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Nichols—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0;} - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -/*Table of Contents format*/ -table.toc { max-width: 30em;} -td.tocchapter{ text-align: right; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 1em;} -td.toctitle { text-align: left; vertical-align: top; text-indent: -1.3em; padding-left: 1.3em;} -td.tocpage { text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom; padding-left: 1em;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -/*fractions*/ -.fnum, .fden { font-size: .7em; } -.fnum { vertical-align: text-top } -.fden { vertical-align: text-bottom } - -.nowrap { - white-space:nowrap; - word-spacing:-0.2em; -} -/* end fractions */ - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - max-width: 100%; - height: auto; -} - -img.w100 {width: 100%;} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - -/*CSS to set font sizes*/ -/*font sizes for non-header font changes*/ -.xxlargefont{font-size: xx-large} -.xlargefont{font-size: x-large} -.largefont{font-size: large} -.smallfont{font-size: small} -.cheaderfont{font-size:medium} - -/* Illustration classes */ -.illowp40 {width: 40%;} -.illowp50 {width: 50%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp50 {width: 100%;} -.illowp51 {width: 51%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp51 {width: 100%;} -.illowp54 {width: 54%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp54 {width: 100%;} -.illowp55 {width: 55%;} -.x-ebookmaker .illowp55 {width: 100%;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Safety First Club, by W. T. Nichols</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Safety First Club</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: W. T. Nichols</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: F. A. Anderson</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 2, 2023 [eBook #69935]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Demian Katz, Craig Kirkwood, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (Images courtesy of the Digital Library@Villanova University.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SAFETY FIRST CLUB ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter illowp50" style="max-width: 107.5em;"> - <img id="coverpage" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover."> -</div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="figcenter illowp55" id="i001" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i001.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"><p class="center"><a href="#BRef_001">HE DESCENDED THE SLOPE</a></p></div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1 class="nobreak">THE<br> -SAFETY FIRST<br> -CLUB</h1> - - -<p class="center" style="line-height:1.5">BY<br> -<span class="xlargefont">W. T. NICHOLS</span></p> - -<p class="center p2">Illustrated by<br> -<span class="smcap largefont">F. A. Anderson</span></p> - -<p class="center p2 xlargefont"><span style="word-spacing:0.75em">THE PENN PUBLISHING</span><br> -<span style="word-spacing:0.25em">COMPANY PHILADELPHIA</span><br> -1916</p> -</div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center xlargefont">COPYRIGHT<br> -1916 BY<br> -THE PENN<br> -PUBLISHING<br> -COMPANY</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp40" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i003.jpg" alt="Publisher logo."> -</div> - -<p class="center p2">The Safety First Club</p> -</div> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center"><em>To<br> -M. H. M.</em></p> - -<p class="center"><em>A youthful critic with the precious art of<br> -combining frankness and friendliness,<br> -this book is appreciatively dedicated</em></p> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[5]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">Introduction</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The Safety First idea, along with some -other sound rules of conduct which have been -hammered out by hard experience of the race, -is often easier to put into words than into -practice. Like other brakes on machines or -men it sometimes seems to cause too much -friction, with resulting protest, especially from -youngsters impatient of warnings of dangers -possible rather than presently pressing.</p> - -<p>The fact is, however, that these objectors -fail to recognize the true spirit of the rule. -Nobody expects active boys and girls to be -wrapped in cotton wool and stored away out -of all harm’s reach. They have their work to -do in the world, and in doing it must take -certain risks as the rest of us do. But there -are unnecessary risks, just as there are other -risks which are not to be avoided; and it is -in shunning these unnecessary risks, in learning -that reasonable caution is not cowardice, -that recklessness is no proof of bravery, and<span class="pagenum">[6]</span> -that the way to redeem a mistake is not to -repeat it, that the rule is to be truly honored.</p> - -<p>In “The Safety First Club” and the volumes -which are to follow it are set forth certain -adventures of boys who have to deal with -problems such as confront healthy young -Americans, boys well intentioned but not -wise beyond their years, fond of the open, -restive under restraint. It is the author’s -hope that in their haps and mishaps they -may be found likably human.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[7]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">Contents</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" style="border:0em; padding:0em; border-spacing:0em"> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">I.</td><td class="toctitle">“<span class="smcap">Hedgehog Day</span>”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">II.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sam Takes Chances</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">23</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">III.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Luck of a Long Shot</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">34</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Club Gets a New Name</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">43</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">V.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sam Faces the Music</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">61</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Dealing with the Ogre</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">72</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Reckoning</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">87</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">VIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Beginning the Test</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">96</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">IX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Poke and Step Put Their Heads Together</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">111</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">X.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Queer Troubles</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">124</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Club Gets a Clue</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Punishment Postponed</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">146</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Not On the Program</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">159</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sent to Coventry</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">173</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Club Endorses Itself</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">182</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sam Has a Rude Awakening</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">194</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">More Surprises</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">202</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XVIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Lon Discusses Crooked Thinking</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">211</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XIX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Of Duels and Conscience</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">222</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sam Makes a Speech</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">230</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Lon Plays Detective</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">239</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Tom Orkney Changes His Intention</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">252</a><span class="pagenum">[8]</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Lon Gates Entertains</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">266</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Peter Groche Scores Again</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">281</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXV.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">The Blizzard</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">294</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVI.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Old Friends Meet</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">307</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Peter’s Grudge</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">319</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXVIII.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Sam Makes Choice</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">334</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXIX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">Squaring the Account</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">343</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tocchapter">XXX.</td><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">In Full Settlement</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">355</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[9]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak">Illustrations</h2> -</div> - - -<div class="center"> -<table class="toc" style="border:0em; padding:0em; border-spacing:0em"> -<tr><td class="toctitle"></td><td class="tocpage"><span class="smallfont">PAGE</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">He Descended the Slope</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#i001"><em>Frontispiece</em></a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle"><span class="smcap">His Finger Trembled on the Trigger</span></td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#i038">37</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">“<span class="smcap">You’re Looking for Trouble</span>”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#i160">156</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">“<span class="smcap">Hold Hard, There!</span>”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#i222">216</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="toctitle">“<span class="smcap">He’s Coming ’Round All Right</span>”</td><td class="tocpage"><a href="#i290">283</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="center p2">The Safety First Club</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[11]</span></p> -<p class="center xxlargefont nobreak" style="margin-bottom:1em" id="CHAPTER_I">The Safety First Club</p> - - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER I -<br><span class="cheaderfont">“HEDGEHOG DAY”</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Sam Parker stepped out upon the side -porch of his father’s house, closing the door -behind him with a slam. There was a frown -on his face, which by no means became it; -and the corners of his mouth drooped sulkily. -He was, as a matter of fact, in a fit of temper, -which did not lessen as he surveyed the dull, -gray sky, and saw its promise of a dismal day.</p> - -<p>“’Nother spoiled Saturday!” he grumbled. -“Nowhere to go and nothing to do—oh, thunderation!”</p> - -<p>Now, to tell the truth, it may be that the -weather had much to do with Sam’s pessimism, -just as it often influences persons a great -deal older and wiser than this boy of sixteen. -Sam, commonly, was good-natured enough.<span class="pagenum">[12]</span> -This day, though, things had seemed to go -wrong from the very start. He had overslept; -one of his shoes had contrived to hide -itself under the bureau; his necktie stubbornly -had declined to slip into a smooth -and even knot; he was late at breakfast, and -the oatmeal was cold, and the eggs were as -hard as the Fate which he was beginning to -suspect was pursuing him. He had attempted -criticism, and his father had checked him -rather sharply with the reminder that the -breakfast hour was 7:30 and not 7:50. His -mother had not hastened to his defense; and -even Maggie, the cook, frequently his ally -and dispenser of consoling doughnuts and -cookies, had failed him when he sought -sympathy in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>“You got up wrong foot foremost,” she told -him. “Get along with you now! This is -bakin’ day, and I can’t be bothered.”</p> - -<p>Sam, thus repulsed, had clumped out of the -kitchen; stormed into the hall; snatched up -his cap and reefer; stamped across the dining-room, -and flung himself out of the house, -without visible improvement in his spirits or -his condition. If it was dark within, it was<span class="pagenum">[13]</span> -gloomy without. He looked up the street -and down; nobody was in sight. He buttoned -his coat to the neck, and thrust his -hands into his pockets: the world, he perceived, -was chilly as well as lonely. Then, -of a sudden, he grinned, fleetingly and reluctantly, -at vagrant memory of the old story -of the child that threatened to go out and eat -two smooth worms and three fuzzy fellows because -nobody loved it. The baby’s troubles -were ridiculously like his own, and for a trying -second he realized the resemblance. Then -he was frowning harder than ever, with mouth -drooping still more sulkily.</p> - -<p>In sunnier moods Sam Parker was a good-looking -boy. Nobody would have called him -pretty; he wasn’t of the “pretty” type, being, -indeed, rather wholesome and hearty, with -plenty of color in his cheeks—and not a few -freckles. For a youth who was rapidly adding -to his inches, in the process known as -getting his growth, he carried himself well; -though, as everybody knows, this period in a -boy’s life is not that at which grace of figure -or movement is most marked. In other words, -there were times when Sam did not know<span class="pagenum">[14]</span> -what to do with his hands or his feet, and -impressed the painful fact upon all beholders, -especially because of a certain impulsiveness, -which led him now and then into embarrassing -ventures.</p> - -<p>Standing on the porch and glowering at all -he beheld, Sam was not attractive. Hannibal, -his bull terrier, trotting from the barn, -noted the storm signals his master was flying, -and halting at a safe distance, made great -pretense of scratching for a flea which did -not exist. Sam whistled, and Hannibal grew -busier than ever. The boy took an impatient -step, and the dog stopped scratching and -bolted for the barn.</p> - -<p>Sam, striding after him, pulled up abruptly. -A thick-set man in cap, and overalls, and -boots, and with a carriage rug in one hand -and a brush in the other, appeared in the big -doorway.</p> - -<p>“H’lo, Sam!” was his greeting. “Good -day, ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Good for nothing!” snapped the boy. -“Rotten weather!”</p> - -<p>The man’s eyes twinkled. They were -pleasant eyes, with little fans of fine wrinkles<span class="pagenum">[15]</span> -at the corners, and they lighted up his smooth-shaven, -weather-beaten face amazingly.</p> - -<p>“Huh! Guess you ain’t looked at the calendar -lately. This ain’t June; it’s the fust -day of December. And I’m tellin’ you this -is pretty good weather for December. What -if there ain’t no snow? The wheelin’s all -right—your daddy took the car out this -mornin’.”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. “I know—he went over to -Epworth.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you go along?”</p> - -<p>“What’d be the use?”</p> - -<p>Now, this was not strictly ingenuous. Possibly -because of his sulks, Sam had not been -invited to accompany his father.</p> - -<p>“Sure enough! What’d ’a’ been the use?” -said the man with an odd grin.</p> - -<p>Sam reddened. “Look here! Bet you I -could have gone if I’d wanted to, Lon!”</p> - -<p>Lon, otherwise Alonzo Gates, hired man -and general factotum, made no response to -the challenge, but fell to dusting the rug -vigorously. Sam, gloomy browed, drew -nearer.</p> - -<p>“Tell you, Lon, I could have gone. No<span class="pagenum">[16]</span> -fun, though—ride’s too cold. That’s the -trouble with this weather—no coasting, no -skating, no football, nothing!”</p> - -<p>“So?” said the man non-committally.</p> - -<p>Hobe, the barn cat, sauntered out of the -door. Sam kicked at the animal, which took -refuge behind a wooden bucket standing just -inside the sill, and from this cover snarled -defiance. Whereupon Sam kicked again. -This time his foot struck something—the -bucket. Over it went, and out shot a gallon -or two of soapy water. Hobe darted back -into the barn. Lon moved aside nimbly, but -not nimbly enough. Splash! went the water -upon his boots.</p> - -<p>“Wal, now, but you have gone and done -it!” he ejaculated. “Nice mess to clean up, -ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>In Sam’s perverse mood the one thing he -cared for was to hide the regret he felt.</p> - -<p>“Huh! Oughtn’t to have stuff standing -round like that. Why didn’t you tell me?”</p> - -<p>Lon paused in his labors. “My! but this -world’s awful crowded this mornin’, ain’t it?” -he remarked. “First there wasn’t room for -you ’n’ Hobe; then you jest couldn’t stand for<span class="pagenum">[17]</span> -that bucket treadin’ on your toes. Wal, -wal!”</p> - -<p>Sam snorted wrathfully. What wouldn’t -he have given for speech so cuttingly sarcastic -that Lon must throw up his hands and beg -mercy! But, effective words failing him, he -could do no better than offer sounds which -were disagreeable rather than intelligible.</p> - -<p>Lon chuckled; then grew serious. “See -here, Sam!” said he. “I kind o’ guess this -is hedgehog day for you, ain’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Huh?”</p> - -<p>“When you come to think it over,” Lon -went on, “a hedgehog’s about the one critter -you can’t think of as ever snugglin’ up nice -and cozy to anything or anybody. Now, I -knew a feller once that had a tame woodchuck -that liked to be patted; and I’ve seen the tigers -and big cats in circuses purrin’ round -their trainers; but I never heard tell of a -hedgehog actin’ real sociable and wantin’ to -sit in anybody’s lap. And, so far’s I can -rec’lect, I never run across a hedgehog that -you’d call all-around popular with the neighbors. -Whenever one gets close to anybody, -he sticks his spines into him. And when a<span class="pagenum">[18]</span> -human gets to actin’ like a hedgehog—why -that’s when he’s havin’ a hedgehog day—see?”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” said Sam again.</p> - -<p>Lon gave the rug another flick with the -brush.</p> - -<p>“By and large, son,” he remarked, “it ain’t -good business to have hedgehog days. I -know, I know! When you’re feelin’ that -way, that’s the way you feel, as the fox said -to the bear in the trap. But you ain’t doin’ -yourself no good, and you ain’t any perticular -help to the rest of the community.”</p> - -<p>“Hang the community!”</p> - -<p>“Jest what the hedgehog says,” quoth Lon -tranquilly. He carried his rug into the barn; -brought out another; brushed skilfully for a -minute.</p> - -<p>“Hunt up some of the boys, Sam,” he advised. -“Try lowerin’ your spines, and see if -they won’t keep down after a while.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t want to.”</p> - -<p>“Bad as that, eh?”</p> - -<p>Sam disdained to make reply. Lon pursed -his lips.</p> - -<p>“Sonny, this won’t do. It’s bad medicine.<span class="pagenum">[19]</span> -Say, where’ll you be at if you behave like -this when you go to St. Mark’s?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll get along all right.”</p> - -<p>Lon brushed furiously for a little. “I—I -dunno’s there’s but—but one way—for some -folks to learn things,” he said jerkily. “When -you’re there—jest one among two-three hundred -boys—it’ll be different, now I tell you! -We put up with you; they won’t.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Who’s afraid?”</p> - -<p>“I’d be—if I was you.”</p> - -<p>“Bah!”</p> - -<p>Lon shook his head. “Sam,” he said, “if -I thought this was a real in-growin’ attack, -I’d be worried a heap wuss than I am. But -I’m worried enough as it is. Now, I’ll give -you a good tip. If you don’t want to see the -other boys, go for a good, long tramp. Walk -it off! That’s jest what the real hedgehog -can’t do—his legs ain’t long enough.”</p> - -<p>“No fun walking—day like this.”</p> - -<p>Lon was a patient soul. “Wal, why don’t -you go huntin’, then?”</p> - -<p>“What for? Rabbits?”</p> - -<p>“If you can’t get anything bigger. But -you might land a shot at a deer. ’Member<span class="pagenum">[20]</span> -what day this is? First of December! Law -on deer goes off, and stays off till the fifteenth.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam. In the new interest he -almost forgot, for an instant, that he had a -grievance against the universe. But it was -only for an instant. “But I wouldn’t have -the luck to get a shot at a buck, or a doe, -either. The crowd will have started out early, -and scared every deer within ten miles of -town,” he concluded pessimistically.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be too sure of that.”</p> - -<p>“’Tis sure!” Sam insisted. “Then what’ll -I do for a gun?”</p> - -<p>“Got your own, haven’t you?”</p> - -<p>“What! Try for a deer with a ‘twenty-two’?”</p> - -<p>“Why not? It’s big enough, if it gets to -the right spot.”</p> - -<p>Sam fell back to his second line of defense. -“Well, there’ll be no deer anywhere near -town.”</p> - -<p>“Who says so?”</p> - -<p>“I do!” snapped the boy.</p> - -<p>Lon bent toward him, and lowered his -voice. “Sam, a feller was tellin’ me last night<span class="pagenum">[21]</span> -about a herd that’s been feedin’ in close—right -back of old Bill Marlow’s barn—big -buck and three-four more. Old orchard in -there, you know. And that’s so nigh to -town most folks won’t look for ’em there. -But there they be—or there they were as -late as yesterday, anyhow. And, by gum! if -I was you, I’d scout out that way on the -chance—that is, if your mother says it’s all -right,” he added hastily.</p> - -<p>In spite of himself, Sam’s ambition was -fired. A shot at a deer! That would be -worth while.</p> - -<p>“You—you’re certain they were there -yesterday?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Bill Marlow told me himself. And you -can be sure of one thing—he didn’t tell many -other folks. Bill ain’t no gossip.”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. He knew something of -Mr. Marlow’s habit of taciturnity. Doubter -though he might be, the prospect was brightening. -He had heard old hunters tell stories -of cases in which deer had been killed almost -in the outskirts of the village, while sportsmen -ranging farther afield had been rewarded -with sight of neither buck nor doe.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[22]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose I might as well have a -look,” he said not too graciously.</p> - -<p>“Of course you might!”</p> - -<p>Sam took a step toward the house. “Of -course, with my luck——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you never can tell,” Lon reminded -him.</p> - -<p>“Still, I might as well be wasting time -that way as any other,” said Sam sourly, and -quickened his pace.</p> - -<p>“Don’t forget to tell your mother!” Lon -called after him.</p> - -<p>Sam waved a hand in reply, and went on -to the house.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[23]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SAM TAKES CHANCES</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>In simple fairness it should be said that -Sam Parker meditated no breach of parental -authority. Indeed, as he was permitted to -own a little rifle, and to hunt for small game, -it was possible that no serious objection -would have been raised to his quest for deer, -though there might have been scant faith in -his success. But Sam, as it was fated, was -not to secure permission for his expedition.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Parker was not in the dining-room. -Sam saw that the room was unoccupied, and -went on to the library. It, too, failed to -reward him for his search. So did the living-room. -He strode into the hall, and took -station by the foot of the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Mother! Oh, Mother!” he called. “Say, -Mother! Mother!”</p> - -<p>There was no reply from above stairs or -below.</p> - -<p>“But I say, Mother!” His voice rose<span class="pagenum">[24]</span> -shrilly in his impatience. “Where are you? -Oh, Ma, Ma, Ma!”</p> - -<p>A door at the back of the hall opened, but -the head which appeared was that of Maggie.</p> - -<p>“Don’t make such a racket, Sam!” she -cautioned. “What do you want, anyway?”</p> - -<p>“Where’s Mother? I’ve got to see her—right -off!”</p> - -<p>“Well, she ain’t here.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” demanded the boy hotly.</p> - -<p>Maggie tossed her head. “Because she -can’t very well be in two places at once. And -she’s run over to see Mis’ Lake for a minute.”</p> - -<p>Sam stamped his foot. “Minute—nothing! -I know what that means. She’ll stay half an -hour.”</p> - -<p>“Well, why shouldn’t she, if she wants -to?” said Maggie coolly. And then, being -busy, she closed the door and went back to -her work.</p> - -<p>Sam scowled; hesitated briefly; reached -resolution; marched into the library. His -little rifle stood in its appointed place against -the wall, beside his father’s double-barreled -gun. “The armory corner” of the library -was a family joke; for though Sam’s rifle was<span class="pagenum">[25]</span> -frequently in use, the shotgun had not been -taken out of the room in years. It was a fine -weapon, of a noted make, and highly prized -by its owner, who, however, had not hunted -for many seasons; though regularly he -planned expeditions in the woods, and bought -a fresh stock of ammunition.</p> - -<p>Sam laid eager hold upon his rifle; then, of -a sudden, seemed to be seized by scorn of it. -After all, it was never meant for big game. -Why, with its short cartridges and light -charges of powder, it was hardly more than a -toy! Really, it was intended for target -practice.</p> - -<p>“Yet, for all that, it’s a rifle,” said the boy -to himself. It was odd how, once his prejudice -was aroused, arguments presented themselves -to strengthen his objections. “And the -law says you can’t hunt deer with rifles.”</p> - -<p>Here he was speaking by the book. The -statute, which provided an open season from -December 1st to December 15th, also forbade -the use of rifles by sportsmen. Possibly a -very lenient judge might have held that -Sam’s “pop-gun” hardly classed with the -high-power, long-range weapons against which<span class="pagenum">[26]</span> -the law was aimed, and might have deemed -it annoying rather than dangerous to two-footed -or four-footed creatures; but Sam, at -the moment, was not disposed to be liberal in -his interpretation. He restored the piece to -its place. He picked up the shotgun.</p> - -<p>Temptation was strong upon him. Wasn’t -it true that if he had not been told that he -could use the gun he also had not been expressly -forbidden to lay hands upon it? -Nothing had been said about it either way. -And didn’t his father wish him to have some -knowledge of firearms? Of course he did! -Oh, but it was a wonderfully persuasive -voice, which seemed to be whispering in his -ear! It was so seductive that it frightened -him—a very, very little.</p> - -<p>Sam hastily put down the gun. Yet he -lingered in its neighborhood. Half absently -he opened a drawer in his father’s desk. -There, in a corner, was a paper box, labeled -“<span class="nowrap">3 <span class="fnum">1</span>/<span class="fden">4</span></span> drams, smokeless; shot 00.” Cartridges -for deer shooting! Surely here was Fate’s -own finger pointing the way.</p> - -<p>The boy drew a long breath. He lifted the -cover of the box; took out half a dozen of the<span class="pagenum">[27]</span> -cartridges; thrust them into a pocket. Then -he caught up the shotgun, and strode out of -the library.</p> - -<p>There was nobody to halt him or question -him. Maggie was fully occupied in the -kitchen, and his mother had not returned. -Leaving the house by the front door, he -avoided chance of observation by Lon Gates, -who still was at work in the barn. Not that -Lon would have stopped him; for the hired -man would have supposed him to be sallying -forth with his mother’s permission. Nevertheless, -Sam preferred to have his going unnoted. -He turned the corner of the house—the -corner away from the barn; stole back -through the yard; climbed a fence, and found -himself in a narrow lane. It led to a side -street, which, in turn, brought him to a road -running into the country.</p> - -<p>His gun tucked under his arm, Sam walked -briskly; and as the Parker house happened to -be on an edge of the town, it was but a very -few minutes before he had open fields on -either hand. Ahead of him was the low hill -on which the Marlow farmhouse stood; and -farther on were loftier wooded summits. In<span class="pagenum">[28]</span> -summer the scenery of the region was pleasantly -picturesque, but on an overcast December -day a stranger might have found the -prospect somewhat dreary. Sam, cheered by -the spirit of adventure, and the better for the -exercise, began to shake off his sulkiness; and -he was whistling almost blithely when, at a -bend in the road, he saw two boys approaching. -Physically, they were in marked contrast. -One was tall and thin, with a peculiarly -angular effect at elbows and knees; the other -was short and plump, with a round, good-humored -face. Both hailed Sam eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Hi there! Where are you going? What -you doing with that artillery?” sang out the -tall lad.</p> - -<p>“Don’t fire! I’ll surrender,” chuckled his -companion.</p> - -<p>Sam halted. He brought his gun to parade -rest. An onlooker might have suspected that -he was not seeking secrecy regarding errand -or armament in the case of these two friends.</p> - -<p>“Hullo, Step!” said he. “Same to you, -Poke! And what am I doing? Oh, just -looking around on the chance of bagging -something.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[29]</span></p> - -<p>The tall youth was carrying a package, -wrapped in a newspaper. He laid it on the -ground, and took the gun from Sam’s hands, -balancing the weapon lovingly and finally -raising it to his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Gee, but what a daisy!” he exclaimed. -“Whose is it? Yours?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it isn’t exactly mine, Step, but I’m -using it,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>Any boy could have told how Clarence -Jones came by his nickname. “Step” was an -abbreviation of “Step-ladder”; and undeniably -Master Jones did bear a resemblance to -that valuable, if not graceful, article of household -equipment.</p> - -<p>“Here, let me take the shooting-iron!” the -plump youth urged. His name was Arthur -Green, but he was called “Poke,” because one -so easily could dig a finger into his fat sides. -Having placed the basket he had been carrying -beside Step’s bundle, his hands were free -to lay hold upon the gun. There was a little -tussle, and Poke captured the prize.</p> - -<p>“My eyes! but this is a crackerjack!” was -his comment. “Jiminy, but you’re the lucky -chap, Sam! What are you after?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[30]</span></p> - -<p>Sam did his best to appear blasé. “Oh, -thought maybe I might get a shot at a buck.”</p> - -<p>The reception of the remark was not flattering. -“You!” jeered Step; Poke laughed.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” Sam demanded, indignantly.</p> - -<p>“That’s ri-right; why not?” Poke was -quivering with amusement. “All you’ve got -to do is to hold the gun and pull the trigger; -and if only a deer happens to walk in the -way, the gun’ll do the rest.”</p> - -<p>Sam snatched the weapon from the jester. -“Oh, cut the comedy!” he snapped. “There’s -nothing funny about it. I’ll bet you fifty -men and boys are out for deer to-day, and -I’ve just as good a chance as any of them can -have of running into a herd. And if I want -to take a chance——Come, now! what’s -ridiculous in that?”</p> - -<p>Step was disposed to side with Sam. -“There’s sense, Poke. Stop your kidding. I -want to ask Sam something.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what is it?” queried Master Parker -guardedly.</p> - -<p>“It’s about St. Mark’s. Are you sure you’re -going there?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why——” Sam hesitated. “Why,<span class="pagenum">[31]</span> -I’m practically sure, I guess. Father and I -were talking it over last week; and I gathered -that if I passed the mid-year examinations -here he’d let me transfer.”</p> - -<p>Step was rubbing his chin. “Well, that’s -what I wanted to know. I’ve been campaigning -to get my folks to send me, but they’re -hanging off till they learn what your father -will do with you.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s petulance had vanished. “Great -Scott, Step, but it would be cracking if we -could go together!” he cried. “Say, Poke, -get after your family! We three have been -pals ever since we can remember. It’d be -bully to take the gang to St. Mark’s.”</p> - -<p>Poke shook his head. “Too bad, but there’s -no hope for me. Little old High School has -got to be good enough for Yours Truly.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the school’s all right,” said Sam. -“Only—as my father puts it—it’s case of -general versus special. We can fit for college -here, but the preparatory course is but one -of several, while at St. Mark’s it’s the whole -thing. That ought to mean a better ‘fit.’ -And you know the fun the fellows have there, -and the athletics, and all the rest of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[32]</span></p> - -<p>Poke’s expression was uncommonly serious. -“You’ve set your heart on going, Sam, -haven’t you?”</p> - -<p>“It’ll be broken if I don’t go.”</p> - -<p>Poke gave a funny little sigh. “Oh, well, -they’ll need some of us to stay home and run -the errands, I reckon. And I guess I’m -unanimously elected. Here’s one, for instance.” -And he picked up his basket.</p> - -<p>“What have you got there?” Sam asked.</p> - -<p>“Eggs! Two dozen—all Mrs. Trask could -spare. And fifty-five cents a dozen! Say, -when I’m carrying this basket, I feel like a -walking cash register!”</p> - -<p>Step had resumed possession of his package. -“And here’s one of Mrs. Trask’s roosters—five -and a half pounds, dressed. I’m some -plutocrat myself.”</p> - -<p>Sam shouldered his gun. “We’re all pretty -richly loaded to-day,” said he. “I suppose -if I kill an eight-point buck you won’t care -to have me send a haunch to either of you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, I’ll take it—as a favor to you,” -quoth Step.</p> - -<p>“Same here!” chimed in Poke. Then he -was seized by an idea. “Look here, Sam!<span class="pagenum">[33]</span> -If you shoot anything—short of a heifer calf—bring -it down to the club this afternoon, and -we’ll have a feed. Both of us are going to be -there.”</p> - -<p>“But come, anyway,” urged Step. “If you -don’t hit bird or beast, you’ll have a story to -tell of the big ones that got away.”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. “All right; I’ll be there,” -he promised readily.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[34]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE LUCK OF A LONG SHOT</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>At the base of the hill crowned by the -Marlow house the woods came close to the -road. Years before the pines had been cut -off, and in their place had come in a second -growth of hard wood, scrubby, tangled and -dense. On many of the trees, especially the -oaks, dead leaves still were thick, affording -cover for game and adding considerably to the -difficulties of hunting novices.</p> - -<p>Sam climbed the fence, and plunged into -the thickets to the right. It was his intention -to work around the base of the hill, and -thus reach the old orchard, of which Lon -Gates had spoken; but he quickly discovered -that the plan was more easily made than carried -out. There was a good deal of underbrush, -and the ground was rough, stony in -places and swampy in the tiny valleys. Moreover, -as he tried to advance as silently as possible, -and to keep a keen, if limited, lookout,<span class="pagenum">[35]</span> -his progress was slow as well as wearisome. -With all his vigilance, however, he -saw nothing and heard nothing to indicate -the presence of anything which would serve as -target for his aim. No rabbit scurried away, -and there was no whir of wings among the -branches. As for deer—why, there was nothing -to hint that buck or doe was to be found -thereabouts.</p> - -<p>He had slipped a couple of cartridges into -his gun, and felt prepared for any emergency; -but an emergency declined to present itself. -Even when he reached the little brook, which -skirted the hill, the silence of the woods was -unbroken, except by the subdued murmur of -the stream. He paused for a moment, listening -intently but vainly; then moved on, following -the course of the brook. The going -was now a trifle easier, though clumps of -trees and bushes still narrowed the view.</p> - -<p>For perhaps a quarter of an hour his progress -was absolutely uneventful, and unrelieved -by even a false alarm. A turn in the -brook warned him that he had passed the -farmhouse, and was nearing the old orchard. -More cautiously than ever he changed his<span class="pagenum">[36]</span> -course, and began to climb the slope on his -right, the first, as he knew, of a series of low -ridges. He reached its top without mishap, -and halted to reconnoiter.</p> - -<p>From somewhere, afar off, the wind brought -a sound to his ears, which set his pulse bounding -and made him tighten his hold on his gun. -It was a sound he could not mistake, faint -though it was. Some other hunter had found -something to fire at; perhaps the lucky fellow -had sent a charge of buckshot into a deer!</p> - -<p>Just in front of Sam, and on the verge of -the farther slope, was a mass of tangled -bushes. He dropped to his knees, and slowly -tunneled a way through the barrier. From -its shelter he could look down into a ravine, -beyond which rose the second ridge.</p> - -<p>For several minutes he lay motionless in -his burrow, peering into the gully and -straining his ears for the rustle of branches -or the crack of dried twig. Once he thought -he heard both from the lower ground to his -left; but he could not be sure, and the disturbance -was not repeated.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp54" id="i038" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i038.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"><p class="center"><a href="#BRef_038">HIS FINGER TREMBLED ON THE TRIGGER</a></p></div> -</div> - -<p>Suddenly, from another direction—straight -across the ravine and near the top of the ridge—came<span class="pagenum">[37]</span> -sounds of movements in the undergrowth. -Instinctively, Sam brought the gun -to his shoulder; its muzzle barely protruded -from the branches. <a id="BRef_038" href="#i038">His finger trembled on -the trigger</a>. And then his eager eye had a -glimpse of a darker patch amidst the dried -leaves, a patch which seemed to be moving -very, very slowly.</p> - -<p>Sam had heard tales of “buck fever,” and -had laughed at the plight of its victims; but -now he could sympathize with them. His -heart was pumping furiously; he was trembling -from head to foot; every muscle seemed -to be relaxed and helpless. And, as if to -mock him, that dark spot across the ravine -grew clearer and more distinct. It was too -high from the ground to suggest the presence -of any of the smaller animals likely to be -found in the woods.</p> - -<p>“That—that’s a deer over there!” Sam -told himself desperately. “It—it can’t be -anything else!”</p> - -<p>With an effort he summoned all his will. -The swaying barrels along which he glanced -steadied. His finger pressed the trigger. There -was a roar which seemed to him as loud as<span class="pagenum">[38]</span> -thunder. His right shoulder ached under -what was like a smart blow from the butt of -the gun. A thin wisp of smoke blew away -from the muzzle, and was lost in the -branches.</p> - -<p>On the other side of the gully was violent -commotion. The dark spot vanished. In its -stead appeared the bare head of a man!</p> - -<p>Sam uttered a queer, faint, choking cry of -horror. The gun dropped from his hands. -His head sank to the ground, and he lay, face -downward, for the moment utterly overcome. -Through his recklessness and folly he had -shot a fellow being. Terrible certainty was -his that he had not missed his aim, and that -he had wounded, perhaps fatally, the victim -of his criminal carelessness. There flashed -upon him all the possible consequences of his -act—arrest, imprisonment, disgrace; sorrow -and suffering for his parents; pain and anguish -for the stranger, even if he survived -his wounds.</p> - -<p>For a little Sam closed his eyes, but he -could not keep from his ears the ominous -sounds from the other ridge. The man had -not cried out; but there was a wild crashing<span class="pagenum">[39]</span> -of brush, as if he were writhing convulsively -in the thicket. Presently the sounds grew -less distinct. The man must be weakening -from loss of blood! Sam’s imagination pictured -him lying in a crimson pool, and the -boy shuddered at the thought. Yet it nerved -him to the duty which he knew was his to do.</p> - -<p>Sam had faults enough, but lack of courage -to face the music, as the saying goes, was not -among them. Plainly, the way for retreat -was open for him, if he chose to take it; there -was nobody to interfere. But Sam, once he -had recovered somewhat from the shock of his -disaster, set himself resolutely to the task of -making such amends as he might.</p> - -<p>He crawled out of the protecting bushes, -and got upon his feet. For a moment or two -he stood, listening intently; but now there -was no sound from beyond the ravine. Then, -with a sort of grim and unhappy determination, -<a id="BRef_001" href="#i001">he began to descend the slope</a>. At the -bottom he paused again, but heard nothing -either to lessen or to increase his anxiety. -Then he went on, climbing doggedly and -steadily to the clump where first had appeared -the dark spot, and then the head of a man.<span class="pagenum">[40]</span> -The quiet of the place was unbroken. A -new and terrible fear laid hold upon him: -perhaps the wounded man had already succumbed. -It needed all his grit and courage -at last to part the branches and look in at the -spot where the man had stood.</p> - -<p>Sam looked, and looked again; and felt -that he could not believe the evidence of his -eyes. For three or four feet in each direction -the brush had been trampled down, but there -was nobody there!</p> - -<p>A great sense of relief filled the boy. At -all events, he had not killed anybody! There -was even a second in which he cherished -wild hope that what he had seen had been -merely a vision raised by some trick of over-taxed -nerves. But the hope was doomed to -swift dismissal. There was blood on the dried -leaves on the ground—not much blood, to be -sure, but enough to make a fresh, dark stain.</p> - -<p>Kneeling, Sam examined the sanguinary -traces very carefully. As he rose, his expression -curiously combined satisfaction and bewilderment. -It was manifest that the stranger’s -wound had neither bled copiously nor -crippled him; and that he had been able to<span class="pagenum">[41]</span> -make off. But whither had he gone? Why -had he not charged across the gully? And -why had he not raised a warning shout to -prevent a second shot?</p> - -<p>“Jiminy!” said Sam to himself. “Jiminy! -but I don’t believe he got sight of me at all! -I was covered by the bushes, and there was -hardly any smoke, and if he were looking another -way—why—why——” He broke off, -frankly unable to weigh and decide the probabilities -of the strange affair.</p> - -<p>There still remained the possibility of finding -and following the man’s trail; but Sam -was not especially skilled in such matters. -He fancied that for a few yards he could make -out evidences of somebody forcing a way -through the undergrowth, but then he came -to a sort of woods path along the backbone of -the ridge, and there lost the slender clews -upon which he had depended. Certainly he -could discover no more drops of blood.</p> - -<p>Sam went back to the trampled space, and -searched it minutely from end to end, and -from side to side. He had his trouble for his -pains. He found nothing to throw light upon -the mystery.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[42]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, this does beat me!” he confessed, -and shook his head in perplexity. “I never -heard of anything like it. And I don’t want -to hear of anything like it again—ugh!” He -gave a little shiver. “I know when I’ve had -enough—and too much. I’m going home, -and I’m going to get there, and put up this -gun, as quick as my legs will carry me to the -house. And you can bet I’m going to keep -quiet about this. And—and I hope the other -fellow will keep quiet, too. Come now, Sam -Parker! Brace up! Forward march!”</p> - -<p>Thus encouraging himself, Master Sam set -off at a round pace for the highway, but when -he reached it his speed lessened. He had a -new sense of merciful escape from perils -when he was out of the dark woods and in -the open road; and with it came a peculiar -weakness and uncertainty in his knees. He -was glad to sit down on a boulder beside the -ditch and rest for what seemed to him a long, -long time. Finally he rose, and trudged -toward the town. He went slowly, and his -face was thoughtful.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[43]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE CLUB GETS A NEW NAME</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was well after noon when Sam came up -the narrow lane behind the Parker place, and -scaled the back fence. Hasty observation -from its top showed him that the coast was -clear. He stole through the yard, kept the -house between himself and the barn, and let -himself in at the front door.</p> - -<p>The house was as quiet as well ordered -homes generally are at that hour, when dinner -has been disposed of, and supper is still afar -off. Sam tiptoed into the library. With -feverish haste he put his father’s gun in its -place, first removing the cartridges from the -breach. Then he opened the desk drawer, and -restored his stock of cartridges to their box. -He hesitated a moment over the empty shell, -being, indeed, tempted to slip it in with the -rest. At a casual glance the box would then -seem to be full. But Sam, with all his imperfections, -was not given to tricks and deceits.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[44]</span></p> - -<p>“I won’t do it!” he said, with decision, -and slipped the shell into his pocket.</p> - -<p>As he stepped into the hall, Maggie hailed -him from the top of the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Is that you, Sam?” she called. “I thought -I heard the front door open, and I wondered -who ’twas.”</p> - -<p>So she hadn’t seen him enter the house; -therefore she could not know that he had been -carrying the gun. Thus was another danger -of investigation avoided.</p> - -<p>“Yes; I came in that way,” he said. -“Father home yet?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Where’s Mother?”</p> - -<p>“Lon’s drivin’ her over to see old Mis’ -Hardee at Webster Mills.”</p> - -<p>There are times when things do seem to -have been arranged most fortunately. Sam -could have thrown up his cap and cheered. -But Maggie was beginning to descend the -stairs.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Sam Parker! Why didn’t you -come home to dinner?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m all right. I don’t want anything -to eat.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[45]</span></p> - -<p>Maggie continued to descend the stairs. -“Don’t, eh? Where’d you get dinner? Did -the Joneses invite you?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“The Greens, then?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why—no; they didn’t.”</p> - -<p>Maggie had reached the foot of the flight. -“So you come traipsin’ home after everything’s -cleaned up and put away, and expect -me to muss up my kitchen for you? I like -that! Well, you can just guess again, Sam -Parker!”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t want anything, Maggie!” Sam -said pacifically. “Honest, I don’t. I’m not -hungry.”</p> - -<p>“That’s lucky—seein’s there ain’t anything,” -said Maggie drily. However, she was -moving toward the kitchen. “Come along -with you, though!” she flung over her -shoulder.</p> - -<p>Sam followed her meekly. “You don’t need -to bother,” he insisted.</p> - -<p>Maggie paid not the slightest heed to his protests. -“Don’t see how folks can expect to -keep a house decent, with all the overgrown -boys in town runnin’ in for snacks between<span class="pagenum">[46]</span> -meals,” she grumbled. “Well, now you’re -here, you might as well sit down.” She -pointed to a table, bare but spotlessly clean. -“S’pose I’ll have to give you some dry bread -or a cracker, maybe. And the water from the -faucet’s cold enough to drink at this time of -year.”