough.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They had indeed carried their point, for the fellow,
+having regained his cap, slumped down in the
+seat where Fred had thrown it, and for the rest
+of the trip the old man was left in peace.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Nor did the bully try to get even for his discomfiture.
+But if looks could kill, the boys would
+surely have been withered up by the angry glances
+he shot at them from time to time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s a sweet specimen, isn’t he?” chuckled
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A nice thing to have around the house,” commented
+Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’d brighten it up on rainy days,” laughed
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A cute little cut-up, all right,” affirmed
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have him at Rockledge,” said
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps he’s going there, for all we know,”
+Pee Wee suggested.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hope not!” exclaimed Fred. “Bronson and
+Jinks are about all we can stand as it is.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wouldn’t Bronson and Jinks be glad to have
+him there?” said Bobby. “They’d be as thick
+as peas in a pod in less than no time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But further comment was cut short by the brake
+man throwing open the door and shouting:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All out for Rockledge!”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chX' class='c009'>CHAPTER X<br /> <br />ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The boys reached instinctively for their bags.
+Then they remembered that they had none, and
+looked at each other with a sheepish grin on their
+faces.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Nothing doing in that line,” mourned Fred.
+“I wonder if we’ll find them in the station.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They stepped off the platform into a crowd of
+their schoolmates, who had come down to welcome
+them. There they were, shouting and laughing
+and all talking at once—Billy Bassett, Jimmy
+Ailshine, “Sparrow” Bangs, Howell Purdy and
+a host of others. They fairly mobbed the newcomers
+and were for dragging them off at once
+to the trolley car that ran to the school. But the
+boys explained that they first had to look after
+their missing baggage and they all trooped into
+the station.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Haven’t we got a lot to tell you fellows!” exclaimed
+Mouser. “You just wait till you hear it
+all!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Caught in a snowslide,” volunteered Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Held up by tramps,” declared Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Robbed of all we had,” added Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>These tantalizing bits of information only
+served to whet the appetite for more. Their
+friends crowded around them open-eyed, and
+questions shot out at them like bullets from guns.
+The boys suddenly found themselves exalted to
+the rank of heroes. But they bore their honors
+meekly enough, although they were almost bursting
+with the feeling of their importance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were delighted to find their missing bags
+and suit-cases waiting for them. The conductor
+had known the station their tickets called for, and
+had left the articles in the care of the Rockledge
+station agent.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a telegram too from Mr. Blake to
+Bobby. He had wired the money to Roseville and
+Mr. Stone had seen to it that it was sent on to
+Bobby at Rockledge. Mr. Blake’s telegram was a
+lengthy one and full of anxiety. In it he told
+Bobby to wire at once on his arrival at Rockledge,
+which Bobby promptly did.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Stone had sent a separate telegram also on
+his own account. He stated briefly that the robbers
+had not yet been caught, but that the police
+were busily hunting for them and hoped to get
+them soon.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well,” sighed Bobby, as he folded up the
+telegram, “I suppose all we can do is to watch and
+wait.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wait for the watch you mean,” laughed
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now don’t start anything like that,” grinned
+Fred. “You’ll start Billy Bassett going if you
+do, and I can see that he’s got a lot of conundrums
+all ready to fire off at us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who’s that talking about me?” laughed Billy,
+coming forward. “Let him say it to my face.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ginger thought you’d be springing something
+on us,” replied Pee Wee, “and we were getting
+ready to duck.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Billy looked aggrieved.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You fellows don’t know a good riddle when
+you hear one,” he remarked scornfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How do you know?” countered Mouser.
+“You never give us a chance to try. Spring a
+real good one and see how quick we’ll tumble.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Billy looked dubious but took a chance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, take this one, then,” he said. “What
+is it that happens twice in a moment, once in a
+minute, and not once in a thousand years.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys put on their thinking caps, but the
+problem was beyond them, and Billy strutted
+around with a triumphant look upon his face.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t seem to be any too much brains in this
+crowd,” he said, in a superior way.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Give us time,” pleaded Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe it’s because it’s so bad and not because
+it’s so good that we can’t guess it,” conjectured
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Take all the time you want,” said Billy patronizingly,
+“but I guessed it as soon as I heard
+it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As they had no evidence to the contrary, they
+had to take Billy’s word for this.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They pondered it for several minutes, but no
+answer was forthcoming.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Nobody home,” taunted Billy. “You’re a
+bunch of dead ones for fair.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll give it up,” said Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s have it, Billy,” surrendered Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll be the goat,” said Bobby. “What’s the
+answer?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The letter M,” crowed Billy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Disgust and discomfiture sat on the boys’ faces.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Rotten,” groaned Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The worst I ever heard,” grunted Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wish I had a gun,” remarked Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s a mighty good one,” defended Billy.
+“But what’s the use in giving you fellows something
+to chew over. It’s like casting diamonds
+before swine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You mean pearls,” corrected Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I may be mistaken about the diamonds,”
+Billy came back at them, “but I’m dead sure about
+the swine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The laugh that followed told Billy that he had
+made a hit, and he swelled up like a pouter pigeon.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve got another good one,” he volunteered,
+“a regular peach. Why is—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But here the boys fell on Billy in a body and
+he was forced to hold his “peach” in reserve for
+another time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby by this time had finished all he had to
+do in the station, and the boys gathered up their
+recovered suit-cases and made a bee line for the
+trolley. A car was coming, not a block away, and
+they piled aboard almost before it had come to a
+stop with wild clatter and hubbub. But the motorman
+and conductor were used to the uproar
+and the pranks of the Rockledge boys, and what
+few other passengers there were smiled indulgently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Rockledge was a lively little town with good
+stores and pleasant residence streets shaded by
+handsome oak trees. There were gas and electric
+lights, a number of churches and all the usual appurtenances
+of a bustling village that hoped some
+day to become a city. And not the least of the
+things in which the townspeople took pride was
+Rockledge School.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond, the head of the school, had been
+fortunate in choosing its location. He had been
+able to secure, at a remarkably low price, a beautiful
+private estate, whose owner had died and
+whose family had moved away. There were several
+buildings on the grounds and these he had
+remodeled and adapted to the purposes of a school,
+and he had built up an institution that was well
+and favorably known in all that section of the
+State.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The school was select. By this is not meant that
+it was in the least degree snobbish. Dr. Raymond
+hated anything of that kind, and the school was
+run on a purely democratic basis, with every pupil
+on exactly the same level, whether his parents happened
+to be rich or poor. But the doctor was a
+great believer in the personal influence of teacher
+over pupil, and this could not be exerted so well
+if the classes were large. So the school was limited
+to fifty pupils, and this limit was never exceeded.
+At this figure the school was always full,
+and there was usually a waiting list from which
+any vacancy that might occur could be quickly
+filled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The doctor himself was a scholar of high standing,
+and he had surrounded himself with an efficient
+staff of teachers. Discipline was firm without
+being severe, and the boys were put largely
+on their honor to do the right thing. There was
+a society called the “Sword and Star” to which
+admission could be gained only on the ground of
+scholarship and good behavior.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby had won membership in this the year
+before and had also gained the Medal of Honor
+which was allotted each year to that pupil who,
+in the judgment both of his teachers and school-fellows,
+had stood out above all others. Fred,
+who was more flighty and less inclined to study,
+and whose “red-headed” disposition was always
+getting him into trouble, was not yet a member
+of the society, but had faithfully promised himself
+that he would win membership in the term
+just beginning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A ride of only a few minutes brought them close
+to the school grounds and the boys prepared to get
+off. Tommy Stone was to stay on the trolley car,
+which ran as far as Belden School.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Tommy had kept himself rather in the background
+during the trip. He happened to be the
+only Belden boy on the car, and, owing to the intense
+rivalry between the two schools, a Belden
+boy was usually as popular with the Rockledge
+boys as poison ivy at a picnic party. But just
+now Tommy was traveling under the protection
+of Bobby and his party, and this saved him from
+the horse play he would otherwise have had to
+undergo.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Good-bye, Tommy!” said Bobby, as he got
+ready to leave the car. “Tell your father when
+you write to him how much obliged we are to him
+for all he has done for us. I’m going to write
+him a letter myself about it to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, that’s all right,” said Tommy. “Your father
+would have done the same for me if I’d been
+in the same fix as you fellows were.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And tell the Belden boys that we’re going to
+trim ’em good and plenty when the baseball season
+begins,” laughed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t be too sure of that,” grinned Tommy in
+return. “But I’ll tell them and they’ll be all
+ready for you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys dropped off the car, and in a few minutes
+saw the school buildings looming up before
+them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” cried Fred, dropping his suitcase
+and executing a jig. “The old place certainly
+looks good to me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Seemed a long way off a few hours ago when
+we didn’t have a cent to our names,” remarked
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looked as if we’d have to walk the ties to get
+here,” laughed Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And think how many stone bruises you’d have
+got,” suggested Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“‘Barked shins,’ you mean,” corrected
+Mouser. “They’re the latest thing in Pee Wee’s
+collection.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The fat boy grinned. He was too happy or perhaps
+too lazy to enter any protest just then.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The school was beautifully located on a high
+bluff overlooking Monatook Lake, a sheet of water,
+nearly oval in shape. It was about ten miles
+long and five miles wide at its broadest part.
+There were several small islands scattered over
+the lake, and, as may be imagined, these were favorite
+resorts of the boys when they were permitted
+to visit them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A strong fence guarded the edge of the bluff for
+the entire length of the school grounds. A winding
+staircase led from the top of the bluff to the
+boathouse and the lake level.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Just now Monatook was clothed in an icy mantle
+that shone like silver under the light of the
+moon which had just risen. It was a scene of
+wintry splendor that gladdened the heart to look
+upon.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There were four buildings on the grounds. In
+the main building, which was made of brick and
+sandstone, the classrooms and dining-room were
+located. The basement had two sections, one for
+the kitchen and the other for the indoor gymnasium.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>On the upper floor were ranged the dormitories.
+These were two in number. There were beds for
+twenty boys in each one. Then there were five
+separate sleeping rooms, each one designed for the
+use of two boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A little off from the main building, but connected
+with it by a portico, was a roomy house in which
+the doctor and his family lived, together with the
+members of the teaching staff.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Besides these there were a gate-keeper’s cottage,
+where the servants slept, and a minor building
+used for storage purposes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The grounds were skillfully laid out, and with
+their well kept lawns and shaded paths formed a
+very attractive campus. To supply the athletic
+needs of the boys there was a football field, a baseball
+diamond, and tennis and basketball courts.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>So that the boys who had the luck to be sent by
+their parents to Rockledge School were usually
+convinced before they had been there long that
+their lines had fallen in pleasant places.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I suppose the first thing we’ll have to
+do is to report to Dr. Raymond,” said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’ll know that the school can go on all right
+now that we’re here,” grinned Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose we’ll have to let him know that we’re
+on deck,” admitted Fred, “but let’s get it over in
+a hurry and get some grub. I’m hungry enough
+to eat nails.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t we get something to eat first?”
+asked Pee Wee wistfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You ate enough at Mrs. Wilson’s to last for
+a week, I should think,” said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I notice that you weren’t very far behind,”
+retorted Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They trooped into the doctor’s office and found
+him busy with some papers, which he laid aside
+at once, however, as he stood up to greet them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He was a tall, spare man, with a clean-cut face
+and kindly eyes that usually had a humorous twinkle
+in them, although they could flash fire if he
+caught any of the boys doing a mean or tricky
+thing. He smiled cordially and shook hands with
+them all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re a little later than you expected to be,
+aren’t you?” he asked. “I was looking for you
+on an earlier train.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ve had a hard time getting here,” smiled
+Bobby, and in a few words he told of the stirring
+adventures through which the little party had
+gone that day. The doctor listened intently, surprise,
+indignation and sympathy in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was an outrage!” he exclaimed, when Bobby
+had finished, “and I will get in touch with Mr.
+Stone at once and lend him any aid I can in catching
+the thieves. But I am very glad and thankful
+that it was only a loss of money and property.
+Those rascals might have used personal violence.
+I’ll telephone to-morrow to a number of different
+towns, giving a description of the tramps and urging
+the authorities to be on the look-out for them.
+The sooner such fellows are put in jail the better.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He made notes of as many points about the robbers
+as the boys could remember, especially of the
+scar of one man and the limp of the other. As
+to the third man, the boys were somewhat hazy.
+He was just “plain tramp.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And now,” said the doctor, his eyes twinkling,
+“I suppose there’s no need of asking you boys
+whether you are hungry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was an eager assent on the part of the
+other boys and a heart-felt groan from Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Of course it is long after the usual supper
+hour,” smiled the doctor, “but go over to the dining-room,
+find the housekeeper and tell her I want
+her to give you the very best meal she knows how
+to get up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was no need of a second injunction, and
+the boys wished the head of the school good-night
+and were off to hunt up the housekeeper.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Isn’t the doctor a brick?” ejaculated Mouser.
+“I thought he’d keep us there half an hour or
+more talking about the work for the coming term
+and what he would expect of us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’ll come later,” said Fred. “Just now
+he knew that we were hungry.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes him such a bully sort,”
+said Bobby. “He hasn’t forgotten that he was
+once a boy himself,” he added, with a happy sigh.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And this, perhaps, was as high tribute as could
+be paid by one of his pupils to the master of Rockledge
+School.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XI<br /> <br />TOM HICKSLEY REAPPEARS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The housekeeper carried out the principal’s order
+to the letter. And she did it with the better
+grace because she herself was fond of the boys.
+She bustled about and in a very short time, which
+seemed long enough, however, to the hungry boys,
+had a smoking hot meal on the table. The boys
+gathered around and pitched into the good things
+like so many hungry wolves, while the housekeeper
+watched them with a genial smile on her good-natured
+face.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Some feed,” pronounced Fred, with a sigh of
+satisfaction, when at last they were through.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ve had a tough day in some ways,” declared
+Pee Wee, “but a mighty lucky one in another.
+Just think of the three cooks we’ve come
+up against. Meena for breakfast, Mrs. Wilson
+for dinner, and Mary here for supper. Yum-yum!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sounds as if you were a cannibal,” commented
+Mouser, with a grin.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, Pee Wee hasn’t got to that yet,” mocked
+Fred, “but there’s no telling when he will if that
+appetite of his holds out.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to be out on a raft with Pee Wee in
+the middle of the ocean, if we were short of grub,”
+chuckled Mouser. “Just think of the hungry
+looks he’d be throwing at me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like nothing better than to have Pee Wee
+along,” put in Bobby. “We could live off him for
+a month.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The chaff flew back and forth for a while, and
+then the call of sleep began to make itself felt.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby yawned and reached for his watch.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wonder what time—” he began, and then
+stopped short in chagrin.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No use, Bobby,” said Mouser. “The chances
+are that you’ll never see that watch again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe it’s in some pawnshop by this time,”
+was the cold comfort that Fred had to offer.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No loss without some gain,” chimed in Pee
+Wee. “I won’t have the trouble of unfastening
+my sleeve buttons anyway.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s looking on the bright side of things all
+right,” laughed Bobby. “Come along, fellows,
+and let’s get to bed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was no dissenting voice, and they made
+their way upstairs to the old familiar dormitory.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was one of the brightest and most cheerful
+rooms in the school and not the least of its charm
+was that it commanded a splendid view of the lake.
+There was ample space for the twenty beds that
+the room contained. A locker stood beside each
+bed for the exclusive use of the occupant, and
+there was a chair at the head of each bed on which
+the regulations of the school demanded that clothing
+should be carefully folded and arranged each
+night upon retiring.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Most of the boys had already arrived for the
+beginning of the term, and the room was full of
+noise and the clatter of tongues. Later on, a little
+more quiet would be insisted upon, but the regular
+school course was not in full swing yet and
+the boys were allowed a little more latitude than
+usual.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The other occupants of the room clustered instantly
+about Bobby and his party, who were general
+favorites. They had already learned almost
+all there was to be told about the adventures of the
+day, but they were keenly interested in the exploits
+of the party during their winter holiday in
+the Big Woods.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Shiner”—the nickname that had been bestowed
+on Jimmy Ailshine—Howell Purdy and
+“Sparrow” Bangs, had also been on that memorable
+trip, but as they too had reached school
+but a little earlier in the day, they had been able
+to tell only enough of their adventures to whet
+the appetite for more. The newcomers were
+pleased at this, as they had feared that all the wind
+would be taken out of their sails and that the trip
+would be an old story when they arrived upon the
+scene.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sparrow says that you killed a big bear up in
+the woods,” said Sam Thompson, one of the
+younger boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And to hear Sparrow tell it, it must have been
+a twenty-foot bear at least,” laughed Frank Durrock.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No,” grinned Fred. “It had only four feet,
+just like any other bear.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Smarty!” Frank shot back at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But it seemed like twenty feet when he reared
+up at us,” explained Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He was an old sockdolager, all right,” added
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to see any bear so close again,”
+remarked Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve seen him in my sleep once or twice since,”
+said Fred, “and I’ve waked up all in a sweat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just which one of you was it that killed it?”
+asked Sam, his eyes as big as saucers.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s something we can’t tell,” answered
+Bobby. “We all fired at it, but I guess it was
+Gid Harple, the guide, who did the trick. He was
+a dandy shot, all right.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Gid’s going to fix up the claws and teeth and
+send ’em down to us,” said Mouser. “Then you
+can see for yourself just what a big fellow that
+bear was.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I heard that you had a shot at a wildcat too,”
+put in “Skeets” Brody.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Fred, “and that was a fool stunt
+too. We didn’t have much chance of getting him,
+and that left our guns empty when we saw the bear
+the first time. My! but we had a run for it that
+day. Talk about a Marathon!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How did Pee Wee manage to make it?” asked
+Frank skeptically. “I can’t imagine him putting
+on speed.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee wasn’t with us that time,” explained
+Bobby. “The rest of the fellows walked down to
+the station, but Pee Wee came behind in the sleigh
+with Gid.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I had more sense than the rest of the gang,”
+put in Pee Wee, with a superior air.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hear you got a lot of muskrats by stunning
+them through the ice,” said Skeets. “How did
+you make out with training them, Mouser?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not very well,” confessed Mouser. “They’re
+too wild. Gid said I couldn’t train ’em, and I
+guess he knew what he was talking about.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The finding of Pat’s father in the little shack,
+and the story of the hunting lodge, completely
+buried in the big snowslide, and the great fight
+they had to get out alive were also subjects of
+which their audience could not have enough. The
+listeners kept clamoring for more details and still
+more, until in sheer self-defense the boys had to
+call a halt.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have a heart, fellows,” said Bobby. “I’m so
+dead tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Fred, “we’ll have all the term
+to tell you about the rest of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their hearers had to be content with this, and
+in a few moments more the boys had undressed
+and were in bed. But it is safe to say that in their
+dreams that night enough bears and wildcats were
+seen to stock a menagerie.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Say, Fred,” was Bobby’s last remark that
+night, as he slipped between the sheets, “isn’t it
+bully to be back in the old dormitory again? Just
+suppose the tramps had tied us up in that old
+shack while they slipped out and left us there.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ugh!” shuddered Fred, as he snuggled still
+deeper in his bed. “It gives me the cold shivers
+just to think of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a hard thing for the boys to get out of
+their warm beds when the rising bell sounded the
+next morning. But there was no help for it, and
+they washed and dressed in a hurry, cheered by
+the thought of breakfast waiting for them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Several tables were spread in the large bright
+dining-room. One of them was reserved for Dr.
