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Edward Stmtemeyer
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2.
DAVE PORTER SERIES
By EDWARD STRATEMEYER
"Mr. Stratemeyer has seldom introduced a more popular hero
than Dave Porter. He is a typical boy, manly, brave, always ready
for a good time if it can be obtained in an honorable way."— Wiscon~
«'«, Milwaukee, Wis.
"Edward Stratemeyer 's 4Dave Porter' has become exceedingly
popular." — Boston Globe.
''Dave and his friends are nice, manly chaps. "— 7¥»M*-
Democrat, New Orleans.
DAVE PORTER AT OAK HALL
Or The School Days of an American Boy
DAVE PORTER IN THE SOUTH SEAS
Or The Strange Cruise of the Stormy Petrel
DAVE PORTER'S RETURN TO SCHOOL
Or Winning the Medal of Honor
DAVE PORTER IN THE FAR NORTH
Or The Pluck of an American Schoolboy
DAVE PORTER AND HIS CLASSMATES
Or For the Honor of Oak Hall
DAVE PORTER AT STAR RANCH
Or The Cowboy's Secret
DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Or The Chums and Foes of O&k Hall
DAVE PORTER ON CAVE ISLAND
Or A Schoolboy's Mysterious Mission
DAVE PORTER AND THE RUNAWAYS
Or Last Days at Oak Hall
DAVE PORTER IN THE GOLD FIELDS
Or The Search for the Landslide Mine
DAVE PORTER AT BEAR CAMP
Or The Wild Man of Mirror Lake
DAVE PORTER AND HIS DOUBLE
Or The Disappearance of the Basswood Fortune
DAVE PORTER'S GREAT SEARCH
Or The Perils of a Young Civil Engineer
DAVE PORTER UNDER FIRE
Or A Young Army Engineer in France
DAVE PORTER'S WAR HONORS
Or At the Front with the Fighting Engineers
For sale by ail booksellers, or gent postpaid on receipt
of price by the publishers
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co- Boston
THE PUCK WAS FAIRLY STOLEN FROM MALLORY HIMSELF BY DAVR
Page 304.
2>ax>e porter Series
DAVE POETEE AND HIS EIVALS
THE CHUMS AND FOES OP OAK HALL
BY
EDWARD STRATEMEYER
Author of "Dave Porter at Oak Hall," "The Gun Club Boy* of Lake,
port," "Old Glory Series," "Pan-American Ser!e»," etc.
ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN QOSS
BOSTON
LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
1930
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY LOTHROP, LKB & SHEPARD Co.
All Rights Reserved
DAVE PORTER AND His RIVALS
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
URL
PREFACE
" DAVE PORTER AND His RIVALS " is a com-
plete story in itself, but forms the seventh volume
in a line issued under the general title of " Dave
Porter Series."
When I brought out the first volume of this
series, entitled " Dave Porter at Oak Hall," I
trusted that the story would please the young
people for whom it was written, but I did not
imagine that so many thousands of boys and girls
all over our broad land would take to Dave as
they have, and would insist upon knowing more
about him.
My opening tale was one of boarding school
life, and this was followed by " Dave Porter in
the South Seas," whither our hero had gone in
search of his father, and then by " Dave Porter's
Return to School," in which book Dave met all
of his friends again and likewise a few of his
enemies.
So far our hero had heard about his father, but
had not yet seen his parent, and the next volume,
" Dave Porter in the Far North," related the par-
ticulars of a trip to Norway, where the youth had
IV
PREFACE
some stirring adventures amid snow and ice in the
Land of the Midnight Sun.
Coming back to America, the lad was sent again
to Oak Hall, as set down in the next volume, called
" Dave Porter and His Classmates." During
that term at school many complications arose, and
our hero did something for the honor of Oak Hall
that was a great credit to him.
Dave's father was now with him, but his sister
Laura was in the Far West, and upon her return
he received an invitation to visit a large ranch,
and how he went, and what strenuous times he had,
were related in " Dave Porter at Star Ranch."
As soon as his Western outing was at an end,
Dave returned home, and then betook himself once
more to Oak Hall. Here, to his surprise, he found
an unusual state of affairs, the particulars of which
are given in the pages that follow.
Once again I thank those who have praised my
books in the past. I hope the present volume will
also please them and do them good.
EDWARD STRATEMEYER.
CONTENTS
CHAFTM 'AGE
I. AN AUTOMOBILE RIDS i
II. DAVE AND His PAST n
III. WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS ai
IV. AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL ..... 31
V. THE BOYS AND A BULL 41
VI. A TALK WITH AARON POOLS . . . .51
VII. ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL 61
VIII. ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS .... 70
IX. THE FOOTBALL MEETING ' 80
X. LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT ... 90
XI. A MIDNIGHT FEAST 100
XII. AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKF.RS . . .no
XIII. IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING . .120
XIV. WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL . . . 130
XV. A RUNAWAY MOTOR- Bo AT 140
XVI. A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON .... 150
XVII. REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN .... 160
XVIII. AN INITIATION AND WHAT FOLLOWED . .170
XIX. SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 180
XX. THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVTLLE . . . igo
XXI. THANKSGIVING, AND A SNOWBALLING CONTEST . 200
v
vi CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XXII. IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK . . .210
XXIII. HOOKER MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST . 220
XXIV. A RACE ON SKATES 230
XXV. IN THE HANDS OF THK ENEMY . . . 240
XXVI. A DASH FOR LIBERTY 250
XXVII. A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 260
XXVIII. A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST .... 270
XXIX. HOOKER MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION . . 280
XXX. THE ENEMY RUNS AWAY 290
XXXI. ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION . . . 397
DAVE PORTER AND HIS
RIVALS
CHAPTER I
AN AUTOMOBILE RIDE
" EVERYBODY ready? "
" Yes, Dave; let her go! " cried Phil Lawrence.
"How about you folks in the other auto?"
queried Dave Porter, as he let off the hand brake
and advanced the spark and lever of the machine
he was about to run.
" We are all ready," responded Roger Morr.
" Been ready for an hour," added Ben Bass-
wood, who sat beside Roger.
" Oh, Ben, not quite as long as that ! " burst
out Laura Porter, who was one of three girls
in the tonneau of the second car.
"Well, make it fifty-eight minutes then; I'm
not particular," responded Ben, calmly.
"Are the lunch hampers in?" asked Jessie
Wadsworth, anxiously. " Mamma said we musn't
forget anything."
2 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Trust Dave and Roger to look after the food,"
burst out Phil Lawrence.
" Likewise Mr. Phil Lawrence," added Dave.
" Just wait till it comes lunch time, and you'll see
Phil stow away about fifteen chicken sandwiches,
ten slices of cake, three pickles, five olives "
" Stop ! I draw the line on olives, Dave ! "
cried Phil, making a wry face.
" Oh, olives are fine; I love them ! " cried Belle
Endicott.
" Then all that are coming to me are yours,"
returned Phil, quickly. " But start her up, fellows,
if we are going! " he added, and then, putting a
big horn to his lips, he blew a loud blast.
" Take good care of yourselves ! " cried a voice
from the veranda of the mansion in front of which
the two automobiles were standing, and Mrs.
Wadsworth waved a hand to the young people.
" We'll try to," answered Dave, and then he
threw in the clutch on low gear, and the big tour-
ing car moved gently away, out of the grounds
of the Wadsworth mansion and into the main
highway leading from Crumville to Shady Glen
Falls. The second car speedily followed.
It was a late summer day, with a clear blue
sky overhead and just enough breeze blowing to
freshen the air. A shower of rain the day previ-
ous had laid the dust of the road and added to the
freshness of fields and woods.
AN AUTOMOBILE RIDE 3
The boys and girls had planned this outing for
several days. All of the youths were to return
to Oak Hall school the following week, and they
wished to do something for the girls to remember
them by, as Dave expressed it.
" Might have a party," Roger had suggested.
" No good, unless it was a lawn party," Phil
had answered. " It's too stuffy in the house, these
warm days."
" We might take a couple of autos and go for
a day's outing up the river road," Dave had sug-
gested, and this proposition had been accepted im-
mediately. It was decided that Dave should run
the Wadsworth machine, he having learned to do
so some time before, and Roger was to run a car
hired at the new Crumville garage. Each car
had a capacity of five passengers, including the
driver, and the party consisted of ten young people,
five boys and five girls.
" Now, Dave, don't let her out for more than
fifty miles an hour," remarked Sam Day, who sat
in the back of the leading auto, between two of
the young ladies.
" Fifty miles an hour ! " shrieked Jessie Wads-
worth. " What an idea ! Dave, don't you
dare!"
"Oh, Lazy is only fooling, Jessie," answered
Dave. " He wouldn't want to ride at that rate
of speed himself."
4 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Twenty miles an hour is fast enough," said
Belle Endicott. " I want to view the scenery.
It is lovely around Crumville — so different from
around the ranch."
" Yes, the scenery is fine, even though we haven't
such big mountains as you have out West," an-
swered Dave.
" And Shady Glen Falls is an ideal spot for a
picnic," said Jessie. " Papa took us there last
summer."
" You've got to make the most of the Falls
this summer," went on Dave. " I heard in town
last week that next year a paper company is going
to put a mill there."
" Oh, Dave, is that the Eureka Paper Com-
pany?" questioned Jessie.
" Yes. What do you know about them? "
" Why, I heard papa and your uncle talking
about it. It is a company in which Mr. Aaron
Poole holds a big interest."
" Aaron Poole ! " murmured the youthful driver
of the automobile, and his face grew serious, as
he remembered the trouble he had had with that
mean individual.
" Yes. Papa heard Nat bragging down at the
post-office, about what great things his father
was going to do, when the paper company got
started."
" That's just like Nat Poole," was Phil Law-
AN AUTOMOBILE RIDE 5
rente's comment. " If Nat couldn't brag about
something he'd die."
" By the way, where does Nat keep himself? "
questioned Sam Day. " I haven't met him since
I came to Crumville."
" He has been keeping shady — since our little
affair at Niagara Falls," explained Dave.
" Is he going to return to Oak Hall? "
" I presume so. He left his motor-boat and
some other things up there, so I heard."
" We can get along without Nat Poole,
Dave."
" Right you are, Lazy," put in Phil Lawrence.
" But maybe, with Link Merwell gone, he won't
be quite so bad as he was."
" Oh, that horrid Link Merwell ! " cried
Jessie. " I trust we never see or hear of him
again! "
" Well, one thing is certain, Merwell will never
get back to Oak Hall," said Dave. " He got
his walking papers and that settled it. He is out
for good, the same as Nick Jasniff."
" Dave, have you heard anything about Jasniff
lately? " questioned Phil.
" One of the boys wrote that he had heard
Nick had returned to the United States. Per-
sonally, I haven't seen or heard from him since
we met in Europe — and I don't want to see him,"
added Dave, earnestly.
A> AUTOMOBUX RIDC
8 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
quite spoil our outing, to have such persons
around."
" A picnic like ours would be dead slow for
that crowd," remarked Phil. "If they stop any-
where, it will be most likely at some roadhouse,
where they can drink and smoke, and play pool
and cards."
The racing car had long since disappeared in
the distance, and now the other automobiles pro-
ceeded on their way. The girls were very nervous,
and the boys did all in their power to remove the
strain. But the girls declared that they had had
a narrow escape from a serious accident, and it
put much of a damper on the trip.
" If ever I meet the driver of that car I'll give
him a piece of my mind," said Dave. " It's
against the law to run at such high speed."
The distance to Shady Glen Falls from Crum-
ville was thirty-five miles. The last half of the
journey was over a winding dirt road, and the boys
had calculated that it would take them two hours
to reach the picnic grounds.
" We'll go by way of Darnell's Corners, and
come back by way of Haslow," said Dave. " That
will give us a sort of round trip." And so it was
decided.
Darnell's Corners was but five miles from the
Falls. It was only a small settlement, boasting of
a tavern, a blacksmith shop, a church, and two
AN AUTOMOBILE RIDE 9
stores. As they came in sight of the place Phil
uttered a cry :
" There is that racing car now ! "
Phil was right, the car stood in front of the
tavern, the engine still running and letting out
short puffs of smoke.
" Where are the fellows who were in it? " ques-
tioned Sam.
" Must have gone inside for a drink," answered
Ben.
" Here come two of them now," said Roger,
in a low voice, as the tavern door swung open and
two young men appeared, each wearing a linen
duster and a touring cap.
" It's Nat Poole ! " cried Jessie.
" I know that driver," said Dave. " He is
Pete Barnaby, a sport from Lumberdale. He
used to follow the horse races before autoing be-
came popular. He once tried to sell Caspar Potts
a horse, but we found out the animal was doc-
tored up and worthless, and we didn't take
him. Barnaby was furious when the deal fell
through."
" I've heard of him," said Ben. " He wanted
to sell my father a horse, but father wouldn't have
anything to do with him."
While the boys were talking the tavern door
had swung open again, and now two other persons
stepped forth. They, too, wore linen dusters and
io DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
touring caps, and one carried a basket containing
something to eat and to drink.
" Dave ! " cried Phil, in astonishment. " Look
who they are! "
" Link Merwell and Nick Jasniff ! " murmured
Dave. " How in the world did they get here, and
what underhanded work are they up to now ? "
CHAPTER II
DAVE AND HIS PAST
DAVE PORTER had good reasons for looking
upon Link Merwell and Nick Jasniff with sus-
picion. In the past these two unworthies had
caused Dave a good deal of trouble, and when
exposed each had vowed that sooner or later he
would " square accounts " with the youth who had
gotten the better of him. Dave had hoped he had
seen the last of them, but here they were, eyeing
him closely, each with a face that plainly showed
his envy and his hatred.
To those of you who have read the preceding
volumes of this series Dave Porter and his friends
and enemies will need no special introduction. For
the benefit of others let me explain that Dave had
once upon a time been a homeless child, having been
found wandering along the railroad tracks near
Crumville. He was placed in the local poorhouse,
and later on bound out to a broken-down college
professoi named Caspar Potts, who had taken to
farming for his health.
Professor Potts could not make farming pay,
12 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
and was in danger of being sold out by Aaron
Poole, the father of Nat Poole, already introduced,
when a most unexpected happening changed the
whole current of events. In the town lived Mr.
Oliver Wadsworth, a rich manufacturer. He had
a young daughter named Jessie, and one day, when
this miss was waiting for an automobile ride, the
gasoline tank of the machine took fire, and Jessie
was in danger of being burned to death when
Dave rushed in and rescued her.
" A boy who will do such a brave deed deserves
to be assisted," said Mr. Wadsworth, and he talked
to the boy, and learned that Caspar Potts had
once been one of his own college professors.
Arrangements were at once made for the pro-
fessor and Dave to move to the Wadsworth man-
sion, and then Dave was sent to boarding school,
as related in detail in my first volume, entitled
" Dave Porter at Oak Hall." With Dave went
Ben Basswood, his one chum in Crumville.
At the school Dave made a number of friends,
including Roger Morr, who was the son of a
United States senator; Phil Lawrence, the off-
spring of a wealthy shipowner; Sam Day, usually
called Lazy, because of a habit he had of taking
his time, and others whom we shall meet in the
near future.
In those days, Dave's greatest trouble was the
cloud over his parentage, and when he got what
DAVE AND HIS PAST 13
he thought was a clew to his identity he promptly
followed it up by taking a trip far across the
ocean, as related in " Dave Porter in the South
Seas." After some stirring happenings, on ship-
board and among the natives, he located his uncle,
Dunston Porter, and learned much concerning his
father, David Breslow Porter, and his sister Laura,
then traveling in Europe.
After his trip to the South Sea islands, the lad
returned to Oak Hall, as related in the third vol-
ume, called " Dave Porter's Return to School."
Here he was warmly received by his many friends,
and became more popular than ever, much to the
disgust of Link Merwell, Nick Jasniff, and also
Nat Poole, who had followed him to Oak Hall
from Crumville.
" Dave Porter puts up a big front, but I'll take
him down a peg or two," saiU Nick Jasniff, and
he forced a fight with the Crumville lad. Much
to his surprise he was knocked down and badly
whipped, and then, in a sudden brutal rage, he
snatched up an Indian club and might have in-
flicted serious injury to Dave had not the latter
seized him, while others forced the weapon from
his grasp. Then, in alarm, Jasniff ran away from
Oak Hall, and having gotten himself mixed up
with some men who were wanted for a robbery,
he left the country.
During this term at the school Dave was
i4 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
anxiously awaiting to hear from his father and
his sister. Then came word, through Jasniff, who
tried to belittle Dave, that Mr. Porter and Laura
were in Europe, and the youth determined to go
in search of them. Roger accompanied him, and
what befell the pair was related in detail in " Dave
Porter in the Far North." In England Dave ran
across Nick Jasniff, and compelled the fellow to
tell what he knew of Mr. Porter, and then Dave
followed his parent to the upper part of Norway,
where father and son at last met, under con-
ditions far out of the ordinary.
Laura Porter, not knowing anything of Dave's
existence, had gone from Europe to the ranch
home of her friends, the Endicotts. She returned
to Crumville, to meet her long-lost brother, and
then Dave again returned to Oak Hall, as told
of in " Dave Porter and His Classmates."
Jasniff was gone, but Link Merwell and Nat
Poole remained, and both did what they could to
dim Dave's popularity. Link Merwell was par-
ticularly obnoxious, and in the end Dave took
matters in his own hands and gave the bully the
thrashing he richly deserved. Then some of the
fellow's wrongdoings reached the ears of the mas-
ter of the school, and he was ordered to pack
his trunk and leave, which he did in a great
rage.
"It is all Dave Porter's doings ! " said Link
DAVE AND HIS PAST 15
Merwell, bitterly. " But wait — I'll square up
with him, see if I don't! "
Laura Porter and Belle Endicott were great
friends, and through the latter Laura and her
brother received an invitation to visit the Endicott
ranch in the Far West, and this they did, as related
in the volume entitled " Dave Porter at Star
Ranch." They took with them Jessie Wadsworth
and also Roger and Phil. On the way they met
Nat Poole at Niagara Falls, and Poole attempted
to play a mean trick on Dave. But the latter
turned the tables on the money-lender's son, and
the latter went back home a wiser if not a better
boy.
The Endicott ranch was located next to one
owned by Link Merwell's father, and, as was
to be expected, it was not long before there was
a clash between Dave and his party on one side
and Merwell and his followers on the other. Link
Merwell, as usual, did all in his power to injure
Dave, and make the outing for the others a fail-
ure, but he was caught in his own trap, and it was
proved that he had, to a certain extent, aided some
horse-thieves in their nefarious work. Mr. Mer-
well had to pay Mr. Endicott for the animals
that were missing, and, in order to hush the matter
up, he agreed to sell his ranch and move to some
other part of the country.
" Well, I hope that is the last of Link Merwell,
16 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
so far as we are concerned," said Roger at the time.
" We can do very well without such chaps as
Merwell and Nick Jasniff," Dave had added, with
a grim smile.
" Yes, and without such fellows as Nat Poole,
too," Phil had put in. " Although I must say I
don't think Nat is as bad as Link and Nick."
" Nat is too much of a dude to be real bad,"
said Laura.
" Nat lacks backbone," explained Dave. " He
usually does what the others tell him to. But
Jasniff and Merwell are both wicked fellows, and
Jasniff is brutal."
The home-coming from the ranch had been a
gala occasion at the Wadsworth mansion, and the
young people had been warmly welcomed by Jes-
sie's parents and by Mr. Porter and Caspar Potts.
Ben Basswood had come over from his home to
greet them, and he brought with him Sam Day,
who was paying him a visit.
" I suppose you are all going back to Oak Hall,"
remarked Sam to the boys.
" Of course," answered Dave. " You are go-
ing back, aren't you? "
" Sure thing — and so are all of the others of our
old crowd."
" We must make the best of what vacation is
left before we get down to the grind again,"
remarked the senator's son, and the next day the
DAVE AND HIS PAST 17
matter was talked over, with the result that the
automobile trip to Shady Glen Falls was proposed
and decided upon. All had started out in the best
of spirits, never dreaming of the trouble that was
in store for them.
" Dave, what are you going to do? " whispered
Ben, as he, too, recognized the crowd coming
toward the racing car.
Before Dave could answer, Nat Poole strode
forward with a sickly smile on his face.
" Hello, there ! " he cried, and nodded curtly to
the girls. " Out for a ride, I see."
"Nat, who was driving your car?" asked
Dave, sharply.
" What business is that of yours, Dave Por-
ter? " questioned the dudish youth, quickly.
" You came pretty close to running us down.
You were speeding altogether too fast."
" Ho ! ho ! We scared you, did we ? " returned
Nat. " Sorry for the girls, I'm sure," and his
face took on a mean little grin.
" What are you finding fault about, Dave Por-
ter?" demanded Pete Barnaby, the owner of the
racing car, coming closer. His nose was very
red, and his breath smelt strongly of liquor.
" I am finding fault with the way your car was
run, if you want to know it," answered Dave,
stoutly.
'' We are not asking you for advice."
18 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Perhaps not, but if you try any such trick
again, Pete Barnaby, yoii may get yourself into
trouble."
" You were exceeding the speed limit," put in
Roger.
" And you came close to running us down,"
added Ben.
" Oh, you boys are a timid bunch," grumbled
the owner of the racing car. " I didn't come
within ten feet of touching you."
" Of course they are a timid crowd," said Nick
Jasniff, loudly. " If they had any sand they
wouldn't say anything about it."
" You're a nice one to talk about ' sand,' after
what Dave did to you at the school gym.," was
Phil's sarcastic comment.
" Look here, Phil Lawrence, I don't want any
of your hot air ! " cried Nick Jasniff, in a sudden
rage. " You keep your mouth shut."
" It's a wonder you didn't stay in Europe,
Jasniff," said Dave. " I didn't think you'd dare
to come back to the United States."
" Say, you needn't " began Jasniff, and then
drew back, looking much disturbed. ' You — er
— you needn't rake up old times. Those things
are all settled, and I've got as much right to be
here as you have."
"Well, you won't come back to Oak Hall,"
said Sam.
DAVE AND HIS PAST 19
" Don't want to come back. I'm going to a
better school."
" And so am I," said Link Merwell, as if he
was anxious to make the fact known to his former
schoolmates.
" I don't care where you go, so long as you
don't bother us any more," rejoined Dave.
" Oh, you haven't seen the end of us yet, has
he, Nick?" said Link Merwell, appealing to his
crony.
" Not much he hasn't," retorted Nick Jasniff.
" We are going to Rockville Military Acad-
emy," continued Link Merwell, mentioning a
school which, as my old readers know, was located
not a great distance from Oak Hall. In the past
there had been many contests between the students
of the two seats of learning, and the rivalry was
very bitter.
" Rockville ! " cried the senator's son. " I
shouldn't think they'd want you there."
"Say, you take that back, or I'll— I'll "
blustered Merwell, and then stopped, not knowing
how to proceed.
" Oh, say, come on, you fellows," broke in Nat
Poole, who was growing scared, thinking there
might be a fight. " You can talk this over some
other time. Just remember what we started out
to do. Hurry up, let's do it," and he motioned
his companions towards the racing car.
20 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" I'm ready to go ahead," answered Pete Bar-
naby, climbing into the driver's seat. " Come on,
pile in, if you're going."
" I don't want Dave Porter and his crowd to
think I am afraid of them," growled Link
Merwell.
" We'll meet you after you get back to Oak
Hall," sang out Nick Jasniff. " And we'll settle
old scores."
" Well, you look out that you don't get your
fingers burnt trying to do it ! " retorted Dave.
And then the racing car started off and was speedily
lost to view around a turn of the road.
CHAPTER III
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS
" WHAT horrid young fellows ! " was Jessie's
comment. She was trembling from head to foot
and her face was pale.
" Don't mind what they say," answered Dave,
kindly. He thought a great deal of the girl, and
it distressed him greatly to see her so worried.
" I shouldn't think they'd want Jasniff and Mer-
well at Rockville," was the comment of the sen-
ator's son. " Everybody in that town knows how
Jasniff was mixed up in that railroad station affair."
He referred to a robbery committed by some men,
the particulars of which were recorded in " Dave
Porter's Return to School." Nick Jasniff had
been in company with the evil-doers, but his share
in the transaction had been smoothed over and
hushed up by his family.
" Well, I heard that the military academy was
rather hard up for pupils this term," answered
Sam. " About a dozen of the sophs and juniors
left, and the enrollment of freshmen was rather
slim. I suppose on that account the authorities
can't be overly particular as to who they take in."
21
22 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" And of course Merwell and Jasniff had their
sides of their stories to tell," said Dave. " You
can be sure they didn't tell matters as Doctor Clay
would have done."
"Or as we might have done — had we been
asked," broke in Sam.
" Well, I hope you boys keep away from them
when you get to school," said Laura.
" What do you suppose they are up to now,
Dave?" asked the shipowner's son.
"I don't know, Phil; but from the look on
Nat Poole's face I should think " And then
Dave stopped short.
"What?"
'' Well, never mind now. I may be wrong, and
there is no use of worrying. Come on, let us get
to the Falls, — and try to forget that crowd." And
so speaking, Dave started up the touring car he
was running, and followed in the direction Pete
Barnaby had taken, and Roger came after him.
The meeting at the tavern had disturbed all of
the girls, and the boys had hard work trying to
cheer them up and make them forget the unpleas-
ant encounter. Everybody felt that there was
" something in the air," but each person hated to
mention it to the others.
Presently Dave reached the point where they
would have to take to a side road that was deep
with dust and hemmed in on both sides by rocks
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS 23
and bushes. Here, in the dust, could plainly be
seen the marks of another automobile.
" Think they came this way, Dave? " questioned
Sam.
" Yes, — although some other folks may be at
the Falls on an outing."
" Oh, I hope we don't meet them again ! " said
Belle Endicott. The two machines were running
slowly and close together.
They passed on around a long curve, and over
a small hill, and then came in sight of the river,
glistening in the sunshine between the trees.
From a distance came the roar of the Falls, where
a fairly large body of water rushed steadily over
the rocks.
" Isn't it a shame that they are going to use the
Falls for a mill ! " said one of the girls.
" Well, this is a commercial age, and so one
must expect those things," answered Dave. " But
I shall hate to see the Falls used for business.
They are so pretty."
There was another turn just ahead, and it was
lucky for Dave that he was running slowly, for
there, across the road, were placed several logs
and dead limbs of trees. As it was, he ran directly
on top of some of the tree limbs before he could
come to a stop, and Roger, so close behind, had
to turn into some bushes to avoid ramming the
car in front.
24 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Well, of all things ! " burst out Phil, while
several of the girls screamed in fright.
" Who did this? " demanded the senator's son.
" It is easy to see who did it," answered Dave.
" See the sign? " And he pointed to a big white
card, tacked to a post propped up among the logs
and tree limbs. On the card was painted, in red,
the following:
THIS ROAD CLOSED
By Order of Aaron Poole
Pres. Eureka Paper Co.
" This is some of Nat's work! " burst out Phil.
" That is why he was in such a hurry to get ahead
of us."
" I believe you," answered Dave. " I was
afraid he was up to some trick, but I didn't want
to say anything about it until I was sure."
" But if Nat is guilty, how did he know we were
coming here? " asked Roger.
" I guess I can explain that," said Ben. " I
was talking to my cousin about it, down at the
drug store. Just as we were coming out, after
having some soda, I saw Nat behind one of the
partitions. He must have heard all we said, and
I suppose it made him mad to think we were going
to have a good time, and that he wouldn't be in
it."
" Exactly," returned Dave. " Just as he was
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS 25
mad when he wasn't invited to the party, and tried
to spoil the ice-cream."
" Do you suppose they have a right to close
the road?" questioned Roger.
" I don't know. I always thought this was a
public highway."
" So it is," added Ben. " The paper company
bought the ground on one side of the road but
not on the other. I don't think they can stop us
from going through, even though they may stop
us from going down to the Falls."
" But if we can't go to the Falls, what is the
use of keeping on this road? " asked Laura.
" We can go above the Falls, Laura," answered
her brother. " There is a beautiful spot there
called Lookout Point, where you can look out all
over the valley."
The matter was talked over for a few minutes,
and the boys decided to go ahead, to show that
they considered that they had a right to use the
road, even if they did not go down to the Falls.
The roadway was cleared sufficiently to let the
cars pass, and the power was turned on once again.
" Be careful, Dave, that you don't run into
more trouble ! " sang out Roger.
" I'll be on the lookout ! " was the answer.
" And you be prepared to stop quick, too, so as
not to run into me."
" I'll drop back to a place of safety," returned
26 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
the senator's son. " There is no use of keeping
so close together, anyway."
The road wound in and out among the trees,
and in some spots was so narrow that the boys
had to run with great care, for fear of bumping
into the stump of a tree or on the rocks, or switch-
ing into some low-hanging branch. Dave had his
foot on the brake, ready to stop quickly, should
it become necessary to do so.
" Hi, there ! Stop ! Don't you dare to come
any further! "
The call was an unexpected one, coming just as
the leading automobile hove in sight of the Falls.
Dave saw Nat Poole hurrying towards him, fol-
lowed by Merwell and Jasniff. Pete Barnaby was
nowhere in sight, and the marks on the narrow
road told that his racing car had gone on ahead.
"What do you want, Nat?" asked Dave, as
coolly as he could, having brought his machine to
a standstill.
"Can't you read, Dave Porter?" fumed the
son of the Crumville money-lender.
" Certainly I can read."
" Well, then, what are you doing on this road?
You know it is closed. You haven't any ri^ht
on it at all — you or anybody else. You turn
around and go back, just as quick as you can."
" This is a public road, Nat Poole ! " cried Ben.
" You hadn't any right to put up that sign."
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS 27
" Humph ! A lot you know about it, Ben Bass-
wood ! This is my father's land, and I reckon he
knows his rights. You are not going down to
the Falls to-day to have your picnic." And Nat's
small eyes gleamed maliciously.
" We don't intend to go down to the Falls, —
now that we know how matters stand," said Dave.
" But we are going through on this road."
" Not much you ain't — not another step ! "
roared Nat.
" That's right, Nat, make 'em keep off your
property," put in Link Merwell.
" Show 'em that you won't allow a poorhouse
nobody to dictate to you," added Nick Jasniff,
but in such a low voice that Dave did not catch
all he said.
" I said we were going through on this road —
and we are," answered Dave, calmly, and he started
to turn on the power again. As he did this Nat
Poole leaped to the road directly in front of the
touring car, and Jasniff and Merwell followed
suit.
" Stop ! Don't you dare to touch me, or I'll
have the law on you!" screamed the money-
lender's son.
"We'll fix 'em for you, Nat!" cried Nick
Jasniff. " Come on, Link, get to work! " And
leaping to one side of the roadway he dragged
forth the dead limb of a tree and dropped it in
28 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
front of the first car. Quick to understand, Mer-
well followed with another dead limb, and then
with some stones.