</p> - -<p>Sam sat down. “Oh, anything’ll do,” he -said humbly.</p> - -<p>“Umph!” said Maggie, and opened the door -of the oven. “Well, I do declare! How’d -that happen?” And from the oven she took -a plate, on which was a generous slice of steak, -also a big potato. “Goodness gracious! but I -must be gettin’ flighty! I’d ’a’ said for sure -I put those things in the ice chest. Don’t it -beat all how things happen! Course, the -meat’s cooked hard as a rock, but you might -as well have it as Hannibal.” She set the -plate on the table with a bang. “Well, now -the stuff’s before you, what are you goin’ to do -with it?”</p> - -<p>Sam showed her. In spite of the morning’s -adventures he had an excellent appetite. -Maggie, observing, brought a glass of milk and -a large piece of pie from the pantry. Then,<span class="pagenum">[47]</span> -standing before him, she studied the youth -closely.</p> - -<p>“Sam, what you been doin’? What mischief -you been up to?”</p> - -<p>“Noth—nothing,” mumbled Sam.</p> - -<p>Maggie shook her head. “Don’t you try to -tell me, Sam Parker! I ain’t known you -years and years for nothing. Where you -been?”</p> - -<p>Sam took thought. Maggie was his sworn -ally and help in time of trouble, but he feared -she couldn’t be brought to look kindly upon -the incidents of his morning.</p> - -<p>“Oh! I—I went for a—for a walk—out in -the woods,” he stammered.</p> - -<p>“Then what?”</p> - -<p>“Then I came home,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“So I see!” quoth Maggie drily. “But go -on! As you were sayin’——?”</p> - -<p>Sam wriggled. “This—this is bully pie, -Maggie,” said he, in an effort to change the -topic.</p> - -<p>Her severity of expression deepened. -“Mebbe it is, Sam. But you can’t have -another piece ’less you ’fess up.”</p> - -<p>“But I—I can’t confess.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[48]</span></p> - -<p>“Bosh!” said Maggie tartly.</p> - -<p>Sam, in his turn, regarded her gravely. He -had no intention of confiding in his old friend, -but plainly it was a point of interest to learn -if he struck people as one who was burdened -with a terrible secret.</p> - -<p>“Well, I got awfully tired, for one thing,” -said he. “And it was chilly and—er—er—and -lonesome. And so I show it, do I?”</p> - -<p>“You show something fast enough—I ain’t -sure what.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam, and pushed back his -chair. He got upon his feet, and crossed to -the door. His hand on the knob, he looked -at Maggie, whose brow was furrowed.</p> - -<p>“Say, it was mighty clever of you to save -my dinner. Thank you a lot!” he cried. -Then he opened the door, and went out hurriedly.</p> - -<p>The talk in the kitchen had given him -warning. If he would not rouse suspicion, he -must increase the gaiety of his air and manner. -As he strolled down the street, he was -whistling shrilly; and he shifted to a merrier -tune when he turned in at the gate of the -Joneses’ place, and walking up to the door of<span class="pagenum">[49]</span> -a small and very trim outbuilding, knocked -thrice.</p> - -<p>A few months earlier Mr. Jones, disposing -of a pony, whose legs had become a good deal -shorter than Step’s, had turned the pony’s -quarters over to his son, with the understanding -that the little house was to be used -for a club, which the boys were forming. -Step and his chums at once took possession. -They worked like beavers, cleaning, sweeping, -painting and furnishing the building, and -succeeded in making for themselves a very attractive -meeting place. The club—it was -called the Adelphi—had flourished mightily, -and membership in it was highly prized.</p> - -<p>Sam’s triple knock brought no response, -being, indeed, somewhat of an empty form -and ceremony; and after waiting for a moment—this, -too, was part of the accepted -program—he opened the door and walked in. -Step and Poke were in the lounging room, -recently the space given to the pony cart. Its -walls were gay with college pennants, photographs, -and pictures cut from magazines and -newspapers; in one corner was a lounge, worn -but still useful; the chairs represented contributions<span class="pagenum">[50]</span> -from the attics of several families; -there was a serviceable table, on which stood -a shaded lamp; and an oil heater effectually -dispelled the chill of the afternoon air.</p> - -<p>“Hi there, fellows!” Sam sang out. “What -are you doing to kill time?”</p> - -<p>It had been his desire to impress them with -his ease of mind, but neither betrayed much -interest in his mood. Step, huddled in an old -steamer chair, was a picture of depression and -angles, with his knees almost on a level with -his ears, and his long arms sagging till his -hands touched the floor. Poke was standing -before a blackboard, which hung on the wall. -As he turned to regard the newcomer, his -round face was puckered in a frown.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you, Sam?” he said absently.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you?” croaked Step like a dismal -echo.</p> - -<p>Sam glanced from one to the other. “What’s -the row?” he inquired. “You two look like -chickens with the pip.”</p> - -<p>“Chickens? Ugh!” Step fairly shuddered.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” snorted Poke; and turning to the -blackboard, dabbed viciously at it with the -eraser which he had in his left hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[51]</span></p> - -<p>“What are you doing?” queried Sam. He -moved nearer to Poke, and glanced curiously -at the board. It had borne, in bold lettering:</p> - -<p class="center"><em>Adelphi Club<br> -Rules and By-laws.</em> -</p> - -<p>Now, however, there was only a chalky -smear to show where the lines had been. -“What are you doing?” he repeated. “Say, -you’ve spoiled it!”</p> - -<p>“Huh! This club needs a new name,” -growled Poke. “I’m trying to think of one -that’ll fit.”</p> - -<p>Sam wheeled and addressed the youth in -the chair. “Step, what ails him? What -ails you? What’s the matter, anyway?”</p> - -<p>Step clasped his hands about his knees. -“What ails us? Guess you wouldn’t be asking -if you knew!”</p> - -<p>“Course I wouldn’t!” Sam agreed rather -testily to what might be called a fairly self-evident -proposition.</p> - -<p>“Hang the luck!” groaned the doleful -Step.</p> - -<p>Poke whipped about. “Confound it, but<span class="pagenum">[52]</span> -there’s more than luck!” he cried. “You’re -letting us off too easy, Step. Oh, I know—I -know what you’d say! We didn’t mean to -have it happen, but it did happen; so what’s -the use in talking? And it was just like a -lot of other things that keep happening to us, -and will keep on happening till we have more -sense.”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” came from the depths of the chair.</p> - -<p>Sam dropped a hand on Poke’s shoulder. -“Translate, won’t you? You’re worse than -old Cæsar when he tells about building his -bridge.”</p> - -<p>“Darn that dog!” wailed Step.</p> - -<p>Sam tightened his grip on Poke’s plump -shoulder. “So there was a dog, was there?” -said he. “That’s a start, anyway. Go on!”</p> - -<p>Poke wriggled free. “Yes; there was a -dog, and it was that big hound of Mr. Mercer’s. -And it came along, and smelled Step’s -chicken, and grabbed for it, and gobbled it, -and knocked over my basket of eggs, and ran -away. And we chased it, but couldn’t catch -it. And Step lost his chicken, and every one -of my eggs was smashed. And ain’t that -trouble enough for one day?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[53]</span></p> - -<p>“But I don’t quite understand. It—it’s -sort of complicated. I don’t see how the -hound could grab the chicken and upset your -basket all at once.”</p> - -<p>Poke shifted weight from one foot to the -other. “Well—well, you see, we—we’d sort -of stopped to look at a knife Tom Appleton -had bought; and we’d set the bundle and the -basket on a stone wall; and the dog hit both -when he jumped for one. That was the way -of it. And say! did you ever hear of anything -worse?”</p> - -<p>Sam’s smile was bitter. “Anything worse!” -he repeated scornfully. What was a poor tale -of broken eggs and looted chicken to one who, -by pure mischance, had shot a man?</p> - -<p>Poke resented his friend’s tone. “Huh! -Much you know about it! Dollar and ten -cents’ worth of eggs gone—just like that!”</p> - -<p>“And a five-and-a-half-pound rooster—five -and a half pounds dressed!” chimed in Step.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, that was hard luck,” Sam admitted. -It had occurred to him that it was -not wise to withhold sympathy if he would -avoid suspicion of cherishing some terrible -secret of his own.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[54]</span></p> - -<p>Poke was one of those ordinarily cheery -souls who, on occasion, take melancholy consolation -in contemplation of misfortunes.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking things over,” he declared. -“I’ve got an idea. It isn’t the thing -itself that bothers, but the consequences. -Look here, now! Mother had promised to -make two angel cakes—takes eleven eggs for -each cake. And she’d promised one for the -church supper, and Jennie was to have the -other for her club. And now Mother has got -to disappoint the supper committee, and they’d -told her they set ’special store by her angel -cake. And she’s hot! And Jennie—say, Sam, -if you had a sister, you’d know the fix I’m -in. Jennie’s just sizzling. So I’m keeping -away from the house. Gee, I’d never go home -if I could help myself!”</p> - -<p>Step waved a long and pitiful hand. “Company -for dinner to-morrow!” he said simply. -“I’m lying low myself.”</p> - -<p>Sam meditated briefly. Since that terrible -moment on the ridge he had gone through -half a dozen phases of emotion. He had -ranged from terror to exultation. His plans -had varied from full confession to absolute<span class="pagenum">[55]</span> -silence. Now he was disposed to follow a -course of inaction, based on a belief that the -man had not been badly hurt, and that perhaps -nothing ever would be heard of the -affair. Of course, if report should be made; -or if it should prove that the wounds were -serious; or if the victim should turn out to -be a poor man unable to pay a doctor’s bill—well, -he wouldn’t cross bridges till he came to -them. And, meanwhile, he would try to bear -himself as if nothing untoward had happened—and -thank his lucky stars that he could -keep his secret, even for a time.</p> - -<p>“Well, that was hard luck!” he said again, -and put more heart in the speech.</p> - -<p>Poke returned to the blackboard. “Might -as well learn a lesson when there’s a lesson to -be learned,” he rumbled. “Struck me, too, -we ought to post something here to remind -us that it pays to keep out of trouble. I’d -like to give the club a name that’d mean -something—see? I can think of mottoes -enough—‘Look before you leap, and then go -’round,’ and ‘You never can tell when it’s -loaded,’ and a lot of others—but I’m stumped -for a name. Now, if I——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[56]</span></p> - -<p>There he broke off. Sam, elbowing him -out of the way, stood before the board. For -a second young Parker hesitated. Then he -caught up a piece of chalk, and scrawled in -big letters:</p> - -<p class="center"><em>The Safety First Club</em>. -</p> - -<p>Poke clapped his hands. “Jiminy! but -that’s just the idea I was groping for. Prime, -ain’t it, Step?”</p> - -<p>Step nodded gloomily. “Fa-fair,” he admitted.</p> - -<p>Sam laid down his chalk. He dusted his -hands a trifle theatrically.</p> - -<p>“Like the name, do you?” said he. “Came -to me all of a sudden.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a crackerjack!” declared Poke warmly. -“Hits the nail right on the head. But that -makes me think, Sam—where’s that deer you -were going to hit? Haven’t got that haunch -in your pocket, have you?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Sam curtly.</p> - -<p>“Bet you didn’t see a deer!”</p> - -<p>“I—I didn’t.”</p> - -<p>Poke was beginning to recover his spirits. -“Huh! Knew you wouldn’t,” said he, and<span class="pagenum">[57]</span> -chuckled fatly. “This country’s hunted to -death. Why, so many men with guns were -out to-day that one of ’em had to let drive at -another, just for something to shoot at.”</p> - -<p>“What!” gasped Sam. “What’s that? -What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Just what I say.”</p> - -<p>Sam pulled out his handkerchief, and wiped -drops of cold sweat from his forehead. “But—but——” -he faltered.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t a case of ‘but’ or ‘if.’ Step there -knows all about it. He saw them bringing -him in.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s brain was reeling. “Bring-bringing -him in?” he quavered. “Then—then he -was badly hurt, after all! And who—who -was he?”</p> - -<p>Poke was staring in bewildered fashion at -Sam. “What’s upsetting you? Why, you’re -white as a sheet!”</p> - -<p>“Never mind me! Who—who was it?”</p> - -<p>“Peter Groche.”</p> - -<p>“Pe-Peter Groche? And—and he—he’s -wounded—maybe dying?”</p> - -<p>Poke laughed explosively. “Not he! Old -rascal was never born to be shot.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[58]</span></p> - -<p>“But you said they—they were bringing -him in?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—to the lock-up!”</p> - -<p>Sam dropped into the nearest chair. “I -don’t—don’t under-understand,” he said -weakly.</p> - -<p>“It’s clear enough. Peter shot somebody -else—or tried to.”</p> - -<p>Step joined in the conversation. “Well, -he did wing him,” was his contribution.</p> - -<p>“Where?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, grazed his head, and plunked him in -one hand,” said Step.</p> - -<p>Sam dug his finger-nails into his palms. -“I don’t mean that—at least, that wasn’t what -I tried to ask about. Where did the shooting -take place?”</p> - -<p>“Out beyond Marlow hill somewhere. But -you steered that way, didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“In that general direction.” By a mighty -effort Sam controlled his voice.</p> - -<p>“Then you may have been within a half -mile of Peter Groche,” Step went on. “Maybe -you heard his gun. Well, if you didn’t, he -fired it, anyway. And he ’most got his man -for keeps. But the Major wasn’t hurt badly,<span class="pagenum">[59]</span> -and he had had a glimpse of Peter a little -earlier, and knew about where he was. So he -beat it through the woods after him, and -overtook him near the back road. And just -then, by luck, along came Sheriff Whaley. -So the sheriff and the Major asked Mr. Peter -a question or two; and, getting no satisfaction, -loaded him in the Whaley wagon and brought -him in. And there’s going to be a trial -Monday morning. And I guess it’s going to -go hard with Groche. You see, he’s had a -quarrel with the Major, and there are witnesses -to testify that he made threats to get -even. Then, too, there was an empty shell in -one barrel of his gun, and he wouldn’t give -any explanation of how it happened to be -there. So I reckon he’ll get all that’s coming -to him. The Major’s a bad man to have -on your trail—hardest man in town, by -thunder!”</p> - -<p>“Maj-Major——?” Poor Sam’s tone was -that of one whose hopes are dwindling fast.</p> - -<p>“Yes siree! Hardest man in Plainville is -Major Bates!” declared Step. “Anybody -that harms him’ll be put through the works, -I tell you!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[60]</span></p> - -<p>Sam got upon his feet. With trembling -limbs he moved to the door.</p> - -<p>“Why, what’s the matter?” Step called -after him.</p> - -<p>“What’s your burning hurry?” asked -Poke.</p> - -<p>Sam opened the door. “That stove makes -it too stuffy in here,” he told them. “I—I’ve -just got to have fresh air.” And out he went, -closing the door behind him with a force suggesting -that he did not care for company in -his rambles.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[61]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SAM FACES THE MUSIC</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Almost every town has the misfortune to -include among its residents a few persons -perhaps best described as “undesirable citizens.” -In the case of Plainville by far the -most undesirable of these was Peter Groche, -idler, sot, brawler, and petty thief. On several -occasions vigorous efforts had been made to -rid the community of his presence; but Peter, -unchastened by thrashings or jail sentences -for robbing hen roosts or clothes-lines, persisted -in turning up like the worst of bad pennies. -There was, therefore, general satisfaction in -the town when news spread that, at last, he -had been caught in an offense so serious that -Plainville reasonably could hope to be relieved -of him for a term of several years; -especially as the irascible, determined and -energetic Major Bates was directly interested -in his prosecution.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker, returning from his trip to<span class="pagenum">[62]</span> -Epworth, heard the news down-town, and -brought it home with him. Across the supper -table he discussed the matter with his -wife, and found her quite of his opinion that -a shining example should be made of Peter -Groche. The topic, in fact, fairly shared their -attention with the annoying absence of the -son of the house. Sam had not been home -for dinner, Mrs. Parker announced; and now -he appeared to have forgotten the supper -hour.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what has come over the -boy,” she said. “He went out right after -breakfast, and nobody but Maggie has seen -him since. She says he came in about two -o’clock and had lunch; and then went out -again. I think you’d better talk to him -seriously. He doesn’t understand how important -it is to a growing boy to have his meals -regularly.”</p> - -<p>“Very well; I’ll take him in hand,” said -the father.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Parker gave a little sigh. “Ah! I -feel, sometimes, as if Sam were growing away -from me. He’s getting to be such a big fellow, -you know. Now and then I can’t but<span class="pagenum">[63]</span> -have my doubts that I’m capable of managing -him.”</p> - -<p>“Still, you’ve done very well so far,” her -husband assured her. “Sam’s a pretty good -boy, as boys go. I don’t happen to think of -any other youngster for whom I’d care to -exchange him. But if he’s getting beyond -you—well, I’ll try my luck. Only”—he -hesitated—“only, when I do, perhaps you’d -better make it a strictly masculine session. I -may have to lay down some rather rigid -rules, and—well, it will be just as well not to -have an over-merciful court of appeal too conveniently -at hand. Send him to me when he -comes in, and Master Sam and I will reach an -understanding.”</p> - -<p>So they arranged it; and so it came to pass -that when Sam walked into the library—the -clocks were striking eight as he entered—his -mother, after gently chiding him for his tardiness, -slipped out. The shaded light, by which -his father was reading, left the ends of the -room in shadow, and Sam lingered for a moment -by the door. At last he came forward, -halting directly in front of his father.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker looked up. “Well, young<span class="pagenum">[64]</span> -man——” he began, but suddenly his tone -changed sharply. “What in the world have -you been doing, Sam? You look as if you’d -been dragged through a knot-hole!”</p> - -<p>Sam’s wan smile was more eloquent than -his speech. “I shouldn’t wonder if I did, sir. -I’ve been walking around and—and thinking.”</p> - -<p>“Where have you been walking?”</p> - -<p>“Around town, sir—up and down the streets—anywhere.”</p> - -<p>“Thinking all the while?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; thinking hard.”</p> - -<p>“Been alone?”</p> - -<p>“All alone.”</p> - -<p>“Umph!” said Mr. Parker.</p> - -<p>Sam licked dry lips. “I’ve been thinking, -and I’ve thought it out,—what I ought to do, -sir. And—and I’m here to make a clean -breast of things.”</p> - -<p>The father studied the boy’s face for a moment. -“Sam,” he said slowly, “Sam, I can -see that you’re greatly exercised about something -or other. What it is I don’t know. I -had intended to have you on the carpet for -being late for dinner and supper, but I’m<span class="pagenum">[65]</span> -afraid this is something more serious. But -whatever it is, I hope you’ll do just what you -say you wish to do—make a clean breast of it.”</p> - -<p>“And face the music!” There was a new -note in the boy’s voice, a firmer note.</p> - -<p>“That’s part of the game of life, Sam—if -you play the game fairly and squarely.”</p> - -<p>Sam drew a long breath, and made his -plunge. “Father, you’ve heard about the arrest -of Peter Groche? They say he shot at -Major Bates. Well, he didn’t—but I did!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker bent forward; he was looking -into the boy’s eyes, and the boy did not quail -under his scrutiny.</p> - -<p>“I don’t ask you if you’re in earnest, Sam. -I know that you are. Go on!”</p> - -<p>“I took your gun this morning, and went -out to the Marlow woods. I’d been told there -were deer there. I was crouching under some -bushes, and looking across a hollow, when I -saw something dark on the other side. It -moved, and I fired. Then a man’s head -showed. I didn’t recognize him. I was so -scared that I burrowed deeper in the bushes—hid -for a while, sir. Then I realized I ought -to do something. So I crossed the hollow. I<span class="pagenum">[66]</span> -found blood spots, but the man had gone -away. It seemed as if he couldn’t have been -badly hurt. Then I came home. I hoped I -wouldn’t have to tell anybody, but—but now -they’ve locked up Peter Groche for what I -did.”</p> - -<p>“When did you learn of the arrest?”</p> - -<p>“This afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“And since then?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been thinking it over—fighting it out -with myself, sir.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker rose and crossed the room. He -picked up the gun, threw open the breach, -peered into the barrels.</p> - -<p>“You fired only once?”</p> - -<p>“Only once, sir. Here’s the empty cartridge.” -Sam took the shell from his pocket.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker put the gun in its place, and -went back to his chair. There was a little -pause; then said he:</p> - -<p>“You had your mother’s permission, did -you, to take that gun?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“Or to go hunting?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Did you seek it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[67]</span></p> - -<p>Sam shook his head. “She was out, and I—well, -I didn’t wait for her to come home.”</p> - -<p>“I see. By the way, were you under an -impression that I had ever authorized such an -expedition?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir,” said Sam frankly. “But, then, -you’d never forbidden it,” he added.</p> - -<p>“There are several things it has never occurred -to me to forbid you to do,” said his -father drily.</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. “That’s so, sir. I don’t think -much of the excuse.”</p> - -<p>“There we are of a mind. So you must have -realized that you were doing wrong.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t bother—think, I mean—about -that part of it; that is, I didn’t seem to comprehend -how wrong the thing might be. Of -course, I understood that it wasn’t exactly—exactly -proper.” Sam had difficulty in picking -the word, and did not appear to be over-pleased -with his choice.</p> - -<p>“Go on,” said his father. “Tell me just -what you did when you reached the Marlow -woods.”</p> - -<p>Sam obeyed. Very carefully he went over -the incidents of the morning. He described<span class="pagenum">[68]</span> -his cautious advance through the thick growth, -his ascent of the first ridge, his discovery of -the dark object across the ravine. In detail -he explained how he had conquered his attack -of “buck fever”; how he had taken aim and -fired; how he had been overcome by consternation -when the head of a man appeared. He -did not deny that he had been slow in crossing -the gully. In fact, he made no attempt -to present his case in a more favorable light -than it deserved.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker did not interrupt the story.</p> - -<p>“Sam,” he said, at its close, “this is an extraordinary -yarn of yours. It is borne out in -part by the empty cartridge shell. I can see, -too, that one barrel of the gun has been discharged. -Also I am fully convinced that you -have tried to present the exact truth about the -shooting. I shall assume that the facts are -as you have stated them. I don’t need to add -that they make the case very serious.”</p> - -<p>“I—I’m afraid it is, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Yet you haven’t hesitated to make confession?”</p> - -<p>Sam moved uneasily. “I—I—oh, but I did -hesitate, sir. It was a hard pull to bring myself<span class="pagenum">[69]</span> -up to the point. I guess I walked miles -and miles before I was ready to come back -and tell you everything.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” said Mr. Parker meditatively, -“I wonder if it occurred to you that you might -run away from all the trouble.”</p> - -<p>The boy reddened. “It did occur to me, -sir. And—you may think it a funny way to -put it, but it’s true—my legs just seemed to be -determined to carry me down to the railroad -station. And they did! I was there a long -time, looking at time-tables.”</p> - -<p>“But finally they lost interest?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. I’d reasoned it out that there -could be no use in bolting; it wouldn’t help -anybody.”</p> - -<p>“It very seldom does help anybody, Sam.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s so, sir.”</p> - -<p>There was a long pause, which Mr. Parker -ended.</p> - -<p>“Sam, we’ve got to consider the next step—no -doubt you have considered it; for it necessarily -follows your statement. You’ve declared -your faith, so to speak; now you’ve got -to supplement faith with works.”</p> - -<p>The boy nodded. “I know, sir. They’ve<span class="pagenum">[70]</span> -locked up Peter Groche. We—I, that is—have -got to get him out; for he’s innocent.”</p> - -<p>“Precisely.”</p> - -<p>Sam could not repress a shudder. “He’s in -the police station for something I did. When -they release him, I suppose I’ll have to take -his place. I don’t know much about law, but -that would seem to be—er—er—to be——”</p> - -<p>“Essential justice?” queried his father.</p> - -<p>“That—that’s my idea, sir.”</p> - -<p>“I see. But how do you plan to bring it -about?”</p> - -<p>Sam squared his shoulders. “By going -down to the station and telling the officers -what I’ve told you—everything. Then they’ll -have to let Peter Groche go. And they—they -can keep me.”</p> - -<p>“That would be a simple method; but -there may be a better one—not so direct, but -probably more effective.”</p> - -<p>Sam stared at his father. “More effective?” -he repeated.</p> - -<p>“Yes. The officers might be slow to act. -You have to remember that they think the -case against Groche is pretty strong.”</p> - -<p>“But they’d have to believe me,” Sam urged.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[71]</span></p> - -<p>“Not so fast, son! Don’t forget that there -is a good deal of circumstantial evidence -against Groche. Your story would certainly -create a doubt—and a strong doubt—in his -favor; but with his reputation for evil doing, -they would be reluctant to let him go and -risk making a mistake. No; there is a surer -way to achieve the result.”</p> - -<p>“And that is——?”</p> - -<p>“To go straight to Major Bates and give -him your version.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” gasped Sam, and blanched at thought -of confronting the redoubtable Major, by long -odds the most terrifying, overbearing and truculent -person in all Plainville. “Oh, I—I’d -rather not, Father! They can put me in a -cell if they want to, but——”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker rose to his feet. “We’ll go to -the Major—at once!” he said, with decision.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[72]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI -<br><span class="cheaderfont">DEALING WITH THE OGRE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Major Bates lived in a big, brick house, -made gloomy and forbidding by tall evergreen -trees growing close to its walls. It had -been, in its day, one of the noted mansions of -the town, and still maintained much of its -former state. Its hedges were trimmed to a -nicety; its graveled walks were straight of -edge and free of encroaching grass; its lawn -was the smoothest to be found for miles -around; the brass rails beside the steps -shone with frequent polishing. Yet, with -all this care, there was something cheerless -about the place, something suggesting an institution -rather than a home. To his few -cronies the Major admitted that he liked to -keep his premises “well policed,” as he termed -it, in memory of his army days; but the townspeople -generally were of opinion that the verdict -of a clever woman hit the case perfectly.</p> - -<p>“Wonderfully kept up; marvelously well<span class="pagenum">[73]</span> -ordered; excellent for everything—except -comfortable living.”</p> - -<p>Such was her summary. Perhaps nobody -but the Major would have taken serious objection -to it. He was quite sure that things -were as he wished to have them; and it did -not occur to him that anybody else was called -upon to consider the matter.</p> - -<p>This evening he was sitting alone in the big -room he called his den, a room whose walls -were lined with bookcases, gun racks and -cabinets, and decorated with antlered heads -of moose and deer. The pictures were few -but good. Each hung as if its top had been -adjusted with the aid of a spirit-level. The -books on the shelves were like soldiers on -parade.</p> - -<p>The master of the house, seated before his -open fire, curiously matched the room. He -was very neat and precise in dress; he held -himself stiffly, and after a fashion which -caused careless observers to credit him with -greater height than he possessed. As a matter -of fact, he was rather short in stature and thin -to gauntness; though it seldom occurred to -anybody to speak of him as a little man.<span class="pagenum">[74]</span> -Perhaps this was due to his domineering -manner and striking face. The Major was a -person to attract attention in any company. -He had a shock of iron-gray hair, bushy eyebrows, -a fiercely beaked nose, and a bristling -moustache and goatee. His eyes were keen -and piercing, and not often inclined to friendliness.</p> - -<p>It need hardly be said that he was not on -terms of intimacy with the youth of Plainville. -Not that they ventured to annoy him—far -from it! Two-thirds of the boys in -town would cross the street to avoid meeting -him, no matter how clear might be their consciences -of recent offense against him. But -the Major, striding along, swinging his cane -and grumbling to himself as he advanced, was -just the sort of figure to which peaceful folk -involuntarily yield the crown of the way. -And this evening, though he was not marching -belligerently through the town, but was -sitting before his cheery fire, he looked even -more warlike—and war-worn—than in his -public appearances. There was a patch of -court-plaster on his cheek, and his left hand -was wrapped in a bandage.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[75]</span></p> - -<p>There was a deferential knock, and the -door of the room opened. In stepped a man -servant, severe of countenance. He advanced -to the Major, and halting, stood at attention.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Parker—to see you, sir,” he reported. -“Yes, sir; Mr. Parker and Master Parker.”</p> - -<p>The Major scowled. “What! Parker and -that boy of his? What’s he here for? But -show Parker in, of course. If the boy doesn’t -want to come, don’t urge him. Perhaps he’ll -wait in the parlor.”</p> - -<p>But Master Parker, albeit he gladly would -have lingered behind, was not to be permitted -to escape his ordeal. With dragging foot he -entered the den at his father’s heels, and stood -unhappily clutching his cap, while his elders -shook hands somewhat formally.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Mr. Parker, glad to see you!” said the -Major. “Be seated, I beg you. And come up -to the fire. Chilly evening, sir; chilly, -though seasonable.”</p> - -<p>“Major Bates, permit me to present my son, -Samuel,” said Mr. Parker.</p> - -<p>Sam stepped forward with a resigned hopelessness -like that of a condemned criminal. -He felt himself quailing before the Major’s<span class="pagenum">[76]</span> -eye; but felt a surprising—and vaguely encouraging—heartiness -in the grip the old -soldier gave his timidly extended hand.</p> - -<p>“Samuel, I trust you are well,” quoth the -Major, courteously enough. Then, not being -impressed with the importance of minors in the -scheme of the universe, he turned to the boy’s -father, after suggesting to his youthful caller -that he, too, take a chair near the fire.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker cleared his throat. “Ahem, -ahem! Major, I have been given to understand -that you have been the victim of an -unfortunate accident.”</p> - -<p>“Accident!” The Major sat straighter in -the chair in which he had just seated himself. -“Sir, that’s misuse of English. What I was -victim of was a most cowardly and scoundrelly -attack. Thank heaven, though, the perpetrator -of the outrage was at once apprehended -and taken into custody.”</p> - -<p>“You’re sure of the identity of the——”</p> - -<p>The Major’s eyes flashed; he was guilty of -the discourtesy of interrupting a guest.</p> - -<p>“Am I sure? Sir, I am as absolutely certain -of the miscreant as I am of this”—he -touched the court-plaster on his cheek—“and<span class="pagenum">[77]</span> -of this”—he waved the bandaged hand. -“I’ve two good reasons to remember him, sir.”</p> - -<p>“But, Major——”</p> - -<p>“Pardon me a moment! You may not -know, but it is the fact that the fellow has -threatened, repeatedly, to do me harm. It’s -an old grudge. Years ago I was fortunate -enough to be active in sending him to jail, -and he’s never forgotten my modest service to -the general welfare. Only last week—on the -public street, sir—he reviled me, and declared -that he would have revenge. It was a fortunate -warning, sir; for this morning, when -he and I met in the woods—oh, yes; we passed -within ten yards of each other—I took care to -keep a weather eye open for just some such -performance as he undertook. I’d kept his -general bearings, and when he blazed away at -me—why, sir, I rushed for him. And by -Jove! I got him—as good as caught in the -act, sir!”</p> - -<p>“But not quite caught in the act, sir. -There must have been an interval——”</p> - -<p>The Major raised a hand. “Pardon me -again! Sir, what you speak of is a trifle, a -bagatelle. And there was plenty of circumstantial<span class="pagenum">[78]</span> -evidence—empty shell in the right-hand -barrel of his gun—barrel fouled by the -discharge. And he attempted no denial. -Why, sir, he merely stood there and cursed -me to my face, the scoundrel!”</p> - -<p>“And yet,” said Mr. Parker evenly, “I fear -you were—and are—in error.”</p> - -<p>“Eh?” The Major bristled. “Eh? You -fear I’m in error? Most extraordinary statement, -sir! Do you mean to insinuate that -nobody shot me?”</p> - -<p>“I merely suggest that you may not have -been shot by Peter Groche.”</p> - -<p>“But who else under the canopy could it -have been?”</p> - -<p>“I am afraid, as I told you—afraid that it -was my son.”</p> - -<p>“What!” Up sprang the Major. “Man, -what do you mean? This boy?” He -whipped about, and peered at Sam. “Why, -he’s a mere child! Preposterous, sir; utterly -preposterous!”</p> - -<p>“I wish that it were!” said Mr. Parker, -with feeling. “But the fact remains that -he insists he was gunning this morning -in Marlow woods; and that he declares that<span class="pagenum">[79]</span> -he mistook a man for a deer, and fired at -him.”</p> - -<p>“Tush, tush! That’s all a piece of boyish -imagination. He’s been reading dime novels! -Haven’t you, young man?” And the Major -shook a bony forefinger in Sam’s face.</p> - -<p>“No, sir; I haven’t.” Sam spoke firmly, -and his eyes did not fall before the Major’s.</p> - -<p>“Do you expect me to believe you were the -fellow who winged me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>The Major went back to his chair. He -dropped into it almost limply. “Out with -your story, boy!” said he. “I’ll listen—I’ve -got to, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>The dreaded moment had arrived. Sam -nerved himself to the task before him. The -keen, old eyes under the bushy brows never -left his face. He felt that they were penetrating -every secret of his soul. But, after all, he -had nothing but the truth to tell; and there -was nothing he wished to conceal. Slowly at -first, and then more rapidly, if not more -easily, he reviewed the events of the morning. -He dealt with his hunt through the woods; -described the twin ridges and the valley<span class="pagenum">[80]</span> -between. Then the Major broke in upon -him.</p> - -<p>“By Jove, boy, but you have the lay of the -land pat!” he exclaimed. “Go over that -again, please—about the bushes where you -hid, and the others where you saw something -move.”</p> - -<p>Sam repeated this part of his story. The -Major stalked to a closet, and stalked back, -carrying a woolen cap, dark red in color.</p> - -<p>“Was that what you saw?” he demanded -grimly.</p> - -<p>“It might have been—I’m not certain.”</p> - -<p>The Major thrust a finger into a hole in the -cap.</p> - -<p>“That’s where one shot went through. -But, by the great horn spoon, Parker! what’s -a man to do to secure reasonable safety in the -woods these times? I put on a red cap to -warn gunners not to pot me for a deer. Have -I got to wear sleigh-bells, or carry an automobile -horn, to let ’em know it’s a human being -that’s coming? I must say things are at -a pretty pass, when anybody who wants venison -has to take his life in his hand to get it!”</p> - -<p>“Agreed!” said Mr. Parker. “That’s one<span class="pagenum">[81]</span> -of the reasons why I’ve practically dropped -hunting. But that cap, now—strikes me the -red might not show very clearly among the -dead leaves.”</p> - -<p>“What I saw seemed to be dark rather than -red,” Sam explained.</p> - -<p>The Major pulled at his tuft of beard. “All -most extraordinary and yet—queer how the -thing might have happened, as the boy says. -I’d half made up my mind that scoundrel -was gunning for me; so, naturally -enough, when that charge of buckshot came -my way, I looked where I thought it probably -came from. And the puff of smokeless powder -isn’t much—it’d have been gone in a few -seconds. And sound fools you on direction. -Expecting attack from a certain quarter, I’d -be pretty sure to place the sound there, -whether or no. And the boy declares he was -right across the gulch? Umph!”</p> - -<p>Sam resumed his account. He made confession -to his fright; to the moments which -passed before he dared to look at the farther -ridge, even though he heard the loud crackling -of branches.</p> - -<p>The Major nodded. “That fits, too. Soon as<span class="pagenum">[82]</span> -I could wrap a handkerchief about the bleeding -paw I was off after Groche. But finally -you crossed over to see what you’d bagged, -eh? Umph! Why didn’t you run away?”</p> - -<p>“I—I didn’t think I should.”</p> - -<p>“Wanted to, didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed I did, sir!”</p> - -<p>“Umph!” said the Major again. “Well, -go on. What did you find?”</p> - -<p>Sam described the trampled brush and the -spots of blood on the leaves. Also he related -his vain effort to follow the trail.</p> - -<p>The Major was scowling fiercely. “That’s -all, eh? Enough, too, I must say! No, it -isn’t, either. Look here, young man! I suppose -I must accept this story. You’ve just -missed committing murder—yes, murder! -Abominable recklessness, abominable! And -criminal, highly criminal! You’ve rendered -yourself liable to a heavy penalty. You’ll -have to suffer——”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker spoke sharply and emphatically: -“That is not at present under discussion. Our -immediate interest is justice to a wrongly arrested -man.”</p> - -<p>Up went the Major’s warlike eyebrows.<span class="pagenum">[83]</span> -“Eh? What’s that? Justice, you say?” -Then he whipped about to Sam. “Boy, do -you understand the situation in which you’ve -placed yourself? Want justice done, do you? -That’ll mean trouble for you. Don’t quibble! -Why didn’t you let well enough alone?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why, sir——”</p> - -<p>“Umph! Your father’s responsible, of -course, for your telling the story.”</p> - -<p>Again Mr. Parker intervened. “Not so -fast, Major. Of his own volition Sam told me -what had happened. The affair was a complete -surprise to me. It was my suggestion -that he repeat his statement to you rather -than to the police—and there my responsibility -begins. But I’ll add that, as it has -begun, I shall regard it as continuing until -this matter is settled.”</p> - -<p>“Eh?” The Major looked more hostile -than ever. “Am I to accept that as a declaration -that you are backing the boy?”</p> - -<p>“You may accept it as meaning that while -I regret deeply his rashness and its results, -now that he has made confession, I’m backing -him, as you term it—and I shall continue to -back him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[84]</span></p> - -<p>There could be no mistaking Mr. Parker’s -earnestness and determination. A thrill shot -through Sam. He flashed a grateful glance -at his father; then turned to face the Major.</p> - -<p>The countenance of the grizzled warrior -offered a rare study in conflicting emotions. -It betrayed anger, but it also suggested chagrin. -Moreover, there was a hint of admiration. -There was an instant in which Sam -believed that the Major was about to attempt -personal chastisement on the spot; there was -another in which he wondered if the old man -were not struggling with a sense of helplessness. -Then, of a sudden, the Major laughed -explosively.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha! By the great horn spoon, Parker! -I’d do the same, if I stood in your shoes! -Blood’s thicker than water, every time. Ought -to be, by Jove! when it’s good blood. And -it’s good blood that’s made your boy own his -mistake and step forward, like a man, to bear -the consequences. I hate a sneak, but I take -off my hat to a real man, no matter whether -he’s young or old. There, there! Hear me -out! This thing came near enough to being -my funeral to justify me in attending to the<span class="pagenum">[85]</span> -arrangements. I’ll telephone to the police, -and withdraw my charge against Groche; and -I’ll keep my own counsel about why I withdraw -it. That’s all right—accidents will happen, -and when you’re satisfied a thing is an -accident, there’s nothing to do but grin and -bear it. Our young friend here can learn a -lesson, and be more careful in future. No -need for him to gossip about it, eh?”</p> - -<p>Sam was speechless at this amazing turn -for the better in his affairs; but his father -came to the rescue.</p> - -<p>“Major, you’re most kindly and generous. -If there’s anything I can do, command me! -If Groche threatens proceedings for illegal -arrest you must permit me to guarantee you -against loss in any way.”</p> - -<p>The Major shook his head. “Very good of -you, sir, but unnecessary—quite. Groche’s -language was so abusive that a charge of noise -and brawl would lie against him; and, no -doubt, the officers will hold him overnight -for safe-keeping, and turn him loose in the -morning. And he’ll be content to drop the -case, so far as the law goes; for he has no -love for courts of any sort. But, young man”—he<span class="pagenum">[86]</span> -turned to Sam, and there was a wry grin -curling his fierce moustache—“young man, -you’ve robbed me of the consolation of being -a public benefactor. If I could put that -scoundrel behind the bars, at cost of a flesh -wound or two, I’d count the pain as nothing -compared with the service to the community.”</p> - -<p>Sam found tongue. “I wish I could tell -you, sir, how sorry I am for—for shooting -you.”</p> - -<p>Once more the Major laughed, and his hand -fell, in friendly fashion, on Sam’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Boy, I’ve been wounded four times,” he -said, “but this is the first time the fellow who -hit me has had the grace to apologize.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[87]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE RECKONING</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Sam awoke to find the sunshine pouring -through the window of his room. Overnight -there had been a change for the better in the -weather, and Sunday had dawned clear and -bright.</p> - -<p>The boy yawned, stretched himself luxuriously, -rubbed the lingering sleepiness out of -his eyes. There was a blissful moment, in -which he felt himself in harmony with the -unclouded morning, refreshed, untroubled. -Then, of a sudden, came recollection of the -events of the day before, and understanding -that there was still a reckoning to be paid. -He might have nothing to fear from courts -and officers of the law; Major Bates, ordinarily -warlike, had been brought to prefer peace to -hostilities; but he had yet to reach complete -understanding with his father.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker and Sam had exchanged hardly -a word while they walked home from the<span class="pagenum">[88]</span> -Major’s house; but at their own door the -father had paused briefly.</p> - -<p>“You’d better turn in, Sam,” he had said. -“We’ll have to go over this matter pretty -carefully, but I’m not prepared to do so -to-night. And I fancy your own ideas will -be none the worse for a little revision, and a -clearer head in the morning.”</p> - -<p>But Sam, going to his room, had found -himself very wakeful. Half an hour later his -mother had looked in, and discovered him, -fully dressed and huddled in a big chair; and -glad, indeed, to see her, as it proved. She -had had no reproaches to shower upon him—Sam -had wondered if his father’s explanation -of his misdeeds had not been extremely merciful; -and she had slipped an arm about him, -and “mothered” him most comfortingly. -And, presently, had appeared her handmaiden -and his own loyal ally, Maggie, bearing -a tray on which were a bowl of milk and -a plate of crackers. Sam, who might have -vowed that he wasn’t hungry, in a second had -become acutely aware of a lack of something -under his belt, and had fallen to with a right -good will, his mother watching him approvingly<span class="pagenum">[89]</span> -and Maggie voicing her satisfaction in -her own fashion.</p> - -<p>“Well, say, ma’am, will you look at that, -now? It’s not a morsel of supper the poor -boy’ll have been puttin’ tooth to! And -him sayin’ nothing about it—no; nor his -father, either! They’re like as two peas -in some ways, ma’am. Oh, them men, them -men!”</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>These were the brighter spots in Sam’s -memories. They were pleasant to dwell -upon; but they could not relieve the general -gravity of the case. A very sober youth it -was who dressed mechanically and in due -course appeared at breakfast. A deal to his -surprise his father and mother greeted him -quite as usual. There was nothing to suggest -that they regarded him either as a repentant -offender or as a hero. At Sunday-school he -had another experience of the same sort; for -his friends hailed him with matter-of-fact -heartiness. Both Step and Poke appeared to -have lived down their domestic unpopularity, -resulting from the incident of the hungry -hound, and to be disposed to regard the world<span class="pagenum">[90]</span> -cheerfully, with no suspicion that he was not -entirely of their way of thinking.</p> - -<p>There was interest displayed in the news -that Peter Groche, after a night in the lock-up, -had been released from custody; but it occurred -to none of Sam’s chums to connect the -circumstance with his adventures as a deer -hunter. Groche, presented with his freedom, -had walked off, mumbling and grumbling. -The popular theory was that, sooner or later, -he would try to “get even” with the Major, -his old grudge being heightened by the recent -episode.</p> - -<p>“Funny how the Major let up on him!” -Poke ruminated. “Well, you never can tell -what’ll happen. But I guess there must have -been some weak spot, after all, in the case. -If there wasn’t, the Major would have hung -on like a bulldog.”</p> - -<p>“Gee, but I wouldn’t have him after me—not -for a farm!” quoth Step.</p> - -<p>Sam held his peace. He might have shed -fresh light upon the peculiarities of the old -soldier, but the present time was not opportune. -He had little share in the talk as -the boys walked home together; and the<span class="pagenum">[91]</span> -mood of silence held him through dinner. -Then his father proposed a stroll, and the boy -accepted the invitation.</p> - -<p>On the top of a hill overlooking the town—not -only a sightly place but also one ensuring -freedom from interruption—father and son -had their discussion calmly and deliberately.</p> - -<p>“Sam,” Mr. Parker began, “I’m not going -to preach a sermon, but I’m going to take a -text. You supplied it when you told me last -night that you didn’t regard lack of direct -prohibition as making a very good excuse for -what you did. The trouble is, you reached -that opinion after the fact. In the beginning, -I dare say, it seemed quite reasonable to do -the thing which wasn’t forbidden.”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, I—I did it,” said Sam sheepishly.</p> - -<p>“Exactly! And, in doing it, you yielded -to impulse.”</p> - -<p>“I sup-suppose so.”