+Raymond and his family, together with the head
+teachers. The boys were ranged about the others,
+with a junior instructor sitting at the head of each
+to keep order. But his duties were light, for the
+boys were so intent upon dispatching their food
+that they had little time left for mischief. Each
+kept a wary eye on his plate, however, for special
+dainties had a way sometimes of vanishing mysteriously,
+and “eternal vigilance” was the price
+of pie.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The morning was frosty but sunny, and after
+they had finished their meal, the boys lost no time
+in getting outdoors. There was little to be done
+on the first day except to gather in the classrooms
+for a few minutes and have their lessons assigned
+for the following day.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Any new fellows here this term, Skeets?”
+Bobby asked, as the latter strolled with him and
+Fred on the hard snowy path in front of the main
+building.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Two or three came in yesterday, I heard,” answered
+Skeets, “but I’ve only met one of them so
+far. His name’s Tom Hicksley.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What kind of fellow does he seem to be?”
+asked Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t care for him very much,” replied
+Skeets. “That is, judging by his looks. But you
+can’t always tell by that. There he is now,” he
+added, as a boy approached them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred and Bobby looked first at the newcomer
+and then at each other.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“My! it’s the fellow we squelched for teasing
+the old soldier on the train!” gasped Bobby.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XII<br /> <br />A NEW ENEMY</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Tom Hicksley had caught sight of the three
+boys at the same moment, and from the spiteful
+look that came into his small eyes it was clear that
+he recognized Bobby and Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys looked at him coldly but did not speak,
+and Hicksley, on his part, seemed at first as
+though he were going to pass them without saying
+anything. But the events of the evening before
+still rankled in him, and he suddenly stopped.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“So you’re the butt-ins that mixed up in my
+affairs last night, are you?” he asked, in a tone
+that he tried to make sarcastic.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred flared up at once.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, we did,” he shot out; “and we’d do it
+again if we saw you up to your mean tricks. You
+can’t do anything of that kind while we’re around
+and expect to get away with it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hello! what’s the fuss about?” asked Skeets,
+with sudden interest.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You shut up!” commanded Hicksley. “This
+isn’t any of your funeral. I’m talking to these
+two boobs here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t tell me to shut up!” cried Skeets, who
+had a hair trigger temper very much like Fred’s
+own.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you anything I like,” retorted Hicksley,
+who seemed to be a master in the “gentle art
+of making enemies.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what it was, Skeets,” said Bobby.
+“I don’t wonder that he’s so ashamed of it that
+he doesn’t want it talked about. We saw him
+teasing an old soldier—a real old man, mind you—who
+was trying to get a little sleep. Then when
+the old man went up the aisle to get some water,
+this fellow stuck out his foot and tried to trip
+him up. The man had all he could do to keep
+from falling. That was too much for us fellows
+and we made him stop.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He ought to have had his head knocked off,”
+growled Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would take more than you fellows to knock
+my head off,” returned Hicksley belligerently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’d probably get along as well without it
+as with it,” retorted Fred. “We knocked your
+cap off anyway, and I notice that you changed
+your seat just as we told you to.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was because the conductor came along,”
+replied Hicksley. “And it’s a mighty good thing
+for you that he did. If he hadn’t I’d have knocked
+you into the middle of next week.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You couldn’t knock me into to-morrow, let
+alone the middle of next week,” returned Fred,
+who was now thoroughly aroused.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come, come, Fred,” said Bobby soothingly.
+“There’s no use in getting into a temper about
+this fellow. He isn’t worth it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll show you whether I’m worth it or not,”
+cried Hicksley, in a rage. “Don’t you think for
+a minute that you’ve heard the last of this. There
+were four of you fellows last night, and there are
+three of you now. But I’ll catch each one of you
+alone some time, and I’ll tan each one of you
+within an inch of your life.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’d better try it,” answered Fred. “You’d
+be afraid to tackle a live one. All you’re good for
+is to torment a helpless old man. You’re a nice
+fellow, you are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The quarrel, although it was none of the boys’
+seeking, was growing so hot that it was perhaps
+just as well that Mr. Carrier, one of the teachers,
+should come walking briskly along just at that moment.
+He saw from their flushed faces that something
+unpleasant was in the wind, but thought it
+just as well to ignore it rather than give it importance
+by taking notice of it.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Good morning, boys,” he called cordially.
+“It’s just about time for meeting in the main hall.
+I’m going over there now, and you’d better come
+along with me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This put an end to the threatening trouble for
+the time, and the boys followed along in his wake,
+Hicksley some distance behind the other three and
+muttering threats under his breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Isn’t he a pippin?” said Bobby, in a low voice,
+so that Mr. Carrier could not hear.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks to me like something that the cat
+brought in,” grumbled Fred, whose rumpled feathers
+took some time for smoothing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s going around looking for trouble,” observed
+Skeets; “and that kind is sure to find it
+before very long.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No decent fellow will want to have anything
+to do with him,” remarked Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Except perhaps Bill Bronson and Jack Jinks,”
+amended Bobby. “He’ll be just nuts for them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I said <em>decent</em> fellow,” repeated Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They soon reached the main assembly room into
+which the boys were streaming from all directions.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond and the rest of the teaching staff
+were seated on a platform in the front of the room.
+When the gathering had subsided into silence, the
+principal rose and gave the boys a little informal
+talk about the duties of the coming term and the
+spirit in which he hoped they would go about their
+work. He dwelt especially on the incentives offered
+them to become members of the “Sword and
+Star,” the main society of the school, and as he
+mentioned the name of the society, the boys who
+were members jumped to their feet and gave the
+society yell:</p>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c0'>
+<div class='nf-center c013'  >
+    <div>“One, two, three—<em>boom!</em></div>
+    <div>Boom Z-z-z-ah!</div>
+    <div>Rockledge! Rockledge!</div>
+    <div>Sword and Star!</div>
+    <div>Who’s on top?</div>
+    <div>We sure are—</div>
+    <div><em>Rock</em>-ledge!”</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c012'>The hearty shout brought a flush of pleasure
+into the doctor’s cheeks and he looked around upon
+his charges with a face beaming with pride. He
+concluded his talk with an urgent invitation to
+each of the boys to strive for the Medal of Honor,
+the highest prize within the gift of the school, and
+then dismissed them to their respective classes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Here the proceedings were brief. The tasks for
+the following day were assigned and then the boys
+were left to their own devices until the hours set
+aside that afternoon and evening for preparing
+their lessons.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Our soft snap is nearly over,” mourned Fred.
+“From now on it will be steady work until the
+end of the term.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But think how much fun we’ll have in between,”
+comforted Bobby. “I’ve got a hunch
+that we’re going to have the bulliest time at Rockledge
+that we’ve ever had yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What makes you think that?” asked Fred pessimistically.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I said it was a hunch, didn’t I?” demanded
+Bobby. “You don’t have to explain a hunch.
+You just have it and that’s all there is to it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hate to think of buckling down to work
+again,” said Fred. “We had such a bully free
+time up in the woods that I wish it would last forever.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all the more reason you ought to be
+willing to work when the time comes,” remonstrated
+Bobby. “Think of the poor fellows that
+never have any outings and have to work hard all
+the time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose you’re right,” conceded Fred. “I
+don’t know just what it is that makes me feel that
+way. It wasn’t so when I got up this morning.
+I’ll tell you just what I think it is,” he said, as a
+sudden explanation of his mood suggested itself
+to him. “I’ll bet it’s that Tom Hicksley. I
+wanted to get a crack at him this morning when
+Mr. Carrier came along and stopped us. I’d have
+felt better if I’d lit out at him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now, Fred, cut out that fighting talk,” said
+Bobby impatiently. “There’s nothing in it.
+What’s the use of getting into a row that will make
+your folks feel bad when they hear of it and perhaps
+bring you up before the doctor?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I notice that you’re ready enough to fight
+sometimes,” grumbled Fred in self-defense.
+“You’d have pitched into Ap Plunkit if he’d hit
+you with that whip yesterday morning, and you
+were all worked up on the train at Hicksley.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s a very different thing from looking for
+trouble,” said Bobby stoutly. “It’s all right to
+take your own part when people try to bully or
+strike you. But it’s always best to keep out of a
+fight unless you’re forced into it. There wasn’t
+really any reason to fight Tom Hicksley this morning,
+and you know it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps if you had hair as red as mine you
+wouldn’t find it so easy to keep your temper,”
+said Fred, falling back on an excuse he was fond
+of using.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe not,” laughed Bobby, “but you can
+make a try at it anyhow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s this I hear about fighting?” said
+Frank Durrock, as he came up behind them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank was larger and older than the two boys,
+and a prime favorite with them. He held the post
+of captain of the school. This carried with it no
+official power, as that rested wholly with the
+teachers. But Frank was supposed to have a general
+oversight, stop any disorder that went too far and
+in general to act as a sort of big brother to the
+younger boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He was a fine athlete also, and had been captain
+of the football team on which Bobby and
+Fred had played the preceding fall and which had
+won the Thanksgiving game from Belden. His
+skill in baseball was also marked, and he was expected
+to play first base on the nine in the spring.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, Fred was feeling a little sore over a row
+he had with Hicksley this morning,” explained
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That new fellow?” asked Durrock. “I passed
+him a little while ago and he was talking with
+Bronson and Jinks. They seemed to be quite
+chummy together.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did I tell you?” cried Fred to Bobby.
+“I knew those fellows would get together as sure
+as shooting.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’re three of a kind,” assented Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know anything about what kind of
+fellow he is,” remarked Frank, “but somebody
+was telling me that he was a good baseball player.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys did not think it was worth while to tell
+what they knew of Hicksley and so kept quiet.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s big and husky and ought to make a good
+slugger,” continued Frank, “and we can’t have
+too much batting strength on our nine. So if he
+can field as well as bat, he may be able to get a
+place on the team.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The prospect was not at all pleasing to Bobby
+and Fred, but above everything else they were
+loyal to the school, and if the newcomer would be
+a help to the Rockledge nine they were perfectly
+willing to forget their own feeling.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“So you see, Fred,” continued Frank, “you
+don’t want to hold any grudge you may have
+against Hicksley. I don’t know what your scrap
+was about and I don’t want to know, but whatever
+it is, forget it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure I will,” said Fred heartily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You know how it was on the football team,”
+went on Frank. “There were fellows on that
+team that you didn’t like—Jinks, for instance—but
+you overlooked that feeling and played good
+football just the same. And we want to do the
+same thing on the nine.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m especially anxious to get up a strong nine
+this year,” he continued, “because we’re going
+to have some pretty nifty teams against us. Belden
+has got two or three new fellows that they say
+are crackerjacks and they’ll give us all we want
+to do to beat ’em.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Then, too, we’re going to have a little different
+scheme this season than we ever had before.
+While you hunters have been up in the woods
+shooting bears”—here he grinned—“I’ve been
+hustling around with a few others and organized
+a new league.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A new league!” exclaimed Bobby and Fred in
+the same breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A new league!” repeated Skeets Brody and
+Sparrow Bangs, who had come up just in time to
+hear the last words. “What do you mean, Frank?
+Tell us all about it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They gathered about him, their eyes glistening.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIII<br /> <br />THE MONATOOK LAKE LEAGUE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>“Now, now, don’t all get excited,” admonished
+Frank, who, all the same, was immensely delighted
+with the sensation he had stirred up by his announcement.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t keep us waiting, Frank,” pleaded Fred,
+who would rather play baseball at any time than
+eat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Out with it, like a good fellow,” chimed in
+Bobby, whose pitching had won a game from Belden
+the previous term.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank, with the instinct of the true story teller,
+waited until he had got his audience worked up to
+the proper pitch. Then when they were on edge,
+he proceeded:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s this way,” he explained. “Up to now
+we’ve been going on in a kind of rut. Belden is
+about the only team we’ve ever played any real
+games with, and that hasn’t given us enough practice.
+We’ve had our own scrub nine to practice
+with, but as a rule they’ve been so easy that we
+haven’t had to work hard enough to win. The
+only way we can learn to hit different kinds of
+pitching is to come up against nines that give us
+a stiff fight to win.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But we have played with village nines sometimes,”
+interrupted Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We played the Benton team last year and beat
+them six to five,” reminded Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, I know,” admitted Frank; “but those
+were only single games, and there wasn’t enough
+at stake. It didn’t make much difference whether
+we won from them or not as long as we put it all
+over Belden.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now, don’t you see how much more exciting it
+would be to have several different teams, all members
+of one league, each one playing the other a
+certain number of games, each one fighting hard
+for every game and each team working its head
+off to get the pennant, which would be given to
+the nine that had won the most games at the end
+of the season?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys broke into a chorus of delighted exclamations.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That would be bully!” cried Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would be a regular see-saw!” exclaimed
+Fred. “First one team would be in the lead and
+then the other. It would be a rattling hard fight
+all the way from the start of the season to the
+finish.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s a corker,” agreed Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A pippin of a scheme,” declared Sparrow with
+emphasis.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I thought you fellows would like it,” said
+Frank, much pleased at the enthusiastic reception
+of his plan. “I talked it over with Dr. Raymond,
+and he said that he saw no objection to it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The doc’s a good old sport,” commented Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And Dr. Raymond saw the head of the Belden
+school and he agreed to it too,” continued Frank,
+“while the captain of the Belden nine is fairly
+daffy over it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How many clubs are there to be in the
+league?” asked Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We decided that four would be enough,” answered
+Frank. “You see, we have only Saturdays
+to play, and if we had too many clubs in the
+league we couldn’t play enough games to really
+make the thing go. But with four teams, each can
+play three games with every other team and that
+would give us a pretty good line on the strength
+of each nine.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Every team would play nine games altogether,
+then,” figured Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, and that would take nine Saturdays. Allowing
+for some days when it might be too rainy
+to play that will just about cover the playing season
+before school closes for the summer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who are to be the other two nines besides
+Belden and ourselves?” asked Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ve been scouting around and have found
+two town nines that will be glad to go in with us,”
+answered Frank. “One is at Somerset and the
+other at Ridgefield. They’re all within a few
+miles so that we wouldn’t have to travel far to
+play them. The fellows are about the same age
+as we are, from eleven to fourteen.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What will be the name of the league?” asked
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How does Monatook Lake League strike you?”
+asked Frank. “Both towns are right on the lake,
+just as Rockledge and Belden are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just the thing,” was the verdict of all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Some of those town boys are dandy players,”
+said Skeets. “I saw the Somerset team play once
+and they certainly put up a fine game.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And the Ridgefield boys have a pitcher who is
+a peach, all right,” said Frank. “But that’s just
+what we’re looking for. It wouldn’t be any fun
+defeating a lot of dubs.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to look out that they don’t ring in
+some good players from other towns to fill up
+weak places on their team,” said Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Of course we’ll have to take a chance on that,”
+admitted Frank. “But I don’t think we’ll have
+to worry much. I know some of the boys on both
+teams and they seem to be pretty square fellows.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ll have to limber up that pitching arm of
+yours and get it in good shape, Bobby,” cried Fred
+jubilantly, clapping his friend on the shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How do you know I’ll get a chance to pitch?”
+asked Bobby modestly. “The nine isn’t made up
+yet and won’t be till we’ve had a chance to practice.
+Some of the new fellows may be a good
+deal better than I am at pitching.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t believe they will be,” returned Skeets.
+“Do you remember, Fred, that last game when
+Bobby pitched and we beat Belden by three to
+two?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You bet I do,” replied Fred. “And I remember
+that catch that Bobby made in the ninth inning
+when he rolled over and over and yet held
+on to the ball. If he had let it get away from him,
+Belden would have won sure.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wish we could go right out on the field tomorrow!”
+exclaimed impatient Fred, who was
+very much worked up over the prospect of sport
+that the new league opened up.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That would be rushing things for fair,”
+laughed Frank.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would hardly do to be playing ball in overcoats
+and mittens,” grinned Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s see,” said Sparrow. “This is the
+twenty-fifth of January. To the twenty-fifth of
+February is one month and to the twenty-fifth of
+March is another. The field ought to be in shape
+for playing by that time. Don’t you think so,
+Frank?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If we have a fairly early spring it ought to,”
+said Frank. “Still in this climate I’ve seen snow
+on the ground sometimes in April.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“February is a short month,” said Fred hopefully.
+“That will cut the time down some.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Anyway we can do a whole lot of practicing
+indoors,” said Bobby. “The gymnasium is good
+and warm and we can rig up some kind of a cage
+for pitching and catching.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just as they do in colleges,” said Sparrow
+proudly. “I tell you, fellows, we’re some class!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet the town papers’ll put in reports of the
+games,” said Fred, who already in imagination
+saw his name in print.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure they will,” agreed Skeets. “They’ll be
+glad of a chance to fill up space.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was not very flattering, and Fred, who saw
+fame coming his way with giant strides, rather resented
+it.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They won’t do it only for that reason,” he said
+indignantly. “I bet there’ll be some dandy games
+played and lots of people in the towns will come
+out to see them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe, especially as they won’t have to pay to
+get in,” retorted Skeets, who was not averse at
+times to stirring Fred up just for the fun of seeing
+him roiled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, we can always count on big crowds when
+Rockledge and Belden play anyway,” put in
+Bobby, before Fred had a chance to throw back at
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We ought to get some kind of monogram
+sewed on our uniforms or caps to show the name
+of the league,” said Sparrow, who was quite as
+alive as Fred was to the new dignity that was coming
+to them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The letters M. L. L. would look nifty, sure
+enough,” agreed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well there’s plenty of time to think of those
+things before the season opens,” remarked Frank.
+“The main thing now is to get up a team that will
+put it all over the other fellows.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just think how it would feel to be the champions
+of the league,” said Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And to pull up the pennant on the flagpole just
+back of center field,” gloated Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Rockledge wouldn’t be big enough to hold us,”
+said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right, fellows,” cautioned Frank.
+“But remember all the other fellows are feeling
+the same way. It’s easy enough to win games in
+our dreams, but the only ones that count are those
+that are won on the diamond.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll win them all right there too,” replied
+Fred, who already saw himself cracking out a
+home run with the bases full. “We’ll be there
+with bells on from the time the season opens.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I bet we’ll go all through the season without
+losing a game,” declared Sparrow, in a wild flight
+of fancy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come off the perch,” warned Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Turn over, turn over, you’re on your back,”
+said the irreverent Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ll bring bad luck on us if you talk like
+that,” cautioned Frank. “It stands to reason
+that we’ll have to lose some games. The other
+fellows are no slouches, don’t you forget that, and
+they’ll be out to win just as we are.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The best teams in the big leagues lose lots of
+games, even to the poorest ones,” said Bobby.
+“You’ll notice that the nines that win the championships
+don’t often come through the season
+with much more than six hundred per cent.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just what does that mean?” asked Skeets, who
+had never been especially strong in mathematics.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby did a swift sum in mental arithmetic.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That means they won three games out of five,”
+he announced. “So you see they had lots of losses
+before they won the pennant. We’ve got a swell
+chance of winning every game—I don’t think. If
+we win six out of the nine, I shall be perfectly
+satisfied. That will give us a percentage of six
+hundred and sixty-seven.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s right,” confirmed Frank. “That
+would be two out of every three, and the team that
+wins isn’t likely to do any better than that. The
+best team in the world will sometimes be whipped
+by a poor one. That’s what makes baseball such
+a bully game. Lots of good luck and hard luck
+come into a game, and it’s never settled until the
+last man is out in the ninth inning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But in the long run it’s the best team that
+wins,” protested Fred, still undaunted. “And
+the best team in the Monatook Lake League this
+year will be the team of Rockledge School.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIV<br /> <br />GLOWING HOPES</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The boys all laughed at Fred’s declaration,
+though they hoped ardently that it would turn out
+to be true.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well,” conceded Frank, “confidence is a good
+thing, especially if there is good hard work back
+of it. One thing is certain, and that is if any team
+beats Rockledge it will know it’s been in a fight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose Larry Cronk will be pitching for
+Belden,” mused Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose so, and he’s a corking good pitcher
+too. But Bobby beat him the last time he faced
+him and I guess he can do it again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Trust Bobby,” replied Fred loyally.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’ll have to go now,” concluded Frank.