" That's the stuff ! " cried Nat Poole, his face
brightening. " Pile it up, fellows ! " And he,
too, ran for some sticks and stones, with which to
make the barrier in the narrow roadway more
complete.
Had Dave elected so to do he might have gone
ahead when first this work was done by the enemy.
But there was danger of injury both to the big
touring car and to those in the roadway, and he
did not wish to take the risk. Besides, there was
no telling if Roger could get through, and he
would not leave the crowd in the second automo-
bile in the lurch.
" Now, I reckon you'll have to turn back ! "
cried Nat Poole, in triumph, after so much had
been piled in the roadway that passing was totally
out of the question.
" Nat Poole, I believe you are the meanest boy
in the whole world ! " cried Jessie, and there was
a suspicion of tears in her eyes as she spoke.
" Humph! You people needn't think that you
are going to have the best of me all the time,"
growled Nat.
" We are not doing this against any of the
young ladies," said Link Merwell, with a smirk
at Laura that made Dave's sister turn away in
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FALLS 29
disdain. " We are only doing it to square ac-
counts with Dave Porter and his cronies. We
owe them a good deal, — and this is the first in-
stallment."
" With a good deal more to follow ! " added
Nick Jasniff, with a wicked chuckle.
" To the best of my knowledge and belief, this
is a public highway," said Dave, as calmly as he
could. " You have no right to block the road,
and I want you to clear that stuff away just as fast
as you put it there."
"Hear him talk!" cried Link Merwell.
" You'd think he was Governor of the State,
wouldn't you? "
" Don't you mind what he says, Nat," said
Jasniff. " If they start to take the stuff away
we'll put it back." And then, looking around,
he picked up a heavy stick which might be used
for a club. He was spoiling for a fight, and only
the presence of the girls, and the fact that he and
his cohorts were but three against five, kept him
from attacking Dave.
"Oh, Dave, what shall we do?" whispered
Jessie. She was becoming more frightened every
minute.
" I don't see how we are going to turn around,"
said one of the other girls. " The trees are too
close to the sides of the road."
" We are not going to turn around," answered
30 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Dave, and his face took on a stern look. He
turned to his chums. " How about it? "
" I'll fight them before I turn back! " answered
Roger.
" So will I," added Phil. " I don't believe
they have any more right to this road than we
have."
" Oh, you mustn't fight," cried Laura.
" Do you want to let that crowd crow over us,
Laura? " asked Dave, flatly.
" No, no, Dave ! But — but " And then
Laura stopped short, not knowing what to say.
She did not wish to see an encounter, nor did she
wish her brother and his chums to give in to those
who were so unjustly opposing them.
CHAPTER IV
AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL
" THIS is the time we get the best of Dave
Porter ! " whispered Link Merwell to his cronies.
" I guess we have spoiled their picnic."
« I— I— don't think th— they'll fight," faltered
Nat, as Dave leaped to the ground, followed by
his chums.
" Better arm yourselves with clubs," suggested
Nick Jasniff. " Remember, we are only three to
five."
" Maybe we had better — er — go away," re-
turned the money-lender's son, hesitatingly.
" No, I am going to see the thing out," answered
Jasniff.
" So am I," added Merwell. " Don't go, Nat
— they won't dare to fight — with the girls looking
on."
" Whoa, there ! Whoa ! " came a cry from be-
hind the two touring cars, and looking back the
boys and girls saw a man drive up on a buckboard
drawn by a spirited horse.
" Why, if it isn't Jed Sully! " cried Ben.
31
32 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Who is he? " questioned Sam.
" Sort of a roadmaster in these parts. I sup-
pose he is going around, inspecting the roads and
bridges."
" Then he ought to be able to tell us about this
road ! " put in Phil, quickly.
"Hello! What's the meaning of this?" de-
manded Jed Sully, after alighting. And he strode
forward and confronted the boys.
" How are you, Mr. Sully? " said Dave, for he
had met the roadmaster before.
"Oh, so it's you, Dave! Blocked up, eh?"
And the roadmaster looked first at Dave and his
chums and then at those standing on the other side
of the barrier. " Who did this ? "
" They did," answered Roger, and pointed to
the other crowd.
"What for?" And the roadmaster's voice
grew a bit hard.
" Nat Poole, there, claims that his father has a
right to close this road," explained Dave. " He
put up a barrier some distance back, but we
passed it. Now he and his friends have put up
this."
" And we want to know if they have a right to
do it," added Ben. " I had an idea the new paper
company bought only one side of the road."
" So it did," answered Jed Sully. " And even
if it bought both sides it couldn't close off this
AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL 33
road, which is a public highway." He turned to
Nat. " Are you Aaron Poole's son ? "
" Ye-as," faltered the youth addressed, and he
commenced to look worried.
" Did your father give you orders to close off
this road?"
" Why — er — he — that is," stammered Nat.
" What business is it of yours, anyway? " he cried.
" It is a good deal of my business," responded
Jed Sully, warmly. " I am the roadmaster for
this district, and I won't allow you or anybody else
to close off this road, or any other, without special
permission. You had no right to put those logs
across the road away back, and put up that sign,
and I want you to take 'em away as soon as you
can."
" Well, my father bought this land, and "
"No, he didn't buy it; the paper company
bought it," corrected Jed Sully. " But that gave
'em no right to close the road. You take that
stuff out of the way, and at once, or I'll have you
locked up." And walking around the barrier he
caught Nat by the arm.
" Let go — don't you touch me ! " screamed the
money-lender's son, trying to jerk away.
" You let my friend alone," broke in Nick
Jasniff, and made a motion as if to use his
club.
" Here, none of that — or I'll have you all in the
34 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
lock-up in jig time," said the roadmaster, so sternly
that Jasniff allowed the club to drop to his side.
He turned again to Dave and his friends. " Did
you see these chaps put this stuff here? "
" Yes," replied the others.
' Then get to work and clear it away instantly,
or I'll lock you all up, and these fellows can testify
against you," continued the roadmaster, to Nat
and his cronies.
" Good ! that's the way to talk to 'em ! " cried
Roger, in a low voice.
" I guess Nat didn't expect to meet the road-
master," returned Sam.
The money-lender's son and his cronies tried to
argue the matter, but Jed Sully would not listen
to them. He knew Aaron Poole, and had no love
for the man who had on more than one occasion
foreclosed a mortgage, and driven people out of
house and home.
" I'll give you ten minutes to clear the road," he
said, taking out a big silver watch. " If it ain't
cleared by that time I'll take you over to Lumber-
dale and lock you up."
" I won't touch a stick! " cried Jasniff, defiantly.
11 Nor I," added Merwell.
" Oh, but — er — I don't want to be locked up I "
whined Nat.
" You said your dad had a right to the road,"
said Jasniff, in disgust.
AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL 35
" I thought he did have, but — er — I guess I was
mistaken. Oh, come on and help me ! " pleaded
Nat, and set to work without further delay, to
clear the road.
Jasniff and Merwell were very angry, but they
did not care to let their crony do all the work, and
they were a bit afraid of Jed Sully, so presently
they took hold and aided the money-lender's son
in clearing the highway.
" As soon as you've finished here you'll come
back with me and clear the other spot," said the
roadmaster. " And you can tear up that sign, for
it is no good."
" I'm going to put it up near the Falls," an-
swered Nat. " Nobody can come down there any
more."
" Then you'd better put up a fence to keep 'em
out," was the roadmaster's comment.
" You don't want us to come back with you, do
you?" asked Dave, in a whisper. "We are off
for a picnic and it is getting late."
" No, you can go on if you want to," answered
Jed Sully. " I can manage them, I reckon. If
they give me any trouble I'll put 'em in the lock-up
and get you to testify to what they did on the
road."
" Oh, Dave, let us go on ! " cried Jessie. " I
don't want to stay here another minute." .
The others were all anxious to depart, and as
36 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
soon as the road was entirely clear the two touring
cars were started up.
" Hope you have a nice time clearing away that
other stuff," remarked Phil to Nat Poole and his
cronies, as the machine passed on.
" Don't you crow, — we are not done with
you yet!" shouted Merwell, and Jasniff shook
his fist at the departing cars. Nat Poole felt
so humiliated he turned his gaze in another
direction.
" It was a lucky thing that that roadmaster came
along when he did," remarked Sam, when the scene
of the encounter had been left behind. " If he
hadn't showed up I don't know what we should
have done."
" Maybe we would have had a fight," returned
Ben.
" Oh, I am glad it didn't come to that ! " cried
Jessie, and her face showed her relief.
" Wonder what became of the racing car and
Pete Barnaby? " questioned the shipowner's son.
" Perhaps Barnaby went ahead to make more
trouble for us! " said Dave. " We had better be
on our guard," he called to Roger.
" I'll follow you at a safe distance, as I did
before," answered the senator's son.
The Falls were passed, and then they commenced
to ascend a long hill, leading to Lookout Point.
Just before the spot was reached they took to
AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL 37
another side road, and were glad to see that no
other automobile had passed that way.
" We'll have the Lookout all to ourselves," said
Dave. " And that is just what we want."
" Maybe I'm not getting hungry ! " cried Phil.
" I really believe I could choke down a chicken
sandwich, if I was forced to do it! "
" * Forced ' is good ! " answered Dave. " Girls,
be sure to keep the hamper away from Phil, or
he won't leave enough behind to feed a canary,"
and this remark brought forth the first laugh since
the trouble on the road.
They drove as close to Lookout Point as the
road allowed, and then placed the two cars in a
safe place under the trees.
" We must keep our eyes open," whispered
Dave to the other boys. " That other crowd may
sneak up and try to damage the machines, so as
to make us walk from here."
"We'll watch out," answered Roger; and the
others said the same.
While the boys started a campfire over which
to boil some coffee, and obtained a bucket of fresh
drinking water from a nearby spring, the girls
spread a tablecloth over some flat rocks and set
around the dishes and the things to eat. There
was more than enough of everything to go around,
and it was particularly appetizing after that long
ride in the fresh air.
38 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" I tell you, this is something like," cried Dave,
munching on a sandwich and a stalk of celery.
" I shouldn't mind having a picnic like this once a
week regularly."
" Make it twice a week," returned Roger, who
was eating a sandwich from one hand and a hard-
boiled egg from the other.
" Who'll have some coffee? " cried Phil, coming
up with a pot of the steaming beverage. " I've
got to strain it through the corner of a napkin,
but I guess that won't hurt it."
" Napkin, indeed! " cried Jessie. " There is a
strainer in the spout."
11 Oh, is there? I didn't look in to see. Well,
here goes ! Coffee ! Ten cents a cup, or two cups
for a nickel! Good for the complexion and war-
ranted to cure the blues ! " cried the shipowner s
son gayly, and swung the pot around over his
head.
" Hi 1 Look out there ! " roared Sam, clapping
his hand to his ear. " I like coffee, but I don't
drink it that way ! " And he wiped off a few drops
that had reached him.
" Phil is fined one horseshoe nail for spilling the
coffee," cried Dave.
" Don't nail me so soon! " answered the ship-
owner's son gayly.
" Shoo ! Just to hear that ! " murmured Roger.
" I'm too hoarse to answer to that! " said Ben.
39
" Say, do you know why a lawyer likes to drink
coffee? " asked Sam.
" Why? " asked the girls, in a chorus.
" Because there is always a fee in it for him,"
was the answer. And then the joker had to dodge
an olive and a pickle that Dave and Phil hurled
at him, while all the girls giggled.
An hour was spent over the lunch, the boys doing
their best to entertain the girls and succeeding
admirably. Of course a good many of the things
that were said were silly, but everybody was in good
humor and out for a good time, so what did it
matter? In their high spirits they forgot all about
the unfortunate occurrence of the morning.
After the lunch the boys helped the girls clean
up and put away what was left, and then all strolled
about, first to the edge of the Lookout, to view
the scenery, and then to the woods and the brook
beyond. Dave naturally paired off with Jessie,
while Roger went with Laura, and Phil with Belle.
11 Well, it won't be long now before I'll be off
again for Oak Hall," said Dave, as he and Jessie
stood where the brook tumbled over a series of
rocks, making a murmur pleasant to hear.
" Yes, Dave, and I — I shall be sorry to have
you go," said Jessie, looking him full in the eyes.
" You'll write to me often, won't you, Jessie? "
he asked, in a lower voice.
" I'll answer every letter you send, Dave," and
40 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
now she cast down her eyes for a moment. " I
always do."
" I know it — and you can't imagine how much
I treasure those letters," he went on.
" Well, I — I think a lot of your letters, too,"
she whispered.
" Then you want me to write very often? "
" Yes."
" All right, I will. And, Jessie " continued
Dave, but just then a shout from Sam interrupted
him.
CHAPTER V
THE BOYS AND A BULL
" WONDER what Sam wants? " said Dave, as the
shouting continued. " I guess I'll have to go and
see."
He ran over the rocks in the direction of the
cries, and soon came in sight of his chum.
" Hurry up ! " cried Sam. " I want you ! "
" What is it, Sam? " questioned Dave.
" We are going to have trouble."
" What, have Jasniff and those others come
here?"
" No, but maybe it's just as bad, Dave. Just
look toward the autos."
Dave did as requested, and his face became a
study. He was half inclined to laugh, yet, hav-
ing been brought up in the country, he well knew
the seriousness of the situation.
The two automobiles stood side by side, about
three yards apart. Between them was a big and
angry-looking bull, tramping the ground and snort-
ing viciously. The bull had a chain around his
neck, and to the end of this was a small-sized
41
42 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
tree stump, which the animal had evidently pulled
from the ground in his endeavor to get away from
his pasture. The tree stump had become entangled
in the wheel of one of the automobiles, and the
bull was giving vicious jerks, first one way and
then another, causing the machine to " slew
around " in an alarming fashion.
" Sam, we'll have to get him out of there I "
cried Dave. " If we don't he may break that
wheel — or do worse."
" I'm afraid he'll run off with the car ! " gasped
Sam. He was almost out of breath from running
and calling.
By this time the others were coming up. At
the sight of the savage bull several of the girls
commenced to scream.
"Oh, we'll be killed!"
" Can't somebody drive him away! "
" Look ! look ! He is dragging one machine
into the other! "
" You girls had better keep back," warned Dave.
" If he breaks loose he may come for you."
" Oh, Dave, do be careful ! " cried Jessie.
" Yes, yes, don't go too close," added his sister.
" What do you suppose we can do? " questioned
the senator's son, as the boys gathered in a group
at a little distance, and the girls got behind them.
" If I had a hooked pole I'd soon fix him," an-
swered Dave.
THE BOYS AND A BULL 43
u How? " asked Phil, who knew little or noth-
ing about bulls.
" See that ring in his nose? I'd hook him in
that and then keep him at the end of the pole;.
That always brings 'em to terms."
" But we haven't got any hook," said Ben.
" We might make one, though," he added.
A small hatchet had been brought along — with
which to chop firewood — and securing this the
boys quickly cut two slender but strong saplings,
and trimmed them of their branches.
" There is a hook in our car," said Jessie. " If
you could only get that! "
" Don't you try it," said Ben. " I've known
a bull to leap into a wagon, and this one might
leap right into the auto and wreck everything —
and hurt you in the bargain."
" I'll use a tree root for a hook," said Dave,
and quickly found what he wanted, and bound it
fast to one of the poles by means of a fishing line
he happened to be carrying.
" Now, Ben, you stand by to prod him, if he
gets too rambunctious," went on Dave, as he
handed the second pole to his chum.
" All right," answered Ben. He, too, had
been brought up on a farm, and knew a little about
bulls.
The animal had quieted down for a moment,
and was grazing on some grass between the auto-
44 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
mobiles. But, as the lads approached, he raised
his head, pawed with his hoof, and gave a vicious
snort.
" He means to fight, Dave 1 " cried Ben.
" We've got to be on our guard."
" Oh, do be careful ! " cried Belle. To her this
beast of the farm looked more terrifying than
those she had seen on the ranch.
With great caution Dave approached the bull
from one side while Ben approached from the
other. The animal snorted again, and lowered his
horns. All the girls began to scream.
" Better be quiet," called out Dave. " You'll
only excite him more."
" Oh, be careful I " answered Jessie, in a horri-
fied whisper.
At that moment the bull backed up against one
of the automobiles, and then moved forward again.
This action released the tree stump, so that the
beast was now free to go where he pleased. He
started straight for Ben.
" Prod him ! " yelled Dave, and Ben promptly
did as requested, catching the bull in the mouth
with his stick. Then, as the animal turned aside,
Dave jumped closer, put out his stick, and caught
the improvised hook in the nose ring.
" Good ! you've got him ! " shouted Phil. " Can
we help you any? "
" I don't think so — keep quiet," was the reply.
THE BOYS AND A BULL 45
The bull snorted wildly for a moment, and Dave
had all he could do to keep the animal at the pole's
length. But he knew how to twist the ring, and
this speedily brought the beast to terms. The
snorting ceased, and the bull stood still, glaring
viciously at his captor, but not daring to attempt
an attack.
" Come, gee haw! " cried Dave, presently; and
with caution commenced to pull on the pole.
Slowly the bull stepped after him, dragging the
chain and stump behind him.
" What are you going to do with him? " called
out Roger.
" Tangle him up in the bushes — if I can," was
the answer, and Dave turned in the direction of
the brushwood lining the watercourse.
At this point there were a good many sharp
rocks and twisted roots of bushes and trees, and
it was not long before the loose stump caught
on them.
" Come on, we'll fasten him good and hard! "
cried Phil, dashing up behind the bull, and as
quickly as it could be done he and the others piled
some loose rocks against the tree stump, so that it
would be next to impossible for the bull to work
it free.
" Now you can let him go, Dave," said Ben,
who had stood guard with his pole. " We've
got him as fast as he ever was." And then Dave
46 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
let loose from the ring, much to the animal's re-
lief, for he chanced to have a tender nose, and
the twisting of the ring hurt him a good deal.
" Are you sure he won't get away and come
for us ? " questioned Laura, as all drew to a safe
distance.
" He won't get away very soon," answered Ben.
" But we ought to notify his owner of what we
have done."
" Whose bull is it? " asked one of the girls.
" I give up — I never saw him before."
" I think the bull belongs to the Hook Stock
Farm," said Dave, mentioning a farm located
about a mile away. " I don't know of anybody
else around here who would own a bull. When
we go home we can stop at the farm and tell them
of what has happened."
Leaving the animal quietly grazing among the
bushes, the boys and girls walked over to the
automobiles, to learn if any damage had been done.
In his movements the bull had scratched some paint
from the wheels and the mudguards, but that was
all, for which they were thankful.
" Well, it's about time to start for home," said
Dave, consulting his watch. " Remember, we are
to go the long way around, — and stop at the Hook
place in the bargain."
" I'm ready to go," answered Jessie. The pres-
ence of the bull still disturbed her.
THE BOYS AND A BULL 47
Yet it was some little time before they started,
for the things had to be packed, and several of
the boys and girls wanted to get photographs of
the picnic party. Then Dave cranked up, and
Roger did the same. All piled in, and the start
for home was begun.
" I'll wager that Nat Poole, Link Merwell, and
Nick Jasniff are the maddest boys in this State,"
was Phil's comment, as the first car rolled on, with
he and Dave on the front seat.
" I believe you, Phil," answered the driver of
the machine. " And if Jasniff and Merwell really
do go to Rockville Academy you can make up your
mind that they will cause us all the trouble pos-
sible."
" I don't believe the better class of fellows at
the military academy will take to those chaps."
" Neither do I. But there are some mean boys
at that school — you remember them — and Merwell
and Jasniff will flock with that bunch. Oh, they'll
try their best to down us, you see if they don't 1 "
declared Dave.
On the road beyond the picnic ground they came
to a spot where some rocks and logs had been
piled up and then taken away again. All gazed at
the spot with interest.
" I guess Pete Barnaby did this — under direc-
tions from Nat Poole," said Ben.
11 Yes, and Jed Sully made him, or the Poole
48 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
crowd, clear it away again," answered Dave.
" They'll not close this road as long as Sully is
roadmaster."
" Be on your guard, Dave ! " sang out Roger.
" Those rascals will play some trick on us, if they
can."
" I'm on the watch ! " answered Dave.
As they bowled along all kept their eyes on the
alert, and it was well that they did so, for at a
turn they suddenly came upon some broken bottles
thrown down just where the machines had to pass.
Dave gave a yell of warning, and turned off the
power and applied the brakes just in time, and,
as before, Roger had to turn into the bushes, to
avoid striking the turnout ahead.
" They thought they'd make us cut our tires,"
said Dave.
" Right you are," answered Phil. " Phew !
If we had gone over that glass we might have had
some nasty punctures or blow-outs."
" They ought to be arrested for this ! " said
Sam, wrathfully. " It's against the law to put
glass on a public highway."
" We can't prove they did it," answered Ben.
" If we accused them, of course they would deny
it. But it shows their meanness."
The boys got out and picked up some of the
glass, and swept the rest aside as well as they could.
Then the machines were started up once more, and
THE BOYS AND A BULL 49
soon they came in sight of the Hook Stock Farm,
and Dave beckoned to a man who stood near the
gateway.
" Have you lost one of your bulls? " he asked.
14 We sure have ! " answered the man, quickly.
" What do you know about him? "
" We know he tried to run off with our autos,"
returned Dave, with a grin, and then told the man
the story, and described where the animal could
be found. While he was speaking two other stock
farm hands came up. They had been looking for
the bull since early morning.
" He's a valuable beast," said one of the men.
" I hope he ain't hurt none."
" He isn't hurt — and we are mighty glad he
didn't hurt us," said Phil.
" Oh, he won't hurt nobody — if he's left alone,"
said the man.
" How can he hurt anybody, if he is left alone? "
was Roger's dry query. But the man was too dull
to see the joke.
From the stock farm hands, the boys found out
which were the best roads to take, and then passed
on again, up hill and down dale for a distance of
six miles, when they came out on a broad and well-
kept highway.
" Good ! This is what I like ! " cried Dave,
and turned on the power until the touring car was
moving along at a lively rate. Roger " hit her
50 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
up," as he called it, also, and before long they had
covered an additional ten miles. Then they had
to go over a hill, beyond which lay the village of
Lester.
" Let us stop at Lester for some ice-cream soda,"
whispered Phil to Dave, and the latter agreed.
At the foot of the hill there was a turn, and
Dave slowed up to make this, and Roger did like-
wise. Then, as they passed a deep and muddy
ditch, Dave gave a cry and came to a stop.
" Look there ! " he called out, pointing down
into the ditch.
All gazed to where he pointed. There, in the
water and mud, rested the racing car belonging
to Pete Barnaby. And standing in the mud up to
his knees was the sporty man himself, looking the
picture of woeful despair.
CHAPTER VI
A TALK WITH AARON POOLE
As the boys halted their touring cars and gazed
at the racing car and its owner, they could not help
but smile, and Phil laughed outright.
" How did it happen? " asked Dave, in as kindly
a tone as he could assume, for he saw that Pete
Barnaby was in serious trouble. The turnout had
landed in a particularly soft spot, and was settling
deeper and deeper every minute.
" None of your business 1 " growled the sporty
man, wrathfully.
"Oh, all right!" returned Dave, coldly. "I
thought maybe you would want us to help you."
" Precious little help I'd get from you chaps ! "
grumbled Pete Barnaby.
" You might get some if you would act half
civil," answered Dave.
" Humph ! I suppose you want me to ask you
to help me, so that you can have the pleasure of
refusing me, eh? "
" No, if I can aid you I will," answered Dave,
promptly.
51
52 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" He doesn't deserve any help," whispered
Phil.
" I know that, Phil," answered Dave. " But
I'd hate to leave him in the lurch. Why, that
machine may sink so deep nobody could get it
out."
" If you'll haul me out I'll pay you for your
trouble," said Pete Barnaby, gruffly. " It's an easy
way to earn ten dollars."
" I don't want your money," replied Dave.
" I'll do what I can."
" So will I," added Roger. " The two machines
together ought to be able to do the trick."
"Do you really mean it?" asked the sporty
man, and now his voice had a ring of hope in it.
" Yes," said the senator's son, and Dave nodded.
The boys got out, and from the three cars ropes
were produced and tied together, and the two tour-
ing cars were hooked one in front of the other, and
then made fast to the racing car.
" Don't haul too hard at the start," begged Pete
Barnaby. " If you do you may pull my car apart."
" We'll be careful," answered Dave. He
turned to his chum. " Remember, Roger, we've
got eighty horse-power hooked up here."
" I'll be on my guard," answered the senator's
son. " But remember," he added to Pete Barnaby,
" we are not to be responsible if the hauling breaks
your car."
A TALK WITH AARON POOLE 53
" I'll run that risk — only go slow," answered
the man in trouble.
The rope had been made as long as possible, so
that the stalled car could be drawn out of the ditch
lengthwise instead of sidewise. The two cars in
the road started up on low speed, and gradually
the rope grew taut.
" Look out, everybody, in case that rope snaps 1 "
cried Ben. " I once heard of a rope like that
snapping and killing a house-mover."
" You are cheerful, I must say," was Sam's dry
comment. Nevertheless, all were on their guard
as the rope grew as tight as a string on a bow.
"She ain't moving yet! " cried Pete Barnaby.
He stood by the side of his machine watching the
rope closely.
Hardly had he spoken when there came a slow,
sucking sound, as the wheels left their bed of soft
mud. Then the racing machine moved forward
slowly.
"Hurrah! she's coming!" cried Sam. "Put
on a little more steam and you'll have her! "
Dave and Roger turned on more power, and
the racing machine continued to move. Soon it
was at the edge of the ditch, and then, with some-
thing of a jerk, it came up on the roadway,
leaving a trail of dirty water and slimy mud be-
hind it.
" Say, you did it all right enough ! " cried Pete
54 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Barnaby, in delight. " I was afraid she was too
deep down to budge."
" She would have been too deep if you had left
her there very much longer," answered Dave.
" Now, if you'll untie those ropes and clean them
off for us, we'll be on our way again."
" Sure, I'll clean them off." And the sporty
man set to work with alacrity. " Say, don't you
really want me to pay you for this?" And he
made a move as if to draw a roll of bills from his
pocket.
" I don't want a cent," answered Dave.
" It's all right," added Roger; " only, Mr. Bar-
naby, I'd advise you after this not to stand in with
Nat Poole and his crowd."
"I'm sorry I did, now; honest I am," was the
sporty man's answer. " I — er — I only did it as a
favor for Nat, because his father is holding one
of my notes. How did you make out after I
went away? I see you must have got through."
" We did," replied Dave, and then mentioned
how Jed Sully had come to their aid. At this news
Pete Barnaby began to grin.
" It was sure a neat way of turning the trick,"
he said, " and seeing how you young gentlemen
have helped me, I'm glad you did it. You can be
sure I'll never lay a straw in your way again,
never! " And then, the ropes having been put
away, the two touring cars proceeded on their way
A TALK WITH AARON POOLE 55
once more, leaving Pete Barnaby to clean up his
machine and put it in running order again.
" Dave, that was a real nice thing to do ! " de-
clared Jessie, and gave him a bright look.
" He must have felt awfully small, for you to
be so generous after the way he acted," was Laura's
comment.
" Maybe it will be a lesson to him, to do what
is square in the future," said Belle.
They were soon in the town of Lester, and there
stopped at the main drug store, where the boys
treated the girls to ice-cream " sundaes," as they
are sometimes called. Then they took a round-
about way back to Crumville, arriving there at
sundown.
" Oh, what a nice day we have had, in spite of
the drawbacks I " cried Jessie, dancing into the
mansion.
"Drawbacks?" queried her mother. "Did
you get a puncture, or a breakdown ? "
"Oh, no; nothing happened to the cars," an-
swered the curly-haired miss. And then she turned
to the boys, to let them tell the story. While they
were doing this, Mr. Wadsworth came in, fol-
lowed by Dave's father and his uncle, and Caspar
Potts.
" That is just on a par with Aaron Poole's
actions in general," said Mr. Wadsworth. " He
would claim the earth, if he dared. I think the
56 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
other property owners along that road will have
something to say if he tries to close it up."
" I heard about the new paper company this
morning," said Dave's father. " Some of the
stockholders are not in sympathy with the way
Mr. Poole is managing affairs, and they talk of
putting him out."
" I hope they do put him out ! " cried Dave.
" He tries to carry things with too high a hand
altogether."
" I am glad people are finding out what sort of
folks the Pooles are," said Caspar Potts. He had
not forgotten how in the past Aaron Poole had
driven him to the wall, and tried to get his little
farm away from him.
After the automobile outing, Phil, Roger, and
Sam left Crumville to pay their folks a brief visit
before departing for Oak Hall. This left Dave
and Ben to get ready by themselves, and to take
out the girls, which they did on several occasions.
They thought they might meet Nick Jasniff and
Link Merwell, but did not do so, and later on
heard that the pair had departed for Rockville
Military Academy. They saw Nat Poole, but he
kept out of speaking distance.
" I wish Nat was going to Rockville, too," said
Ben. " He'd never be missed at Oak Hall."
" Oh, I wouldn't say that, Ben," returned Dave.
" Nat spends considerable money — although how
A TALK WITH AARON POOLE 57
he gets it from that miserly father of his I
don't know — and that makes him some friends.
But I, too, wish he wasn't going back to our
school."
" Do you suppose he'll take the same train we
take?"
" Perhaps, although I hope not."
On the day before departing for Oak Hall, Dave
and Ben went down to the railroad station to pur-
chase their tickets. There they saw Nat, with a
new dress-suit case and a new fall overcoat, talking
to his father.
" He must be going to take the train this
afternoon," said Dave, and he was right. When
the train came in Nat got aboard, along with a
number of other passengers. As he did this, he
espied the others, and spoke a few words to his
father in a whisper. Then the train rolled away,
and Aaron Poole strode over to where Dave and
Ben were standing.
" See here, young man, I want to talk to you! "
cried the money-lender, gazing sourly at Dave.
" What do you want, Mr. Poole? " asked Dave,
as calmly as he could.
" You tried your best to get my son into trouble
the other day."
" No, I didn't— Nat got himself into trouble."
" Bah! You needn't try to tell me! I know
all about it."
58 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" I don't care to discuss the question," went on
Dave, a trifle sharply.
" Nat was to blame — if you don't believe it, ask
Mr. Sully, the roadmaster," put in Ben.
"Don't you try to tell me!" fumed Aaron
Poole. " I know both of you boys only too well !
You did your best to get my son and his friends
into trouble. Now, I want to warn you about
something. I understand both of you are going
back to Oak Hall, Nat is going there, too, and
I give you fair warning that you must treat him
fairly. If you don't I'll come to the school and
have it out with Doctor Clay, understand that?"
And the money-lender shook his long finger into
the faces of the boys.