</p> - -<p>“You had no wish, no intention, to harm -anybody,” Mr. Parker went on. “You desired -to go hunting—I’ve felt the desire; I -know what it is. Then there was my gun, -fairly thrusting itself upon you—seemed that -way, didn’t it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[92]</span></p> - -<p>“You’re telling it, sir, as if you’d stood in -my shoes.”</p> - -<p>“Many a time! I’ve been a boy myself. -Also I haven’t forgotten, Sam, the scrapes -into which I fell. Some of them taught me a -lesson—a lesson you’ll have to learn some -day. But to get back to the gun. There it -was, ready to your hand. You took it. You -put a supply of cartridges in your pocket. -Your mother was not at home. You were too -impatient to await her return. So off you -hurried, taking chances, but meaning no harm. -You were very sure of yourself; you knew -something about firearms; you were confident -that you wouldn’t hurt yourself or anybody -else. You thought you were extremely careful -in the woods. Yet there you took another -chance, still meaning no harm, but barely -escaping homicide.”</p> - -<p>“I know that, sir.”</p> - -<p>“You can count yourself most fortunate that -the results were not more serious. But I -won’t dwell upon what might have happened. -What did happen was quite enough to give -you food for thought, and to point the moral of -your experience. And that is that before you<span class="pagenum">[93]</span> -go ahead you should do your best to be sure -you’re right.”</p> - -<p>“After this I’ll be sure!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker smiled a little oddly. “I ask -only, Sam, that you do your best to be sure. -Often you have to take risks—the practical -point is to avoid the unnecessary risks. Hear -me through! At sixteen you’re not going to -develop the wisdom and foresight of a grown -man. I’m not going to demand the impossible. -I am going, though, to urge you to -profit by the mistakes you’ve made—and that, -Sam, is the one best use to make of mistakes.”</p> - -<p>“You mean, not to repeat ’em?”</p> - -<p>“That is precisely my meaning.”</p> - -<p>“Trust me!” cried Sam, with conviction.</p> - -<p>“I am going to trust you,” said his father. -“In the first place, I am going to assume that -we have no need to talk about punishment; -perhaps you’ve had a reasonable amount of it -as it is, for I suspect you have passed some -very trying hours. At the same time, though, -I’m not prepared to treat this affair as a wholly -closed chapter. I think it will be better for -all concerned if you regard yourself, for the -next few months, as on probation.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[94]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t quite understand.”</p> - -<p>“Well, in other words, you may consider -yourself as under test. And the test will be -the extent to which you have profited by -what has taken place.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam. “Then you’re waiting -to see if I’ve really learned the lesson?”</p> - -<p>“You have the idea.”</p> - -<p>Sam knit his brows. “It’s awfully kind of -you, Father—it’s greater mercy than I’d -hoped for. I—I’ll try my prettiest to deserve -it. And—and will everything go on just as—just -as before?”</p> - -<p>“As nearly as may be. Only that brings -me to my second point. It has to do with -St. Mark’s.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam again, a bit apprehensively, -it must be admitted.</p> - -<p>“I think,” said his father slowly, “that for -the present we’ll hold in abeyance any plans -for sending you away to school. Don’t regard -this as a punishment; it is merely part -of the probation. St. Mark’s, as you know, -allows its students much liberty. It treats -them almost as if they were men. And, -frankly, Sam, it remains for you to prove that<span class="pagenum">[95]</span> -you deserve such confidence. As the boys -say, it’s up to you.”</p> - -<p>The blow to the boy’s hopes was harder than -his father realized. For months Sam had been -counting upon an early transfer to the famous -preparatory school. At his books, and in -sports, he had striven with an eye to the -St. Mark’s standards; he had read everything -concerning the academy upon which he could -lay hands; he had thought of St. Mark’s by -day and dreamed of it at night. And now, of -a sudden, he learned that his goal was not -near, but at a distance which seemed to be all -the more unhappy because of its vagueness. -Yet, very pluckily, he rallied from the shock.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir; it’s up to me—I understand,” -said he. “I’ve got to show that I’m not an -utter idiot, that I have some common sense. -And I will show it, I will! If I don’t, I -won’t be worth sending to St. Mark’s or—or -anywhere else!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[96]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">BEGINNING THE TEST</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The junior class of the Plainville High -School probably was neither much better nor -much worse than the classes which had preceded -it, and the other classes which were following -it, along the paths of knowledge. It -had its bright boys and girls and its dullards; -its examples of industry and of idleness; its -workers and its shirkers; its happy-go-lucky -members, who made the most of the day without -thought of the morrow, and its budding politicians, -who laid wires and pulled them with -an eye to future advantage. Perhaps the most -distinguishing peculiarity of the class, however, -was the influence exerted by a group of -boys, with some of whom we have become acquainted.</p> - -<p>Just why the Safety First Club (lately the -Adelphi) should have been so potent a factor -was not easily explained. The faculty, which -had suspicion rather than understanding<span class="pagenum">[97]</span> -of the fact, did not try to explain it, while -certain ambitious youths, not of the charmed -circle, insisted that it could not be made clear. -The club did not include the coming valedictorian -or salutatorian; it had none of the -most distinguished athletes; yet the truth remained -that its backing was a prime necessity -to secure success in any class undertaking. If -there were a fund to be raised for the ball -team, or if a picnic were planned or a Christmas -jollification, wise promoters at once sought -the endorsement of the club. As it usually was -given in generous measure, there was little -general criticism of the coterie, though, as was -inevitable, there were envious ones who lost -no opportunity privately to say unpleasant -things about the members, singly and collectively.</p> - -<p>In this, of course, jealousy figured. Several -of the boys deeply resented the failure of the -club to invite them to become members; and -the feeling was bitterest in the case of one -Thomas Orkney.</p> - -<p>Now and then one comes upon a striking -example of the square peg in the round hole. -Orkney did not fit. He was comparatively a<span class="pagenum">[98]</span> -new boy in Plainville, having lived there but -two or three years, and having come with -some very firmly established notions of his -own importance. At bottom he had his virtues—plenty -of them, no doubt; but they -were overlaid and concealed by a highly unfortunate -manner. His early study had been -under tutors, who had helped him to better -knowledge of his text-books than to preparation -for what may be called the rough-and-tumble -experiences of recitations in a large -class. If he blundered, and the division -laughed, that was a black day in his calendar; -and he scowled and sulked, and cherished a -grudge against those who had led in the merriment. -Worst of all, he often found means -to settle these scores, and so had contrived to -make himself exceedingly unpopular among -his classmates; though, as it happened, he also -drew to himself a few supporters and adherents -from among the discontented element, -which is so frequently to be observed in any -organization.</p> - -<p>While it could not be said that the juniors -were sharply divided into factions, it was certainly -true that the relations of the club and<span class="pagenum">[99]</span> -of the Orkney “crowd” were strained. Recently -there had been two or three incidents, -trifling in themselves, but together doing a -good deal to increase the rivalry.</p> - -<p>Oddly enough, Step Jones, one of the most -peaceful of mortals, had succeeded in enraging -Orkney. Step, as a rule, was no shining star -of scholarship; but by some mental twist he -was a very planet in Greek. In Latin he was -merely fair, and in French not quite so good, -while the less said of his algebra and geometry -the better; but, in the speech of his friends, -he took to Greek as a duck takes to water. -Poke Green accused him of “reading ahead” -in Xenophon for the fun of the thing; and -declined to withdraw the charge in spite of his -almost tearful denials, holding, indeed, that it -was confirmed by Step’s success in translating -a “sight” passage, which Tom Orkney had -stumbled over. Poke forgot all about the episode -in an hour, but Tom added another to -his growing list of grievances against the club. -His average for the term was far above Step’s, -but he begrudged the lanky youth even a -trifling triumph. And then came the matter -of Willy Reynolds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[100]</span></p> - -<p>It may throw light upon the personality -of Master Reynolds to explain that he was -equally well known as Willy and the “Shark,” -neither being used offensively, though one had -a suggestion of mildness and the other of -ferocity. He was, in fact, a little fellow, -slender, stoop-shouldered, and physically the -weakest boy in the class. Yet no other junior -was less teased or picked upon. Practical -jokers passed by Willy Reynolds. There was -a gravity about him, not owlish, but distinctly -discouraging to frivolity; and an almost hypnotic -influence in his meditative and unwavering -gaze. He had the prominent eyes of -the near-sighted; and he had, too, the unconscious -trick of staring steadfastly at man -or thing of whose very existence he was -barely conscious; and as he stared through -big, round lenses, set in a heavy black frame, -the effect was impressive, if not terrifying. -Consequently, even the most mischievous of -his mates preferred to let him alone, especially -as they had honest respect for his -signal ability in his specialty.</p> - -<p>Young Reynolds was a mathematician born. -Languages he endured as unavoidable subjects<span class="pagenum">[101]</span> -of study; but he reveled in equations and -demonstrations, made child’s play of the required -algebra and geometry—thereby earning -his nickname of the “Shark”—and carried -on advanced work under the eye of the -principal, himself an adept of the mathematical -brotherhood. Willy, of course, was destined -for scientific courses at college; but -meanwhile, tarrying with the junior class, -he filled his contemporaries with wonder and -admiration. For example, he solved at sight -a problem to which Tom Orkney had devoted -vain and wearisome hours. It was all in the -day’s work for the Shark, but Orkney noted another -score to be repaid with compound interest.</p> - -<p>Sam Parker had been a witness of Tom’s -discomfiture on both occasions; but, as may -be imagined, was not concerning himself -deeply with the sullen youth’s moods. As -he himself would have put it, he had troubles -enough of his own, and was fully occupied -with his own affairs when he went to school -on Monday morning. On the way he fell in -with Step and Poke. The latter was full of -the mystery attending the release of Peter -Groche.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[102]</span></p> - -<p>“It’s mighty queer—our folks were talking -it over at breakfast,” said he. “Course, there -was a mistake somewhere, or Major Bates -never would have let him go. But Peter -didn’t let out a word—just growled, and -grumbled, and took himself off, shaking his -head. He wouldn’t deny that he shot the -Major. The police asked him about it, but -he gave them no satisfaction. He’s a bad -one, I tell you! Regular Indian, if he gets -down on anybody!”</p> - -<p>“All the more wonder that the Major -dropped the case,” declared Step. “He knows -Groche from A to Z.”</p> - -<p>Poke wagged his head. “There you are! -Makes the business all the queerer. Each of -them is a sticker, in his own way. And the -Major had Groche just where he wanted him. -And then, all of a sudden, he let up! What -do you make of that, now?”</p> - -<p>“Beats me,” Step confessed.</p> - -<p>“What’s your notion, Sam?”</p> - -<p>Sam did not meet Poke’s inquiring glance. -“I think,” he said slowly, “that something -must have happened to show the Major that -Groche hadn’t shot him.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[103]</span></p> - -<p>“Huh! How do you make that out?” -queried Step.</p> - -<p>“That’d mean somebody else did the shooting,” -observed Poke, the philosopher. “The -Major was hit, fast enough—peppered in the -head and in one hand. And he didn’t do it -himself.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“Therefore, some one else did. The Major -was sure Groche was the some one. Then he -wasn’t sure. In between he’d found out something. -Q. E. D.—as the Shark would remark.”</p> - -<p>“Q. E. D.,” repeated Sam, for want of anything -better.</p> - -<p>Step grunted. “Huh! Bet you he’d found -out who was who and what was what! But -that just thickens the fog.”</p> - -<p>“How so?”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t he have the other fellow -locked up in Groche’s place?”</p> - -<p>“Jiminy! that’s a good point!” cried -Poke.</p> - -<p>Sam said nothing, and for a moment the -three trudged on in silence.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” said Poke at last, “the Major -knows now, but we’ll know sooner or later.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[104]</span></p> - -<p>“How’s that?” Sam asked quickly.</p> - -<p>Poke shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, things -are bound to come out. They always do. It’s -just like a dog burying a bone—if he doesn’t -dig it up, some other dog will.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you believe a secret can be kept?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I can’t remember keeping many -myself,” chuckled Poke. “And they say -murder will out, you know. This wasn’t -murder, of course, but it came uncomfortably -near it.”</p> - -<p>“It sure did!” agreed Step.</p> - -<p>Sam dug his hands deeper in his pockets. -Being human, and companionable, and very -fond of Poke and Step, he had been sorely -tempted to confide in his friends. But the -Major had warned him not to gossip about the -affair, and the Major’s wish naturally had -great weight. As for Poke’s theory that the -story would become known generally, sooner -or later—well, Sam had his doubts. So far as -he knew, only his parents and the Major -shared with him knowledge of what had happened -in the woods.</p> - -<p>In school that day Sam studied hard and -paid close attention to the recitations. That<span class="pagenum">[105]</span> -was part of his plan for proving to his father -that he could deserve confidence. When the -class was dismissed, he made careful selection -of the books he would need for home study, -and so was a little behind his mates in leaving -the building. Within a hundred yards of the -school-ground gates, however, he overtook a -group of boys, clustered closely about two disputants. -One, as he saw, was Step; the other, -Tom Orkney.</p> - -<p>From a little distance the Shark was regarding -the squabble through his big glasses.</p> - -<p>“What’s the row about?” Sam asked as he -came up.</p> - -<p>“Nothing!” said the Shark. “That’s why -they’re making such a fuss.”</p> - -<p>Sam laughed, but quickly grew serious. -Both Step and Tom were talking loudly, each -hurling threats and defiance at the other; -Step’s long arms were going like a windmill’s, -while Orkney’s fists were doubled. From his -acquaintance with the methods of adolescent -controversy it appeared to be probable that -words were about to lead to blows.</p> - -<p>“Just one of Orkney’s grouches,” the Shark -went on indifferently. “He’s been ruffling<span class="pagenum">[106]</span> -his feathers at Step ever since that business -in Greek the other day.”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. “That, eh? But they’re going -too far—they’ll be mixing it up.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Step’s got the reach by fully four -inches.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe, but Orkney’s a tough customer.”</p> - -<p>The Shark turned, and deliberately inspected -Sam from head to foot. “You could -do him up,” he said with cold-blooded calmness.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps. That isn’t saying Step could, -though. He hasn’t weight enough.”</p> - -<p>At this instant Orkney, catching sight of -Sam in the background, changed his tactics. -He moved away from Step, and lowered his -hands.</p> - -<p>“So that’s the game, is it?” he taunted. -“Keep blustering, but be sure not to hit a fellow -till your gang’s here to back you—that’s -your way, Step Jones. Had to wait for Sam -Parker, didn’t you?”</p> - -<p>Step’s anger was that of the patient man, -slow to kindle but hard to extinguish. He -struck at his opponent, but long as his arm -was, missed him by inches.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[107]</span></p> - -<p>Sam instinctively started forward, and -forced a way through the ring. Tom fell -back a pace.</p> - -<p>“That’s right! Pile on—the whole gang -of you!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>Step, for his part, was more than ready to -accept the challenge; but Sam intervened. -Impulse—he was willing enough to fight -Orkney—had yielded to sobering second -thought. It behooved a young man, intent -upon establishing his self-control and common -sense, to avoid brawling over a trifle on the -public street. Sam’s hand caught Step’s collar.</p> - -<p>“Here! Drop the fighting!” he commanded.</p> - -<p>Step wriggled, but the grip on his collar -did not yield.</p> - -<p>“Oh, let me at him!” he begged. “We -might as well have it out—he’s been pestering -me for a week.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind! He’ll stop it now.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I will, will I?” snarled Orkney. -“I’d like to know who’s going to make me!”</p> - -<p>“I might,” said Sam simply.</p> - -<p>“Bah! Dare you to try—alone!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[108]</span></p> - -<p>“That’s the way I will try it—some day,” -Sam told him. “But not now; no, not now.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right—safety first!” sneered the -other.</p> - -<p>Sam grinned; and it was an odd grin. -“Certainly; safety first!” said he.</p> - -<p>Step ceased to struggle; but, twisting his -neck, stared at his friend. And then the -Shark chose to advance.</p> - -<p>“Sam’s right,” he announced coolly. “This -is no place for a scrap. Besides, there’s no -reason for one. Orkney, you’re a chump to -be peeved at Step for doing you up in Greek, -or at me for putting you out at geometry. -See here! You’re a pretty good, all-round -performer, but you can’t beat specialists at -their own specialties. Get that? And there’s -no use in being a general sorehead.”</p> - -<p>It was eloquent tribute to the Shark’s moral -influence that Orkney appeared to be impressed. -At all events, though he scowled -fiercely, he received the advice in silence. -Two or three boys on the outskirts of the -group began to move off. To Sam it seemed -to be probable that the storm had blown over. -He released his hold upon Step’s collar; whereupon<span class="pagenum">[109]</span> -Step, still wrathful, took two long strides; -found himself beside Orkney; plucked off his -opponent’s cap, and sent it flying through the -air. It sailed over a fence, struck the trunk -of a tree, and dropped to the ground.</p> - -<p>Orkney bristled, but Sam already had laid -hands upon Step, and was dragging him back.</p> - -<p>“Here! Quit all this foolishness!” the -peacemaker ordered.</p> - -<p>“Make him get that cap, then!” Orkney -insisted.</p> - -<p>“Won’t!” cried Step, and struggled to -break from Sam’s hold.</p> - -<p>Again the Shark intervened. “No; it was -a kid trick, but now that it’s done, we’ll let -it stay done. Orkney, if you hadn’t bulldozed -Step, and started the whole thing, the -cap would still be on your head. So I guess -it’s up to you to put it back there—or let it -stay where it is.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! It was a six-year-old’s performance, -but the Shark has the right notion,” -Sam agreed.</p> - -<p>There was an instant in which Orkney hesitated -between war and peace. Then he reached -a decision which was compromise—and as unsatisfactory<span class="pagenum">[110]</span> -as compromises often are. He -neither gave battle nor retrieved his headgear. -Instead, with a parting scowl, which -included all the allies, he wheeled, and -marched away, bareheaded.</p> - -<p>“You, Step, you bring that cap to my house, -or you’ll be sorry!” he called back over his -shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Never!” shouted Step defiantly.</p> - -<p>The Shark stared at the retreating figure. -“I’ll be hanged if the whole bunch oughtn’t to -be back in the kindergarten,” was his comment. -“Of all idiocies! You plumb make me tired, -Step—you and that runaway pal of yours!”</p> - -<p>“But you wouldn’t get his cap for him if -you were in my place,” Step insisted.</p> - -<p>“But I’m not in your place,” said the Shark -drily.</p> - -<p>Sam shook his head. “Let’s stop this -squabbling, fellows. One row’s enough at a -time. Or, better yet, let’s end one without -starting another.”</p> - -<p>The Shark’s expression was thoughtful. -“If we have ended one,” said he. “Orkney’s -a queer duck. There may be more to this -ridiculous affair than we dream.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[111]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX -<br><span class="cheaderfont">POKE AND STEP PUT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Memory of the successful raid by Mr. Mercer’s -big hound and its unhappy results -rankled in the breasts of Poke and Step.</p> - -<p>It was one thing, they agreed, to be joint -victims of hard luck; but it was quite another -thing—and a deal harder to endure—to -behold the author of their misfortunes jogging -about the streets, wholly unpunished for his -misdeeds. Step even had a gloomy notion -that the dog was plumper than usual, which, -if well founded, was higher tribute to the -nourishing qualities of the looted chicken -than to the prevalence of even-handed justice, -to Step’s way of thinking. This view, -confided to Poke, met ready acceptance.</p> - -<p>“Sure thing! And there ought to be something -we could do about it,” observed Poke.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ll find a way to get even,” Step -declared.</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[112]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, you wait, and you’ll see,” said Step -darkly.</p> - -<p>Poke, as has been related, had leanings -toward philosophy. Now he meditated briefly.</p> - -<p>“See here, Step!” he said. “If you’re -going to get at this thing, you’d better get at -it right. You ought to teach him a lesson.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I’ll do!”</p> - -<p>Poke shook his head. “No; you don’t get -me. You’re thinking of letting drive a stone -at him, or giving him a whipping, but what’d -be the use? He wouldn’t know why you -did it.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Guess he would,” growled Step.</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t,” Poke insisted. “That is, -he wouldn’t unless you schemed out a way -to remind him of the stolen rooster. There’s -got to be something to make him see there’s -a connection—get me?”</p> - -<p>Step sniffed contemptuously. “What you -want me to do? Make him a speech or send -him a letter about it?”</p> - -<p>“Neither,” quoth Poke calmly. “But unless -you make him understand that he’s being -punished for stealing, he’ll think you’re -thrashing him out of pure meanness.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[113]</span></p> - -<p>Step rubbed his chin. “I suppose that’s -so,” he admitted. “But how can you work -it? How can you make him understand? -I’m weak on dog-lingo, myself.”</p> - -<p>Poke smiled, a little pityingly. “Listen, -and I’ll tell you something I read the other -day. There was a chap who owned a dog, -and he was a bully dog, except that he would -steal chickens. So the man tied a dead hen -to his collar, and left it there till—well, till -that dog didn’t want ever to see another one -or get anywhere near it. And that’s my idea—something -like it, anyway—for teaching -the hound a lesson.”</p> - -<p>Step began to take interest. “Gee, but you -have got an idea there! Only, if there’s anything -left of the chicken he stole, we don’t -know where to find it. And——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t need to!” Poke broke in. “Look -here now! Say you’re dealing with chickens. -What do you come to first?”</p> - -<p>“Hen-house,” said Step promptly.</p> - -<p>Poke frowned. “No, no! Wake up! You -come first to the feathers.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that way? Yes!”</p> - -<p>The frown vanished. “Exactly!” said<span class="pagenum">[114]</span> -Poke. “So, if we teach that dog to let feathers -alone, he won’t bother many chickens—see?”</p> - -<p>Step’s manner was slightly skeptical. “Oh, -that’s easy to talk about, but, practically, how -are you going——”</p> - -<p>Poke didn’t let him finish the sentence. -“Ever smell burning feathers? Well, I guess -you have, all right! And don’t you think -that if we tie a pail to his collar, and there -are some burning feathers in the pail, Mr. -Dog’ll get enough of chickens to last him a -lifetime?”</p> - -<p>Step was a generous fellow; he didn’t grudge -a friend a triumph.</p> - -<p>“Gee, Poke, but you’re a corker! How’d -you ever work that out? But I say! I can -improve on the pail. Up in our attic’s one of -those queer, old-fashioned lanterns with tin -sides punched full of holes—like a colander, -you know. And there’s a double chain to it—guess -they used to hang it up outdoors. And -there are snaps on the chain—might have -been made for us. Only”—he paused an -instant—“only how’re you going to be sure -the stuff will burn?”</p> - -<p>Poke smiled the smile of easy confidence.<span class="pagenum">[115]</span> -“Don’t you worry! A few rags soaked in -kerosene, and stuffed in with the feathers will -take care of that, all right!”</p> - -<p>From this discussion and activities which -followed, it happened that when Sam turned -a corner near Mr. Mercer’s gate he came upon -his two chums engaged in friendly overtures -to a large and somewhat suspicious dog. -Poke, as he saw, had a tempting bit of meat, -while Step held behind him a rusty contrivance -of tin, from which loops of still more -rusty chain depended.</p> - -<p>“Halloo! What’s up?” Sam demanded -curiously.</p> - -<p>“Oh, first class in dog manners—that’s all,” -responded Step lightly.</p> - -<p>Poke whistled softly, and held the meat -nearer the dog, which took a step forward, -halted, eyed the tidbit greedily.</p> - -<p>Sam, far from clear as to what was afoot -and inclined to caution not only by his new -resolves but also by acquaintance with other -ventures of his friends, watched the proceedings -dubiously.</p> - -<p>“I don’t yet grasp what’s the game,” he -remarked.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[116]</span></p> - -<p>Poke was lavishing blandishments upon the -dog, and extending the bait; so it was left to -Step to make explanation.</p> - -<p>“It’s that chicken business. We’re going -to get even—teach him a lesson, I mean.... -Got a scheme, a crackerjack scheme. Just -you keep your eyes peeled.”</p> - -<p>“They’re peeled, all right, but——” -Sam hesitated an instant. “I say, you -fellows, better not get in trouble. Remember, -you belong to the Safety First -Club!”</p> - -<p>“Huh! No chance of trouble—for us!” -Step insisted. “Look here, Sam!” He displayed -part of the chain with a snap at the -end. “Two just like this—see? Well, we’re -going to pass one of ’em around the dog’s -neck, so-fashion.” In illustration he wound -the chain about his own left wrist and for -good measure took an extra turn. “Then we -fasten it.” Another illustration, the rusty -spring of the catch being moved with some -difficulty. “Then, having fixed it so he can’t -get rid of it, we——”</p> - -<p>There Step broke off, for good and sufficient -reason. For things were beginning to happen,<span class="pagenum">[117]</span> -and the procession of events was moving -with startling speed.</p> - -<p>The dog, sacrificing caution to appetite, -came within Poke’s reach; whereupon Poke, -dropping the meat, caught the hound as he -tried to gobble up the bait; deftly slipped the -second chain about the animal’s neck, successfully -worked the snap at the first attempt; -wheeled; whipped out a match; struck it, -and lighted a rag protruding like a fuse from -the old tin lantern, which had been brought -from behind Step’s back, as that youth gave -Sam an object lesson.</p> - -<p>The kerosene-soaked rag flamed fiercely; -almost instantly, dense black smoke began to -pour from the holes in the lantern. Poke, -who had been busy with the contrivance and -the dog, with never a thought of complications -involving his comrade, sprang back with -a shout of glee, which perhaps added somewhat—though -increase was scarcely needed—to -the terror of the hound, which gave a panic-stricken -howl and a tremendous bound.</p> - -<p>Step, who had been tearing desperately and -quite vainly at the chain about his wrist—the -rusty catch stuck as if it had been soldered—was<span class="pagenum">[118]</span> -caught off his balance; dragged forward -and into a run, which, under the circumstances, -he could not check. The big dog, as -heavy and powerful as many a sledge-team -leader of the Far North, bolted wildly, yet -with a general purpose; and this purpose being -to seek asylum from the infernal machine -at his heels, he dashed through the gate and -toward the house, Step following, willy-nilly, -his long legs flying and his long arms -going like the arms of a windmill in a gale; -while dangling from the chain between dog -and boy, the old lantern emitted great volumes -of choking smoke of most evil odor.</p> - -<p>“Say, Step, where you going?” shouted the -bewildered Poke, who was still unaware of the -difficulty in which his chum was involved. -“What’s the matter? The pair of you look -like an engine going to a fire!”</p> - -<p>Now to this Step, for perfectly good reasons, -made no reply. And Poke, seeing that -Sam was running after his friend, joined in -the pursuit. So the procession swept up the -drive, turned a corner of the house, and -headed for the side porch, under which the -dog had a den of his own, entrance to which<span class="pagenum">[119]</span> -was secured by a break in the latticework. -Through this opening he shot with a final -tug of such violence that Step was jerked forward, -falling on his knees, with his head close -to the barrier. And as by this time his fright -fairly matched the dog’s, and as he fell to -shouting for help as lustily as he could against -the odds of the suffocating smoke, which -poured through the lattice, and as the dog -was howling more madly than ever, it may be -imagined that there was a pretty to-do under -and about the side porch of the Mercer house.</p> - -<p>Sam and Poke, naturally enough, tried to -drag Step back from his most unpleasant -position; but the dog had braced himself, or -the chain had caught on some obstruction, so -that the only result of their endeavors was to -pull Step’s knees from under him, drop him -flat on his stomach, and leave him, if anything, -rather more helpless than before. Moreover, -the cook came hurrying from the kitchen and -the hired man from the barn; and jumping to -the conclusion that where there was so much -smoke there surely must be fire, both dashed -buckets of water with better intention than -aim. Very little of the water passed through<span class="pagenum">[120]</span> -the lattice; a fair share of it spattered Sam -and Poke, and a great deal drenched the unhappy -Step.</p> - -<p>The cook ran back to the kitchen for a -fresh supply; but, luckily, the hired man, -sighting the chain extending from Step’s -wrist, laid hold upon it, and tugged with -all his strength, and the dog, recognizing his -voice, changed tactics, and charged from under -the porch, bounding over the prostrate Step so -swiftly that he turned a complete somersault, -when the chain tautened again. The -old lantern, still smoking voluminously, fell -between boy and dog.</p> - -<p>“Jee-rusalem!” gasped the hired man in -bewilderment.</p> - -<p>“Sa-sakes alive!” quavered the cook, who -had reappeared with a freshly filled bucket.</p> - -<p>Poke began to laugh hysterically; but Sam -kept his wits. He caught the bucket from the -woman’s hand, and plunged the lantern into -the water. There was a long, hissing sound, a -final puff of steam—and then comparative -peace.</p> - -<p>Step sat up. The dog, trembling like a -leaf and whining weakly, crawled to the<span class="pagenum">[121]</span> -hired man. From the vantage ground of -the porch the cook spoke wonderingly and -reprovingly:</p> - -<p>“Well, I vum, but you boys do beat my -time! What on earth do you think you’re -up to? Playin’ horse with poor Hector -there?”</p> - -<p>“No—not a bit; ’twasn’t that at all!” protested -Step.</p> - -<p>The cook sniffed. “Feathers—burnin’ feathers! -I can tell ’em every time! But what’s -your notion in puttin’ ’em in that thing?” -And she pointed at the ancient lantern.</p> - -<p>Step got upon his feet. He fumbled at the -chain at his wrist; and, by an irony of fate, -the old catch now gave at a touch. Step -rubbed the flesh into which the links had -sunk. He tried to summon a propitiating -smile.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the feathers?” he said very mildly. -“Oh, yes; the feathers. Why—why, we—we -thought Hector there—he—well, he ought to -know about ’em.”</p> - -<p>“Land o’ love! but the boy’s crazy!”</p> - -<p>The hired man scratched his head. “Must -say it looks like it, Katy. Still, I dunno—boys’ll<span class="pagenum">[122]</span> -be boys. And this young man acted -’sif he was willin’ to learn same time Hector -did. They were sharin’, and sharin’ alike, on -the smudge-pot, te he!”</p> - -<p>Step scowled, but Poke burst into a roar -of laughter, which eased the situation. The -cook chuckled; Sam smiled. The hired man -smote his thigh with his hand.</p> - -<p>“Gee-whillikens! but I never saw the like -of it! And I guess no great harm’s done. -Don’t seem to be no fire under the porch.”</p> - -<p>Then Poke found tongue. “It’s this way: -The dog stole a chicken, and got us into a -scrape. We thought we’d—er—er—we’d teach -him a lesson and sicken him of stealing. And -feathers and chickens go together—and—er—er—get -the idea, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Sorter!” grinned the hired man. “Kind -o’ think I do, sonny. And t’other fellow got -tangled up, somehow. Wal, yes, I do see how -’twas.”</p> - -<p>“Then, if you don’t mind, we’ll be going -home.”</p> - -<p>The hired man waved his hand. “I would, -if I was you,” he said. “I’d go home and -get into some dry clothes.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[123]</span></p> - -<p>The three friends moved down the drive, -with Step, a truly disconsolate and melancholy -figure between the other two. For a -little none of them spoke. It was left to -Poke to break the silence with one of his bits -of philosophy.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got to live to learn,” quoth he. -“Now, who’d have thought—no use, though, -crying over spilt milk! And what on earth -made Step want to chain himself up—no; -we won’t talk about that, either. But I say, -Sam, I tell you there’s a lot of sense in that -notion of yours! Safety First for me after -this—yes, sir; Safety First every time!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[124]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X -<br><span class="cheaderfont">QUEER TROUBLES</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It is not to be supposed that Sam Parker, -in spite of his exhibition of new self-control -in the affair of Step and Tom Orkney, had -taken on the gravity of years. There was, -indeed, a change in the boy, but it was subtle -rather than manifest. Sam worked a little -harder than before, but played with no lack -of zest. It was to be noted, however, that -there was a decrease in the number of scrapes -into which he fell.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Hannibal, Sam’s bull terrier, was -first to perceive, if not to understand, the -change. Hannibal was a sagacious animal, -beyond the follies of puppyhood, but still full -of interest in the doings of his master and his -friends; fond of a long tramp in their company; -and very pleased to doze comfortably -in a corner of the club room. The new days -were much to Hannibal’s liking. Sam never -had been cruel to him, but at times may have<span class="pagenum">[125]</span> -been a bit thoughtless. Now, though, Hannibal -enjoyed a degree of consideration quite -unparalleled in his experience.</p> - -<p>Lon Gates, shrewdly observant, began to remark -that Sam’s visits to the barn resulted in -less disturbance of its orderly arrangements.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t had a hedgehog day lately, have you, -Sam?” he queried. “World don’t seem to be -so all-fired uncomfortably crowded as it was, -eh? And I dunno’s there’s so much genooine -solace in kickin’ over buckets as a feller might -think there was.”</p> - -<p>“True enough, Lon,” said the boy soberly.</p> - -<p>The hired man grinned cheerfully. “They -say nobody has to hunt for trouble, and I -guess there’s sense in that. Still, it’s amazin’ -how often trouble’ll let you alone if you don’t -go stirrin’ it up. There’s that wuthless scamp, -Peter Groche, now. He wouldn’t ’a’ been -locked up over night if he hadn’t been so cantankerous. -Course, they really took him in -on suspicion, and I must say Groche is about -the suspicionest nuisance that infests these -parts. And all he got out of bein’ ugly was a -sleep behind the bars.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” said Sam.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[126]</span></p> - -<p>“Funny how close-mouthed the Major is -’bout the whole business,” Lon went on. “If -only he’d talk he’d make things easier for -quite a lot of the chaps that was out gunnin’ -that day.”</p> - -<p>“Yes?”</p> - -<p>Lon chuckled. “Te he! There’s always a -reg’lar bargain sale rush when the season -opens, but this year it was wuss than usual. -Seems as if everybody was sort o’ venison -hungry; so it turns out there’s about a dozen -fellers who ain’t been able to prove what you’d -call a water-tight alibi. That is, they can’t -bring witnesses to show that they didn’t pot -the Major; and they’re bein’ joshed half out -o’ their lives, some of ’em. You see, first and -last, a sight o’ folks must have been prowlin’ -through Marlow woods that mornin’, and none -of ’em happened to think to keep a time register. -The huntin’ crowd’s all tore up about it.”</p> - -<p>“No doubt,” said Sam. If he had cared to -meet Lon’s eye, he might have noted a twinkle, -suggesting that the hired man had theories -of his own as to the identity of the careless -sportsman. But Sam avoided Lon’s gaze, and -Lon chose not to make direct inquiry.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[127]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, this world does see a heap of entertainin’ -things, comin’ and goin’,” he observed. -“Good scheme, too—keeps folks from stagnatin’ -and gettin’ as dull as ditch water. -Plainville’s perkin’ up a lot because of the -Major and his unknown party o’ the second -part, as we’d be sayin’ if you and me was lawyers.”</p> - -<p>Here Lon spoke within the truth. The -town was making a nine days’ wonder of the -affair; and what the town talked, the school -talked, and the club.</p> - -<p>Sam, so far as he could, kept out of the discussions; -permitted his chums to speculate as -they pleased; and watched and waited for the -interest in the matter to wear itself out.</p> - -<p>Oddly enough, Peter Groche appeared to be -following the same policy. He was about town -as usual, doing odd jobs when work was unavoidable. -No improvement was reported in -his habits, but even in his cups his tongue -was not loosed, so far as his feud with Major -Bates and its recent development were concerned. -He grumbled and made threats, to -be sure, but he had been grumbling and threatening -people for years; and from his incoherent<span class="pagenum">[128]</span> -growls his cronies gained no information. -If he had an inkling of the secret of -Marlow woods, he was keeping it to himself.</p> - -<p>Step’s quarrel with Tom Orkney seemed to -have led to nothing, even in the way of reprisals. -There was no second demand upon -Master Jones to recover the cap, nor was there -formal notice that he should repay the owner -for the seized property. In debates at the -club the probability of the latter course had -been stoutly upheld by Poke Green, who developed -such concern in the outcome that he -made a searching expedition, from which he -bore back tidings that the cap was not to be -found where it had fallen. Step insisted this -merely went to show that Orkney, when the -coast was clear, had returned to the scene and -regained possession of the cap, thus avoiding -loss and “saving face.”</p> - -<p>“But he’s wearing another bonnet,” Poke -pointed out.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s because he’s too stuffy to admit -the truth,” Step declared. “He’s as stubborn -as a mule—that’s the whole case in a nutshell.”</p> - -<p>The club agreed with this opinion of Orkney<span class="pagenum">[129]</span> -more heartily than it endorsed Step’s performance, -which was held to be juvenile, albeit -not without provocation. Sam’s interference -was accepted with respect rather than warm -approval. As Poke put it, somebody, sooner -or later, would have to thrash Orkney; and -Step might as well have tried his hand. -Whereat the Shark spoke up from his corner.</p> - -<p>“Say, that’s nice doctrine to be preaching -at the Safety First Club!”</p> - -<p>For an instant Poke was abashed. “Why—why, -there’s something in that. I guess I -wasn’t thinking of our new name.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Sam was,” said the Shark crisply.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grunted Poke. He glanced -thoughtfully at Sam; seemed to be about to -continue; changed his mind, and let the subject -drop.</p> - -<p>Sam went home that afternoon to find Lon -in uncommonly bad humor. Somebody, it -appeared, had opened a faucet in the barn, -and left the water running in a merry stream. -As a result, half the floor had been flooded, -and annoying, if not heavy, damage had been -caused. Lacking evidence to the contrary, -Lon was disposed to hold Sam responsible.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[130]</span></p> - -<p>“But I had nothing to do with it,” the -boy explained. “I don’t know how it happened.”</p> - -<p>“Foolin’ ’round here, wasn’t you, after -school?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—but I didn’t touch the faucet.”</p> - -<p>“Guess you’re gettin’ absent-minded.”</p> - -<p>Sam reddened wrathfully, but kept his -head. Very clearly he realized that he had -a deal at stake. A youth on probation, as he -was, must shun rages as well as keep his record -clean.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Lon!” he said. “I’m not -joking—I’m in earnest. And I tell you I’m -not to blame. I mean it—honor bright!”</p> - -<p>Lon rubbed his chin. “I swan, but it plumb -beats my time! You’re sure you didn’t do it, -and I’ll swear I ain’t been walkin’ in my -sleep and cuttin’ up didoes for more’n a year. -Yet here was the water goin’ like all possessed! -Now, who set it goin’?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t,” said Sam decidedly.</p> - -<p>“Hanged if I believe you did!” Lon had -been studying the boy keenly. “You’ve got -as much of Old Nick in you as the next ’un, -generally, but you <em>have</em> been behavin’ pretty<span class="pagenum">[131]</span> -well lately. And you ain’t a liar any time. -So it looks as if we’d got to add this to the -list o’ mysteries, ’long with who struck Billy -Patterson. Only I do wish I could lay hands -on the skunk that made all this mess, and -argy with him a while on the error of his -ways.” And Lon frowned as he turned his -gaze to the water-soaked planks.</p> - -<p>Sam went on to the house, but only to -find himself again in the rôle of defendant. -The complainant this time was Maggie, who -swooped down upon him when he entered -the kitchen. She caught him by the arm, -dragged him across the room, and pointed -tragically to a tub, in which were soaking -several mud-stained garments.</p> - -<p>“See all the trouble you’re makin’ me, you -imp!” she cried. “How do you s’pose I’m -a-goin’ to do all the work of this big house, -with you snoopin’ round, and breakin’ my -clothes-line, and lettin’ down half a wash into -the dirt? All them things to be put to soak -and done over! I tell you I just won’t stand -it, I won’t! We’ll see, Mr. Sam, what your -mother’ll have to say to such tricks!”</p> - -<p>Sam wriggled free. “But, Maggie, you’re<span class="pagenum">[132]</span> -all wrong,” he protested. “I didn’t break the -clothes-line.”</p> - -<p>Maggie sniffed incredulously. “Course not! -Must have been Hannibal or the cat! Go -’way with you, tryin’ to bamboozle me with -such talk!”</p> - -<p>Poor Sam felt like throwing up his hands -in despair, or bursting into vehement denials. -But once more he was reminded of the stake -for which he was playing.</p> - -<p>“Honestly, Maggie, I had nothing to do -with dropping the wash,” he declared so -emphatically that she could not but be -impressed. “I didn’t even notice that -you’d hung it out. And as for breaking the -line——”</p> - -<p>“Well, somebody broke it!” said Maggie -tartly. “Look at it!” And she snatched a -coil of rope from a shelf above the tub.</p> - -<p>Sam gravely inspected the parted strands.</p> - -<p>“Well, it is broken, fast enough,” he began. -“That is”—he was peering hard at the end -of the line—“that is, it isn’t broken—I was -mistaken; this has been cut.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“Cut with a knife—and a sharp knife, at<span class="pagenum">[133]</span> -that. Made a clean gash. No accident there, -Maggie!”</p> - -<p>The cook took time to make careful examination.</p> - -<p>“My stars, Sam Parker, but you’ve got a -head on you, after all!” she declared. -“Who’d ’a’ thought it! No; I don’t mean -the head—it’s the miserable meanness of the -job. But who on earth would be so ugly?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” said Sam. “Anyway, -though, I’m not the fellow.”</p> - -<p>“Well, puttin’ it that way, I don’t suppose -you are,” Maggie admitted. “But I’d give a -pretty penny to be able to figure out who is.”</p> - -<p>“So would I,” Sam agreed gravely.</p> - -<p>He had cause to repeat the statement in the -next few days. Things went wrong about the -Parker place with peculiar persistence. Valuable -young trees were broken down; gates, -supposed to be kept closed, were found open; -Hannibal, for whose care Sam was responsible, -was missing over night and came limping -home in the morning in badly battered condition. -And in each instance it appeared to be -incumbent upon the son of the house to prove -his innocence. It is an old rule of the books<span class="pagenum">[134]</span> -that there is much difficulty in establishing a -negative proposition. Sam’s patience was -sorely tried, but he kept his wits about him, -remembered the demands of his situation, -and did his best to win confidence by deserving -it.</p> - -<p>He had his suspicions, of course, that there -was something more than mere coincidence in -the succession of troubles. Also he had a -theory as to their cause. In amateur fashion -he undertook detective work. In other -words, so far as he could, he maintained a -close, if unobtrusive, watch upon the doings of -Tom Orkney.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[135]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE CLUB GETS A CLUE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was Friday evening, and the Safety First -Club was in full session. Sam, Step and Poke -were gossiping about school affairs, and with -them was Herman Boyd, a new member and -a brother junior. Willy Reynolds and Harry -Walker, otherwise known as “Trojan,” a -recently admitted classmate, were playing -checkers in a corner.</p> - -<p>The Shark, who was human enough to have -his little affectations, pretended to care not at -all for the game, holding it to be a poor and -trifling substitute for chess; but it was to be -observed that he was doing his best to win. -Moreover, when he did win, he chuckled gleefully.</p> - -<p>“Hew-ee! You ought to have known that -last move was coming,” he told his opponent. -“But you gave me the opening, and then I -had you.”</p> - -<p>Trojan Walker laughed. “I’d have known<span class="pagenum">[136]</span> -all about it if I could see around two corners -at once as you do. Never mind, though! -I’ll win yet. Set up your men, Shark.”</p> - -<p>Poke strolled over to the players while -they were ranging their pieces.</p> - -<p>“Fellow who wears glasses like the Shark’s -ought to be able to see everything,” he remarked -idly. “All the same, Trojan, you’ll -notice he isn’t making out much about Orkney’s -schemes.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! What can Tom do?” objected -Herman Boyd. “That row of his with Step -is ancient history.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! And the time for a come-back was -right after the row,” chimed in Trojan.</p> - -<p>Poke wagged his head sagaciously. “Don’t -fool yourselves!” said he. “Orkney is a -sticker. He’s got it in for Step, and for Sam, -for that matter. We haven’t had the last of -the business, not by a long shot.”</p> - -<p>“Hear that, eh, Sam?” asked Herman.</p> - -<p>Sam rose from his chair, and crossed to the -checker players’ corner.