+“I’m glad you boys think the league is going to
+be a good thing.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The best thing that ever happened,” declared
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m tickled to death with it,” agreed Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hits me awful hard,” said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Monatook Lake League sounds mighty good to
+me,” added Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s a lot of work to be done yet in getting
+it fairly started,” observed Frank. “We’ll have
+to work out a schedule of dates and decide on
+the kind of pennant we’re going to have and a
+bunch of things like that. But we’ll have plenty
+of time for that, and everything will be running
+slick as grease by the time the season begins.
+And remember what I said, Fred, about cutting
+out all hard feelings,” he concluded.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll do it all right,” answered Fred. “I don’t
+like the fellow and I never will, but I’ll forget all
+about that when it comes to working for the good
+of the team.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s the way I like to hear you talk,” returned
+Frank with a smile, as he went away.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did Frank mean by that?” asked Skeets
+curiously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, it’s about that Tom Hicksley,” Fred replied.
+“Frank has heard that he’s a good ball
+player, and if he is, he wants him on the nine. He
+heard Bobby and me talking of the scrap we had
+with him this morning, and he doesn’t want trouble
+in the team.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Maybe Frank’s right, at that,” conceded
+Skeets. “But I don’t know that it’s good dope to
+have a fellow like that on the nine, no matter how
+good a player he is. He’ll be wanting to run
+things and perhaps break up the whole team.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll hope not,” said Bobby. “At any rate,
+there’s no use worrying about it yet. He may
+not be so good a player as Frank has heard he is,
+and may not play on the team at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to look over our baseball togs and
+see if they’re in good shape,” said Fred. “I know
+the spikes on my shoes need sharpening.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And I’ll have to pound that new baseball
+glove of mine until it’s good and soft and has a
+big hollow in the middle,” added Bobby. “We
+mustn’t overlook the least thing that’s going to
+help us to win.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Won’t the Clinton boys open their eyes if we
+can tell them when we go home for the summer
+vacation that we’re the champions of the Monatook
+Lake League?” gloated Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t count your chickens before they’re
+hatched,” laughed Sparrow. “It’s a long time
+yet before the end of the season.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s all over but the shouting, the way I look
+at it,” persisted Fred defiantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t wake him up, he is dreaming,” mocked
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The pennant bee is buzzing in his bonnet,”
+laughed Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For that matter, they all heard the buzzing of
+the same bee, and it was a very pleasant sound to
+them. To these four eleven-year-old boys the
+words “league” and “pennant” conveyed a sense
+of dignity and importance that they had never
+felt before.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>From that time on, baseball took up a large part
+of their thoughts, even though the ground was
+covered with snow and the lake held fast in icy
+fetters.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The gymnasium was warm and comfortable,
+and though they had no regular cage and the limited
+space did not give much chance for batting
+practice the boys got in quite a lot of pitching and
+catching. And this was quickened by the news
+that came to them that Belden had taken up the
+idea of the league with as much enthusiasm as
+they had, and were already predicting that they
+would be the victors in the coming struggle. It
+was said that two of the new Belden boys were
+hard hitters and could “send the ball a mile.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But we heard something like that before the
+last game, and we licked them just the same,” remarked
+Fred, who expected to play short stop,
+the same position he had held the previous season.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Belden’s bark is worse than its bite,” confirmed
+Bobby. “But because they didn’t come
+through the last time doesn’t say they won’t now.
+We’ll have to be right up on our toes all the time.
+It isn’t going to be a walkover for anybody.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The study hours at Rockledge were not excessive,
+and had been arranged with a view of giving
+the growing boys all the time they needed for
+wholesome exercise and recreation. Dr. Raymond
+knew that a well trained mind and strong
+body must go together in order to get the best results.
+And on the occasions of the big baseball
+and football games he was always sure to be present
+as a keenly interested spectator.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Carrier, too, the second assistant on the
+teaching staff, had himself been an athlete in his
+college days, and his advice and coaching on the
+diamond and the gridiron were very valuable to
+the Rockledge boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>With the lake so near at hand, there were plenty
+of winter sports. The smooth level of the ice,
+stretching away for miles in every direction, made
+skating a delight and offered a splendid field for
+hockey games. On all fine afternoons and every
+Saturday from morning till night, the ice was alive
+with darting figures, and rang with the music of
+steel against the frozen surface and the merry
+laughter of the skaters as they cracked the whip or
+flew by in impromptu races.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was plenty of snow on the ground this
+year and this gave a chance for some good coasting.
+Most of the boys had sleds, and Bobby had
+brought along the splendid one that he had received
+as a Christmas present.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He had had considerable trouble in settling on
+a name. Billy Barry’s suggestion that it be called
+“Lightning” and Betty Martin’s laughing idea
+that it ought to be called “Oyster,” because it
+“slipped down so easily,” had received due consideration,
+but Bobby had finally settled on “Red
+Arrow.” This seemed to him to cover both its
+color and its speed. And that speed could not be
+questioned. It certainly shot down hill like an
+arrow from a how. None of the other sleds at the
+school could do such fetching.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Naturally Bobby took great pride in his sled,
+and the runners were rubbed with emery and oil
+until they were as smooth as silk and shone like
+silver.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There were several good hills in the vicinity of
+the school, but most of them were dangerous; one
+because it crossed the railroad at its base and others
+because cross streets, along which there was
+much travel, offered chances for collisions. These
+were therefore forbidden to the boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>On one hill, however, they were permitted to
+coast whenever they wanted to do so. This
+stretched away from the town, and there were no
+cross streets throughout its entire length. It was
+absolutely safe, and as it was very long and reasonably
+steep, the boys felt no special regret at
+not being allowed to use the other hills.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For several days before Lincoln’s Birthday the
+weather had been mild and there was a considerable
+thaw. The snow on the hill had become soft
+and mushy and coasting had been impossible.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This interfered with the plans of the boys in
+Bobby’s dormitory, who had expected to have a
+big coasting carnival on the night of the holiday,
+when there would be a full moon. Now it looked
+as if the ground might be bare.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But on the eleventh of February there came a
+sudden change in the weather that gladdened the
+hearts of the would-be coasters. The thermometer
+fell rapidly until it was ten degrees below
+zero. The hill froze solid and was even better
+than it had been before, because the water from
+the melting snow now formed a glare of ice over
+the whole surface.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby and his chums were jubilant over the
+change as they got together in the gymnasium
+after breakfast on the morning of the holiday.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Isn’t it just bully?” cried Fred, doing a handspring.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The hill will be like glass,” gloated Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet we fetch further than we ever did
+before,” exulted Bobby, who could see himself scudding
+like the wind on his trusty Red Arrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But, gee! won’t it be tough climbing up to the
+top again,” put in Pee Wee, who liked well enough
+to ride down but hated the task of walking back.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t worry, Pee Wee,” chaffed Fred. “We
+wouldn’t let a hard-working fellow like you walk
+back. We’ll take turns drawing you up on our
+sleds.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure we will,” added Sparrow. “We’ll just
+fight for the privilege.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have Pee Wee bark his shins
+again,” laughed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys were so engrossed in the lively give
+and take that none of them noticed that Tom
+Hicksley, who had been practicing on the rings
+and had been near enough to hear their conversation,
+had quietly slipped out of the gymnasium.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There had been no open trouble between him
+and Bobby and his friends since that morning
+when the coming of Mr. Carrier had stopped the
+quarrel. None of the boys took any special pains
+to avoid him but had simply left him alone.
+Hicksley had cast sullen and angry glances at
+them as they passed him on the campus or in the
+halls, but they cared nothing for that. They did
+not doubt that he was nursing his grudge and
+would lose no chance to get back at them if he
+could, but they felt able to take care of themselves.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, Hicksley had only two
+friends in the school. These were Bill Bronson
+and Jack Jinks, the two most detested boys at
+Rockledge. They were of the same type as Hicksley,
+mean and tyrannical. They were two of the
+largest pupils and took advantage of their size to
+make themselves thoroughly disliked by the other
+boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They had “cottoned” to Hicksley at once, recognizing
+him as a kindred spirit, and the three
+were almost constantly together.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bronson and Jinks belonged to neither of the
+dormitories, but occupied one of the smaller rooms
+together.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>To this room Hicksley went straight from the
+gymnasium and rapped on the door.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XV<br /> <br />SPOILING THE FUN</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>There was a scurrying within the room and
+Hicksley heard the sound of a window being
+hastily thrown up. Then after a long pause the
+door was slowly opened.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, it’s you, is it?” said Bronson in a tone of
+relief.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure it is,” replied Hicksley tersely. “Who
+did you think it was? What’s the matter with you
+fellows anyway. Any one might think I was a
+cop, from the time you took to open the door.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Worse than that,” grinned Bronson. “I
+thought you might be Dr. Raymond or one of the
+teachers. We were smoking. Now you’ve made
+us throw away two perfectly good cigarettes and
+freeze ourselves by opening the window to get the
+smoke out of the room. Shut the window again,
+Jack. It’s only Tom.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, I’m not going to tell on you,” replied
+Hicksley. “That is,” he added with a grin, “if
+you’ve got another cigarette left for me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was strictly against the rules to smoke, but in
+the opinion of these worthless fellows rules were
+made only to be broken, and all three were soon
+puffing away, after making sure that the door was
+securely locked.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bronson was a tall, thin boy, with straw-colored
+hair. Jinks was shorter, but very stocky. A
+squint that made his small eyes look smaller still
+gave him a most unprepossessing appearance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, what’s up?” asked Bronson, seeing from
+Hicksley’s manner that he had something to propose.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve just heard something that gave me an
+idea of how to get even with that Bobby Blake
+and the bunch of boobs he goes with,” replied
+Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hope it’s a good idea,” said Bronson. “Anything
+that will down those fellows you can count
+me in on.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Same here!” ejaculated Jinks. “I never had
+any use for any of that crowd.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s have it, Tom,” broke in Bronson impatiently.
+“Don’t keep us waiting.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’re planning to have a big coasting time
+to-night,” explained Hicksley. “I heard them
+talking about it when I was down in the gymnasium
+just now. And while I was listening I
+thought of a way to queer the whole thing.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This sounded promising, and the interest on the
+faces of the others grew intense.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What is it?” they asked in the same breath,
+leaning forward eagerly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley lowered his voice a trifle and rapidly
+outlined the plan that had come to him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He was fully satisfied with its reception, for
+both of his hearers roared with delight.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s just bully!” cried Bronson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Best thing I’ve heard since Hector was a
+pup!” ejaculated Jinks.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’ll put a spoke in their wheel all right,”
+gloated Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Won’t they feel sore?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’ll be frothing at the mouth.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to be hiding somewhere near by
+where we can see the whole thing,” said Bronson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t miss it for a hundred dollars,”
+chuckled Jinks.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’ll sing small for a long time after that,”
+grinned Hicksley. “But now if you think the plan
+is all right, we’ll have to figure out just how to go
+about it. It’ll be a lot of hard work, and I don’t
+want to do it myself. I don’t suppose you fellows
+want to muss yourselves up either.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what!” exclaimed Bronson. “Do
+you know who Dago Joe is?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s that Italian fellow down town who goes
+about doing odd jobs, isn’t he?” queried Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s the one,” Bronson assented.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, what about him?” asked Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just this,” Bronson answered. “He’s just
+the fellow for this job. He’s got a hand cart, and
+that will make it easy for him. Then, too, a dollar
+will look as big to him as a meeting house.
+But even if he charges more than that we can all
+chip in and it won’t make very much for any of
+us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t care if it cost us a dollar apiece,”
+said Jinks. “It would be worth it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They talked for a few minutes longer, and then
+decided that rather than let Hicksley do it alone
+they would all go down together to see Dago Joe.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But to their surprise, Joe was at first inclined
+to balk at the proposition. He was poor and had
+a large family to support and he needed every
+dollar he could get, but he seemed to fear that the
+plan that the bullies suggested might get him into
+trouble.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I donta know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders
+and extending the palms of his hands. “Perhaps
+people nota like it. Maybe I be arrest.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Nonsense, Joe,” said Bronson. “There isn’t
+a chance in the world that anybody will get on to
+who did it. It will be after dark anyway. Be a
+sport and take a chance.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll make it two dollars,” said Jinks. “It’s
+easy money and you’d be a fool not to take it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe still had some qualms, but when the boys
+raised the price to three dollars his scruples vanished.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You can get the stuff down near the roundhouse,”
+suggested Jinks. “There’s always plenty
+of it there.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe wanted his three dollars at once, but they
+compromised by paying him half down with a
+promise of the other half when the work was done.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now for the big blowout,” chuckled Jinks, as
+they wended their way back to the school.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’ll be a scream,” gloated Bronson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A perfect riot,” added Hicksley, who was in
+high feather, now that his scheme seemed in a fair
+way of going through.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As for Dago Joe, he was a busy man for the
+rest of the day and for some time after darkness
+fell.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was an unusually good supper that night
+in honor of the holiday, and the boys did it full
+justice. But they would have lingered still longer
+at the table, if they had not been impatient to get
+out on the hill for their carnival of coasting.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The wind had died down, but the air was keen
+and brought a frosty glow to their eyes and cheeks
+as they made their way to the hill, drawing their
+sleds behind them by ropes that hung over their
+shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll make a new record to-night,” said Bobby
+jubilantly. “I shouldn’t wonder if we fetched as
+far as the bridge; and we’ve never done that yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If we don’t do it to-night we never shall,” replied
+Fred, as they came to the hill.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It doesn’t seem as if the sleds could ever stop
+when they get started on ice like this,” exulted
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll tell you what let’s do,” suggested Sparrow.
+“The hill’s wide enough to hold six sleds
+going down at the same time. There’s just about
+seventeen or eighteen of us here. Let’s start out
+in a bunch of six at a time and go the whole length.
+Then, after that, we can have the separate races.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” agreed Fred. “The trouble
+is that each fellow will want to go off in the first
+six.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll soon settle that,” replied Sparrow.
+“We’ll draw lots and then nobody will have any
+kick coming.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This proposal was greeted with acclamation,
+and amid a great deal of chaff and laughter the
+lots were drawn.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The lucky ones happened to be Fred, Bobby,
+Mouser, Sparrow, Skeets and Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll let Pee Wee go in the middle,” laughed
+Fred, “and we’d better take care to keep close to
+the side of the road. He’ll need more room than
+any of the rest of us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d hate to have him plunk into me,” grinned
+Bobby. “It would be a case for the doctor, for
+sure.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“For the undertaker, more likely,” chuckled
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You fellows think you’re smart, don’t you?”
+grunted Pee Wee. “All the same I bet I’ll fetch
+farther than any of you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hear who’s talking,” jibed Sparrow. “We’ll
+leave you so far behind you won’t be able to see
+us with a telescope.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They ranged their sleds side by side and lay
+upon them flat on their stomachs, holding firmly
+on the sides in front in order steer correctly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Are you all ready?” asked Howell Purdy, who
+had been chosen to give the word.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ready,” they answered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Then go!” shouted Howell.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The six sleds shot forward with a rush.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVI<br /> <br />WHO WAS GUILTY?</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>For the first third of the distance, the ice was as
+smooth as quicksilver, with never a lump or hummock
+to mar the surface. The sleds flew down
+the frozen surface, gaining a velocity that took
+the boys’ breath away and almost frightened them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Then suddenly there was a jar, a chorus of
+shouts, and they were thrown headlong over the
+fronts of their sleds, landing in a confused heap
+of limbs and bodies, while the sleds relieved of
+their burdens swirled around aimlessly for a time
+and finally came to a stop.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A yell of consternation and alarm came from
+the mass, as the boys tried to struggle to their
+feet.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Those who had been left at the top of the hill,
+hearing the yells and knowing that some accident
+had happened, came slipping and scrambling down
+to the scene of the disaster.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They helped the half stunned victims to their
+feet, and for a time there was a wild hullabaloo of
+questions and answers as they tried to solve the
+mystery.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fortunately none of them was badly hurt, though
+at the rate they were going it might very easily
+have turned out to be a tragedy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Most of the boys had rubbed pieces of skin off
+their arms and legs, and Fred had a cut in his
+scalp from which the blood was flowing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did it?” shouted Howell.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know,” replied Bobby hesitatingly.
+His head was going round like a top.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“M-must have hit a tree trunk or something like
+that,” stammered Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That isn’t it,” replied Howell, looking around
+him. “There isn’t anything of that kind in sight
+as far as I can see. Just wait a minute till I get
+Sam Thompson’s flashlight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Luckily Sam had it with him and promptly
+handed it over.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Howell flashed it about him and gave a shout.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s ashes!” he cried. “The whole hill’s littered
+with ’em.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ashes?” came a chorus of surprised questions.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what it is,” declared Howell emphatically.
+“There are heaps and heaps of ’em. I’ll
+bet they reach clear down to the bottom of the
+hill.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He went down further and confirmed what he
+had said. He had no trouble in walking, for he
+could not have slipped if he had wanted to. The
+whole lower surface of the hill was strewn with
+ashes that spoiled the coasting for that night utterly,
+and promised to ruin it for many days to
+come.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A wave of wrath and fierce indignation swept
+over the boys as they heard Howell’s report.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who could have done it?” was the question
+that came to the lips of all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Could it have been the town council?” suggested
+Skeets. “They might have done it to keep
+the horses from slipping.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They never did anything like that before,” objected
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And if they were the ones, they would have
+made a clean job of it and gone right up to the
+top of the hill,” said Mouser. “But you fellows
+will notice that it was perfectly clear for a long
+part of the way down.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Mouser is right,” declared Bobby. “Somebody
+did this just to spoil our fun.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And they wanted us to be fooled and get
+started down so that we’d get a tumble when we
+came to the ashes,” added Fred. “That’s why
+they left it smooth at the top.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Some of us might have been killed,” groaned
+Skeets, gingerly soothing an injured knee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And it’s only a bit of luck that we weren’t,”
+growled Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“My shins are barked for fair,” moaned Pee
+Wee, “and that’s no joke this time either.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it was a low-down skunk,” burst
+out Howell angrily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He might have been a murderer,” added
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have my hands on him for a minute,”
+declared Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, our fun is over for this night anyway,”
+said Bobby sadly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And for a whole lot of other nights,” put in
+Pee Wee. “Those ashes will get ground in and
+there’s no sweeping ’em off.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to wait for another snow storm
+before we can do any more coasting,” wailed
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a sorely disgruntled band of boys who
+gathered up their sleds and limped slowly to the
+top of the hill. One of the sleds was smashed and
+all had been more or less scratched and bruised.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Once at the top, they squatted down on their
+sleds and held a council of war.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now, fellows,” said Bobby, “we’ve got to get
+to the bottom of this thing somehow. The ashes
+didn’t come there of themselves. Somebody put
+them there, and whoever it was knew that we were
+out for a grand coasting bee to-night. So it must
+have been some fellow in the school.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hate to think that there’s any fellow at Rockledge
+who could do such a dirty trick,” remarked
+Howell. “If we can find out who it was we ought
+to tell Doctor Raymond about it and have the fellow
+sent away from school.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No,” objected Bobby. “This is our affair and
+we oughtn’t to bring the teachers into it at all.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The question is who could have done it,” put
+in Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it is mean enough to steal sheep,”
+growled Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Or take the pennies from a dead man’s eyes,”
+added Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I can figure out just three fellows in the school
+who could do a thing like that,” said Howell.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bill Bronson.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Jack Jinks.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Tom Hicksley.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The answers came from as many different lips,
+and the readiness with which they were accepted
+was not at all flattering to the boys who bore the
+names.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It may have been one of those three or all
+three together,” said Bobby, coming nearer to the
+mark than he knew.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That reminds me,” cried Fred suddenly.