" Mr. Poole, just let me tell you something,"
answered Dave. " It is something you ought to
know, and I feel it is my duty to tell you, even
though you are not treating us as you should.
Come out of the crowd, please."
" I don't want to listen to your talk."
" Well, you had better, — unless you want a lot
of trouble later on."
" What do you want ? " And rather unwillingly
the money-lender followed Dave and Ben to a
secluded corner of the railroad station.
" I want to warn you about the company Nat
is keeping. The two boys he is going with, Nick
Jasniff and Link Merwell, are bad characters.
A TALK WITH AARON POOLE 59
You don't have to take my word for it — write to
Doctor Clay and see what he says. Nick Jasniff
ran away from school and he got hold of some
money that didn't belong to him and used it.
Link Merwell got mixed up with some horse-
thieves, on his father's ranch out West, and his
father had to foot the bill to hush the matter up.
I feel it my duty to tell you this, so that you can
warn Nat. That's all." And Dave caught Ben
by the arm and started to walk away.
" Humph ! So that is your game, eh? Trying
to blacken other boys' characters ! " sneered Aaron
Poole. " Well, it won't work with me, for I know
you too well, Dave Porter. Don't I know where
you came from — the Crumville poorhouse? I
guess I can trust my son to pick out the right
kind of friends. You are jealous of him, because
those other boys won't go with the like of you!
Don't talk to me ! Only " And Aaron Poole
raised his forefinger again. " Remember my warn-
ing, when you get to Oak Hall ! " And then he
strode away, his thin lips tightly drawn, and his
sharp chin held high in the air.
"Well, wouldn't that make you groan!"
was Ben's comment, after the man had disap-
peared. " Dave, you had your trouble for your
pains."
" I don't care, Ben — I just felt I had to tell him.
It's a shame to let Nat cotton to fellows like
60 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Jasniff and Merwell. They will drag him down
as sure as fate."
" I believe you there. But if Nat's father won't
listen — why, I'd drop the matter. Besides, you
must remember that those fellows are going to an-
other school, situated quite some distance from Oak
Hall. Nat won't see them, excepting on special
occasions."
" He can meet them whenever he goes to Rock-
ville — the town I mean — and Jasniff and Merwell
will get him to drink and smoke, and maybe
gamble, and worse. Nat is easily led at times."
" Yes, I know that." Ben drew a long breath.
" Well, let's drop the subject, Dave. We have
our own battles to fight." And then the boys
separated, each to finish the preparations for his
departure.
CHAPTER VII
ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL
SWIFTLY the hours rolled away until it was time
for Dave to bid his family and his friends good-by
and leave for Oak Hall. The evening before his
departure he took a walk with Jessie, to the end of
the Wadsworth garden, but what was said between
the pair was never known to anybody but them-
selves. When they came back he was holding her
hand, and both of them looked as if they under-
stood each other perfectly and were correspond-
ingly happy.
All of the girls, as well as Dave's father, went
to the depot to see him off, and there they met
Ben and some of his folks. Then the train came
in, and the youths climbed on board, dress-suit
cases in hand. The girls waved their handker-
chiefs.
" Have a good time ! " cried Belle, gayly.
" Take good care of yourself, Dave ! " added
Jessie.
" Don't forget to write," supplemented Laura.
" We'll do everything you want us to do 1 "
61
62 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
shouted Dave, with a smile, and then he and
Ben waved their caps from the car window as
the train rolled forward, and Crumville was left
behind.
" Well, we are off at last," observed Ben, as he
and Dave settled back in the seat for the run to
the Junction, where they would have to change cars
for Oakdale, the town nearest to the school.
" And I am not sorry, are you? "
" Not at all, Ben. When it comes time to go to
Oak Hall I am always glad to go and meet the
other fellows; when the term is over I am equally
glad to get home and see the folks. It is like the
seasons — at the end of the summer I am glad
winter is coming, and at the end of winter I am
just as pleased that summer is at hand."
" It's the change, I suppose." Ben stretched
out and drew his knees high up in front of him.
" My, but when you come to look at it, what
changes have taken place at Oak Hall since we
first went there! Don't you remember what a
bully Gus Plum used to be, and how Chip Macklin
used to toady to him ! Now Plum has reformed
completely, and Chip is as manly a little chap as
any of 'em."
" It's a pity that Nat Poole can't take a leaf
from Gus's notebook and reform, too," answered
Dave.
" Maybe he will — after he sees the error of his
ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL 63
ways. But, Dave, what of athletics this season?
Are you going in for them? "
" I am — but not too strongly, Ben. I want to
get all the education I can."
"Want to get through and leave Oak Hall?"
" I don't want to be a schoolboy all my life. I
want to get out in the world and make something
of myself."
" What are you going to become after you leave
school?"
" I don't know yet. I was talking it over with
father and my uncle, but I haven't reached any
decision."
At the Junction the boys had to wait about half
an hour for the train to Oakdale. Dave sug-
gested that they walk over to a candy store and
have some soda water.
" May meet some of the other fellows there,"
he added. " The train from the other way came
in quarter of an hour ago, and I saw a lot of
dress-suit cases in the baggage room."
As the two youths entered the candy store a shout
went up from three boys who were drinking
soda.
" There are Dave Porter and Ben Basswood! "
" Hello, Dave, old man; how are you? "
" My, look at Ben's new suit 1 It's almost loud
enough to talk ! "
" Hello, fellows I " answered Dave, and striding
64 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
forward he shook hands with the crowd, one after
the other.
" Got any of those mountain lions with you? "
queried Joseph Beggs, a round-faced, fat lad.
" Heard you brought down about a dozen while
you were on the ranch."
" Yes, Buster, I've got three in my trunk," an-
swered Dave, gayly. " Want me to let 'em
loose!"
" Heard you did up Link Merwell," said Luke
Watson, another lad, who was well liked because
of his singing and playing abilities. " I was glad
to hear it."
" So were all of us," broke in the third boy, a
tall, slim youth, Maurice Hamilton by name.
" But speaking of mountain lions puts me in mind
of a story. Once three men—
"The same old Shadow!" interrupted Dave,
grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze that
made the story-teller of the school wince.
" Shadow, I believe you'd try to spin a yarn when
you were proposing to your best girl."
" That sure would be a yarn," cried Ben, as he,
too, shook hands.
" I haven't any best girl and you know it," re-
torted Shadow. " But I say," he continued, clos-
ing one eye tightly. " How is Miss Jessie Wads-
worth, Dave? "
" Very well," was the answer, and Dave turned
ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL 65
a bit red. " Let us have something," he added,
hastily, to the clerk behind the soda fountain
counter. " What shall it be, Ben? "
" Make it a true love frappe," sang out Buster
Beggs, with a broad grin.
" But don't forget to put some ginger in it,"
added Shadow Hamilton.
" My love, how can 1 leave thee !
One parting hug I give thee !
And now when Oak Hall calls me,
I go, whate'er befalls me ! "
sang Luke Watson, and put up his hands as if
playing an imaginary guitar.
" Say, doesn't anybody want to hear that story
about the mountain lions ? " queried Shadow, re-
proachfully. Story-telling was his hobby, and it
had often been said by his friends that he woulbl
rather spin a yarn than eat.
" Some other time, Shadow," answered Buster.
" We want to hear about Dave's trip West, and
about what he did to Link Merwell."
u Before I tell you about that, let me give you
a piece of news," said Dave. And then he related
how he and the others had met Merwell and
Jasniff with Nat Poole, and how the two former
youths were going to Rockville Military Academy.
As he had anticipated, this created quite a sensa-
tion, and a lively discussion followed, which was
66 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
kept up even after the crowd got aboard the train
which would carry them to Oakdale.
" Well, if Rockville wants such fellows it can
have 'em," was Buster Beggs's comment. " I, for
one, am glad they are out of Oak Hall."
" I know one fellow who will be glad they are
gone," said Shadow. " That is Gus Plum."
" Yes, indeed," answered Dave, for he well re-
membered what influence Merwell and even Jasniff
had exercised over Plum when the youth had found
his appetite for liquor almost too strong for him.
Of course Dave had to go over many of his
Western adventures, and the others listened with
keen interest to all he had to tell. When he men-
tioned the theft of the horses at the ranch, and
how Link Merwell had been mixed up with the
thieves, more than one shook his head.
" According to that, Link and Nick are a team,"
said Luke Watson. " Dave, you had better be
on your guard. They won't hesitate to play you
some foul trick."
Oakdale, a small but prosperous town, was
reached at last, and the schoolboys piled out of the
train, along with a few other passengers.
" Hello, there is Polly Vane ! " cried Dave,
catching sight of a slender lad with a girlish face.
"How are you, Polly?"
"Oh, it's Dave Porter!" answered Bertram
Vane, in a low but pleased voice. He held out
ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL 67
his slender hand. " I am delighted to see you
back! How tanned you are, and how strong-
looking! "
" It was the mountain air did it, Polly. By
the way, is Horsehair around? " he continued, with
a glance beyond the depot platform.
" Oh, yes I Here he comes now ! " And as
Polly spoke the big carryall of the school swung
into view, with Jackson Lemond, commonly called
" Horsehair," on the driver's seat. The boys made
a rush for the carryall, throwing their suit-cases
in the rack on top, and piling inside one over
the other.
" Horsehair, you're looking fine ! "
"How's the widow, Horsehair? Heard you
were going to marry a widow with eight children."
" Nine children, Buster, — don't drop any of the
family like that."
" Nothing like getting a ready-made family
while you are at it, Horsehair."
" I heard the widow was a suffragette, Horse-
hair. Is that right ?"
" If she's that, Horsehair, she'll make you mind
the children and wash dishes — better beware ! "
" Oh, don't worry about that. Horsehair is an
expert at washing dishes, and at minding babies
he once took first prize at a county fair ; didn't you,
Horsehair? "
" Say, you ! " roared the carryall driver, his face
68 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
as red as a beet. u You quit your knockin' ! I ain't
gittin' married to no widder, nor nobody else ! An'
1 ain't washin' dishes an' mindin' babies nuther!
Such boys ! " And with a crack of his whip he
started up the turnout so suddenly that half the
lads were pitched into the laps of the other half.
It was certainly a jolly crowd that rolled over
the well-kept highway toward Oak Hall. They
knew that many hard lessons awaited them, and
that, once school opened, discipline would b strict,
but just now all were in high spirits. To the tune
of " Auld Lang Syne " Luke Watson started up
the school song, and the others joined in lustily :
14 Oak Hall we never shall forget,
No matter where we roam,
It is the very best of schools,
To us it's just like home !
Then give three cheers, and let them ring
Throughout this world so wide,
To let the people know that we
Elect to here abide ! ' '
"That's the stuff!" cried Ben, slangily.
u Now, then, for the field cry," and then came the
Oak Hall cheer:
"Baseball!
Football !
Oak Hall
Has the call !
Biff ! Boom ! Bang ! Whoop ! "
ON THE WAY TO OAK HALL 69
" I think we ought to display the school colors ! "
cried Dave. " Anybody got a flag? "
" Here is one," answered Polly Vane, from his
seat in front, beside the driver. " But I haven't
got a stick for it."
" Never mind, Shadow's fishing rod will do,''
answered Dave. " Shadow, hand it over."
" All right, but don't break the rod," said
Shadow. " It cost me four bones."
The rod was put together, and the school colors
fastened to the top. Then the rod was thrust
out of a side window of the carryall and waved
in the air, first by one student and then another.
" Look out, that you don't hit nobody with that
fishin' pole ! " warned the carryall driver, as the
turnout swung around a bend of the road.
He had scarcely spoken when a buggy came into
view, driven by a tall, serious-looking individual,
wearing a high silk hat. The buggy swung for-
ward quickly, directly in line with the fishing rod,
and before the boys could haul the colors in the
rod hit the silk hat, sending it whirling into the
bushes beside the roadway.
CHAPTER VIII
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS
" Hi ! hi ! what's the meaning of this outrage ! "
roared the individual in the buggy, as he brought
his horse to a standstill. " Do you want to kill
me?"
"Who is it? Is he hurt?" questioned Dave,
quickly.
" I don't know," answered Ben. " The rod
took off his hat, but whether it struck his head or
not remains to be seen."
" Wot's the trouble back there?" demanded
Jackson Lemond, as he succeeded in bringing his
team to a halt.
" Trouble is, we hit that man with the rod,"
answered Buster.
" Humph ! I told you to be careful," grumbled
the carryall driver. " It don't pay to act like a
passel o' wildcats, nohow ! "
" It's too bad it happened," said Dave, and
leaped to the ground and ran back to where the
buggy stood, with the driver glaring at them sav-
agely. The other students followed.
70
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS 71
" Are you hurt? " asked Dave, anxiously. The
man in the buggy was a total stranger to him.
" Hurt? I don't know whether I am or not.
What do you mean by knocking off my hat with
that stick?"
" It was an accident, sir. We had our school
colors on the fishing rod and were waving
them in the air. We didn't expect to hit any-
body."
" Bah ! you are a lot of rowdies ! " growled the
man. " Give me my hat ! " And he pointed to
where the head covering rested on some bushes.
'* There you are," said Ben, restoring the hat
to its owner. " But we are not rowdies — it was
purely an accident," he added, with a little flash
out of his clear eyes.
" Bah, I know schoolboys ! They think it smart
to be tough ! " The man looked his silk hat over.
" I ought to make you buy me a new hat."
" That doesn't seem to be damaged any," said
Buster, as he looked the tile over. " If it is, of
course we'll make it right," he added, hastily. He
and Luke were holding the fishing rod at the
time of the accident.
" Do you boys belong at Oak Hall? " demanded
the man, smoothing down the roughed-up silk hat
with his forearm.
" Yes," answered Dave.
" I thought so. Well, if this hat is cracked or
72 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
anything like that I'll notify the master of the
school, and make you get me a new hat. Maybe
it will be a lesson to you, to be more careful."
" Let me see the hat, please," said Luke.
"What for?"
" I wish to see if it is really damaged."
" If it is, I'll let you know quick enough, don't
fear."
" I want to see it now. I am not going to pay
for a new hat if this one is all right."
" Ha ! so you don't want to take my word for
it, eh? " roared the man.
" I want to look the hat over," answered Luke,
stubbornly.
" So do I," added Buster.
" I'll not give you the hat — to play more tricks
with. I shall take it to a hat dealer, and if he
says it is injured, I'll call at the school about it."
And having thus delivered himself the man in the
buggy put the silk hat on his head, spoke to his
horse, and whirled on down the road in the direc-
tion of Rockville.
" Talk about a peppery individual ! " cried Ben.
" He certainly is one."
" I don't think the hat was damaged at all,"
said Dave. " It will simply be a hold-up — if he
tries to get a new one out of us. That hat is
quite old and rusty-looking."
" He was a rusty-looking fellow all the way
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS 73
through," commented Buster. " Wonder who he
is?"
" He's some kind of a doctor," answered the
carryall driver, who had left his turnout to join
the boys. " He came to Oakdale and Rockville
this summer, and he gives lectures on how to git
well and strong, an' then he sells medicine, I
know a feller got a bottle from him, but it didn't
do him no good. He calls himself Doctor Mont-
gomery,— but I reckon he ain't no real doctor at
all."
" Must be one of these quacks who go around
the country trying to rope people in," said Dave.
" If he is, he ought to be run out of the neighbor-
hood."
" Maybe we'll never hear from him again," said
Luke. But the boys were destined to hear from
Hooker Montgomery again, and in a manner to
surprise them.
Returning to the carryall, the boys took in the
colors, so that they might do no further damage,
and then the journey to Oak Hall was resumed.
The encounter on the road had sobered them a
little, and this did not wear away until they came
in sight of the school buildings.
"Hurrah! I see Phil and Roger!" cried
Dave, as the carryall swung in between the large
oak trees that gave the place its name. " Hello ! "
he shouted. " Here we are again 1 "
74 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Dave ! " returned the senator's son, running
forward, while Phil did the same. " How are you
all ? " he added, waving his hand to the crowd in
general.
A number of other boys were present, and soon
Dave was surrounded by his old friends, all eager
to shake hands. They wanted to know all about
his trip, and he in return wanted to know what
they had been doing. So there was a perfect
babble of voices as the crowd walked into the main
school building, where good old Doctor Hasmer
Clay, the head of the institution, stood to welcome
each new arrival.
" Glad to see you back, Porter," he said, kindly.
" And I must thank you in person for the skin
you sent from the ranch. We have placed it on
the floor of the reception room. I am quite proud
to think one of my pupils is such a good shot."
" Roger and Phil are good shots, too," answered
Dave, anxious that his chums should have all the
credit due them.
" So I understand." Doctor Clay paused for
a moment. " I believe you met Lincoln Merwell
out West." He eyed Dave curiously as he men-
tioned the fact.
' Yes, I met him — and we had some trouble —
but it is all over now. But, Doctor Gay "
Dave motioned the master of the school to one
side and lowered his voice. " Do you know that
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS 75
Merwell and Nick Jasniff are going to Rockville
Military Academy? "
"Is it possible!"
" That is what they say. It seems to me that
the authorities of Rockville ought to know what
sort they are."
" That is true, Porter, but — ahem ! — I don't
know what I can do. You see, to tell you the
truth, the management of the military academy
has changed hands, and the new master and I are
not on speaking terms. He wished to obtain cer-
tain pupils, and they came to this school instead,
and that made him very angry. He claimed that
I treated him unfairly, but I did not. Even if I
were to warn him against Jasniff and Merwell it
is not likely that he would take the warning in
good part. Besides, the military academy is not
in a prosperous condition financially, and I rather
think the owners will take almost any pupils they
can get."
" I see, sir. Well, if that's the case, why we
might as well drop the matter," answered Dave.
" I will think it over, and perhaps I'll send a
letter to the master of Rockville," returned Doctor
Clay, seriously. " I don't want even an enemy to
harbor such lads as Jasniff and Merwell without
knowing what they are, although it would be to
Rockville's credit if it took those boys and made
real men out of them."
76 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
As my old readers know, Oak Hall was a large
building of brick and stone, shaped in the form of
a cross, with the classrooms, the private office, the
dining-room, and the kitchen on the ground floor.
On the second floor were the majority of the school
dormitories, furnished to accommodate from four
to eight pupils each. The school was surrounded
by a broad campus, sloping in the rear to the
Leming River, on the bank of which was located
the school boathouse. At one side of the campus
was a neat gymnasium, and at the other were some
stables and sheds, and also a newly-built garage
for automobiles and motor-cycles.
Dave and his chums had their quarters in dormi-
tories Nos. ii and 12, two large and well-lighted
apartments, having a connecting door between.
Not far away was dormitory No. 13, occupied by
Nat Poole and his cronies. Merwell and Jasniff
had had beds in that room, but now those places
were given to others.
Roger and Phil had arrived the day before, and
were already settled, and now they did what they
could to make Dave at home, assisting him in un-
packing his trunk and his suit-case, and putting
the things away in the bureau and the clothes
closet. Of course Dave had brought along some
pictures and banners, and these were hung up or
set on the bureau- — that is, all but one photograph
— one of Jessie she had given him the day before.
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS 77
That he kept to himself, in his private drawer
with a few other treasures, under lock and key.
" Hello, Dave; can I help you? " came a voice
from the doorway, and Gus Plum appeared. The
former bully of the Hall was a trifle thin and pale,
but his eyes were clear and his voice pleasant to
hear.
" Why, Gus, how are you ! " cried Dave, and
shook hands warmly. " Did you have a good time
this summer? "
" Quite good," answered Plum. " You know
I went up to Maine with Mr. Dale. He took up
half a dozen fellows, and we went in for botany
and geology while we were camping out."
" Well, I guess Mr. Dale is good company,"
answered Dave. He referred to Andrew Dale,
the first assistant teacher of the school, a man well
beloved by nearly all the students. Every summer
this teacher took out some of the boys, and there
was always a rivalry as to who should go along.
" It was better than just — er — knocking
around," stammered Gus Plum. He meant
carousing around with fellows of the Merwell and
Jasniff sort, and Dave understood. He hesitated
for a moment and looked around, to see if anybody
but Phil and Roger were in the rooms. " Of
course, you know Nat Poole is back," he continued,
in a low voice.
" Yes, — I saw him leave Crumville."
78 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Dave, you want to beware of him." Gus
Plum uttered the words very earnestly.
" Oh, I am not afraid of Nat — never was."
" Yes, but this is different, Dave. I suppose
you know there are a lot of new fellows at Oak
Hall this year."
" There are new fellows every year — the seniors
go and the freshies come in."
" Yes, but this year we have more new fellows
than ever. A school in Laverport broke up, and
sixteen of the students were transferred to Oak
Hall — sophs, juniors, and seniors. So those fel-
lows, added to the freshies, make quite a bunch."
" What has that got to do with Poole and me? "
" Nat Poole and one of the fellows from Laver-
port, a chap named Guy Frapley, are very good
friends — in fact, I think they are related. This
Frapley was a sort of leader at Laverport, and he
has got a number of the other newcomers under his
thumb. Last night I was down by the boathouse,
and I heard Nat and Frapley talking about yoa.
Nat was very anxious to do something to ' make
you take a back seat,' as he termed it, and after
a while Frapley consented to take the matter up
with him."
" What do you suppose they'll do? " questioned
Phil, who had listened to Plum's words with in-
terest.
" I don't know exactly, but they'll do something,
ABOUT SOME NEW STUDENTS 79
you can be sure of that. More than likely it will
be something underhanded."
" I am not afraid of Nat Poole — nor of this
Guy Frapley, either," said Dave.
" Dave has so many friends here, why should
he be afraid?" asked Roger.
" Well, I only thought I'd warn you, that's all,"
answered the former bully, meekly. " I don't
want Dave to have any more trouble if I can help
it."
" It's kind of you, Gus, to tell me of this," an-
swered Dave, heartily. " And I'll be on my
guard1. But I really don't think Nat Poole will
cut much of a figure during this term of school.
He has lost too many of his old friends."
But, for once, Dave was mistaken. Nat Poole
did " cut a figure," although not quite in the man-
ner expected, and what he and his cronies did
caused Dave not a little trouble.
CHAPTER IX
THE FOOTBALL MEETING
IN a few days Dave felt as much at home as
ever. Nearly all of his old friends had returned
to Oak Hall, and dormitories Nos. 1 1 and 12 were
filled with as bright a crowd of lads as could well
be found anywhere. In the number were Gus
Plum and Chip Macklin, but the former was no
longer the bully as of old, and the latter had lost
his toadying manner, and was quite manly, and the
other students treated them as if all had always
been the best of friends.
It did Dave's heart good to see the change in
Plum, and he was likewise pleased over the differ-
ent way in which Macklin acted.
" I never thought it was in Gus and Chip," he
said, privately, to Roger. " It shows what a
fellow can do if he sets his mind to it."
" It's to your credit as much as to their own,"
declared the senator's son. " I don't believe Gus
would have reformed if you hadn't braced him
up."
" I wish I could reform Nat Poole."
80
THE FOOTBALL MEETING 81
" You'll never do it, Dave — but you may scare
him into behaving himself."
" Have you met Guy Frapley, Roger — I mean
to talk to? "
" Yes, in the gym., where Phil and I were prac-
ticing with the Indian clubs."
" What do you think of him? "
" I think he is fairly aching to become the leader
of the school. He was leader at Laverport, and
it breaks his heart to play second fiddle to anybody
here. He and Nat are as thick as two peas. They
tell me he is a great football player, so I suppose
he will try to run the eleven — if the fellows will
let him."
" I don't think the old players will let a new
crowd run our team."
" The trouble is, some of the old players are
gone, and the new crowd may count up the largest
number of votes. In that case they'll be able to
run things to suit themselves."
Dave had settled down to his studies in earnest,
for that winter he wished to make an extra good
record for himself. He loved sports, but as he
grew older he realized that he was at Oak Hall
more for a mental than a physical training.
" When my time comes, I shall have a good
many business interests to look after," was the way
he expressed himself to Phil, who joked him about
" boning like a cart horse," " and I know if I
82 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
haven't the education I'll be at the mercy of any-
body who wishes to take advantage of my igno-
rance."
" Well, you are not going to give up football,
are you, Dave ? " questioned the shipowner's son.
" Not if they want me on the eleven."
" Well, that depends. We have a meeting
Monday afternoon, in the gym."
Dave had noticed a good many whispered con-
versations taking place between some of the old
students and all of the new ones, and he had won-
dered what was going on. A hint was dropped
that the football meeting would " wake things
up," whatever that might mean.
" I think I know what is in the wind," said Gus
Plum to Dave during a recess on Monday.
" Nat Poole and Guy Frapley came to me last night
and they wanted me to pledge myself to support
Frapley for captain of the eleven."
" Well, they had a right to do that, Gus."
" I told them I wouldn't do it. They said if I
didn't I'd get left. I told 'em that wouldn't hurt
me very much, because I didn't care for playing
anyway."
" I see," answered Dave, thoughtfully.
He at once sought out Roger, Phil, and Sam
Day, — those who had loved to play football in
the past, and who had hoped to be on the eleven
the present season — and talked the matter over
THE FOOTBALL MEETING 83
with them. Then the shipowner's son made a
quiet canvass among all those interested in foot-
ball.
" Plum is right," he declared later. " Frapley,
aided by Nat Poole and his cronies, is going to
carry matters with a high hand."
" It's an outrage ! " cried Sam. " A stranger
running the Oak Hall eleven ! I shall protest ! "
" It won't do any good — if Frapley gets the
votes," answered Roger. " Especially if he is a
good player, and they say he is."
The news that there was going to be a lively
time drew a large crowd to the meeting in the
gymnasium. This was called to order by the
former manager of the eleven, and a call was
issued for nominations for a new manager.
" I nominate John Rand ! " cried Nat Poole,
mentioning one of the students from Laver-
port.
" Second the nomination ! " added Guy Frapley,
promptly.
" I nominate Henry Fordham," said Roger,
putting up one of the old students, who did not
play, but who was a good general manager, and
a youth well liked by his classmates.
Dave seconded Roger's nomination, and as there
were no other names submitted, the nominations
were declared closed.
" Mr. Chairman, I'd like to say a few words
84 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
before we hold an election — I mean, before we
vote," said Sam Day, mounting a chair.
" Oh, dry up, and let us cast out ballots ! " mut-
tered Nat Poole.
" I wish to speak in favor of Henry Fordham,
whom all old students of Oak Hall know so well,"
continued Sam. " He knows "
" Vote ! vote ! Let us vote 1 " called out sev-
eral new students loudly, and it was seen that they
were urged on by Guy Frapley.
In a moment half a dozen students were speak-
ing at once, and it took several minutes for the
chairman of the meeting to restore silence. Then
Sam was allowed to make a short speech and he
was followed by Dave, both speaking in favor
of Fordham. Then a new student spoke in favor
of Rand, and then the voting began.
The result was a painful surprise for Fordham,
and equally painful to Dave and his chums. So
well had Nat Poole, Guy Frapley, and their
cohorts laid their plans that John Rand was elected
manager of the coming eleven by a majority of
five votes.
" It is all up with our crowd ! " murmured Roger
to Dave, when the result was announced. " That
crowd has got votes enough to ride over us rough-
shod, and it is going to do it."
And the senator's son was right, as later events
speedily proved. The new football team, made
THE FOOTBALL MEETING 85
up of a regular eleven and five substitutes, counted
but six old Oak Hall players. Dave, Roger, Phil,
and their close chums were utterly ignored. Guy
Frapley was chosen captain and quarter-back, and
Nat Poole was made full-back. It is needless to
say that some of the old players, who had worked
so hard in the past to make Oak Hall victorious,
left the meeting in disgust.
"This is the worst I was ever up against!"
murmured Roger. " Talk about ingratitude !
And just think that once Phil nearly lost his life
to help us win I "
" And think of how hard Dave and you
worked," put in a sympathizer. " It's a burning
shame, that's what it is."
" Well, there is one satisfaction," said Dave, as
calmly as he could, although he was as depressed
as any one. " It is on their shoulders now to
make good. We haven't anything on that score to
worry about."
"I'll tell you what let's do!" cried Phil.
" We'll organize a scrub eleven, and wax 'em out
of their shoes ! "
" I don't believe they'll play you — they are
afraid," said Buster.
" Never mind, then we'll play somebody else.
We can challenge them, anyway. If they are
afraid of us we want the whole school to know it."
Phil's idea met with considerable favor, and
86 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
he easily persuaded Dave, Roger, Sam, Gus Plum,
and a number of others to join his scrub eleven,
which was named the Old Guard. Phil was man-
ager as well as captain, and played right half-back,
while Dave was quarter-back, and Roger was cen-
ter. The eleven went into practice with as much
vigor as if they were training for some champion-
ship games.
As had been anticipated, the regular eleven tried
to ignore the Old Guard. When a challenge to
play was issued, John Rand sent back word that
he could fix up his own scrub eleven without any
help from outsiders. His scrub was made up of
freshmen and, of course, the regular team beat
them with ease.
" Never mind — they are afraid of us — and we'll
let everybody know it," declared Roger. And
then the challenge from the Old Guard to the
regular eleven was posted up in the gymnasium,
where all might see it. It was torn down over
night, but a new copy was put up by the following
noon.
As was to be expected, the challenge created
much talk, and Phil and Frapley almost came to
blows about it. Phil and his chums were accused
of trying to break up the good feeling of the
school in general, and, in return, the shipowner's
son very bluntly told the new captain of the school
eleven that he would lead Oak Hall to defeat.
THE FOOTBALL MEETING 87
" It's time enough to talk like that after we
are beaten," declared Guy Frapley, grimly. Then
it was announced that the regular Oak Hall foot-
ball eleven would play the opening game of the
season against an eleven from Lemington on a
Saturday afternoon, the contest to take place on
the Lemington Athletic Grounds.
" They ought to be waxed good and proper 1 "
said Chip Macklin.
"Who? "asked Dave.
" Our eleven, Dave. Oh, I know what you will
say — that that isn't the true school spirit and all
that — but just the same, Poole and Frapley and
that bunch don't deserve to win."
" I've got half a notion not to go to the game,"
declared Sam.
" I am going," answered Dave. " I don't like
that crowd, and I don't think we were treated
fairly. Just the same, for the honor of Oak Hall,
I am going to the game and root for our side."
" The same old Dave ! " murmured Roger, in
admiration. " Well, if you're going I am going
too."
Lemington was situated several miles up the
river, and while some of the boys decided to go
to that town by the carryall and on their bicycles
and motor-cycles, others decided to go up in boats.
As my old readers know, Nat Poole was the
owner of a good-sized motor-boat, a craft he had
88 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
had stored in the boathouse since the last sum-
mer. In this boat the dudish student frequently
went for a cruise up and down the river, taking
his cronies along. The fact that he owned the
craft and could give them a ride, made Nat quite
popular with some of the students.