</p> - -<p>“I heard it,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Well, do you agree?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Sam brusquely.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[137]</span></p> - -<p>For a moment nobody spoke. All his -friends realized that he was taking the matter -seriously.</p> - -<p>“Why—why—you must have some reason, -of course?” Herman ventured.</p> - -<p>Sam hesitated. “Maybe it’s more hunch -than reason.”</p> - -<p>“But what gave you the hunch?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, one thing and then another.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! That sounds like some of my answers -in history!” quoth Poke. “It’s specially -like those I make when I’m meeting a -total stranger of a question, and trying to be -polite, if not communicative.”</p> - -<p>The Shark wriggled in his chair; he was -growing impatient to resume play.</p> - -<p>“Your move, Trojan!” he snapped.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute!” said his opponent. -“Sam’s going to elucidate.”</p> - -<p>“Well, things have happened and kept on -happening,” Sam began; “things that can’t -be explained except——But I say, Shark! -What on earth’s the matter?”</p> - -<p>Young Reynolds, who had turned from the -table in disgust at the delay, of a sudden had -uttered an exclamation and started to his feet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[138]</span></p> - -<p>“Speak out! What is it?” Sam demanded.</p> - -<p>The Shark pulled off his spectacles; held -the lenses to the light; inspected them -closely; shook his head.</p> - -<p>“No; they’re not clouded,” said he, half -to himself. “Very curious, I do declare!”</p> - -<p>“What’s curious? And what are you driving -at?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, it might have been a tricky reflection,” -mused the Shark. “Or, maybe, it -was just an optical illusion.”</p> - -<p>Sam caught him by both shoulders. “Wake -up! What are you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“Then, again, the doctor tells me eye-strain -works queerly sometimes.”</p> - -<p>Sam shook the slender youth vigorously. -“Get back to earth! Let’s have some sense -out of all this. Thought you saw something, -didn’t you? Well, what was it?”</p> - -<p>“Man looking in the window!” said the -other calmly.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Sam, and whipped about. -Certainly no face now was pressed against the -pane. He ran to the door, opened it, and -sprang into darkness, closely followed by all -the other members of the club except the<span class="pagenum">[139]</span> -Shark, who was busying himself in polishing -his glasses and replacing them on his nose. -This task was completed to his satisfaction -when the boys came straggling back. Their -search had been utterly without result.</p> - -<p>They crowded about the Shark, and rained -questions upon him. Just what had he seen? -How long had he seen it? What had he to -say for himself, anyway?</p> - -<p>The Shark waved them back. “Here! -Don’t walk all over a fellow!” he cried. -“What I saw—or thought I saw—was a head. -I had just a glimpse—there one instant, gone -the next—presto, change business! Looked -like a human head.”</p> - -<p>“You said it was a man’s,” Sam reminded -him.</p> - -<p>“Well, it might have been a boy’s—I -couldn’t make it out clearly, you understand. -It was vague, shadowy.”</p> - -<p>“Then, of course, you didn’t recognize the -face?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Shark. “And you’ll understand, -too, that I don’t insist that I really saw -anything. You know, these glasses of mine—chance -of freak of refracted light—all the<span class="pagenum">[140]</span> -rest of it. What’s the good, though, of getting -all stirred up about it? If anybody was -outside, he’s far enough away now. I’ll bet -he’s running yet if he heard the crowd galloping -out after him. Sit down, Trojan! You -haven’t won a game.”</p> - -<p>Walker plumped himself into a chair. -“Well, you are a cool hand!” he said, with a -touch of admiration. “But I’m going to -beat you this time, all the same. Whose -move is it?”</p> - -<p>Step lounged across the room, but the -others stood watching the play, which went -on briskly, and to the advantage of the mathematical -genius. The Trojan, beaten rather -disgracefully, pushed back his chair.</p> - -<p>“Tackle him, Poke,” he urged. “Or you -take him on, Sam. This isn’t my night, I -reckon.”</p> - -<p>Poke grinned. “Age before beauty! Go -ahead, Sam.”</p> - -<p>But there was to be no more checker play -in the club just then. For, while Sam paused, -debating his chance of coping with the skilful -Shark, there was a loud crash of a breaking -window pane, a little shower of fragments<span class="pagenum">[141]</span> -of glass fell to the floor, and a big stone shot -across the room, just missing the boys standing -by the table, which it struck with great -force. Over went the table with a crash, rivaling -that of the window. Over, too, went -the Shark, untouched but thoroughly startled -by the bombardment.</p> - -<p>Sam and Poke, Step and the Trojan and -Herman Boyd poured out of the club like -bees sallying forth to defend the hive. Around -the corner of the building they raced, eager to -detect the enemy. Prompt as they had been, -however, they were too late. The night was -very dark; there was much shrubbery about, -which, even in its leafless state, afforded cover. -The stone-thrower was gone. The boys could -not detect a darker shadow betraying his -whereabouts, and there was no sound of fleeing -feet.</p> - -<p>Sam and Poke turned to the right, and the -others to the left, spreading out as they neared -the barn. The course taken by Sam and his -comrade led toward the house, round which -they worked their way as rapidly as possible. -Strain their eyes as they might, they saw -nothing to arouse suspicion; nor were they<span class="pagenum">[142]</span> -better rewarded when they moved to the -street, and peered up and down road and -sidewalk.</p> - -<p>“Clean get-away,” Poke said reluctantly. -“Fellow must have bolted just as soon as he -let drive. And it must have been the chap -the Shark saw at the window, of course. -What a pity he hasn’t a decent pair of eyes!”</p> - -<p>“It’s the biggest kind of a pity,” Sam -agreed. “This affair is no joke, Poke. If -that stone had struck one of us—whew!”</p> - -<p>Poke laid a hand on Sam’s arm. “Come -now!” He dropped his voice almost to a -whisper. “Fellow who threw that stone was -pretty savage, or crazy, or—or revengeful. -And—and you won’t need maps or foot-notes -to understand who I reckon he is.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t ask but one guess,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>Poke was silent for a moment, listening intently. -“The others have had no better luck -than we,” he reported. “Might as well go -back, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Sam agreed, and they moved -toward the club-house.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Shark, who had picked -himself up from the floor and found that<span class="pagenum">[143]</span> -he was none the worse for his upset, had -been making an investigation on his own -account. First, he raised the big stone, shifting -it meditatively from one hand to the -other, as if he were estimating its weight. -Then he crossed to the window and measured -the height from the floor of the jagged hole -in the glass. This done, he furrowed his -brow, pulled out pencil and note-book from -his pockets, and fell to making a calculation -of some sort. He was still engaged in this -when Sam and Poke entered.</p> - -<p>“No luck!” Poke informed him. “The -fellow got away.”</p> - -<p>The Shark didn’t look up. “Hm-m! -Thought he would.”</p> - -<p>“So that’s why you didn’t try to chase him?”</p> - -<p>“Partly. ’Nother reason was that I wanted -to do some figuring.”</p> - -<p>“On what?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t bother me!” snapped the Shark. -“I’m right in the midst of things.”</p> - -<p>Poke frowned. “You needn’t be so snippy. -Sam and I have done some figuring, too, and -we’ve been quicker about it than you. And -we know—what we know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[144]</span></p> - -<p>The Shark raised his eyes. “Umph! Don’t -be too all-fired sure,” he counseled.</p> - -<p>Poke took a step toward him. “See here, -you owl! Our figuring has made us certain—morally -certain, that is—that we know who -threw that stone.”</p> - -<p>Usually the gaze of the Shark was unwavering, -but now he was blinking rapidly.</p> - -<p>“Go slow, Poke,” said he. “Moral certainty -doesn’t answer problems in mathematics.”</p> - -<p>“Bosh! This isn’t mathematics.”</p> - -<p>“’Deed it is!”</p> - -<p>“Hold on, boys!” said Sam. “You’re getting -nowhere. Now, Shark, listen! Poke -and I believe that Tom Orkney did this -thing. We hate to think he would, but we -believe it because——”</p> - -<p>“Because you’re wrong. Tom couldn’t have -done it—at least, I don’t admit that he could. -It won’t work out that way.”</p> - -<p>“Work out?”</p> - -<p>The Shark nodded. “Of course, I have to -depend on estimates, and I don’t pretend that -I can show exact results,” he began; but paused -as Step strode into the room, closely pursued -by Boyd and the Trojan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[145]</span></p> - -<p>In the middle of the floor Step halted. -Not a word said he, but raised a hand dramatically.</p> - -<p>The hand held an object, recognized at -sight by every boy there. It was the cap, -owned by Tom Orkney, which had figured -in the celebrated quarrel.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[146]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">PUNISHMENT POSTPONED</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There was a long pause, and a very significant -pause it was. The boys stared at the -cap in Step’s hand; then they glanced from one -to another. Here and there a head nodded, -as if in answer to an unspoken question; but -it was left to Poke to break the silence.</p> - -<p>“Jupiter crickets! That settles it, I guess. -Well, I never have liked Tom Orkney, but I -didn’t think him up to this sort of thing!”</p> - -<p>“Or down to it!” cried Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>“Now you’re talking!” chimed in the -Trojan. “Lowest-down trick that ever was!”</p> - -<p>“Trick! Huh! Worse than that!” -growled Poke. “Why, that rock might -have killed one of us!”</p> - -<p>The Shark appeared to be estimating the -weight of the stone. “Yes; it’s heavy -enough,” he said calmly. “If it had struck -anybody squarely, the result might have been -fatal.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[147]</span></p> - -<p>There was a wrathful gleam in Sam’s eye. -“Where did you find the cap, Step?” he -demanded. “Let’s get down to business.”</p> - -<p>“It was on the ground, back of the barn—low -limb of one of the apple trees must have -knocked it off his head. Great luck that I -stumbled upon it; and that was just what I -did. Too dark to see anything, but my foot -caught in something, and I stopped and -picked the something up. And here it is!”</p> - -<p>Poke was wagging his head in his peculiar -fashion. “Fellows, it’s as plain as day. -Orkney has been too proud to wear the cap -to school, but he didn’t mind putting it on at -night, when nobody would notice it. Then he -came sneaking around the club-house. The -Shark must have had a glimpse of him at -the window. When we went out to see who -was there, he lay low. As soon as we came -back into the house, he let drive the boulder -at the first chance, and then bolted for all he -was worth. He had such a start that he got -away; but he didn’t dare stop to pick up the -cap. And now, I say, we have him where we -want him.”</p> - -<p>“You bet we have!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[148]</span></p> - -<p>“That’s hitting the nail on the head!”</p> - -<p>“Gee! but it was a cowardly job!”</p> - -<p>So spoke the Trojan, Step and Boyd. Poke -warmed to his theme, after the manner of -orators, encouraged by applause.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got him where we want him, and -we’ll put him through the works. I tell you, -he’ll be mighty sorry before this thing is -ended. Why, he ought to be arrested and -sent to jail!”</p> - -<p>“H-m-m-m!” It was a murmur tinged -with disapproval, which Poke did not fail to -perceive.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute, fellows!” he said hastily. -“I know what you’re thinking, and I guess -you’re right. We can take care of this case -ourselves. We will, too! If the club can’t -defend itself, it ought to go out of business.”</p> - -<p>There was another murmur, all approval.</p> - -<p>“It may have been Step’s scrap in the -beginning, but it’s our scrap now,” Poke went -on. “It’s a club affair. That stone was -thrown at the bunch—at Sam, for instance, -as much as at Step.”</p> - -<p>The Shark grunted. “Huh! Be accurate, -Poke, be accurate! It wasn’t thrown at Step<span class="pagenum">[149]</span> -at all. He was out of range—across the room -from the rest of us. He wasn’t in sight from -the window.”</p> - -<p>“Eh? What’s that?”</p> - -<p>“It was the fact—come to think of it,” -Step himself admitted. “I remember I’d left -the crowd.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! Don’t see that that makes any -difference,” argued Poke.</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t—in one way,” said the Shark. -“In another, it does. It means that the -person who chucked that stone wasn’t especially -after Step. No doubt he took a good -look into the room before he let drive. And, -as I recall the position of each of us, Sam -stood where he must have been the real bull’s-eye -of the target.”</p> - -<p>“But what diff——”</p> - -<p>The Shark did not let Poke finish the -query. “The difference between getting -things straight or crooked,” he rapped out. -“How can you solve a problem——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, hang mathematics!” Poke interrupted, -in turn. “Cut ’em out! This isn’t a -recitation; it’s a row! Let’s hear what Sam -has to say.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[150]</span></p> - -<p>Sam had been keeping silent, but with -growing difficulty. He was, as we know, -naturally impulsive, and still a beginner in -the practice of the policy of Safety First. -Moreover, he was not a fellow of the sort to -make ready excuse for attacks which smacked -of cowardice or treachery; and his patience -had been sorely tried by the series of depredations -about his home. While his clubmates -had debated, he had been considering not only -the stone-throwing but also the earlier instances -of what he was now sure was somebody’s -revenge. The cap apparently settled -the question of identity. Likewise, the -Shark’s observation regarding the target had -its weight. Sam struggled to keep his temper, -but it was like a case of bottling steam in a -boiler and fanning the fire beneath. When -you treat a boiler so, there is likely to be an -explosion.</p> - -<p>“What have I to say?” The words seemed -to force themselves from his lips. “You fellows -don’t dream how much I could say! -This thing to-night is only a link in a -chain.”</p> - -<p>The others stared at him in amazement.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[151]</span></p> - -<p>“Link—link in a chain?” Step repeated.</p> - -<p>“Just that! A chain of meannesses! -Listen!” And Sam went on to describe -briefly, but forcefully, the persecution to -which he believed he had been subjected. -“And now we’ve had the stoning,” he added. -“There is one explanation, and only one. -Tom Orkney has dropped Step and taken me -on. He hates me more for interfering than -he hates Step for squabbling with him. And -just as that’s the only explanation, there’s just -one way to handle the case—and that’s for me -to settle with Tom Orkney. And I will—don’t -you worry!”</p> - -<p>None of his hearers took his words lightly. -All were ready to consider them very gravely. -Here, indeed, was an issue for a youthful court -of honor; and it behooves such courts, young -or old, to pass judgment in all solemnity.</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess you’re entitled,” said Poke -slowly.</p> - -<p>The others, with one exception, nodded assent. -The Shark looked unconvinced.</p> - -<p>“Talking about chains,” he remarked, “you -mustn’t forget the old rule: the chain’s no -stronger than its weakest link. And there is<span class="pagenum">[152]</span> -a link that may be weak. I don’t say it is, -but I do say it may be.”</p> - -<p>“Rats!” snapped Step.</p> - -<p>The Shark wheeled to face him. “Rats -nothing! What’s the record—the school -record—for the shot put?”</p> - -<p>“What are you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“The record. What is it?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thirty or thirty-five feet for the -twelve-pound shot.”</p> - -<p>The Shark frowned. “Confound it! but -can’t you chaps make anything exact? -‘Thirty or thirty-five feet’! How’s anybody -to make computations with all unknown -quantities?”</p> - -<p>“What are you trying to compute?”</p> - -<p>The Shark juggled the stone, which he still -held. “Humph! This weighs more than -twelve pounds, I’ll bet—may run up to -fifteen,” said he. “But what am I figuring -on? Why, the amount of force required -to send it through the arc this stone described.”</p> - -<p>“Twelve to fifteen pounds!” jeered Step. -“Seems to me you’re furnishing some of the -unknown quantities yourself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[153]</span></p> - -<p>“I am,” said the Shark. “I admit it. I -also admit that I can’t reach satisfactory results -from such data. But the results I do get—subject -to revision, of course—make me doubt -that Tom Orkney could have done the job. -When I have the stone weighed, and when I -measure the distance across the room, and add -a good estimate of the distance the thrower -stood from the window, I believe I can plot a -curve——”</p> - -<p>A chorus of shouts interrupted him. The -non-mathematical members of the club would -have none of such follies. Evidence? Wasn’t -the cap evidence enough to convict Orkney?</p> - -<p>Stoutly the Shark maintained that one -should not put too great faith in circumstantial -evidence.</p> - -<p>“What! You’d put more in your old -curves and calculations?” cried Step.</p> - -<p>“Every time!” vowed the Shark.</p> - -<p>Sam cut short the discussion. “Look here, -fellows!” he said sharply. “I’m going to -thrash Orkney, and there’s no more to be said -about it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, thrash ahead!” growled the Shark. -“I don’t object to the general proposition;<span class="pagenum">[154]</span> -but I am pointing out that you may be wrong -as to your reason for thrashing him.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll risk that!” cried Sam hotly. “And -I’ll even the score at the first chance I get.”</p> - -<p>This decision, warmly admired and praised -by the club, seemed to be in a fair way for -accomplishment on Monday when Sam, walking -alone to school, met Orkney at a street -corner.</p> - -<p>Meditation had cooled his anger, but had -not lessened his determination to have a -speedy accounting. He put himself in Orkney’s -path, and gave him monosyllabic greeting.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” It must be confessed that there -was a distinctly challenging note in Sam’s -growl.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” responded Orkney. In fairness it -is to be stated that he betrayed no sign of -anxiety; and instead of halting, stepped aside -and passed the boy holding the center of the -walk.</p> - -<p>Sam turned, and overtook him in three -long strides. Then they moved on together, -but with a space of three or four feet between -them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[155]</span></p> - -<p>Orkney gazed straight before him. The -sullenness of his expression may have been a -trifle more marked than usual. Sam, studying -him from the corner of an eye, decided -that his enemy was merely playing a waiting -game.</p> - -<p>There was a moment’s silence. Then said -Sam, very grimly:</p> - -<p>“This thing has got to stop—see?”</p> - -<p>The tone was more impressive than the -words. Orkney stopped, and inspected the -other coolly.</p> - -<p>“Has, eh? Well, what might ‘this thing’ -be?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“You know well enough!”</p> - -<p>“Guess again. I don’t.”</p> - -<p>“You do.”</p> - -<p>A dull red showed in Orkney’s cheeks. -“That’s the same thing as telling me I don’t -tell the truth.”</p> - -<p>“Does sound like it.”</p> - -<p>“Mean to call me a liar?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—if you say you don’t know.”</p> - -<p>Orkney’s fists clenched; but Sam, warily -watching, saw that the enemy kept himself in -hand.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[156]</span></p> - -<p>Again there was a pause. Sam broke it:</p> - -<p>“There’s no use in your trying to put up a -bluff. It won’t go. You understand perfectly -what I mean.”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp51" id="i160" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i160.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"><p class="center">“<a href="#BRef_160">YOU’RE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE</a>”</p></div> -</div> - -<p>“I understand that <a id="BRef_160" href="#i160">you’re looking for -trouble</a>,” said Orkney slowly. “That’s nothing -new with you and your crowd—you think -you own the earth, and you’d like to fence in -this part of it for your own stamping grounds. -You had things your own way till I came -along, and you’ve always been down on me -because I wouldn’t tail on after your procession. -You’d rather interfere with me than -eat, any of you. Why, just the other day -Step Jones——”</p> - -<p>“Leave Step out of this!” Sam interposed. -He had not been able to reconcile himself -wholly to Step’s performance; and Orkney -having found a weak spot in his armor, his -tone was more belligerent than ever. “You’re -dealing with me and not with Jones this -time. And Step doesn’t beat dogs, and -cut clothes-lines, and heave rocks through -windows.”</p> - -<p>“Well, who does?”</p> - -<p>“You do!” roared Sam.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[157]</span></p> - -<p>Orkney pulled up. He faced his accuser, -and his eyes did not fall before Sam’s.</p> - -<p>“Parker, you’re talking like a wild man,” -he said.</p> - -<p>“Wild, am I? Not much! I’ve got proof!”</p> - -<p>Orkney shrugged his shoulders. “It’s plain -enough you’re looking for a fight, and don’t -care how you get it. Now, I tell you, in the -first place, that all this stuff you’re hinting -and insinuating is gibberish to me; and in -the second place that if you want fight I’ll -give you all you’re looking for and more, too.”</p> - -<p>“Now?” demanded Sam.</p> - -<p>“No,” said Orkney, and grinned a queer, -savage grin. “What’s more, you know why -I won’t fight now. It’s my day to speak for -the Lester prize, and a pretty chance I’d have -for it, wouldn’t I, standing up before the -school with a black eye or a cut lip? You -talk about bluffs! Where’s there a bigger -bluff than asking a fellow to fight when you -know he can’t take you on? Or maybe this -is your game: You’re scheming to batter me -up so that one of your gang can carry off the -Lester, eh?”</p> - -<p>“I hadn’t thought of the prize-speaking!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[158]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve been thinking of it for some -time. And I don’t propose to let you ruin my -chances.”</p> - -<p>Sam fell back a pace. There was an element -of reason in the other’s contention, which -he could not ignore.</p> - -<p>“Well, if I let you off now——” he began.</p> - -<p>Orkney’s grin was sardonic. “‘Let me off’ -is good, but we’ll also let that pass. I’m busy -this morning, as I’ve explained, but after that—well, -you can suit your own convenience in -picking a time for taking a good licking.”</p> - -<p>“This afternoon, then——” stormed Sam.</p> - -<p>“Oh, suit yourself!” said Orkney curtly, -and marched off.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[159]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">NOT ON THE PROGRAM</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Sam, following his enemy at a more moderate -pace, was burdened by a peculiar sense of -helplessness. He was troubled by no doubts -of the justice of his cause; but he was annoyed -and perplexed by the obstacles Fate threw in -his way. They were the harder to consider -philosophically because he was quite sure that -he was obeying his new rule of Safety First, -and that Orkney’s guilt was clearly established. -At the same time he had to admit that Tom -had offered valid grounds for delaying combat. -Altogether the case struck him as one of difficult -application of entirely sound principles.</p> - -<p>As he turned a corner, however, he forgot -Orkney for a little; for within a dozen yards -of him he beheld two men in conversation. -And one of the men was Major Bates. The -other was Peter Groche.</p> - -<p>Sam almost halted. He gazed in surprise -at the two. The Major had never appeared to<span class="pagenum">[160]</span> -be straighter, or fiercer, or more bristling; -while Groche’s slouch was never more pronounced. -The ne’er-do-well was listening -sulkily to the Major’s very energetic remarks, -occasionally growling a brief reply to the -veteran.</p> - -<p>As it chanced, Sam had not met the Major -since the night he had made confession. A -glance was enough to show that he had nearly -recovered from the effects of his wounds; and -the ear testified that the vigor of his speech -was in no wise abated.</p> - -<p>After a second’s hesitation Sam advanced. -As he neared the men, Groche, seeming, of a -sudden, to catch sight of him, wheeled and -shuffled off, growling as he went. The Major -swished his cane, as if he regretted that it -might not descend upon the retreating legs. -Then he, too, saw the boy, and the severity of -his expression lessened a trifle.</p> - -<p>“Ah, young man!” he said. “Ah, good-morning!”</p> - -<p>“Good-morning, sir,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>The Major tapped the sidewalk smartly with -his cane. “I’m out of hospital. Am I to regard -myself as in receipt of your felicitations?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[161]</span></p> - -<p>“’Deed you are, sir!” Sam assured him with -unfeigned warmth.</p> - -<p>The Major’s eyes twinkled. “Mutually satisfactory -state of things, eh? I’m pleased myself. -Fact is, I’m so overflowing with good -will this morning that I’ve been trying to improve -that vagabond.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“By Jove! but I fancy I made it clear even -to his befuddled wits that there is no profit in -persistently remaining a social liability. I -warned him that if he didn’t mend his ways -he’d end in state’s prison. Big, hulking brute -like that’s liable, some time, to commit a -felony.”</p> - -<p>Sam glanced at the retreating Groche. The -fellow <em>was</em> big and hulking, and brutish as -well—an ugly customer, in short.</p> - -<p>“Has he been bothering you again, sir?”</p> - -<p>“No,” answered the Major. “I rather anticipated -some of his characteristic attentions, -but he has quite neglected me. Not that I -complain—certainly not! Only I took occasion -to point out to him the exceeding unwisdom -of again annoying me. Odd, too, how -he took the advice. Leered at me, and mumbled,<span class="pagenum">[162]</span> -but made no distinct threats. But I -must not detain you, young man. You, I infer, -are on your way to school?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” said Sam again.</p> - -<p>“Then proceed. A moment, though!” -The Major’s bushy eyebrows met in a frown, -which wholly lacked ferocity. “Your holidays -are at hand, I believe. Some day, when -you’re at leisure, I should be glad to show you -my modest collection of weapons of war and -the chase. Ought to interest you, as a budding -sportsman with a promising record of -large game!”</p> - -<p>The Major’s eyes were twinkling once more. -Sam blushed hotly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be very glad to come, sir,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Then I have the honor to wish you a very -good morning,” quoth the Major; and they -parted in friendly fashion.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Both Major Bates and Peter Groche soon -lost first place in Sam’s consideration. The -school session promptly put the Orkney affair -to the fore.</p> - -<p>The Lester prize for declamation was one -of the great honors of the course, and competition<span class="pagenum">[163]</span> -always was keen. The contest covered -a full term, two boys and two girls entering -the lists each Monday. Usually they were -seniors, elocution being part of the required -work of the final year, but sometimes juniors -volunteered, often with a notion of “working -off” the requirement ahead of time, but occasionally -with a hope of winning.</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt that Tom Orkney -did his best to win. As it happened, he was -fortunate in his competitors. The other boy -was a senior, who took the platform simply -because he had to take it, and who raced -through his selection with an eye single to -ending the ordeal in a minimum of time. -Then two girls performed conscientiously but -ineffectively. And then came Orkney, junior -and volunteer.</p> - -<p>Tom had chosen an ancient favorite “speaking -piece,” so ancient, indeed, that a giggle -ran through the hall when the principal announced, -“The Parting of Marmion and -Douglas.” But the merriment quickly died, -as the boy swung into Scott’s stirring verse.</p> - -<p>“Good work!” was the involuntary and -whispered tribute of Step Jones, who sat beside<span class="pagenum">[164]</span> -Sam. “Awfully good work, confound -him!”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. Orkney was revealing unexpected -dramatic fire; and, unpopular as he -was with his audience, was capturing its admiration. -One might suspect that he had -had professional coaching, but one could not -deny that it had been worth while.</p> - -<p>There was loud applause—not the customary -ripple of hand-clapping but a spontaneous and -hearty demonstration—and Tom was smiling -when he made his bow to his schoolmates, and -another bow to the principal, and came down -the steps from the stage. It was not a pleasing -smile, for there was in it more than a -trace of supercilious triumph.</p> - -<p>“Hang the chump! Look at the smirk of -him!” complained Step.</p> - -<p>Sam made no answer. Orkney was approaching, -and for an instant the eyes of the -rivals met. Sam’s expression did not change, -but the other’s smile lost the little charm it -had. Sam found it bitterly taunting; it -seemed to say to him, “This was what you -schemed to prevent, eh? Well, you didn’t -do it, did you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[165]</span></p> - -<p>Step drove an elbow into his ribs. “You -can’t spoil that mug by pounding it! Say, -though! When are you going to get at it?”</p> - -<p>“Soon as I can,” said Sam simply.</p> - -<p>“Date with him?” whispered Step eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Not exactly.”</p> - -<p>The classes were rising to march out of the -hall, but Step found time to make a suggestion.</p> - -<p>“Maybe you can catch him down at the -pond this afternoon. They say the ice is at -last strong enough to hold.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be there,” Sam promised.</p> - -<p>Mild as the season had been, the temperature -had been falling steadily, if slowly; and -the skim of ice on the big mill-pond on the -outskirts of Plainville had thickened until it -had been for some days in rather perilous use -by venturesome skaters. Now, however, Sam -believed it was reasonably safe; and when he -descended the slope to the pond, its surface -was dotted with swiftly gliding figures.</p> - -<p>Directly in front of him a lively game of -hockey was in progress. To the right, and -safely removed from the rushes of the players, -were boys and girls, skating singly, or in<span class="pagenum">[166]</span> -pairs, or in long lines, hand in hand. To the -left, near the dam, were a few youngsters.</p> - -<p>Sam shook his head as he observed them. -The ice always was thinner there than in -other parts of the pond, and there was seldom -a season in which somebody did not regret -rashness in straying too close to air-holes. At -a time like this there was more or less danger -anywhere in the neighborhood of the dam.</p> - -<p>“It ought to be roped off,” he told himself; -but as there appeared to be no means to carry -out this precaution he sat down on the bank -and began to put on his skates. This he did -leisurely, pausing now and then to run his -glance over the skaters. At a little distance -up the shore some of the larger boys were -building a fire, and were having trouble, their -fuel consisting chiefly of long boards torn -from an abandoned ice-house. Here a little -crowd clustered. Sam thought he had a -glimpse of Orkney, but was not certain. As -he tightened his last strap, however, and stood -up, Step came along, arms and legs flying in -an effort to recover the partly lost art of the -Dutch roll. At sight of Sam the lanky youth -went through some extraordinary contortions,<span class="pagenum">[167]</span> -checked his speed, and glided alongside his -friend.</p> - -<p>“Say! It’s all right—he’s here!” was his -greeting.</p> - -<p>“Who’s here?” asked Sam, quite unnecessarily.</p> - -<p>“Humph! Who you s’pose? Deacon Pender?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Sam coolly. “I don’t imagine -you were thinking of the deacon.”</p> - -<p>“You bet I wasn’t!” rapped Step. “I was -thinking of Tom Orkney.”</p> - -<p>Sam peered at the crowd by the fire. -“Queer I can’t make him out,” he remarked.</p> - -<p>“He’s down at the lower end—along with -those kids.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!”</p> - -<p>Step was grinning. “Oh, he tried to butt -into the hockey game, but the fellows gave -him the cold shoulder. So he had to flock by -himself till he saw the young ’uns. He’s -with ’em now, teasing and tormenting ’em, I -reckon.”</p> - -<p>Sam struck out with the experimental feeling -of one on runners for the first time in<span class="pagenum">[168]</span> -months; made a wide circle, and came back -to Step.</p> - -<p>“Bit rusty, but I’ll get the swing all right -in an hour or so,” he reported.</p> - -<p>Step brought him back to the previous -question, so to speak.</p> - -<p>“What do you want? Don’t mean to fight -him on skates, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not,” said Sam testily. “What -put such a notion in your head?”</p> - -<p>“Well, what are you here for?” demanded -Step pointedly.</p> - -<p>“Don’t expect to have a fight before all -this crowd, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Seems to me you’re getting awful fussy.”</p> - -<p>“I am, if ‘fussy’ consists in objecting to -scrapping with half the town rubbering.”</p> - -<p>Step looked hurt. “Don’t you want anybody -but yourself to have any fun?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t intend to entertain Plainville in a -body.”</p> - -<p>Step’s expression was bewildered. “Say—say, -you ain’t crawling, are you?” he queried.</p> - -<p>The suspicion stung Sam’s pride. “Crawling? -Not on your life! I’m looking for Tom -Orkney, and when I find him I’ll ask him to<span class="pagenum">[169]</span> -walk back in the woods with me—he’ll know -what for. And you can come along, and one -or two of the others, but——”</p> - -<p>The cloud vanished from Step’s brow. -“Oh, that’s all right!” he said heartily. -“Can’t have a mob trailing along, of course. -But I say! There’s Orkney now—just shooting -out from behind the point. He’s chasing -one of the kids.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s glance followed the direction of Step’s -extended arm.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s Orkney, fast enough. But -what’s he doing?”</p> - -<p>“Pestering the youngster!” snapped Step. -“Can’t you see? And I declare, if it isn’t -Little Perrine he’s worrying!”</p> - -<p>Sam watched the swiftly moving figures, -one short and slender, the other tall and stout. -Little Perrine, barely in the lead, seemed to be -hard pressed, for he dodged frequently without -being able to throw off his pursuer.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Step cried out sharply: “The -miserable bully! Look, Sam! he’s driving -the kid right down to the dam, where the ice -won’t hold him for a minute!”</p> - -<p>“Confound it all!” fumed Sam. “Why<span class="pagenum">[170]</span> -won’t people think of Safety First? Why -won’t——”</p> - -<p>There he broke off, aghast at the catastrophe -he beheld, but Step’s voice rose shrilly:</p> - -<p>“Great Scott! it’s happened! They’re in—both -in!”</p> - -<p>With appalling swiftness the ice had yielded -beneath the weight of the two, and Little Perrine, -vanishing as if through a trap-door in a -stage, had been followed almost instantly by -Orkney.</p> - -<p>Step started to the rescue, striking out -wildly and shouting as he raced down the -pond at top speed. Sam, about to join in the -dash, checked himself. He knew well enough -how the thin ice near the dam, once broken, -would crack and crumble under even slight -pressure. “Safety First!” was the thought -which flashed upon his brain; safety not so -much for himself as for the pair struggling in -the water.</p> - -<p>Other skaters were speeding after Step: but -Sam, turning, hurried to the heap of boards -near the fire. He caught up the longest plank -on which he could lay hands, and skated -down the pond with all the speed his burden<span class="pagenum">[171]</span> -permitted. Before him other would-be -rescuers, halted by the widening circle of open -water, were moving about aimlessly, if pluckily, -getting in one another’s way, and risking a -general break-up of the ice under their weight. -One youth, indeed, had slipped over the edge, -but luckily had been dragged back, suffering -no more serious consequences than a drenching -to the waist.</p> - -<p>Orkney was clutching desperately with one -hand at the crumbling edge of the ice. At -first Sam saw nothing of Little Perrine, but as -he dropped his board and thrust its end over -the water, he had a glimpse of the boy’s head, -pressed close to Orkney’s breast. So Tom, -having caused the disaster, was doing what he -could to save an innocent victim! Such was -Sam’s belief, and the belief of Step and the -rest.</p> - -<p>The long plank swung nearer and nearer to -Orkney. He grasped it, drew himself forward, -threw an arm over it; his other arm was -still about Little Perrine. Sam, kneeling on -the board with Step anchoring its end to the -thicker ice, got a firm grip on Orkney’s coat -collar. Then came the tug of war. It lasted<span class="pagenum">[172]</span> -for thrilling seconds, of which Sam was to -have only confused memories, in which were -mingled the ominous cracking of the ice, the -shouting of the spectators, his own cries of -warning to the crowd to move back, Orkney’s -struggles, the ghastly pallor of Little Perrine’s -face. Slowly, by inches, they gained. Then -with a report as sharp as that of a pistol a foot -or two of the edge gave way; Orkney dropped -back till his shoulders were submerged; Sam’s -arms were plunged in water to the elbows. -Then Tom made a mighty effort. Sam exerted -all his strength. What had been lost was recovered -and retained. Then there was another -clear gain; and, in an instant more, Orkney -and Little Perrine had been dragged to safety.</p> - -<p>Tom was able to raise himself on an elbow, -but Little Perrine lay unconscious and motionless.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[173]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SENT TO COVENTRY</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was a disagreeable morning, dully lowering -and overcast, with now and then a flurry -of snowflakes bearing promise of a heavier -fall to come, but a crowd of boys and girls -lingered in the school yard.</p> - -<p>There seemed to be a curious constraint -upon everybody. There was no shouting, no -practical joking, no horse-play; but there was -much low-toned talk in the groups, in which -the classes appeared to have gathered unconsciously. -Now and then, when late comers -hove in sight, there was a stir of expectancy, -and necks were craned as eager glances were -directed toward the gate. Sam Parker, arriving -with Poke Green, was greeted by a murmur -of applause; and, flushed with embarrassment, -made his way to a party of his chums, who -chanced to be standing near the steps leading -to the big door.</p> - -<p>“Come on—let’s go in!” he said. “What’s -everybody waiting for?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[174]</span></p> - -<p>Step Jones laughed harshly. “Ho, ho! -This is a reception committee, Sam—reception -committee and committee of the whole. It’s -for T. Orkney’s benefit.”</p> - -<p>“You’re making a mistake,” Sam protested.</p> - -<p>“Humph! I may be, but if I am, I’m not -lonesome.”</p> - -<p>“That makes the thing all the worse.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t be much worse than it is.”</p> - -<p>Sam shook his head. “Oh, be fair!” he -urged. “Remember, Orkney held on to Little -Perrine like a good fellow.”</p> - -<p>“Yes—after he’d driven him into the -water!” growled Step.</p> - -<p>“But——”</p> - -<p>“But it was like locking the door after the -horse was stolen,” Poke put in.</p> - -<p>“Right you are!” contributed the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“Well, what’s the latest news?” asked Sam. -“How is Perrine this morning?”</p> - -<p>“Mighty badly off, I hear,” Step told him.</p> - -<p>“Delirious all night,” added the Trojan.</p> - -<p>Sam looked perturbed, and with reason. -“Little” Perrine, as the boy was known to -his mates, was a delicate chap, clever at his -books—he was a high school freshman at ten—but<span class="pagenum">[175]</span> -weak physically and of an extremely -nervous temperament; just the sort of lad, -in short, to suffer most from such an experience -as he had undergone in the icy water. -Moreover, he was the pet of the school, and -any harm done him would be bitterly resented -by the pupils. Indeed, the case promised -to go hard with the unpopular Orkney, -even if more encouraging tidings were received -from those caring for one regarded generally -as the victim of his malicious pursuit.</p> - -<p>The Shark came hurrying up the walk, -carrying a great bundle of books. He nodded -at his clubmates, but did not halt. Poke -chuckled softly as he passed them.</p> - -<p>“There’s cold-blooded science for you!” -said he. “Much the Shark cares for a trifling -matter of life or death when he’s got a -real juicy lot of equations on hand! Why, -he put in all yesterday afternoon figuring -away with the principal, and now he’s going -to have another crack at him before the bell -rings. I met him last night, and asked him -what he was up to, and what do you suppose -he said?”</p> - -<p>“Give it up,” said the Trojan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[176]</span></p> - -<p>“So do I,” quoth Step.</p> - -<p>“Trajectories!” cried Poke with all the -scorn he could command.</p> - -<p>Step rubbed his chin. “Well, it takes all -sorts of people to fill up the world. But there -are mighty few like the Shark, I’ll bet you!... -Hulloo, though! There’s Jennie -Bruce. She lives next door to the Perrines, -and she can tell us the latest.”</p> - -<p>Others had the same thought, and crowded -about the girl who had just entered the yard. -There was a moment’s waiting, and then an -angry murmur ran through the throng.</p> - -<p>“Whew! That means he’s worse!” Step -inferred.</p> - -<p>Jennie Bruce broke through the press. She -came straight to Sam.</p> - -<p>“You should have heard first of all,” she -declared. “You pulled both of them out, -you know.”</p> - -<p>“I hope it isn’t bad news,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“It’s bad enough. No; Little Perrine isn’t -dead. He’s better this morning, but the doctor -says he may not be able to be out for a -week. But that isn’t it, at all!”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t what?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[177]</span></p> - -<p>“What I’ve got to tell you, Sam Parker. -It’s about last night—and almost all through -the night. Poor Little Perrine was out of his -head, raving. He seemed to be going over and -over it, and then beginning again and going -all through it.”</p> - -<p>“That is, through the accident?”</p> - -<p>Jennie’s eyes flashed. “Accident! You -know well enough it was something else. -Oh, well, perhaps it was partly accident, but -it was something else, too. Don’t stop me! -I don’t call it all accident when the poor little -fellow was just driven out upon the thin ice! -And while he was delirious he kept crying -out, ‘Don’t let him get me! Stop him! -Don’t let Tom Orkney get me!’ Why, we -could hear him over at our house. It was -awful!”</p> - -<p>“Gee, but it must have been tough!” cried -Step.</p> - -<p>“Tough!” For a moment Jennie regarded -Master Jones half pityingly. “Mercy! but -you boys have weak ways of putting things! -If you’d heard him shrieking——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on!” the Trojan broke in excitedly. -“Here comes Orkney!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[178]</span></p> - -<p>There may have been method in the circumstance -that Orkney was reaching the -school grounds but a few minutes before the -opening hour. Perhaps he had hoped that -most of his mates would be within the building -when he arrived, but he did not falter -when his glance fell upon the crowd. Of its -temper he could have had little doubt, though -probably he had not foreseen the hostility of -the reception which awaited him.</p> - -<p>Three or four senior girls near the gate -deliberately turned their backs to him. As -many senior boys looked him full in the face -with no sign of recognition.</p> - -<p>Orkney squared his shoulders, and raised -his head. Looking straight before him, he -walked up the path. No one addressed him, -and he spoke to nobody till he came to Sam.</p> - -<p>“Parker!” Tom’s voice was low and not -quite steady.</p> - -<p>“Well?” said Sam coldly.</p> - -<p>There was a little pause. Orkney was -meeting Sam’s searching gaze without flinching, -but his sallow face had taken on a grayish -pallor.</p> - -<p>“Parker, I’ve got something to say to you.<span class="pagenum">[179]</span> -And I want to say it now. Yesterday you -yanked me out of a bad fix. It was a great -job you did. I’d like to have you know I -appreciate it, even if I don’t seem to be able -to say much more than ‘Thank you!’”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s all right!” said Sam, hastily -and, it may be, gruffly. “Don’t bother your -head about it. Forget it!”</p> - -<p>“Can’t!” growled Orkney, gruff in his -turn. “That brings me to something else -I’ve got to say and you’ve got to hear. That -other matter—you know?”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. The “other matter,” of -course, was the engagement to fight.</p> - -<p>“This—this is harder to—to get right.” -Orkney plainly found explanation difficult. -“You put something up to me, and I said -yes. I meant yes; suited me. But you’ve -complicated the situation. When you pulled -me out of the pond you tied my hands—don’t -you see that?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to.”</p> - -<p>“You did, all the same. I won’t go into -details, with all these long-ears rubbering; -but you don’t need details, anyway.”</p> - -<p>The youths referred to as “long-ears” had<span class="pagenum">[180]</span> -the grace to retire a pace or two, but their -liking for their critic was not heightened.</p> - -<p>“I get your drift—guess I do,” said Sam. -“But here! You’re free to forget yesterday’s -business. Wish you would!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t think I wouldn’t—if I could!” -There was an ugly gleam in Orkney’s eyes. -“That’s out of the question, though. So my -hands are tied, as I tell you.”</p> - -<p>“They needn’t be.”</p> - -<p>Orkney shook his head. “It’s all very -well for you to take that attitude, but I can’t. -I’m in your debt—deep in it. So there are -things I can’t do that I’d mighty well like to -do.” And again the ugly gleam was in -evidence.</p> - -<p>A wave of the old anger seemed to sweep -over Sam.</p> - -<p>“Go ahead and try ’em, then!” he cried -savagely.</p> - -<p>Two spots of red, of a sudden, burned in -Orkney’s cheeks, but he kept his self-control.</p> - -<p>“There’s no use talking—I can see that,” -he said grimly; turned, and marched alone -up the steps to the great door.</p> - -<p>The decisions of youth are decisions of a<span class="pagenum">[181]</span> -drumhead court-martial, to be carried out on -the spot.</p> - -<p>The school had but one verdict to give in -the case of Thomas Orkney. As he disappeared -in the corridor, there was a chorus of -hisses and groans.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[182]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE CLUB ENDORSES ITSELF</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The promise of the snow flurries had been -borne out in full measure, and now the -country about Plainville was covered by a -thick, white mantle. Real winter had come -at last, for after the storm there had been -a sharp drop in temperature, forecasting not -only a “white Christmas” but also holidays -brisk and invigorating. And Friday night -had arrived, with its relief from school cares, -and the Safety First Club was in full session. -All the members were in attendance, and all -were discussing the most sensational bit of -news the town had enjoyed since the mysterious -wounding of Major Bates.</p> - -<p>Tom Orkney had run away!</p> - -<p>The fact was established beyond doubt or -denial. The boy was gone, nobody knew -whither. There was, to be sure, a somewhat -popular theory that he had fled to a neighboring<span class="pagenum">[183]</span> -large city; but the theory was based -on conjecture, and wholly lacked convincing -proof.