+“Tom Hicksley was practicing on the flying rings
+when we were talking this thing over in the gymnasium
+this morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” chimed in Mouser. “And I remember
+now that he seemed to stop all of a sudden
+and slip away. I didn’t think anything about it
+then, but I remember it plainly now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He owes some of us a grudge for what
+happened on the train,” remarked Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And he said then he’d get even with us,” observed
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There’s one thing we fellows have forgotten,”
+said Skeets. “Whoever did this would want to
+be hiding around and see what happened. We
+ought to hunt them out and pay them up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This seemed likely enough and the boys looked
+eagerly about them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t seem to be any place up here where
+they could hide without our seeing them,” remarked
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No, but there’s a lot of bushes at the side of
+the road half way down the hill,” put in Sparrow.
+“Let’s go down there.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They went down in a body. There was no one
+there, but as they got to the other side of the
+bushes they could faintly make out three figures
+retreating in the distance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were too far away to be recognized and
+they had too long a start to make it worth while
+pursuing them, but from their general size and
+build the boys had little doubt as to who they were.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did I tell you?” cried Fred. “I knew
+that they were the only ones who could do a thing
+like that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It seems that the whole bunch of them are in
+it,” remarked Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ll bet that Hicksley went straight to them
+and cooked this up when he left the gym this
+morning,” conjectured Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That makes something else we owe those fellows,”
+growled Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We owed them enough without that,” said
+Howell. “The big bullies have tried to pester the
+life out of us ever since we’ve been at Rockledge.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Our turn will come,” replied Bobby with
+conviction. “But now, fellows, we might as well
+hustle back to the dormitory. There’s no use of
+staying here any longer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They made their way back to the school with
+very different feelings from those they had when
+they left it.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A holiday spoiled,” grumbled Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And there’s only two more holidays this
+month,” observed Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Two!” exclaimed Bobby. “There’s only one
+more and that’s Washington’s Birthday.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How about St. Valentine’s Day?” objected
+Sparrow. “That’s only two days from now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, that’s only a fake holiday,” replied Fred.
+“Lessons will go on just the same.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t care whether it’s a fake holiday or a
+real one,” answered Sparrow. “I’m going to get
+a lot of fun out of it just the same.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVII<br /> <br />ON THE TRAIL</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The school chums sat up late in the dormitory
+that night, nursing their bruises, and by the time
+they had got through applying arnica and other
+lotions, the place smelled like a hospital.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>How they could bring the trick home to those
+who had played it was a problem that was too
+much for them at the present. They felt sure that
+the bullies would deny it if taxed with it, and
+there was no way of actually proving it, no matter
+how sure they might feel in their own minds.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The matter could of course have been carried
+to the authorities of the school, and there is no
+doubt that they would have looked upon it very
+gravely because of the serious accident that might
+have resulted from it. But their code of schoolboy
+ethics was to keep the teachers out of such
+things and fight it out among themselves. They
+felt reasonably sure that sometime or other they
+would get even, and they bided their time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a very lame and sore lot of boys who
+dragged themselves out of bed when the rising hell
+rang on the following morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” exclaimed Fred. “I feel as
+though I’d been in a railroad smash-up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m one big ache all over,” groaned Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“One <em>big</em> ache is right,” grinned Mouser.
+“You couldn’t be a little one if you tried.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“My joints creak like a wooden doll’s, every
+time I go to move,” complained Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I bet I’ll go to pieces on the stairs and have to
+be shoveled up in bits,” prophesied Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll each keep a part to remember you by,”
+laughed Bobby. “Quit your groaning, you fellows,
+and let’s go down to the table. You’ll feel
+better when you get filled up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The filling up process was carried out with neatness
+and despatch, and when it was over the boys
+were inclined to look on life in a more cheerful
+way.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We can’t do anything this morning on account
+of lessons,” remarked Bobby. “But as soon as
+they’re over this afternoon, let’s make a break for
+that hill and see what we can find out.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And see how Hicksley and his pals act in the
+classrooms,” suggested Skeets. “That may give
+us a tip to go by.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t count much on that,” said Mouser.
+“They’ll be on their guard and won’t want to give
+themselves away.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>To a certain extent this proved true. There
+was no attempt on the part of the bullies to gloat
+over the victims of their trick. But the boys surprised
+furtive grins and winks that passed between
+the three when they thought no one was
+looking, and this confirmed their suspicions that
+now were almost certainties.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They did it all right,” pronounced Fred.
+“I’m sure of it from the way I saw them grinning
+at each other. But they’ll laugh on the other side
+of their mouths before long.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As soon as the boys were free from their duties,
+they went with all speed to the scene of their
+misadventure. And again they lamented, when
+they saw by daylight how thoroughly the hill was
+spoiled for coasting.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There must be bushels and bushels of ashes!”
+exclaimed Mouser, as his eyes roamed over the
+lower half of the hill.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It beats me how they managed to get it all
+here,” observed Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It must have been brought a long way,” commented
+Sparrow. “There’s no place round here
+they could have got them from.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They couldn’t have carried all that stuff themselves,”
+said Bobby thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would have been an awful job,” added Howell,
+“and those fellows don’t like work well enough
+for that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They might have hired a man with a horse
+and wagon,” suggested Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If that’s so, there must be some tracks in the
+snow,” returned Bobby. “Scatter out, fellows,
+and see if you can find any marks of hoofs or
+wheels.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They followed his directions, and in a moment
+there was a cry from Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here’re the marks of wheels,” he called.
+“But I don’t see any horse tracks.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There, indeed, were the clearly defined print of
+wheels leading in a roundabout way toward the
+town. As they looked a little more closely they
+could see too where a man’s feet had broken at
+places through the crust of snow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It must have been a hand cart,” said Bobby,
+“and you can see that it held ashes from the bits
+that lie along its tracks. That’s what they
+brought it in and you can bet on it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There aren’t many hand carts in town,” observed
+Fred reflectively. “How many do you fellows
+remember seeing?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The laundryman has one,” replied Howell,
+“and the paper man has another. Those are the
+only ones I know of, except that shaky thing of
+Dago Joe’s.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s the fellow!” cried Fred excitedly.
+“None of the others would lend their carts for
+anything like that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s follow up the tracks and see where they
+lead to,” suggested Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was detective work to their liking and even
+Pee Wee made no objections to the tramp over the
+snow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their satisfaction was increased when they
+found that the tracks led straight to the roundhouse.
+Here there were great piles of ashes that
+had been dropped from the fire boxes of the locomotives
+when they were being shifted or put up
+for the night. It was quite clear that here was
+the place where the hand cart had been filled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But their elation received a sudden check when
+they prepared to trace the wheel prints to the
+shabby shack in town where Joe lived with his numerous
+brood. For now they were in the outskirts
+of the town, where wagons were coming and
+going all the time, and the tracks they had been
+following were lost in a multitude of others.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They looked at each other a little sheepishly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Stung!” muttered Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bum detectives we are,” grinned Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re up a tree now for sure,” declared Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All this walk for nothing,” growled Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We do seem to be stumped,” admitted Bobby.
+“What do you say to going to Joe and asking him
+right up and down whether he did it or not?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Swell chance we’d have of getting anything
+out of him,” commented Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’d lie about it sure,” declared Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I suppose likely he would,” agreed Bobby.
+“But we might be able to tell something by the
+way he acts. It won’t do any harm to try anyhow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They found Dago Joe pottering about some
+work in the small yard in front of his shack. But
+Joe had seen them coming and his uneasy conscience
+had taken alarm. If he had had time, he
+would have slipped inside the house and had his
+wife or one of the children deny that he was at
+home. But it was too late for that, and he took
+refuge in the assumed ignorance that had served
+him many times before.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He greeted them with a genial smile that
+showed his mouthful of white teeth which was the
+only personal attraction he possessed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Goota day,” he said blandly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How are you, Joe?” said Bobby, as spokesman
+for the party. “Been pretty busy?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe’s mouth drooped.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not do nottin much,” he answered. “Beesness
+bad, ver’ bad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Carry any loads of ashes lately?” Bobby went
+on.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe looked puzzled. Then a light came into his
+face.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hash?” he said delightedly. “Me likea hash.
+Tasta good. Bambino like it too.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not hash, but ashes,” returned Bobby, joining
+in the laugh of the rest of the boys. “You know,
+ashes—what falls out of the stove, wood ashes,
+coal ashes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe’s face resembled that of a graven image.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No unnerstan,” he said, shrugging his shoulders
+with an air of perplexity.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In the face of his determination, the boys saw
+that it was of no use to prolong the conversation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re a good actor, Joe,” said Bobby, half
+vexed, half amused, as the boys turned to go.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe showed his teeth again in an engaging smile
+that embraced all the party and waved them a cordial
+good-bye.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How sweetly the old rascal smiles at us!”
+grinned Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Laughs at us, you mean,” snorted Fred.
+“He’s tickled to death inside to think of the way
+he’s got the best of us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I bet if we asked him if he’d like to have us
+give him five dollars, he’d understand, all right,”
+laughed Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He couldn’t grab the money too quick,”
+agreed Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, we haven’t wasted our afternoon anyway,”
+Bobby summed up. “We’ve found out
+how the ashes were taken there, and we feel dead
+certain in our own minds that Joe did it. We
+know, of course, that he didn’t do it of his own accord.
+Somebody hired him to do it. Now if we
+could only find some one who saw Hicksley and
+Joe talking together, it would help some.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But that wouldn’t prove anything,” objected
+Sparrow. “They might be talking about the
+weather.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Or about hash,” interjected Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hash seems to stick in your crop,” grinned
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wish some of it were sticking there right
+now,” answered Pee Wee, “especially if it were
+like the hash that Meena makes.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“By the way, fellows,” chimed in Fred, “it
+must be close to supper time this very minute.
+Let’s beat it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They started off on a run.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The one that gets there last is a Chinaman,”
+Skeets flung back over his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee was the Chinaman.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> <br />A HARD HIT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The next morning the boys woke to the realization
+that it was St. Valentine’s Day. There were
+valentines in their mail, valentines that had been
+slipped slyly into their pockets, valentines that
+had found their way under their pillows.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Some of them were the grotesque “comics”
+that were on sale in the village stationery store,
+while others were mere scrawls adorned with so-called
+pictures, and had been made by the boys
+themselves with pen and pencil.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was not much art about them, but there
+was a good deal of fun, and that was all the boys
+were looking for. Most of them were based on
+nicknames that the boys carried or on some event
+in their lives that was known to the rest.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser, for instance, was pictured with his own
+face on the body of a mouse who was creeping toward
+a cage in which a big piece of cheese was
+temptingly displayed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Skeets was buzzing about as a big mosquito,
+over the bald head of a fat man, who was getting
+ready to crash him as soon as he should settle
+down.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred’s red head had been drawn in red ink, and
+above his flaming mop one boy was holding a frying
+pan and another was breaking eggs to cook an
+omelet.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys had learned from Fred of the time
+when Bobby had coasted down the Trent Street
+hill and gone head over heels into the drift.
+Bobby’s head could not be seen but his two heels
+were waving wildly in the air and on one of them
+was the word “Bobby” and on the other “Blake.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Of course Pee Wee had not been overlooked.
+He was shown as a big fat boy, and each of his
+knees had a dog’s head on it. The dogs were
+barking furiously. This was supposed to indicate
+his “barked” shins.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Because Billy Bassett was always asking questions
+with his conundrums, he was shown as a
+great big question mark with the word “guess”
+underneath.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Sparrow Bangs sat on a branch with a flock of
+birds, singing with all his might, while in the
+bushes a hunter was taking careful aim and getting
+ready to fire.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Under most of the pictures there were verses
+that brought forth shrieks of laughter—usually
+from all, but sometimes from all but the recipient.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As a rule, it was pure fun without any sting in
+it, though Fred pointed out that the hair in the
+picture was a good deal redder than that which
+really waved over his freckled forehead. Pee Wee
+too was sure that he was not anyway near so big
+as the human mountain that his picture showed
+him to be.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was plenty of chaff and laughter as the
+boys pored over the valentines, and they would
+have gladly spent more time discussing them.
+But as Fred had said, Valentine’s Day was only
+a “fake” holiday, and the hard-hearted teachers
+insisted on lessons and recitations. So the pictures
+were hastily thrust into pockets until they
+had more time to look at them and the boys trooped
+over to the classrooms.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Several times through the morning’s work, they
+noticed that Tom Hicksley shot furious glances at
+them and this aroused their curiosity.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“His royal highness seems mighty sore about
+something this morning,” Fred whispered to
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Got out of bed the wrong foot first maybe,”
+replied Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I hope he’s got something to feel sore about,”
+snapped Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>What that something was they learned after the
+lessons were over, and they stood chattering with
+their friends, a little way off from the main building.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley came up to them, accompanied by Bronson
+and Jinks. There was an ugly look in the
+bully’s eyes and he held a folded sheet of paper
+in his hand.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Which one of you boobs sent me this valentine?”
+he asked threateningly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How do you know that any of us did?” replied
+Bobby in Yankee fashion, answering a question by
+asking one.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I know that some of you did, because you
+butted in on me before,” replied Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“When was that?” asked Fred aggravatingly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You know well enough,” growled Hicksley,
+who was not any too anxious to recall his bully-ragging
+of the old soldier.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, yes, I remember,” put in Mouser, as
+though he had just thought of it. “You remember,
+fellows, how Hicksley reached out his foot and
+tried to trip the old man up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I didn’t,” cried Hicksley untruthfully. “He
+fell over it by accident.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And I suppose it was an accident that you kept
+at him with the feather so that he couldn’t get any
+sleep?” retorted Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s neither here nor there,” snarled
+Hicksley, dodging the matter. “What I want to know
+is which one of you sent this valentine?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do if you find out?”
+asked Bobby innocently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m going to give him a trimming that he’ll remember,”
+growled Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bronson and Jinks ranged up alongside of him
+as though to assure him of their support, and it
+looked as if trouble were coming.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Give it to him good and plenty, Tom,” said
+Bronson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The whole bunch of them need a licking,”
+added Jinks.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It will take more than you to give it to us,”
+blazed out Fred defiantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The bullies were much larger and stronger than
+any of the boys opposed to them. On the other
+hand, the smaller boys had a larger number, so
+that if a tussle did come, the forces would be about
+equal.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What is this valentine you’re making all this
+fuss about?” demanded Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here it is,” cried Hicksley furiously, thrusting
+it forward. “And I’m going to make the fellow
+that sent it pay for it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys crowded round and looked at it curiously,
+at the same time keeping wary eyes on the
+bullies.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The picture was fairly well done, and had evidently
+taken a great deal of work and time on the
+part of the one who had made it. It represented
+a boy taking a dead mouse from a blind kitten.
+The boy was grinning, and the kitten was pawing
+wildly about, trying to get back its mouse.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>To make sure there could be no mistake, the
+kitten had a card around its neck bearing the
+words, “I am blind,” and under the figure of the
+boy was scrawled the name, “Tom Hicksley.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley’s
+temper rose to the boiling point.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Own up now, which one of you did it,” he demanded
+fiercely.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom
+Hicksley,” said Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you suppose the picture means?” inquired
+Mouser, as though he could not quite make
+it out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I think it means that the fellow who would take
+a dead mouse from a blind kitten is about as mean
+as they make them,” put in Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I
+shouldn’t wonder,” added Shiner, pouring oil on
+the flames.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Are you going to tell me who did it?” snarled
+Hicksley once more, snatching back the valentine,
+which he now regretted having shown, and doubling
+up his fist.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I would have done it if I’d thought of it,”
+Fred came back at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley sprang forward, followed by Bronson
+and Jinks.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys stood their ground and there was a
+wild mix-up. In a moment they were all down in
+the snow in a flying tangle of arms and legs.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was no telling how the tussle would have
+terminated, though Hicksley was getting his face
+well washed with snow that the boys were cramming
+into his mouth and eyes, when a shout arose:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Cheese it, fellows, there’s a teacher coming!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The combatants scrambled to their feet and
+scurried in all directions, and when Mr. Leith, the
+head teacher, arrived on the spot, there was no one
+to be seen.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby and his friends found themselves, red,
+panting and uproariously happy, in their dormitory,
+where they flung their books upon their beds
+and fairly danced about with glee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I jammed so much snow in Tom Hicksley’s
+mouth that I bet he’ll taste it for a month,” chortled
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They tackled the wrong bunch that time,” gurgled
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They thought we’d run,” chuckled Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wasn’t that a dandy valentine?” demanded
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What a fool he was to show it,” grinned Pee
+Wee. “Now it’ll go all over the school.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who do you suppose sent it?” wondered
+Shiner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d give a dollar to know,” declared Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“All right,” grinned Sparrow, holding out his
+hand. “Pass over the dollar.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You?” cried the other boys in chorus.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XIX<br /> <br />SPRING PRACTICE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>“I’m the fellow who did it,” admitted Sparrow
+modestly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sparrow, old scout, you’re a wonder!” cried
+Mouser, clapping him on the back.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It hit him right where he lived,” chuckled
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That pays him up for scattering ashes on the
+hill,” grinned Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’ll never hear the last of it as long as he
+stays in school,” said Shiner. “Every once in a
+while a dead mouse will turn up on his desk and
+make him hopping mad.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’ll never be much madder than he was this
+morning,” put in Skeets. “His eyes were fairly
+snapping.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bronson and Jinks got theirs, too,” said Pee
+Wee. “I guess they’ll think twice before they
+pick on the other fellows again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’ve been rather quiet since the goat tumbled
+them over at our last initiation,” laughed
+Bobby, referring to an incident of the previous
+term, “but since Hicksley came they’ve been getting
+ugly again. I guess what they got this morning
+will hold them for a while.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As a matter of fact, the bullies did seem to be
+somewhat dashed by the stout resistance that the
+smaller boys had put up and they did not refer to
+the valentine again. They were only too willing
+to have it forgotten, and Tom Hicksley ground his
+teeth more than once at not having kept it to himself.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Spring was now at hand, coming this year a little
+earlier than usual. The snow disappeared
+from the ground, the ice vanished from the lake,
+and the soft winds that blew up from the south
+turned the thoughts of the boys to track games and
+baseball.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred and Bobby had done a good deal of practicing
+in the gymnasium and were in prime condition.
+But actual practice on the diamond was
+the real thing they wanted, and they were delighted
+when the ground had dried out enough to play in
+the open air.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank Durrock had been busy for a month past,
+getting all the details perfected for the entrance
+of Rockledge into the Monatook Lake League.
+But now everything was ready and he could devote
+himself to picking the members of the team.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This proved to be no easy matter. An
+unusually large number of good players were at
+Rockledge, and the struggle for places on the nine
+was interesting and exciting.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It seemed that Bobby should play in the pitcher’s
+box and Fred at short stop. They had both
+done exceedingly well at those positions the previous
+spring and fall. But there was a new boy,
+Willis by name, who had been a good short stop
+on his home nine before he had come to the school,
+and it seemed to be a toss up between him and
+Fred as to who could do better in the position.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby, too, had rivalry to face in the person of
+Tom Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>On the first day that they actually had field practice,
+Hicksley came out on the ball ground in an
+old uniform that proclaimed that he had once been
+a member of the “Eagles” of Cresskill, his native
+town.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank knew that he had been a pitcher, and so
+he put him in the box and had him toss up some
+balls for the rest of the team in batting practice.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And Hicksley did exceedingly well. Whatever
+his defects in character, he certainly knew how to
+pitch. He had a good outcurve, a fair incurve
+and a high fast ball that Bobby himself generously
+declared to be a “peach.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley’s height and strength, too, were greater
+than Bobby’s, which was not to be wondered at
+when it was considered that he was three years
+older. But he was inclined to be a little wild, and
+his control was not as good as Bobby’s.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But what made his work of special interest to
+Frank was that he pitched with his left hand.