" I'll take the eleven up to Lemington in my
motor-boat," said Nat to the manager. " It will
be a fine sail, if the weather is good." And so it
was arranged.
As the weather remained warm, Dave and his
chums often went out on the river for a row, and
one afternoon they rowed as far as Bush Island,
about two miles away. On the island were some
chestnut trees, and the boys walked over to see
if the nuts were fit to gather.
" I see some other fellows here ! " cried Roger,
and pointed to some boys in military uniforms
some distance away.
" They must be fellows from Rockville Acad-
emy," answered Dave. " I didn't think they'd
come as far as this after school hours."
" Well, I suppose they have as much right here
as we have," was Phil's comment.
They passed on, and presently lost sight of the
other crowd. Then, quarter of an hour later,
they came out on the island shore, to see the other
lads in a rowboat, just getting ready to leave the
place.
THE FOOTBALL MEETING 89
" Why, there are Link Merwell and Nick
Jasniff ! " exclaimed Roger.
" Right you are," answered Dave. Then he
gave another look. "Where is our boat?" he
questioned, quickly.
All looked around and saw that their rowboat
was missing.
" They must have taken it," cried Phil. He
raised his voice : " I say, Merwell ! Jasniff ! Stop,
I want to talk to you ! "
" Not much ! " called back Nick Jasniff.
" We don't want to talk to you," answered
Link Merwell.
"What have you done with out boat?" ques-
tioned Roger.
" That's for you to find out ! " returned Nick
Jasniff. " Ta ta ! Hope you have a nice time
getting back to Oak Hall ! "
And then he and Link Merwell and their com-
panions took up their oars and rowed swiftly
away from Bush Island.
CHAPTER X
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT
" WE are certainly in a pickle," remarked
Roger, as the Rockville cadets rounded a point of
the island and disappeared from view.
" I wonder what they did with our boat," said
Phil. " I don't see it anywhere on the water."
" Perhaps they took it to the other side of the
island," suggested Dave.
" Would they have time to do that? "
" I don't know. This is a total surprise to me,
Phil."
" They did the trick on the impulse of the mo-
ment," went on Roger. " For they didn't know
we were coming here."
" And we didn't know they were here," added
Dave. " Let us take a look around and see if we
can spot the boat."
" All right, I'll go down the shore and you can
go up," cried Phil, and set off at as rapid a gait
as the nature of the ground permitted.
A hasty search did not bring the rowboat to
light. The boys met on the other side of the
90
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT 91
island, and stared wonderingly at each other.
"See anything?"
" Not a thing."
" The boat must be somewhere."
" Maybe they sunk her! " cried the senator's
son. " Merwell and Jasniff are just unprincipled
enough to do it."
" If they did that, they must have done it close
to where we tied her up. They wouldn't have
time to take her away," returned Dave. " Let us
go back and see if we can find any trail in the mud
and sand."
They crossed the island, passing the chestnut
trees as they did so. Under one of the trees Dave
picked up a letter. It was addressed to Nicholas
Jasniff, General Delivery, Rockville.
" Jasniff must have dropped this when he was
nutting," said Dave, as he and the others looked
at the address.
" What is in it? " asked Phil. " It's open; read
it."
"Would that be fair, Phil?"
" I think so. Jasniff is an enemy, not a friend.
It may contain some clew to his doings, and if
there is anything underhanded going on we can
let the authorities know."
Dave took out the single sheet that the envelope
contained. On it was written, in a sprawling,
heavy hand, the following:
92 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" MY DEAR JASNIFF:
" I got your leter and I wil do all I can to help
you pervided you wil help me on that bussines I
meantioned to you. I know we both can make
money and hardly anny risks. Beter not come to
the office but meet me at Dunns on the River.
" Yours afectenately,
" DR. H. MONTGOMERY."
" Why, this letter was written by that Doctor
Hooker Montgomery, the man whose silk hat we
knocked off ! " cried Dave.
" His education seems to be extremely limited,"
observed Phil. " He'd never stand at the top of
the spelling class, would he? "
" I was asking about him, and he's a regular
fakir," said Roger. " He isn't a doctor at all,
although he calls himself one. He puts up a num-
ber of medicines and calls them ' Montgomery's
Wonderful Cures.' I was told that he used to do
quite a business among the ignorant country folks,
but lately hardly anybody patronizes him."
" And that is why he is willing to aid Jasniff in
some scheme, I suppose," said Phil. " I'll wager
it is something underhanded. When are they to
meet?"
" It doesn't say," answered Dave. " But the
postmark is a week old, so I presume the meeting
is a thing of the past. I guess I'll not keep the
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT 93
letter," he concluded, and cast it on the ground
where he had found it.
Arriving at where the rowboat had been tied
up, the three chums looked around carefully, and
soon saw footprints leading to a little cove, shaded
by tall elderberry bushes. Pushing some of the
bushes aside, Dave looked into the water and gave
a cry:
" Here she is, fellows! "
"Have you really found the boat, Dave?"
questioned Phil.
" Yes. She's at the bottom of the cove. They
piled her full of stones and sunk her. They must
have had quite a job doing it."
"And here are the oars!" exclaimed Roger,
dragging them from the bushes. " Say, it's going
to be cold work getting that boat into shape for
use," he added, for the sun was going down and the
air was keen.
" I'll do it, if you don't care to," answered
Dave. " A cold plunge will do me good."
"I'll help, if you say so?" volunteered
Phil.
" Never mind, Phil; I think I can do it alone.
No use in more than one undressing."
The rowboat had been sunk in water three feet
deep. Taking off most of his clothing, and also
his shoes and socks, Dave waded into the cove
and set to work taking the stones out of the craft
94 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
It was certainly cold, and only the heavy labor
served to keep his blood in circulation.
" They didn't pound a hole in her, did they? "
asked the senator's son, anxiously.
" I don't see any hole," answered Dave. " I'll
soon know. There aren't many more stones
left."
He had great difficulty in budging the bottom
stone, the largest of the lot. But, once this was
removed, the boat was quite buoyant and came close
to the surface. Then Dave shoved the craft close
to shore, and turned it over to empty it.
" As good as ever ! " cried Roger, and his tones
showed his relief. " Now, Dave, get into your
clothes again, and Phil and I will row you back to
the Hall. We'll be late — and you know what
that means, if Job Haskers catches us."
" We've got a good excuse," said Phil. " But
maybe Haskers won't accept it," he added, remem-
bering only too well how harsh and unreasonable
the second assistant teacher could be at times.
" I think I'll do some of the rowing myself, just
to get warm," said Dave, when they got into the
craft, and he took an oar; and soon Bush Island
was left behind.
" This is another mark against Merwell and
Jasniff," said the shipowner's son, as they pulled
in the direction of the school. " I suppose they
thought we'd have to stay on the island all night."
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT 95
" Yes, and maybe longer," said Dave. " I fancy
they wouldn't care if we had to remain there until
we were almost starved."
" We'll have to get back at them somehow,"
came from Roger.
It was quite dark when they reached the boat-
house at Oak Hall. No students were in sight,
all having gone in to supper. Dave looked at
his watch.
" Supper is almost over ! " he cried. " We had
better hurry if we want anything to eat ! "
" Eat? Rather! I am as hungry as a bear! "
cried Phil.
" So am I," added the senator's son.
Putting the rowboat away, the three boys started
in the direction of the big school building. As
they did this they saw somebody approaching them
from an angle of the east wing.
" It's Haskers ! " whispered Phil. " He is com-
ing this way! "
" Let's run for it ! " cried Roger. " We can
get in on the other side! Quick! "
" Boys ! boys ! Stop ! " called out Job Haskers,
as they started to run. " I know you, Porter !
Morr ! Lawrence ! Stop, I say ! " And he came
running after them.
" It's no use, he recognizes us ! " groaned Phil,
and came to a halt, and so did the others.
"What is the meaning of this? I demand to
96 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
know where you have been? " cried Job Haskers,
sourly, as he came up, puffing from his unusual
exertions.
" We are sorry, Mr. Haskers, but we were out
rowing, and we were detained at Bush Island,"
explained Dave.
" Did you have permission to stay away during
the supper hour? "
" No, sir. We didn't intend to do so. We
were "
" Humph ! that is no excuse, young man, no
excuse whatever! You know the rule. Go to
your rooms at once — and stay there until to-morrow
morning." And Job Haskers glared coldly at
the three students. He seemed always to take
special delight in catching a student at some in-
fringement of the rules, and in meting out punish-
ment.
" We haven't had any supper yet," said
Roger.
" That is not my fault, Morr. The dining-
room is now about to close, and you cannot go in.
It will be a lesson to you to be on hand promptly
in the future."
" We have got to have something to eat 1 " de-
clared Phil, stubbornly.
" Ha 1 don't you dare to talk back to me, Law-
rence! If you do it again, I'll give you some
extra lessons to learn."
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT 97
" Mr. Haskers, won't you listen to us? " asked
Dave, in a steady voice. " We have a good excuse
to offer for being late."
" I don't want any excuses. It was your duty
to return to the Hall in time for supper."
" We simply couldn't get here. We were on
Bush Island, and our boat was taken away from
us."
" I saw you come back here in a boat."
" We found our boat after a while, — after we
had lost a good hour looking for it. Then we
rowed back as fast as we could."
" Pooh ! The usual story ! I want no such
lame excuses ! Some teachers might accept them,
but not I ! Go to your rooms, and at once, — and
don't dare to come downstairs until to-morrow
morning — or I'll cut off all your holidays until
Christmas ! " And Job Haskers folded his arms
and stood like a judge before the boys.
An angry remark arose to Dave's lips. But he
checked it and turned toward the school building,
and Roger and Phil followed. Job Haskers
marched after them.
" Go upstairs at once ! " he ordered. " No lin-
gering in the lower hall ! " For he was afraid the
lads might slip him and try to get something to
eat on the sly.
" Mr. Haskers, I wish to talk to Doctor Clay,"
said Dave.
98 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Doctor Clay has nothing to do with this
affair! I am in charge here for the present."
" Do you mean to say that I can't see the
doctor?"
" Doctor Clay is away on business. You may
see him in the morning if you wish."
" I don't think he'd send us to bed supperless."
" It is your own fault. You boys have got to
learn to obey the rules of this institution. Per-
haps it will be a lesson well learned."
" I think it's an outrage ! " muttered Phil.
"What is that, Lawrence?" cried the teacher,
harshly. But Phil did not repeat his statement.
There seemed to be no help for it, and slowly
the three students passed up the stairs and en-
tered their dormitory. Job Haskers watched them
out of sight, and then stalked away, his face as
grim and hard as ever.
" Well, doesn't this beat the nation ! " groaned
Roger, as he plumped down on one of the beds.
" Evidently old Haskers hasn't forgotten what
happened last term," was Phil's comment. " He
is going to make it just as hard as he can for us."
" I'm as hungry as can be. I didn't have much
dinner. Dave, are you going to stand for this? "
" What do you mean, Roger — staying in the
room until to-morrow ? "
" That and going without supper."
" I don't care so much about staying in the
LOOKING FOR A MISSING ROWBOAT 99
room," was the reply. " But I can assure you
of one thing, — I am not going without my supper."
" How are you going to get it? "
" I don't know yet. But I am going to get it
somehow," replied Dave, and his tone of voice
showed that he meant what he said.
CHAPTER XI
A MIDNIGHT FEAST
WHILE the three students were discussing the
situation the door of the dormitory opened, and
Sam Day and Shadow Hamilton entered.
" Hello, why weren't you down to supper? "
asked Sam.
" We didn't get here in time," answered Roger.
And then he related what had occurred on Bush
Island.
" It was just like Jasniff and Merwell," said
Shadow. "And like old Haskers, too! I sup-
pose he is laughing to himself now because he
made you go without your supper."
" But I am not going without it," said Dave.
" That is, not if you fellows will do me a favor."
" Want me to get something from the pantry
for you? " queried Sam, quickly. " I'll do it — if
it can be done."
" You can't get in the pantry any more," said
Phil, with a wry face. " Since Dave and I did
the trick some time ago they keep the doors
locked."
A MIDNIGHT FEAST 101
"And that puts me in mind of a story! " cried
Shadow. " Once a little boy "
"Quit it, Shadow!" interrupted Sam. "You
don't expect Dave and Roger and Phil to listen
to your yarns when they are starving, do you?
Tell the story after they have filled up."
" Well, it was only a short yarn," pleaded the
story-teller of the school. " But, of course, if we
can do anything "
" You can — I think," said Dave. " But you
must act quickly."
"What's to be done?"
" Since I have been here I have noticed a wagon
going through on the main road every evening
about this time. It belongs to Rousmann, the
delicatessen man of Rockville. I wish you'd stop
him and see what you can buy for us." And as
he finished Dave took a two-dollar bill from his
pocket and held it out.
" By hookey! I'll do it! " cried Sam, readily.
" Come on, Shadow ! Maybe we can get enough
to have a little feast to-night! "
" Not on two dollars," answered Phil.
" Here's another fifty cents."
" Oh, I've got a little money of my own," re-
turned Sam.
" So have I — thirty-five cents," added Shadow.
" My allowance is behind time. And that puts
me in mind of another story. Two men were
102 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Oh, but I forgot, you are too hungry to listen to
yarns. Well, I'll tell it some other time," and
away he went after Sam, out into the hallway
and down the broad stairs.
" If only they get there before that wagon
passes ! " sighed the senator's son.
" Maybe the driver won't have anything to sell.
He may be sold out," came from Phil.
" Let us hope for the best," answered Dave,
cheerfully. " He can't be sold out of everything.
Even a loaf of bread and some sardines wouldn't
go bad."
" Or some frankfurters," added Roger.
A few minutes passed, and Ben came up to
the room, and the story of the adventure on the
island and with Job Haskers had to be told again.
Ben was as indignant as Sam and Shadow had
been.
" I wouldn't stand for it ! " he cried. " Why
don't you report to Doctor Clay?"
" Because he is away," answered Dave. " But
I may report to him to-morrow," he continued,
thoughtfully.
A half-hour passed — to the hungry boys it
seemed a long time — and then came a clatter of
footsteps in the hallway. The door was banged
open, and in came Sam and Shadow, followed by
Gus Plum and Luke Watson, and each carrying a
fair-sized bundle under his coat.
A MIDNIGHT FEAST 103
" We got there just in the nick of time ! "
panted Sam, for he was somewhat out of breath.
" Fact is, I had to run after the wagon to stop it."
" And we got a dandy lot of stuff," continued
Shadow. " Gus and Luke helped us to buy it."
" We are in for a spread to-night," explained
Gus Plum. " But you fellows can eat all you wish
right now."
The door was closed and locked, and one after
another the bundles were opened. The boys who
had done the purchasing had certainly " spread
themselves," as Dave said. They had obtained
some fresh rolls and cake, an apple and a pumpkin
pie, some cheese, and some cold ham and tongue,
a bottle of pickles, and five different kinds of
crackers in boxes.
" This is certainly a spread and no mistake,"
said Dave, as he and Phil and Roger viewed the
eatables with keen satisfaction.
" Chip Macklin has gone off to a farmer's house
for two quarts of milk," said Shadow. " And I
told him to bring some apples, too, — if he could
get them."
11 We'll have more than if we had been down-
stairs to supper," said the shipowner's son.
" Whatever is left will do for our spread later,"
explained Sam.
" Whatever is left," repeated Shadow. " Say,
that puts me in mind of a story — and I'm going
104 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
to tell this one," he added, as several of those
present gave a groan. " A little boy was looking
for his shoes. He found one and looked at it
thoughtfully, and then said : ' I dess you is the
right one, and your brovver is the left one, but
you is the left one, and your brovver ain't left
'tall, 'cause he's gone.' ' And the story produced
a smile all around.
In a few minutes came a triple rap on the door
— a well-known signal — and Sam opened the
portal, to admit Chip Macklin. The small student
carried two bottles of milk under his coat, and his
pockets were bulging with apples and pears.
" Hurrah ! Now we can have a square meal
and no mistake ! " cried Dave, as glasses were pro-
duced, and the milk was poured out. " Chip, we
owe you one for this."
" You're welcome," answered the little lad,
with a smile. He was glad to be of service, in
return for all Dave had done for him in the
past.
The eatables were spread out on a studying table,
and Dave and his chums proceeded to " fill up," as
Phil expressed it. They made a hearty meal, and
yet, when they had finished, there was a consider-
able portion of the food left.
" We'll not touch the pies or the fruit," said
Dave. " Those can be saved for the spread
later."
A MIDNIGHT FEAST 105
The boys were just clearing away the crumbs
of the meal when there came a hasty knock on
the door.
"Who is there?" asked Roger, going to the
door, but not opening it.
" It is I, Murphy," came in the husky tones of
big Jim, the monitor. " If anything is going on
in there, I want to warn you that Mr. Haskers
is coming up — I heard him tell an under teacher."
" Thanks, Jim — we'll be ready for him," an-
swered the senator's son, and passed out a pear
and an apple, and then the kind-hearted monitor
walked away again on his rounds.
The students worked hastily and noiselessly, and
in less than three minutes the remainder of the
food was stowed away in a closet out of sight, and
everything about the dormitory was cleaned up.
Then the lads got out their books and writing
materials.
" Come in ! " cried Dave, when a knock sounded
sharply, and the door was opened, and Job Has-
kers presented himself. His face showed his dis-
appointment at finding everything as it should be.
" Oh, Mr. Haskers, you are just in time 1 "
cried Phil, innocently. " Will you kindly show
me how to do this example in algebra ? "
" And will you please show me how to trans-
late this Latin?" asked Roger, catching his cue
from Phil.
io6 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" And I've got a problem in geometry that is
bothering me," said Dave, smoothly.
" I have no time for lessons now," answered the
teacher, harshly. " I have other duties to per-
form. If you will attend to the explanations given
in the classrooms you will need no extra aid," and
thus delivering himself, Job Haskers backed out
of the dormitory as speedily as he had entered it.
" Stung that time ! " murmured Ben, as he closed
the door once more. " I'll wager an apple against
a peanut that he thought he would catch Dave,
Roger, and Phil eating on the sly."
" Or off the table," added Sam, and then Ben
shied a book at his head.
For over an hour the lads in the dormitory
turned their attention to their lessons. During
that time some other occupants of Nos. 1 1 and
12 came in, and all were informed of the spread
to be given at midnight. To make things more
lively, some boys from No. 10 were also asked to
participate.
" Of course you are going to ask Nat Poole and
Guy Frapley," said Roger, with a grin.
" Not on your collar-button 1 " replied Sam.
" They can furnish their own spreads — they and
the whole crowd with 'em."
" We want to look out that they don't get wise
to what we are doing," said Plum. " It would
be just like Nat to give us away, if he knew."
A MIDNIGHT FEAST 107
" If he did that he ought to have his head
punched," murmured Luke.
" Say, Luke, give us a little music, before it gets
past hours," suggested Dave, and willingly enough
Luke got out a banjo, tuned up, and rendered
several favorites. While the playing was going
on, the door was left open, and a small crowd
congregated in the hallway to listen, for Luke
was really a skillful performer. All too soon the
playing had to come to an end, as the time for
" lights out " arrived.
It was exactly twelve o'clock when Sam arose
from where he had been resting and made a light.
At once the others also got up. All were dressed,
and it did not take long to bring the eatables from
the closet and push two studying tables together
for a " banquet board," as Roger dubbed it. .. He
and Dave and Phil were not particularly hungry,
yet they entered with vim into the proceedings.
The door between Nos. n and 12 was open, and
those invited from No. 10 came in as silently as
shadows.
Soon the feast was in full swing. The pies were
large, and were cut into just enough pieces to go
around. The fancy crackers were passed around
in their boxes, and the apples and pears were placed
on a tennis racket and handed around, " like an
old-fashioned contribution box," according to
Plum's way of describing it.
io8 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" We ought to have a speech ! " cried Ben. " I
move Dave Porter be called upon to speak."
" Second the motion! " cried several others.
" Give us something on ' How to Learn With-
out Studying,' " suggested Shadow.
" Or ' How to Do Algebra While You Sleep,' "
said Ben.
" Or ' How to Make Haskers Reform,' " sug-
gested Luke.
" Don't ask him to speak on the impossible,"
broke in Plum. " You'll never get Jobey to re-
form— it isn't in him."
" I'm too full to make a speech," said Dave,
with a smile. " Besides, we don't want any noise
up here, or we'll be spotted sure."
" I know what we ought to do ! " cried
Phil.
" What? " asked a chorus.
" Pay old Haskers back for the mean way he
treated us. Can't we do something to him while
he is asleep ? "
" We sure can ! " answered Roger. He looked
at Dave. " What shall it be? "
Dave thought for a moment, and then a broad
grin overspread his features.
" I wonder if we can manage it," he said, half
to himself.
" Manage what, Dave? " asked several, eagerly.
" I think we can do it — if some of you fellows
A MIDNIGHT FEAST 109
will furnish a stout line. Several fishing lines
twisted together will do."
" But what do you intend to do, Dave? "
" Make Job Haskers think there is an earth-
quake,— that is, if he is in bed and asleep, and
we can get into his room."
" Oh, he must be asleep by this time," said
Sam.
" And here is a stout cord. I used it for flying
my big kite," added Ben.
" Then, come on, and we'll give Job Haskers
a surprise. But don't make any noise, or we may
get caught."
CHAPTER XII
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS
THE door to the hall was cautiously opened, and
the boys looked out. The coast appeared to be
clear, and Dave tiptoed his way out, followed by
his chums. A faint light was burning, as required
by the school regulations, and this kept the stu-
dents from bumping into anything.
All knew the location of the apartment occupied
by Job Haskers, and it did not take them long
to reach the door to it. Here they paused to
listen intently.
" He is in there and asleep," whispered Dave.
" Yes, and snoring," added Roger. " That
shows he won't wake up very easily."
" We'll wake him up, don't fear — if my plan
works," replied Dave, with grim humor.
With great caution the door was tried and
found to be unlocked. Then, scarcely daring to
breathe, Dave stepped into the apartment, with
Roger and Phil behind him, clutching at his arms.
The light in the hallway was near by, and Dave
motioned for it to be turned up, so that he could
see around the room.
no
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS in
Job Haskers's bed had been turned around for
this term, so that the head was next to the wall
beside the doorway. It was a new brass bed-
stead, ornamental but light.
With deft fingers, Dave doubled the cord pro-
vided by Ben, and tied one end to the head railing
of the brass bedstead. The other end of the cord
he carried to the doorway, and threw up through
the transom, which swung upon side pivots.
" Good, I see your plan now ! " murmured
Phil. " I reckon we'll give him an awakening
all right enough! "
As soon as the boys in the hallway had secured
the outer end of the doubled cord, Dave stepped
out of the room again, followed by Roger and
Phil.
" Why not lock the door? " whispered the sen-
ator's son. " The key is here."
" Just what I intended to do," answered Dave,
in an equally low voice.
The door was closed and locked, and the stu-
dents all gathered in front of the portal, each
with his hand on the cord.
" I wish we could dump him out of bed," mut-
tered Plum.
" We'll give him a little quiver first," said Dave.
" He won't know what to make of it. I don't
think he'll notice the cord. It is just the color
of the wall,"
ii2 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
They pulled the cord taut, and then raised the
head of the bed an inch or two. Then they let
it drop.
" Oh — er — who is that? " they heard Job Has-
kers murmur. " Is it time to get up, Swingly? "
He mentioned the name of the school janitor,
who had orders to rouse him when he was over-
sleeping.
Of course there was no answer to the
teacher's question. He waited for a moment,
and then turned over in bed, as if for another
snooze.
" Now we'll give him a sharp jerk," whispered
Dave, and the students caught hold of the cord
with vigor. Up came the head of the bed
about a foot and swayed violently towards the
door.
" Hi ! hi ! What's this ? " roared Job Haskers,
sitting bolt upright, and gazing about in bewilder-
ment.
" It's the end of the world ! " came, in a hollow
voice, through the keyhole. " The end of the
world I"
" Mercy on me ! It's an earthquake, that's
what it is ! " burst from the befuddled teacher, and
then as the bed was jerked high in the air once
more, he rolled over in the blankets and slid down
to the lower end, where one foot got caught be-
tween the brass bars.
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS 113
" Get out of the building, Mr. Haskers ! " came
a cry through the keyhole. " It is going to shake
to the ground! "
" Yes ! yes ! It must be an earthquake ! "
groaned the bewildered pedagogue. " Oh, will I
ever get out alive, I wonder! "
The top of the bedstead was bobbing up and
down, like a ship on an angry ocean. In the dark-
ness Job Haskers was completely bewildered, and
he firmly believed that an earthquake had struck
Oak Hall and that the building was in danger
of collapsing. With a cry of fright he tumbled
out on the floor, and threw the covers, in which
he was wound up, aside. He tried to find the
door, but the top of the bedstead was now in
the way.
" The fire escape — it is the only way out 1 " he
muttered to himself, and as the boys continued to
jerk the bedstead around, he ran to the window
and threw out a rope, fastened to a ring in the
floor. Then out of the window he bounced and
slid down the rope with a speed that blistered
his hands.
" He has gone out of the window ! " cried
Roger, who had his eye glued to the keyhole.
" Wait a minute, fellows ! "
" Quick ! We must take away the cord," said
Dave, and in a trice the door of the bedroom was
unlocked, the bed shoved into place, and the cord
H4 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
removed. Then the students scampered away,
turning down the light as before.
Once on the ground Job Haskers lost no time
in getting away from the building. Each instant
he expected another quake that would bring that
noble pile of bricks, stone, and mortar to the
ground. But the quake did not come.
"Queer!" he murmured, presently. "Didn't
anybody else feel that awful shock? "
" Hi, you, throw up your hands, or I'll fill ye
fullo' buckshot!"
The cry came from behind him, and it caused
Job Haskers to leap with a new fear. He turned,
and in the gloom of the night saw a man approach-
ing with a gun pointed full at him.
" Don't — don't sho — shoot me ! " he gasped.
" Up with yer hands ! " came from the man.
" I cotches ye that time, didn't I ? Now, wot
are ye, a ghost, a burglar, or a student on a
lark?"
" Wh — who are yo — you ? " stammered Job
Haskers. " Did you — er — feel the earthquake? "
Instead of answering the questions, the man
came closer, until the barrel of his shotgun was
within a foot of the teacher's head. Then he gave
a cry of astonishment.
"Why, if it ain't Mr. Haskers! Wot in the
world are you a-doin' out this time o' night,
sir?"
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB MASKERS 115
"Lemond! " faltered the teacher, as he recog-
nized the driver for the Hall. " Did you — er —
did you feel the earthquake ? "
"Earthquake? No, sir."
" It is strange."
"Did you feel any of 'em, sir?" Horsehair
had lowered his gun and was gazing fixedly at
the teacher. " Say, you ain't walking in your
sleep, are ye?" he questioned, abruptly.
" No, no — I — er — I am sure I am not," stam-
mered Job Haskers, yet in secret he pinched him-
self to make certain. " I was — er — in bed, and I
thought I felt an earthquake — the bed swayed,
and I heard a cry — — " The teacher stopped sud-
denly. " Perhaps it was those rascally boys ! " he
cried, abruptly.
" Boys! Did they play a joke on yer? They
wouldn't be above it, sir — they are as full of 'em
this term as ever, sir. How did you git out o'
the building — down that rope? "
" Ye-as. You see, the bed moved — or I thought
it did — and blocked the doorway, and I But
never mind, Lemond, don't say anything about this.
I'll go in." And the teacher started rapidly across
the campus. He was, of course, in his bare feet,
and was finding his pajamas anything but warm
in this frosty fall air.
" You can't get in that way, 'less you have a
key ! " called out Horsehair.
ii6 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" I have no key," and Job Haskers stopped
abruptly.
" I can let ye in the back way."
" That will do. Come, let us hurry — I am
getting cold."
The back door was gained, and Job Haskers
entered and felt his way up the semi-dark stairs.
As he reached the upper hallway he found himself
confronted by Doctor Clay, who had come in
rather late, and who had been on the point of re-
tiring when certain strange sounds had disturbed
him and caused him to start an investigation.
"Why, Mr. Haskers, where have you been?"
asked the doctor in astonishment. " I heard a
noise, but I did not know you were stirring."
" I — er — I imagined some of the students were
skylarking," faltered the assistant.
" Did you catch anybody? "
" No, sir, — they were too slick for me."
" This skylarking after hours must cease. Have
you any idea who they were? "
" Not — er — exactly. I had some trouble early
in the evening with Porter, Lawrence, and Morr,
and they may be the ones. If you please, I'll
take a look in their room."
" Do so, and if anything is wrong, have them
report to me in the morning," said Doctor Clay,
and retired once more to his room.
Moving swiftly through the hallway, Job
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS 117
Haskers reached his own room and threw open
the door. He made a light, and gazed around in
great perplexity. Everything was in perfect order
excepting the bedclothes, which were just as he
had left them. He walked slowly to the window
and drew in the rope that was used for a fire
escape.
" Strange ! Strange ! " he murmured to himself,
as he scratched his head. " I was sure the bed
moved. Can I have been dreaming after all? I
ate a rather heavy supper, and my digestion is
not as good as it used to be."
He put on his slippers and donned a dressing
gown, and thus arrayed sallied forth once more,
this time in the direction of the dormitory occupied
by Dave and his chums. He approached on tip-
toe and opened the door quickly and noise-
lessly.
But the students had had ample time in which
to get to bed, and every one was under covers
and apparently sleeping soundly. To make sure
they were not shamming, the teacher came in and
gazed at one after another closely. Then, with
a face that was a study, he left the dormitory
again and walked slowly to his own room.
" Is he gone? " asked a voice in the dormitory,
after a full minute of silence.
"Yes, Phil," answered Dave. "But don't
make any noise — he may come back."
ii8 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Say, that was the richest joke yet! " chuckled
Ben.
" How he must have looked, sliding down that
rope in his pajamas ! " exclaimed Sam.
" If I dared, I'd really send in a theme to-
morrow on ' Earthquakes,' " piped up Polly Vane.
" Do it, Polly; I dare you! " cried Macklin.
" I will — if you'll let me sign your name to it,"
answered the girlish student, but at this Chip shook
his head vigorously.
" I'll bet old Haskers is as mad as a hornet,"
was Phil's comment. " Well, it served him right,
for the way he treated us," he added.
" I guess we needn't go to the doctor to-morrow
with any complaint," said the senator's son. " We
have squared up."
" I'd like to know what Haskers really thinks
of the shaking up," said Dave. And then he
turned over to go to sleep, and the others did
likewise.
The feast and the fun had tired the boys out,
and the majority of them slept soundly until the
rising bell rang out. Dave was the first to kick
the covers aside and get up, but Ben followed
immediately.
" Grand day, Dave ! " cried Ben, running to the
window to gaze out. " What a fine day to go
nutting, if we could get away."