</p> - -<p>For forty-eight hours Plainville had been -talking about his disappearance, but the topic -had lost nothing of its interest. At the club -Poke held the floor, and submitted his philosophic -view of the case to his friends.</p> - -<p>“Orkney’s a stubborn brute, as you fellows -very well know. When he makes up his -mind, it’s made up, and it stays made up. He’s -bolted, and he’ll take precious good care not -to come back right away. Where do I think -he’s gone? I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s -gone far enough. And if you insist on having -my personal opinion, I think it’s good riddance -of bad rubbish.”</p> - -<p>“Humph! Haven’t seen me shedding the -sorrowful tear, have you?” demanded Step.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t seen any tears,” said Poke. -“Why, Orkney hasn’t a friend left, after the -way he treated Little Perrine! Don’t you remember -how everybody cut him that last day -in school?”</p> - -<p>“Must have been pretty hard for him,” Sam -observed thoughtfully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[184]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t believe a soul spoke to him,” Poke -went on. “That is, none of the fellows or the -girls did. The teachers, of course, had to; -but they said just as little as they could. -Why, he was called up but once, and that was -in the Greek class.”</p> - -<p>Step moved uneasily. “Say, though! That -was a star translation Orkney made! Jiminy! -but he must have had an iron nerve to keep -his wits about him, with all hands doing their -best to show how they despised him.”</p> - -<p>“Just what it was—case of nerve!” cried -Poke. “Bet you I know just how he felt. -He was saying to himself, ‘I’ll show this gang -that they can’t rattle me; I’ll show ’em that -I don’t give a whoop for their opinion. Let -’em hiss me! I’ll go through this day and -prove that they can’t even rattle me.’ And -that is just what he did. And when school -was dismissed, he walked out as coolly as if he -didn’t understand that nobody would travel -with him for love or money. You know he’d -been building up a sort of crowd of his own? -Well, every one of the bunch quit him when -the pinch came. But he kept a stiff upper lip -right to the end!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[185]</span></p> - -<p>“He surely did,” admitted the Trojan, with -a touch of reluctant admiration.</p> - -<p>“But all through it he must have been -planning what he’d do. My notion is that -when he went down the school steps he was -saying to himself that it was for the last time. -He’d been scheming out what would come -next. In the afternoon he got together the few -things he meant to take along. He ate supper -with his folks as usual. Then he slipped out -of the house. And that’s the last anybody in -Plainville knows certainly about Tom Orkney.”</p> - -<p>From his corner the Shark shot curt comment: -“Big mistake he made! Case of quitting!”</p> - -<p>“How do you figure that out?” asked Herman -Boyd.</p> - -<p>“Ran away under fire, didn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“But he’d stood the fire all day.”</p> - -<p>“Umph! That wasn’t enough.”</p> - -<p>Poke waved a hand. “Listen, you fellows! -I’ve been meditating on that part of it. And -I’ve doped it out this way: Orkney had pride -enough to carry him through one day—pride -and nerve are the same thing with him, I -reckon. But when it came to facing other<span class="pagenum">[186]</span> -days, and other days, and then some more—why, -that’s where a chap would have to have -the backing of a clean conscience. And there -were all the tricks he’d played on Sam, and -the chance he took of killing one of us with -that big boulder, and the dirty deal he gave -Little Perrine—why, his conscience must be -as spotted—as spotted as an old blotter!”</p> - -<p>“So that’s your diagram?”</p> - -<p>“Well, as I say, that’s the way I see it.”</p> - -<p>The Shark’s lip curled. “Huh! Easy to -see what you hope’s true!”</p> - -<p>“Well, what’s your mathematical calculation, -old Dry-as-Dust?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, go on!” snapped the Shark. “You’re -the lecturer.”</p> - -<p>Poke needed no urging. “Well, I tell you -he’d made up his mind to beat it, and he did. -And he got away, all right. You know his -aunt telegraphed, and telephoned, and called -in the police, and offered a hundred-dollar reward; -but there was no clue anywhere. Hard -luck for her that Tom’s father is out West! -They say she’s almost crazy.”</p> - -<p>“And Tom’s mother is away, too,” said the -Trojan.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[187]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes; she’s visiting down South. Those -are things, though, we’ve nothing to do with.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a queer way to put it,” grumbled -the Shark.</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” Poke insisted. “You don’t -get my point, which is that we may not be responsible -for those things, but we are responsible -for others. One of them is that we’re -the fellows who got on to Orkney’s meannesses, -and that Sam here promised him a thrashing -and a showing-up. Then, somehow, I can’t -help feeling that Sam, in fishing Orkney and -Little Perrine out of the pond, helped to bring -things to a head. But from the very first—from -the time Orkney came to Plainville—it -has been our crowd that blocked him, that -took the shine off him. The Shark downed -him in ‘math,’ and Step made a monkey of -him in Greek; but, most of all, we—this club—kept -him from bossing the class. And for -that, I believe, we ought to be proud to be responsible.”</p> - -<p>“Some speech, Poke!” cried Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>“Shouldn’t wonder if there were something -in the idea,” contributed the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“Thanks, kind friends!” chuckled Poke;<span class="pagenum">[188]</span> -but quickly grew serious again. “In a nutshell, -my notion is this: If Tom Orkney has -been driven out of town, we’ve driven him—and -a good job, too, from first to last!”</p> - -<p>Two or three heads nodded vigorous assent; -but there was a little pause. Step broke it.</p> - -<p>“Sam, you’re keeping mighty quiet. What’s -your opinion?”</p> - -<p>Sam hesitated. “My opinion? I—why, I -don’t know that I’d go quite as far as Poke -goes, but——”</p> - -<p>“But I’m right, in the main,” Poke insisted.</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess we’ve been justified in everything -we’ve done,” Sam told him. “I know -I’ve tried to be fair. And, certainly, there has -been evidence enough.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right there!” cried the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“Every time!” quoth Step.</p> - -<p>“I vote aye,” said Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>“Well, everybody knows where I stand,” -declared Poke. “We’re unanimous.”</p> - -<p>“Hold on a minute!” The Shark rose -from his chair, and came forward. “You -fellows are talking about justification and -evidence, eh? I suppose you’re sure Tom<span class="pagenum">[189]</span> -Orkney threw the stone through that window, -for instance?”</p> - -<p>“If he didn’t, who did?” demanded Step -hotly.</p> - -<p>“Answer my question first.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly we’re sure it was Orkney.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not, then,” said the Shark. “Fact is, -I’m practically sure it wasn’t he.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, come off your perch!”</p> - -<p>“I won’t. You can call it a perch if you -wish; but I know what I’m standing on, and -that’s more than you can claim.”</p> - -<p>“Give the infant prodigy and foster-brother -of the Binomial Theorem his inning!” sang -out Poke. “Go to it, old Four Eyes!”</p> - -<p>The Shark, in no wise disturbed by the -raillery, produced and unfolded a big sheet of -paper, bearing a curious diagram and what appeared -to be an elaborate calculation.</p> - -<p>“The problem may be stated thus,” he -began. “Given a weight of fifteen pounds, -seven and nine-tenths ounces, what is the -force required to propel it for a distance of -thirty-five feet?”</p> - -<p>“Thirty-five feet? How do you get that?” -queried Step.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[190]</span></p> - -<p>“The table stood eighteen feet from the -window,” the Shark explained. “The table-top, -which the stone struck, was two and a -half feet from the floor. I estimate that the -stone, if it had not struck the table, would -have traveled at least five feet farther. Then -it was thrown from a point at least twelve feet -from the building—if you take the trouble to -inspect the ground you will see that the -thrower must have been so far from the wall -to have secure footing. Now then, eighteen -and five and twelve make thirty-five.”</p> - -<p>“Go on!” urged Step.</p> - -<p>“We have the weight of the object moved, -and the distance moved. To aid us in plotting -the curve of flight of the object, we have -three known points, or, rather, two known -points and one which can be closely approximated. -We know the height from the floor -at which the stone broke the window-pane—seven -feet, nine inches. The table-top, as I -have said, was thirty inches from the floor. -The approximated point is the distance from -the ground (or, rather, from the level of the -floor projected for the calculation twelve feet -beyond the window), at which the stone began<span class="pagenum">[191]</span> -its journey. This distance was not less than -five feet nor more than six, allowing for a -rise in the ground, and assuming that propulsion -began about on a level with the -thrower’s shoulder. But whether it was five -or six——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on! Hold on!” cried Step. “You’ve -got me going!”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Can’t be made clearer, can it?” -expostulated the Shark. “But if you’ll look -at the diagram——”</p> - -<p>Step threw up his hands in burlesqued -horror. “No, no! Take it away! I can’t -bear the sight of the thing out of school -hours!”</p> - -<p>“Never mind about the pretty picture, -Shark!” chimed in the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“No; if we follow the tune, it’ll have to be -by ear,” chuckled Poke.</p> - -<p>The Shark shrugged his shoulders. “Well, -I didn’t believe you fellows had the sense to -understand the process,” he said frankly. -“Still, I thought I’d give you a chance. -But if I’ve got to jump to the result, I’ll tell -you that, having secured my data, I proved -conclusively that the stone was thrown by<span class="pagenum">[192]</span> -somebody with a lot more muscle than Tom -Orkney has. Why, the low trajectory——”</p> - -<p>Two or three of the boys were grinning. -“There, there! Don’t call names!” jeered -Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>The Shark’s glance went from one to -another of his friends.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” he said resignedly, “I guess it’s -useless. Only you may be interested to know -that the principal went over my work and -verified it.”</p> - -<p>“What! Didn’t tell him, did you?”</p> - -<p>“No; of course not. Had a supposititious -case, naturally.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said two or three, in relieved -chorus.</p> - -<p>The Shark put the paper back in his -pocket. “All right,” he said. “You -haven’t disappointed me. I know your limitations.”</p> - -<p>But Poke was disposed to argument. -“Look here, Shark! You’re banking too -much on your rules and formulas. Remember -the professors who said a curved -ball couldn’t be pitched, and proved it—on -paper?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[193]</span></p> - -<p>“Different case—nothing to do with this -one.”</p> - -<p>“But you overlook the evidence of the cap,” -declared Step.</p> - -<p>“Bother the cap!” said the Shark, and -snapped his fingers. “Doesn’t interest me. -It might have got there a dozen ways. What -I’m trying to tell you is something that’s absolutely -established—mathematically established. -And you won’t listen!”</p> - -<p>“We might—if you’d just figure out who -except Tom Orkney would have done the -job.”</p> - -<p>“Hang it, I’m no fortune-teller!” growled -the Shark.</p> - -<p>Again Step appealed to Sam. “What’s -your notion? Don’t you still think the -club is all right, and Orkney is all wrong?”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Sam, honestly and with -full conviction, “I think the weight of the -evidence is against him, in spite of the -Shark’s calculations. I’ve tried not to be -hasty——”</p> - -<p>“That’s right—Safety First!” cried Poke.</p> - -<p>“And so the Safety First Club is all right!” -chimed in Step jubilantly.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[194]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SAM HAS A RUDE AWAKENING</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“Wal, I dunno. Once there was an old -feller that complained the eels didn’t squirm’s -lively as they uster when he was a boy; but, -somehow, I reckoned his memory was playin’ -tricks with him. It’s the same way with the -weather. All the oldest inhabitants’ll keep on -tellin’ you the climate’s changin’, and losin’ -its grip; but I guess, fust and last, there ain’t -much difference. Why, when I was a youngster, -they had a joke that this would be a rattlin’ -good country if the sleighin’ didn’t get -sorter thin for three months in the year; but -I don’t recall makin’ snowballs on the Fourth -of July. And, when you think it over, you’re -likely to be enjoyin’ just about as much concentrated -winter this minute as anybody ever -really needed in these parts.”</p> - -<p>Thus Lon Gates rambled on for the entertainment -of Sam Parker, bustling about his -work in the barn the while. It was a fine,<span class="pagenum">[195]</span> -clear morning, the air still and crisp, and the -snow glittering in the bright sunshine.</p> - -<p>“Maybe—but this is a bully day,” said Sam -cheerfully.</p> - -<p>There was a twinkle in Lon’s eye. “Lot -better’n that other Saturday, when the hedgehog -had all his spines on end, eh? Wal, the -weather does make a pile o’ difference in the -human feelin’s. And, as I was sayin’, we’ve -got jest about enough winter to be real comfortable -right this minute—plenty of snow -for haulin’, and cold enough to fill the bill. -Even zero when I got up this mornin’, and -’tain’t more’n ten above now. And it looks -’sif there wouldn’t be a thaw for a good spell. -And that’ll help the lumbermen to get out -their logs. Your father can tell you what -that means to the fellers in the woods.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard him talk about it,” said Sam. -Mr. Parker was interested in several tracts of -woodland; and though his son never had -visited a lumber camp, he had some idea of -the methods pursued.</p> - -<p>“Ought to get him to take you on one of -his trips,” Lon observed. “He’ll be makin’ -one before long.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[196]</span></p> - -<p>“Wish he would!” said Sam.</p> - -<p>Lon bustled into the harness-room. In a -moment Sam heard a sharp exclamation of -surprise; and out popped Lon, carrying a -heavy collar with dangling traces.</p> - -<p>“Jest look at that!” he stormed. “Suff’rin’ -snakes! but that’s the wust yet! What -skunk do you s’pose’d be mean enough to -carve a brand new harness that way?”</p> - -<p>The leather of the collar was deeply gashed -in several places, and the traces were almost -severed.</p> - -<p>Sam made close examination of the cuts.</p> - -<p>“Well, Lon,” he said, “I can’t prove it, of -course; but I believe that job was done by the -same person who left the water running, and -let Maggie’s clean clothes down into the mud, -and has been raising all the rest of the hob -around here.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe. Same line o’ business. But who’d -do it?”</p> - -<p>Sam hesitated. “I—I—well, I’ve had a -suspicion all along, but lately it has become -practically a certainty.”</p> - -<p>“Speak up! This thing’s past endurin’. -Who’s the party?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[197]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, everything points to one person.” -Sam was trying to show judicial moderation.</p> - -<p>“Who’s he?” asked Lon impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Tom Orkney,” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“What! The kid that ran away?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Lon looked puzzled. “Sure, be you?”</p> - -<p>“Morally sure.”</p> - -<p>“Wal, I ain’t, then,” said Lon. “Why -ain’t I? Orkney’s been gone two-three days, -hain’t he?”</p> - -<p>“He has.”</p> - -<p>“Then we’ve got to leave him out. This -job was done last night.”</p> - -<p>It was Sam’s turn to betray bewilderment. -“But—but we know he’d be ready to do -it, and there’s nobody else who would. -And——”</p> - -<p>“No; you’re barkin’ up the wrong tree!” -Lon declared. “I was lookin’ over the harnesses -yesterday, and there wa’n’t even a good-sized -scratch on this one. So ’twa’n’t Orkney, -Sam—not unless he come back to do this -’special.”</p> - -<p>“But he did the other things,” Sam insisted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[198]</span></p> - -<p>“Swear to it, could you?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why, I could—almost.”</p> - -<p>“‘Almost’ don’t go—not in swearin’ folks -are guilty.”</p> - -<p>“I know that. But we’ve had a lot of evidence——”</p> - -<p>“What kind o’ evidence?”</p> - -<p>Sam frowned. “Why—why, it has been -circumstantial evidence, but there has been a -lot of it. And Orkney has had a chronic -grouch all along. And he has had it in for -all my crowd. And, finally, he ran away. -That’s the same as confessing, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Confessin’ what?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, everything,” said Sam vaguely.</p> - -<p>Lon took a moment for thought.</p> - -<p>“Sam, I can’t help thinkin’ there’s a mistake -somewhere. Now, you mean to be square -and fair, and so do your chums, but you -haven’t liked this Orkney. I dunno’s there’s -any reason why you should like him, but that -ain’t the question. I plumb despise a rattlesnake, -but I’ve got no call to insist he’s stealin’ -my fire-wood. Follow the argyment, do you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on! Wa’n’t there nothin’ nowhere<span class="pagenum">[199]</span> -along the line to make you doubt if you were -right?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” Sam insisted; then recalled the -Shark’s contention, and made amendment. -“There was nothing, that is, except that Willy -Reynolds figured it out that Orkney couldn’t -have thrown a stone that smashed a window -in our club-house. And the Shark—Willy, I -mean—is a crank on mathematics. And we -found a cap of Orkney’s——”</p> - -<p>“One he’d been wearin’ that evenin’?”</p> - -<p>“Well, nobody saw him wearing it—nobody -saw him, for that matter; for he ducked and -ran. And though a face showed outside of -the window, the fellow who noticed it didn’t -recognize it. But the cap belonged to Orkney.”</p> - -<p>Lon did not appear to be deeply impressed.</p> - -<p>“Thing like that depends on a lot of other -things,” said he.</p> - -<p>“But Orkney didn’t try to deny anything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, put it up to him, good and straight, -did you?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why, in a way.”</p> - -<p>“Jesso! But you didn’t say, ‘Now, Orkney, -what did you do this thing, and that -thing, and the other thing for?’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[200]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, I hinted at things I was going to -thrash him for, and——”</p> - -<p>Lon laughed. “Ho-ho! Now we’re gettin’ -down to cases. You said, ‘I’m goin’ to lick -you,’ and he said, ‘Come on and try it.’ Sam, -it’s been a good while since I was a boy, but I -guess that’s jest about what I’d ’a’ said to a -feller of my own size that promised me a -hidin’. And I wouldn’t ’a’ asked a bill o’ -particulars.”</p> - -<p>Sam took a turn the length of the barn -floor and back. Lon certainly was presenting -a new aspect of the case, a disturbing aspect, -unsettling, destructive of comfortable confidence.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Lon! What makes you take -sides against me?” the boy asked querulously.</p> - -<p>“I don’t,” was the curt reply.</p> - -<p>“But——”</p> - -<p>“Wal, I’ll explain. First place, such didoes -as somebody has been cuttin’ up round -here don’t quite fit in with what a feller like -this Orkney would be likely to do. Maybe -he’s a surly customer, but, after all, he’s had -good bringin’ up. Second place, bein’ away -from town, he couldn’t have chopped up the<span class="pagenum">[201]</span> -harness last night. Third place, I’m gettin’ -kind of a hunch that I may be able to dig up -a clue or two.”</p> - -<p>“Connecting somebody else with the case?” -queried Sam incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Yep.”</p> - -<p>“But who——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t ask me that, Sam, till I’ve looked -around a bit. If I’m right—well, you’ll say -it’s the queerest piece of business you ever -heard tell of.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t stop there!”</p> - -<p>“Got to. It’s kinder shapin’ up promisin’, -but I ain’t sure. And in a matter like this -it’s better to be safe than sorry.”</p> - -<p>There was a wry smile on Sam’s face. -“Safety First!” he said in a tone which made -Lon gaze at him curiously.</p> - -<p>“Jest what do you mean?” he asked.</p> - -<p>But Sam turned away without answering. -Indeed, to make full explanation would have -been difficult; for he could have said little -more than that he was experiencing a peculiar -sensation, to be likened to that of one rudely -awakened from a complacent dream.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[202]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">MORE SURPRISES</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Sam walked out of the barn without any -clear notion of what he ought to do; but -when he reached the gate his step quickened.</p> - -<p>It was Saturday; the morning was his own. -It had flashed upon him that he could not do -better than investigate the matters which had -first seemed to be so conclusive of Orkney’s -guilt. Granting that Tom probably had had -nothing to do with the damage to the harness, -he would attempt to remove all doubt from -the value of the best piece of evidence for -the prosecution, so to speak. This was the -cap found by Step near the club-house.</p> - -<p>When Master Jones had snatched the cap -from Orkney’s head, and thrown it over a -fence, it had dropped upon the dead turf in old -Mrs. Benton’s yard. The club’s theory was -that the owner had recovered it subsequently -and secretly. It remained for Sam to try to -discover what really had happened.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[203]</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Benton, if advanced in years, was active -and alert. She answered her door-bell in person, -and led Sam into her spotlessly neat sitting-room.</p> - -<p>The boy plunged at once into his errand. -Had she chanced to see a cap lying on her -lawn, and did she know what had become of it?</p> - -<p>Mrs. Benton nodded vivaciously. A cap—a -boy’s cap? Of course, she remembered.</p> - -<p>“When I looked out of my window that -morning, there it was in plain sight,” she said. -“And I must say it looked awfully careless -and shiftless—I don’t know what strangers -would have thought of the folks living in this -house. So I went right out and brought the -cap in.”</p> - -<p>“And—and—and that was in the morning?” -Sam faltered.</p> - -<p>“In the morning—early.”</p> - -<p>“Somebody came to claim it?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody came. I declare! I don’t see -how young folks get so regardless of things -these days! And that was a perfectly good -cap—that is, it would have been perfectly -good if it hadn’t been left out in the damp all -night.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[204]</span></p> - -<p>“Is it still here, ma’am?”</p> - -<p>“Bless you, no, child! It’s gone.”</p> - -<p>Sam leaned forward in his eagerness. -“Gone where, ma’am?”</p> - -<p>“Into the rubbish can, of course.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam, and sank back in his -chair.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Benton’s eyebrows rose a trifle. “Bless -me, but you wouldn’t expect me to keep my -house cluttered up with all sorts of other people’s -odds and ends, would you?”</p> - -<p>“No, ma’am,” Sam hastened to assure her. -“But—but did it stay in the can?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Benton met question with question. -“Why? Was it yours?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, no,” said Sam. “It wasn’t mine, but -I—I—well, I was sort of—sort of interested in -it. Do you know what became of it?”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam again.</p> - -<p>The lady did not miss the disappointment -in his tone.</p> - -<p>“Somebody took it out of the can,” she explained. -“It wasn’t the garbage collector, for -that wasn’t his day to come ’round. But I -remember that I disposed of the cap after<span class="pagenum">[205]</span> -breakfast, and that, when I carried out some -potato peelings an hour or two later, the cap -had disappeared. There often are people -prowling through the alley, you know—tramps, -some of ’em—and it was a pretty -good cap, after all, if a body wasn’t over-particular. -And you say it wasn’t yours?”</p> - -<p>“No, ma’am,” said Sam, and rose a bit -hastily. “But I’m very much obliged for the -information.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Benton followed him to the door. -“You’re thanking me for very little,” she remarked. -“But if it’ll be any help to you, in -whatever you are after, I can add that the cap -was taken out of the can somewhere between -nine and ten o’clock that morning.”</p> - -<p>And in the hour mentioned, as Sam was -quite aware, Tom Orkney was fully accounted -for, having been in his place in school!</p> - -<p>Sam’s step was slow as he moved away -from the house, and his brow was furrowed. -Undeniably the case against Orkney was -weakening. Equally the case for the Safety -First Club was tottering.</p> - -<p>There came to Sam unhappy recollections of -talk about the chain of proofs and its various<span class="pagenum">[206]</span> -links, among them the cruelty to Little Perrine. -Well, there was nothing for it but to go -on with the inquiry he had begun.</p> - -<p>Little Perrine, he was told, was very much -better, and would be glad to see him. The -convalescent was sitting up in bed, and was in -excellent spirits.</p> - -<p>“Hullo, Sam!” he called out gaily. “Gee, -but it’s good of you to look me up! Sit down, -and tell me all about how you pulled Tom -Orkney and me out of the pond. The folks -won’t tell me half enough.”</p> - -<p>Sam drew a chair close to the bed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it isn’t much of a yarn,” he said -modestly. “I happened to have a plank, so -it was no trick at all.”</p> - -<p>Little Perrine smiled. “That’s what you -say! Doesn’t match the stories other people -tell—and I guess they’re nearer the real truth. -Everybody declares you did a star job. Funny, -isn’t it, that I don’t remember anything about -your part of it? One instant Tom Orkney -was grabbing for me, and trying to drag me -back, and the next—crash! There I was in -the water, and Tom had jumped in after me, -and was holding me up. Then everything<span class="pagenum">[207]</span> -was blurred, and there was a queer singing in -my ears—and the next I knew, here I -was, in bed. And then things got to whirling -round, and I was going through it all -again and again. Jiminy! but I bet I yelled -like a good fellow!”</p> - -<p>“Pretty close call for a kid like you,” said -Sam.</p> - -<p>“Poof! I’m tough!” insisted the boy. -“I’d have been all right—crawled out myself, -I would, if it hadn’t been for that sleepy feeling -that came over me. But it was all right, -anyway. There was old Orkney to hold my -head out of water, and you were coming on -the run. But, as it is, Orkney’ll have a good -laugh on me, I tell you.”</p> - -<p>Sam grasped the fact that Perrine had not -been informed of Tom’s disappearance.</p> - -<p>“Oh, so he—he’ll have the laugh on you?” -he asked uncertainly.</p> - -<p>“Sure! You see, he’d been telling me to -keep away from the thin places. When he -came along I was doing stunts—seeing how -close to a blow-hole I could skate, you know; -and he made a fuss about it. Why, he grabbed -me, and lugged me back to shore, and tried to<span class="pagenum">[208]</span> -make me promise to quit the funny business. -But I got away from him, and beat it for the -dam. I didn’t think he’d dare chase me, he -weighs so much more than I do. But he -pelted after me, and he’d have got me if I -hadn’t kept dodging. And then—well, then -the thing happened. But old Orkney was a -brick, wasn’t he?”</p> - -<p>Sam strove to make fitting reply, but -achieved only a choking sound.</p> - -<p>“Why, what’s the matter?” demanded Little -Perrine. “And what makes you look so -queer?”</p> - -<p>Sam wiped his forehead with his handkerchief; -he had a sense of fighting for time.</p> - -<p>“Oh, looking—looking queer, was I?”</p> - -<p>Little Perrine grinned. “Say! It was as -if I’d hit you between the eyes and dazed -you.”</p> - -<p>Sam laughed, but it was a forced laugh and -unconvincing.</p> - -<p>“I guess this room’s pretty warm,” said he, -and got upon his feet. “I’ll have to be going. -You’ll be out, I suppose, in a day or two?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. But if you meet Orkney, tell him -to come to see me. You wouldn’t mind<span class="pagenum">[209]</span> -taking the message, would you? Of course, I -know he hasn’t been pals with your crowd, -but after all that’s happened——”</p> - -<p>“If I should see Tom Orkney I’d be only -too glad to deliver your message,” said Sam -heavily.</p> - -<p>Another link in that famous chain had been -fractured. By the testimony of the best possible -witness Orkney had not imperiled Little -Perrine’s life by driving him upon the -thin ice; but, on the contrary, had risked his -own to protect the younger and frailer boy.</p> - -<p>With dragging step Sam went back to Lon -Gates.</p> - -<p>“I might as well speak plainly, Lon,” he -said. “I’m all unsettled in my ideas.”</p> - -<p>Lon regarded him keenly. “So? Ain’t -that Orkney the all-round cut-up you thought -he was?”</p> - -<p>“I—I guess I’ll have to take back some of -the things I said.”</p> - -<p>“So?” Lon repeated.</p> - -<p>“Yes—so!” said Sam with more spirit. -“And since it’s so, and since somebody must -have made all the mischief, and since it isn’t -likely Orkney was the guilty one—why, Lon,<span class="pagenum">[210]</span> -I’d amazingly like to know whom you suspect.”</p> - -<p>The hired man rubbed his chin. “Wal, I -dunno. As things was, I didn’t intend to say -nothin’ more till I was surer of my ground. -But, seein’ how you’ve kinder cooled down -and come to be ready to accept the light o’ -reason, maybe I might’s well breathe a whisper -or two of what the little birds may, or may -not, have been tellin’ me.”</p> - -<p>“This has been a day of surprises,” said Sam, -“but I’m ready for some more. Fire ahead!”</p> - -<p>Lon came a step nearer. They were alone -in the barn, but he dropped his voice almost -to a whisper.</p> - -<p>“Wal, then, I will. Remember that day -you went out and potted Major Bates?” he -began.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[211]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">LON DISCUSSES CROOKED THINKING</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Perhaps you have had the trying and distressing -experience of discovering, of a sudden -and without warning, that what you devoutly -had hoped was a closely guarded secret appeared -to be no secret at all. If you have -suffered such a shock, you will understand -Sam’s sensations. The unfortunate affair of -Marlow woods was by no means ancient history, -but gossip about it had dwindled, and he -had come to believe that the town had set it -down as one of those mysteries which never -are solved. Yet here was Lon, referring to it -as nonchalantly as if it were matter of common -knowledge!</p> - -<p>For a moment Sam stared, wide eyed and -open mouthed, at his ally. Mentally and -physically he was overcome. Speech failed -him, and he sank weakly upon a feed-box, -beside which he had been standing.</p> - -<p>There was a touch of sympathy in Lon’s<span class="pagenum">[212]</span> -manner. “Sorry if I’ve rubbed your fur the -wrong way, Sam. Course, though, when you -asked me——”</p> - -<p>Sam found tongue. “How did you know? -Who told you?”</p> - -<p>“Lot o’ folks.”</p> - -<p>“A lot!” gasped Sam.</p> - -<p>“Yep; a lot. Bill Marlow, and your -father, and Maggie, and the Major, and -you——”</p> - -<p>“Me!” In his amazement Sam was careless -of grammar. “Me? Why, I never -breathed a syllable!”</p> - -<p>Lon grinned. “Wal, you wa’n’t exactly -chatty; that’s a fact. But I guess ’twas the -things you didn’t say that told me most. -Same way with your father. Didn’t know, -did you, that I saw him one mornin’ swabbin’ -out that gun of his? And he hadn’t been -huntin’, and he wasn’t goin’ huntin’. Then -there was Maggie. One day we was discussin’ -your life and public services, and I sorter -gloomed about you, and she flew at me like -a hen protectin’ her last chick from a hawk; -and then I knew well enough you’d been in -some particular big scrape, and she knew, or<span class="pagenum">[213]</span> -guessed, more or less what ’twas. Then there -was the Major——”</p> - -<p>“The Major!”</p> - -<p>“Sure! ’Nother case of what you might -call eloquent silence. When he turned Peter -Groche loose, what more did he do? Nothin’! -What more did he say? Nothin’! And the -Major ain’t the party to let somebody put a -few buckshot into him and grin and bear it -uncomplainin’. He’d ’a’ railroaded Peter -Groche to jail with all the pleasure in life, -and he’d ’a’ done the same thing to any other -man that played he was an old buck. But -the Major’s a good sport, after all; he hates -to fuss with anybody that ain’t his size. See -where the argyment’s leadin’, don’t you? So, -when you ’fessed up——”</p> - -<p>“When I ’fessed up!” Sam seemed to be -capable of nothing but repetitions.</p> - -<p>Lon chuckled a bit complacently. “Wal, -Sam, that’s where I’m on dead reckonin’. -But when I’d chewed it all over a few times, -it struck me that you was jest the kind of a -feller to own up when you saw somebody else -was in trouble for what you’d done; and that -the Major was jest the old hardshell to be<span class="pagenum">[214]</span> -tickled by your givin’ a square deal to that -miserable critter, Groche. Course, I’ve kept -my eyes and ears open, and I’ve been down -town nights, and I’ve talked with folks, and -I’ve picked up little things here and there -that fitted together. And so I got four, not -by puttin’ two with two, but by addin’ an -eighth, and three-sixteenths, and a half, and -three-quarters, and so on and so on. And—wal, -that’s about all of that chapter.”</p> - -<p>“Lon, you’re a wonder!”</p> - -<p>“Pretty nigh right, wa’n’t I?”</p> - -<p>“Nearer than that.”</p> - -<p>“Wal, you see, I knew one Sam Parker -like a book. And when something happened -one mornin’, and he dodged talkin’ about -where he was jest then or what he was doin’—wal, -I had a mighty good start on Shylock -Holmesin’.”</p> - -<p>“Sherlock Holmesing,” Sam corrected mechanically.</p> - -<p>“Same family, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>There was a pause. Then said Sam:</p> - -<p>“Lon, I didn’t wish to keep the truth from -you especially. If I’d talked about the affair, -there’s nobody who’d have heard more about<span class="pagenum">[215]</span> -it than you would. But I was advised not to -confide in anybody.”</p> - -<p>Lon nodded. “Right enough! And I -wouldn’t have yipped if, somehow, things -hadn’t worked around as they have. And I -jest had to let the cat out o’ the bag if I was -goin’ to point out the dog I believe has been -snappin’ at us. You want to find out who -’tis I suspect, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Most certainly!”</p> - -<p>“Peter Groche!” said Lon emphatically.</p> - -<p>“Peter—Peter Groche?” Astonishment -again possessed Sam. “Why—why should -he have a grudge against me? Didn’t I -save him? Didn’t I keep him out of jail? -Didn’t they have what seemed to be a complete -case against him?”</p> - -<p>“Like enough.”</p> - -<p>“Then, too,” urged Sam, “he could have -had no notion that I was mixed up in the -case. The Major didn’t tell him; nobody -else told him. But if he had known, he -ought to have been grateful. Either way -the thing isn’t reasonable.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Peter ain’t, neither!” grunted -Lon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[216]</span></p> - -<p>“But what’s that got to do with——”</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp54" id="i222" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i222.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"><p class="center">“<a href="#BRef_222">HOLD HARD, THERE!</a>”</p></div> -</div> - -<p>Lon loved an argument. <a id="BRef_222" href="#i222">“Hold hard, -there!</a>” said he. “To get at things you’ve -got to start right. And it ain’t startin’ right -to talk about Peter Groche and reasonable -things in the same breath. Look here, -now!” Lon picked up an empty liniment -bottle, and stood it on its neck; whereupon -the bottle fell over on its side. “See what’s -happened, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“But it was upside down.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! But that’s the way with Peter -Groche—with his brains, I mean. Your mistake -is tryin’ to figure on him as a reasonable -bein’. But Groche, for years and years, has -been like that bottle—all upside down. He’s -been carousin’, and loafin’, and stealin’. All -his thinkin’ has got warped, and twisted, and -crooked.”</p> - -<p>“Then he’s crazy!”</p> - -<p>“Not quite that. But he ain’t what folks -call normal. Oh, I know the breed!”</p> - -<p>Sam racked his memory. “You mean he’s -a—a degenerate?” he queried.</p> - -<p>“That’s the ticket! He’s like pizen ivy: -he began by bein’ no good, and he’s got wuss<span class="pagenum">[217]</span> -and more of a nuisance the more he spreads -out.”</p> - -<p>Sam shook his head doubtfully. “All the -same, I don’t follow your argument, Lon. If -there’s anything to it, we’d have to figure -that Peter had some cause to suppose I was in -the scrape; for we might as well drop the -notion that, all of a sudden, he’d begin to -persecute me, unless he had some tip. But -I’ve told you I’m sure nobody gave him one. -And as I didn’t see him in the woods, he -wouldn’t have seen me there.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t prove that,” Lon declared. -“He’s an old hand at deer huntin’, out o’ -season as well as in; and he keeps his eyes -peeled mighty sharp. It’s ten to one he had -a peek at you, and knew within five rods -where you were, when the Major was hit. -So it was an easy guess for him, when he was -arrested, that you’d figgered in the combination.”</p> - -<p>“But——” Sam began.</p> - -<p>Lon interrupted him. “You listen, son! -I’ll bet you he not only saw you, but believed -you saw him. And he was keepin’ tabs on -you and on the Major, too—’tain’t a bad idea,<span class="pagenum">[218]</span> -at that, for anybody in the woods in the deer -season to watch his neighbors and what they’re -about. Wal, then, we have Peter, as keen as -a weasel, and full as vicious—we have him, I -say, with his eyes and ears busy. Bang! goes -your gun. Peter hears it. He waits for -what’ll happen—always a chance that if -you’ve really sighted a buck, the critter may -come his way. Wal, again, in a minute or -two, something does come, but it ain’t nothin’ -on four legs. It’s the Major, and the Major’s -fightin’ mad. Somebody’s winged him, and -he thinks it’s Peter; but Peter don’t need no -map to show where you come in.”</p> - -<p>“But I——”</p> - -<p>“Let me finish! Peter, bein’ Peter, acts -accordin’. He jumps to a conclusion—and -that’s that you’ve done what he’d do himself, -if he was in your shoes. He figgers you’ve -blazed away, and run up to find a dead deer, -and come on the Major, dazed and ragin’, and -grabbed the chance to put the blame off on -somebody else. He credits you with knowin’ -the reputation of the Groche fam’ly hereabouts, -and with settin’ the Major on a false trail that -leads straight to one Peter o’ that name. Then,<span class="pagenum">[219]</span> -havin’ set the Major goin’, you vamoose—and -that’s what Peter Groche would ’a’ done himself, -if he’d been in your fix. What say to -that, Sam?”</p> - -<p>“I—I don’t know what to say. Only, -when the sheriff arrested him, why didn’t he -deny——”</p> - -<p>Once more Lon stopped the boy in mid-sentence. -“There you go again—forgettin’ -Peter ain’t like most folks! It’s where the -crooked thinkin’—and the crooked livin’—comes -in. The Major’s in a passion, and -Peter has jawed back till he’s ’bout as mad -himself. Most likely the sheriff can’t make -head nor tail o’ what he’s growlin’. And -Peter’s got his reputation, and everybody -knows he’s made threats against the Major, -and one barrel of his gun has been fired. So -the sheriff thinks it’s a pretty clear case, and -loads Peter in his wagon, and hauls him to -the lock-up. By that time Peter, mebbe, has -been workin’ his crooked wits. He sees well -enough nobody’d believe him just then if he -said he didn’t do it, so he doesn’t waste his -breath that way. And mebbe, too, he gets a -notion the case against him won’t be so all-fired<span class="pagenum">[220]</span> -convincin’ when it comes to a trial, the -evidence bein’ circumstantial, you see. Perhaps -he’s schemin’ for damages for false arrest—and -then, all of a sudden, they turn him -loose. And so he skulks off, with a grudge -against everybody, but a particular one against -Sam Parker, Esq., who, he believes, lied about -him to save himself. Sense, ain’t it—Peter’s -kind o’ sense, that is?”</p> - -<p>Sam pondered. “Why—why—perhaps.”</p> - -<p>Lon wagged his head sagely. “Wal, I’m -tellin’ you, Sam, a grudge is jest the one thing -in this life Peter’ll live up to. He means to -take it out o’ your hide. Now, when things -went wrong about the place, and kept on goin’ -wrong, and I saw they weren’t due to your -footlessness, I had half a notion some kid -might be at the bottom of the trouble. But -then I began to miss things from the barn—a -spare bit, then a wrench, then a new sponge; -and I’ll admit that did sort o’ suggest Groche’s -manners. And weren’t you tellin’ me a while -ago that one of your crowd figgered it out -that no boy could have chucked that boulder -through your club-house window? Wal, -Groche could ’a’ done it. He’s as strong<span class="pagenum">[221]</span> -as an ox, confound him! Come now! Piece -it all together, and own up it makes quite a -case!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps it does,” Sam admitted.</p> - -<p>“But I don’t convince you completely?”</p> - -<p>Sam hesitated. “Why—why, I don’t know, -Lon. I’ve had a lot of jolts to-day, and I’ve -got to do some thinking before I can be sure -of anybody.... Or of anything!” he -added, after an instant’s pause.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[222]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX -<br><span class="cheaderfont">OF DUELS AND CONSCIENCE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The club received such report as Sam felt -free to make of his investigation with interest -rather than with regret for its share in the -misfortunes of Tom Orkney.</p> - -<p>If Sam had told the whole story, including -the affair in Marlow woods and Lon’s suspicions -of Peter Groche, the crowd, doubtless, -would have buzzed with excitement, and, incidentally, -felt some sympathy for Orkney; -but, given merely new light on the matter of -the cap and a revised version of the incident -at the pond, the boys, as a rule, fell back -upon the declaration that Tom was a “grouch,” -anyway, and declined to take to themselves -any especial culpability. Somebody had committed -the depredations at the Parker place; -somebody had smashed the club-house window. -Maybe Orkney hadn’t done these things, but -wasn’t he a chronic sorehead? Of course, it -was hard luck for him to be deemed Little<span class="pagenum">[223]</span> -Perrine’s persecutor instead of protector, but -the misunderstanding was general and not the -particular error of the Safety First Club.</p> - -<p>Even the Shark, who might have spoken -from the text of “I told you so,” let the opportunity -pass. His calculations of the flight -of the boulder had started him upon an agreeable -inquiry into the subject of projectiles, -and, as Poke declared, he was as far in the -clouds as if he had been sent there by one of -the big mortars about which he was reading.</p> - -<p>In the club’s opinion that there was nothing -to be done, Sam was in a way to coincide, -though he would have phrased it that nothing -could be done at present. Yet something -should be done. This was clear in his mind, -though he seemed to be unable to hit upon a -practical suggestion.</p> - -<p>No news came of the missing Orkney.</p> - -<p>Lon Gates, playing detective at every opportunity, -confessed that he found nothing either -to shake or to confirm his theory of the guilt -of Peter Groche. The man, after hanging -about town as usual, had dropped out of sight, -leaving no word of the destination for which -he was bound.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[224]</span></p> - -<p>Then came Christmas and a fortnight’s vacation, -and Sam shared cheerfully in the festivities -of the season. He was in excellent -health; he liked fun; he indulged vigorously -in winter sports; his appetite remained admirable. -But, for all that, there was a change -in the boy, quite unobserved by his father, -who was held by business cares; vaguely felt -by his friends, and distinctly marked by his -mother. Mrs. Parker took occasion to have -several long talks with her son. She was sure -that he had something on his mind, but all -her tact did not lead him to confidences. -Sam understood her solicitude, and was grateful, -if reticent. A fellow who was trying to -prove his self-reliance, he reasoned, must work -out his problems for himself. Not that he -would have declined counsel from older heads—probably -he would have welcomed a chance -to accept his father’s advice, the affair appearing -to him to be peculiarly one for masculine -consideration; but he would not seek it.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker, as has been related, was very -busy. For one thing, he was arranging a -trip into the woods with a capitalist from New -York, and plans for the expedition took up<span class="pagenum">[225]</span> -much of his time. For another, his method -of dealing with Sam on probation was to interfere -as little as possible with the boy’s -affairs. Sam’s school reports were good; he -seemed to be avoiding scrapes; he had distinguished -himself in the rescue of Tom Orkney -and Little Perrine. On the whole, the father -was well pleased with the situation as he -observed it.</p> - -<p>Sam himself was not pleased. It is not -good to have a sense of uncertainty, and of -baffled intentions to do right. On the one -hand was his remembrance of his precautions -in trying to follow out his motto of “Safety -First”; on the other, an uneasy conviction that -Tom Orkney had suffered unjustly. Sometimes -one seemed to outweigh the other; again -he vacillated miserably between the two opinions. -And one day, not long after Christmas, -when his doubts were assailing him sorely, he -recalled the Major’s invitation, and sought -diversion in a visit to the veteran.</p> - -<p>The Major received him with marked favor, -cracked a joke or two about his big game -record, and began to make the round of what -was really a fine collection of arms. There<span class="pagenum">[226]</span> -were flint-lock muskets and fowling-pieces; -muzzle-loading and breech-loading rifles; cutlasses, -sabers and bayonets; huge, old-fashioned -horse pistols, revolvers and even a modern, -compact, automatic weapon. Of these the -Major spoke briefly; but he lingered longer -over a case in which lay a brace of pistols, -very old in pattern, but of exquisite workmanship.</p> - -<p>“I wonder, Sam,” he said, “if you ever -have seen such fellows as these? What do -you think they are?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I don’t know, sir,” Sam answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you imagine they were used -for?”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t a notion.”</p> - -<p>The Major wagged his head. “My boy, it’s -a testimonial to the progress of the world that -you haven’t a notion. Time was, I’m sorry to -say, when a fine, upstanding lad like you -would have known only too well what these -were and how they were used. These are -dueling pistols, sir!”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Sam, and bent over the case -with increased interest. “And—and were -they ever—ever——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[227]</span></p> - -<p>“They were,” said the Major drily. “Oh, -yes—more than once. Genuine article, I do -assure you! But that sort of thing is over -and done with, fortunately.”</p> - -<p>Sam straightened his back. “I’ve read -about duels, of course. And some of the books -speak as if there must have been lots of -them.”</p> - -<p>“Too many!” snorted the Major. “That’s -perfectly true, sir. Principle was all wrong, -but it took centuries to make the discovery. -Honest men, honorable men mistakenly believed -that the way to do justice and to accept -justice was by killing each other or standing -up to be killed. All wrong; all wrong, sir! -The law is the law, and to it we must look for -redress for injuries.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” said Sam, a deal impressed by -this testimony from one commonly reputed to -be a stubborn and unyielding antagonist. -“Only—only”—a curious thought had thrust -itself upon him—“only, can you always be sure -of what the law is? I mean, that is, can you -always be sure of what you ought to do?”