+Most of the pitchers in the new league were right-handed,
+and the boys were used to hitting that kind
+of pitching.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank felt that with a left-handed pitcher he
+would have the other fellows all at sea when it
+came to “lining them out,” and for that reason
+he watched Hicksley with the closest attention.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He puts them over all right,” conceded Bobby,
+as he watched Hicksley winging them over the
+plate.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Fred, “when he gets them over at
+all. But lots of them don’t even cut the corners.
+He’ll give too many bases on balls.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And a base on balls is as good for the fellow
+that gets it as a base hit,” commented Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“His arm seems to be all right, but we don’t
+know how he’ll act when he gets in a pinch,” said
+Skeets dubiously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes Bobby so strong as a
+pitcher,” said Shiner. “No matter how tight a
+hole he finds himself in, he’s cool as an iceberg.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” remarked Pee Wee, who was too
+fat and too slow to play himself, but was an ardent
+rooter for the home team. “I’ve never seen
+Bobby get rattled yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s because there isn’t a bit of yellow in
+him,” said Fred, throwing his arm affectionately
+about his chum’s shoulder.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And I’ll bet that Hicksley has a yellow streak
+in him a yard wide,” snapped Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh he may not be that way when it comes to
+baseball,” remonstrated Bobby who always tried
+to be fair. “At any rate he ought to have a chance
+to show what he can do before we make up our
+minds about him. You fellows know that I don’t
+like him a bit more than you do, but that doesn’t
+say he may not be a good baseball player.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Jinks was not on the nine, but Bronson, who was
+a good batter and a fair fielder, was expected to
+play center field. They were both delighted at
+the showing that their crony was making and were
+loud in their applause. Their praise was so extravagant
+in fact that it was clear that they did it
+to depreciate Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re the best pitcher we ever had at Rockledge,
+Tom,” cried Bronson, casting a side glance
+at Bobby to make sure that he heard.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You lay over them all,” crowed Jinks.
+“There’s no one else can hold a candle to you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Here, cut that out, you fellows,” called Frank
+Durrock sharply. “Blake has proved what he can
+do and I don’t want any talk like that. He won
+both of the last games he pitched against Belden,
+and any one who can do better than he did will
+have to be going some.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You bet they will,” cried Fred loyally, and
+there was a round of hand clapping from the other
+boys, with most of whom Bobby was a prime favorite.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank’s hearty defense put Bobby on his mettle,
+and when his turn came to put the balls over, he
+did so with a snap and skill that delighted his
+friends.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The practice all around was sharp and spirited,
+and Frank was greatly encouraged as he saw how
+well the team took hold. But it would not do to
+play too long on the first day, and after an hour or
+so, he called a halt.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We want to keep an eye on those fellows,
+Bobby,” remarked Fred a little uneasily as they
+were going toward the school. “They’re going
+to crowd you out if they can.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let them try,” replied Bobby. “I’m going to
+try my best to hold up my end with Hicksley and
+beat him if I can. But if he can prove that he’s a
+better pitcher than I am, I won’t kick if I have to
+play second fiddle. I’d be willing to do anything
+to help Rockledge win.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XX<br /> <br />THE SUGAR CAMP</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>An untimely snow storm that was wholly unlooked
+for by the boys dismayed them by putting a
+stop to their practice for the time being. But the
+snow, though heavy, did not last long, and began to
+melt rapidly under the rays of the sun.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“See how the water is running down those
+trees,” remarked Shiner, looking out of the window
+one Friday morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That isn’t water, boy,” said Sparrow.
+“That’s sap. The trees are bursting with it just
+now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“By the way, fellows,” put in Skeets, “have
+you ever been to a maple sugar camp when the sap
+was running?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Most of them had not and Skeets went on to
+explain.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s the best fun ever,” he said; “and now’s
+just the time to see it running full blast when the
+snow is melting and the air is warm. On a day
+like this the sap comes down in bucketfuls. And
+you can see just how they collect it, and how they
+boil it down until it’s a thick syrup, and the way
+that hot maple sugar does taste—yum yum!” and
+here he closed his eyes in blissful recollection.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sounds mighty good to me,” said Pee Wee,
+with whom the memory of Meena and her breakfast
+of buckwheat cakes and maple syrup still
+lingered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You can take out the hot sugar in big spoons
+and let it cool on a pan of snow,” continued Skeets,
+drawing out the details as he saw that his friends’
+mouths were watering in anticipation, “and when
+you get the first taste of it you never want to stop
+eating.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wonder if there’s a sugar camp anywhere
+around here,” said Pee Wee with great animation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I know of one that’s about three miles away,”
+said Sparrow. “What do you say to our making
+up a party and going out there to-morrow if Doc
+Raymond will let us go out of bounds?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a general chorus of gleeful assent.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What we ought to do,” said Skeets, “is to have
+a couple of fellows go out there to-day and make
+arrangements. We want to take up a collection
+and fix it up with the farmer’s wife to have hot
+biscuits and other things ready for us. I tell you
+what, fellows, hot biscuits and fresh butter and
+hot thick maple sugar just out of the boiler—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t say another word,” cried Pee Wee
+frantically, “or I’ll never, never be able to wait till
+to-morrow.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They took stock of their resources and collected
+several dollars between them, enough they thought
+to cover the expense. Bobby and Fred were appointed
+as a committee of two to go out to the
+camp that afternoon so that everything would be
+in readiness on the morrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Dr. Raymond’s permission was readily obtained,
+and the chums set out on their three mile
+walk. They had no trouble in finding the camp
+and the farmer’s wife, a bright, cheery person,
+was very ready to entertain the party and promised
+to have an abundant lunch provided for them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys would have dearly liked to inspect the
+camp, but they had promised their chums that
+they would not do so until all could see it together,
+and they kept loyally to their word.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>No finer day could have been selected for that
+particular outing than the one that dawned the
+next morning. The air was mild and the sun shining
+brightly. The only drawback was the walking,
+as the roads were full of mud in some places and
+melting slush in others, but as they were all
+warmly shod that made little difference.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee groaned occasionally as he lagged
+along in the rear, but they had no fear of his dropping
+out. It would have taken a good deal more
+than a three-mile walk to keep Pee Wee away from
+that sugar camp after Skeets’s description.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There it is,” cried Fred at last, pointing to a
+big grove of trees in the rear of a farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee sniffed the air.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Seems to me I can smell the sugar cooking
+from here,” he said joyously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They left the road now, took a short cut across
+the fields and soon entered the grove of maples.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was an extensive grove, containing several
+hundred of the stately trees. Into each one of
+these that had reached their full growth a hole
+had been made, a spigot driven in, and a bright
+tin pail suspended from each spigot. Into these
+pails the sap was falling with a musical drip so
+that a tinkling murmur ran through the grove
+as though some one were gently touching the
+strings of a zither.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>An old horse attached to a low sled was shambling
+slowly along through the woodland paths,
+stopping at each tree. The driver would empty
+the pail into one of several large cans that the
+sled contained, replace the pail and go on to the
+next.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Seems almost a shame to tap those splendid
+trees,” murmured Mouser. “It’s almost like
+bleeding them to death.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t do them a bit of harm,” explained
+Skeets cheerfully. “The farmers take good care
+not to drain out more sap than the tree can spare.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>When the sled had made its round, the boys followed
+it to the shed where the sap was boiled
+down into sugar. Here they saw an enormous
+caldron with a roaring fire underneath. Into this
+caldron the sap was poured, and here its transformation
+began. A delicious odor arose that made
+the nostrils of the boys dilate hungrily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Every little while, the man who was supervising
+the boiling drew out a huge ladleful to see how
+thick it was getting. At a certain stage he turned
+to the boys with a grin.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Each one of you take one of those pans,” he
+directed, pointing to a bright row of dairy tins
+which the housewife had made ready. “Fill them
+up with snow and pack the snow down hard.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In a twinkling the boys were ready. Then, as
+each held up his pan, the man poured a big ladle of
+the hot syrup on the snow. The rich golden brown
+against the whiteness of the snow would have delighted
+the soul of an artist. But these lads were
+not artists, only hungry boys, and their only concern
+was to get the sugar cool enough to eat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Pee Wee in fact burned his lips and tongue by
+starting too soon, but he soon forgot a trifle like
+that, and in a moment more he and the others were
+eating as if they had never tasted anything so
+good in all their lives.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hot biscuits coming, boys,” smiled the farmer.
+“Better leave some room.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let them come,” mumbled Mouser with his
+mouth full of sugar. “None of them will go away
+again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And they made good this prophecy when a little
+later they were called into the farmhouse, where a
+table was spread, heaped high with fluffy biscuits
+just from the oven. On these the boys spread butter
+and then piled them up with the delicious
+syrup. There were other things on the table too,
+pickles and pies and cakes, but to these the boys
+paid slight attention. They could have those any
+day, but to-day maple sugar was king.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>When at length they were through, they all
+acknowledged to having eaten more than was good
+for them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll have to use a derrick to get Pee Wee on
+his feet,” laughed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And borrow the horse and sled to take him
+back to school,” said Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But it was not quite so bad as that, though after
+they started back the other boys had to moderate
+their gait in order not to leave Pee Wee too far
+behind.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hurry up, Pee Wee,” admonished Skeets.
+“You’re slow as molasses.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Slow as maple syrup when it’s cooling,”
+amended Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, fellows, this has sure been a bully trip,”
+remarked Shiner, summing up the sentiments of
+all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“This is the end of a perfect day,” Fred chanted
+gayly, lifting up his voice in song.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXI<br /> <br />THE FIRST GAME</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Notwithstanding Fred’s jubilant song, the day
+was not yet ended.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As the boys approached the school, they saw a
+figure in the road a little way ahead that seemed
+familiar to them. They quickened their pace,
+quickly overtaking Dago Joe.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hello, Joe,” came from many voices at once.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Joe flashed them a smile, showing his fine, white
+teeth.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hello,” he answered genially.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wonder if he’s as fond of hash as ever,” Fred
+remarked in a low voice to Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What are you doing up this way, Joe?” asked
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looking for any one?” inquired Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Joe was wary and refused to be drawn out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Can’t get that old fox to give himself away,”
+muttered Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Just then Tom Hicksley approached, accompanied
+by Bronson and Jinks. They caught sight
+of Joe at the same time that he saw them, and
+tried to retreat. Bronson and Jinks succeeded,
+but Joe was too quick for Hicksley, and hurrying
+forward laid his hand on his arm, while he jabbered
+away excitedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ha ha!” exclaimed Fred in a tragic way. “I
+see it all now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s boning Hicksley for something,” guessed
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Money, I’ll bet,” ventured Shiner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I shouldn’t wonder if it’s on account of that
+job he did for those fellows, hauling those ashes,”
+said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wasn’t it luck that we happened along just at
+this minute?” chuckled Mouser delightedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As Joe and Hicksley were right in the path that
+led up to the school, the boys sauntered along carelessly
+until they were nearly abreast of them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For a man who understood so little English, Joe
+was talking at a great rate.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wanta ze mon,” the boys heard him say.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I tell you I haven’t got it with me just now,”
+Hicksley responded in an undertone, trying to
+quiet the man and keep the boys from hearing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wanta ze mon now,” repeated Joe doggedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, give the man his money, Hicksley,” broke
+in Sparrow suddenly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He needs it to buy hash with,” said the irrepressible
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s take up a collection to help out,” suggested
+Skeets sarcastically.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You fellows shut up,” cried Hicksley, turning
+on them fiercely.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We know how he earned it,” returned Bobby
+undauntedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You don’t know anything of the kind,” snarled
+the bully, but his eyes wavered as they met
+Bobby’s fixed upon them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was pretty hard work carting ashes all that
+way to spoil our coast,” went on Bobby. “You’d
+better pony up, Hicksley.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,”
+growled Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But as he did not like the way the boys were
+gathering around him, he put his hand in his
+pocket, drew out the dollar and a half that he had
+promised to pay when the work should be finished
+and which he had ever since been trying to cheat
+Joe out of, and slunk away, glad to escape the contempt
+that he felt in the eyes and manner of the
+boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Caught with the goods!” cried Fred jubilantly,
+throwing his cap into the air.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Couldn’t have been nicer if we’d planned it
+ourselves,” exulted Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, now that we’re sure that he did it, what
+are we going to do about it?” asked Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, I guess there’s nothing to be done,” said
+Bobby slowly. “If it wasn’t that he’s likely to be
+on the baseball team we might make it hot for him.
+Not with the teachers of course, but among ourselves.
+But we want Rockledge to win the championship,
+and it won’t help any to have trouble
+with any boy on the nine. Besides, he’s had a
+good deal of punishment just in the last few minutes.
+I never saw a fellow look as cheap as he did
+when he faded away just now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I guess you’re right, Bobby,” assented Sparrow.
+“But all the same he wouldn’t let up on you
+if he had you in a fix.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The next day they all felt rather logy after their
+feast of the day before, and Pee Wee, who had a
+severe stomach ache, did not get up at all. Fortunately
+it was Sunday, and the day of rest helped
+to get them in shape again before their school
+duties began on Monday morning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>From that time on the weather was all that the
+boys could ask, and every hour the ball players
+could spare was spent in practice on the diamond.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Gradually, under the coaching of Mr. Carrier,
+their athletic instructor, ably assisted by Frank
+Durrock, the nine was getting into good form.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred, at short stop, was thought to be a shade
+better than Willis, and he was slated to play in the
+first game.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As to the pitchers, while there was no doubt that
+they would be Bobby and Hicksley, it was by no
+means certain which of them would twirl in the
+opening game, which was to be with the Somerset
+nine on the Rockledge grounds.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Each was doing well, and each had some points
+that the other did not possess. Hicksley, the older
+of the two, had more muscular strength, and could
+whip the ball over with more speed than Bobby.
+But Bobby was a better general, a quicker thinker,
+and he had a control of his curves that was far
+better than his rival’s.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“One thing is certain,” said Mr. Carrier, in one
+of his conferences with Frank. “We’re better
+fixed in the box than we ever were before. It’s
+hard to choose between them, though, take all
+things together, I think Blake is the better pitcher
+of the two.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Frank. “I feel a little safer myself
+with Bobby in there than I do with Hicksley.
+Hicksley has lots of speed but he’s liable to go up
+with a bang. But I’ve never yet seen Bobby get
+rattled.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The long expected day arrived at last, and all
+Rockledge turned out to see the game. The stand
+was full, and Dr. Raymond himself, with most of
+the teachers, sat in a little space that had been
+railed off and decorated with the Rockledge colors.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The Somerset nine, made up of strong, sturdy
+looking boys, had come over with a large number
+of rooters from their town. They were full of
+confidence, and they went through their preliminary
+practice with a snap and a vim that showed
+they were good players.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank had watched them as they batted out flies,
+and noted that several of them were left-handed
+batters. He held an anxious conference with Mr.
+Carrier, and then came over to Bobby who was
+warming up.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I had expected to have you pitch to-day,
+Bobby,” he said; “but I’ve just been noticing that
+those fellows have two or three left-handed batters.
+Now you know as well as I do that for that
+kind it’s best to have left-handed pitching. They
+can’t hit it so easily.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sure,” replied Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And so I think I’ll have to put in Hicksley,”
+continued Frank.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” said Bobby heartily, “and
+I’ll be rooting my head off for him to win.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re a brick, Bobby!” exclaimed Frank. “I
+was sure you’d understand.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>When the umpire cried: “Play ball!” there was
+a buzz of surprise among the spectators, when, instead
+of Bobby, it was Tom Hicksley who picked
+up the ball and faced the batter.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXII<br /> <br />TO THE RESCUE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Hicksley started off in good shape. The first
+man up went out on a foul that Sparrow caught
+after a long run. The second batter, who was left-handed,
+could do nothing with the ball at all and
+went out on strikes. The third man connected and
+shot a sharp grounder which Fred picked up neatly
+and threw in plenty of time to Durrock at first.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The side was out, and hearty applause greeted
+Hicksley as he came in to the bench, Bobby joining
+in as heartily as any of the others.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was a dandy start!” cried Bronson.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Keep it up, Tom!” exclaimed Jinks, encouragingly.
+“They can’t touch you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Rockledge was more fortunate in its half of the
+inning. Frank, who led off in the batting order,
+had two halls and one strike called on him, but on
+his second attempt he sent the ball on a line between
+center and right for three bases. He was
+tempted to try to stretch it to a home run, but
+Bobby, who was coaching, saw that the ball would
+get there before him and held him at third.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The next batter fouled out, but Mouser, who followed
+him, sent a neat single to left on which Frank
+scored easily. Barry went out on strikes, and
+Mouser was left on the bag when Spentz died on a
+weak dribbler to the box.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Rockledge was one run to the good and had
+shown that they were in a batting humor, so that
+their rooters in the stand were jubilant at the
+promising beginning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The next two innings went by without a score for
+either side. Hicksley was still pitching well, and
+the opposing pitcher had tightened up considerably.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In the fourth, Somerset broke the ice. The first
+man up laid down a bunt that Hicksley picked up,
+but threw wild to Durrock, and the batter reached
+second before the ball was recovered. A neat sacrifice
+put him on third, from which he scored on a
+long fly to right, which Spentz gobbled after a
+long run, but could not return to the plate in time
+to catch the man running in from third after the
+out. No further damage was done as Fred and
+Durrock disposed of the batter, but the score was
+tied, and it was Somerset’s turn to cheer.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Rockledge got the run right back again in
+the fifth, and added one for good measure. Fred
+smashing out a rattling two-bagger to left. He
+stole third on the first ball pitched. Two infield
+flies followed, and it began to look as though
+Fred’s hit had gone for nothing. Then Mouser
+brought the stand yelling to its feet by a clean
+home run, following Fred over the plate and making
+the score three to one.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>His comrades gathered around him, pawing and
+mauling him exultantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call hitting it a mile!” cried
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A lallapaloozer!” shouted Fred, doing a war
+dance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A peach!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A pippin!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re all there, Mouser!” yelled Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser grinned appreciatively at the medley of
+shouts that greeted him, and then retired to the
+bench, where he sat panting and happy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Radford, the Somerset pitcher, pulled himself
+together and retired the next man on strikes, and
+Somerset came in for its turn at the bat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Go for ’em now, fellows!” shouted their supporters.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Eat ’em up!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Get right after ’em!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The game’s young yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Hicksley, encouraged by the two-run lead
+his team had handed him, was still more than they
+could solve, and again they went out into the
+field runless.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The Rockledge boys also had a goose egg for
+their portion in their half, but this did not worry
+them much. The game was two thirds over, and
+at that stage a lead of two runs looked mighty good
+to them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But in the seventh inning their confidence began
+to give way to anxiety. Hicksley began well by
+retiring the first man on strikes. But then he
+began to lose control. Two batters in succession
+were given their bases on balls. A fine pickup of
+Fred’s disposed of the next batter at first, each of
+the others advancing a base on the play. There
+was only one other to be put out and end the inning
+without a run being recorded.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the next batter landed square on the ball,
+which whizzed like a bullet between first and second,
+and in a jiffy two runs came over the plate,
+tying the score. The batter reached second on the
+play and then imprudently tried to make third. A
+quick throw to Sparrow caught him ten feet from
+the bag and the side was out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley came in shaking and with a strained
+look in his face. The Rockledge rooters yelled encouragement
+to him, but he paid no attention to
+them and sat moping sullenly on the bench.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Frank and Mr. Carrier had a hurried consultation,
+and then the former came over to Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’d better get out there at one side and
+warm up,” he directed him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby did as ordered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What are you going to do?” demanded Hicksley
+in a surly tone. “Take me out and put that
+fellow in?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not yet,” answered Frank soothingly.