" Nothing but lessons to-day, Ben," answered
AN EARTHQUAKE FOR JOB HASKERS 119
Dave. He was bending down, looking under the
bed. "Has anybody seen my shoes?" he con-
tinued, looking from one to another.
" I haven't seen them," answered Roger. He
bent down to get out his own foot coverings.
" Hello, my shoes are gone, too! " he cried.
" So are mine ! " exclaimed Plum.
" And mine ! " came quickly from several of
the other boys.
" Did anybody put them in the closets? " asked
Dave.
" If they did, they are not here now," answered
Ben, who had entered one of the closets to look.
A hasty search was made, the boys looking into
every place they could think of, — but all to no
purpose. Every shoe, every boot, and every slip-
per belonging to them had disappeared.
CHAPTER XIII
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING
" WHAT do you think of it ? "
"Who took them?"
" We can't go downstairs in our bare feet."
Such were some of the remarks made, as the
lads of dormitories Nos. 1 1 and 12 looked at each
other. The closets had been searched thoroughly
but without success.
" See here, if anybody in these rooms hid those
shoes, I want to know it ! " demanded Sam, gazing
around sharply.
" I hardly think a fellow would hide his own
shoes, too," answered Luke.
" He might, — just to hide his own guilt."
" I believe this is the work of some outsider,"
declared Dave. " Most likely Nat Poole and his
crowd."
" By Jove, Dave, I believe you are right ! "
exclaimed Phil. " It would be just like them to
do it, if they got the chance."
"Did you say Nat Poole?" queried Shadow,
scratching his head thoughtfully.
120
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING 121
" I did. Most likely Nat heard of our feast,
and it made him extra sore to think we were hav-
ing a good time and he wasn't invited."
" That is true, and I guess " Shadow
stopped short, and a curious look crossed his face.
" What is it, Shadow? Do you know anything
of this? " asked Roger.
" Why, I — er — that is, I had a dream last
night," stammered the story-teller of the school.
" Or, maybe it wasn't a dream after all," he went
on, in confusion.
" See here, Shadow, have you been sleep-walking
again, and did you make off with our shoes?"
demanded Phil. He remembered only too well
how poor Shadow was addicted to walking in his
sleep, and how he had once walked off with a valu-
able collection of rare postage stamps belonging
to Doctor Clay.
" I — I don't think so," stammered Shadow, and
got as red as a beet. " But I had a queer dream.
I forgot about it at first, but now it comes back
to me. I somehow dreamed that somebody came
into this room and bent over me while I was in
bed, and then picked up something. I started
to stop him — and then I went sound asleep again."
" Who was the person? " questioned Polly Vane.
" I don't know."
" See here, Shadow, I'll wager a new necktie
that you walked off with our shoes ! " declared
122 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Sam. " And if you did, please be kind enough
to tell us where you put them."
"Oh, Sam! I really— I don't think I did!"
stammered the sleep-walker, in much confusion.
" The feast must have been too much for you,
and it set you to sleep-walking," said Roger.
" Now just see if you can't remember where you
went with the shoes."
" The whole bunch must have made quite a load
— all one fellow could carry," said Luke.
" Yes, and he'd have to put them in a box or
a sheet at that," added Plum.
" Try to think real hard," suggested Roger.
" If he did it, it is funny that he took his own
shoes, too," remarked Dave.
Poor Shadow was so confused he did not know
what to say or do. He sat on the edge of the bed
the picture of despair.
" I — I thought I was all over sleep-walking,"
he murmured. " The doctor at home was treat-
ing me all summer."
" One thing is certain — we can't stay up here
all morning," burst out the senator's son. " I'm
going to borrow a pair of shoes somewhere."
11 So am I," added Dave. " We'll hunt for the
missing shoes later on."
" Say ! " burst out Shadow, half desperately.
" You — you won't tell Doctor Clay about this,
will you ? "
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING 123
" Not if you did it without knowing it, Shadow,"
answered Dave, promptly.
" I won't say a word," answered Plum.
" I — I don't know if I did it or not," went on
Shadow, his face as red as ever. " I didn't know
I took those postage stamps and those class pins
that time. But if I did take 'em, — and we don't
find 'em — I'll buy new shoes for all hands, if it
takes every dollar I can scrape up."
The boys donned their clothing and then went
on a tour of some of the other dormitories. Thus
several borrowed shoes, while the others had to
be content with slippers and foot coverings usually
worn on the athletic field.
" Not very elegant," remarked Phil, as he gazed
at the slippers he had borrowed, " but ' any port
in a storm,' as the sailors say. I hope we get
our shoes back."
"So do I, Phil," returned Dave. "But if
Shadow went off with them he may have. gone a
long distance. Remember, he carried those post-
age stamps away up the river, and used a rowboat
to do it. Maybe he rowed off with our foot cover-
ings."
" He doesn't act as if he was tired — and he
would be tired if he went very far with the shoes.
Why, we didn't get to sleep until about one o'clock
or half-past.".
" I know that. It certainly is a mystery."
124 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
With several of the boys appearing at breakfast
wearing slippers the secret of what had happened
could not very well be kept, and it soon was whis-
pered around that Nos. 1 1 and 1 2 had been cleaned
out of shoes, boots, and slippers during the night,
and that Shadow was suspected of having walked
again in his sleep. His chums tried to hush the
matter up, yet enough was said to make the story-
teller of the school thoroughly uncomfortable.
" I'd give ten dollars to locate those shoes ! "
said Shadow to Dave, later on.
" So would I," answered Dave. " We can
make a hunt after school."
Half a dozen of the students joined in the search
for the missing foot coverings, and the lads looked
high and low, but without success.
" Only one place more that I know of," said
Dave. " That is the old granary."
" I don't think they can be there, but we can
look," said Shadow.
The old granary was a building located behind
some of the carriage sheds. It had once held
grain, but was now used for the storage of garden
implements. The lads found the door unlocked,
and pushing it open they entered and gazed around
in the semi-darkness.
" I don't see much that looks like shoes," re-
marked Roger.
" I'll strike a light," said Dave, and did so.
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING 125
The match flared up, and as it did so, several
uttered cries.
" There they are, over in the corner! "
" We have found them at last ! "
" Light a lantern and see," said Phil, and a
stable lantern was quickly procured and lit. Then
the boys worked their way around a mower and
a harrow and some other farming implements to
where they had seen the shoes.
"Sold!"
" These are a lot of old stuff thrown away
long ago I "
It was true — the shoes they had located were
worn out and covered with mildew. Shadow
kicked them savagely.
" What a sell — and just after I was sure we had
found them," he muttered.
Heavy at heart the students left the granary
and put away the lantern. They had exhausted
their resources, and walked back to the school in
a decidedly sober mood.
" Well, all I can offer is this: " said Shadow, at
last. " Each of you buy new shoes and slippers,
and turn the bills over to me — and I'll pay them
as quickly as I can."
" Don't you bother about my shoes, Shadow,"
said Dave, kindly. " I can get others easily
enough."
" So can I," added Roger and Phil,
126 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" But I would like to really know whether you
walked off with them in your sleep, or if this is
some trick of our rivals," continued Dave.
" You don't want to know any more than I do,"
declared the sleep-walker.
There seemed no help for it, and the next day
all the boys paid a visit to Oakdale and purchased
new shoes. They did not bother with slippers
or boots, thinking that sooner or later the missing
foot coverings would turn up. The shoe dealer
was all attention, for never before had he had such
a rush of trade.
Dave, Phil, and Roger got fitted first, and with
their purchases under their arms, they quitted the
shoe shop and strolled up the main street of the
town.
" There are some girls we know ! " cried the
senator's son, presently, and pointed across the
way. Coming in their direction were Mary
Feversham and Vera Rockwell, two girls who lived
in that vicinity, and who had come to the lads'
school entertainment the year before. Vera had
a brother with whom the senator's son was well
acquainted.
" Why, how do you do ! " cried Mary, as the
boys crossed the street and tipped their caps.
" So you are all back at school, eh ? "
" I thought you must be back," added Vera,
giving all a warm smile.
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING 127
" Yes, we are back," answered Dave. " How
have you been since we saw you last ? "
" Very well indeed," answered Vera. " And
how did you like it on the ranch ? We heard you
had turned into regular cowboys."
" Hardly that," said Dave. " But we went in
for bronco-busting, and rounding-up, and all
that."
" Somebody said you had some trouble with
cattle thieves," went on Vera.
" Oh, Vera, don't mention that! " cried Mary,
and blushed a little.
" Why shouldn't we? " demanded the other girl.
11 I don't believe those stories, and I think Mr.
Porter and his friends ought to know what is
being said."
" What is being said? " repeated Roger.
" Yes."
" Who is talking about us? " demanded Phil.
" Mr. Merwell, — the young man who used to
go to Oak Hall. He goes to Rockville Military
Academy now."
" And what did he say? " questioned Dave.
" Oh, he said a great many things — not to me
but to some girls I know. He said all of you had
gotten mixed up with some cattle thieves, and had
tried to get out of the trouble by blaming him, but
that he and his father had made you stop talking
about him."
" Well, if that doesn't take the cake ! " ex-
claimed Phil. " Isn't that Merwell to a T? "
" The shoe was on the other foot," explained
Roger. " Merwell was the one who was mixed
up in the affair, and he and his father had to pay
for a lot of horses that — well, disappeared. We
exposed him, and that is what made him mad."
" Did Mr. Merwell steal some horses? " asked
Vera, in alarm.
" Not exactly — according to his story," an-
swered Dave. " He says he took them in fun.
Then the regular cattle thieves took them from
him — and let him have some money. He claimed
that he was going to return the horses, but didn't
get the chance."
" And he and his father had to pay for the
horses in the end? "
" Yes, — they paid Mr. Endicott, the owner of
the ranch at which we were stopping."
" Then I guess Link Merwell was guilty," said
Mary. " And after this I don't want him to even
speak to me — he or that friend of his, Mr. Nick
Jasniff."
" You'll do well to steer clear of the pair,"
warned Roger.
" It is a shame that they are allowed to talk
about you as they do," said Vera. " If they keep
on, they will give you a very bad name."
" I don't believe folks in Rockville will believe
IN WHICH SOME SHOES ARE MISSING 129
much of what Jasniff says," said Phil. " They'll
remember his evil-doings of the past."
" He and Merwell seem to have made them-
selves popular at the Academy," was Mary's reply.
" How they have done it I don't know. But per-
haps they have money, or else "
The girl did not finish, for just then an automo-
bile swung around the corner and came to a halt
in front of a store near which the young people
had halted. The automobile contained Merwell,
Jasniff, and two other students of the Academy, all
attired in the cadet uniforms of that institution.
CHAPTER XIV
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL
ONE of the strange cadets was driving the auto-
mobile, and hardly had it come to a stop when
Merwell and Jasniff bounded out on the sidewalk,
directly in front of Dave and his friends.
" Why — er — hello ! " stammered Jasniff, and
then, recognizing the girls, he grinned broadly,
and tipped his cap.
"How do you do?" said Merwell, to Mary
and Vera, and at the same time ignoring Dave
and his chums.
The two girls stared in astonishment, for they
had not expected to see the very lads about whom
they had been conversing. But they quickly recov-
ered and turned their backs on the newcomers.
" What's the matter — don't you want to speak
to me?" demanded Jasniff, a sickly look over-
spreading his face.
" I assuredly do not, Mr. Jasniff," answered
Vera, stiffly.
" And I suppose you don't want to speak to
me either," came sourly from Link Merwell.
130
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 131
" You are right, Mr. Merwell — I do not."
" After this you will please us best by not recog-
nizing us," added Mary, coldly.
" Oh, I see how it is — these chaps have been
filling you up with stories about us ! " cried Mer-
well, roughly. " Well, if you want to believe them
you can do it. I don't care ! " And he turned
on his heel and entered a near-by store.
" Some day you'll wish you hadn't made such
friends of Porter & Company," said Jasniff, and
he glared defiantly at Dave and his chums. " May-
be you'll find that they are not just what you
thought they were," and having thus delivered
himself, he, too, entered the store. In the mean-
time the automobile had gone on along the street
to the post-office, where the two strange cadets went
in to see about mail.
" Say, I think I'll lay for Merwell and Jasniff
and " began Phil, when a warning pinch on
his arm from Dave caused him to break off.
There was an awkward pause, neither the boys
nor the girls knowing exactly what to say or do.
" Well, we must be going," said Vera. " I
promised to be home by dark."
" And I have some errands to do before I go
back," added Mary. " So we'll say good-
by."
" I hope we meet again," remarked Phil.
" Maybe we'll come to some of your football
132 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
games," ventured Vera. " I did so enjoy some
of those other games."
" We are not playing on the eleven this season,"
answered Dave. It gave him a little pang to make
the admission.
" Oh, is that so ! " Both of the girls gave the
boys a studied look. " Well, we must be going."
And then they hurried down the street, around
a corner, and out of sight.
" Fellows, we ought to lay for those chaps ! "
cried Roger, as soon as the chums were alone.
"Just what I was going to suggest," broke m
Phil.
11 What good will it do? " asked Dave. " We
can't make anything out of Merwell and Jasniff by
talking, and we don't want to start a fight."
" I'd like to duck 'em in a mud pond! " mut-
tered the shipowner's son. " It is what they de-
serve."
" They deserve tar and feathers ! " was Roger's
comment. " Why, in some places they'd be run
out of town. How they ever got into Rockville
Academy I can't understand."
" Money sometimes goes a great way," said
Dave. " They may have literally bought their
way in — that is, their parents may have done it
for them."
The three students had passed to the other side
of the street. Now they looked down the highway
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 133
and saw the automobile go around a corner in
the direction of Rockville. But the machine soon
came to a halt again, although they did not know
it.
" Well, I am going to lay them out for taking
that boat, anyway," said the senator's son.
" Ditto here," added Phil.
" Physically or mentally? " queried Dave, with
something of a smile.
" Both — if it's necessary," returned the ship-
owner's son, promptly. It was easy to see he was
spoiling for a fight.
" I am going to see what they are doing," said
Roger, after another minute had passed. " Maybe
they won't come out until they think we have gone
away."
He recrossed the street, and peered through one
of the show windows of the store. Then, of a
sudden, he made a rapid motion for his chums
to join him.
" They are going out by a back way! " he cried.
" The sneaks ! They intend to give us the slip I "
" They shan't do it! " exclaimed Phil. " Come
on ! " And he set off on a run, with the others
at his heels. They turned one corner and then
another, and soon reached an alleyway between
two houses located on a street behind the store.
Here they plumped squarely into Merwell and
Jasniff, each with a bundle under his arm.
134 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
"So this is the way you sneak away, eh?"
demanded Phil.
" Sneak away ! " blustered Merwell. " Not at
all — we were only taking a short cut; ain't that
so, Nick?"
u Sure," answered Jasniff, loudly. " We don't
have to sneak away from anybody."
" We've a good mind to give you both a sound
thrashing," cried Phil, angrily. " You had no
business to touch our boat."
" And you had no business to talk about us to
Miss Feversham and Miss Rockwell," added the
senator's son.
" See here, you let us pass ! " muttered Merwell.
" Don't you dare to lay your fingers on us ! " And
he tried to edge to one side.
" See here, both of you," said Dave, sternly.
" I want to give you a final warning. You have
been talking about us; I know it, and it is useless
for you to deny it. Now I want you to under-
stand this: If you say another word against me,
or against Phil or Roger, I'll see to it that you
are exposed to every student at Rockville Acad-
emy."
" You won't dare ! " cried Jasniff. His voice
trembled a little as he spoke.
" I will dare, Nick Jasniff. I know what you
are — and I know what Link Merwell is — and I
don't propose to stand any more of your under-
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 135
handed work. Now you have your last warning,
— and if you are wise you'll heed it."
"Say, do you want to fight?" roared Jasniff,
coming forward, and sticking his chin close to
Dave's face.
" I can defend myself, Jasniff, — even when a
fellow tried to take a foul advantage of me, as
you did that time in the gym."
" Bah ! Always ringing that in. I only swung
the Indian club to scare you. I can fight with my
fists."
" Well, remember what I said, Jasniff. It's
my last warning."
" Oh, come on — they make me sick ! " cried
Link Merwell, a certain nervous tremor in his
voice. " We don't want to listen to their hot
air! " And plucking his crony by the arm he
hurried out of the alleyway into the street.
" Shall we let 'em go, Dave? " whispered Phil.
" I'd just as soon pound 'em good."
" If we did that, Phil, they'd claim we were
three to two and took an unfair advantage of
them. Let them go. They have their final warn-
ing, and if they don't heed it — well, they will have
to take the consequences."
" I could hardly keep my hands off of
Merwell."
" I felt the same way," said Roger. " He de-
serves all we could give him."
136 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
The three chums watched Merwell and Jasniff
turn another corner. They expected to see the
pair walk to where the automobile was standing,
but instead noted that the two cadets entered the
Oakdale Hotel.
" Must be going to see somebody," suggested
Phil.
" Or else they have gone in to smoke and drink
and play pool," added Roger. " You'll remem-
ber Merwell liked to drink. He was the one who
did his best to lead Gus Plum astray."
" Yes, I remember that," answered Dave. " I
am mighty glad Gus and he are keeping
apart."
The three students walked past the hotel, and
looking in at an open window, saw Jasniff and
Merwell talking to a man who sat in the reading
room with a newspaper in his hands.
"Why, that is that Hooker Montgomery!"
exclaimed Roger. " The fake doctor who sells
those patent medicines."
" We'd better not let him see us, or he'll be
wanting a new silk hat from us," murmured Phil.
And he grinned as he thought of what had occurred
on the road on the day of their arrival at Oak
Hall.
" I wonder if Jasniff met him at Dunn's on the
river?" said Dave. "That is what the letter
requested, you'll remember."
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 137
" Wonder what business Jasniff was to aid him
in? " queried the shipowner's son.
" Maybe Jasniff is going to help him to dispose
of some of his marvelous remedies," suggested
Roger. " I reckon he could give the ignorant
farmers as good a talk about them as Montgomery
himself."
" More than likely, since Montgomery is a very
ignorant man," answered Dave.
" The other fellows ought to be ready to go
back to school by this time," said the senator's
son, after watching those in the hotel for a minute.
" Let us hunt them up ; " and thus, for the time
being, Jasniff, Merwell, and Doctor Montgomery
were dismissed from their minds. The meeting
at the hotel was an important one to our friends
as well as to those who participated, but how im-
portant Dave and his chums did not learn until
long afterwards.
It was a comical sight to see the boys of dormi-
tories Nos. ii and 12 walking back to the Hall,
each with a shoe box under his arm. Sam Day led
the procession, carrying his box up against his
forearm, like a sword.
" Shoulder boxes! " he shouted, gayly. " For-
ward march!" And then he added: "Boom!
boom ! boom, boom, boom ! " in imitation of a
bass-drum.
" We've got boxes enough to last us for a year
138 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
of picnics," cried Ben, for in Crumville, as in many
other places, shoe boxes were frequently used for
packing up picnic lunches.
" Say, that puts me in mind of a story 1 " put
in Shadow, eagerly. " A girl who was going to
get married had a shower, as they call 'em. Well,
a wag of the town — maybe he was sore because
he couldn't marry the girl himself — told all his
friends, in private, that she was very anxious to
get a nice bread-box. The shower was to be a
surprise, and it was, too, for when it came off the
girl got exactly eleven bread-boxes."
" Oh ! " came in a groan. " The worst yet."
" Not so bad," said Dave, dryly. " If she
filled the boxes the married pair must have proved
a well-bred couple."
" Hark to that I " roared Phil. " Say, Dave,
go and take a roll ! "
" When it comes to a joke, Dave is the flower
of this flock," was Luke's comment.
" Anyway, he takes the cake," murmured Ben.
" Ben, say something; don't loaf on the job,"
came from the senator's son.
" A joke like that is pie for Roger," murmured
Polly Vane.
" Even so, nobody has a right to get crusty,"
murmured Plum.
" Or pious ! " continued Dave, and then Shadow
made a pass for him with a shoe box. Then Roger
WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 139
started to run, and the others came after him,
and away they went in a merry bunch, along the
road leading to Oak Hall. Soon they came out
at a point where the highway ran along the
Leming River, and there halted to rest, for the
run had deprived some of them of their wind.
" I hear a motor-boat," said Roger. " Wonder
if it is Nat Poole's craft? "
" It is ! " answered Plum. " Here he comes,
right close to shore ! "
The river was a good fifteen feet below the level
of the roadway, and gazing down through the
bushes lining the water's edge, the students beheld
Nat Poole's motor-boat gliding along in a zig-zag
fashion. Nat was not in the craft, which was
evidently running without an occupant.
CHAPTER XV
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT
" WHAT do you make of that? "
" The motor-boat must have run away from
Nat!"
" Either that or Nat has fallen overboard ! "
" Maybe Nat has been drowned! "
These and other remarks were made, as the
boys on the highway gazed down at the craft that
was speeding along in such an erratic fashion over
the surface of the river. A closer look confirmed
their first opinion, that nobody was on board.
" I'm going to try to stop her ! " shouted Dave,
arid ran back along the highway, and disappeared
into the bushes. Roger followed him closely, and
some of the others trailed behind.
" I am going up the river — to see if I can find
Nat! " shouted Phil, and away he sped, and Sam
and Ben went along.
It was no easy matter for Dave to work his way
down the bank of the stream. The bushes were
thick and the footing uncertain, and once his jacket
caught on a root and he had to pause to free
140
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT 141
himself. But at last he came out on a narrow
strip of rocks and sand, at a point where the
Leming River made a broad turn.
The water at this point was quite shallow, and
here he thought the progress of the motor-boat
would be stayed. His surmise was correct, the
craft bringing up between several smooth rocks.
The engine continued to work, pounding the boat
back and forth, and threatening to sink her.
Fortunately, Dave had on a pair of gaiters he
had borrowed, and they were so big that he
slipped them off with ease. His socks followed,
and then he rolled up his trousers to his knees, and
waded into the stream.
" Be careful, or you'll slip and hurt yourself on
the rocks ! " sang out the senator's son.
" I'm watching out ! " returned Dave.
He was leaping from one smooth stone to an-
other, keeping in the shallow spots as much as
possible. Thus he managed to get within a few
yards of the motor-boat.
As he came closer he saw that the craft was
pounding on the rocks worse than before. The
pounding had in some way moved the gaso-
line control forward and also advanced the
spark, and the engine was practically running
" wild."
" I hope she isn't getting ready to blow up! "
thought the youth, and he gazed anxiously ahead.
H2 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Smoke was issuing from the motor-boat, coming
from some over-heated oil.
He leaped to the next high rock, and then
plunged boldly forward, soon gaining the bow of
the craft. At the stern the propeller was churn-
ing the water into a white foam. The craft was
trembling violently, and the hum of the machinery
gave full evidence of the power it was exerting.
Fortunately, Dave's knowledge of gasoline en-
gines now stood him in good stead, and without
the loss of a second he turned off the supply of
gasoline and the electric spark, and thus allowed
the engine to u die." As the propeller slowed
up and stopped, the water behind the craft calmed
down, and then the pounding on the rocks was
reduced to a gentle rub that did little but scratch
the paint.
"Is she all right, Dave?" called out Roger,
who stood on the rocks of the bank watching
proceedings with great interest.
" I think so, although it hasn't done the engine
any good to run wild. She's pretty well heated
up, and the cylinders may be carbonized, or some-
thing like that."
" What are you going to do — try to run her
inhere?"
" No, I'll not take the risk. I only wanted
to stop the engine and get rid of the risk of the
boat blowing up."
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT 143
" You ran a big risk doing it. She looked to
me as if she might go up any instant."
" She can't get out of here — the current holds
her," went on Dave. " She will be perfectly safe
until Nat comes for her. I'd like to know where
he is."
" Phil and some of the others went off to see."
To save the boat as much as possible, Dave
took two of the wooden gratings of the flooring
and tied them to ropes hanging over the sides. In
this position they acted as fenders, so that the
rocks rubbed against the gratings instead of the
boat proper.
" I am afraid he'll have quite a job of it, get-
ting her out into the stream," said Dave, on coming
ashore, and when he was putting on his socks
and the gaiters. " She'll have to back out against
the current and do a lot of turning."
" Maybe he'll have to get somebody to tow him
out, — with a very long line," returned Roger.
" If only Nat didn't fall overboard," said Dave.
In the meantime, Phil and some of the others
had run up the stream a distance. As they turned
a point where there were several small islands
the shipowner's son set up a shout.
" There is Nat now ! "
" Whatever is he doing? " queried Ben.
" Swimming ashore, or trying to wade," an-
swered Sam.
144 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
The boys on the shore came down to the water's
edge and watched Nat Poole with interest. He
was floundering around in water up to his waist.
Sometimes he would come up on a rock, and then
slip and pitch headlong. But he kept on, until
he was but a few yards away.
"Hi, Nat! what's the matter?" called out
Phil. " Did you fall overboard? "
" Hel — help me ! " chattered the unfortunate
one, and now the others realized that he was
suffering greatly from the cold. " Don — don't
let m — me — g-g-g — go down I "
" We'll help you ! " answered Phil, promptly,
and ran out on some dry rocks to a point close
to poor Nat. " Come, give me your hand and
I'll pull you up."
" So will I," added Ben, who had come behind
the shipowner's son.
The suffering youth was only too glad to have
somebody come to his aid, and he put up both
hands, and those on the rocks hauled him up
and then aided him to get to a safe spot on
shore. He was shivering from head to feet,
and his teeth chattered so that he could hardly
speak.
" I wa — want t-t-to get where it is wa-wa-
warm ! " chattered Nat. " That wa — water is li —
like i-i-i-ice ! "
" Take off your wet coat," said Phil, kindly.
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT 145
" Here, you can have mine. I've got a sweater
on." And he passed over the garment.
Nat was glad enough to don something dry, and
the exchange was quickly made.
" If you'll take my advice, you'll make a run
of it to the nearest farmhouse and warm up," said
Ben. " If you don't you may take your death
of cold."
" I — I wi — will," answered Nat.
" I'll go with you. There is a farmhouse just
down the road a bit."
" We'll go back to where we left Dave and
the others," said Phil. " They were after your
boat," he explained.
" Did th — they st — stop h-h-her? "
" I don't know. We saw her, in the river,
running wild. How did it happen? "
" I was fi — fixing the rudder li — line at the
st — st — stern when all of a su — sudden we hit a
r — r — rock or something and I we — went over-
board," answered Nat. " Before I co-could g-g-
get back the b-b-boat got away from m-m-me."
" Dave and some others went after the boat.
We saw it running by itself, among the rocks."
Nat was too cold to pay attention just then to
what had become of his property. He ran as fast
as he could to the farmhouse, and there was taken
in and allowed to dry himself in front of the fire,
and was given a cup of hot tea. In the meantime
Phil rejoined Dave and Roger, and told how the
money-lender's son had been found.
It was after the supper-hour when all of the
boys got back to Oak Hall, and Job Haskers was
on the point of reading them a lecture and forcing
them to do without supper when Doctor Clay
appeared. To the master of the school the lads
related their story, and he at once excused them for
their tardiness, and told them to go directly to
the dining-room, while he ordered Lemond to
get out the school coach and go after Nat.
" Poole can be glad he was not drowned," said
the doctor. " It was nice of you to stop the engine
of his boat. But after this I want all of you
to be more careful. I do not want to lose any
of my boys I " And the look he gave them went
to the heart of every lad present.
" What a difference between him and old
Haskers ! " murmured Phil.
" I'd give as much as a dollar to have Haskers
leave," added Sam.
" I reckon every fellow in the school would
chip in a dollar for that," was Plum's comment.
When Nat got in he was sent at once to his
room, to change all of his clothes, and was then
given a hot supper, which made him feel quite like
himself. Later on he questioned Dave about the
motor-boat, and said he would try to get the craft
from among the rocks the next day, hiring a pro-
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT 147
fessional boatman to assist him. He did not
thank Dave for his aid, nor did he thank Phil
and the others.
" I guess it isn't in him to thank anybody," was
Ben's comment. " Nat is one of the kind who
thinks only of himself."
" He will have a hard time of it, getting his
boat," said Dave, and so it proved. It took half
a day to get the craft from among the rocks, and
then it was found that she leaked so badly she
had to be sent to a boat-builder for repairs.
That Saturday was the day scheduled for the
football game with Lemington. As Nat could not
take the eleven to that town in his motor-boat, as
promised, the school carryall was pressed into
service. This made some of the other students,
who had arranged to go in the carryall, find other
means of conveyance, and there was considerable
grumbling.
" Poole said he would take 'em in the motor-
boat," growled one student. " He ought to
have seen to it that his boat was repaired on
time."
The Old Guard football eleven all had bicycles
or motor-cycles, and they went to the Lemington
Athletic Grounds in a body on their wheels. All
carried the school colors, and many also had horns
and rattles.
" We'll show 'em that we can root for Oak
148 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Hall even if we are not on the eleven ! " declared
Dave.
Job Haskers took but little interest in athletics,
declaring he thought too much time was wasted
over field sports, but Andrew Dale was keenly
alive to what was going on. He knew all about
the trouble in the football organization, and he
watched the departure of Dave and his chums with
interest.
" Aren't you going, Mr. Dale ? " asked Dave.
" Oh, yes, I am going in the carriage with
Doctor Clay. Do you think we shall win, Por-
ter?"
" We'll win if rooting can do it! " cried Dave.
" Then you intend to ' root,' as you call it? "
" Yes, sir — we are going to root for all we are
worth."
" I am glad to know it," answered Andrew
Dale; and then he turned away to attend to some
school duties. Later on, when he and the doctor
were on the way to the game, he mentioned the
trouble in the football club, and told how Dave and
his chums had been left out in the cold, and how
Dave and the others were now going to cheer for
and encourage the school eleven.
" Fine ! Grand ! " murmured the master of the
school, his eye lighting up with pleasure. " That
is the proper school spirit ! It does Porter, Morr,
and the others great credit."
A RUNAWAY MOTOR-BOAT 149
" Exactly what I think, Doctor," answered the
first assistant. " Many players would have re-
mained away altogether, or gone to the game to
throw cold water on the efforts of those on the
gridiron. It shows a manliness that cannot be
excelled."
" Yes ! yes ! " murmured Doctor Clay. " A
fine lot of boys, truly! A fine lot! It seems a
pity they were forced off the team."
" Perhaps they'll be back — before the football
season is over," answered Andrew Dale, gravely.
" What do you mean, Dale? "
" Perhaps the football eleven will need them
and be glad to get them back."
CHAPTER XVI
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON
WHEN Dave and his chums reached the athletic
grounds they found the grandstand and the
bleachers about half filled with people. The Lem-
ington contingent had a good number of rooters,
and they were already filling the air with their
cries of encouragement. The boys looked around,
but saw nothing of Vera Rockwell or Mary Fever-
sham.