</p> - -<p>“Eh?” The bushy eyebrows came together -as if the Major were perplexed by the question.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[228]</span></p> - -<p>“Can you always find a law—or a rule—that -applies?”</p> - -<p>“Well, a law is general in its terms, of -course. And you’ve some special instance in -mind, haven’t you?”</p> - -<p>Sam hesitated. “I—I—well, I’m thinking -of a case in which a fellow acted on what he -thought was full justification, and found, afterward, -that—well, that there had been a lot -of mistakes.”</p> - -<p>“Honest mistakes?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. Only——”</p> - -<p>“Pardon me!” the Major interrupted. -“Let me cite a case. Once a friend of mine, -who had to carry a great deal of money, was -set upon by masked and armed men. In what -he fully believed was self-defense he shot and -killed one of them. It proved that the attack -was the work of rash practical jokers. My -friend was acquitted, justly. Now, was his -case like that which you are considering?”</p> - -<p>Again Sam hesitated. “Yes—and no, sir. -My case isn’t quite so clear.”</p> - -<p>“Little prejudice to begin with—biased -judgment?” queried the Major keenly.</p> - -<p>“That’s the trouble, sir,” said Sam frankly.<span class="pagenum">[229]</span> -“The evidence looked all right, but how can -I be certain that it ought to have seemed so?”</p> - -<p>“Difficult!” said the Major tersely.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, what would you do if you were -in my—if you were in the fix?”</p> - -<p>The Major put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. -“My boy,” he said very gravely, “you’re dealing -with a problem which neither I nor anybody -else can solve for you. It is a problem -to be settled by law, but the law is that of -your own conscience. Now, I submit, the -court of conscience is supplemental to the -courts of the land, but it is severer in its judgments. -The other courts may give you the -benefit of a doubt, but hardly the court of -conscience. And if there were prejudice——” -There he checked himself. “No; I’ll say no -more; for I’ve no right to seek to influence -you unduly. You must reach your own decision -for yourself.”</p> - -<p>“I understand, sir,” said Sam, with a gravity -matching the Major’s.</p> - -<p>The pressure on his shoulder increased. -“If I’m a judge of human nature, young man,” -the Major declared, “you <em>will</em> settle this thing -for yourself, and you’ll settle it right!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[230]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SAM MAKES A SPEECH</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>It was late in the afternoon of Sam’s visit -to the Major, and the club members were -gathered in their house.</p> - -<p>Sam, silent and preoccupied, was sitting in -one corner. The Shark, in another, was somewhat -skeptically regarding Step Jones, who -was describing, for the benefit of the assembled -company, a number of big fish that day caught -through the ice of the mill-pond. Step’s arms -were long, and his imagination was active.</p> - -<p>“Gee, but those pickerel were regular old -granddaddies!” he averred. “Smallest was -this long.” He spread his hands. “Then -came two or three about this size.” Another -illustration. “Then there was the biggest.” -And Step’s hands were moved farther apart.</p> - -<p>“Aw, come off!” jeered the Trojan. -“You’re thinking of ’em all, put end to -end.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[231]</span></p> - -<p>“I’m not,” Step insisted. “What’ll you bet -’twasn’t this long?”</p> - -<p>“Huh! You’re dreaming!”</p> - -<p>“Dreaming nothing! Didn’t I see the -fish?”</p> - -<p>“You didn’t see any five-foot pickerel.”</p> - -<p>“Tell you I saw one the length I’m showing -you.”</p> - -<p>Up sprang the Shark, and strode across the -room, pulling a tape-measure from his pocket -as he advanced. A good deal to Step’s embarrassment, -he insisted upon making careful -measure of the distance between the outstretched -palms.</p> - -<p>“Four feet, three and seven-eighths inches,” -he announced. “Umph! Some fish, Step; -yes, some fish!”</p> - -<p>Step lost no time in lowering his arms. -“Well, you fellows can josh if you want to; -but you can’t prove I’m wrong.”</p> - -<p>There was a shout of derision.</p> - -<p>“No, sir—I won’t take off an inch!” declared -Step.</p> - -<p>The Shark grinned. “All right, Step. Only -that couldn’t have been a pickerel; it must -have been a muskellunge.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[232]</span></p> - -<p>“’Longe in the mill-pond! Sure thing!” -snickered Poke.</p> - -<p>“No, no,” Herman Boyd put in. “Step’s -mixed—that’s all. He’s thinking of what -Sam caught—Little Perrine and Tom Orkney.”</p> - -<p>Over in his corner Sam roused at the name. -“Who’s talking about Orkney?” he called out.</p> - -<p>“I am,” said Herman.</p> - -<p>“Any news of him?”</p> - -<p>“No, thank fortune!” Herman was not -an especially vindictive fellow; but he had -disliked Tom exceedingly.</p> - -<p>Sam rose, and came over to the group about -Step.</p> - -<p>“Listen, you chaps; I’ve something to say -about Orkney,” he began.</p> - -<p>“Speech, speech!” shouted Poke.</p> - -<p>“Very well; I’ll make a speech,” said Sam. -“You may not agree with me, but I’m going -to give you the truth as I see it. We’re wrong -in this Orkney business; we’ve been wrong all -along.”</p> - -<p>There was a ripple of dissent.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I say, Sam!” protested Poke. “That’s -going too far.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[233]</span></p> - -<p>“Not at all,” Sam insisted. “We were -wrong in charging Orkney with a lot of -things he never did.”</p> - -<p>“I know—you’ve harped on that before.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll harp on it again.”</p> - -<p>“But we thought he did ’em. He was -mean enough to do ’em, if they’d occurred to -him.”</p> - -<p>“Go to it, Poke!” cried Step. “Now you’re -shouting!”</p> - -<p>Sam frowned. “Here!” he said impatiently. -“Do I get my chance to talk, or -don’t I?”</p> - -<p>Poke made a burlesque bow. “Sir, I yield -the floor,” said he.</p> - -<p>“I say we made a mistake, and I mean it,” -Sam went on. “Not liking Orkney, we forgot -the old rule that you’ve got to hold anybody -innocent of a charge till he’s proved -guilty. Don’t stop me! You’ll try to argue -that we had evidence against him, but, as we -know now, it wasn’t proof, by a long shot. -There was that business of the cap. Did we -investigate it? We didn’t. If any one of us -had taken the trouble to ask Mrs. Benton -about it at the time, there’d be another story<span class="pagenum">[234]</span> -to tell. Then every one of us jumped to the -conclusion that Orkney came near drowning -Little Perrine. Evidence? We hadn’t a bit.”</p> - -<p>“But people said——” Poke began.</p> - -<p>“Confound what people said! They knew -no more than we did. They were jumping to -conclusions, too. But we were saying things -on our own account. Right here, in this -room, Poke told us that we were responsible -for blocking Orkney’s ambitions from the -first, for taking the shine off him; that the -Shark eclipsed him in mathematics and -Step skimmed the cream from the Greek; -that the crowd of us kept him from bossing -the class. And all of us chimed in, and -said it was so, and patted our own backs, -and——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on, Sam!” the Shark broke in. -“How’d we do that? We’re not contortionists.”</p> - -<p>“Hang it all! Don’t interrupt! You -know what I mean.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; I infer,” corrected the -Shark. “Be accurate, be accurate!”</p> - -<p>Sam’s temper flared. “What’s the matter, -anyway? Don’t you want to hear me?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[235]</span></p> - -<p>“I do,” said the Shark calmly. “You’re -talking sense. Therefore use sensible language.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do the best I can,” Sam promised, -“but listen to me, anyway. What I’m getting -at is that, as Poke had it, if Orkney was -driven out of town, we had a lot to do with -the driving. We called it a good job, but was -it? It was <em>not</em>! We didn’t play fair; we -didn’t give him a square deal. He was entitled -to the benefit of the doubt, and we -always counted the doubt against him. I -know, I know what you’re thinking—he <em>was</em> -a cub, and a chronic grouch, and a trouble -maker; but the ugly fact remains that we -accused him of a lot of things he didn’t do, -and had no intention of doing. And I say, -in such a case, it’s up to us to see that, at last, -he gets a square deal. I don’t say it so much -for his sake as for our own.”</p> - -<p>“Umph! Matter of self-respect?” queried -the Shark.</p> - -<p>“Just that!” said Sam emphatically.</p> - -<p>For a moment there was silence.</p> - -<p>“But, Sam!” ventured Herman Boyd. -“Aren’t you piling it on this crowd? Suppose<span class="pagenum">[236]</span> -Orkney was—er—er—os—os—what’s -that word I want?”</p> - -<p>“Ostracized?” suggested Step.</p> - -<p>“That’s it—ostracized. Well, suppose that -was what happened to Orkney. We didn’t do -it—all. The whole school had a hand.”</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t relieve us of responsibility -for our part.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right, Sam,” said Poke very soberly; -for like the others he felt the influence -of Sam’s earnestness. “You’re right. We’ve -got some responsibility. We were boasting -of it the other day, and we can’t crawfish and -shirk it now. But what’s the practical thing? -What can we do about it?”</p> - -<p>“That’s it! What can we do?” echoed -Step and the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“We can talk, argue,” Sam explained. -“We can tell people Orkney has been misjudged. -We can spread everywhere the truth -about Little Perrine.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ll go so far, gladly,” said Step.</p> - -<p>“Same here!” cried the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” agreed Poke.</p> - -<p>The Shark was frowning slightly. “If you -fellows had listened to my demonstration<span class="pagenum">[237]</span> -about the flight of the boulder, you wouldn’t -have to listen now to Sam. But it’s better -late than never.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, cut the crowing!” said Step testily.</p> - -<p>“Might as well—it’ll be the same story -over again next time I try to put anything -before you in black and white.”</p> - -<p>Step turned to Sam. “I don’t like Orkney,” -he said. “I never expect to like him. -But I’ll promise to help set him right with -the school. If there were any way to find -him and bring him back, I’d jump at the -chance.”</p> - -<p>“Guess you can make that promise for the -whole club!” exclaimed Poke.</p> - -<p>“Sure!” cried the Trojan. The others -nodded, a bit solemnly.</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll consider it a definite agreement,” -said Sam. “If any of us get a clue, a -tip, a hint, the whole club will pull together -in whatever may be done.”</p> - -<p>Step laughed rather vaguely and glanced at -the Shark.</p> - -<p>“What are the mathematical odds against -getting a clue, old Headlights? Figure ’em -out for us.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[238]</span></p> - -<p>The Shark’s lip curled. “Can’t! Problem’s -all unknown quantities. But you may -have bull luck. It’s always coming to blooming -idiots.”</p> - -<p>Sam interposed in the interest of peace.</p> - -<p>“Stow the joshing, fellows! We’ve reached -an understanding, anyway. It’s settled that -if anybody gets news of Orkney the club is to -share it. I admit I don’t know where it can -come from, but I’ll hope for it, all the same.”</p> - -<p>Sam spoke guardedly enough, and with no -suspicion that at that very moment Lon Gates -lay in wait for him. And Lon had news, interesting -certainly, and perhaps important.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[239]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI -<br><span class="cheaderfont">LON PLAYS DETECTIVE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>“See that, sonny?” Lon, having captured -Sam at the gate and led him to the privacy of -the barn, had taken a wrench from a shelf and -was displaying the implement with much complacency. -“’Member it? Ought to! It’s the -wrench I told you the other day was lost, -strayed or stolen.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” said Sam. “And so you found it?”</p> - -<p>Lon chuckled. “Wal, I did sort o’ stumble -on it, as you might say. Only there was -more’n plain stumblin’ involved, seein’ as how -I had to take it away from Peter Groche. -And Peter don’t willingly give up what ain’t -his—not so long as he has his health.”</p> - -<p>“Then Peter’s turned up again!”</p> - -<p>“He’s turned up—this afternoon. Guess -he’s turned down again, though, before this. -I’ll tell you how ’twas.”</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute! If he had the wrench,<span class="pagenum">[240]</span> -he’d stolen it from us. If he stole it, there’s -no doubt left that he played all the other -tricks!”</p> - -<p>Lon thrust a hand into the bosom of his -coat, and struck an attitude.</p> - -<p>“Now what do you think o’ me as a sleuth? -Ain’t I a reg’lar Shylock Holmes?”</p> - -<p>“Sherlock Holmes,” corrected Sam.</p> - -<p>“Oh, wal, Shylock’s the name that sort o’ -sticks in my head. Guess he must ’a’ been -Sherlock’s brother. But then there was Hannibal, -too.”</p> - -<p>Sam threw up his hands in mock despair. -“Go on! Give me the yarn!”</p> - -<p>“Wal, me ’n’ Hannibal was goin’ down-town -to do an errand for your ma, and we cut across -by Lane’s blacksmith shop. The door was -open. I was for paradin’ by, unnoticin’, but -Hannibal began to growl and scooted for that -door. Somethin’ made me whistle him back, -and I was tickled I did; for when I peeked -in, there was Peter Groche, big as life and -uglier’n ever, tryin’ to sell this wrench to old -man Lane for a dime. I knew it was ours the -minute I clapped eyes on’t, but I jest thought -I’d wait a little and listen to what Mr. Groche<span class="pagenum">[241]</span> -was purrin’. And he was explainin’ to Mr. -Lane that he’d been away for a day or two, -and that he was back in town jest to settle his -affairs, ’cause he’d picked up a reg’lar job, -choppin’ in the woods up Payne’s Stream, and -he was goin’ there soon’s he’d cashed in on a -little portable property he had no further use -for. And then, seein’ as how Hannibal was -gettin’ uneasy, I walked in and took Mr. -Groche by the collar, and walked him out o’ -the shop, and took away the wrench, and told -him I guessed there was one bargain sale he’d -have to call off.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s eyes were opened widely. “Gee! but -it took nerve to tackle him! They say he’s -an awful scrapper.”</p> - -<p>“Mebbe it wasn’t his scrappin’ day. And, -of course, a bull terrier growlin’ ’round a feller’s -legs is kinder disconcertin’—say, Sam, -Hannibal showed plain enough he’d got a score -to even with Groche. Don’t wonder at that! -’Member the mornin’ the dog come limpin’ -home? Wal, anyhow, Peter didn’t put up a -fight. He jest scowled, and cussed, and swore -he’d found the wrench. Then I told him I -supposed the wrench must ’a’ met him on the<span class="pagenum">[242]</span> -street and followed him home, and he shut up -on that part of it. Then I called him a thief, -and a few other pet names; and he acted -queer, I swan he did!”</p> - -<p>“What did he do?”</p> - -<p>“Swelled up like a frog. Didn’t call names -back at me, but behaved contemptuous-like, -as if I was a cheap ’un to worry about a plain -old wrench. Said he had money enough to -buy me; or, anyhow, he knew where he could -get a bunch of it for the askin’. Then I -laughed at him, and he puffed up more’n ever. -What’d I think of an even hundred dollars, -heh? Wal, it was his, whenever he chose to -say ’bout a dozen words. And there wa’n’t -nobody else in Plainville that could say ’em. -He knew something, he did! And then he -sputtered so there was no makin’ head or tail -of his nonsense.”</p> - -<p>Sam caught Lon’s arm. “What else happened? -Tell me—quick!”</p> - -<p>There was an excitement in the boy’s tone -that made Lon stare at him.</p> - -<p>“Why—what—what’s stirrin’ you up, -Sam?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you afterward. Go on!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[243]</span></p> - -<p>“Huh! That’s what Groche did. You see, -Hannibal lost patience and took a nip at his -calf, and Peter jest missed kickin’ Hannibal; -and it struck me the gaiety of our social circle -was gettin’ feverish. So I grabbed Hannibal’s -collar, and told Groche that if I saw him again -I’d have him arrested for thievin’. Over on -the railroad a freight was gettin’ ready to pull -out on the branch line. I hinted he’d better -jump it, and let it give him a lift, if he was -headin’ Payne’s Stream way. And I was sorry -he couldn’t stay to collect that ghost hundred -dollars he was dreamin’ about, but Hannibal -wouldn’t be denied much longer; so he’d better -beat it. Which also he done.”</p> - -<p>“You mean he ran for the train?”</p> - -<p>“Yep! And caught it—saw him.”</p> - -<p>“And he’s going to Payne Stream?”</p> - -<p>“Looked mighty much that way. But -what you drivin’ at, Sam?”</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute! Father’s camps are up -there, aren’t they?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; he’s got gangs lumberin’ three-four -places along the stream.”</p> - -<p>“Hurrah!” cried Sam.</p> - -<p>Lon’s jaw sagged. “What—what in Sam<span class="pagenum">[244]</span> -Hill’s got into you? This ain’t the Fourth of -July.”</p> - -<p>Sam was still clutching the man’s arm. -“Look here, Lon! Wake up! Groche has -been up-stream, got a job, come to town for -some reason or other. You’ve started him -back.”</p> - -<p>“Jesso!”</p> - -<p>“He boasted he could make a hundred dollars -by telling something?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what he said.”</p> - -<p>“But you didn’t give him a chance to earn -the money?”</p> - -<p>“No. Still, of course, most likely he was -lyin’——”</p> - -<p>“For once he may have been speaking the -truth. And it happens there’s just one way -to pick up a hundred in Plainville so easily.”</p> - -<p>“How’s that?”</p> - -<p>“By winning the reward for news of Tom -Orkney!”</p> - -<p>Lon’s expression was crestfallen. “Of all -the chuckleheads!” he groaned. “And I -didn’t tumble! I guess I’m jest a one-idea-at-a-time -feller. But that one idea that I’d got -Groche dead to rights on the stealin’ seemed<span class="pagenum">[245]</span> -big as a mountain—hid everything else. But -I’ll bet you’re right! Groche spotted the kid -up in one o’ them camps on Payne Stream, -and came back to collect easy money——”</p> - -<p>“Sure he didn’t get it?” Sam broke in.</p> - -<p>“Yep! I scared him off. You see, ’twas a -mite livelier’n I let on jest now. And what -between me ’n’ Hannibal and that wrench—reckon -I was wavin’ it sort o’ free and vi’lent—and -the risk o’ bein’ arrested—wal, I guess -Groche was glad to go while the goin’ was -good. Then, too, he may ’a’ figgered he could -come back to pick the plum when things had -quieted down—see?”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. Lon was no braggart; no -doubt the brush with Groche had been very -nearly a full-sized fight.</p> - -<p>“Wal, what’ll you do now?” Lon queried -curiously. “Say! That hundred’d come in -pooty handy, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I couldn’t take it!” Sam said quickly. -“That doesn’t mean, though——”</p> - -<p>There he checked himself; wheeled; and -strode toward the house. His brain was working -actively; a plan was taking shape, a plan -hard to execute, perhaps, yet not impossible.<span class="pagenum">[246]</span> -And if it could be carried out, it might go far -toward wiping out the balance against the -Safety First Club in the matter of Tom -Orkney.</p> - -<p>Sometimes Fortune comes to meet those -who seek her favors. No sooner had Sam set -foot in the house than he realized that there -was an unusual air of excitement in the normally -tranquil establishment. Nor had he -long to wait for enlightenment.</p> - -<p>The supper bell rang, and very willingly he -took his place at table; for, as has been set -forth, his cares had not blunted his appetite. -Three minutes later, however, he had laid -down knife and fork, and was listening -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“We ought to make a fairly early start in -the morning,” his father remarked. “Warren -will arrive on the nine o’clock train this -evening, and can get a good night’s rest. Perhaps -we’d better have breakfast about seven.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Warren was the New Yorker Mr. Parker -was to take into the woods! And they were -to depart in the morning for the camps on -Payne Stream!</p> - -<p>“Father!” cried Sam.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[247]</span></p> - -<p>Mr. Parker glanced in surprise at his son. -“Well, what is it, young man?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“The biggest favor I ever begged of you! -Take me with you!”</p> - -<p>“On this trip?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. I can’t tell you how much I -want to go.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker shook his head doubtfully. “It’s -a long haul—we’re going in to the new camps, -and maybe beyond them. I’m afraid——”</p> - -<p>“But it’s such a tremendous favor, Father!”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! But——” Mr. Parker paused. -He had noted Sam’s earnestness; had marked -how the boy was bending forward, and how -his hands gripped the edge of the table. “But, -you see——” Now he had caught his wife’s -eye, and again hesitated. For some strange -reason she was endorsing her son’s plea. He -read the unspoken message; he saw her little -nod of affirmation. “Why—why, give me a -moment to consider,” he concluded.</p> - -<p>“It’s vacation, you know,” said Mrs. Parker -softly.</p> - -<p>“I know—but I hadn’t thought of——”</p> - -<p>“But you’ll think of it now, won’t you?” -implored Sam.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[248]</span></p> - -<p>Once more husband and wife exchanged -glances.</p> - -<p>“The fact that I hadn’t thought of taking -you, Sam, doesn’t bar considering the proposition -now,” said Mr. Parker. “Well, I dare -say it can be arranged if——”</p> - -<p>“Bully!” cried Sam enthusiastically. “Oh, -but that’s fine, sir! And I want my crowd to -go—the club—you know, sir!”</p> - -<p>“What!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, the club—all of ’em. That’s the best -part of it.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly—for the club,” said Mr. Parker -drily. “But I’m not planning a wholesale -migration.”</p> - -<p>“Still,” suggested Mrs. Parker, “there’s the -big sleigh.”</p> - -<p>“There is.”</p> - -<p>“And the boys wouldn’t mind a little -crowding.”</p> - -<p>“Not they! Warren may have prejudices.”</p> - -<p>“You can share the front seat with him. -And I believe the roads are well broken.”</p> - -<p>“Only so far as the first camp.”</p> - -<p>“But that’ll do for us,” cried Sam. “You -can leave us there, and go on with Mr. Warren,<span class="pagenum">[249]</span> -and pick us up when you come back. -You won’t be more than a couple of days -away from us, and we’ll keep out of mischief.”</p> - -<p>“Why not put Lon in charge of the boys?” -added Mrs. Parker.</p> - -<p>Her husband laughed outright. “It’s no -use—I’m outvoted two to one! But that is a -happy thought about Lon. And jammed as -we’ll be, an extra passenger will make little -difference. Only understand, son!” He -turned to Sam. “You’ve promised good behavior. -Don’t forget that.”</p> - -<p>Sam was grave enough. “I won’t forget -that I’m on probation, sir. But—but then -it’s settled?”</p> - -<p>“You may consider it so.”</p> - -<p>“Whoop! Excuse me, please!” Up sprang -Sam so hastily that his chair was almost overturned. -He dashed into the hall and caught -up the telephone.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker glanced inquiringly at his wife.</p> - -<p>“There’s more animation than I’ve seen -manifested for weeks,” he observed. “Sam -has seemed to be rather subdued lately.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve noticed it. And I confess I haven’t -understood it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[250]</span></p> - -<p>“Effect of his escapade with my gun, perhaps?”</p> - -<p>“Not wholly. I’m sure there’s something -else on his mind.”</p> - -<p>From the hall floated Sam’s eager voice:</p> - -<p>“Course your folks will let you go, Step. -Make ’em, make ’em!... Yes, yes; I -tell you there’s a special reason. Biggest -chance that ever happened!... No, no; -I can’t tell you now, but we’ll get the gang to -the club, and you’ll have the whole story.... -No, no—just bring along your snow-shoes.... -But you’ve got to come—every -fellow’s got to!... What’s that?... -Sure, there’s a clue!... No; I -shan’t talk over the wire.... Get permission -to come along; that’s all you need -worry about.... Say, hang up now, -won’t you? I want to catch Poke and the -rest before any of ’em go out for the evening.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker smiled quizzically. “My dear -lady,” he said, “I confess that I find difficulty -in comprehending the mental processes of -your son.”</p> - -<p>His wife gave a little sigh. “Ah! Sam is -too much for me sometimes. And this is one<span class="pagenum">[251]</span> -of the times. But”—and her face brightened—“but -I’m confident he has some excellent -reason for setting his heart on this expedition.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I hope so, at least,” said Mr. Parker, -rather resignedly.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[252]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">TOM ORKNEY CHANGES HIS INTENTION</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There are three ways in which one may -travel from Plainville to the woods about -Payne Stream. One is partly by rail, involving -a jolting journey over the branch line to a -flag-station, and then a trip over roads which -quickly dwindle to trails. The other routes -are by highways, neither being direct. Mr. -Parker, choosing the more promising of the -two, brought his party in sight of the No. 1 -camp in mid-afternoon.</p> - -<p>The pace had been very moderate, but rather -because Mr. Parker spared his horses than because -of hard going. In the more thickly settled -districts the sleighing was excellent, while -the last lap of the journey was over a “tote -road,” worn smooth by the passage of sledges -carrying supplies to the lumbermen. Midway -there had been a stretch, over which travel -evidently had been very light. Here, as Lon<span class="pagenum">[253]</span> -explained to the boys, was a district of abandoned -farms, some of whose houses, fast falling -into ruin, he pointed out to them. Then -he indicated groves of flourishing young trees, -growing on land which within his memory -had been under cultivation, and philosophized -a little on the “hard grubbin’” on the hill -farms.</p> - -<p>Wrapped in their fur coats, Mr. Parker and -Mr. Warren shared the front seat, and afforded -shelter for the other passengers. The rear -seats had been removed from the sleigh, and -Lon and the boys filled the bottom of the -vehicle, with plenty of straw and robes to keep -them warm. On the whole they did very -well; though it is not to be denied that they -were quite willing to alight and stretch their -legs when the sleigh drew up at the door of a -big log hut, low but long and with an ell at -the rear. Smoke was curling from two chimneys, -one in the middle of the main building -and the other in the ell, but nobody was in -evidence. When Mr. Parker raised a shout, -however, the door opened, and out came a -thick-set, ruddy, middle-aged man, in sweater, -corduroys and heavy boots.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[254]</span></p> - -<p>“Hullo there!” he sang out cheerfully. -“Glad to see ye, Mr. Parker! Wasn’t lookin’ -for ye quite so early. And this is Mr. Warren, -ain’t it? Proud and happy, sir, to make -your acquaintance. Wha’je think of this, -now? Kinder remind ye of Fifth Avenue, -eh?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve seen snow on the avenue—when -it was very new snow—that looked like that -you have here,” said Mr. Warren.</p> - -<p>The thick-set man chuckled, and shook -hands with Mr. Parker. Then he repeated the -ceremony with Mr. Warren, being duly presented -as Mr. Kane, foreman, or “boss” of -No. 1 camp. Then for the first time he seemed -to observe Lon and the club.</p> - -<p>“Hullo some more—a whole lot more!” he -exclaimed. “Wha’je got in behind, Mr. -Parker? New crew of lumberjacks?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker briefly explained, and there were -more introductions.</p> - -<p>“Kinder wedged in, ain’t they?” inquired -Mr. Kane. “Guess I’d better play block and -tackle.”</p> - -<p>With that he put out an arm, caught Step -by the collar, and fairly swung him to the<span class="pagenum">[255]</span> -ground. Whereupon Step’s friends swarmed -over the side of the sleigh, and fell to stamping -their feet vigorously, in an effort to quicken -sluggish circulation.</p> - -<p>“Go in, boys, go in,” Mr. Kane urged hospitably. -“Go in and warm up. Goin’ to let -these fellers stay with me, ain’t ye?” he -added.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mr. Parker. “Hope you can -put ’em up, and put up with them, for a day -or two, while Warren and I go farther on.”</p> - -<p>“Sartain sure! Plenty o’ room, and grub, -and blankets. Only ain’t ye goin’ to stop at -the Hotel de Kane?”</p> - -<p>“On the way out we will. Just now I’m -anxious to get in touch with Wells——”</p> - -<p>“Wal, now, if he didn’t go through to No. 2, -not half an hour ahead of ye!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker cast a weatherwise look at the -sky, and gathered up the reins.</p> - -<p>“Then I think Warren and I will push on,” -said he. “There’s a feel of more snow in the -air, Kane. So, if you’ll just keep a sharp eye -on these young scamps and show them what a -lumber camp is like——”</p> - -<p>“Trust me!” chuckled the cheery foreman.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[256]</span></p> - -<p>Sam had drawn a little apart from his friends -and was glancing keenly about him. At that -hour, of course, the choppers were at work, -probably at some distance from the camp, but -other employees might be in or near the cabin. -Already he had observed a fat man peering -from the door of the ell. That would be the -cook, no doubt. The jingle of bells told him -that his father was resuming the journey, and -his ears warned him that Mr. Kane was shepherding -his flock of guests indoors.</p> - -<p>Sam was as chilled and stiff from the long -ride as were his friends, but he still lingered -at his post of observation. It was no more -than a chance, at the best, that Orkney, if he -had come to the woods, was at this especial -camp; but Sam was making the most of the -chance. In full session of the club it had been -decided that, if the runaway were discovered, -Sam should first reason with him in private, -falling back, if necessary, upon the support of -the others.</p> - -<p>Except where a clearing had been made for -the camp, and where ran the narrow tote road, -towered tall pines, doomed to fall as the -choppers worked their way from the borders<span class="pagenum">[257]</span> -of the tract to its center. Here the snow had -fallen deep and without drifts, such as the -travelers had seen in the more open country. -Sam shivered a little. The cheerful and -vociferous boss had followed his charges into -the cabin, and, of a sudden, the watcher was -oppressed by the silence and the loneliness -of the woods. Instinctively he took a step -toward the main door of the camp; halted; -listened intently. Then he heard again, and -with certainty, the sound which he had half -believed a trick of imagination. It was the -crunch of dry snow under a hurrying foot.</p> - -<p>Sam strode forward. As he turned the -corner of the building, he caught sight of a -figure moving obliquely toward the runner -tracks leading to No. 2 camp. In spite of the -low-drawn cap and the rough Mackinaw he -recognized Orkney.</p> - -<p>“Slipped out of a back door, and around -the other side of the camp and started for -another get-away,” he reflected. “Bound not -to be seen, if he can help it. Thunder, but he -is as stubborn as they make ’em!”</p> - -<p>Orkney was in haste, but Sam pursued still -more rapidly. The tote road bent sharply to<span class="pagenum">[258]</span> -avoid a great boulder. Orkney vanished -around the bend, without giving evidence -that he suspected he was followed; but when -Sam passed the big rock, and thus shut himself -from view from the camp, he beheld -Orkney, faced about and standing defiantly in -the middle of the road.</p> - -<p>Sam, too, pulled up. For a moment neither -boy spoke. Sam advanced a pace. Orkney -contented himself with holding his ground.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you want?” he growled.</p> - -<p>“You,” was Sam’s terse response.</p> - -<p>“Cut out the guff! I’m in a hurry.”</p> - -<p>Sam took another step forward. “See here, -Orkney! I’ve got things to tell you. You -made a mistake when you bolted.”</p> - -<p>“That’s my own lookout. I’m satisfied.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! It’s no affair of yours.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you it is,” Sam insisted. “Helped -drive you out of town, didn’t I?”</p> - -<p>“What’s that? ‘Drive me out?’” snorted -Orkney. “Not much! Nobody drove me—least -of all you and your gang of swelled -heads!”</p> - -<p>Sam kept his temper. “Might as well face<span class="pagenum">[259]</span> -things as they are. You ran away because -everybody was down on you, because everybody -cut you, because——”</p> - -<p>“Not on your life!” Orkney broke in -fiercely. “I don’t care a rap for the whole -school or the whole town!”</p> - -<p>“All the same you couldn’t stand the gaff. -So you turned tail and bolted. And here I -find you a wood-chopper and——”</p> - -<p>“No siree! Can’t you get anything -straight? I’m cookee. Know what that -is? Cook’s helper. Or, rather, I was. I’ve -quit the job. I’m moving on.”</p> - -<p>“You’re running again—from us!”</p> - -<p>“I’m running from nobody. But I don’t -choose to stay where a lot of prying sneaks -are butting in.”</p> - -<p>Sam took another step. This proffering of -the amende honorable was proving to be even -more difficult than he had feared, but he kept -himself in hand.</p> - -<p>“Orkney,” he said earnestly, “you’ve got -to hear me. The other day I charged you -with a lot of rascality. I was mistaken. I -take back what I said. Then, like everybody -else, I thought you as good as shoved Little<span class="pagenum">[260]</span> -Perrine into the pond. That was another -mistake; I’m sorry for it.”</p> - -<p>Orkney was more puzzled than pleased. -“Eh? Sorry, are you? Well, if you want -to apologize——”</p> - -<p>“Apologize” is a word which, sometimes, -grates on the ear. Sam flushed.</p> - -<p>“Go slow there!” he said sharply; then, -with a change of tone, went on: “If I’m -apologizing, it’s for the things I did because I -was fooled, deceived. And the club are with -me in this. But I’m not apologizing, and -they’re not apologizing for thinking you a -grouchy sorehead. You’ve made your own -troubles, mostly. We’ll let that pass, though. -I’m not here to call you names; I’m here to -tell you that, if you’d stuck it out and not run -away, things would have cleared up for you. -As it is, we’re ready to do what we can for -you if you’ll come back. We’ll spread the -truth. You can make a fresh start.”</p> - -<p>“With the help of your bunch! I see myself -doing it!”</p> - -<p>“Look at the case fairly. We came here -in the hope of finding you. We came to -make the offer.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[261]</span></p> - -<p>“Got a tip where I was, eh? Well, I -know who gave it. Fellow from Plainville, -who’d been hanging around the camp, disappeared -for a couple of days, and then came -back.”</p> - -<p>“Groche—Peter Groche? Is he here -now?”</p> - -<p>“Was this morning. It was none of his -business, and it’s none of yours, Parker—mixing -up in my affairs this way.”</p> - -<p>“But it is our business!”</p> - -<p>Orkney’s jaw was thrust forward obstinately. -“See here, Mr. Sam Parker, you’re going too -far. You’re banking on a notion that on -account of what you did for me at the pond -I’ve got to come when you whistle. Get that -out of your head! I told you I couldn’t very -well fight you—you know why—but there’s a -limit. You don’t own me!”</p> - -<p>Sam had not thoroughly mastered the rôle -of bearer of the olive branch. “Mighty -glad I don’t own you! If I did, I’d get rid -of you very quick!” he rapped out. “And if -you want to fight—why, the slate’s clean; you -don’t owe me anything.”</p> - -<p>Orkney dropped a bundle he had been carrying<span class="pagenum">[262]</span> -under one arm. Sam, observing this -readiness to clear for action, struggled between -zest for the fray and duty, as he saw it.</p> - -<p>“Listen, you—you chump! Show common -sense, can’t you? Come home with us. We -want you to have a square deal. We’ll back -you up—so far as we can. Little Perrine -swears by you—we’ll spread his story. And -there’s another thing—maybe you don’t guess -how awfully broken up your aunt is. She’s -almost crazy. She’s done everything she -could to trace you. She’s offered a reward——”</p> - -<p>“What’s that? A reward?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—hundred dollars for news of you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh-ho!” Orkney’s cynical grin was a -taunt in itself. “Oh-ho! So that’s your lay, -eh? You’re after me because you and your -gang are after the hundred? Well, you don’t -get either—see?”</p> - -<p>Orkney had passed the limits of endurance. -Rage seized Sam. To be charged with mercenary -motives was more than he could bear. -He sprang at Tom, and at the same instant -that vigilant youth leaped to meet the attack. -There was a furious exchange of blows, each<span class="pagenum">[263]</span> -combatant seeking to inflict punishment and -making no effort to avoid it. Then the pair -grappled, and swayed back and forth, struggling -desperately for the mastery.</p> - -<p>It was a fight, and a real fight; but one carried -on under unusual conditions. Both boys -were in heavy winter clothes; there had been -no time to discard overcoats or jackets, or -even the thick gloves they wore. So they -were, in some degree, like armored knights of -old, come to grips in full panoply, by which -they were at once hampered and protected; -while the yielding snow offered most uncertain -footing. Now they were in the tracks of -the tote road; now they had reeled into snow -that rose above their plunging knees; now -they were floundering back to the path. Sam, -slipping, went to his knees. Orkney, over-eager -to press his advantage, lost it; for -though he landed a blow on his opponent’s -forehead, it was at cost of the precious “under -hold.” Sam’s arms were locked about -Tom’s waist; his chin was pressing hard -against the other’s shoulder. Orkney swayed -backward under the pressure. He made a -frantic effort to break free; failed; lost footing.<span class="pagenum">[264]</span> -Down he went into the deep snow, Sam -falling upon him and still holding him fast.</p> - -<p>But the battle was far from ended. Orkney -writhed and twisted. He struck at Sam, raining -ineffective blows upon his head and shoulders. -He kicked furiously, sending the snow -flying in showers. Indeed, he fought determinedly -but vainly, until at last Sam, keeping -his wits, had slowly shifted position, and -was astride his prostrate foe’s body. Then, -with one of Sam’s hands at his throat, and -the other hand clenched and poised above his -unprotected face, Orkney sullenly accepted -defeat and ceased to struggle.</p> - -<p>“You—you had enough?” Sam panted.</p> - -<p>“Y-Yes!” gasped Orkney with all imaginable -reluctance.</p> - -<p>“Give up?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” It was barely a whisper, but Sam -caught the word.</p> - -<p>“All—all right!” he said, breathlessly but -cheerfully, and got upon his feet.</p> - -<p>Orkney sat up, but did not attempt to rise. -His expression betrayed intense chagrin.</p> - -<p>“I—I won’t admit you—you licked me, -but—but you got me down,” he said brokenly.<span class="pagenum">[265]</span> -“And—and I gave up. But that—that doesn’t settle anything.”</p> - -<p>To his surprise Sam laughed.</p> - -<p>“Sure settles one thing, Orkney! You said -you—you wanted to fight me, but couldn’t—’member? -Well, somehow, we seem to have -dodged the difficulty.”</p> - -<p>Tom seemed to find a certain grim consolation -in this aspect of the case.</p> - -<p>“That’s so. But—but what do you want -me to do now?”</p> - -<p>“Stand up!” said Sam promptly. “We’ll -brush the snow off each other. Then we’ll go -back to the camp. You’d better slip in the way -you slipped out. I’ll go in at the front door, -and tell the fellows you’re working here, and -I’ve had a talk with you. Then you’ll happen -along naturally. The crowd will be decent.”</p> - -<p>Orkney made a grimace. “S’pose I’ll have -to see ’em—might as well have it over. But -see here, Parker! Mind you, I haven’t promised -to go back to Plainville.”</p> - -<p>“But you’ll think it over?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Orkney reluctantly, “I’ll agree -to that. Yes; I’ll stay a day or two, anyway, -and think it over.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[266]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">CHAPTER XXIII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">LON GATES ENTERTAINS</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>What easily might have been an embarrassing -situation was dealt with capably by the -Safety First Club. Hardly had the jovial Mr. -Kane welcomed the belated Sam and demanded -how in the world he had happened to -stray from the rest of the party and what he -had been doing to amuse himself out in the -cold; and hardly had Sam explained as nonchalantly -as might be that he had chanced to -meet a schoolmate, who was serving as cookee to -the camp, and had paused for a chat with him, -when the door in the partition shutting off the -cook’s domain opened, and Orkney appeared.</p> - -<p>There was brief, but tense, silence as Tom -advanced toward the group. Then Step, who -chanced to be nearest, spoke.</p> - -<p>“H’lo, Orkney!” said he brusquely but not -harshly.</p> - -<p>“Howdy, Step!” responded Tom, quite in -the same manner.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[267]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh, up here for a while, eh?”</p> - -<p>This was Poke’s contribution. The others -nodded, a bit stiffly, maybe; and the Shark -regarded the newcomer solemnly through his -glasses. Nowhere was there sign of hostility, -even if warmer welcome were lacking. There -was not a boy there but guessed shrewdly at -what had taken place; but not for love or -money would one of them have betrayed his -knowledge by speech or look. At times the -methods of youngsters in their teens curiously -resemble those of Indians—at least, to the extent -of jealous hiding of emotion. Both Tom -and Sam bore a mark or two of their encounter, -but for the present these were things to be -carefully ignored.</p> - -<p>Mr. Kane, as he himself would have said, -“sensed” something queer; but though he -glanced quickly and inquiringly from face to -face, he could make nothing of the manner of -his guests. And then Orkney going about his -duties and the boys resuming their talk, he -gave up the problem, and turned to Lon, from -whom he demanded the latest news of the outside -world.</p> - -<p>It was Sam’s first opportunity to inspect a<span class="pagenum">[268]</span> -lumber camp, and he studied with keen interest -the long, low room, with its walls of -logs, its big stove, its line of bunks against -each wall, and its “deacon’s seat,” or bench -built beside the bunks. The windows were few -and small. Roughly as the house was built, -it was very solidly put together, while drafts -were lessened by moss packed between the logs. -Here and there hung spare clothing and extra -boots. There was no attempt anywhere at -adornment or decoration, but order of a sort -seemed to be maintained, the order which -places everything where it can be most handily -come at.</p> - -<p>Dusk was falling, and the choppers began -to straggle into the camp. With them came -the “yard men,” whose business it is to handle -and pile the logs, and the teamsters. -Strapping big fellows were most of Kane’s -crew, roughly clad for rough work, hard as -nails, and hungry as bears. Among the last -to arrive was Peter Groche, who slouched into -the big room, grunted when his eyes fell -upon Lon and the boys, halted for an instant, -regarding them evilly, and finally made his -way to what appeared to be his especial corner.<span class="pagenum">[269]</span> -There he remained until the whole company -trooped through the doorway in the partition -to the combined kitchen and dining-room.</p> - -<p>This filled the ell of the camp. There was -a range in one corner, and a table of boards -ran the length of the room, benches serving as -seats. Behind these were two bunks for the -cook and the cookee. The supper, everything -being eaten from tin plates, made up in quantity -what it lacked in variety. Beans, baked -with pork, formed the principal dish, most excellent -beans and in seemingly inexhaustible -supply. Then there were enormous camp -doughnuts, which would have appalled a dyspeptic, -but which proved to be singularly -toothsome and comforting after a day in the -open. Tea, sweetened with molasses, was -drunk from tin cups. The boys may not have -been able to match the huge appetites of the -woodsmen, but they ate and ate until, as Poke -whispered to Step, he’d have to stop or hitch -two belts together; for the food, simple as it -was, was well cooked and tempting enough to -hungry folk, young or old.</p> - -<p>Sam divided attention between Orkney and<span class="pagenum">[270]</span> -Peter Groche. The cookee, of course, was busy -throughout the meal, devoting himself to his -tasks and going about them in businesslike -fashion. Sam fancied Tom was not in high -favor with the men, though it certainly could -not be alleged that he neglected them. Still, -Tom’s was a dogged and silent manner of performance -not calculated to secure popularity -anywhere.</p> - -<p>At table Groche’s appearance was at its -worst. He ate greedily and enormously, fairly -shoveling the food into his mouth. Sam observed -that the man kept his eyes on his plate, -spoke to none of his neighbors, and showed no -interest in the talk which began to be heard -when the supper drew to a close. He was the -first to rise, and shuffled out as if glad to go; -but when the boys trooped into the main -room, there was Groche, perched in his corner -and sucking at a black pipe. And there he -remained until dislodged by no less heroic a -champion than the Shark.</p> - -<p>Now the Shark, as has been related, had the -quaint habit, into which near-sighted persons, -given to reflection, sometimes fall, of fixing -his gaze upon some object and holding it there<span class="pagenum">[271]</span> -without any especial concern in the object, or -consciousness of its existence. As it happened, -the Shark had chanced to wonder what might -be the weight of a layer of snow two feet deep, -spread evenly over one square mile; and being -more charmed with the computation than with -the conversation of his friends and hosts, he -sat down opposite Peter, brought him into -range of his big spectacles—and promptly forgot -his very existence.</p> - -<p>Groche, on his part, woke up gradually, as -it were, to the baleful and unwinking intensity -of the scrutiny to which he seemed to be subjected. -He glared at the Shark, growled deep -in his throat, tried to stare down the unconscious -youth over the way. Failing utterly in -this, he dropped his eyes, pulled desperately -at the black pipe, shifted position, stole a side-long -glance at his vis-à-vis. The Shark was -still contemplating him with unruffled composure -and deadly concentration.</p> - -<p>Groche bent forward, scowling his fiercest. -The Shark ignored the demonstration. Groche -made an abrupt and threatening motion. The -Shark didn’t move an eyelash. A strange fear -clutched the heart of the ne’er-do-well. He<span class="pagenum">[272]</span> -had heard frightful tales of the evil eye. What -the evil eye might be he had no notion, but -also he had no intention to risk learning. Up -he jumped, retreating the length of the room; -while the Shark, wholly absorbed, stared at -the wall instead of Mr. Groche, without being -aware of the change in view.</p> - -<p>Sam, the observant, had not missed Groche’s -strategic movement, though he did not grasp -its cause. Nor did he fail to perceive that -Peter from his new post was sourly surveying -the group by the stove, with especial regard -for Lon and himself. But then came Orkney -to distract Sam’s attention.</p> - -<p>Tom, his work finished, took the place the -Trojan made for him on the bench. His air -was not markedly sullen, but it was reserved; -and it could not be denied that the talk, -which had been going merrily enough, began -to drag. Sam, hurrying to the rescue, started -a topic, which drooped and languished. Tom -was attentive but unresponsive; so were the -club members. Both sides were trying to be -fair, and the result was chilling.</p> - -<p>Sam caught Lon’s eye, and telegraphed a -message for help. Lon understood. He<span class="pagenum">[273]</span> -nodded in reply. Clasping his hands about a -knee, he fell to rocking his body back and -forth. Of a sudden he broke into a loud -laugh.</p> - -<p>“Haw, haw, haw! If he wa’n’t jest the -plumb ridiculousest old critter!”</p> - -<p>“Who was?” asked Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>“Old man Wallowby,” chuckled Lon. -“Dunno jest what made me think of him. -Long before the time of you boys he was.”