+“You’ve had a bad inning, but that can happen
+to any one. Perhaps you’ll be all right after
+a rest. We’ll see how you start out the next inning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened,
+had taken a mighty brace, and Rockledge
+went out in one, two, three order.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley took up his position in the box with an
+air of confidence that Frank felt was assumed.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a
+strike. The next two were balls. Then followed
+another strike and a third ball, making the count
+three and two.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>With both batter and pitcher “in the hole,” the
+next was a hall and the batter capered happily
+down to first.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Durrock walked over to Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How about it, Hicksley?” he asked.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let me alone,” growled Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing
+his mate to second.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley now was plainly cracking, and when
+he issued another “pass,” filling the bases, Frank
+motioned him to retire and beckoned Bobby to the
+box.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley glared at Bobby as the latter came forward.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sorry, Hicksley,” said Bobby regretfully, as
+he reached out for the ball. “You pitched a dandy
+game for the first six innings.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, you’re sorry a lot,” snarled Hicksley.
+“You’re tickled to death at the chance to show me
+up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Instead of handing the ball to Bobby, he threw
+it angrily on the ground and slouched away to the
+bench.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby’s eyes flashed, but he controlled himself,
+quietly picked up the ball and took his position in
+the box. It was no time now to get angry when he
+needed above all things to keep cool.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a trying position for so young a player.
+The bases were full with no one out, and the
+Somerset rooters were yelling at the top of their
+lungs, trying to rattle him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A clean hit would bring in at least one run, probably
+two. Even a long fly to the outfield would
+probably enable the man on third to score.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Go to it, Bobby, old boy!” called Fred from
+short.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You can hold them!” encouraged Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re all behind you, Bobby!” sang out Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby sized up the batter and wound up for the
+first pitch.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIII<br /> <br />THE EGG AND THE FAN</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The ball whizzed over the plate, cutting an outside
+corner for a strike.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The Rockledge rooters regarded this as a good
+omen and greeted it with wild shouts. They all
+had a warm spot in their hearts for Bobby, and
+they had been disgusted at the unsportsmanlike
+way in which Hicksley had left the box.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The next ball was a high fast one, at which the
+batter refused to bite.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby had seen out of the corner of his eye that
+the occupant of the third bag was taking too big
+a lead. As the ball came back to him from the
+catcher, he suddenly turned and shot it to third.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The runner tried frantically to get back, but
+Sparrow had the ball on him like a flash.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’re out!” shouted the umpire.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” yelled Fred. “That was nice
+work, Bobby.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This relieved the pressure somewhat, and the
+crowd breathed more freely.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the danger was still threatening, and the
+batter was the captain of the Somerset team and
+one of its best hitters. He fouled off the next two.
+On his third attempt, he chopped a bounder to
+Mouser at second, who made a clever stop and
+threw him out at first, while the runners each advanced
+a base.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Two down,” cried Sparrow from third.
+“You’re getting them, Bobby. Keep it up.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby now put on all steam. There was only
+one more inning after this one, and he did not
+need to save his arm. He sent two outcurves in
+succession. Each went for a strike. Then when
+the batter was set for another of the same kind,
+Bobby outguessed him with a straight fast one,
+and the ball plunked into the catcher’s mitt for an
+out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a chorus of cheers from the Rockledge
+rooters as Bobby drew off his glove and
+came in to the bench.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call getting out of a hole,”
+cried one.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The bases full and nobody out and yet they
+couldn’t score,” shouted another.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll give you a run this time, Bobby, and all
+you’ll need to do then will be to hold them down in
+the ninth,” prophesied Frank, as he selected his
+bat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He started in to make his words good by
+cracking out a single on the second ball pitched. A sacrifice
+bunt to the right of the pitcher’s box advanced
+him to second. The next batter went out
+on an infield fly that held Frank anchored to the
+bag. Barry was given his base on balls. Then
+Spentz walloped a corker to left, on which Frank
+scored and Barry reached third. A moment later
+a quick throw caught him napping and the side was
+out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re in the lead now, Bobby,” exulted Fred,
+as Rockledge took the field. “Put the kibosh on
+them just once more and we’re all right.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Make this inning short and sweet, old scout!”
+sang out Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And short and sweet was what Bobby made it.
+He was on his mettle, and put every bit of control
+he had upon the ball. Despite the frantic efforts
+of the Somerset coachers to rattle him, he kept perfectly
+cool. Victory was too close now for him
+to let it go.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The first batter up knocked a high foul to Sparrow,
+who held it tight. The next sent a weak
+bounder to Frank, which he tossed to Bobby, who
+had run over to cover the bag. Then Bobby shattered
+the last hope of Somerset by striking out the
+last man on three pitched balls.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The Rockledge rooters, wild with delight,
+rushed down from the stands and gathered about
+their favorites, who were grinning happily. They
+had played a good game and deserved to win, but
+Bobby, because of his gallant stand when the team
+had its back against the wall, came in naturally
+for the lion’s share of the applause.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That was some sweet pitching all right.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You had them standing on their heads.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Your nerve was right with you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Wait till he tackles Belden. He’ll show them
+a thing or two.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m glad we pulled through all right,” said
+Bobby modestly. “All the boys put up a dandy
+game. And don’t forget that Hicksley held them
+down splendidly in the first part of the game.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s so,” conceded Mouser. “But when it
+came to the pinch he cracked.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He couldn’t stand the gaff,” put in Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Any pitcher will get knocked out of the box
+sometimes,” argued Bobby. “Then, too, he had
+been pitching six hard innings and was tired. I
+was fresh when I went in and only had two innings
+to pitch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley had left the bench as soon as the last
+man was out. He could not bear to wait to see the
+praise that he knew would be showered on his
+rival. He had been joined by Jinks and Bronson,
+and the three were now slouching grumpily toward
+the school buildings.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Doesn’t seem as if they were tickled to death
+because Rockledge won,” commented Fred, as he
+looked at the group.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, the rest of us are, anyway,” cried Sparrow.
+“We’ve made a mighty good start, taking
+the first game.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I can see the pennant flying from that pole
+already,” jubilated Skeets, pointing to the flagstaff
+back of center field.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ve got dandy eyesight, Skeets,” laughed
+Bobby. “We’ve got a long way to go yet.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“One swallow doesn’t make a summer,” cautioned
+Frank, who, while he was as pleased as the
+rest, did not want his team to be too confident.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And if the Ridgefield nine is as good as the
+Somersets, we’ll have our work cut out for us,”
+remarked Mouser. “Those fellows gave us all we
+wanted to do to win.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They put up a bully fight,” agreed Shiner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Doctor Raymond came down among the boys to
+congratulate them on the victory they had won for
+the school, and Mr. Carrier was even more enthusiastic
+over the success of his charges.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ve made a fine start, boys, and I’m proud
+of you,” he told them. “Now, don’t let down a
+bit, but keep it right up to the finish of the season.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We will.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Trust us.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ve only begun to fight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s the right spirit,” said Mr. Carrier,
+smiling. “And now to make you feel better, I’m
+going to tell you that I’ve just received a telegram
+that Ridgefield whipped Belden this afternoon
+by seven to three.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A tremendous shout arose at this. They had
+counted on Belden as the rival from whom they
+had the most to fear, and they were immensely
+pleased to learn that it had begun the season with
+a defeat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a jubilant throng of boys that made their
+way toward the school buildings that afternoon.
+They knew that a rocky road lay ahead of them,
+but a good deal depended upon the start, and it
+was a great thing to know that they had the lead on
+the other fellows.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hicksley acted like a game sport this afternoon
+when he threw the ball down in the box instead of
+handing it to you,” remarked Fred, with whom the
+incident rankled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, well,” said Bobby, “you must make some
+allowance for him. It was natural that he should
+feel sore.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That isn’t the point,” persisted Fred. “A
+thoroughbred might have felt sore, but he wouldn’t
+have shown it. I tell you, Bobby, you want to look
+out for that fellow. If you could have seen the
+way he looked at you while you were pitching.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Looks don’t hurt,” Bobby flung back carelessly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But a few days later an incident occurred which
+showed that Hicksley was willing to go much
+further than looks in his hatred of his rival.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was one of those unseasonably warm days
+that sometimes come in the spring. Recitations
+were being held in the classroom of Mr. Leith, the
+head teacher, and in order to make the air cooler
+the electric fan had been set going.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The seats of Hicksley, Bronson and Jinks were
+just behind those of Bobby and Fred, and were in
+the rear of the room.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The lessons were proceeding as usual, when suddenly
+there was a crash, and something wet and
+sticky and evil smelling was scattered over the
+room. Almost all the boys got some of it, and a
+large yellow splash showed against the immaculate
+white shirt of Mr. Leith himself.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Somebody had thrown an egg into the electric
+fan! And it was a very old egg, as was proved by
+the vile odor which spread through the classroom.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXIV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIV<br /> <br />AN UNDESERVED PUNISHMENT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The whirling fan, going at tremendous speed,
+had scattered the contents of the egg far and wide,
+and hardly any one had escaped.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For a moment there was a stunned silence.
+Then a roar of laughter broke from the boys. To
+them it seemed a capital joke.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Mr. Leith did not laugh. His black eyes
+snapped and his face was pale with anger.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who did that?” he asked, as he took out his
+handkerchief and wiped the smear from the bosom
+of his shirt.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Naturally there was no answer. The laughter
+died out, and everything became as silent as the
+grave.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Such conduct is subversive of all discipline,”
+went on Mr. Leith in his stilted way and trying to
+get control of his voice. “If the boy who did that
+will confess, I will take that into account in the
+punishment I shall lay upon him. But no matter
+how long it takes, I am determined to find the culprit.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Still no answer.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well,” said Mr. Leith after waiting a moment,
+“I see that I shall have to question each one of you
+separately.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He called them up one by one, beginning at the
+front of the room, and each one denied knowing
+anything about it, Bobby among the rest. Then
+he came last to Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I didn’t do it,” said Hicksley; “but—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Then he stopped, as though he had gone further
+than he intended.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“But what?” queried the teacher sharply.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Nothing,” mumbled Hicksley, in apparent confusion.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You were going to say something else,” said
+Mr. Leith, “and I insist on knowing what it was.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley kept silent. He wanted to give the impression
+that if he told anything it would have to
+be dragged out of him against his will.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You had better tell me what you were going to
+say,” snapped the teacher severely, “or it will be
+the worse for you.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to tell on anybody,” said Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, then you know who threw it,” said Mr.
+Leith, brisking up like a hound on the trail.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” replied Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who was it?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t want to tell.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who was it, I say?” thundered Mr. Leith in
+exasperation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Blake,” blurted out Hicksley, as though he
+did not want to say it but had to yield to force.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby was thunderstruck, and for a minute the
+room seemed to be whirling around him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It isn’t true,” he cried, recovering himself.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s a—a whopper!” shouted Fred fiercely.
+“I was sitting right beside Bobby, and he didn’t
+throw it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Keep quiet, Martin,” commanded Mr. Leith.
+“Blake, come here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby went forward and stood in front of the
+desk.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Why did you do a thing like that?” asked Mr.
+Leith.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I didn’t do it,” replied Bobby stoutly. “I was
+as surprised as any one else when it happened.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith beckoned to Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You say that Blake didn’t throw it,” he said.
+“Were you looking at him at the time?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“N-no, sir,” Fred had to confess, “I was looking
+at the blackboard. But I know I’d have noticed
+it if he had made any motion. Besides,” he
+added in his attempt to help his friend, “if Bobby
+had been going to do anything of that kind he’d
+have told me beforehand.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That isn’t proof,” remarked the teacher;
+“especially when Hicksley says that he actually
+saw him do it. Do you still stick to that, Hicksley?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes sir,” answered Hicksley, who was scared
+now at the tempest he had raised but had gone too
+far to back out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But he carefully avoided meeting the blazing
+eyes of Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Go to your seats,” Mr. Leith ordered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They obeyed, and as Hicksley sank down between
+Bronson and Jinks, he whispered in a panic:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t forget that you fellows have got to stand
+by me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith reflected for a moment.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Did any one else see Blake throw the egg?” he
+asked at length.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley nudged his cronies and both raised
+their hands.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I did,” came from both at once.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby half rose from his seat and Fred clenched
+his fists.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s not so!” exclaimed Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“The low-down skunks!” ejaculated Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith quieted them with a gesture.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He was a good man, and he tried to be just.
+But he had been sorely tried by this breach of
+discipline, and his dignity had received a severe
+shock. He could not forget the glaring yellow
+smear on his shirt front, and he felt that he had
+been made a laughing stock before his class.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He had always liked Bobby, who had stood high
+in his lessons and whose behavior in class had always
+been good. Yet it was possible that an impish
+spirit of mischief had suddenly taken possession
+of him, and that on the impulse of the moment
+he might have taken refuge in denial.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And there was the positive testimony of three
+witnesses that they had actually seen Bobby throw
+the egg. To be sure, he knew something of the
+character of those witnesses, and against any one
+of them he would have been inclined to take
+Bobby’s word in preference. But he knew nothing
+of the grudge the bullies held against Bobby,
+and to a man of his upright character it was inconceivable
+that three of them should make such a
+charge if it were not true.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He pondered the matter for several minutes,
+while the class waited breathlessly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I shall look into this matter further,” he finally
+announced; “but for the present, Blake, and
+until the affair is cleared up, you are not to take
+part in track sports or play on the baseball team.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXV' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXV<br /> <br />OFF FOR A SWIM</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Bobby sat as if stunned. There was bitter revolt
+in his heart against the injustice of it all.
+And, in addition, he felt as though he would like to
+get at Hicksley and thrash him well.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But for the moment he was helpless. The evidence
+was against him, and he was too proud to
+make any further protest or appeal to Mr. Leith.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>To the rest of the boys, the sentence came like a
+clap of thunder. They were fond of Bobby and
+believed he was telling the truth. They would
+have been sorry to see him punished for any reason.
+But it was not only the fact of the punishment,
+but the nature of it, that filled them with
+consternation. Bobby Blake off the ball team!
+Where would Rockledge be now in the race for
+the pennant of the Monatook Lake League?</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The lessons proceeded, but the class might as
+well have been dismissed at once, for only one
+thought filled the minds of all. And when at last
+the gong rang, there was a rush for Bobby on the
+campus, and a buzzing arose that resembled a hive
+of angry bees.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was well for the bullies that, sitting on the
+rear seats, they had slipped out of the door quickly
+and disappeared. They would surely have come
+to grief in the present excited condition of the
+boys.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred slammed his books so violently on the
+ground that he broke the strap that held them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just wait!” he stormed, “just wait! I’ll
+pitch into that Tom Hicksley the minute I see him,
+big as he is.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would have been bad enough of him to tell,
+even if Bobby had done it,” growled Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He ought to have his head knocked off,” raged
+Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Swell chance now we’ll have of winning the
+pennant,” groaned Shiner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Not a Chinaman’s chance,” mourned Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I can see us coming in as tail-enders,” prophesied
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Was such a dirty trick ever heard of?” wailed
+Billy Bassett, appealing to high heaven, as though
+even in his grief he was asking the answer to a
+riddle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby had had time now to get a grip on himself,
+and although his heart was hot within him,
+he was outwardly the coolest of them all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Tom Hicksley will pay for this all right,” he
+declared. “Some time the truth will come out and
+I hope it will be soon. I haven’t any doubt of
+course that he did it himself. Then he got cold
+feet when he saw how angry Mr. Leith was and
+fibbed out of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Of course, he’d fib out of it!” exclaimed Fred.
+“Nobody who knows Tom Hicksley would expect
+him to do anything else. But why did he put it
+on you?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Because he’s sore at me, I suppose,” Bobby
+answered. “He’s always hated me since that
+afternoon on the train.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes, but he’s just as sore at the rest of us who
+butted in, as he calls it,” persisted Fred. “It’s
+something more than that, Bobby. It’s because
+you saved the game when he had almost lost it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s never forgiven you for that,” agreed
+Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well, whatever his reason was, I’m the goat all
+right,” said Bobby, in a feeble attempt to put the
+best face on the matter.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It isn’t only you, but it’s Rockledge that’s the
+goat,” amended Sparrow. “We’ll be licked out
+of our boots.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You fellows will have to play all the harder,”
+said Bobby. “Mr. Leith may change his mind
+when he comes to think it over. I have a hunch
+that Hicksley isn’t going to get away with such a
+whopper as that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to have him by the throat and choke the
+truth out of him,” snapped Fred wrathfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It would be a pretty big job to get any truth
+out of that fellow,” grunted Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What did the old weather want to go and get
+so hot for all of a sudden?” burst out Pee Wee.
+“If it hadn’t been for that, the fan wouldn’t have
+been going and the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This kick against nature struck the boys as comical,
+and the laugh that followed cleared the air
+somewhat and relieved their excited feelings. But
+for the rest of the day and evening, there was
+but one topic that held the attention of any of
+them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby felt blue and depressed. He would
+rather have had any other penalty put on him than
+to be ordered not to play on the team. The very
+sight of his glove and uniform made him miserable.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It would have been bad enough, even if he had
+been guilty of that special bit of mischief. But
+then he would have “taken his medicine” with as
+good grace as possible. But it made him raging
+angry to feel that he had been made the victim of
+a contemptible plot by such a fellow as Tom
+Hicksley.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>What made it still more exasperating was the
+fact that he did not see any way to get at the real
+truth. Hicksley had been on the rear row of
+seats, and his only companions were Bronson and
+Jinks, who were just as bad as himself. No one
+but they had seen the egg thrown, if, as Bobby
+felt sure, Hicksley had thrown it. And now that
+they had put it on Bobby, they had to stand by the
+falsehood. One was as deep in the mud as the
+others were in the mire, and there was not a chance
+in the world of their confessing.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It hurt Bobby, too, to know that he rested under
+a cloud in the eyes of Mr. Leith, who had practically
+told him that afternoon that he did not believe
+him. He was a truthful boy and it came
+hard to have his word questioned.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>All the next morning he was gloomy and downhearted.
+In the afternoon, Fred, like the loyal
+friend he was, tried to get his mind off his troubles
+by suggesting that they go swimming.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t let’s go to the lake this time,” said Fred.
+“Let’s go to Beekman’s Pond up in the woods.
+There’s a dandy place there for diving.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a little early in the season yet for a
+swim, but the warm weather, which still continued,
+made the prospect an agreeable one. So, shortly
+after dinner, having received permission to go
+out of bounds, Bobby and Fred with half a dozen
+of the other boys started out for the pond.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows,” asked Billy as they trudged
+along, “what’s the dif—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There goes the human question mark again,”
+interrupted Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s not to blame, he was born that way,” said
+Skeets with large toleration.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Honestly, Billy,” chaffed Fred, “I don’t believe
+you can say a single sentence that isn’t a
+question.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Can’t I?” said Billy, a little nettled.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There! what did I tell you?” said Fred, trapping
+him neatly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys roared, and even Billy grinned.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well,” he said, “I might as well have the game
+as the name. What’s the difference—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Stop him, somebody,” cried Sparrow, wringing
+his hands in pretended agony.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Billy looked at him scornfully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, let him get it out,” said Bobby resignedly.