" Maybe they didn't think it worth while to
come," suggested the senator's son.
" No Rockville fellows here, either," said Phil.
" They play an eleven from Elmwood this after-
noon."
The Lemington players were already on the
field, and it was seen that they were rather light
in weight, only the full-back being of good size.
" Our eleven has the advantage in weight," said
Roger. " But I rather fancy those fellows are
swift."
" Yes, and they may be tricky," added Ben.
As soon as Dave and his chums were seated,
150
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON 151
Dave gave the signal, and the Oak Hall cheer was
given. Then followed another cheer for the
school eleven, with a tooting of horns and a clack-
ing of wooden rattles.
" Mercy ! but those Oak Hall students can
make a noise ! " exclaimed one girl, sitting close
by.
" That is what they call ' rooting' ! " answered
her friend. " Isn't it lovely ! "
" Perfectly delicious ! They ought to win, if
they shout like that! "
Guy Frapley heard the racket, and walked over
to the spot from whence it proceeded. He was
astonished beyond measure to see Dave leading
off, yelling at the top of his lungs, and waving a
rattle in one hand and the school colors in the
other.
"What do you think of that? " he asked, of
Nat Poole.
" Oh, Porter and his crowd want to make out
they don't feel stung over being out of it,"
grumbled Nat.
" But they are rooting harder than anybody."
" They'll be glad to see us lose."
" We are not going to lose."
" I didn't say we were," answered Nat, and
walked away. Somehow, it made him angry to
see Dave and his chums cheering, and in such an
earnest manner. He would have been better sat-
152 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
isfied had Dave acted grouchy or stayed away
from the game.
The game was to be of two halves, of thirty
minutes each, with ten minutes intermission. Oak
Hall won the toss-up, and as there was no wind
and no choice of goals, they kept the ball, and
Lemington took the south end of the gridiron.
" Now, then, here is where Oak Hall wins 1 "
cried Dave, loudly. " Do your level best, fel-
lows!"
" Shove her over the line, first thing! " added
Roger.
" Oak Hall ! Oak Hall ! " yelled Phil. " Now
then, all together in the game ! "
Under the inspiration of the cheering, Oak Hall
made a fine kick-off, and by some spirited work
carried the pigskin well down into the Lemington
territory. But then the ball was lost by Nat
Poole, and the opposing eleven brought it back
to the center of the gridiron, and then rushed it
up to the thirty-yard line of the school.
" That's the way to do it ! " yelled a Lemington
supporter. "You've got 'em going! "
" Send it back! " yelled Dave. " All together,
for Oak Hall ! " And this cry was taken up by
a hundred throats.
Guy Frapley got the ball, a minute later, and
made a really fine run around the Lemington left
end. This brought the pigskin again to center,
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON 153
and there it remained for nearly five minutes, the
downs on both sides availing little or nothing. A
scrimmage followed, in which one Lemington
player was injured, and he accused one of the Oak
Hall fellows, a new player named Bemis, of foul
play. This protest was sustained, and Bemis was
retired and another new player named Cardell was
substituted.
" Five minutes more ! " was the cry, and again
both elevens went at it. Dave suddenly saw the
captain of the Lemingtons make a certain sign to
some of his men.
" They are up to some trick! " he cried to his
chums, and hardly had he spoken when the ball
went into play, through center and across to the
left end. It was picked up like a flash, passed
to the quarter-back, who was on the watch for it,
and carried toward the Oak Hall line with a rush.
" A touchdown for Lemington ! "
" That's the way to do it ! "
" Now, Higgins, make it a goal ! "
Amid a wild cheering, the pigskin was brought
out for the kick, and the goal was made.
" That's the way to do it ! "
" Now for another touchdown 1 "
Again the pigskin was brought into play. But
while it was still near the center of the field the
whistle blew and the first half of the game came
to an end.
154 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Score : Lemington 6, Oak Hall o.
It must be confessed that it was a sorry-looking
eleven that straggled into the Oak Hall dressing-
room to discuss the situation.
" You want more snap ! " cried John Rand, the
manager.
" They put up a trick on us ! " grumbled Nat.
" They got that touchdown by a fluke."
" Well, I wish we could make one in the same
way," retorted Rand. Since being elected man-
ager, he had had anything but an easy task of it
to make the eleven pull together. Some of the old
players wanted Dave, Roger, Phil, and the others
back, and threatened to leave unless a change was
made.
" This looks as if Oak Hall was out of it," whis-
pered Phil to his chums, during the intermission.
"Oh, I don't know," returned Dave. "A
touchdown and a goal isn't such a wonderful lead."
At the beginning of the second half it was seen
that Guy Frapley and his fellow-players were de-
termined to do something if they could. But they
were excited and wild, and the captain could do
little to hold them in. Several times they got con-
fused on the signals, and once one of the new ends
lost the ball on a fumble that looked almost child-
ish. Inside of ten minutes, amid a mad yelling
from the Lemington supporters, the ball was forced
over the Oak Hall line for another touchdown,
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON 155
and another goal was kicked. Then, five minutes
later, came a goal from the field.
" Hurrah! That's the way to do it! " yelled
a Lemington supporter.
"Fifteen to nothing!" cried another. "Thought
Oak Hall knew how to play football ! "
" They ought to play some primary school
kids!"
" You shut up ! " screamed Nat Poole, in sudden
rage. " We know what we are doing! "
' You ought to be an ice-man, — you're slow
enough," retorted the Lemingtonite, and this
brought forth a laugh, and made Nat madder than
ever.
Again the ball was placed in play, and this time
Oak Hall did all it could to hold its own. But
it was of no avail. Lemington carried the air of
victory with it, and its confidence could not be
withstood. Again the ball was shoved over the
line for a touchdown, and again the goal was
kicked, amid a cheering that was deafening.
" It's a slaughter ! " murmured Roger.
" I am afraid so," answered Dave. " Too bad !
I am sorry for the school ! "
" So am I," said the senator's son, and Phil
and Ben nodded gravely.
The last five minutes of the game only served
to " rub it in," as Shadow expressed it, for Lem-
ington scored again, this time, however, failing to
156 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
kick the goal. When the whistle blew the pigskin
was on the Oak Hall twenty-five yard line.
Final score: Lemington 26, Oak Hall o.
It is perhaps needless to state that the local sup-
porters yelled and cheered, and blew their horns,
and clacked their rattles until they were exhausted.
It was a great victory, for in the past Oak Hall had
been a formidable rival on the gridiron. The
eleven cheered for Oak Hall, and were cheered in
return; and then the visitors got out of sight as
quickly as possible.
" A bitter defeat truly," said Doctor Clay, while
driving back to the school. " Our boys did not
seem to play together at all."
" It was very ragged work," answered Andrew
Dale. " But it is no more than I expected, from
what I saw in the practice games. Our eleven
will be able to do but little unless it improves
wonderfully."
" I believe you, Dale. Don't you — ah — think
they would do better if Porter and Morr and Law-
rence were in the line-up? "
" I certainly do. But they have been voted out,
so I was told."
11 Ahem ! " Doctor Clay grew thoughtful.
"What does Mr. Dodsworth think about it?"
The party he mentioned was the gymnastic teacher,
who took quite an interest in football, although not
officially.
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON 157
" He thinks Porter, Morr, Lawrence, and Plum
ought to be put back on the eleven. He says it is
a shame that they were put off in the first place."
" I believe our school is to play Rockville Acad-
emy next."
" Yes, and I just got a message over the tele-
phone that Rockville won from Elmwood this
afternoon, twelve to four. I know Elmwood has
a strong eleven, so Rockville must be extra good
this season."
"Exactly so; and that means, if our eleven is
not greatly strengthened before we meet Rockville,
we shall suffer another defeat," responded the mas-
ter of Oak Hall, rubbing his chin reflectively.
" More than likely, sir."
" Too bad 1 In these days some folks think
football and baseball quite as important — ahem ! —
as — er — some studies. It is a wrong idea, as-
suredly,— yet I — ahem ! — I think it would be a very
good thing if we could show the world that our
students can play football as well as do other
things."
" Football is a great thing at Yale, Harvard,
and Princeton, Doctor."
" Yes, indeed ! I remember well how I used to
witness those stirring games, and how I would
yell with the rest. Why, Dale, one year we had
a quarter-back that was a corker. They couldn't
stop him I He got the pigskin and skinned down
158 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
the field like a blue streak, and — but, ahem ! that
is past history now," finished the doctor, bringing
himself back to his usual dignity. " But I must
look into this football matter more closely," he
added with a speculative sigh.
Poole, Frapley, and their crowd had arranged
for a banquet that night, and many others of Oak
Hall had gathered boxes and barrels for bonfires.
The banquet was a tame affair, and not a single
fire was lighted.
" We are having frost early this year," said
Luke, dryly.
" Yes, it came on suddenly, this afternoon,"
added Shadow.
" I'll wager you will hear something drop in
the football team before long," went on Luke.
" The school won't stand for such work as we
had to-day."
"Who is to blame?"
" Rand, Frapley, Bemis, and Nat Poole."
" Then they better resign."
" Just what I say."
During the evening the talk throughout the
school was largely about the game, and nearly
every player was severely criticised. It was agreed
that Bemis had acted in a thoroughly unsportsman-
like manner, and he was told that he would have
to resign, and he agreed to do so. It was also
agreed by the students generally that of the
A STRUGGLE ON THE GRIDIRON 159
new players, Guy Frapley had done the best
work.
" Give him proper support and he would be all
right," said Dave. " But, in my opinion, the
eleven as it now stands will never win a victory."
" And that is what I think, too," added Roger.
CHAPTER XVII
REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN
ON Monday morning the students of Oak Hall
were treated to a surprise. Directly after chapel
service Doctor Clay came forward to make an
address. He first spoke about the good work that
the pupils were, generally speaking, doing, and
then branched off about the football game, and the
poor exhibition made on the gridiron.
" In the past I have not thought it proper for
the head of this institution to take part in your
football and baseball games, contenting myself
with giving you an instructor in the gymnasium
alone," he continued. " But I find that these
sports now play a more or less prominent part
in all boarding schools and colleges, and that being
so, I have thought it wise to embrace all field sports
in the gymnasium department. Consequently,
from to-day your football elevens, your baseball
nines, and your track athletics, and in fact all your
sports, will be held under the supervision and
direction of Mr. Dodsworth, your gymnasium in-
structor. He will be assisted by Mr. Dale, who,
160
REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN 161
as you all know, was once a leading college football
and baseball player. These two gentlemen will
aid you in reorganizing your football eleven, and
will do all in their power to give to Oak Hall
the victories you all desire."
This announcement came as a bombshell to
Rand, Frapley, Poole, and their cohorts, and it
was equally surprising to all of the others who
had played on the eleven.
" That means a shaking-up for us all right,"
said one of the players. " I can see somebody
getting fired already."
" Do you suppose they intend to take the man-
agement away from me and Rand?" demanded
Frapley. " I don't think that is fair. Rand was
made manager by a popular vote."
" If they want me to resign, I'll do it," snapped
the manager. He had been so severely criticised
that he was growing tired of it.
" It's a shame that we can't run our club to
suit ourselves," grumbled Nat Poole. " If the
teachers are going to do it, maybe they had better
do the playing too."
" Well, they'd play a heap sight better than
you did, Nat," was the remark of another stu-
dent.
Doctor Clay's announcement created such a stir
that the students could think of little else during
the day. All felt that from henceforth football,
i6a DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
baseball, and track athletics would become a reg-
ular part of the institution.
In the afternoon a notice was posted up in the
Hall and in the gymnasium, calling a special meet-
ing of all who were interested in the football
organization. The meeting was called for Tues-
day afternoon at four o'clock, and the call was
signed by Mr. Dodsworth and Mr. Dale.
" They are not going to let any grass grow under
their feet," remarked the senator's son, as he and
Dave read the notice.
" Shall you go to the meeting, Roger? "
" Of course. And you must go, too, Dave.
I know Mr. Dale and Mr. Dodsworth want all
the fellows to be there."
Following the posting of the notice came word
that Rand had resigned the management of the
eleven, and then came another notice calling for
the election of a new manager.
" Let us put up Henry Fordham again," sug-
gested Phil. " That is, if he is willing to run."
The football meeting was attended by nearly
every student of Oak Hall, the gymnasium meet-
ing room being literally packed. The only youth
who was absent was John Rand.
Mr. Dale called the meeting to order, and made
a neat speech, in which he advised the lads to
act soberly and accordingly to their best judgment.
He said the football game with Lemington had
REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN 163
proved a great disappointment, and he sincerely
trusted that the reorganized eleven would be able
to lead the school to nothing but victories. He
added that as Rand had resigned, they would first
proceed to the election of a new manager, and then
the rearranging of the eleven would be begun
under the direction of Mr. Dodsworth and him-
self.
The teacher had scarcely finished his speech
when Guy Frapley was on his feet.
" Mr. Dale, I wish to say something," he almost
shouted. " As everybody here knows, I am the
captain of the football eleven. What I want to
know is, whether I am to be the captain of the
eleven or not. If I am to be nothing but a figure-
head, why, I'd rather get out."
It was an aggressive, almost brutal, manner of
expressing himself, and it produced an uproar.
"Put him out!"
" Make him resign ! "
" Tell him he has got to behave himself and
make good ! "
" Boys ! Young gentlemen ! We must have
quietness ! " cried Andrew Dale, raising his hand.
And then he rapped for order.
" I'll resign! " shouted Guy Frapley, when he
could be heard. " I don't want anything more to
do with the old team, anyway ! " And in a rage
he forced his way out of the gymnasium. Several
164 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
of his friends tried to get him to return, but
without avail.
The departure of Frapley brought about a sem-
blance of order, and presently the gymnasium in-
structor got up to talk. What he said was directly
to the point. He said that he had prepared a list
of names of former football players of Oak Hall,
with a record of the work of each individual. This
list would be used in making up the reorganized
team.
" That's the talk ! " cried one student. " That's
the common-sense way of going at it."
" Merit is what counts every time," added an-
other.
When a vote was taken for a new manager,
Henry Fordham was elected almost unanimously.
In accepting, the new manager stated that he was
glad he was going to have the assistance of Mr.
Dale and Mr. Dodsworth, and he hoped that
from now on the club would pull together and
pile up nothing but victories. This speech was
well received and loudly applauded.
Then the list of football players of past seasons
was read. Dave was placed at the top of the
list, with Phil, Plum, Roger, and Sam following
in the order named. Nat Poole's name was six-
teenth, much to his disgust.
" I suppose that means that I can't play on the
eleven," he growled.
REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN 165
" You may become a substitute," answered Mr.
Dodsworth.
" Not much ! If I can't play on the eleven, I
know what I'll do — I'll pack my trunk and go
home!"
" Do it right away! " shouted a voice from the
rear of the room.
1 You'll never be missed, Poole," added an-
other.
" All right, I'll leave ! " shouted Poole, purple
with rage, and then he left the meeting as abruptly
as Guy Frapley had done. At the door he shook
his fist at the crowd. " You just wait — I'll fix Oak
Hall for this ! " he added, sourly.
" How foolish ! " murmured Luke. " Nat will
never make any friends by acting like that."
"Do you think he'll leave Oak Hall?" ques-
tioned another boy.
" Perhaps, — if his father will let him."
Following the departure of Nat Poole came the
reorganizing of the football eleven. Dave was
placed in the position he had occupied the year
before, and Phil, Roger, Sam, and Plum followed.
Of those who had played against Lemington only
five were retained — those who had been on the
eleven one and two years previous. All the other
players were told they would have to enter the
scrub team, for a try-out for the substitute bench.
It filled Dave's heart with pleasure to get back
1 66 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
in his old position. He was unanimously chosen
as captain of the eleven, and he called for some
practice every afternoon that week, — a call that
was indorsed by Mr. Dodsworth, Mr. Dale, and
the new manager.
" We have got to get right down to business —
if we want to beat Rockville," said Dave, to the
others. " I understand they put up a stiff game
with Elmwood. If we are beaten, all the fellows
who were put off the eleven will have the laugh
on us."
" We'll do our best," cried the senator's son.
" It's a good thing we organized the Old
Guard," said Phil. " That kept us in fine con-
dition."
Practice commenced in earnest the next day, and
was kept up every afternoon, under the super-
vision of Mr. Dale and the gymnasium instructor.
Mr. Dodsworth perfected the eleven in signal
work, and Andrew Dale showed them how to work
several trick plays used effectively by the college
he had attended.
Many of the students wondered what Guy
Frapley, Nat Poole, and John Rand would do.
On the day following the reorganization of the
football eleven, all three students sent telegrams
to their parents, and received replies the next day.
Rand and Frapley left Oak Hall, and announced
that they were going to Rockville Military Acad-
1 67
emy. Nat Poole had wanted to go, too, but Aaron
Poole would not permit it, for the reason that he
had paid for Nat's board and tuition in advance,
and he was not the man to sacrifice one cent by
such a move. Later on he wrote a letter, stating
that he didn't believe in any such foolishness as
football anyway, and Nat had better settle down
to his studies and get some good of the money
that was being spent on him. This letter angered
Nat exceedingly, but he could do nothing without
his parent's consent, and so he settled down as
best he could.
" I shouldn't wonder if Rand and Frapley be-
come cronies of Merwell and Jasniff," said Dave
to Phil. And so it proved, — the four became quite
intimate, and all of them vowed that sooner or
later they would " settle accounts " with Dave for
the trouble he and his chums had caused them.
The ringleader of the four was Nick Jasniff, and
he resolved to do something that would put Dave
in the deepest kind of disgrace. Not to expose
himself, he matured his plans slowly and with
great caution.
Although Dave was doing all in his power to
make the football eleven a good one, he was not
permitted to devote all his spare time to that
organization. Oak Hall, as my old readers know,
boasted of a secret organization known as the Gee
Eyes, those words standing for the initials G and
168 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
I, which in their turn stood for the words Guess
It. Dave and his chums were all members of this
society, which was kept up mainly for the fun of
initiating new members.
" The Gee Eyes meet to-night, Dave," said
Buster Beggs on Friday morning. " Big affair —
initiation of six new members. You must be on
hand."
" I think I had better go to bed — so as to be in
good trim for the football game," answered Dave.
" Oh, no, you must come ! " pleaded Buster.
" Phil and Roger, and all the old crowd have
promised to be there."
" Well, I'll be on hand if you'll promise not
to keep us out after twelve o'clock, Buster. The
eleven has got to get its sleep, remember that."
" All right, we'll try to cut it short," answered
Buster Beggs, who, this term, was the leader of
the society, or Right Honorable Muck-a-Muck,
as he was called.
" What are you going to do? " questioned Dave.
" That's a secret, Dave. But it will make you
laugh. We are going to initiate the whole six at
one time."
" Very well, I'll be there."
" One thing more, Dave," went on Buster, in
a low voice. " Keep this from Nat Poole."
" But he is a member," urged Dave. " He has
a right to know."
REORGANIZING THE ELEVEN 169
"If he knew he'd tell on us sure — he is down
on the whole crowd. We are going to drop
him."
" I see. Well, you are leader this term, Buster,
so do as you please," answered Dave, and walked
off to one of his recitations. Then Buster hurried
off in another direction.
As soon as the two students were gone a third
boy tiptoed his way from behind a coat rack, where
he had been in hiding. The lad was Nat Poole.
" I thought something was in the wind! " mur-
mured Nat to himself. " I must find out just
where they are going, and what they are going to
do, — and then I'll let Doctor Clay know all about
it. Maybe if Porter and his crowd are caught
red-handed they'll be put in disgrace, and then
they won't be able to play that game with
Rockville 1 "
CHAPTER XVIII
AN INITIATION AND WHAT FOLLOWED
"ARE we all ready?"
" We are."
" Then forward — and make as little noise as
possible until we are out of hearing of the school."
The Gee Eyes had assembled at the boathouse,
under the leadership of Buster Beggs and Ben
Basswood. Three of the number had gone ahead,
taking with them the six new students who were
to be initiated.
The members of the society had with them their
robes and other paraphernalia, consisting of box-
like headgear, stuffed clubs, wooden swords,
squirt guns, and other articles too numerous to
mention. They hurried off into the woods, and
there donned the robes and headgear, and lit their
lanterns, for the night promised to be dark.
" I hope nobody has found us out," ventured
Roger. " We don't want to get caught at this."
He had received an inkling of what was coming.
" Oh, I guess we are safe enough," answered
Dave. " Murphy said he would let us in."
170
AN INITIATION 171
" Say, talking about being let in puts me in mind
of a story," came from Shadow. " A man stayed
out later nights than his wife liked. One night
he didn't come home until very late, and he stood
on the sidewalk, afraid to let himself in. Along
came a friend and asked him what he was doing.
' Please ring the bell and see if my wife is home,'
said the man. So the friend rang the bell, and the
next instant the door opened, and he got a broom
over his head. ' Is she in ? ' asked the man on
the sidewalk. ' Sure she is,' answered his friend.
' Go right in and you'll get a warm welcome 1 '
And at this story there was a general snicker.
A few minutes' walk brought the members of
the Gee Eyes to a clearing in the woods. Here
several lanterns had been hung up, casting a weird
light of red, blue, and green. Those to be ini-
tiated were present, and surrounding them in a big
circle, the members of the society commenced to
chant :
" Flabboola! flabboola!
See the victims, see!
Flabboola! flabboola!
Victim, bend your knee!
Sinky panky! flabboola!
Fall upon the ground!
Sinky panky! flabboola!
Sing without a sound! "
And then came a wild dancing around the
victims, with a brandishing of clubs and swords.
172 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Hi ! don't stab me I " roared one, as a sword
was thrust suddenly in the direction of his
stomach.
" Shut up ! " murmured the victim next to him.
" They won't hurt you."
" The Right Honorable Lord of the Reservoir
will warm up the victims' backbones ! " sang out
Buster, in a hoarse bass voice. And then Shadow
Hamilton, in his disguise, crept behind the nearest
victim, and sent a stream of ice-water from a
squirt-gun down the fellow's neck.
" Wow ! wow ! " yelled the student, trying to
break away from the pair who held him.
"Crimps! but that's cold I"
" 'Tis for thy good we do this to thee ! " said
Shadow, solemnly, and then the next victim was
treated to a similar dose. He submitted quietly,
and so did the next fellow, but the fourth broke
away, and started off in the direction of the school.
" Hi, come back here 1 " yelled several. " Don't
you want to become a member? "
" I — I guess I've changed my mind ! " stam-
mered the youth. " I — er — I can't stand cold
baths, nohow. If you — Hello, what's this!"
And of a sudden he pitched over some dark object,
and went headlong.
"Ouch!" came in another voice. "Ouch!
What do you mean by kicking me in the ribs? "
And a groan of pain followed.
AN INITIATION 173
"Who is behind those bushes?" asked Dave.
" Must be a spy ! " returned Phil.
" A spy ! A spy 1 Capture him ! "
11 Don't let him get back to the school ! "
On the instant there was great excitement, and
fully a dozen members of the Gee Eyes rushed
forward and caught hold of the escaping victim,
and the fellow over whom he had stumbled. Both
were dragged forward, and the light of a lantern
was turned on the unknown.
" Why, it's Nat Poole ! "
" He was spying on us 1 "
" Maybe he was going to report us! "
" You le — let go of me ! " stammered Nat. He
put his hand to his side. " That fellow half
killed me ! " And he gave another groan.
"What were you doing in the bushes?" de-
manded Ben, sternly.
11 Me ? Why— er— nothing."
11 Yes, you were."
" I'll wager a button he was going to report
us 1 " exclaimed another student.
" It ain't so! " whined Nat. " Ain't I got a
right to be here ? I'm a member."
" No, you are not — you've been cast out ! " an-
swered a deep bass voice.
" If he wants to be one of us, he's got to be
initiated all over again ! " said Phil, in a disguised
voice. " What say, boys, shall we do it? "
174 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Yes ! yes ! Put him with the others ! "
" Sure thing! Nat, you are just in time! "
" We'll give you an initiation you'll never for-
get, a regular three-ply, dyed in the wool, war-
ranted storm-proof initiation," added Ben, in
tragic tones.
" I don't want to be initiated again 1 " howled the
money-lender's son. " I've had enough of this
society. You let me go I"
"Not to-night!" was the firm answer, and
much against his will Nat was forced to go along
with the crowd; and thus his plan to find out
what they were going to do, and then carry the
news to Doctor Clay, was nipped in the bud.
" We were lucky to catch Nat," whispered
Dave to Roger, . as the whole crowd proceeded
through the woods, led by Buster and Ben. " I
am certain he was spying on us for no good pur-
pose."
" Exactly, Dave, and we want to watch him
right along," returned the senator's son. " First
thing you know, he'll be giving our football signals
and tricks away to Rockville and the other schools
we are going to play."
Nat had been forced to join the other victims,
and the seven were marched a distance of a quarter
of a mile. The crowd came out on the bank of
the river, at a spot where several ice-houses had
recently been erected.
AN INITIATION 175
" Now, we'll give you the famous slide for
life ! " cried Buster, and pointed to the upper
portion of one of the ice-houses, where a big
wooden slide led downward into the Leming River.
" I can't stand cold water ! " cried the victim
who had previously tried to run away.
" 'Twill do you a power of good ! " answered
Sam, in a deep voice.
" Say, you ain't going to dump me into the river
from that thing! " roared Nat Poole. " I won't
stand it ! "
" Then sit down to it, Nat 1 " came a voice
from the rear.
Of a sudden the seven victims were blindfolded.
Several protested weakly, but the others kept
silent, for they knew it would do no good to at-
tempt to hold back; indeed, it might make mat-
ters worse. Yet nobody in that crowd wanted a
ducking, for the water was cold, and they were
quite a distance from the school.
Some narrow stairs led to the upper portion
of the ice-houses, and blindfolded as they were, the
victims were forced to mount these and were
then taken to a room in the back of one of the
buildings.
" Now for Number One ! " sang out Buster, and
one of the victims was rushed forward to a slide.
" Hope you can swim, Carson ! " said one of
the hazers.
176 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" The water isn't over ten feet deep," said
another.
" Swim hard and then you won't take cold,"
added a third.
" If you find yourself really drowning, yell for
help," put in a fourth.
" I — er — I don't think this is quite fair "
commenced poor Carson, and then he was tripped
flat on his back and sent downward with a plunge.
" Oh I " he screamed, and then continued to go
down, with great rapidity, for the slide had been
looked over by the boys, and made as smooth as
possible. He shut his mouth tightly, expecting
every instant to strike the chilling waters, but of
a sudden his feet struck a heap of sawdust, and
into this he slid up to his knees. Then eager
hands seized him, and the bandage was torn from
his eyes. In the semi-darkness he saw that he
had not come down the slide over the water, but
down another, which ended in the sawdust pit of
the ice-house. He looked decidedly sheepish.
" Have a fine swim, Carson? " asked one of his
tormentors.
" What a sell ! " muttered the victim. " But
anyway, it's better than the river! " he added, with
much satisfaction.
One after another the victims were sent down
the wooden slide. Some came down silently, like
martyrs, while others yelled in alarm. Nat Poole
AN INITIATION 177
was the last to be brought forward. He was well
blindfolded.
" Be careful, Nat! " cried one student, gravely.
" Don't hit your head when you go down."
" And don't scratch yourself on any of the
nails," added another.
" As soon as you hit the water somebody will
haul you in with a boathook," came from a third.
" I — I don't want to slide into the water, I tell
you ! " screamed the money-lender's son. " I'll
catch my death of cold ! "
" You run all the way back to school and get
into bed and you'll be all right ! " said a fourth
hazer.
" I — I can't swim very well ! You let me go ! "
And now Nat was fairly whining.
" Can't do it, Nat I Here is where you get a
first-class, A No. i, bath! " was the cry, and then
the victim was sent flat on his back on the wooden
slide. He let up a shriek of agony, and another
shriek as he commenced to slide down. Then he
lost his nerve completely, and uttered yell after
yell, only ending when he struck the sawdust with
such force that he turned a complete somersault
and got some sawdust in his mouth and nose.
" My, but he certainly knows how to scream ! "
remarked Dave, as he and the others rushed below,
to join the crowd. " I hope he doesn't rouse the
neighborhood."
178 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
When the cloth was removed from Nat's eyes,
and he had a chance to see where he had landed,
he was the maddest lad present. All the other
victims were laughing at him, and the club mem-
bers almost doubled up in their mirth.
" Think you're smart, don't you? " he snarled.
" But you just wait ! "
"Want more of the initiation?" demanded
Buster.
" No, I don't ! You let me go ! I'm going
back to the school ! "
" So are we, Nat, and you'll go with us," an-
swered Shadow. " Don't let him get away from
us! " he whispered to his friends.
" Well, this winds up the initiation," said Buster,
throwing off his headgear, a movement that was
followed by the others. " You fellows are now
full-fledged members of the Gee Eyes."
" And I'm glad it is over," answered one of the
victims. " Say, but that was a dandy shoot the
chutes ! " he added, half in admiration.
" It is not quite as firm as it might be," said
Dave. " It needs more bracing up on the sides.
The carpenters aren't done, I suppose."
" I thought it was mighty shaky myself," put
in Phil. " Why, once I thought it was going down
with us."
" Oh, it's as sound as a dollar! " cried Shadow.
" Of course, with such a crowd "
AN INITIATION 179
Shadow did not finish, for from above the boys
in the sawdust pit, there came a sudden ominous
cracking. In the semi-darkness of the night they
saw a brace snap in twain. Another brace quickly
followed, and then the wooden slide commenced
to sway from side to side.
" It's coming down ! " yelled Roger, hoarsely.
" Get out of here quick — unless you want to be
killed 1"
CHAPTER XIX
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK
IT was a time of extreme peril for the boys in
the sawdust pit at the bottom of the wooden slide,
and nobody realized this more thoroughly than
did Dave. In some manner the wooden bracings
had become loosened, and the ponderous slide was
in danger of coming down with a mighty crash
on their heads. If it did this, more than likely
some of the lads would be seriously injured, if
not killed.
" Jump from the pit ! " yelled Dave, and caught
Phil by one hand and Roger by the other. All
made a wild scramble, kicking the sawdust in all
directions.
" Let me get out of here! "
" Confound this robe, I'm all tangled up in it ! "
" My foot is caught ! Help me, won't you ? "
Such were some of the cries that arose, as, in a
bunch, the boys tried to get out of the sawdust
pit. All succeeded but Buster Beggs, who, while
on the rim of the pit, slipped and fell back, — just
as another brace snapped, and the ponderous
wooden slide sagged still more.
1 80
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 181
" Help me ! " yelled Buster. " Don't leave me,
fellows!"
" Here, give me your hand ! " cried Dave, turn-
ing back, and as the hand was thrust towards him,
he gave a jerk that brought Buster out in a hurry.