</p> - -<p>“I remember him,” said Mr. Kane. “Queer -old codger as ever was. Folks used to say -there was only three things he never -seemed to get around to—washin’, workin’, -or worryin’.”</p> - -<p>“Jesso!” Lon agreed; then made correction: -“Say, though! There was one time he -was worried, fast enough. Ever hear tell o’ -the night he fit the bear?”</p> - -<p>“Fit a b’ar?” echoed the foreman. “No; -new one on me.”</p> - -<p>Several of the lumberjacks, who had been -listening to the talk, drew closer.</p> - -<p>“There’s two-three b’ar hangin’ ’round -No. 3 camp,” one of them volunteered.</p> - -<p>“Never mind them, Jake,” interposed Mr.<span class="pagenum">[274]</span> -Kane. “Le’s hear about old Wallowby’s -run-in.”</p> - -<p>Lon ran a glance about the expectant group.</p> - -<p>“Wal,” he drawled, “I dunno’s I can tell -the story the way Wallowby told it to me, -but I’ll try. You know, the old humbug -uster give out that he was a nat’ral bonesetter, -and uster wander about, foragin’ off the -country and pretendin’ to look for broken -bones. That’s how he got wind of old Calleck, -who must ’a’ been a good deal of the same -breed. Only Calleck was a yarb doctor, and -a bigger freak’n Wallowby himself. He was -all the while prowlin’ through the woods, -diggin’ up roots for his medicines; and he -called himself a hermit; and he built himself -a mighty queer house off by his lonesome, a -stone house, and——”</p> - -<p>“I’ve seed it,” one of the men broke in. -“What’s left of it’s standin’ over on the South -Fork, not ten mile from here. But ’twa’n’t -all stone. Calleck got tired o’ luggin’ rock, -and topped it off anyhow he could.”</p> - -<p>“Like enough!” said Lon. “I’ve never -been to the house, but that’s about the fashion -old Calleck’d ’a’ done any job. But I’ll get<span class="pagenum">[275]</span> -on to where Wallowby and the bear come in. -Wallowby’d been cruisin’ down in the villages, -and I guess he’d sorter wore out his welcome -in spots. Way he put it to me was he got to -longin’ for the congenial society of a brother -scientist, and so he tramped off to find Calleck. -He’d never seen him and he didn’t know jest -where the stone house was, but everybody was -amazin’ glad to give him directions and push -him along; and so he moseyed up into the -woods.</p> - -<p>“It was along in December, but the ground -was still bare; though it had been mighty -cold, and it kept gettin’ colder all the while -Wallowby climbed the hills. Got dark, -too, and the wind was risin’. ’Cordin’ to -Wallowby ’twas perishin’ cold, and black as -a cellar, before he woke to the fact that he -was as good as lost.</p> - -<p>“He stopped and tried to figger out his -bearin’s, but it was no use. It was a second -growth, hard wood country, with a lot o’ -scrub stuff mixed in; and he’d been fallin’ -over roots, and duckin’ branches till his -notions o’ north and south was twisted as a -corkscrew. Looked like he was in for a night<span class="pagenum">[276]</span> -in the brush, but to keep from freezin’ he -wrapped an old blanket shawl—he always -carried one—around his head, and kept goin’. -’Twa’n’t no pleasure trip, believe me! He -shivered when he told about it, but he owned -up he shivered wuss that night when he -thought he heard something pantin’ off to -the right. What with the old shawl over his -ears he wa’n’t quite sure; but, anyhow, he -stepped out livelier’n ever, and then plunk! -he bust through a bush and into a clearin’. -And in the clearin’ was a big black spot that -meant a house o’ some sort.</p> - -<p>“Wallowby made for that house same’s a -woodchuck makes for his hole when there’s -a dog after him. He went round the corner -of it so fast that he couldn’t stop, when, all of -a sudden, he saw waddlin’ ’round the other -corner something big and black, and loomin’ -like a mountain. And he heard that pantin’ -so loud it sounded like a steam engine. And -then, not bein’ able to clap on the brakes -quick enough, he butted fair into the thing. -His hands hit the thing’s body, and he could -feel thick fur. He tried to yell, but all that’d -come out of his throat was a hoarse growl.<span class="pagenum">[277]</span> -And then what was like a big claw raked his -arm, and laid open three-four deep gashes -across the back of his hand.</p> - -<p>“’Twas a mutual surprise party all right. -Wallowby turned, and headed for the bush, -as if he was more like a scared jack-rabbit -than a woodchuck. But he didn’t go far. He -fell over a root, and before he got up it broke -on him that the bear was makin’ for cover on -the other side o’ the house.</p> - -<p>“Wallowby told me he didn’t lose sight of -the argyment that, if he didn’t get into that -house, he’d freeze. With the blood tricklin’ -from his hand he wa’n’t anxious to risk old -Bruin changin’ his mind and comin’ back, so -he sneaked round to the back o’ the place. -He had no weapon but a jack-knife with a -broken blade, but he got it out.</p> - -<p>“‘And would you believe it?’ he says to me. -‘It was like Tophet for darkness, but, jest as -I got to the house, that miserable critter came -pantin’ at me! He let drive with that murderin’ -claw of hisn, and I dug into him with -the knife. And then, somehow, each of us -was reminded of his own business, and done -accordin’. I got back into the brush, and sot<span class="pagenum">[278]</span> -there thinkin’. I was all of a sweat, and -freezin’ at the same time; for the chill was -gettin’ into the very marrow of my bones. -And, pooty soon, studyin’ that lump of a -house like it was a chicken pie Thanksgivin’ -mornin’, I managed to make out the chimney -against the sky. It was a whoppin’ big chimney, -big enough for a man to drop through. -And the roof sloped ’most to the ground.</p> - -<p>“‘Wal,’ says Wallowby, tellin’ the story, ‘I -didn’t need two hints. I got holt of the edge -of that roof, and I wriggled up and clumb to -the chimney. And then I heard that pantin’ -’tother side o’ the stack, and next minute -me ’n’ that fool bear was buttin’ our heads together. -I rolled down the slope and over the -edge, and ’most druv the breath out o’ my -body. But, all the same, I heard an awful -thud as the bear fell off ’tother side.</p> - -<p>“‘Wal, I sat there a minute or two gettin’ -my wind back and my mad up. I couldn’t -stay where I was—I’d ‘a’ froze stiff. And if -I’d got to bet by a bear, I’d be something -better’n a cold lunch, anyhow. And, besides, -all my life I’d been helpin’ sufferin’ humanity -dirt cheap; but I drew the line at sellin’ my<span class="pagenum">[279]</span> -life anything but dear to a wuthless old he-bear. -So up I got, grippin’ the knife, and -started full tilt for the front door. If that -bear interfered, he’d take his chances o’ gettin’ -hurt. But would you believe it? Just -as I dove for the door he riz up in the darkness -ahead o’ me and done the same thing, -simultaneous. We whanged away at each -other, and then, sir, sure as I’m standin’ here! -we jammed through that door together; and -fell over a stool; and he went one way, and I -went another. And the knife flew out o’ my -hand, and hit a log smoulderin’ on the hearth, -and a flame shot up. And there on his hands -and knees, glarin’ at me and wheezin’ like a -broken bellows, was the ornariest old codger -in a buffalo coat you ever set eyes on!</p> - -<p>“‘“Wal,” says I; “wal, but you got a -mighty peculiar way o’ treatin’ company! -Ain’t you got no better manners?”</p> - -<p>“‘“Why—why”—Calleck gasps—“I—I -took ye for—for a bear.”</p> - -<p>“‘“Same here,” says I; “only vicy versy. -And what you want to go pantin’ like one -for?”</p> - -<p>“‘“It’s the—the asthmy,” says he. “And<span class="pagenum">[280]</span> -what for do you go—go traipsin’ ’round with—with -that mess o’ shawl disguisin’ the human -figger?”</p> - -<p>“‘I stuck out my bleedin’ hand. “Anyhow, -I ain’t grown claws,” says I.</p> - -<p>“‘“Huh! neither have I,” says he, and -shows what he’s carryin’. And it’s a little -rake he uses to dig for his roots.’</p> - -<p>“And that,” Lon concluded, “is old Wallowby’s -own yarn o’ the biggest bear fight -that ever was pulled off in these parts, I -guess.”</p> - -<p>There was a roar of applause and laughter, -led by the cheery boss of the camp; even -Tom Orkney was grinning. Sam sent a grateful -glance at the breaker of the social ice. -And then, as Mr. Kane prepared to match one -bear story with another, he saw Peter Groche -get upon his feet and lounge clumsily to the -door.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[281]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">CHAPTER XXIV -<br><span class="cheaderfont">PETER GROCHE SCORES AGAIN</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Sam had found his bunk-bed of spruce -boughs amazingly comfortable and, snuggling -under the blankets, had promptly dropped -asleep. He was healthily tired from his day’s -travels; it was odd, therefore, that distressing -dreams came to disturb his rest. He began to -toss and turn, and writhe and groan. A -giant’s hand, clutching at his throat, seemed -to be about to strangle him. There was a -crushing weight upon his chest; a trip-hammer -was beating furiously in his head. Then -some vague monster had seized him, and was -bearing him away with appalling speed.</p> - -<p>The boy cried out in terror, and struggled -desperately. Of a sudden he was free of the -monster’s grasp; he was falling from a dizzy -height, and about to be dashed to pieces. And -then, just as destruction impended, the dream<span class="pagenum">[282]</span> -passed, and he awoke to a reality sufficiently -perilous.</p> - -<p>He was lying, half in, half out of the bunk. -The camp was full of smoke, dense, acrid, stifling. -His eyes smarted and his throat was -parched and burning. At his side lay Poke, -breathing stertorously. Sam made him out -by a flickering light, which came from the -direction of the cook’s quarters. Beyond him -was Step, raised on an elbow and coughing -chokingly.</p> - -<p>“Fire! Fire!” A startled voice raised the -alarm, and others repeated the cry. Men began -to stagger by him, stumbling as they went -and groping wildly. Then three or four, led -by Mr. Kane, charged the other way. The -boss was shouting orders. There was the -crash of an axe vigorously plied. The glass -fell from a shattered window, and a draft of -cool air fanned his face.</p> - -<p>Sam, fully awake at last, sprang from the -bunk. Step, too, had gained the floor. Between -them they dragged Poke from his -blankets, and put him on his feet.</p> - -<p>“Take him out, Step!” Sam directed, and -set himself to the task of rousing the Trojan,<span class="pagenum">[283]</span> -who appeared to be in the half unconscious -condition in which Poke was. The Shark, -having very calmly adjusted his spectacles on -his nose, was tugging at Herman Boyd’s -shoulder. Sam lent a hand, and with his aid -Herman was started for the door.</p> - -<p>Tom Orkney overtook them. He was -breathing with difficulty, but managed to gasp -out that the ell was all ablaze. Then came -the foreman and a lumberjack, carrying a -helpless form.</p> - -<p>“Cook—right where smudge was thickest—overcome,” -Tom explained hoarsely.</p> - -<p>Through the doorway they pressed into the -cold, still air of the starless night. Mr. Kane -touched Sam’s arm.</p> - -<p>“All your crowd out? Good! Keep ’em -out till we get the fire under. ’Twon’t be -long, what with unseasoned logs and the snow -on the roof.”</p> - -<p>Then he was dashing back into the camp, -and shouting orders to his men. Tom Orkney -bent over the cook, who was lying in the -snow.</p> - -<div class="figcenter illowp55" id="i290" style="max-width: 40.625em;"> - <img class="w100" src="images/i290.jpg" alt=""> - <div class="caption"><p class="center"><a href="#BRef_290">“HE’S COMING ’ROUND ALL RIGHT”</a></p></div> -</div> - -<p>“<a id="BRef_290" href="#i290">He’s coming ’round all right</a>,” he reported. -“We’ll bring out some blankets——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[284]</span></p> - -<p>Sam and Step rushed into the camp, and -emerged with their arms filled with heavy -coverings. Tom made use of two, while the -others were distributed among the boys. -Luckily they had turned in “all standing” -and were fully clothed except for their shoes, -which Step recovered by a second trip into the -building.</p> - -<p>“Lon’s safe—saw him in there,” said he. -“When he heard we were all right he stayed -to help fight the fire. Gee, but the kitchen’s -a furnace!”</p> - -<p>“I know—I saw it, and I don’t understand -it,” Orkney declared. “There was some -grease about, of course—can’t help that with -all the frying. Still, the way the blaze -ran——”</p> - -<p>There he checked himself. “You mean -you suspect——?” queried Step.</p> - -<p>“I mean it spread mighty fast,” said Orkney -drily.</p> - -<p>“Think it caught from the stove, don’t -you?”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Cook’s a very careful man.”</p> - -<p>A bucket brigade was forming to bring -water from a hole chopped in the ice of the<span class="pagenum">[285]</span> -stream, and the boys volunteered their services. -Somebody had found a ladder, and now -the fire was being attacked from the roof as -well as below. Mr. Kane had plenty of men, -and employed them skilfully, though, of -course, his equipment was limited. The roof -of the ell fell in, and for a few minutes flames -shot through the opening thus left, but their -inroads upon the main camp were quickly -checked, the heavy logs of the walls, the snow, -and the lack of wind all contributing to the -result. In half an hour the fire was under -control, and in another Mr. Kane officially -declared it out.</p> - -<p>Two or three men were told off to build a -new partition, temporarily filling the gap -caused by the fire, and the rest of the crew and -the boys gathered about the big stove in the -main camp. Garments drenched in the bucket -brigade service were hung up to dry; the -cook, now quite recovered, brewed a great can -of steaming tea. Then there was a sort of informal -roll call. None of the boys appeared -to be the worse for his adventures, and the -lumberjacks seemed to find the break in the -monotony of life rather enjoyable. But the<span class="pagenum">[286]</span> -foreman, “counting noses,” as he put it, made -a startling discovery.</p> - -<p>Peter Groche was missing!</p> - -<p>Nobody could recall seeing the man after -the alarm was given. Anxious search of the -ruins of the ell, conducted by the aid of lanterns, -revealed no charred evidences that he -had perished. It led, however, to the discovery -of a half-burned cloth, smoked and -discolored, and giving forth the unmistakable -smell of kerosene.</p> - -<p>The cook rushed out of the camp, returning -presently with a five-gallon can.</p> - -<p>“See this!” he cried excitedly. “And -this!” He held the can upside down, but no -stream poured from its open neck. “Nigh -full ’twas yesterday, and now it’s dry as a -bone! That’s why the fire went through my -place in jumps. He must ’a’ sneaked in and -soused everything with the stuff after I went -to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! He might ’a’ done it with a waterin’ -cart for all you’d knowed it, once you got -to snorin’!” jeered one of the choppers.</p> - -<p>The cook hotly insisted that he had full -right to sleep soundly after feeding a “gang<span class="pagenum">[287]</span> -of two-legged wolves,” but the foreman stopped -the controversy.</p> - -<p>“Steady there, all around!” he commanded. -“This is a crazy job, but it’s a bad job and a -state’s prison job. But sure’s my name’s -Kane, I’ll land the scoundrel that done it!” -He glanced at his watch. “It’ll be gettin’ -light in half an hour. Dayton and ‘Stub’ -Cyr, I want ye!”</p> - -<p>Two of the men—stout fellows both—stepped -forward.</p> - -<p>“You take after Groche. You know the -woods. He’ll have left a trail——”</p> - -<p>From the background somebody spoke. -“My snow-shoes are gone. He’s stole ’em!”</p> - -<p>“Like enough! And that’ll mean Groche -won’t stick to the tote road. He’ll strike out -’cross country—Canady way, mebbe.”</p> - -<p>Lon pushed to the front. “See here!” said -he. “Let me in on this, will you? Guess -I’ll toddle along with your two.”</p> - -<p>“Eh?” said Mr. Kane in surprise.</p> - -<p>Lon’s expression was determined. “Sure’s -I’m risin’ two-year old, this is my party, as -you might be sayin’. I got a sorter runnin’ -account with that critter. And I can tell you<span class="pagenum">[288]</span> -this: he wa’n’t aimin’ to singe your hair, Mr. -Kane, so much as he was layin’ for me and -some other folks. I oughter tackled him last -night, but I didn’t; and now I’ve got all the -more reason for tacklin’ him good and plenty. -And I’m makin’ no brags, but if I lay paws -on him, I’ll bring him in, and don’t you forget -it! So, if you’ll jest fit me out with snow-shoes -and one or two other trinkets, I’ll be a -heap obleeged to you.”</p> - -<p>The foreman inclined his head. “All right—jest -as ye say, Gates. ’Nother pair o’ long -legs like yourn won’t do no harm to the hunt. -We’ll outfit ye.”</p> - -<p>Lon crossed to Sam.</p> - -<p>“You see how ’tis,” he said, lowering his -voice. “I jest plain got a call for this job. -Your father’d say ’twas all right if he was -here. But if I take my eye off you for a -while, Sam, you’ve got to give me your -word you’ll keep out o’ mischief and keep -the rest out of it. I guess you can do it—you’ve -been toein’ the mark like a major -lately.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s eyes twinkled. “Like Major Bates, -for instance?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[289]</span></p> - -<p>“Yep—seein’ as how he’s the only real, -blown-in-the-bottle major I know. And that -reminds me: this trip I’ll be a genooine Shylock -Holmes.”</p> - -<p>“Sherlock Holmes,” Sam corrected.</p> - -<p>“No,” Lon insisted; “Shylock’s better. -Chap, wa’n’t he, that stood out for his pound -o’ flesh? Well, that’s me—only I’m goin’ to -bring in nigher two hundred. And I’m goin’ -to bring it in on the hoof—Peter Groche’s -hoof, at that!”</p> - -<p>So matters were arranged. As soon as the -light strengthened sufficiently, Lon and Stub -Cyr and Dayton set out. Meanwhile, the -cook had contrived breakfast. The bill of fare -was that of supper, but Sam observed that the -tin plates were not heaped so lavishly. And, -observing, he was stricken by doubts.</p> - -<p>At the first opportunity he drew Mr. Kane -aside.</p> - -<p>“I wish you’d tell me something,” he said. -“The fire has left you short of supplies, hasn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“Wal, kinder,” the boss admitted. “Most -of the grub, ye see, was stored in the ell. But -ye needn’t worry; we won’t starve. I’ve<span class="pagenum">[290]</span> -started a team for Coreytown for supplies. It -ought to be back by night.”</p> - -<p>Sam meditated for a moment. “Look -here, Mr. Kane! We’re half a dozen extra -mouths to feed, and we can’t help being more -or less in your way. And there isn’t any reason -why we should stay. All of us brought -our snow-shoes, and it’ll be just as much sport—yes, -more—to be marching out on them as -to be tramping about the camp. Father’ll understand. -With the early start we’ll make, -we can reach Coreytown long before dark. It -isn’t over a dozen miles——”</p> - -<p>“Call it fifteen.”</p> - -<p>“Well, fifteen, then. It’ll be bully fun for -us.”</p> - -<p>It was the foreman’s turn to deliberate. -“Wal, I dunno. Hate like time to be seemin’ -to throw ye out! Only we can’t make ye -extry comfortable, mussed up the way we be. -And goin’ out would be safe enough. Track’s -plain, and the road’s broke. I dunno, I -dunno.”</p> - -<p>“I think we’d better not stay, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Wal, suit yerself, of course. There’s -kinder a feel o’ more weather in the air, but<span class="pagenum">[291]</span> -likely’s not it’ll hold off a spell. And the -road’s in good shape. Then, too, there’s the -short cut. If ye knew the lay of the land -it’d save you a lot o’ distance. The road’s the -long way ’round, ye know—makes jest about -a right-angle.”</p> - -<p>The Shark and Step, who had come up, -overheard this.</p> - -<p>“You mean, then,” queried the former, -“that we could lessen effort by taking the -hypothenuse?”</p> - -<p>The foreman smiled. “Or words to that -effect, sonny.”</p> - -<p>“I comprehend the proposition perfectly,” -the Shark solemnly assured him. “It may be -regarded as elementary.”</p> - -<p>“I’m for the march,” Step declared. “Say, -it’ll beat old Xenophon’s Anabasis to a frazzle!”</p> - -<p>“I’m for anything that’ll do that!” cried -Poke, who had joined the group. “<i lang="el">Enteuthen -exelaunei</i> on snow-shoes, by Jiminy!”</p> - -<p>“Umph! Never did get the hang o’ French -myself,” quoth the boss. “But you fellers’d -better talk over things in plain English. -Then let me know what ye decide on.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[292]</span></p> - -<p>Herman Boyd, called to the conference, -added his vote to those of his friends. Tramping -out on snow-shoes would be the greatest -kind of a lark. The Trojan was of the same -opinion.</p> - -<p>Tom Orkney and Mr. Kane were in consultation -in a corner. When the foreman -moved off, Sam joined Orkney.</p> - -<p>“The boys are unanimously for tramping -down to the settlements,” said he.</p> - -<p>“I know. The boss told me how you felt,” -Tom answered.</p> - -<p>“Seems wisest. Grub’s short here, and the -trip will be easy. Lon can come out when -he’s ready. Most likely my father will pick -him up.”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>There was a pause, not free from embarrassment.</p> - -<p>“I—I hope you’ve been thinking things -over,” Sam ventured. “You said you would, -you know.”</p> - -<p>“I have thought them over,” said Orkney -stolidly.</p> - -<p>“You’ll come with us?”</p> - -<p>Orkney hesitated. “I—I—well, I’ve laid<span class="pagenum">[293]</span> -the facts before Mr. Kane. And he—he’s a -mighty square man, Parker!”</p> - -<p>“He’ll release you? And you’ll come?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Orkney very soberly; “yes, -I’ll come.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[294]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">CHAPTER XXV -<br><span class="cheaderfont">THE BLIZZARD</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The youthful adventurers were on the -march, and were tramping along on their -snow-shoes in high spirits. Long-legged Step -led, followed in order by Poke, Herman -Boyd, the Trojan and the Shark. Then came -Orkney, lagging a little, with Sam at his heels. -All were warmly clothed, but their luggage -was of the lightest, being limited, indeed, to a -small axe, carried in a holster, attached to -Herman’s belt.</p> - -<p>For a half mile the tote road led through a -growth of pine and spruce; but then, at the -crest of a little hill, they came to a more open -tract. The road bent to the left; but straight -before them was an inviting slope.</p> - -<p>Sam saw the leaders halt and put their -heads together. When he came up to them -Step was speaking eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Why not, fellows? Gee, but we might as -well have all the fun that’s going! Who<span class="pagenum">[295]</span> -wants to go poking along an old sleigh track -when he might be cutting across country? -And think of what we’d save! Mr. Kane -said the road made a right angle—you figure -it out, Shark.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! No given quantities,” snapped the -Shark.</p> - -<p>“Why not? Call it fifteen miles to Coreytown. -Say the angle is half-way. What’s the -answer, Old Skeesicks?”</p> - -<p>“Nine-decimal-point-two-plus,” answered -the Shark promptly.</p> - -<p>Step was exultant. “What did I tell you! -Six miles to the good!”</p> - -<p>“But what’s the direction?” demanded -Sam.</p> - -<p>“Why, straight ahead,” said Step, and -pointed down the slope.</p> - -<p>“How do you know?”</p> - -<p>“Must be.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why.”</p> - -<p>Poke took a hand. “Look here, Shark! -Can’t you figure out the course?”</p> - -<p>The Shark frowned. “You never heard of -the word ‘exact,’ did you? You want me to -treat a wiggling road like two straight lines<span class="pagenum">[296]</span> -meeting at a right angle. But if you’ve got -to assume everything, you might as well pile -it on. So, if you assume that there is a right -angled, isosceles triangle—two sides equal, -understand?—then each of the acute angles -will be of forty-five degrees. And so, to travel -to the hypothenuse, you’d steer forty-five -degrees from the line of the road.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, sure!” said Step hastily. “Sure you -would! But I haven’t a compass, or dividers, -or—or whatever it is you use.”</p> - -<p>“Got a watch, haven’t you?” snorted the -Shark. “Well, use that! Fifteen minutes -on the dial equals ninety degrees. Forty-five -degrees is the same as seven minutes, thirty -seconds. There’s your angle for you. Hang -it! don’t you fellows know anything?”</p> - -<p>Step pulled out his timepiece. “Fine! -Just as I said—straight ahead. And say! -See that big hill—way off—pointed top! It’s -a bit misty, but it’s right on our line, and it -makes a cracking landmark. Come on, you -chaps!”</p> - -<p>“Suits me,” said Poke.</p> - -<p>“Ditto,” declared the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“Here also,” chimed in Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[297]</span></p> - -<p>The Shark, scornfully indifferent, said nothing. -Tom Orkney also was silent. It was a -trifle, but significant: he was with the club, -but not of it.</p> - -<p>Sam’s expression was dubious. The -“weather,” forecasted by the camp boss, -seemed to be threatening to break. The low -lying clouds had grown denser in the last -quarter hour, and the wind was rising. In the -shelter of the pines its strength had not been -manifest, but once beyond the edge of the -woods, nobody could fail to heed the force of the -chilling blasts. Still, it would be as keen along -the tote road as anywhere else. Sam was not -losing sight of his motto of “Safety First”; but -at the moment it did not occur to him that -harm was likely to befall half a dozen active, -able-bodied youngsters. Yet he hesitated. -The plan had been to follow the road, and it -had been approved by Mr. Kane.</p> - -<p>Step, confident in the support of a majority -of the club, started down the hill. After him -trailed the Trojan, Poke, Herman Boyd, and -the Shark. There was nothing for Sam to do -but to follow, in company with Tom Orkney.</p> - -<p>At first progress was easy. The snow was<span class="pagenum">[298]</span> -smooth, and though the wind increased it was -at their backs. Presently there was a brisk -snow squall, the tiny flakes driving in a blinding -cloud. Step quickened his pace, and led -the party to the shelter of a clump of trees.</p> - -<p>The squall passed, but left a narrowed -horizon. The peak of the big hill, which was -to have served as a guide-post, had vanished. -There was even a good-natured dispute as to -the general direction in which it lay. Step, -insisting that he was certain of its bearings, -set off again, leading in a détour about the -grove. Then came a hill, not lofty but so -steep that he circled its base. Down upon the -squad swept another squall, fiercer than the -first. The boys struggled through it, enjoyed -a moment’s respite, and again found themselves -in the midst of swirling, stinging clouds -of icy particles.</p> - -<p>Orkney was having trouble with the snow-shoes -he had borrowed from Mr. Kane; the -Trojan took a header over a fallen tree; Poke -slipped down a bank. None of the mishaps -was serious, but together they served to bring -the party to a halt.</p> - -<p>When the savage gusts subsided for a little<span class="pagenum">[299]</span> -the boys moved on. Step, as guide, did his -best to hold a straight line, but failed signally. -The country was broken, irregularly wooded, -full of hummocks and tiny valleys as confusing -as a maze. Moreover, the snowfall was -becoming heavier, being so dense at times -that it shut off the view as completely as if it -were a fog.</p> - -<p>An over-tight thong made Herman Boyd -fall out of line to readjust the fastenings of -one of his snow-shoes; and he was so long in -rejoining the party that Sam passed a word or -two of caution. “Don’t straggle” was his -advice. Its effect was seen in a closing of the -gaps. By this time there was no shouting or -joking. Nobody was frightened, but it had -dawned upon the most heedless of the club -that they had their work cut out for them. -Halts became more frequent; in them there -was a tendency to huddle.</p> - -<p>According to Sam’s reckoning the trail -leading from the branch railroad to the camps -crossed the district in which they were, but -they had not stumbled upon it. Still, it -could be missed easily; for it was little -traveled, and such drifts as were forming<span class="pagenum">[300]</span> -would quickly hide its traces. Orkney -thought that Peter Groche might have taken -the short-cut on his last trip from Plainville, -but did not believe that it had been used by -anybody else in a week. Presumably the -tote road was to their left, but its distance -was indefinite. As for turning back—well, -Sam considered the idea but briefly. It would -involve not only a hard tramp in the teeth -of the storm but also confession of failure. -Besides, to find the camp would be no easy -matter; for in many places the party’s own -tracks undoubtedly had been blotted out.</p> - -<p>In a general way Step, as well as Sam, had -counted upon keeping the wind at their -backs; but in one of the pauses for rest the -Shark called attention to the fact that his -spectacles were dimmed by a thin layer of -snow on the lenses.</p> - -<p>“Been driving straight in my face for the -last three minutes,” he declared. “We’re -utterly twisted, or the gale’s shifting every -which way.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m doing my best,” Step insisted. -“Say, though! If you’re so clever in turning -a watch into all sorts of things, make it a<span class="pagenum">[301]</span> -compass, won’t you? Seems to me I’ve heard -it can be done.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly it can,” said the Shark. “Very -simple method. Only you’ve got to be able -to see the sun. No chance of that now.”</p> - -<p>There was dismal murmur of assent. Overhead -there was no break in the dark clouds.</p> - -<p>When the next halt was made, debate on -the direction of the wind was resumed. It -led to agreement that, as the Shark’s phrase -was, it was shifting every which way. There -was agreement, too, that its force was waxing. -And, having reached these not very cheering -conclusions, they could do nothing but trudge -on.</p> - -<p>Half an hour later they had impressive -evidence of the danger of their plight. -Herman Boyd, falling out again to retie his -snow-shoes, had such difficulty with the stubborn -rawhide that he lost sight of his companions, -and, when he tried to overtake them, -discovered that their tracks, made but a few -minutes before, had been obliterated by the -driving snow. Meanwhile the others, alarmed -by his absence, had turned back, in open -order, at Sam’s suggestion; but, even with this<span class="pagenum">[302]</span> -precaution, covering as much ground as possible, -they nearly missed Herman. Luckily -the Trojan, on the extreme left of the line, -finally heard a faint shout, and answering -lustily, had the relief, presently, of seeing the -wanderer flounder out of the heart of a blinding -cloud of flakes.</p> - -<p>Then came a council of war. There must -be no more straggling. Whatever happened, -all must keep in touch.</p> - -<p>Poke was the next to be found in trouble. -Down he slumped in the snow, and feebly resisted -when Sam and Orkney tried to raise -him. The web of one of his snow-shoes had -pulled away from the frame, and, incidentally, -had wrenched his ankle. All this involved a -halt, while the Trojan and Step repaired the -damaged shoe with a spare strip of rawhide—it -was a slow and painful job for numbed fingers—and -Sam argued zealously with Poke on -the exceeding folly of dropping into a doze.</p> - -<p>When they went on, a change had been -made in the procession. Step now kept close -to the crippled Poke, giving over the leadership -to Sam, who, on his part, brought the -Shark to the second place in the line. The<span class="pagenum">[303]</span> -Shark, as has been said, was physically the -weakest of the club, but so far had fared better -than some of his stouter friends. As before -Orkney acted as rear guard.</p> - -<p>Sam’s plan was simple, but perhaps as -wise a plan as he could have made in the -conditions. It was to find the valley of some -stream and follow it out of the hill country. -In the lowlands there would be the chance of -reaching some farm, if not a village. Shelter -was coming to be the first great need. The -storm was getting worse and worse. The -snow was falling as heavily as ever, the wind -blew with almost hurricane fury, and the cold -was intense. It penetrated the heaviest coats -and mufflers. The boys shivered even as -they toiled on, pluckily if weariedly following -their guide.</p> - -<p>For a little, Fortune seemed to be kinder. -They came to what may once have been a -woods road, which for half a mile gave them -a clear, if winding, path. Then the road -ended in a tangled, upland swamp, through -which there was no passage.</p> - -<p>While they slowly circled the obstacle -Sam’s brain was busy. It was his business,<span class="pagenum">[304]</span> -evidently, to search for the brook draining -the swamp; but so great was the extent of the -marshy tract that at last he gave up the task, -and turned into a ravine leading between low -hummocks. After him trailed a slow procession, -its pace regulated by the limping Poke.</p> - -<p>Sam turned to the Shark.</p> - -<p>“How far have we come—if you had to -guess?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Don’t know.”</p> - -<p>“Guess, anyway.”</p> - -<p>The Shark took thought for a moment or -two. Then he glanced at his watch.</p> - -<p>“We’ve been out six hours and——”</p> - -<p>Sam groaned. “Six? I feel as if it was -nearer twenty-four!”</p> - -<p>“It’s six. We traveled fast at the start, but -we’ve been crawling lately. Call it twelve -miles, all told.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, more than that!”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Guess yourself, then!”</p> - -<p>“But even twelve ought to bring us somewhere. -And the farms stretch some distance -this side of Coreytown.”</p> - -<p>“Umph!” was the Shark’s non-committal -comment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[305]</span></p> - -<p>Sam glanced ahead. They were nearing -the mouth of the ravine, beyond which the -ground appeared to fall sharply. Again he -turned to the Shark.</p> - -<p>“Never saw a fiercer storm,” said he.</p> - -<p>“Blizzard!”</p> - -<p>“May last a couple of days.”</p> - -<p>“They do,” said the Shark grimly, and -burrowed deeper in the upturned collar of his -coat.</p> - -<p>“Well, we can’t stand much more like this. -We’ll have to stop and try to do something—rig -a windbreak, maybe.”</p> - -<p>“And freeze?”</p> - -<p>Sam’s eye rested for an instant on the laboring -Poke.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we can get a fire going. Anyway, -we’ve got——”</p> - -<p>There he broke off, amazed by the eagerness -with which the Shark was rubbing his glasses -with gloved fingers.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” Sam asked in haste.</p> - -<p>Out shot the Shark’s arm. “Look yourself! -There’s something yonder! Oh, if -only——”</p> - -<p>But his speech was drowned by a jubilant<span class="pagenum">[306]</span> -shout. In spite of the driving snow, and in -spite, too, of a veil of intervening branches, -Sam had made out a chimney and the shoulder -of a steep roof.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[307]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">CHAPTER XXVI -<br><span class="cheaderfont">OLD FRIENDS MEET</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Down the slope rushed the boys like charging -troops bursting into an enemy’s stronghold. -Cold and weariness were forgotten. -They dashed through drifts; they broke -through thickets; they swung themselves over -the ruins of an ancient rail-fence. Then they -were in a clearing, and hurling themselves at -the door of a little house, against which the -snow lay banked to the window sills.</p> - -<p>Sagging hinges and rusted bolt gave before -the attack. The door yielded, and in poured -the club like an irresistible tide. Once within -the shelter, however, the boys pulled up abruptly, -glancing about them with expressions -portraying wonder and disappointment.</p> - -<p>At a glance it was plain that the house had -not been tenanted for a long time. The room -in which they found themselves was fairly -large, but bare of furnishings, unless a broken<span class="pagenum">[308]</span> -chair, an empty box and a strip of ragged carpet -in one corner could be so described. A -great fireplace at one end yawned cold and -empty. Dust and cobwebs were everywhere, -and such light as sifted into the place came -through breaks in the windows rather than -through the grimy panes remaining intact. -Overhead was a ceiling of rough boards, -through whose cracks much snow had sifted, -testifying to the condition of the roof; while -beneath each window a considerable bank of -snow had formed. The walls gave protection, -in a measure, from the blasts, but the air had -a damp chill more paralyzing than the cutting -wind.</p> - -<p>Sam was the first to rise to the situation.</p> - -<p>“Here, fellows, we’ve got to have a fire!” -he sang out. “Herman, take that axe of -yours and go for the old rails in the fence. -Step and Trojan, go with him, and mind you -lug in the driest stuff you can find—if there -is anything dry. Shark, help Poke out of his -snow-shoes. Now, Orkney”—he turned to the -silent Tom—“you and I’ll tackle the fine -work. Got any matches?”</p> - -<p>Orkney drew a handful from his pocket.<span class="pagenum">[309]</span> -“Lucky I was cookee at No. 1,” said he. -“Had to look after the fires, you know.”</p> - -<p>Sam had torn a board from the old box, -and with his knife was ripping off long, curling -shavings. He had built them in a neat -pyramid on the hearth, when Step and the -Trojan staggered in, their arms full of billets. -They stood, watching Sam closely, while he -made careful choice of their offerings. As he -had feared, none of the wood could be called -dry, though some of it was not quite so wet -as the rest.</p> - -<p>Poke and the Shark were beating their arms -against their bodies.</p> - -<p>“Guess I’ve got a few frosted fingers, all -right!” Poke announced ruefully.</p> - -<p>“Then don’t get too close to the fire at the -start,” Sam counseled. “Now a light, Orkney! -Touch her off!”</p> - -<p>Tom’s chilled hands threatened to bungle -the task, but Sam, for reasons of his own, did -not offer to assist. He wished Orkney to feel -that he was to be counted a full companion in -the adventure.</p> - -<p>Orkney, sheltering a flickering match in his -palm, knelt by the fireplace. Most cautiously<span class="pagenum">[310]</span> -he thrust the match into a crevice in the pile -of shavings. A tiny flame shot up. It spread -swiftly, the yellow tongues licking the heavier -wood stacked above the kindling. Sam sprang -to the box, and ripped off pieces of the sides. -These he deftly placed on the blazing shavings. -Steam and smoke began to rise, and, -caught in a down-draft from the long unused -chimney, belched into the room in a choking -cloud.</p> - -<p>Sam again raided the broken box, and Orkney -followed his example. One on each side -of the hearth, they fed the fire with strips of -board, till at last the heavier wood was fairly -ignited. The chimney by this time was warming -to its work, and drawing fiercely.</p> - -<p>The Shark, rubbing his nose in curiously -experimental fashion, was surveying Poke intently. -Suddenly he bent; picked up a handful -of snow from a drift under a window; -crossed to Master Green, and without warning -fell to scrubbing that young man’s nose. -Poke with a howl shrank back.</p> - -<p>“What the dickens do you think you’re -trying to do?” he demanded indignantly.</p> - -<p>The Shark shook his head reprovingly.<span class="pagenum">[311]</span> -“That’s it—spoil everything! They say -that’s the way to treat a frosted nose, but -how am I going to find out if you won’t -stand still?”</p> - -<p>Poke tenderly caressed the feature under -discussion. “What do you want to know -for?” he inquired.</p> - -<p>“Because I guess my nose is nipped, too,” -said the Shark calmly. “So I thought I’d see -how the treatment worked.”</p> - -<p>Herman Boyd entered, fuel bearing. He -brought a report, too, that between the old -fence and a fallen tree near by there need be no -lack of fire-wood.</p> - -<p>Sam cut pieces from the old carpet, and -stuffed them into the holes in the windows. -Orkney, taking a hint, replaced the door in -position.</p> - -<p>“Say, you two!” Step called out. “You act -as if you thought we were going to make a -regular visit.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe we are,” Sam told him. “We’d -be crazy to go on while the blizzard lasts.”</p> - -<p>“Right you are!” Step agreed, but drew a -long face.</p> - -<p>For a moment the boys listened to the howl<span class="pagenum">[312]</span> -of the gale. Then Poke settled himself on the -floor near the fire.</p> - -<p>“Might as well make yourselves comfortable, -fellows,” he remarked. “I’d rather be -here than outside, I tell you!”</p> - -<p>The Shark followed his example, and so did -the Trojan and Step. Orkney and Sam took -opposite ends of the semicircle. Poke was -smiling a sickly smile.</p> - -<p>“I believe in making the best of things,” he -announced. “I’m not exactly happy—my -ankle hurts and my nose’ll never be the same -to me that it was—but I’m not kicking. I’m -glad to be here, as I’ve explained. But how -long do you expect to linger in this bower, -Sam?”</p> - -<p>“I think we’ll have to stay all night, anyway.”</p> - -<p>“Huh! Any idea where we are?”</p> - -<p>“Not an idea.”</p> - -<p>“I scouted around a bit,” said Herman. -“No sign of a road or other houses.”</p> - -<p>Sam nodded. “My notion,” he said, “is -that we’ve tumbled on some way-out, back-of-nowhere -abandoned farm. It’s been abandoned -so many years that the brush has sprung<span class="pagenum">[313]</span> -up all about it. Somehow I don’t believe it’s -near any village. And now that we’re here—well, -Safety First, you know.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right!” chimed in the Trojan.</p> - -<p>“We’ll be safe enough,” Sam went on. -“We’ll lay in plenty of wood, and keep the -fire going—and that’s about all we can do.”</p> - -<p>Poke laid a hand on his stomach. “That’s -well enough,” said he. “Only do I hear anybody -suggest dinner or supper? If it’s just the -same, I’d like to have ’em both right now.”</p> - -<p>The Shark pulled out a big camp doughnut. -“The cook gave me this, bless him!” -he remarked.</p> - -<p>“I ate mine, worse luck!” sighed Herman.</p> - -<p>“And I also,” groaned Poke. “It went -ages ago.”</p> - -<p>“Same here!” declared the Trojan.</p> - -<p>Both Sam and Orkney, it proved, had been -provident. Each produced a doughnut.</p> - -<p>“Share and share alike,” Sam ruled. There -was some demur from Poke, but the division -was made. In a few moments the last crumb -had vanished.</p> - -<p>“My! but that’s just an appetizer!” sighed -Poke.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[314]</span></p> - -<p>It occurred to Sam that diversion was needed. -“You firemen, rustle in more wood—a lot of -it!” he directed. “Orkney, it looks as if -there were a back room. Let’s explore!”</p> - -<p>The “back room” proved to be a shed-like -extension, in worse condition than the house -itself. It yielded, however, a number of mildewed -sacks, a wooden bucket, and a battered -iron pot, in which, hung from a crane in the -fireplace, snow could be melted.</p> - -<p>Herman, Step and the Trojan brought in -huge armloads of wood. They declared that -it would be needed; that the temperature was -falling, and that the night would be Arctic.</p> - -<p>“Whoof! but it’s awful outside!” Herman -avowed. “Bet it’ll hit thirty below!”</p> - -<p>This, as the boys knew, was by no means -improbable. In Plainville thermometers now -and then showed such readings in cold snaps, -while even lower marks had been recorded in -the hills.</p> - -<p>Sam built up the fire with generous hand. -Its light as well as warmth was welcome, for -the early dusk was closing in. The boys -ranged themselves before the hearth. Coats -were stripped off; shoes were removed, and<span class="pagenum">[315]</span> -toes were toasted comfortably. After all, the -adventurers could count themselves lucky. -If they had doubts on the point, they had but -to listen to the shriek of the wind and the -crackling sound of the snow driving against -the windows.</p> - -<p>There was little talk. Now and then one or -two of the party uneasily shifted position, but -the others seemed to be content to sit quietly, -gazing thoughtfully at the fire. The Shark -especially was absorbed in reflections.</p> - -<p>Step, his right hand neighbor and one of -the more nervous of the brotherhood, wriggled -his long legs, stretched his arms, turned, -and peered at the impassive Shark.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I say!” he broke out impatiently. -“What’s the use of being a graven image? -Come to life, Shark!”</p> - -<p>Very deliberately the youth addressed gave -his attention to Step.</p> - -<p>“Huh! I’m very much alive,” he remarked -calmly. “I’m doing something with -such brains as I happen to have.”</p> - -<p>“How? What?”</p> - -<p>“I’m thinking.”</p> - -<p>“How we’ll get out of this fix?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[316]</span></p> - -<p>The Shark frowned. “That would be -wasted effort. There’s nothing we can do till -the storm ends. Meanwhile, I entertain myself -sensibly.”</p> - -<p>“But how?” Step insisted curiously.</p> - -<p>An instant the Shark hesitated. “I—I -don’t know that you’d be interested.”</p> - -<p>“Hang it! I’d be interested in anything.”</p> - -<p>“Very well, then,” said the Shark. “Visualize -a cube!”</p> - -<p>Up went Step’s hands. “Don’t shoot! I’ll -come down. Also I’ll bite.”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>“It’s a catch, isn’t it? Go ahead! Spring -your joke!”</p> - -<p>The Shark looked disgusted. “Joke nothing! -See here, Step! You know what a cube -is, don’t you? Well, visualizing one means -just picturing it in your mind. Remember the -formula, don’t you, for A + B, cubed? It’s A -cubed + 3A squared, B + 3AB squared + B -cubed. Now, take numbers instead of letters—take -easy numbers. Call A + B fifteen.”</p> - -<p>“Er—er—all right. It’s fifteen. I don’t object.”</p> - -<p>“Likewise, we’ll call A ten and B five.<span class="pagenum">[317]</span> -Therefore the block representing the cube of -A + B will be made up of a cube of A—say, -we’ll call the units inches——”</p> - -<p>“I’m willing.”</p> - -<p>“Then the cube of A,” the Shark went on, -“will be a rectangular block, ten inches in -each direction. On three of its faces we place -what I may term flat blocks, each ten inches -square and five inches thick—they’re the A -squared B fellows. Then come what we’ll -describe as the long blocks, five inches two -ways and ten inches the other. Finally, -there’s the cube of B, a block five inches high, -five inches wide, five inches thick. Putting -these together, and picturing each clearly in -mind——”</p> - -<p>Step’s long arm shot out. His hand fell on -the Shark’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>“You villain! You traitor! Doing stunts -like that—in vacation! You ought to -be——”</p> - -<p>But the Shark didn’t wait to hear the punishment -he deserved. He shook off Step’s -hand. He glared at the critic.</p> - -<p>“Course I’m not fooling with any kindergarten -fifteen!” he cried hotly. “Just mentioned<span class="pagenum">[318]</span> -that to try to get down to your understanding. -But I have been working ninety-seven, -and I tell you——”</p> - -<p>But what the Shark had to tell was to remain -his secret. From without the house -came sounds, clearly to be distinguished from -the tumult of the gale.</p> - -<p>Blows were falling upon the door. The -boys sprang to their feet, but before they -could respond to the summons the door was -thrust back, and into the room reeled a man, -covered with snow from head to foot. After -him hobbled a second man, like the first -plainly in sore straits from his battle with the -blizzard, but holding fast to the end of a rope, -which was passed about the leader’s body and -knotted securely below his shoulder blades.</p> - -<p>From the club rose a shout, which mingled -wonder and welcome. For the man who held -the rope was Lon Gates, and the man he drove -before him was Peter Groche.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[319]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVII">CHAPTER XXVII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">PETER’S GRUDGE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Groche, stumbling forward, pitched in a -heap on the floor. Lon, staggering to the -wall, clung to it for support.</p> - -<p>“You—you fellows—here—all of you!” he -gasped.</p> - -<p>“All of us—safe and sound,” cried Sam, -and tried to lead him toward the fire. Lon -resisted.</p> - -<p>“No, no! Take—take it easy. I—I’m -better off here for a while. But—but what -you doin’—doin’——” his voice trailed -weakly.</p> - -<p>In a dozen sentences Sam told him. Lon’s -eyes opened wide.</p> - -<p>“Wal, wal! And the storm catched you! -And such a whopper of a howler of a storm, -gee whillikens!”</p> - -<p>“We know about it. But where did you -come from?”</p> - -<p>Lon pulled off his cap, and bending down,<span class="pagenum">[320]</span> -scooped up a handful of snow from the drift -under the window.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute—fust aid treatment fust!” -said he; and began to rub his face and ears. -“No; lemme be! You—you can’t help me. -I’m like—like an old cat—got to lick my own -scratches.”</p> - -<p>Perforce Sam desisted. Lon, working deliberately -and carefully, winced now and -then.