+“Go ahead, Billy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Shoot,” said Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the difference,” asked Billy, “between
+a fisherman and a lazy scholar?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ask Pee Wee,” replied Skeets. “He ought
+to know.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Pee Wee isn’t a fisherman,” objected Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who said he was?” retorted Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If you’re hinting that I’m a lazy scholar,” remarked
+Pee Wee, “all I’ve got to say is that I’ll
+never be lonesome among you boobs.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Stop your chinning,” said Billy, “and answer
+my question.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“One catches fish and the other catches a licking,”
+ventured Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Each one sometimes finds himself in deep
+water,” guessed Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No,” said Billy. “They’re not so bad, but
+neither one’s the real answer.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Finally the boys gave it up.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“One baits his hooks and the other hates his
+books,” chirped Billy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>A groan went up from the sufferers.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I think that’s a pippin,” remarked Billy
+proudly; “but I’ve got another one that’s better
+still. Why is a—”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Sic the dog on him!” ejaculated Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What’s the use of letting him live?” asked
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He seems to be human, but is he?” queried
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As Beekman’s Pond came in sight just then, they
+broke into a run, and Billy had to save his masterpiece
+for another time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They found a secluded spot, and with a whoop
+and a shout were out of their clothes in a hurry.
+Then with a shiver each took the plunge into the
+clear waters of the pond.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXVI' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVI<br /> <br />THE SCAR AND THE LIMP</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The chums came up shuddering, with hair plastered
+over their faces and the water streaming
+from their shoulders.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ugh,” sputtered Fred, “the water’s as cold as
+ice!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A polar bear would like it,” chattered Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Turn on the hot water faucet, Jeems,” laughed
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll be all right in a minute or two,” remarked
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They swam around, racing and diving like so
+many young porpoises, and in a little while the
+blood returned to their chilled surfaces, making
+them perfectly comfortable again.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Reminds you something of Plunkit’s Creek,
+doesn’t it, Fred?” said Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” agreed Fred, “only this is a good deal
+longer and wider than that.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Then, too, we haven’t got Ap here, watching
+us from the bank and getting ready to set his dog
+on us,” grinned Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We don’t owe Ap anything,” laughed Bobby.
+“We paid him all up that day we made him walk
+the plank.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Do you remember how he looked when he
+struck the water?” chuckled Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wonder if he and Pat have met each other
+since we came away,” said Bobby, as he recalled
+the scene at the railway station on the morning
+they left Clinton.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Ap had better keep his whip handy,” observed
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That wouldn’t help him much,” returned
+Bobby. “Pat would take it away from him and
+wade into him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They had been in and out of the water for perhaps
+an hour, when Bobby, who had swum down to
+where the shore curved a little, suddenly turned
+and swam back again as fast as he could.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come along with me, fellows,” he cried, “and
+don’t make any more noise than you can help.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The others followed him wonderingly until they
+reached the bend. Then, while they hid behind
+some grasses, Bobby pointed to two men who were
+lounging under a tree a short distance away.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were smoking stubby pipes as they lay at
+their ease. Their faces were rough and unshaven
+and their clothing dirty and ragged.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t see much to get excited about,”
+remarked Shiner disappointedly. “Just a couple of
+tramps.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’re more than that to us,” replied Bobby.
+“They’re the very tramps who robbed us in that
+old hut.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys were on edge in an instant. Just then
+one of the men rose, stretched himself lazily and
+took a few steps toward the tree. As he did so,
+the boys saw that he had a perceptible limp.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And the other one has a scar on his face,”
+whispered Bobby excitedly. “You can see it if
+you look close.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They looked more closely, and Fred in his eagerness
+rose a little too high. His red head caught
+the eye of the man with the scar, and he uttered
+a startled exclamation.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now you’ve, done it,” whispered Mouser disgustedly.
+“Why didn’t you keep that red mop of
+yours out of sight?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hurry, fellows,” urged Bobby. “We’ve got
+to catch those fellows before they can get away.
+Whip on your clothes and let’s get back after
+them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys swam back as fast as possible and
+rushed up on the bank.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who put a knot in the leg of my pants?” came
+in a howl from Fred as he struggled desperately
+to unfasten the knot.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’d like to catch the fellow who tied my socks
+together,” growled Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And here’s one of my shoes floating in the
+water,” wailed Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They had to pay the penalty now of the tricks
+they had played on one another, and they felt as
+though they were in a nightmare as they tried
+frantically to get into their clothes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“They’ll get away sure,” groaned Bobby.
+“Hustle, fellows, hustle! Come along just as you
+are if you can’t do any better.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He led the way, and the rest came stumbling
+after him in all conditions of dress and undress.
+Mouser had stuffed his stockings in his pocket,
+Skeets carried his wet shoes in his hands, while
+Fred, with one leg in his trousers, held up the rest
+of the garment in his hand and made what speed
+he could.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But when they reached the tree under which
+the tramps had been sitting, they found no one.
+The birds had flown. They may possibly have recognized
+Fred’s red head as that of one of their
+victims, or they may have thought that he was one
+of a company, including men, who might ask them
+curious and troublesome questions. At any rate
+they had quickly gotten out of sight.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys searched about everywhere in that part
+of the woods, but fruitlessly. Pee Wee fell into a
+small excavation, this time barking his shins in
+reality. But he had no other injury except to his
+feelings, and his comrades hauled him out without
+much trouble.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Well,” said Fred at last, “there doesn’t seem
+any more reason for hurry, and I guess I’ll get my
+pants on.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And I’ll put on my shoes,” said Skeets, suiting
+the action to the word. “This stubble has
+hurt my feet something fierce.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mouser’s socks also took their rightful place,
+and the boys began to feel more like human beings.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What would you have done anyway, Bobby, if
+you’d found them under the tree?” asked Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t know exactly,” answered Bobby
+frankly. “Of course, we couldn’t tackle grown
+men. But we could have kept them in sight until
+we met some farmers and had them nabbed. Or
+one of us could have gone back to Rockledge and
+got the constable. But we know that they’re hanging
+round in this neighborhood now, and we’ll tell
+the constable about it and he’ll telephone to all the
+towns near by to be on the lookout for them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I sure would like to get back my ring,” said
+Fred longingly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Those sleeve buttons would look mighty good
+to me,” chimed in Pee Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I could use my scarf pin too,” added Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I don’t <em>much</em> expect to see my watch again,”
+said Bobby, “but there’s a <em>chance</em> of finding where
+they pawned ’em if we can get those fellows arrested.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“There were only two of ’em,” mused Fred.
+“I wonder where the other one was.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Round at some farmhouse begging for grub
+maybe,” suggested Skeets.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Or in jail perhaps,” guessed Sparrow. “If
+he isn’t, he ought to be.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’ll get there sooner or later,” said Fred,
+“and so will the rest of the bunch.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys hurried back to town and put the matter
+in the hands of the constable, who promised
+that he would do all in his power to catch the
+thieves. But the days passed into weeks with the
+tramps still at liberty, and the chances of the boys
+ever getting back the stolen articles became more
+and more unlikely.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But this did not hold such a place in their
+thoughts as the race for the championship of the
+Monatook Lake League, which kept getting hotter
+and hotter as the various teams tried their
+strength against each other.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a case of nip and tuck. First one team
+and then the other would forge to the front. By
+the time the first five games had been played not
+a single team could be said to be out of it.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But what grieved the Rockledge boys was that
+their bitter rival, Belden, although it started the
+season with a defeat at the hands of Ridgefield,
+had made a strong rally and was now in front with
+a total of four victories and one lost game.
+Somerset and Ridgefield were tied for second
+place, while Rockledge—Rockledge, which had so
+proudly counted on the pennant—was <em>last</em>!</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXVII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVII<br /> <br />A GLEAM OF LIGHT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>There was no trouble at all in finding out the
+reason why Rockledge was the tail-ender. The
+batting and fielding of the team was all that could
+be asked for. Both in offense and defense they
+had the edge on their rivals. The weakness lay in
+the pitcher’s box.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was not that Hicksley did not work hard. He
+had a double reason now for pitching at the top of
+his speed, for he not only wanted to win the glory
+to himself, but he wanted to show that the absence
+of Bobby did not weaken the team.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the trouble with him was that, as a rule, he
+could not last for the full nine innings. He would
+go along like a house afire for the first half of the
+game. Then about the fifth or sixth inning, he
+would begin to falter, and in some one of the remaining
+innings would “go up with a bang.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>At such times there was no one to come to the
+rescue, as in the first game that Bobby had pulled
+out of the fire. Spentz, the right fielder, who knew
+a little about twirling, had replaced him once but
+had not been able to undo the damage. In the
+game with Ridgefield, Hicksley had managed to
+last long enough to win by one run, and in the second
+game with Somerset had pitched fairly well,
+though he lost. But Ridgefield had come back with
+an easy victory, and Belden had fairly smothered
+him under a shower of hits to every part of the
+field. So that the outlook was very blue for Rockledge,
+and the boys fairly squirmed under the
+crowing of the Belden fellows whenever they met
+them on the trolley or in the town.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“If we only had Bobby in the box, we’d be going
+along at the head of the procession,” groaned
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That yellow streak of Hicksley’s comes out in
+almost every game,” growled Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He can’t stand the gaff when it comes to a
+pinch,” assented Skeets gloomily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A fellow who would lie as he did about Bobby
+doesn’t deserve to have any luck,” grunted Pee
+Wee.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s a hoodoo,” agreed Shiner. “But what
+are we going to do?” he asked despairingly. “We
+haven’t anybody else to take his place, now that
+Bobby is out of it.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Things were at this stage, when Bobby and Fred,
+who had been on a trip to town, were caught on
+their return in a terrific thunder storm. They
+were lucky enough to find refuge in a culvert under
+the railroad, and there they waited till the
+storm had spent its fury.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was one of the worst storms they ever remembered,
+and peal after peal of thunder shook the
+earth, while streaks of jagged lightning shot across
+the sky.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” exclaimed Fred, after one particularly
+violent clap of thunder, followed by a
+blinding flash. “I’ll bet that hit around here
+somewhere.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wouldn’t like to be near anything it hit,” replied
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The rain came down in torrents for some time
+longer, but at last the storm abated, rifts of blue
+sky appeared in the clouds, and the boys started
+off toward the school.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were taking a short cut through the woods,
+when they were startled at seeing a great tree,
+that had been split from top to base, lying across
+the path.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Jiminy Christmas!” exclaimed Bobby. “This
+is what the lightning hit that time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It made a clean job of it,” cried Fred. “But
+listen,” he added, as muffled sounds came from the
+great tangle of branches. “What’s making that
+noise?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It’s somebody in there!” ejaculated Bobby, as
+he peered through the green welter of boughs and
+branches. “Quick, Fred, let’s get in there.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>With much difficulty, they forced their way
+through the tangle of foliage, until they were able
+to see two dim figures crouching in the center of
+the mass. Their surprise was great and became
+still greater, when they recognized them as two of
+the smaller of the Rockledge boys, Charlie White
+and Jimmy Thacker.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were confused by their fright, and were
+whimpering. They gave only broken and stammering
+replies to the questions of their rescuers,
+who had a good deal of work in getting them out
+from the boughs that held them down.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They were finally pulled out to the open air.
+They were more frightened than hurt, although
+they had a number of scratches and bruises where
+the branches had swept against them in their fall.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“How did you boys manage to be caught in
+there?” queried Bobby and Fred in one breath.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We were standing under a tree while it was
+raining,” answered Charlie, who was not quite
+as upset as his companion, “when this other tree
+was hit and fell over. We tried to run, but the
+branches caught us before we could get away.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I thought sure we were going to get killed!”
+whimpered Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Don’t you fellows know that you ought never
+to stand under a tree in a thunderstorm?” demanded
+Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We know it now,” returned Charlie; “and you
+can be sure we’ll never do it again.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Are you much hurt?” asked Bobby anxiously.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I guess not,” answered Charlie, “but we’ve
+got lots of scratches.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s see if you can walk all right,” ordered
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They made the attempt, and although they were
+wobbly and uncertain on their legs, all were relieved
+to find that no bones had been broken.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You’ll be all right as soon as you get over your
+scare,” pronounced Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It was mighty lucky for us that you two boys
+came along,” said Jimmy gratefully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” added Charlie. “We were held down
+by those heavy branches, and I don’t see how we
+would have got out by ourselves.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“After this, Charlie,” said Jimmy, looking at
+his companion, “we ought to tell Bobby all we
+know about the fellow who threw that egg into the
+electric fan.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their hearers started as though they had been
+shot.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Who was it?” cried Fred excitedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Out with it!” commanded Bobby.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXVIII' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXVIII<br /> <br />TOM HICKSLEY GETS A THRASHING</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>The boys looked for a moment as though they
+almost regretted having let the cat out of the bag.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Come along, now,” urged Bobby eagerly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Let’s have the whole story,” cried Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It—it was Tom Hicksley,” Jimmy stammered.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I knew it,” cried Fred jubilantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Do you know that, or are you only guessing?”
+asked Bobby, wild with anxiety.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We <em>saw</em> him do it,” returned Charlie, who saw
+now that the only thing left was to tell the whole
+story.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We were going along the hall to Mr. Carrier’s
+classroom that afternoon,” put in Jimmy, “and
+the door into your room was open because the day
+was so warm. We peeped in as we went by, and
+we saw Hicksley take the egg out of his pocket and
+throw it into the electric fan.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“And why didn’t you tell about it before?”
+asked Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“’Cause we were afraid that Hicksley would
+lick us if we did,” confessed Jimmy.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He’s so much bigger than we are, and he
+jumped on us once for nothing at all,” added
+Charlie in self-defense.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s all right,” said Bobby, who was perfectly
+willing to excuse them, now that he saw he
+was going to be cleared. “We all know that he’s
+a big bully and always picking on the little fellows.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You come right along with me,” said Fred, in
+a masterful way. “You keep out of this, Bobby.
+I’ll have this thing fixed up in a jiffy.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby was perfectly satisfied to leave the settlement
+of the matter in the hands of his loyal
+friend, and he went on to the dormitory, while
+Fred headed the little procession that a few minutes
+after marched into the office of Mr. Leith.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>What went on there was shown the following
+morning after Mr. Leith had called his class to
+order.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Blake,” he said, clearing his throat, “come up
+here.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby went up and stood in front of the desk.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Blake,” went on Mr. Leith, “I did a great injustice
+to you a few weeks ago, and I want to
+apologize to you before the whole class. I have
+found out the real culprit. I know the name of the
+boy who threw the egg into the electric fan.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>There was a buzz of wild excitement in the class,
+and Hicksley, together with his two cronies, flushed
+red and grew pale in turn.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That will do, Blake,” Mr. Leith went on.
+“You may go to your seat.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby retired, murmuring something, he did not
+know what.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hicksley, come here,” commanded the teacher.
+“And you, Bronson, and Jinks, come along.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The three of them, with shuffling steps and hang-dog
+looks, walked slowly up the aisle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hicksley,” said Mr. Leith severely, “you said
+at the time this thing happened that you actually
+saw Blake throw the egg. I do not want to condemn
+you without your being heard, and I am
+going to give you this chance to tell the truth.
+Are you willing to stand by your statement, or do
+you wish to take it back?”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley hesitated for a moment and then decided
+to bluff it out.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I did see him,” he muttered doggedly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Martin,” directed Mr. Leith. “Step to the
+door and tell White and Thacker to come in.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred did as ordered and returned, bringing the
+two small boys with him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Tell me now, boys, what you told me yesterday,”
+the teacher commanded.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They looked fearfully at Hicksley and his companions,
+who shot threatening glances at them.
+But they went ahead and related what they had
+seen on the afternoon in question. The simple
+story bore the mark of truth on its face and carried
+conviction.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Leith dismissed them and turned to the three
+in front of him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What have you to say to this?” he demanded.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They kept silent, with their heads lowered, and
+after a moment the teacher continued:</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I am not going to say anything more just now
+to add to the shame you must be feeling. You are
+all to report to Doctor Raymond in his study at
+three o’clock this afternoon. That is all for the
+present.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They stumbled back to their seats, avoiding the
+contemptuous looks of their schoolmates. And
+that afternoon at the hour named they had the
+interview they dreaded with the head of the school.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>That interview was short, but quite long enough
+to make their faces blanch and their hearts quake.
+If Hicksley had been guilty simply of denying the
+act as having been done by him, that would have
+been bad enough, but the punishment would have
+been lighter. But to try deliberately to put it on
+another was unforgivable. Hicksley was dismissed
+from the school and Bronson and Jinks
+were suspended for the remainder of the term.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley, boiling with rage, went to his room to
+pack. On his way down to summon the expressman,
+he met Bobby coming alone up the stairs.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley saw his opportunity and plunged heavily
+into Bobby, sending him stumbling backwards
+down the stairs almost to the lower landing. Had
+it not been for a wild clutch at the banister, Bobby
+would have fallen flat on his back.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>All his fighting blood awoke at this unprovoked
+assault. It was the last straw. He had been under
+great restraint for the past few weeks while
+the injustice done him had rankled sorely. He
+clenched his fists, and as the bully reached the
+landing he received a blow that drove his head
+back and chased the malicious grin from his face.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In a moment the two boys were fighting, hammer
+and tongs. Hicksley was the larger but Bobby was
+strong and as quick as a young wildcat. Besides,
+he had no “yellow streak” in him.</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXIX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXIX<br /> <br />A WILD CHASE</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Not five minutes had elapsed before Hicksley
+was lying on the floor of the hall, holding his hand
+to his eyes and nose.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Get up!” Bobby commanded.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Hicksley did nothing but grunt.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Have you had enough?” asked Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Enough,” mumbled the bully, all the fight
+taken out of him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He slunk away, while the boys, who had crowded
+out into the hall at the sound of combat and had
+viewed with rapture the defeat of the bully, gathered
+about Bobby, who, except for a bruise on his
+forehead, showed no sign of the battle.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bully for you, Bobby!” crowed Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” howled Fred in delight.
+“That was a peach of a scrap.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He got all that was coming to him,” exulted
+Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hicksley couldn’t lick a postage stamp!” exclaimed
+Skeets gleefully.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He must have learned to fight by mail,”
+grinned Shiner.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“A mighty good job you made of it, Bobby,”
+commended Billy Bassett.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I wasn’t looking for trouble,” explained
+Bobby, “but when he butted into me and knocked
+me down the stairs, I couldn’t help pitching into
+him.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>For the rest of that day and evening little else
+was thought of or spoken of but the “trimming”
+that Bobby had given to the bully. But apart
+from the satisfaction of having Hicksley get what
+he so richly deserved, a still greater joy was in
+the hearts of all.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby Blake was back again on the team!</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Now,” cried Fred, expressing the hope and
+belief of all, “you’ll see Rockledge begin to
+climb.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And Rockledge did climb with a vengeance.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The very next Saturday with Bobby in the box
+and pitching gilt-edged ball they walked all over
+Belden, not only beating their chief rival but doing
+it to the score of seven to nothing. The whole
+team played behind their pitcher as though they
+were inspired with new life. And from that time
+on, the Beldenites drew into their shell and did
+not do so much crowing when they met the Rockledge
+boys in the town.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Bobby and his comrades knew that
+they still had a heavy task before them, if they
+were to win the pennant of the Monatook Lake
+League.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Belden had now won four games and lost two.
+Rockledge was even in gains and losses, having
+won three and lost three. If there had been many
+more games to play, Rockledge would have felt
+much more confident, for she was now traveling
+faster than her rival. But the end of the season
+was coming fearfully close, and there were only
+three more games to play.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Belden is the one we’ve got to beat,” declared
+Frank. “We’ve got the Indian sign, I think, on
+Somerset and Ridgefield.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As far as Ridgefield was concerned, this seemed
+true, for Rockledge won the game by four to two,
+his mates handing Bobby a lead in the first inning
+that he was able to keep throughout the game.