By this time most of the boys had run to a safe
distance, and Dave and Buster lost no time in
following.
" All here ? " demanded Ben. The lanterns had
been left behind, so that they could see only with
difficulty.
A rapid count was made, and it was learned
that all were safe. One student had scratched his
face, and another had wrenched his ankle, but in
the excitement these minor injuries were scarcely
noticed.
"Thank fortune we are out of that! " panted
Phil.
" I'm mighty glad I wasn't killed," added
Luke.
" I wonder if the slide is really coming down
after all," remarked Sam. " It doesn't seem to be
moving any more."
All peered forth in the semi-darkness at the big
wooden affair. It had sagged in the middle, and
the top had twisted several feet to one side. An-
other brace looked as if it was on the point of
breaking and letting it down still further.
" Better get out of here," said Nat Poole. " If
182 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
the owner of the ice-houses finds this out he'll make
you pay for the busted slide."
" Well, I think we ought to pay for it, anyway,"
answered Dave, quickly. " We broke it."
" Huh ! I wouldn't pay a cent unless I had to,"
grumbled the money-lender's son.
" What about our lanterns? " asked Roger.
"That's so! " exclaimed Ben. "They are all
up in the ice-house, or down in the sawdust pit."
" We can't leave them there, — they may set fire
to something," said Phil.
" We'll have to get them," decided Dave.
"Oh, but that's dangerous! " cried one of the
students who had just been initiated. " Why, the
slide might come down just as we were getting the
lanterns ! "
" Yes, and I don't want to be killed for the sake
of four or five lanterns," added another.
" It's not a question of the worth of the lan-
terns," said Dave. " We mustn't leave them here
because of the danger of fire. If we left them,
and the ice-houses burnt down, we'd have a nice
bill to pay! "
" Oh, don't croak so much ! " growled Nat
Poole. " I'm going back to school. It's cold
here."
"You stay where you are, Nat! " cried Ben,
catching him by the arm. " You'll go back with
the rest of us, and not before."
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 183
With caution Dave, followed by Phil and
Shadow, approached the ice-house, and climbed up
one of the ladders nailed to the side of the build-
ing. Then they ventured out on a corner of the
slide, and secured two of the lanterns.
" We'll have to go down part of the slide for
that other," said the shipowner's son.
" No, don't do that, for your weight may bring
the slide down," returned Dave. " I'll get a long
stick and see if I can't get the lantern with that."
A stick was handy, and fixing a bent nail in the
end, Dave reached down, and after a little trouble
secured the lantern. Then the boys went below
and secured the lanterns in the sawdust pit.
" Hi ! what are you boys doing here ? " de-
manded an unexpected voice from out of the dark-
ness, and by the light of the lanterns the students
saw a man approaching. He had a stick in one
hand and an old-fashioned horse-pistol in the other.
"Who are you?" questioned Buster, as leader
of the Gee Eyes.
'' Who am I ? I am Bill Cameron, the owner
of these ice-houses, that's who I am ! And I
know you, in spite of them tomfoolery dresses
you've got on. You're boys from Oak Hall."
" You've hit the nail on the head, Mr. Cam-
eron!" cried Phil. "Glad to see you!" And
he walked forward and held out his hand.
" Who be you? " demanded Bill Cameron, and
1 84 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
peered at the shipowner's son curiously. " Well,
I declare, if it ain't the young man as stopped the
runaway hoss fer my wife ! Glad to see you 1 "
And the ice-house man shook hands cordially.
" Up to some secret fun, I suppose."
11 Yes, sir."
" I thought I heard a yellin' around the ice-
houses, and I told my wife I'd dress and come over
and see what it meant. Hope you ain't done no
damage," the man continued, somewhat anxiously.
" We have done a little damage, I am afraid,"
answered Phil. " But we are willing to pay for
it."
"What did ye do?"
In as few words as possible Phil and some of
the others explained the situation. They were
afraid Bill Cameron would be angry, but instead
he broke into a laugh.
" Ain't it the greatest ever ! " he cried. " You
ain't done no damage at all. The carpenters put
that wooden slide up wrong, and I told 'em they'd
have to take it down, and they started to-day.
That's what made them bracin's bust. The hull
thing is comin' down, — so what you did don't hurt,
nohow."
" I am very glad to hear that ! " cried Phil,
and the others said practically the same. Then
they bade good-night to the ice-houses' owner, and
hurried in the direction of Oak Hall.
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 185
" It's a good thing, Phil, that you knew Mr.
Cameron," said Dave, on the way. " But you
never told me about stopping a runaway horse for
Mrs. Cameron."
" Oh, it wasn't much ! " answered the ship-
owner's son, modestly. " It happened last June,
just before we started for Star Ranch. The horse
was running along the river road, and I got hold
of him and stopped him, that's all. Mrs. Cameron
was going to tell Doctor Clay about it, but I got
her to keep quiet."
" Phil, you're a hero ! " And Dave gave his
chum's arm a squeeze that made Phil wince, but
with pleasure.
Murphy, the monitor, was on the watch for
them, and let them in by a back door. All lost
no time in getting to their dormitories and in
undressing and going to bed. Everybody in the
crowd was satisfied over the initiations but Nat
Poole. His plot to expose Dave and his
chums had failed, and he was correspondingly
sour.
" But I'll fix them yet," muttered the money-
lender's son, to himself. " Just wait till they
start to play Rockville, that's all ! " And the
thought of what he had in mind to do made him
smile grimly.
It must be confessed that some of the football
players felt rather sleepy the next morning. Dave
i86 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
was sleepy himself, and this alarmed him not a
little.
" If we lose the game with Rockville to-day it
will be our own fault," he said, to the crowd that
had participated in the Gee Eyes' doings. " We
should have gotten home at least an hour earlier
than we did last night — or rather this morning."
And then he made each player take a good rubbing
down and just enough exercise to limber up his
muscles.
Dave had not forgotten what had been said
about Nat Poole, and directly after breakfast he
called Chip Macklin to one side. As my
old readers know, Chip had once been the
sneak of the school, and he knew well how to
hang around and take notice of what was going
on.
" Chip, I've got some work for you," said Dave,
in a low voice. " I may be mistaken — in fact, I
hope for the honor of the school that I am. But
I don't trust Nat Poole. He is down on some
of us because we have gotten back on the eleven,
and you'll remember how chummy he used to be
with Jasniff and Merwell, who are now going to
Rockville, — and with Rand and Frapley, and they
are now going to the academy also. I am afraid
that Nat "
" That Nat will try to sell you out? " finished
Chip, his little eyes snapping expectantly.
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 187
4 Yes. He may give our signals away, or some-
thing like that."
" I see. And you want me to watch — and re-
port, if I see anything wrong? "
11 Yes."
" I'll do it. I'd like to catch him — for he never
treats me decently," added Chip.
It had been decided that some of the boys should
go to Rockville by boats and others by carriages
and on their bicycles and motor-cycles. The eleven
were to go in the school carryall, and Mr.
Dodsworth and Andrew Dale were to go with
them.
Owing to the change in the academy manage-
ment, but little had been done to the athletic
field, and when the Oak Hall club arrived, they
found the grounds rather uneven and poorly
marked.
" Bad for really good playing," remarked Dave.
" You'll have to be on your guard," warned
Andrew Dale. " This field should have been
rolled down after the last storm."
The grandstand was rather a small affair, and
it speedily became filled with visitors, for the an-
nual football game between the two schools was
always a great drawing card. Flags and banners
were much in evidence, and so were horns and
rattles.
" I wonder if any outsiders we know are pres-
1 88 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
ent? " remarked Roger to his chums, as they
walked across the field.
" Somebody is waving from the corner of the
stand," answered Phil. " I think it is Miss Rock-
well."
" It is, and Miss Feversham is with her, and so
is Mr. Rockwell," answered Dave, and then the
boys took off their caps in salutation. And then
they recognized a number of other friends.
The eleven had just turned into its dressing-
room, to prepare for the game, when Chip Mack-
lin came running in all out of breath.
" I want to see Dave ! " he gasped, and then,
as soon as the pair had walked to a corner, he
went on : " I caught Nat."
" What doing? " demanded Dave, quickly.
" Giving all of your signals away to Merwell,
Jasniff, and one of the Rockville football players.
He started to tell about your trick plays when
he saw me standing near, and shut up."
" Where is he now? "
" In the grandstand, with some girl."
" I will attend to this at once, Chip. Come
with me."
Dave led the small student out of the dressing-
room, and called Andrew Dale and Mr. Dods-
worth. Quickly the situation was explained. The
school teacher looked shocked, and the gymnastic
instructor was disgusted.
SNEAK AGAINST SNEAK 189
" I will take care of Poole," said Mr. Dale, in
a strained voice. " Mr. Dodsworth, you had bet-
ter arrange for a change of signals."
" I will," answered the gymnastic instructor.
And then Andrew Dale hurried off, and Dave re-
turned to the dressing-room, accompanied by Mr.
Dodsworth. The signals were re-arranged, and
so were the signs for some of the new trick plays.
" Now then, boys, let me give you a bit of
advice," said Mr. Dodsworth, when they were
ready to go out on the field for practice. " From
what I have heard Rockville has good staying
powers, and will try to tire you out. Your move
is to go at them with a jump and make your points
early in the game — and then hold them down.
Now do your best — and don't give in until the last
whistle blows ! "
CHAPTER XX
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE
" DAVE, I think I see a chance of catching Rock-
ville napping," said Roger, just before the practice
began.
' You mean, if they try to take advantage of
our signals? "
" Yes. If they feel sure we are going to do one
thing and we do another, they'll get left."
" Well, they'll deserve to get left — if they try
to profit by any such work."
" Maybe the eleven won't stand for it."
" Oh, I don't know. Rockville is hungry for
a victory over us, and they may think all
is fair in love and war and football," broke in
Phil.
As each eleven came on the gridiron it was
roundly cheered. The Rockville supporters at
once commenced their well-known slogan :
"Rockville!
Rockville !
You'll get your fill
Of Rockville ! "
190
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE 191
And immediately Oak Hall replied with its own
well-known cry:
"Baseball!
Football !
Oak Hall
Has the call !
Biff ! Boom ! Bang ! Whoop ! "
And then from both sides arose a great din of
horns and rattles. In the rear of the field
were several automobiles and they, too, let off
their horns and screech whistles, adding to the
noise.
The practice at an end, the toss-up followed, and
this was won by Rockville, r.nd they elected to
take the ball. Out on the gridiron spread the two
elevens, each player eager to do hie best. Then
the whistle blew, there came a kicking of the pig-
skin, and the great game was on.
The play was fast and furious from the start,
and in a very few minutes Dave and his chums
understood that to gain a victory was going to be
no easy thing. Rockville had the advantage in
weight, and long practice had put every man in
the pink of condition.
But the trick that Nat Poole had tried to play
bore unexpected results. The kick-off was r. good
one, but the pigskin was caught by Phil and he
brought it back almost to the center of the gridiron,
being aided by clever interference on the part of
192 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Roger and Plum. Then the signal was given to
carry the ball through the center. The Rockville
players thought it was a signal to run around the
left end, and moved accordingly. Up the field
came the pigskin, and before Rockville could re-
cover from the error made, Plum had the ball
within four yards of the goal line. Here, how-
ever, he was downed so heavily that the wind was
knocked completely out of him.
" That's the way to do it ! Hurrah for Oak
Hall!"
" Now, shove it over, fellows ! "
" They didn't follow their signals at all ! " whis-
pered one player to the Rockville captain.
" I know it," was the low answer. " Don't
depend on the signals after this."
But the damage had been done, and two min-
utes later Oak Hall obtained a touchdown, Roger
carrying the ball over the line. Dave made the
kick, and the pigskin sailed neatly between the
posts. Then what a cheering went up, and what
a noise from the horns and rattles I
"That's the way to do it! "
" First blood for Oak Hall ! Now keep up the
good work ! "
As quickly as possible the ball was brought once
more into play, and now the contest waged fast
and furious. Back and forth went the pigskin,
first in the possession of one eleven, and then in
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE 193
the possession of the other. There was a fine
run around the right end by Roger, and another
by a player for Rockville. Then came a mix-up,
and each side had to retire a player, while Rock-
ville was penalized several yards for an offside
play.
" Five minutes more ! " came the warning, and
then in a fury Rockville tried to form a flying
wedge — such a move being permissible that year.
The shock was terrific, and in spite of all their
efforts to stand firm, Oak Hall broke, and the
pigskin was carried over the line. Then the goal
was kicked — and the whistle blew, and the first
half of the great game came to an end.
Score: Oak Hall 6, Rockville 6.
Panting for breath, for that last shock had been
a telling one, the Oak Hall players filed into the
dressing-room, there to rest and to receive such
attention as they needed.
" Well, it is still our game as much as theirs,"
said Dave, trying to cheer up his men. " But we
want to go at 'em hammer and tongs in the second
half."
" Try that right-end trick as early as possible,"
advised Mr. Dodsworth. " I don't think they'll
be looking for it. That mix-up on signals both-
ered them some."
" Did Mr. Dale see Poole? " asked Roger.
" Yes, and Poole was sent back to the school
194 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
in care of one of the carriage drivers," answered
the gymnastic instructor.
Down in the grandstand the supporters of Rock-
ville and of Oak Hall were having lively discus-
sions over the merits of the two elevens. Among
the Rockville students were Jasniff, Merwell, and
Frapley.
" I hope we wax 'em in the second half! " said
Merwell to Jasniff.
"How much money did you put up, Link?"
asked Jasniff.
" All I could scrape up — thirty-five dollars."
" And I put up forty dollars."
" With the Oak Hall fellows? "
" No, with some sports from the town."
" Just what I did. Of course, I hope we don't
lose! If we do I'll be in a hole until my next
remittance comes."
" Oh, Rockville has got to win ! " said Jasniff,
loudly. " We can't help but do it."
" This is Oak Hall's game ! " cried a voice from
the other end of the grandstand, and then a cheer
went up, followed by another cheer from the local
supporters.
" Say, when do we get back at Dave Porter? "
asked Merwell, while the cheering was going on.
" I'm getting tired of waiting."
" We'll get back at him very soon now," an-
swered Jasniff. " If what Doctor Montgomery
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE 195
tells me is true, everything will be ready about
Thanksgiving time."
" Can you depend on the doctor? "
" I think so. He is almost down and out, and
will do anything for money," answered Nick Jas-
niff, and then the talk came to an end, as the second
half of the game began.
Both elevens had been urged to do their best,
and the play was as spirited as before. Rockville
was unusually aggressive, and one of the players
tackled Phil unfairly, giving his shoulder a severe
wrench. A protest was at once made by both
Phil and Dave, and amid a general wrangle the
Rockville man was retired.
" Never mind, they are going to put Ross in ! "
was the cry. " He'll show 'em what he can do! "
Ross had been a favorite player in years gone by,
but had not been allowed to play before because
he was behind in his studies. Now, however, it
was seen that he was sorely needed, and the Rock-
ville faculty gave the desired permission to fill the
vacancy.
Ten minutes of play found the pigskin near the
center of the field. Then, for the first time, Dave
saw a chance to use the right-end trick which Mr.
Dodsworth had suggested, and gave the necessary
signal. At once the entire eleven was on the alert.
The trick consisted in sending the ball over to
the right, back to center, and then to the right
again, some players meanwhile rushing to the left
as a blind. The movements were made with
rapidity, and Rockville was caught napping. Up
came the pigskin in Plum's arms, and he turned
it over to another player, who in turn passed it
to Dave. Then Dave saw a clear space and dove
for it. He was followed and tackled, but shook
himself loose, and dropped on the ball directly
over the goal line.
A roar went up.
" Another touchdown for Oak Hall 1 "
" Now for another goal ! "
Amid a wild cheering the try for goal was made.
But a keen wind had sprung up, and the goal
was missed by a few inches.
" Never mind, that makes the score eleven to
six in Oak Hall's favor."
Once again the ball was brought into play.
There were but seven minutes of time left, and
Rockville played like demons, hurling themselves
again and again at their opponents. But Dave
felt that enough had been accomplished, and gave
the signal to be on the defensive, and thus Rock-
ville was held back, and the most it could do was
to get the ball on Oak Hall's thirty-five yard line
And then the fateful whistle sounded, and the gre :
game came to a close.
Final score : Oak Hall 1 1, Rockville Academy 6.
It was a well-earned victory, and the Oak Hall
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE 197
eleven were warmly praised by their friends and
the public in general, while many condemned the
military academy for the roughness shown.
"Oh, it was too lovely for anything!" said
Vera Rockwell, when Phil and Roger sauntered
up, waiting for the carryall to take the eleven back
to Oak Hall.
"It was indeed!" added Mary Feversham.
" We compliment you, and we compliment
Mr. Porter, too," she added, her eyes beaming
brightly.
" A well-fought game," was Mr. Rockwell's
comment ; and then the boys passed on, to join their
fellows.
Of course the majority of the Rockville sup-
porters felt blue over the outcome of the game,
and they lost no time in leaving the grandstand
and disappearing from view. Jasniff and Mer-
well went also, but in another direction.
" This leaves me high and dry," growled Mer-
well. " I won't have a cent to spend for two
weeks."
" Let us see if we can't borrow some money,"
suggested Jasniff.
" I'd like to know who from ? All the fellows
who bet have lost their money."
" Then we'll have to hit somebody who didn't
bet — some of the goody-goody fellows," and he
laughed bitterly.
198 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
"Like Porter, eh?"
" Yes, Porter never bets, nor drinks, nor smokes.
I can't understand how he makes himself pop-
ular, can you? "
" It's his smooth way. But some day he'll be
found out and dropped," answered Merwell.
" He'll be dropped when we work our little
game against him," returned Jasniff, with an evil
look in his eyes.
Never had the carryall contained a happier
crowd of students than those who rode back to
Oak Hall after the game. They sang, cheered,
and whistled to their hearts' content, and nearly
drove Horsehair wild with their antics, climbing
out of the windows and over the roof of the turn-
out.
"Bless my heart, but you must be careful!"
pleaded the driver. " I don't want to hurt no-
buddy on this trip ! "
" Oh, Horsehair, we can't hold ourselves
down ! " answered Phil. " Such a victory isn't
gained every day."
" Yes, sir, I know, sir. But them bosses don't
know nothin' about football, an' fust thing you
know they'll run away," pleaded the carryall
driver.
" We'll take a chance," put in Roger, brightly.
" Now, then, all together! " And out on the air
rolled the old school song to the tune of Auld Lang
THE GREAT GAME WITH ROCKVILLE 199
Syne, and then followed a cheering that could be
heard for half a mile.
" Bonfires to-night! " announced Buster Beggs.
" The biggest yet."
" Say, that puts me in mind of a story "
began Shadow, but what he wanted to tell was
lost in a tooting of horns and a clacking of rattles
that lasted until Oak Hall was reached.
CHAPTER XXI
THANKSGIVING, AND A SNOWBALLING CONTEST
THE celebration that night was a grand affair,
and Doctor Clay allowed the students to remain
out until midnight. Many bonfires were lighted,
and the boys danced around, sang songs, and
played many practical jokes on each other and on
Horsehair and Pop Swingly. Shadow was in his
element, and was permitted to tell a dozen or
more of his yarns, much to his own satisfaction
if not of his listeners.
The only boys who felt blue were Nat Poole
and the lads who had played against Lemington
and then been put off the eleven. Nat had re-
ceived a sharp lecture from the doctor and then
been sent to his room, to remain there until the
following morning. He wanted to pack up and
go home, fearing the jeers of his fellow-students
when they learned of his meanness, but he did not
dare to make this move, for his father had written
him a sharp letter, telling him to finish out the
term at Oak Hall or otherwise to go to work, —
and Nat did not want to go to work.
200
THANKSGIVING 201
Of course the victory over Rockville made Dave
and his chums feel good. The whole eleven were
warmly congratulated by the doctor, and by Mr.
Dale and Mr. Dodsworth.
The game with the military academy was fol-
lowed by a number of other contests, and the school
made a fine record for itself, winning six games
out of eight. The two games lost were with col-
lege boys, and these players were all considerably
heavier than the Oak Hall lads. The last game
took place on Thanksgiving Day, and was wit-
nessed by Dave's father and Mr. Wadsworth, and
also by Laura and Jessie. Oak Hall won this
contest by a score of 18 to 1 1.
" Oh, it was grand, Dave ! " cried Jessie, after
the boys had left the gridiron. " That run you
made was the best ever! "
" You all did well," said Laura.
" It makes my blood tingle, and I feel like
getting into the game myself," said Oliver Wads-
worth. " It was a clean-cut contest from start to
finish."
Phil and some of the other boys were going
home, and soon said good-by. Mr. Porter and
Mr. Wadsworth went off with Doctor Clay, and
that left Dave and Roger with the two girls. As
Senator Morr was at home from Washington, it
was decided that the young folks should pay
Roger's home a visit for the rest of the day, Mr.
202 DAVE PORTEF AND HIS RIVALS
Porter and Mr. Wadsworth coming there in the
evening to take Laura and Jessie back to Crum-
ville.
The young folks made a jolly party as they
boarded the train. They turned over one of the
double seats and sat facing each other, and laughed
and chatted until Hemson was reached. Here a
carriage awaited them, and they were driven to
the Morr mansion, where they received a warm
greeting from the senator and his wife.
The girls had much to tell about themselves, and
then asked about matters at the school. They
were indignant to learn that Nat Poole had ex-
posed the football signals.
" It is just like him — the sneak ! " cried Jessie.
" Oh, Dave, I hope you don't have anything more
to do with him."
" I am willing to let him alone if he will let
me alone."
" Do you hear anything from Link Merwell ? "
questioned Laura.
" Not much. But I understand he and Nick
Jasniff have it in for me."
" Then, Dave, you must be on your guard,"
cautioned his sister. " I think Merwell is a regu-
lar snake in the grass — his actions at the ranch
prove it — and Jasniff is no better."
" Jasniff is worse," said Roger. " He is a
brute."
THANKSGIVING 203
The boys and girls spent a happy evening to-
gether, and all too soon Mr. Porter and Mr. Wads-
worth arrived to take Laura and Jessie back
to Crumville. The boys hated to see them
go, and went to the depot with them. There
was some warm handshaking, and then the
train rolled away, and the boys went back to the
house.
" Splendid girls, both of them," was Roger's
comment, and Dave quite agreed with him. But
he was thinking more about Jessie than his sister, —
and it is quite likely Roger was thinking more
about Laura.
The boys remained at Roger's home until Sat-
urday afternoon, and then returned to Oak Hall.
The air was heavy and very cold, and they were
glad to get out of the carryall, rush into the school,
and warm up.
" Feels like snow to me," said Dave; and he was
right. It started to snow that night, and kept it
up for the greater part of Sunday, so that by Mon-
day the ground was covered to the depth of a foot
or more.
" Hurrah, for a snowballing match ! " cried
Buster. " Everybody in the line after school."
" Let us choose sides," suggested Ben. " In-
stead of having an Army of the North and an
Army of the South, we can have "
" An Army of Red and an Army of Blue," fin-
204 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
ished Dave. " What do you say to the red
sweaters against the blue sweaters? "
As many lads of the school wore red sweaters,
and about an equal number wore blue, the idea
caught on instantly, and at the noon recess the
two armies, of Red and of Blue, were hastily
organized. Each numbered twenty-five recruits,
and Roger was made the leader on one side and
Sam Day the leader on the other. With Roger
went Dave and Phil, while Ben, Buster, and
Shadow sided with Sam. Roger's side was the
Army of Red, and they made themselves a big
red flag, with the initials O. H. on it. Not to be
outdone, Sam's army made a big blue flag, also
with the school initials.
It was decided that the Army of Blue was to
take a position in the woods, and that the Army of
Red was to try to dislodge them and force them
to retreat. If either army was driven back two
hundred yards it must give up its flag and count
itself beaten.
After school half an hour was allowed for get-
ting ready, and most of that time was consumed
in making snowballs and in fortifying the edge of
the woods by throwing up a snowbank. Then a
bugle belonging to one of the students sounded out,
and the great snowball battle began.
It was certainly a hot contest, and the snowballs
flew in all directions, and many a " soldier " re-
THANKSGIVING 205
ceived one in the body or In the head. Sam had
placed his followers with care, and try their best
the Army of Red could not dislodge them.
41 I have a scheme," said Phil, after the battle
had lasted for fully half an hour, and while the
boys were pausing to manufacture fresh " ammuni-
tion " in the shape of snowballs. " Let us rush
up and then pretend to retreat. They'll think
they have us on the run, and as soon as they leave
the woods and that snowbank, we can turn on 'em
again, and wallop 'em."
" If you try that, be sure of one thing," said
Dave. " Have plenty of snowballs on hand.
Otherwise that fake retreat may become a real
one."
" We'll make a lot of snowballs," said Roger.
" Pitch in, everybody 1 "
In a little while, the Army of Red was ready
for the movement Phil had suggested. Then
Roger explained just how it was to be carried
out. They were to advance on the left wing of
the Blues and then retreat in the direction of the
road. As soon as the Blues came from cover,
they were to drive them — if they could be driven —
to the upper edge of the woods and across the
field beyond.
" Now then, all together ! " cried the senator's
son. " And make them think you are really re-
treating, at first,"
Forward went the Army of Red, throwing
snowballs wildly. Then came a shower of balls
in return, and several of the Reds were seen to
fall, as if knocked down. Then came a pause,
and several lads started to go back.
" Stop I Don't run ! " yelled Roger. " Don't
run ! " But as this was part of the deception, those
in retreat kept on backing away.
" Hurrah ! we've got 'em on the run ! " came
from the woods, and in a trice several of the Army
of Blue appeared on the top of the snowbank.
" Come on, let us chase 'em ! "
Over the snowbank came the Army of Blue,
carrying all the snowballs it could manage. The
Army of Red continued to retreat, each boy loaded
down with ammunition. Then, just as the edge
of the woods was cleared, a loud whistle sounded
out.
It was the signal to turn, and like one man the
Army of Red faced about, and let fly a heavy
volley of snowballs, directly in the face of the
enemy. The Blues were taken completely by sur-
prise, and almost dazed. Then came another vol-
ley of snowballs, and a dozen lads were struck,
in the head and elsewhere.
" Wow ! " yelled one boy. " Say, what are
we up against?"
" Let 'em have it ! " came the rallying yell of
the Reds. " Down with 'em ! Drive 'em to
THANKSGIVING 207
cover ! " And on they came with a rush, throwing
their snowballs with all the accuracy possible. The
severe onslaught demoralized the other army for
the time being, and two boys broke and ran — then
half a dozen more — and then the whole army.
"Stop! Turn and face 'em!" yelled Sam.
" Give it to 'em hot ! " But this was not to be,
for the reason that the Blues were out of ammuni-
tion. They ran close to the woods, but were driven
from that cover by a flank movement, and then
took to the field, trying to manufacture snowballs
as they ran.
" We've got 'em going — don't let up ! " cried
Dave, and, having stopped to make a few more
snowballs, he pushed on, with Roger and half a
dozen others beside him. Phil carried the flag,
and all made for where the enemy had its flag of
blue. Then came an exchange of snowballs at
close range, and poor Phil was hit in the
face. He dropped the flag, and Dave picked
it up.
" Much hurt, Phil? " asked Roger, anxiously.
" I guess not," was the plucky reply. " Go on
and wax 'em ! " And then Phil turned back for
a moment to catch his breath.
At the edge of the field was a ridge, and back
of this a deep hollow. Sam decided to take a
stand behind the ridge, and so directed his fol-
lowers.
ao8 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" But look out for the holes," said one of the
boys. " Some nasty ones around here."
The battle soon waged as fiercely as ever. On
came the Army of Red with a fresh supply of
ammunition, and snowballs flew in all directions.
Poor Sam was struck in the ear, and the carrier
of the flag was hit in the arm and in the mouth.
Down went the flag, and before the carrier could
pick it up, three of the enemy pounced upon him,
and while two held him, the third captured the
all-important trophy.
" Hurrah 1 We've got their flag ! Now drive
'em along 1 " was the cry.
" We must get the flag back! " called out Sam.
" Now then, all together ! " And again the battle
went on.
" Now, for a final rush 1 " said Roger, after the
blue flag had been taken to the rear. " We are
going to win ! Come on ! " And he led the way.
Near the top of the ridge, the Red and the Blue
fought fiercely, for all the boys were now thor-
oughly warmed up. Back and forth surged the
long lines, and for several minutes it looked as if
the Blues might succeed in driving the Reds back.
Once Dave came close to losing the flag, and only
saved it by sending two of the enemy sprawling
headlong in the snow.
At last the Reds managed to reach the top of
the ridge, and from that point send down a fierce
THANKSGIVING 209
shower of snowballs. The Blues could not with-
stand this fire, and broke and ran.
" Hurrah ! the victory is ours ! " yelled several
of the Reds.
" Let us clinch it, and make 'em cry for mercy ! "
shouted one of the victorious army, and forward
he went, and nearly all of the others after him.
" Be careful ! " cried Dave. " There are a lot
of holes around here ! Somebody may break a
leg."
His voice was drowned by the shouts of those
who had won, and over the ridge and towards the
hollow poured the victors and vanquished — the lat-
ter trying to dodge the fresh shower of snowballs.
" It's all over — let up ! " yelled one boy of the
Army of Blue. " Let up, can't you? "
" One last shower, fellows ! " cried Roger.
" Now then, all together! "
The snowballs were delivered, and then came a
pause, as all realized that the battle was at an end.
Then, from the far end of the hollow, came an
unexpected yell:
" Help ! help ! I am down in a hole and can't
get out! Help!"
CHAPTER XXII
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK
" SOMEBODY is in trouble! "
"Who is it?"
"Where is he?"
" It is Tom Hally ! " cried Roger, mentioning
one of the new boys at Oak Hall. " He must have
fallen into one of the holes near the big hollow,"
" Come on and see what is the matter," said
Dave, and dropping the flag, he sped in the direc-
tion of the cries, and a dozen others followed.
When they reached the spot from which the cries
for help had proceeded they could see nothing of
Tom Hally.
" He was here a minute ago — I saw him ! " de-
clared a student named Messmer. " He must have
gone down out of sight! "
" Be careful that somebody doesn't go down on
top of him," cautioned Roger.
He had hardly spoken when there came a cry
from Messmer, and, looking in his direction, the
other boys were horrified to see him sink into the
snow up to his waist.
2IO
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK 211
" Hi ! hi ! help me ! " yelled Messmer. " Quick,
something has me by the foot! "
" Maybe it's Rally, at the bottom of the holel "
burst out Dave.
" Let us make a chain and haul him out," sug-
gested Phil.
This suggestion was considered a good one, and
in a twinkling a long line was formed, the boys
taking hold of each other's hands. Dave was at
one end of the line, and he approached Messmer
with caution.