</p> - -<p>“Got through the hide in places,” he admitted. -“This ain’t no night for a polar bear -to be out. Wow! but that wind did sting and -cut!”</p> - -<p>Sam laid finger on a clean gash in Lon’s -coat. “Wind didn’t do that, did it?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Lon; but he limped to Groche -and studied the prostrate figure for a moment -before he went on:</p> - -<p>“No; knife done it—’twas his only good -jab at me.”</p> - -<p>Lon drew a little nearer the fire, but kept a -wary eye on Groche. His voice was gaining -strength, though he still spoke huskily.</p> - -<p>“Wal, three of us started from the camp, -you know. Stub picked up the trail. It led<span class="pagenum">[321]</span> -north. That meant the critter was steerin’ -for the Canady line. But the storm turned -him back—that’s how I got him.”</p> - -<p>“You alone?” asked Sam eagerly.</p> - -<p>“I’m comin’ to that. One time it seemed -’sif the blow was goin’ to spoil our chances, for -it drifted the trail over; but it headed Groche -off, too. He knew he couldn’t buck a blizzard. -So, finally, he give up and made a ’bout -face. We three’d separated—spread out, you -know—lookin’ for his tracks. So there wa’n’t -nobody with me when, all of a sudden, I clumb -over a little rise, and there was Mr. Peter leggin’ -it before the wind for all he was wuth. -And I was right atop of him, ’most. And -then I got this.” And Lon touched the cut in -his coat.</p> - -<p>“But you had a pistol, hadn’t you?”</p> - -<p>Lon’s smile was grim. “Kane had seen -that I was heeled proper, but I’d sot my heart -on roundin’ up my man without makin’ a -sieve of him. Why, I’d even took a rope -along to hog-tie him. So I didn’t shoot. I -jest clubbed the revolver and patted him over -the head with it till the butt broke off. By -that time, though, he was ready to quit.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[322]</span></p> - -<p>“Great Scott, but what a fight it must have -been!”</p> - -<p>“Wal, ’twas quite some. What with him -tryin’ to carve me up, and me doin’ a bass -drum solo on his head—oh, wal, you can figger -out as well as I can what happened. I -was too busy to be takin’ picters. But I’ll say -this for him: he fit like a wildcat.”</p> - -<p>“How about your end of it?”</p> - -<p>Lon shook his head. “Sam, I’m a man o’ -peace. And I got enough of the other thing -to-day to last me till I’m ninety-eight and -come into my second wind. But that’s all I -know about the scrap.”</p> - -<p>For a space nobody spoke. Every one of -the boys was picturing for himself that desperate -grapple of two strong men, struggling -for mastery in the midst of the raging storm.</p> - -<p>“But afterward—after you’d downed him—what -happened?” queried Sam at last.</p> - -<p>“Mighty little—for a while. I was hopin’ -the lumberjacks, missin’ me, would scout back -and pick us up, but they didn’t come. Reckon -they were havin’ troubles o’ their own. Finally, -seein’ as how keepin’ still meant freezin’, -I tried to work toward the camp. But bless<span class="pagenum">[323]</span> -you, boys! it wa’n’t no use; I couldn’t find -my own tracks. And I’d got all tangled on -direction. So I reasoned with Groche for a -spell—he knows them woods better’n he knows -any book. I roped him the way he’s fixed -now, and told him, ‘Giddap! Le’s go somewhere.’”</p> - -<p>“And then——?” Sam urged.</p> - -<p>“Yes; tell us!” chimed in two or three of -the others.</p> - -<p>Thus encouraged, Lon told his story, and a -strange story it was of captive forced to guide -captor; of slow and painful plodding through -growing drifts; of halts in the lee of wood or -hill, while the storm increased, and the wind -blew more fiercely, and the cold deepened. -After a time he felt sure that Groche, while -avoiding the camp, had some other refuge in -mind.</p> - -<p>“He’s brute enough,” Lon explained, “to -have the brute’s instinct for makin’ for a burrow. -So I give him his head, and let him -go it.”</p> - -<p>How long they toiled on, or how many -miles they covered, Lon had no notion. The -feeble light of afternoon faded into the gloom<span class="pagenum">[324]</span> -of night. Yet Groche seemed to be sure of his -course. Lon even fancied that there was a -slight increase in the pace. And then, of -a sudden, he saw the flicker of the fire through -a window of the old house.</p> - -<p>“Then you’ve no more idea than we where -we are?” said Sam.</p> - -<p>“No more idea than——” Lon began, but -broke off abruptly, as his glance, ranging the -room, fell upon something which caught his -attention. He stepped close to one of the -walls, peered at it sharply, and gave an odd -laugh.</p> - -<p>“Wal, I’ll be jiggered! Who’d ’a’ thought -it? Lookee here, boys! Stone work part -way up, then wood! Say, but it beats cat -fightin’!”</p> - -<p>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p>Lon turned to the group by the fire. He -was grinning in spite of his weariness.</p> - -<p>“I mean this is the house old Calleck -built up in the woods, the house where old -Wallowby fit the bear. So that’s proof of the -story—see?”</p> - -<p>“Proof!” cried the Shark skeptically.</p> - -<p>“Why not? Said there was such a house,<span class="pagenum">[325]</span> -didn’t I? Sure I did, and now I go and produce -it. Rest follows as a matter of course.”</p> - -<p>“Rats!” snapped the Shark in disgust.</p> - -<p>“Rats nothing!” jeered Step. “All you’ve -got to do, Shark, is to—to visualize it—yes, -that’s the scheme. Take a dose of your own -medicine for keeping the brain clear, can’t -you?”</p> - -<p>“Bosh!” growled the Shark; and in high -dudgeon turned his back on the company. -It happened that, as a result of the movement, -he faced Groche, upon whom unwittingly he -trained his gaze, while he meditated darkly -upon the extreme unreason of his clubmates.</p> - -<p>Groche had been lying like a log on the -floor, but now he stirred restlessly. He raised -himself on an elbow. For a moment he tried, -as he had tried once before, to stare down the -unblinking Shark; and failed as completely -as he had failed on the former occasion. He -struggled to a sitting position. He raised an -arm, as if to ward off the hypnotic influence -of the steady eyes behind the big glasses. -And he broke into speech, incoherent, savage, -and terror-stricken.</p> - -<p>Lon limped forward, but Sam was before<span class="pagenum">[326]</span> -him, catching Groche’s arm. At this the -ruffian turned upon him.</p> - -<p>“You—you, I’ll get ye, if I hang for it!” -he shouted. “You’re at the bottom of it all! -You lied about me, and you set that old bloodhound, -Bates, on me!”</p> - -<p>“But you’re mistaken; I didn’t,” Sam said -earnestly.</p> - -<p>“You done it, you done it!”</p> - -<p>Sam glanced at Lon. “I guess you reasoned -out the truth of it,” said he.</p> - -<p>Groche swore viciously, tried to rise; -groaned, and sank back to the floor.</p> - -<p>“You lied about me, and threw that job o’ -yourn on me!” he snarled. “I’ll get even -with ye, I’ll get even with ye yet, if I die -for’t!”</p> - -<p>Lon wagged his head sagaciously. “Jesso, -Sam, jesso! Them’s the undoubted sentiments -o’ Peter Groche, Esq. Once—twice, -comin’ along, I tried to talk with him, but all -I could make out was that he’d got it in for -you for keeps. And as for the why of it—wal, -I dunno’s you’re ready to have that -talked over in open meetin’.” And Lon -winked meaningly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[327]</span></p> - -<p>“Oh!” Because Sam understood, his tone -was startled. “Oh! That?”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! The beginnin’ o’ the trouble,” -said Lon, and winked again.</p> - -<p>“The be—the beginning——” Sam repeated -doubtfully.</p> - -<p>Perhaps Lon felt himself justified in dwelling -on his own shrewdness.</p> - -<p>“Fact is, Sam,” said he, “you’re kind o’ -bothered, because you’re still half calculatin’ -on what a reasonable bein’ would ’a’ done. -But Groche, as I’ve told you, ain’t reasonable—not -our kind o’ reasonable. Jest bear that -in mind. Allow that he got it into his -crooked brain that he hated you—hatin’s his -long suit, I reckon. Now, you’re thinkin’—bein’ -what you are, you can’t help thinkin’ it—that -when nothin’ much happened to Peter, -and they let him go, he ought to have realized -he’d been mistaken, somehow, in draggin’ you -in. But that ain’t Peter Groche’s method. -He’d got you in his bad books, and there you -stayed. It’s all plain as print to me, son. It’s -one idee at a time for Peter, and he ain’t the -sort o’ feller to go seekin’ further light, or -askin’ the questions a decent man would ask.<span class="pagenum">[328]</span> -What if he was let out? He’s been put in, -and that was all he thought about. So he -’tended to all the sculduggery about our place—which -was bad enough. But he hated a -mite too hard, and went a mile too far, when -he played firebug; and now we’ve got him for -something that’ll spell state’s prison for him. -And that’s why I was so dead sot on bringin’ -him in alive.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Sam gravely.</p> - -<p>Now, to this conversation there had been a -group of eager, if puzzled, listeners. Save -for Groche’s reference to Major Bates as a -“bloodhound,” and the discussion of his brief -confinement, no clue to the mystery had been -given to the boys; and these matters carried a -suggestion so unexpected and so surprising -that none of them readily grasped it. When -Sam said, “I see,” two or three of the others -moved uneasily.</p> - -<p>“Jiminy! I don’t!” cried Poke explosively. -“I don’t want to seem prying or inquisitive, -but you’ve got me guessing. It’s worse than -Greek; for that I can dig out, if I have to. -But there’s no vocabulary to help here.”</p> - -<p>Sam’s glance went from one to another of<span class="pagenum">[329]</span> -his friends. He read in the face of each -something very like the thought Poke had -put into words. He drew a long breath.</p> - -<p>“Fellows! I’ll tell you. I meant to keep -it a secret, but I guess you’re entitled to -know. What Lon referred to as the beginning -of the trouble was—well, it was the—er—er—the -accident to Major Bates. I shot at -what I thought was a deer in Marlow woods, -and I hit the Major!”</p> - -<p>“Whew!”</p> - -<p>“You did that, Sam!”</p> - -<p>“Shot the Major!”</p> - -<p>“Jupiter crickets, but I wouldn’t have been -in your shoes for a farm!”</p> - -<p>So the club voiced its astonishment. Sam -waited for the hubbub to subside. Then said -he:</p> - -<p>“I intended to say nothing to anybody, but -when Groche was arrested—why, there was -only one square thing to do. The old Major -was bully; so was my father. Groche was -turned loose, and I supposed that was the end -of the story. But then things began to happen—you -know well enough what they were, -and how we explained ’em.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[330]</span></p> - -<p>Two or three nodded; as many more stole -repentant glances at Tom Orkney.</p> - -<p>“We made a bad mistake,” Sam went on. -“I won’t dwell on all the mistake led to; but -I will say that it seems to me a clear case of -one blunder brought about by another. If I -hadn’t shot the Major, there wouldn’t have -been any raids on our barn—and we’re certain -Groche was the raider: so far Lon’s theory is -backed by facts. I blundered by believing -somebody else did the tricks, and that led to -the third blunder in jumping to the conclusion -that the somebody smashed the club -window that night. Wait a minute, though!” -He turned to Orkney. “You’re following -this, aren’t you? You get the combination -all right?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Orkney simply.</p> - -<p>“There was a complication that night. -Remember the cap of yours that Step threw -over Mrs. Benton’s fence?”</p> - -<p>“I remember it—but I never saw it again.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we found it outside the club. What -we thought about it was another of the -mistakes. Not till a good while later did we -learn that Mrs. Benton had put it in her rubbish<span class="pagenum">[331]</span> -can, and somebody prowling through the -alley had carried it off.”</p> - -<p>“Groche—sure’s you’re a foot high!” commented -Lon. “He’s always skulkin’ through -the back-streets. Pinched it, didn’t you, -Peter?”</p> - -<p>But Groche, though stirred by Lon’s toe to -make answer, merely growled inarticulately.</p> - -<p>“Well, I think we can safely assume Groche -did take it,” Sam continued. “Even at first -the Shark raised a doubt——”</p> - -<p>“Doubt!” broke in the Shark. “Huh! -Don’t you fellows know an absolute demonstration -when you see one? What I proved -was that that stone was thrown by a grown -man, and a strong man, to boot!”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s all part of the chain,” said Sam. -“One thing is linked with the next. If I -hadn’t shot the Major, Groche wouldn’t have -had a grudge against me, you fellows wouldn’t -have been mixed up in the trouble, we -wouldn’t have had reason to make a trip to -the camp, we wouldn’t be here storm bound. -And—and”—he glanced at Orkney—“and -things that have happened wouldn’t have -happened.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[332]</span></p> - -<p>A readier fellow, a more tactful fellow, -might have found in Sam’s words something -very like an overture for full reconciliation. -More or less clearly everybody understood the -situation. All eyes were upon Orkney, some -openly, some covertly; but even in the flickering -light of the fire Tom’s face bore a curiously -set and stolid expression.</p> - -<p>Poke relieved the tension.</p> - -<p>“Ha, ha!” he laughed. “Jiminy! but I -can’t get over it, Sam! Think of you going -out and potting Major Bates, of all men! And -then think of you keeping it a secret from the -crowd! That’s funnier yet. But the funniest -thing of all is that we didn’t dope it out. -Why, there hasn’t been one of us that didn’t -feel you were acting as if you had something -on your mind. Yet with all the Shark’s calculations -and with all my good common sense, -we were as unsuspecting as babes in the -woods!”</p> - -<p>“Common sense! Poke’s common sense!” -roared Step. “Say, that’s the richest joke -sprung in a hundred years!”</p> - -<p>Peter Groche, aroused by the shout which -met this sally, lifted his head. He stared<span class="pagenum">[333]</span> -evilly at Sam, and his features were contorted -as grotesquely as a gargoyle’s.</p> - -<p>“He tried to plant the job on me, I tell -ye!” he growled hoarsely. “Boy, I’ll get ye -for that—I’ll get ye if I swing for’t!”</p> - -<p>“Wal, I guess you’ll have to wait and do a -little time fust in a cell,” quoth Lon.</p> - -<p>Peter Groche made no reply. His head had -sunk to the floor.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[334]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII">CHAPTER XXVIII -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SAM MAKES CHOICE</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The long night had dragged to an end. A -pale glimmer at the windows told of the coming -of a clouded dawn, while outside the old -house the storm raged in unabated violence.</p> - -<p>Sam, awakening from a doze, replenished -the fire. The other boys were still sleeping, -each in the posture which, to his notion, minimized -the hardship of a bed of rough planks. -The Shark was rolled up like a ball; Step lay -flat on his back, his long arms and legs sprawling; -the Trojan had pillowed his head on -Herman Boyd’s shoulder; Poke, his forehead -resting on his arm, was breathing very regularly -and audibly; Tom Orkney, a little apart -from the others, was stirring restlessly.</p> - -<p>Lon was sitting beside Peter Groche, for -whom the remnants of the old carpet and the -bags from the shed served as a mattress. -Peter was either ill or shamming artfully. -Lon and the boys had had a hard time with<span class="pagenum">[335]</span> -him during the night; for though at intervals -he lay in what seemed to be a stupor, these -had been separated by quarter-hours and half-hours -in which he writhed and struggled and -cried out deliriously. They had done the little -they could for him; and Lon had remained -on duty as combined guard and nurse.</p> - -<p>Sam dropped beside his ally.</p> - -<p>“Well, how is he?” he whispered.</p> - -<p>“Dunno,” Lon answered dubiously. “If he -was anybody else, I’d call him a mighty sick -man. Bein’ Peter Groche, mebbe he’s soldierin’. -He’d be powerful glad to get away—don’t -lose sight o’ that.”</p> - -<p>Sam bent over the suspect. Groche’s face -was flushed; his breathing was labored.</p> - -<p>“Certainly he’s feverish, Lon. And he -couldn’t feign that, could he?”</p> - -<p>“Umph! I ain’t no doctor.”</p> - -<p>“Wish you were!”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Lon. “As ’tis, I dunno—the -pair of us went through enough to send -some folks to hospital, what with that rassle -and then the tramp through the drifts. And -I did hammer him up—had to, or he’d ’a’ -done for me. Clear case o’ survival of the fittest—feller<span class="pagenum">[336]</span> -that fit hardest, you know. And -I ain’t in what you’d call the pink o’ condition -myself. Sam, I’m as stiff as a bunch o’ -ramrods, and I ain’t got a j’int that feels as if -it had been greased in a coon’s age. That’s -one trouble—I don’t dare take chances with -him. If he got two jumps’ lead, I’d never -catch him. And for all his takin’s on, and -his wild yellin’, and them fever signs—wal, -jest remember he’s as tough as an oak knot -and as crafty as a fox. And he’s got the biggest -kind o’ cause to bolt, if he can. Arson’s -a state prison job, sonny.”</p> - -<p>“So I suppose. Only”—Sam hesitated—“only -that wouldn’t be ground for failing to -call a doctor or—or carrying him to one.”</p> - -<p>Lon listened for a moment to the shriek of -the gale.</p> - -<p>“You’re right enough, Sam,” he admitted. -“But he can’t be took out—not in a blizzard -like this, ’specially as we don’t know where to -take him. And as for tryin’ to go for a doctor—wal, -it’d be risky, mighty risky. I ain’t in -shape, but I wouldn’t dare leave that wildcat -with you boys, anyhow. And as for sendin’ -any of you, that’d be a big risk, too. ’Tain’t<span class="pagenum">[337]</span> -’sif we knew where we were, you know; and -I’d hate to take chances o’ losin’ worth-while -youngsters for the sake o’ that critter.”</p> - -<p>“But can’t anything be done?”</p> - -<p>“We can wait for the storm to blow itself -out.”</p> - -<p>“But how long will that be?”</p> - -<p>“Dunno. The big blizzard of ’88 done -business for three days.”</p> - -<p>Sam rose. He tiptoed to the door, and -peered through a yawning crack beside it. -Then he came back to Lon.</p> - -<p>“I can’t see much change, except that the -clouds are not quite so low or so heavy. And -it’s colder than ever.”</p> - -<p>“Like enough! Nor’easter shiftin’ to nor’wester.”</p> - -<p>Sam took thought, and while he deliberated, -Step awoke, sat up, yawned loudly. -Poke followed suit, and in a moment more -Herman Boyd and the Trojan were rubbing -their eyes. Then the Shark uncoiled himself. -Last of all Orkney shook off his slumbers.</p> - -<p>Sam turned again to Lon.</p> - -<p>“Look here!” he said in a low tone. “We -can’t stay here three days.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[338]</span></p> - -<p>“Probably we won’t have to.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too uncertain. We’ll have to do -something. We haven’t a crumb of food, and -we’re half starved.”</p> - -<p>Lon nodded sympathetically. “I know, I -know! If I had a hedgehog here, right now, -I’d eat him raw, quills and all.”</p> - -<p>Again Sam studied the flushed face of Peter -Groche.</p> - -<p>“Lon, there <em>is</em> something to do!” he said. -“We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to send out -an expedition for help.”</p> - -<p>“But, Sam, I tell you I ain’t fit, and——”</p> - -<p>“You’re to stay here, and watch Groche.”</p> - -<p>“But who’ll go?”</p> - -<p>“Two of the crowd.”</p> - -<p>“Countin’ yourself one of ’em?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly! And I’ll pick the other.”</p> - -<p>With an effort Lon got upon his feet. He -limped across the room and back again.</p> - -<p>“No use, Sam!” he groaned. “I’d stall -worse’n a balkin’ mule in the fust forty yards. -No; you’ll have to give up the notion.”</p> - -<p>“But my notion is that you’re to stay here, -and watch Groche.”</p> - -<p>“All right—but you’ll stay, too. I’d be<span class="pagenum">[339]</span> -plumb crazy to let you go. ’Tain’t ’sif we -had the lay o’ the <a id="Ref_339" href="#BRef_339">land</a>. If we had, ’twouldn’t -be so much like startin’ from nowhere for -nowhere, in a blizzard, and with the thermometer -’way below zero.”</p> - -<p>“But we do know where we’ll start from—that -is, we have a general idea.”</p> - -<p>“Eh?”</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute!” said Sam. “This is -Calleck’s house, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Ain’t any doubt o’ that, but——”</p> - -<p>“But Calleck’s house stands near the South -Fork. Don’t you remember what the lumberman -said? Don’t you know he told us Calleck -started to build with stone, but finished the -house any way he could? And doesn’t that -description fit this place?”</p> - -<p>“It sure does. This is Calleck’s cabin, fast -enough. Still——”</p> - -<p>Again Sam interrupted: “You know—in -a general way, as I say—how the South Fork -runs?”</p> - -<p>“Y-e-s,” Lon admitted reluctantly. “Empties -into Blake’s River right at Coreytown.”</p> - -<p>“Exactly! And the lumberjack said the -house was about ten miles from the camp.<span class="pagenum">[340]</span> -Now, I’ve been trying to figure out the map, -as the Shark would figure it, and I don’t -believe we’re three miles from the village.”</p> - -<p>The Shark had caught the mention of his -name; also he had grasped the problem presented.</p> - -<p>“Three miles?” he repeated. “Huh! -good enough—as a guess. Of course, I don’t -call that figuring. If you’ll give me the true -distances——”</p> - -<p>“Never mind, Shark!” said Sam promptly. -“We’ll waive decimals and let it go at three -miles, more or less. Then all we’ll have to -do will be to find the South Fork, and follow -the valley down-stream. And there’s a doctor -at Coreytown, I’m sure; and the people won’t -have to be asked twice to help us out.”</p> - -<p>Lon rubbed his chin. “Umph! There is -a grain o’ sense in the scheme. Say, though, -Sam! Where’s that Safety First idea you -uster have on your mind?”</p> - -<p>“It’s there now—Safety First for the whole -crowd!”</p> - -<p>Lon glanced at Groche. The light was -strengthening, and the alarming appearance -of the man’s face was undeniable. A very<span class="pagenum">[341]</span> -sick man was Peter Groche, at least to the eye -of a layman.</p> - -<p>“Jiminy, but something’s got to be tried!” -Lon confessed. “And followin’ the South -Fork would be different from stragglin’ aimless. -I dunno, I dunno!”</p> - -<p>Sam pressed his advantage. “I do know, -then. And Lon! The quicker I start, the -better.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon that’s true,” said Lon slowly. -“Yes; if you’re dead sot to go, there’s no -good in lingerin’. And you’re as husky as -any of the boys. But who’ll you be takin’ -with you?”</p> - -<p>As one the club stepped forward, and volunteered.</p> - -<p>“Choose me, Sam!”</p> - -<p>“No; I’m the one!”</p> - -<p>“Here, I’m your man!”</p> - -<p>“Say! I’ve got a right to go!”</p> - -<p>“Cut it out! He wants me, I tell you!”</p> - -<p>They rained their appeals upon him, the -Shark last but not the least earnest:</p> - -<p>“Take me, and I’ll figure out anything you -want. I don’t care if the thing’s all guesses -and unknown quantities!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[342]</span></p> - -<p>But Sam met the eager glances of none of -his friends. His eyes were on Orkney, standing -aloof and gravely observant.</p> - -<p>There was a tense pause. Then said Sam, -very quietly, yet with a ring in his voice:</p> - -<p>“Sorry I can’t say yes to everybody. But—but -whenever you’re ready, Orkney, we’ll -make the plunge.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[343]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIX">CHAPTER XXIX -<br><span class="cheaderfont">SQUARING THE ACCOUNT</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Imagine a winding valley, sparsely wooded, -deeply banked with snow; a valley through -which the gale sweeps with unchecked fury, -whipping the bare limbs of the trees, catching -up the crest of one shifting drift and sending -it, a swirling mass of white, to build up another -snowy ridge, in its turn to be leveled by the -caprice of the storm; a valley bare of habitations, -as lonely and deserted, apparently, as if -it were buried in the depths of a great forest. -Such was the course along which Sam and -Tom Orkney fought their way. The cold -was intense. The wind cut like a knife. Its -force was so great that, when the windings of -the valley forced them to face it, they could -make progress but at a snail’s pace.</p> - -<p>By Sam’s reckoning they had made about a -mile of their journey. How long a time it -had taken he did not know—an hour certainly,<span class="pagenum">[344]</span> -perhaps much more. There had been frequent -halts, both for consultation and rest; -for here and there thickets were obstacles to -the advance, while both boys felt the weakening -effect of their fast. They were not acutely -hungry, but each was aware of a dully persistent -sense of a void beneath his belt.</p> - -<p>Studying the storm, however, Sam had -caught a gleam of encouragement. Surely the -clouds were riding higher, and were showing -signs of breaking. The wind was not increasing. -It was unlike the rising and falling -squalls of the day before; for it was now a -steady, hard blow. This change, along with -the drop in temperature, convinced him that -Lon had been right in assuming that the gale -had hauled into the northwest, with a promise -of clearing, if not warmer, weather. Though -the air was full of flakes, caught up by the -wind, the snowfall had almost ceased.</p> - -<p>Sam put his mouth close to Orkney’s ear.</p> - -<p>“Guess it’s blowing itself out!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>Orkney nodded. “My notion, too. But -it won’t quit for a while yet.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! Nothing for us but to plug ahead.”</p> - -<p>And they “plugged.” The slang fitted the<span class="pagenum">[345]</span> -case. Orkney’s foot caught on a hidden root, -and he pitched forward on hands and knees. -The snow yielded under his weight; an unsuspected -bank revealed itself; and Tom, the -center of a small avalanche, slid a dozen yards -toward the frozen surface of the South Fork.</p> - -<p>Sam, hurrying after him, helped him to -regain his feet. “Thanks!” said Orkney, and -shook himself like a Newfoundland emerging -from a swim.</p> - -<p>In five minutes he had his chance to reciprocate. -Sam caught a bad fall over a boulder, -barely hidden by a drift.</p> - -<p>“Glory! That shook me up!” Sam confessed. -“’Twouldn’t be a good thing for a -fellow to be out here alone and get hurt, eh?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Orkney.</p> - -<p>“But, pulling together, we’ll pull through!” -cried Sam, and clapped him on the shoulder.</p> - -<p>They went on, but only to share a mishap. -The snow had bridged a brook running down -to the Fork; and the arch caved under them. -Down they went to their armpits in the snow. -They scrambled out of the hole uninjured -but breathless.</p> - -<p>“We—we’ll look out for those places,” Sam<span class="pagenum">[346]</span> -panted; but in spite of their watchfulness he -soon was caught in a worse trap. Another -gully—and deeper—lay beneath a smooth surface. -Sam, being slightly in the lead, vanished -almost at the feet of the astonished Orkney, -who dropped to his knees, groped in what was -like a white whirlpool, and was lucky enough -to lay hold of Sam’s collar. Then, by dint of -much tugging and hauling, aided from below -by the victim of the accident, he at last succeeded -in rescuing his companion from the -depths.</p> - -<p>This time both boys were glad to lie on the -drift for a time, while they were regaining -wind and strength. Sam was the first to -speak.</p> - -<p>“Good turn you did me then. Regular -cavern down there. Rather think there was -water at the bottom of it.”</p> - -<p>“Might be,” said Orkney. “Maybe rapids -in the brook—they don’t freeze up often.”</p> - -<p>Sam gave his companion a friendly dig in -the ribs.</p> - -<p>“Guess that came near evening up a little -thing I did for you once—that pond business.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[347]</span></p> - -<p>“Nonsense!” said Orkney gruffly. “Come -on! Let’s move!”</p> - -<p>He got upon his feet, and Sam followed the -example.</p> - -<p>“Right! Mustn’t let ’em get tired waiting -back at Calleck’s old house. Wonder what -they’re doing now.”</p> - -<p>“Envying me the chance you gave me!” -said Orkney sharply; and plowed ahead without -waiting for a reply.</p> - -<p>Sam trudged after him. No doubt Orkney -had spoken no more than the truth. The -members of the club, tarrying with Lon and -Peter Groche, would envy the adventurers. -Some of them, Sam feared, might find it hard -to forgive the preference he had shown Orkney; -but he did not repent his choice. Physically, -neither Poke nor the Shark was fit for -such a forced march; Step was not a powerful -fellow; Herman Boyd and the Trojan were -sturdy chaps, with plenty of grit, but somewhat -dependent upon good leadership. Orkney, -on the other hand, not only had dogged -resolution and persistence, but also worked -well in “double harness,” as Sam phrased it. -He was as far from yielding too much as from<span class="pagenum">[348]</span> -claiming too much. Though he might lack -certain agreeable qualities, he was showing -sound mettle under strain.</p> - -<p>If Sam did not regret his selection of a companion, -still less did he question the venture -they were making. As he reasoned out the -plight of the party, there was more than the -condition of Peter Groche to warrant the expedition. -As things were, two or three days -might pass before anybody realized that the -club had gone astray in the woods. Mr. Kane -would suppose the boys had followed the tote -road to Coreytown, and had reached the village; -while the people there had had no -warning that the party was on the way, and -so would have no cause to send out searchers -for the wanderers.</p> - -<p>“Clear case of having to help ourselves,” -Sam reflected; and pressed on determinedly.</p> - -<p>But it was slow work, exhausting and taking -toll of brain as well as muscle. Sam was -no longer reckoning time or distance. Sometimes -he led; sometimes Orkney. Often both -halted, and, dropping in the snow, lay there -till one or the other staggered to his feet, and -gave a hand to his comrade.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[349]</span></p> - -<p>They still kept to the valley, but by degrees -were drawing away from the stream and -climbing the right bank on a long diagonal. -This resulted not so much from intention as -from various obstacles encountered along the -lower slope. The higher ground seemed to -be clearer, the drifts not so deep. Once they -came to a long stretch, where the gale had almost -swept away the snow. Here they made -easier progress, though it was far from rapid. -In spite of their exertions the cold had laid -numbing hold upon them, and their limbs -were heavy as lead.</p> - -<p>It had come to be a question of endurance, -of tenacity as well as courage.</p> - -<p>Their danger was great. In their plight -they had to fight a constant temptation to -pause over-long in the partly sheltered hollows -among the drifts. There was another temptation -to close their eyes and burrow deeper in -the snow; but always one or the other roused -to the fatal peril of yielding. Now it was -Sam, and again it was Orkney, who shook off -the numbing spell of the storm, and dragged -the other from his resting place in the snow.</p> - -<p>There could be no turning back. Each understood<span class="pagenum">[350]</span> -that they must push on at all hazards.</p> - -<p>Both Orkney and Sam had heard tales of -lives lost in the great blizzard of 1888, and -other tales of men perishing in storms by no -means so furious or prolonged as that famous -tempest. Hardly a winter passed without -claiming its victims even in the thickly settled -region about Plainville; and though -these unfortunates for the most part were -thinly clad, poorly nourished tramps or human -derelicts, there were not lacking instances -of able-bodied men losing their way and succumbing -to exposure. And here was a storm, -not quite equaling the great blizzard, perhaps, -yet accompanied by quite as bitter cold.</p> - -<p>So, at least, the boys were misled by no false -estimate of their desperate straits. Dulled -though their senses might be, they did not -lose grasp of the truth that they must struggle -on and on, so long as strength remained -to put one foot before the other.</p> - -<p>Yet, though they but vaguely perceived it, -a slight change for the better was taking place -in the weather.</p> - -<p>Overhead there were rifts in the clouds. To<span class="pagenum">[351]</span> -the northwest a patch of pale blue sky showed -for a moment; was lost; reappeared, and grew -in size. But the gale still blew strongly, if -not with quite its earlier savage fury; and -there was no rise in temperature.</p> - -<p>They toiled on doggedly. Still veering -slightly to the right, they came closer and -closer to the summit of the ridge. Finally -they gained it. Beyond was a broader valley.</p> - -<p>Sam clutched Orkney’s arm.</p> - -<p>“Look!” he gasped. “Yonder—a house! -See it? Not a mile away!”</p> - -<p>“There’s another—nearer—lower down!” -cried Tom.</p> - -<p>Sam gazed hungrily in the direction in -which the other pointed.</p> - -<p>“I see it! We can make it! Hur-hurrah!”</p> - -<p>“Hur-hurrah!” echoed Orkney; but he -caught at Sam’s arm, as Sam had caught at -his. For a moment they clung to each other, -swaying with weakness, dazed a little, it may -be, by the sudden brightening of their hopes.</p> - -<p>“Let—let’s rest a bit,” said Sam unsteadily. -“Then—then we’ll go ahead. Noth-nothing -can stop us now!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum">[352]</span></p> - -<p>“Not when we can see smoke whipping -from that chimney!”</p> - -<p>“Sure! Smoke means fire—and people—and -everything!”</p> - -<p>“And almost within arm’s reach!”</p> - -<p>In fact, the house with the smoking chimney -was a weary distance from them; but unexpected -help was nearer at hand. For, while -they still stood gazing into the broad valley, -a curious procession emerged from a clump of -woods at the bottom of the hill. It was a long -line of yoked oxen, pair following pair through -the snow, while about them floundered shouting -men, urging them on with whip and -goad.</p> - -<p>Sam’s voice rose in an exultant cry. “See -that! Whole neighborhood turned out to -break roads! Come on, Tom; come on!”</p> - -<p>But Orkney, clutching his arm the tighter, -held him back.</p> - -<p>“Wait a minute! I’ve got to tell you -something. I want to tell it now—while -we’re alone.”</p> - -<p>“Oh! another time——”</p> - -<p>“There’ll be no other time as good,” Tom -insisted. “Look here, Parker! I’ve never hit<span class="pagenum">[353]</span> -it off with you, with your crowd. We’ve -jarred each other. You didn’t like me; I -didn’t like you. But now I’ve seen your -bunch in trouble, and I’ve seen how you stick -together through thick and thin. And your -fellows have been fair to me.... I’ve -never had a crowd like that. I didn’t believe -there could be such a crowd.... No; -don’t try to pull away! You’ve got to hear -me! I started back with you, because that -seemed to be the sensible thing to do. I expected -the fellows would roast me, snub me, -rub it in that I’d been a fool to bolt. I meant -to stand it and say nothing; but back in Plainville -I’d get even, fast enough.... Well, -if I kept quiet, I saw things. It just forced -itself on me, after a while, that maybe I -hadn’t got along with you because I didn’t -know how to get along with anybody.... -I heard what you said about your mistakes -and the crowd’s mistakes, and I understood. -Bother all that, though! I know I’ve made -enough mistakes of my own.... Hold -on! There’s one thing more, and it’s the -biggest thing of all—to me. Every one of -your fellows wanted to come with you on this<span class="pagenum">[354]</span> -trip, but you chose me. It was the biggest -thing you could have done for me. It squared -the account—and more.... And that’s -all I’ve got to tell you, except that the slate’s -clean, so far as I am concerned; and that I -won’t worry you or your crowd. I’m going -back to Plainville, and I’m going to take my -medicine. And I reckon you won’t hear me -whine.”</p> - -<p>Sam, genuinely embarrassed yet honestly -pleased and relieved, tried to escape the restraining -hand.</p> - -<p>“You—you bet I won’t, Tom!” he said -awkwardly but kindly. “No danger of that! -You’ve proved the stuff that’s in you—the -gang knows it as well as I do. And—and -after this day—I don’t believe you’ll find -things in Plainville so hard, after all.”</p> - -<p>Then he freed himself, and started down the -hill. The men in the road caught sight of -the figures on the ridge, and raised a welcoming -hail.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum">[355]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXX">CHAPTER XXX -<br><span class="cheaderfont">IN FULL SETTLEMENT</span></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Plainville was on the last day of the nine -traditionally allotted to discussion of affairs of -high interest or importance.</p> - -<p>The town had been stirred by the story of -the adventures of Sam and his friends, and -the boys, a good deal to their surprise, had -found themselves treated like heroes. Plainville -had had a taste of the big storm—huge -drifts still rose in many places—and was ready -to give full credit for plucky endurance of the -hardships, both of the club’s wanderings to the -old Calleck house and of the forced march of -Sam and Orkney to the settlements; while -the dash of a rescue party to the stone house -and its return with the other members of the -club, and Lon and the stricken Peter Groche, -formed another chapter which caught the -public fancy.</p> - -<p>Groche was still in Coreytown, under treatment<span class="pagenum">[356]</span> -by doctors and guard by officers. The -event proved that he had not been shamming -that night when Lon watched him with suspicious -eye. A very sick man, indeed, was -Peter for a few days; but now tidings had -come that, thanks to a rugged frame and a -vigorous constitution, he was beginning to -rally, with every prospect that, presently, he -would be well enough to stand trial on the -very grave charge of arson. Some doubt was -expressed, to be sure, of his mental condition; -but the chances were strongly in favor of his -retirement behind the walls either of prison -or asylum. At all events, Plainville heartily -endorsed the opinion of Major Bates, and -counted itself well rid of its least desirable -citizen.</p> - -<p>The Major, it is to be related, took keen delight -in Sam’s version of the happenings in -the woods, and learning, incidentally, that the -secret of his wounds had become public property—at -least, the property of the club—invited -the boys to dinner, in order, as he explained, -that he might present his side of the -case. For the club it was an occasion of impressive -state and ceremony, but the Major<span class="pagenum">[357]</span> -was a delightful host, quickly put them at -their ease, told lively tales of war and peace, -and finally made a speech which brought out -three rousing cheers for Sam Parker and three -times three for the orator.</p> - -<p>Tom Orkney was at the dinner. The Major -invited him, along with the rest and quite as -a matter of course. And Tom, though his -manner was reserved, didn’t fail to enter into -the spirit of the occasion.</p> - -<p>To tell the truth, his reception, in general, -had been beyond his expectations. Had he -been older and more experienced, he might -better have understood that little heed is given -to an old story when a new story is being -told. Tom Orkney, runaway, was an old -story; Tom Orkney, joint adventurer with the -club, was a new story. Moreover, Little Perrine -had been singing his praises, and Sam -and his friends were losing no opportunity to -proclaim his pluck and grit. So, when school -opened after the holidays, Orkney, to his bewilderment, -found himself enjoying a degree -of favor in curious contrast to the chill reception -for which he had nerved himself.</p> - -<p>Lon Gates still limped slightly, but otherwise<span class="pagenum">[358]</span> -appeared to be none the worse for his battle -with Peter Groche. Lon was not boastful. -He pretended to make a joke of his capture of -the desperado; and, in private, confided to -Sam that he felt a bit like a fellow who had -been able to bring in a stolen horse, but hadn’t -known enough to lock the stable door before -the horse was stolen.</p> - -<p>“So I reckon I ain’t quite so much of a -genooine Shylock Holmes as I let on to be,” -he added. “Course, as the old lady said when -she broke her false teeth on a hick’rynut but -didn’t swallow ’em, things might be wuss, but -then again they might be better. I ought to ’a’ -had that Groche locked up for stealin’ the -wrench, when I had him dead to rights; but -I didn’t know enough. If I’d foreseen what -was comin’—— Oh, wal, if I’d been able to -do that, folks’d been dragging me off to be -President of the United States, instead o’ lettin’ -me stay here to help your father try to -keep you in order.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker, weather bound in No. 3 camp -by the blizzard, had had his first intimation -of the club’s peril and escape when he reached -Coreytown on his way out. He came home<span class="pagenum">[359]</span> -to find Sam comfortably settled. The father -listened attentively to the son’s narrative, but -made no comment. Sam was puzzled a little -by this, and not a little disappointed. He -would have given much to know precisely his -father’s opinion of his conduct throughout the -episode.</p> - -<p>But Mr. Parker reserving judgment, Sam -went about his own affairs, and was very busy. -There was school, with study and recitations; -coasting, sleighing and snow-shoeing filled the -afternoons; then there was a club question, -which brought him into frequent conference -with the other members. And at last this -question was decided; and it was the evening -of the ninth day; and he was hurrying through -his supper because, decision having been -reached, the club was to meet that night in -full session.</p> - -<p>Sam had made his excuses, and was rising -from the table, when his father detained him.</p> - -<p>“I wish you’d give me a few minutes, -Sam,” he said. “It’s something which may -interest you. Step into the library, and I’ll -join you presently.”</p> - -<p>Sam, at once curious and impatient, had<span class="pagenum">[360]</span> -not long to wait. Mr. Parker seated himself -at his desk, glanced at a memorandum, turned -to the boy.</p> - -<p>“Well, Sam,” he said slowly, “about time -we took account of stock and balanced the -books, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“I—I suppose so, sir,” his son answered uncertainly.</p> - -<p>“Let’s see! Some weeks ago we reached -an understanding. There had been an untoward -incident, due to your—er—er—well, -call it your precipitancy. At the time it -seemed wise to put you on probation. Well, -how have you behaved?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why”—Sam stammered—“why, I—I’ve——”</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker’s glance was searching, but his -lips were smiling.</p> - -<p>“To the best of my information, you’ve -behaved remarkably well!” said he emphatically.</p> - -<p>“Oh!” It was all Sam could say.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” his father went on. “I’ve been at -some pains to inquire into your conduct. I’ve -examined and cross-examined Lon and the -boys who were with you at the camp and<span class="pagenum">[361]</span> -afterward. By the way, two of them were -unusually excellent witnesses.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir?” said Sam questioningly.</p> - -<p>Mr. Parker’s smile broadened. “One was -Willy Reynolds, who——”</p> - -<p>“What! The Shark?... That’s a -nickname we have for him, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! The Shark?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir—he’s a bug on mathematics.”</p> - -<p>“A bug, therefore a Shark—I don’t quite -master the sequence of ideas, but never mind -that! Master Reynolds struck me as a quaint -person, but instructive. He seems to seek -precision of statement, and begrudge unnecessary -words. Then there was young Orkney—very -intelligent fellow, and a very good -friend of yours, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p>“I hope so!” said Sam with sincerity.</p> - -<p>“They were the star witnesses, but all testified -to the same effect—that you acquitted -yourself creditably. Now, I don’t say that you -displayed the wisdom of age—I’ve told you -that I do not look for the head of sixty on the -shoulders of sixteen—but you do seem to have -combined a degree of prudence with resolution -and resourcefulness in emergencies. All the<span class="pagenum">[362]</span> -boys say you were practically in command of -the party. If that is true, even if you didn’t -keep your friends from trouble, you brought -them out of it. And that brings me from -past to future. Once I told you I hesitated -to let you go to St. Mark’s because I feared -you couldn’t take care of yourself. Now -what shall I say when I find you caring for -others as well as yourself?”</p> - -<p>Sam drew in his breath sharply. “Oh! -St. Mark’s! Why—why, sir, I—I haven’t -thought of it lately.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said his father quietly, “you are at -liberty to think of it now.”</p> - -<p>Sam tried to utter his thanks—and failed. -There was a lump in his throat which forbade -speech.</p> - -<p>“It happens,” said Mr. Parker, “that I have -had some talk recently with Mr. Jones and -Mr. Green. Both seem to be willing to have -their boys go to the school if you go, too; -though Mr. Jones favors the change next -September rather than at the close of this -term.”</p> - -<p>Then Sam found tongue. “Hurrah! Step -and Poke going, too! And September’ll suit<span class="pagenum">[363]</span> -me just as well. I’ll be glad to finish out the -year here. And—and it doesn’t have to be -kept a secret, does it?”</p> - -<p>“Not unless you so desire.”</p> - -<p>“Whoop!” shouted the delighted Sam, and -rushed out of the library. Thirty seconds -later he was out of the house, and running -toward the club.</p> - -<p>All the other members were present when -he burst in upon them; but before he could -recover breath to spread his news, the Shark -interposed.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you try to start anything, Sam, till -we’ve ’tended to business. Look here!” -He pulled out his watch. “Seven-twenty-eight—and -the time set’s seven-thirty.”</p> - -<p>“Bother your watch, Shark!” cried Step. -“Likely’s not it’s ’way off.”</p> - -<p>The Shark frowned upon the doubter. -“This watch,” he said severely, “has an -average gain of twenty-two seconds, plus, a -month. It was set by a jeweler’s chronometer -four days ago. If you will take the trouble -to compute the error which has arisen since -then, and subtract——”</p> - -<p>“Hold on! No rough work like that<span class="pagenum">[364]</span> -goes!” jeered Poke. “Twenty-two plus nothing! -What’s the fraction? If we’re going to -be accurate, let’s be accurate!”</p> - -<p>For an instant the Shark stared at Poke.</p> - -<p>“You—you talking of accuracy! Holy -smoke!” he growled in disgust. “You -couldn’t tell a vernier from a vulgar fraction!”</p> - -<p>Sam thought he saw a chance to break in.</p> - -<p>“Listen, you fellows——” he began; but -this time the Trojan stopped him.</p> - -<p>“Put it off till the show’s over, Sam. We -want this thing done right, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! And you’ve got to make the -speech, Sam!” chimed in Herman Boyd.</p> - -<p>Sam’s jaw dropped. “Speech? Oh, thunder! -but I can’t!” he protested.</p> - -<p>“All the same, you’ll have to. It’s got to -be put straight—the way we feel about it—all -that.”</p> - -<p>Poke wagged his head knowingly. “It’s -the proper caper,” said he, in his philosophical -fashion. “People always make speeches when -they’ve got to break the ice and don’t know -exactly how to go about it.”</p> - -<p>Here was American common practice, if not<span class="pagenum">[365]</span> -the soundest of doctrine. The club was impressed.</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” said two or three together.</p> - -<p>“But——” Sam’s objection was cut short -by a knock at the door.</p> - -<p>The Trojan pushed him forward. Plainly -there was no escape from the rôle his friends -were forcing upon him.</p> - -<p>Sam opened the door. Then, rising to the -occasion, he caught the hand of a youth who -stood on the step, and drew him into the -room. Back of him the other boys formed a -smiling semicircle.</p> - -<p>“Tom Orkney,” said Sam very earnestly, -“you don’t know how pleased I am to see -you here. But I want you to understand -that your election was unanimous, and that -every one of us is mighty glad to have you a -member of the Safety First Club!”</p> - -<hr class="tb x-ebookmaker-drop"> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2 style="margin-top: 0em">Transcriber’s Notes:</h2> - -<p>Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are -mentioned, except for the frontispiece.</p> - -<p>Punctuation has been made consistent.</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in -the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have -been corrected.</p> - -<p>The following change was made:</p> - -<p id="BRef_339"><a href="#Ref_339">p. 339</a>: hand changed to land (the land. If)</p> -</div></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SAFETY FIRST CLUB ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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