+But as Belden also won on the same day from
+Somerset, though after a harder battle, the Rockledge
+boys were still “trailing” the school across
+the lake.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The excitement now was reaching fever pitch,
+and it broke all bounds the following Saturday,
+when Belden came a cropper with Ridgefield, being
+“nosed out” in the ninth by a sudden rally
+on the part of their opponents, while Rockledge
+won handily from Somerset in a free batting game
+by ten runs to six.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Hurrah!” yelled Mouser, “we’re tied with Belden
+now.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bobby has pulled us up in dandy shape,” declared
+Frank. “You’re a wonder, Bobby, old
+scout.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Just keep it up for one more game, Bobby,”
+pleaded Sparrow.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Scubbity-<em>yow</em>!” shouted Fred. “I’ll bet old
+Belden is shaking in its boots.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Somerset and Ridgefield had played good ball
+in spots, but now they were out of the race. Belden
+and Rockledge had each won five and lost
+three, and the game that was to be played between
+them on the following Saturday would wind up the
+season and decide which of the teams was to win
+the pennant of the Monatook Lake League.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was almost impossible for the boys to keep
+their minds on their lessons, but as there were only
+ten days remaining in the school term this did not
+matter to the same degree as it would have done
+earlier in the year.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But an incident occurred on the Monday following
+the game with Somerset that gave a new
+slant to their thoughts, and for a few hours drove
+even thoughts of the pennant from the minds of
+Bobby and his friends.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Shiner had been invited to go for an automobile
+ride by a friend of his family, who was staying
+for a few days at Rockledge. He came rushing
+into the dormitory with his eyes bulging.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Say, fellows!” he gasped, “if you want to
+catch those tramps of yours, come along with
+me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“What do you mean?” his chums asked in
+chorus, as they made a wild grab for their hats.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’ve seen them,” panted Shiner. “But come
+along and I’ll tell you. Hustle!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The boys rushed downstairs to find an automobile
+waiting. Beside Mr. Wharton, the owner,
+they recognized the constable.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Tumble in,” said Mr. Wharton, smiling, and
+a half dozen boys swarmed into the automobile.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You see,” explained Shiner, “we passed three
+tramps about two miles from here, and I saw that
+two of them were the ones we saw the day we were
+swimming. I told Mr. Wharton and we put on
+speed, picked up the constable and hurried up
+for you, so that you could go along and identify
+them.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. Wharton had started the car the moment
+the boys were inside, and it was skimming along
+like a bird. It went so fast that the boys had to
+hold on to their caps, and although they were all
+chattering with might and main, the wind made it
+almost impossible for one to hear what the others
+were saying.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In a very few minutes they saw three figures on
+the lonely country road ahead. The one in the
+center had a limp that was familiar.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The tramps heard the coming car, and at first
+stood aside to let it pass. But as it slowed up on
+approaching them, they took alarm, climbed over
+a fence and started across the fields toward a piece
+of woodland a little way off.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their pursuers leaped from the car and gave
+chase. The lithe limbs of the boys gave them an
+advantage over their heavier companions, and
+they were soon on the heels of the tramps, who
+turned snarling and faced them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Keep off or I’ll club the life out of you,”
+shouted one, whom they recognized as the man
+with the scar.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“No you won’t,” cried Bobby, defiantly.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We want the things you stole from us,” sang
+out Fred.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Jail for yours!” Mouser shouted.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>They circled round the men, thus holding them
+in check, and in another moment Mr. Wharton and
+the constable had come up and each grabbed one
+of the men by the collar. At the sight of the constable’s
+star, the other quickly wilted.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The officer slipped handcuffs on them all and
+pushed them into the ear, while the boys crowded
+in as best they could, two of them standing on
+the running-board. In triumph, they went back
+to town and the men were placed in jail.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>First they were searched, and, greatly to the
+boys’ delight, pawn tickets were found that accounted
+for all the articles that had been stolen
+from them. The money of course was gone, but
+the boys cared little for that, as long as they were
+sure that they could get back their cherished personal
+possessions.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re some demon thief catchers, all right,”
+chuckled Mouser.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“He would call me red-head, would he?”
+grinned Fred, referring to the scar-faced tramp.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“It means good luck for us, fellows,” declared
+Bobby. “Now, I’m <em>sure</em> we’re going to down Belden.”</p>
+
+<div class='chapter'>
+  <h2 id='chXXX' class='c009'>CHAPTER XXX<br /> <br />WINNING THE PENNANT—CONCLUSION</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p class='c007'>Belden had its own idea as to who was to be
+“downed,” and almost the whole school went
+to Rockledge with colors flying on the great day
+that was to decide who should carry off the flag
+of the Monatook Lake League.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As the teams had each played a game on the
+other’s grounds, it had been left to the toss of a
+coin as to where the deciding game should take
+place, and Rockledge had won.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>This was a good omen in itself, and the Rockledge
+boys were chock-full of confidence, as they
+slipped into their baseball suits in the gymnasium
+before going on the field.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ve just <em>got</em> to win to-day, Fred,” remarked
+Bobby. “It would never do to lose with all our
+folks in the stand looking on.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You bet we’ll win,” replied Fred emphatically.
+“If we don’t, I’ll hunt up some hole, slip in and
+pull the hole in after me.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Mr. and Mrs. Blake had come down on this last
+day. Fred’s father and mother were also
+present, accompanied by Betty. And to give the boys
+a pleasant surprise they had brought Scat Monroe
+and Pat Moriarty along with them.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The weather had been a little threatening in the
+morning, but about noon it cleared beautifully.
+A great crowd was present, for all the towns near
+Monatook Lake had become interested in the pennant
+fight, and people came in droves to see the
+deciding game.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby and Fred went up in the stand for a little
+chat with their friends and families before the
+game began.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Oh, I’m so glad it’s such a beautiful day!”
+exclaimed Betty gleefully. “I was so afraid the
+rain would come down this morning.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You wouldn’t expect the rain to go up, would
+you?” asked her brother airily.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Smarty!” said Betty, and she made a little face
+at him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Fred had better behave himself or we’ll say
+‘snowball’ to him, won’t we, Betty?” laughed
+Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“I’m rooting for you boys to win to-day,” remarked
+Pat, his freckled face wreathed with
+smiles.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’re going to fight like the mischief to do
+it,” returned Bobby.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Put the whitewash brush on them,” said Scat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Perhaps that’s asking a little too much,”
+grinned Fred. “We’ll be satisfied with the big
+end of the score.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Their parents smiled on them fondly and urged
+them to do their best to win for Rockledge, and
+the boys went down on the field with their hearts
+full of determination.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But it was evident from the moment the first
+ball went over the plate that it would be no easy
+task for either side to win. Each team was
+screwed to the highest pitch and full of determination
+and enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby started out like a winner. His arm had
+never felt better, and he whipped the ball over
+the plate at a speed that delighted the spectators—always
+excepting the Belden rooters—but that
+made Frank Durrock a little anxious.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Easy there, Bobby,” he counseled from first
+base, when the first batter had gone out on strikes.
+“The game’s young yet, and you’ve a long way
+to go.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby realized the wisdom of this, and made the
+next batter pop up an infield fly to Mouser at
+second. Then he mixed in a slow one that seemed
+easy enough to hit as it came floating up to the
+plate, but which resulted in an easy roller to the
+box which Bobby had plenty of time to throw to
+first.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what you call a change of pace, old
+scout,” congratulated Sparrow, as the nine came
+in from the field amid a general clapping of hands
+at the promising beginning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But Bobby was not to carry off the pitching
+honors of the game without a struggle. Larry
+Cronk, the Belden pitcher, was in splendid form,
+and he had had the benefit of being coached by his
+brother, who was a student at Yale and a member
+of the Varsity team. The result of this training
+was shown in a new “hop” ball that Larry
+sprung on them for the first time. It came singing
+over the plate with a jump on it just before
+it reached the batter that at first puzzled the Rockledge
+boys completely. Two of them struck out
+and the third was an easy victim on a foul.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Now it was Belden’s turn to howl. And howl
+they did.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s got his work cut out for him to-day,”
+remarked Sparrow to Skeets, as they went out into
+the field.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s just the time Bobby’s at his best,” returned
+Skeets confidently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Bobby’s got that fadeaway of his when it
+comes to the pinch,” added Mouser, “and I’ll back
+that against Larry’s hop any time.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby was not daunted by this showing on the
+part of his opponent. But he knew that he must
+not slow down for a second. He must put brains
+in his work as well as muscle, must study and outguess
+the batters and give them just what they
+did not want.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>So he worked with exceeding care, mixing up his
+curves and his fast and slow balls so skillfully that
+in the first four innings only two hits were made
+off him, and one of them a scratch, and no one got
+as far as second base. And in doing this he nursed
+his strength, so that he felt almost as strong and
+fresh as at the beginning.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Talk about a fox,” chuckled Fred, “he isn’t
+in it with Bobby.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Larry, too, had kept any one from denting the
+home plate, but he was so exultant over the success
+of his new delivery that he relied upon it almost
+entirely. And by and by the Rockledge boys
+began to find him more easily than they did at
+first. They had not yet made more than one clean
+hit, but the bat was beginning to meet the ball
+more solidly and it was only a matter of a little
+time before they would be lining out base hits,
+unless Larry changed his style and mixed in his
+other curves.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We’ll straighten them out in the next inning,
+see if we don’t,” remarked Spentz confidently.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>And so they did. Spentz himself led off with
+a crashing three-bagger to right. Fred brought
+him home with a sizzling single and stole second
+on the next ball pitched. Larry tightened up then,
+and although a clever sacrifice bunt put Fred on
+third, he was left there, as the next two batters
+went out on strikes.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Belden’s half had been scoreless, so that the end
+of the fifth inning found Rockledge in the lead by
+one to none. And in such a close game as this
+promised to be, that one run looked as big as a
+mountain.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But by the time Belden’s sixth inning was over,
+the Rockledge rooters were in a panic.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The trouble began when Frank Durrock, old reliable
+Frank, muffed an easy fly that ordinarily
+he would have “eaten up.” Not only did he drop
+the ball, but he let it get so far away from him
+that the batter took a chance of making second.
+Frank, in his haste to catch him, threw the ball
+over Mouser’s head into left field, and before it
+could be recovered, the runner had made the circuit
+of the bases.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The error seemed to demoralize the whole team.
+Sparrow booted a grounder, and by the time he
+had got through fumbling, it was too late to throw
+to first. Spentz, in right, dropped a high fly and
+then threw wildly to head off the runner, who was
+legging it for third. The ball went ten feet over
+Sparrow’s head and both boys scored, making the
+count three to one in favor of the visitors. Rockledge
+had a bad case of “rattles.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby walked down to first as though he wanted
+to talk to Frank, but really to give his mates time
+to recover.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Play ball!” shouted the Belden rooters.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby took his time in returning, and even when
+he was back in the box found a shoe lace that
+needed tying. Not until he was fully ready did
+he straighten up.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>He put on all speed now and disposed of the
+next batters in order, two on high fouls and one
+on strikes. He did not want to let any balls go
+far out, in the present nervous conditions of his
+mates.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>As for them, they were full of rage and self-reproach.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Three runs without a single hit!” groaned
+Frank.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Never mind, fellows!” cried Bobby cheerily.
+“Go right in now and get them back again. Knock
+the cover off the ball.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But this was more easily said than done. Once
+in that inning and again in the seventh and eighth,
+they got men on the bases, but they could not bring
+them in. In the eighth inning a rattling double
+play brought groans from the Rockledge rooters,
+as they saw a promising rally nipped in the bud.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby had been mowing the Belden boys down
+almost as fast as they came to the plate. He had
+brought out his fadeaway now and mixed it in so
+well with the others that the batters never had a
+chance. His mates had recovered their nerve and
+were backing him up splendidly. Nevertheless the
+fact still faced them that their rivals were two runs
+ahead.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>In the ninth inning, after disposing of Belden,
+Rockledge went in to do or die. Yells of encouragement
+came from their partisans as they made
+their last stand.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Go to it, boys!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“You can beat them yet!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Never say die!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Rockledge! Rockledge! Rockledge!”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But the shouts turned to groans, when Willis,
+who was playing center field in place of Bronson,
+put up a skyscraper which Cronk gobbled up without
+moving in his tracks. Barry sent a hot
+grounder to short which was fielded cleverly and
+sent to first ahead of the batter. There was a
+movement in the stand, as the spectators got ready
+to leave.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But they stopped short when Spentz sent a
+screaming hit to center for a clean single. Frank
+followed with a grasser between short and second
+that gave him first and sent Spentz to third.
+Larry faltered and gave Fred his base on balls.
+The bases were full when Bobby came to the bat.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Larry eyed him narrowly and wound a fast one
+about his neck, at which Bobby refused to bite.
+The next was right in the groove, and Bobby
+caught it square on the end of his bat and sent it
+whistling over the head of the first baseman. It
+rolled clear to the right field fence, and before it
+could be recovered, the Rockledge runners had
+gone round the bases like so many jack rabbits,
+and had jumped on the home plate, while Bobby
+pulled up at second.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>The game was over, the game was won and the
+Rockledge boys were the champions of the Monatook
+Lake League!</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Bobby’s comrades rushed upon him, mauling
+and pounding him; the shouting crowd swooped
+out from the stand and surrounded him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Champions!” “Champions!” “Champions!”
+they yelled, until their throats were husky and
+their lungs were sore.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>It was a long time before Bobby could get
+through the crowd to where his visitors awaited
+him. There Betty cried one minute and laughed
+the next, in her happy excitement. Mrs. Blake’s
+eyes, too, were moist as she hugged her boy, and
+Mr. Blake cleared his throat as he put his hand
+on Bobby and told him he was proud of him.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Fred, too, came in for his share of well-earned
+praise and the boys were happy beyond words.
+And Scat and Pat were almost as delighted as
+though they had won the game themselves.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>Finally, when matters were somewhat quieted
+down, some one asked the boys about their plans
+for the summer vacation. How full that summer
+proved to be of stirring and exciting adventure
+will be told in the next volume of this series.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>But just now all their thoughts were of the present.
+Their school term was over. There had
+been some unpleasant features, but in the main
+their experiences had been happy ones.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We did it, Bobby!” exclaimed Fred joyfully,
+for perhaps the twentieth time.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“We got there,” agreed Bobby; “but it was a
+mighty hard fight.”</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“That’s what makes it all the more worth winning,”
+Fred declared.</p>
+
+<p class='c008'>“Yes,” said Bobby, “I guess the things that
+come easy aren’t worth much. That’s what makes
+us feel so good about being champions. For there
+wasn’t anything easy about winning the pennant
+of the Monatook Lake League.”</p>
+
+<div class='c014'>THE END</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div><span class='larger'>THE BOBBY BLAKE SERIES</span></div>
+    <div>BY FRANK A. WARNER</div>
+    <div class='c000'>BOOKS FOR BOYS FROM EIGHT TO TWELVE YEARS OLD</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='imgleft c015'  >
+<img src='images/illus-ad1.jpg' alt='' class='c016' />
+</div>
+
+<p class='c017'>True stories of life at a modern American boarding school. Bobby attends
+this institution of learning with his particular chum and the boys have
+no end of good times. The tales of outdoor life, especially the exciting
+times they have when engaged in sports against rival schools, are
+written in a manner so true, so realistic, that the reader, too, is
+bound to share with these boys their thrills and pleasures.</p>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>1 BOBBY BLAKE AT ROCKLEDGE SCHOOL.</div>
+      <div class='line'>2 BOBBY BLAKE AT BASS COVE.</div>
+      <div class='line'>3 BOBBY BLAKE ON A CRUISE.</div>
+      <div class='line'>4 BOBBY BLAKE AND HIS SCHOOL CHUMS.</div>
+      <div class='line'>5 BOBBY BLAKE AT SNOWTOP CAMP.</div>
+      <div class='line'>6 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL NINE.</div>
+      <div class='line'>7 BOBBY BLAKE ON A RANCH.</div>
+      <div class='line'>8 BOBBY BLAKE ON AN AUTO TOUR.</div>
+      <div class='line'>9 BOBBY BLAKE ON THE SCHOOL ELEVEN.</div>
+      <div class='line'>10 BOBBY BLAKE ON A PLANTATION.</div>
+      <div class='line'>11 BOBBY BLAKE IN THE FROZEN NORTH.</div>
+      <div class='line'>12 BOBBY BLAKE ON MYSTERY MOUNTAIN.</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>PUBLISHERS</div>
+    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>
+    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='pbb'></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div><span class='larger'>THE BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES</span></div>
+    <div class='c000'>Published with the approval of</div>
+    <div>The Boy Scouts of America</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='imgleft c015'  >
+<img src='images/illus-ad2.jpg' alt='' class='c016' />
+</div>
+
+<p class='c017'>In the boys’ world of story books, none better than those about boy
+scouts arrest and grip attention. In a most alluring way, the stories in
+the BOY SCOUT LIFE SERIES tell of the glorious good times and wonderful
+adventures of boy scouts.</p>
+
+<p class='c017'>All the books were written by authors possessed of an intimate knowledge
+of this greatest of all movements organized for the welfare of boys, and
+are published with the approval of the National Headquarters of the Boy
+Scouts of America.</p>
+
+<p class='c017'>The Chief Scout Librarian, Mr. F. K. Mathiews, writes concerning them:
+“It is a bully bunch of books. I hope you will sell 100,000 copies of
+each one, for these stories are the sort that will help instead of hurt
+our movement.”</p>
+
+<div class='lg-container-b'>
+  <div class='linegroup'>
+    <div class='group'>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT FIRE FIGHTERS—CRUMP</div>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TROOP—McCLANE</div>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT TRAIL BLAZERS—CHELEY</div>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUT TREASURE HUNTERS—LERRIGO</div>
+      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS AFLOAT—WALDEN</div>
+      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS COURAGEOUS—MATHIEWS</div>
+      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE—LERRIGO</div>
+      <div class='line'>BOY SCOUTS ON THE TRAIL—GARTH</div>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS IN AFRICA—CORCORAN</div>
+      <div class='line'>THE BOY SCOUTS OF ROUND TABLE PATROL—LERRIGO</div>
+    </div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div class='nf-center-c1'>
+  <div class='nf-center'>
+    <div>PUBLISHERS</div>
+    <div>BARSE &amp; CO.</div>
+    <div>NEW YORK, N. Y.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEWARK, N. J.</div>
+  </div>
+</div>
+
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 45990 ***</div>
+</body>
+  <!-- created with fpn.py 2.01 on 2014-06-15 15:54:51 GMT -->
+</html>
diff --git a/45990/45990-h/images/cover.jpg b/45990-h/images/cover.jpg
index f3b6654..f3b6654 100644
--- a/45990/45990-h/images/cover.jpg
+++ b/45990-h/images/cover.jpg
diff --git a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-ad1.jpg b/45990-h/images/illus-ad1.jpg
index 08afa62..08afa62 100644
--- a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-ad1.jpg
+++ b/45990-h/images/illus-ad1.jpg
diff --git a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-ad2.jpg b/45990-h/images/illus-ad2.jpg
index eef5874..eef5874 100644
--- a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-ad2.jpg
+++ b/45990-h/images/illus-ad2.jpg
diff --git a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-fpc.jpg b/45990-h/images/illus-fpc.jpg
index f2368df..f2368df 100644
--- a/45990/45990-h/images/illus-fpc.jpg
+++ b/45990-h/images/illus-fpc.jpg
diff --git a/45990/45990-h.zip b/45990/45990-h.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 375e16a..0000000
--- a/45990/45990-h.zip
+++ /dev/null
diff --git a/45990/45990.zip b/45990/45990.zip
deleted file mode 100644
index 1706f65..0000000
--- a/45990/45990.zip
+++ /dev/null