"Help me!" gasped Messmer. "Something
is dragging me down ! "
" Take hold of my hand," answered Dave.
"Hold tight!"
Messmer did as requested, and then Dave gave
the other boys the signal to haul away.
" But be careful," he added. " Otherwise the
line may break, and some more of us will go in
the hole."
The students hauled steadily and cautiously, and
slowly but surely Messmer came out of the snowy
hole. As his feet came into view it was seen that
a pair of hands were clasped around one of his
ankles.
" Tom Hally is there! " shouted Dave. " Be
extra careful, or he may slip back! "
He had hardly spoken when Messmer's foot
came up with a jerk. The unfortunate boy below
212 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
had let go, being probably too exhausted to keep
hold.
" Oh, Dave, what shall we do? " gasped Roger.
He stood next in the life line.
" Make two lines ! " cried Dave. " Here, you
get hold of one of my feet, and Messmer can get
hold of the other. Now don't let go, whatever
you do. I'll go down after Hally."
" But the danger " began Ben.
" We can't leave Hally to smother to death
there, Ben. Now then, hold tight," answered
Dave.
The two lines were formed, each end boy hold-
ing tight to one of Dave's ankles. Then Dave
threw himself down in the snow and wormed his
way to the edge of the hole. Several feet below
he saw one of Tom Hally's hands sticking up, the
fingers working convulsively. He made a clutch
and got a firm grip of the wrist.
"Haul away!" he called. "But be easy, or
the edge of the hole may cave in ! "
Under Dave's directions the boys hauled away
with care, and presently poor Tom Hally came
to the surface of the snow, and was dragged to a
safe spot. He was all but exhausted, and too
weak to stand.
" Here, we'll carry you to the school ! " cried
Roger, and he and some others made a " chair,"
and thus the unfortunate lad was carried to Oak
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK 213
Hall, where he was placed in a rocking chair in
front of a fire.
" I went down all of a sudden," he explained,
when he could talk. " I yelled for all I was worth,
and I saw some of you running towards me. Then
I went out of sight, and the next I knew Messmer's
feet were on my head. I caught hold of one foot
and was dragged almost to the surface. Then my
strength gave out, — and I hardly know what I did
after that."
" Dave pulled you out," answered Phil. " He
saw one of your hands sticking out of the snow,
and he got us fellows to form two lines, with him
on the end."
" I am very thankful," said Tom Hally, and
he gave Dave's hand a warm squeeze. " I shall
never go near that hollow again ! "
" It's a dangerous place in the winter time," said
Roger. " We should have known better than to
have retreated in that direction."
" Well, the Army of the Red won ! " cried one
of the students. " Say, wasn't it a dandy battle ! "
" It certainly was ! " answered several others.
Doctor Clay was much alarmed to learn that
Hally and Messmer had gone down in a hole in
the snow, and he came to see how the former was
getting along. Then he praised Dave and his
chums for their bravery in effecting a rescue.
In the past Hally, who was a rather silent stu-
214 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
dent, had had little to say to the other boys, but
now he spoke to Dave, and asked him quite a num-
ber of questions concerning himself and the other
occupants of dormitories Nos. n and 12.
" I'd like to be in with your bunch," said he,
wistfully. " I don't like our crowd very well."
" Where are you? " asked Dave.
" In No. 13 — with Nat Poole and his crowd."
" They aren't very much of Nat's crowd any
more, are they? "
" Oh, several boys still stick to him. But he
makes me sick."
" Well, I am sorry, Hally, but our rooms are
filled up," said Dave.
" Poole is down on you, isn't he? "
" Yes."
" He told me you and he had had a lot of
trouble."
" So we have — but I claim it was mostly Nat's
fault. He does some pretty mean things."
" So he does, for a fact," and Tom Hally
nodded earnestly. " He is down on Maurice
Hamilton too, isn't he? "
" Yes, but Shadow never did him any harm.
It's just Nat's mean disposition," returned Dave;
and there the conversation had to come to an end.
But that talk, coupled with the fact that Dave
and his chums had so bravely gone to Tom Hally's
rescue, produced an unexpected result. Two days
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK 215
later, when the occupants of dormitories Nos. 1 1
and 12 got up, they were surprised to find, just
inside of one of the doors, a big pasteboard box,
securely tied with a heavy cord.
" Why, what's this? " asked Phil, who was the
first to see the box.
" Must be a Christmas box ! " cried Dave.
" And yet it is rather early in the season for
that."
" Is it addressed to anybody? " questioned Ben.
" Nothing on it," announced Roger, after an
inspection. " Maybe the box was placed in this
room by mistake."
11 Let us open it and see what is inside," sug-
gested Polly Vane.
" I second that motion," added Luke. " Hope
it's got some nice Christmas pies in it."
" Maybe it's a trick," cautioned Shadow. " Go
slow on opening it."
The boys pushed the box to the center of the
dormitory with care, and then Roger cut the cord
with his pocketknife.
" You open it," said Phil to Dave.
" I am not afraid," answered Dave, and took
off the cover.
And then what a shout went up 1
" Our shoes, and boots, and slippers! "
" Where in the world did this come from ! "'
" Say, I thought my shoes were gone for good ! "
216 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Are they all here?"
" I guess so. Let us sort 'em out and see."
Hastily the box was turned over, and the con-
tents dumped on the floor. Then began a general
sorting out, lasting for several minutes.
" One of my gym. shoes is missing," announced
Phil.
" Perhaps one of the other fellows has it," sug-
gested Dave, and the shipowner's son started a
fresh search. But it was of no avail. Every
shoe, slipper, and boot that had been taken had
been returned excepting one of Phil's foot cover-
ings.
" Well, I don't care much," said Phil. " These
shoes were about worn out, anyway."
" Where do you suppose this box came from ? "
asked Ben, and then he gazed curiously at Shadow,
and the others did the same.
" I — I suppose you think — that is, you imagine
I — er — I had something to do with this," stam-
mered the boy who had on several occasions walked
in his sleep.
" Do you know anything about it, Shadow ? "
asked Dave.
"Not the first thing!"
" Did you dream of anything last night? "
" Yes, I dreamed about a — er — a " stam-
mered the sleep-walker. " I — er Oh, it
wasn't about shoes, or anything like that."
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK 217
" Well, what was it? " demanded Roger,
sternly.
" It was about a party, if you must know. I
dreamt I took a girl, and we had a nice time
dancing and playing games. There weren't any
shoes in it," and poor Shadow got redder than ever.
Dave looked the box over with care. It was
a common pasteboard box, with nothing on it in
the way of writing or advertising.
" This certainly is a mystery," he said, slowly.
" First the shoes disappear, and now they come
back. I give it up."
" Somebody has been playing a trick on us 1 "
declared Roger. " The question is, who? "
" I don't know of anybody who would do such
a thing, excepting it was Nat Poole," declared
Ben.
" Well, there is no use of taxing Nat with it,"
declared Dave. " For he would deny it point-
blank, unless you could prove it against him."
The boys talked the affair over until it was time
to go down to breakfast, but they could reach no
conclusion regarding the mystery.
" Maybe it will never be explained," said
Buster.
" Well, even so, I am glad to get my shoes and
slippers back," lisped Polly Vane.
A few days after the restoration of the foot
coverings there came a thaw and then a sudden
2i8 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
cold snap. Ice began to form on the river, and
soon it was thick enough for skating, much to the
joy of the students, for nearly all of them loved
to skate. Some of the boys had ice-boats, and
these were also brought out for use.
" I understand that Rockville is going to put
out a strong ice-hockey team this winter," said
Roger to Dave one day. " They are going to
challenge us, too."
" Well, we'll have to make up a team to beat
'em," answered Dave.
" That won't be so easy," declared another stu-
dent. " They have some great skaters and hockey
players at the military academy this season.
They've got one player who is a star."
"Who is that?"
" Will Mallory. He came from down East,
and he is the slickest ice-hockey player you ever set
eyes on."
" Well, if they challenge us we'll do our best,"
declared Dave, and some others said the same.
The next day, after school, Dave had occasion
to go to Oakdale on an errand. Roger was going
along, but at the last minute had to stay behind,
so Dave went alone.
He had scarcely passed out of the school grounds
when he noticed that he was being followed. A
tall, thin man had stepped from behind some oak
trees, and was coming after him.
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK 219
" I wonder what that chap was doing around
the school?" the youth asked himself.
He walked along rapidly, and the man did the
same. Then Dave slackened his pace, and the
follower did likewise.
" He doesn't want to catch up to me, that's
sure," thought the youth. " Maybe he is afraid
I'll recognize him. Wonder who he is? "
He turned and looked back. But the man had
his overcoat pulled up and his soft hat pulled far
down, and Dave could see little of his face.
' This is a mystery," mused Dave. " I am
going to speak to him," and he stopped short and
waited for the mysterious individual to come up.
CHAPTER XXIII
HOOKER MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST
THE stranger approached slowly, as if hoping
Dave would go on before he came up. Once he
looked towards the fields on either side of the
road, as if thinking to turn off. But no side road
was at hand, so he had to either come on or turn
back.
"Why, it is Doctor Montgomery!" said the
lad to himself, as he recognized the man. Then,
as he got still closer, Dave saw that the so-styled
doctor looked shabby and dissipated. His nose
was exceedingly red, as if he had been drinking,
and his overcoat was much worn and so were his
shoes.
" How do you do? " he said, somewhat gruffly,
as he came up to where Dave was standing.
"How are you?" returned Dave, coldly, and
stepped aside, as if to let the doctor pass. But
instead of doing this the traveling physician came
to a somewhat unsteady halt.
"Your name is Dave Porter, isn't it?" he
MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST 221
queried, trying hard to steady a voice that liquor
had rendered nervous.
" It is."
" I guess you know me, Doctor Montgomery."
11 Yes."
"Going to Oakdale?"
" I am."
" So am I. If you don't mind I'll walk with
you. I want to talk to you."
" What do you wish? " demanded Dave. The
road was rather a lonely one, and he did not fancy
the doctor for a companion.
" I've been wanting to see you for some time,
Porter," answered Hooker Montgomery, hesi-
tatingly, as if not knowing how to begin. " Fact
is, I went up to the school hoping to meet you."
" Why didn't you call for me if you wanted
to see me? "
" Well — er — the fact is, Doctor Clay and I are
not on good terms, that's why. To tell you the
truth, I once sold some of my medicines to some
of his hired help, and he didn't like it. He thinks
my medicines are not — er — reliable. But they are,
sir, they are — more reliable than those of most
physicians ! " And Hooker Montgomery tried to
draw himself up and look dignified. But, to Dave,
the effort was a failure. He could read the fellow
thoroughly, and knew him to be what is commonly
called a fakir, pure and simple.
222 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" What did you want of me? " asked Dave, as
they walked on in the direction of Oakdale.
" I wished to see you on an important business
matter."
" Business? What business? "
" I will come to that presently, Porter. But it
is important, very important, I can assure you.
I was going to ask you to call at a certain place in
Rockville and see me about it."
"What place?"
" A boarding-house at which I am stopping. It
is a very nice place, located on the river, and kept
by a lady named Dunn — Mrs. Margaret Dunn."
At once Dave remembered the letter picked up
on Bush Island — the letter written by Doctor
Montgomery, and asking Jasniff to meet him at
Dunn's on the river. In that communication the
doctor had said he would aid Jasniff all he could,
provided the Rockville student would assist him
in some transaction involving little risk — which
would mean that there must be something " shady "
about it.
" Can't you explain the business to me without
my going to Rockville? " he asked.
" I cannot. I have some things at the boarding-
house — some letters and documents — I wish to
show you. Day after to-morrow is Saturday.
Can't you come to Rockville in the afternoon and
see me ? I can assure you, sir, it is very important,
MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST 223
very important indeed! " And Doctor Mont-
gomery gave Dave a mysterious look.
" Do the letters and documents concern me per-
sonally? "
" They concern you, and — shall I tell you ? Yes,
I will ! They concern you and your sister. But
don't ask me to say more now. I will explain
all when you come to see me."
Dave began to think rapidly. This fellow was
friendly with Jasniff and probably with Merwell
also. Once Merwell had caused Laura Porter
much annoyance by holding certain letters she
had written. Was it possible Merwell still
had some of her letters, and was he planning to
make more trouble because of them?
" I don't understand this business, Doctor
Montgomery," he said, frankly. " If it was so
important why didn't you write to me, or tele-
phone?"
" I will explain. This is important to you and
your sister. It would hurt your reputation to
make anything public. I want to do things on
the quiet, see? Acting entirely in your interests,
Porter. You will understand it all when you call
and — er — see the letters and documents, and the
photographs, especially the photographs."
" All right then— I'll come— if I can get off."
" About three o'clock in the afternoon? "
" Between three and four."
224 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Very good, sir, very good indeed. You will
not regret coming, I can assure you, sir. But one
thing more. Let me caution you to say nothing
to your school friends of this visit. I wish you
to come entirely alone."
"Why alone?" demanded Dave, suspiciously.
" Because I wish to protect myself as well as
you and your sister. I want no witnesses to our
meeting, as I wish to avoid all trouble. I shall be
alone, and I wish you to be alone also."
" This is a mighty strange proceeding."
" Possibly, Porter. But you will understand
everything when you call. You need not be afraid.
At present I am the only boarder Mrs. Dunn has,
and she is old and somewhat deaf. The house is
on the river road, the fourth place above the saw-
mill. It is painted light yellow. You can't miss
it."
" And you won't tell me any more at present? "
" I cannot. But on Saturday afternoon, if you
will come to me alone, you shall know all."
" Very well."
" And one thing more, Porter. I am going to
do you and your family a great favor."
"Well?"
" I am a poor man. I could have made money
out of my remedies had I charged as some physi-
cians do, but instead I wished to aid humanity,
and so sold my priceless medicines for a song.
MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST 225
Yes, I am poor, sir, and I need money. If I aid
you " Hooker Montgomery paused sugges-
tively.
" If you really do me a favor, you shall be well
paid for it, Doctor Montgomery," replied Dave,
promptly.
"You mean that?" And now the doctor's
voice took on a sudden note of keen interest.
11 1 do."
" They tell me your folks are rich."
" We are well off."
" Ah, ahem ! Very good ! Then if I do a very
great favor for you probably you will — er — appre-
ciate it."
" Yes, sir."
" Then it is settled, Porter, and I shall look
for you about three o'clock on Saturday sure. And
you are to come entirely alone."
" I understand. But, listen, Doctor Montgom-
ery," went on Dave, and his voice grew stern.
" There is to be no underhanded work in this. If
there is — well, you'll get the worst of it."
" Oh, no ; nothing of that sort, I can assure
you, sir! You have absolutely nothing to fear,"
answered the man hurriedly, but his eyes were
rather shifty as he spoke.
"All right, I'll be on hand, — if I can get
away."
They had now gained a crossroads, and here the
226 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
doctor halted. He looked at Dave as if on the
point of speaking again, then simply jerked his
head in an attempted dignified fashion, and hurried
off, around a bend and out of sight.
It would be hard to analyze Dave's feelings as
he proceeded on his errand to Oakdale. He won-
dered if Doctor Montgomery was acting on his
own account or for Merwell and Jasniff, and he
also wondered what the mysterious letters and
documents and photographs could be. Was it pos-
sible that Laura had once given her photograph
to Merwell, or had it taken when in that rascal's
company? If the latter was true, Merwell would
know that the Porters would give a good deal to
get the picture, and have the negative destroyed.
" Perhaps it is only a scheme to get me to Rock-
ville and to some place where Jasniff and Merwell
can lay hands on me," he mused. " They'd like
nothing better than to black my eyes and pound me
to a jelly. If I go there alone I'll have to keep
my eyes wide open."
Then Dave remembered what the doctor had
said about being a poor man and needing money.
Perhaps the fellow thought to " bleed him," not
only in the interest of Jasniff and Merwell, but
also for himself.
" He'll not get a cent out of me unless he has
something of real value to turn over to me," Dave
decided. " If it's only a blackmailing scheme,
MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST 227
he'll find me as sharp as himself." He could make
nothing of the fact that the doctor had at first tried
to avoid him.
He was half tempted to tell Roger and Phil
about the affair, but at last decided to see it
through alone. If there really was something in
it about private letters and photographs he would
prefer that his chums know nothing of it.
All that evening and throughout Friday, Dave
was very thoughtful. His chums noticed it, and
Roger and Phil both asked what was wrong.
" Nothing wrong," he answered, with a faint
smile.
' You've got something on your mind, Dave,"
went on the senator's son. " Struck a new girl,
or has Jessie struck a new fellow ? "
" Not as bad as that, Roger. I was just won-
dering if I should buy a red necktie or a blue
one."
" Rats ! It's a girl, I'll wager a new hat."
" Or else Dave is thinking out some new
essay with which to capture a prize," suggested
Phil.
" Don't you worry about me," answered Dave.
" Come on out and have a skate," and thus the
subject was dismissed, for the time being.
The Leming River was in fine condition for
skating, and fully two score of students were out,
some cutting fancy figures, and a few racing.
228 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Among the number was Nat Poole, clad in a new
crimson sweater and wearing a brand new pair
of long hockey skates.
" Nat is training for hockey," said Roger.
" He says he is going to organize a team."
" Well, we'll organize one, too," answered
Dave. " I always did like field hockey, and I
know I'd like it on the ice."
" Come on, Dave ! " shouted Ben, circling up on
his skates, and doing a " spread eagle."
" Come on where? "
" Get into the race ! We want you, and Phil,
and Roger, too."
"What race is that? "
" Mr. Dodsworth wants all the big boys in it.
It's a race up the river for a mile, and back
to the boathouse. The winner gets a silver lead-
pencil sharpener."
" All right, I'm in that ! " cried the shipowner's
son. " I need a sharpener."
"So do I," added Roger. "How about it,
Dave?"
" I'll go in, although my skates are not as sharp
as they might be."
A crowd had gathered to see the race, and in
a few minutes the contestants were lined up by
the gymnastic teacher. The starters numbered
fourteen, and included Nat Poole, Dave, Roger,
Phil, Shadow, Ben, and Plum.
MONTGOMERY'S STRANGE REQUEST 229
" All ready? " asked Mr. Dodsworth. " Then
go 1 " And away went the long line, the skates
flashing brightly in the clear sunlight, and the on-
lookers cheering, and uttering words of encourage-
ment to their favorites.
CHAPTER XXIV
A RACE ON SKATES
" Go it, everybody ! "
" May the best skater win ! "
" Don't try to skate too fast, Ben. Remember,
the race is two miles long! "
" Hello, there goes one fellow down! "
" It's Luke Watson. He has lost his skate."
The last report was correct, and as the skate
could not be adjusted without the loss of some time,
Luke gave up, and watched the others.
Nat Poole was exceedingly anxious to win the
race, and he had been partly instrumental in get-
ting up the contest. His new skates were of the
best, and it must be admitted that Nat was no
mean skater.
Phil had good skates and so had Roger. Dave's
skates were only fair, and were very much in need
of sharpening.
Away went Nat at top speed, soon drawing
half a dozen yards ahead of his competitors.
Behind him came a student named Powers, and
then followed Ben, Roger, Phil, Dave, and the
others.
230
A RACE ON SKATES 231
" I don't think I can win I " sang out Dave to
his chums. " These skates slip too much. But
I'll do my best."
" Come on, you slow-coaches ! " cried Ben, mer-
rily, and then he shot forward until he was abreast
of Nat. Seeing this, the money-lender's son put
on an extra burst of speed, and went ahead
again.
" Say, Nat Poole is certainly skating well ! "
cried one of the onlookers. " He'll make a record
if he keeps it up."
" I don't think he can keep it up," answered
another.
In a very few minutes the turning point was
gained, and Nat made a sharp curve and started
back. The turn brought him directly in front of
Dave.
" Clear the track ! " he roared. " Clear the
track, I say ! "
" Clear the track yourself ! " answered Dave.
Nevertheless, as Nat came closer, he swerved a
little to one side so that the money-lender's son
might pass. As Nat swept on he swung his arms
freely, and one fist took Dave in the side.
" Foul ! foul ! " cried several who saw the move.
" It was his own fault ! " Nat retorted. " I told
him to get out of the way! " And off he started
for the finishing line.
Dave said nothing, but kept on, reaching the
232 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
turning point a few seconds later. Phil and Roger
were just ahead of him, and Plum was beside him.
" Go on and win ! " he shouted. " I can't keep
up with these skates ! "
"Here goes for a finish!" yelled Phil, and
darted ahead, with Roger at his heels. Then Plum
flashed forward, and soon the three were side by
side, with Dave about three yards to the rear,
followed by Powers.
Coming down the homestretch, Nat Poole
thought he had it all to himself. He was glad
of it, for he had set such a fast pace at the start
that he was becoming winded, and he had to fairly
gasp for breath. He looked over his shoulder,
and as nobody was near he slackened his speed a
little.
" Keep it up, Nat ! " yelled one of his sup-
porters. " Go it, old man ! "
" Morr and Lawrence are crawling up I "
"So is Plum!"
These last cries startled Nat, and he sought to
strike out as he had at the start. But his wind
was now completely gone — and the finishing line
was still a quarter of a mile away.
" There goes Morr to the front ! "
" Lawrence is after him, and so is Plum! "
" Here comes Basswood! "
" What's the matter with Porter? He is drop-
ping behind."
A RACE ON SKATES 233
" He said his skates were dull."
"Oh, that's only an excuse! " sneered one of
the students who had been put off of the football
eleven that term.
" It's true," answered Tom Hally. " I saw the
skates myself. Can't you see how he slips when
he strikes out ? "
On and on went the skaters. Nat was still
ahead, but now Roger and Phil came up on one
side, and Gus Plum on the other, while Ben came
up close in the rear. Behind Ben was Dave, de-
termined to see the race out even if he did not win.
With the finishing line but a hundred feet away,
Phil, Roger, and Gus Plum shot to the front.
Then Ben followed. Nat Poole tried to keep up,
but could not. Then of a sudden Dave went
ahead also.
" Nat is dropping behind! "
" He put on too much steam at the start 1 "
" There goes Porter ahead of him ! "
" See, Morr, Lawrence, and Plum are even ! "
' Yes, and there comes Ben Basswood up to
them!"
" Here they come ! Clear the way, every-
body!"
With a rush the skaters came on. For one
brief instant Roger was ahead, but then the others
put on a burst of speed, and over the line they
came, amid a great yelling and cheering.
234 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" A tie between Morr, Plum, and Lawrence ! "
" And Basswood and Porter tied for second
place!"
" Nat Poole wasn't in it, after all."
" My skate got loose," grumbled Nat, as he
came up slowly. " If it hadn't been for that I
would have won."
" That's an old excuse, Nat ! " shouted a boy
in the rear of the crowd. " Invent something
new ! " And a laugh went up, that angered the
money-lender's son greatly. He took his defeat
bitterly, and lost no time in leaving the ice and
disappearing from view.
" A fine race ! " declared Mr. Dodsworth,
" But I don't know how I am to award the prize."
" Cut it in three parts," suggested Buster.
" Say, that puts me in mind of a story," came
from Shadow. " An old Irishman was dying and
wanted to make his will. ' How do ye want to
lave yer money, Pat?' asked his friend. 'Sure,'
says Pat; ' I want to lave it all to me woif an' me
four childer, equal loike, so ivery wan gits a
quarter! '
" We might have another race," suggested Mr.
Dodsworth. " That is, if you are not too tired —
I mean, of course, a race between those who were
tied."
" Oh, let us cut sticks for it," suggested Phil.
" That will suit me," said Plum.
" Me, too," said the senator's son. " I am too
tired to race again."
So the three lads drew sticks for the prize, and
Gus Plum won.
" Hello! I'm in luck! " cried Gus, and looked
much pleased. The silver lead-pencil sharpener
was passed over to him, and he thanked the gym-
nastic instructor warmly for it.
" I am glad he got it, since it pleases him," said
Phil to Roger, and the senator's son nodded in
agreement.
The only boy who felt sore over the race was
Nat Poole, and he continued to declare that he
would have won had his skate not come loose.
" But just wait," he said, to some of the stu-
dents. " I'll show 'em what I can do when we
get to playing hockey." And that very night he
started in to organize an ice-hockey team. He
did not consult Mr. Dodsworth or Andrew Dale,
fearing that they would not favor his selection of
players.
" They have nothing to do with hockey," Nat
explained to his friends. " All they have to look
after is baseball and football, and track athletics.
Doctor Clay didn't say a word about ice hockey,
or field hockey, either." This was true, the mas-
ter of the Hall having probably forgotten all about
those sports. Nevertheless, it was understood by
the majority of the students that all games and
236 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
contests held with parties outside of Oak Hall
were to come under the supervision of the gym-
nastic instructor and Andrew Dale.
" What are you going to do with yourself to-
morrow afternoon ? " asked Roger of Dave, on
going to bed Friday.
" I have a little business to attend to in Rock-
ville, Roger."
" Is that so? Want me to go along? "
This was a question Dave had dreaded to have
asked, and he hardly knew how to answer. He
determined to be as frank as possible.
" No, Roger. I am sorry, but the party I am
going to see asked me to come alone."
" Oh, all right. I just thought I'd mention it."
" If it hadn't been for that I should like very
much to have you and Phil along," continued Dave,
earnestly. " But I can't take anybody."
" Must be going to see a girl," and the senator's
son looked at his chum quizzically.
" No, it is not a girl. Now please don't ask
me any more questions."
" Just as you say, Dave," answered Roger, and
then began to get ready to go to bed. He could
not help but wonder what the business was, and
why Dave was so secretive about it.
In the morning Dave had to go through the
same kind of a scene with Phil. The shipowner's
son was as much mystified as Roger, and after
A RACE ON SKATES 237
Dave had departed, the pair walked into the warm
gymnasium to talk the matter over.
" Dave has something on his mind," said Roger.
" I noticed it yesterday."
" So did I, Roger. What is it, do you sup-
pose ? "
" I don't know, excepting it may be about Mer-
well and Jasniff. He said it wasn't about those
girls."
" Do you think he is going to meet Merwell
and Jasniff in Rockville ? "
" Possibly. I can't think of anything else."
" If Dave got into trouble, I'd like to be on
hand to help him."
" So would I. But I guess Dave knows how to
take care of himself." And then the subject was
dropped, and the two students began to exercise
with some Indian clubs.
In the meantime, Dave was on his way to Rock-
ville. As the road was clear of snow he used
his bicycle, and soon covered the distance to the
town. He passed along the river road to the
sawmill, and then kept his eyes open for Mrs.
Dunn's house.
" This must be the place," he said to himself,
as he reached a dilapidated residence, located in
what had once been a fine flower garden, but which
was now a tangle of rank bushes and weeds. The
gate was off, and leaping from his wheel, he
238 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
trundled his bicycle along the choked-up garden
path to the front piazza.. Then leaving his wheel
against a tree, he mounted the steps and rang the
old-fashioned turn bell.
Dave had approached the house boldly, think-
ing that possibly somebody might be watching him
from behind the blinds of the windows, all of
which were closed. Yet he was on his guard, and
in the lining of his overcoat he carried a stout
stick, with which to defend himself should such
a course be necessary.
No one answered his first summons, and he rang
the rusty bell a second time. Then the front door
was opened, and Doctor Montgomery showed
himself.
" Ah, how do you do ! " he said, with a bland
smile. " Walk right in, Mr. Porter. I see you
are on time."
Dave hesitated for a moment, and then entered
the broad hallway of the house. In front of him
was a long flight of stairs leading to the second
floor, and on either side were doors leading to the
parlor and to a dining-room.
" Mrs. Dunn isn't feeling very well, so I had
to come to the door myself," explained Hooker
Montgomery, smoothly. " She used to take some
drug-store medicine and it did her no good. Now
she is taking my remedies, and she will soon be
herself." He said this so naturally that Dave
A RACE ON SKATES 239
was thrown a little off his guard. As a matter
of fact, Mrs. Dunn was not at home, having gone
away to visit a sister in Albany. It was because
of her absence that the tricky doctor had invited
Dave to come to the house. Had she been at
home his schemes would have necessitated meeting
Dave somewhere else.
" Doctor, I haven't much time to spare, so I
hope you will get at the bottom of what you want
without delay," said Dave, after the door had
been closed and locked by the physician. It was
so dark in the hall he could hardly see.
" I'll not take much of your time, sir, — not
over half an hour at the most," was the reply from
Hooker Montgomery. " But all of the documents
and letters and photographs are in my room, on
the second floor. Kindly come up there and look
at them." And the man started up the stairs.
Dave hesitated for a moment, wondering if it
would be best to go up, and then followed.
CHAPTER XXV
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY
AT the head of the stairs the doctor paused,
and then opened a door leading to a back bed-
room. The apartment had two windows, but the
blinds were closed, what little light there was com-
ing in through the turned-down slats.
" I have to shut off a good deal of light on
account of my eyes," explained the doctor, as he
saw Dave glance at the blinds. " My eyes are
very weak, and I am told that the sunlight is very
bad for them."
" I am sorry to hear that," answered Dave.
He hardly knew what to say or how to act.
His reception had not been what he had antici-
pated, and he could not imagine what was coming
next.
" Here are some of the documents I wish you
to look over first — and then we'll talk business,"
said Hooker Montgomery, pointing to a mass of
legal-looking papers lying on the bed. " You can
take them to the window if you wish," and he
sank down in a rocking-chair, as if tired out, and
placed both hands over his eyes.
240
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 241
Curious to know what the documents might
contain of importance to him, Dave took some of
them up and stepped close to one of the windows.
The writing was poor, and it was hard to make
out what had been written.
His face was bent closely over one of the pages
when of a sudden he felt some unusual movement
behind him. He started to turn, but before he
could do so, a big bag was thrown over his head
and arms, and tied around his waist. At the same
instant he was tackled around the legs, and his
ankles were tied together.
Of course he struggled, and for several minutes
his would-be captors had all they could do to hold
him. But he had been taken so completely off
his guard that resistance proved useless. Soon a
rope was passed around the bag and over his
arms, and further struggling was out of the
question.
"Who are you?" he demanded, in a muffled
tone, for inside of the bag it was all he could do
to breathe. The covering was so heavy he could
not see a thing.
No answer was vouchsafed to his question. He
was backed up against the bed, and made to sit
down, and then he heard his captors leave the
room, locking the door after them.
Dave was both chagrined and angry — chagrined
to think that he had been taken in so easily, and
242 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
angry to think that he was a prisoner and at his
captors' mercy.
" This must be the work of Merwell and Jas-
niff," he thought. " They simply hired the doctor
to get me here. There is nothing in the story of
documents, letters, and photographs. What a
fool I was to walk into the trap ! "
And then he wondered when his captors would
return, and what they proposed to do with him.
For fully a quarter of an hour Dave waited,
straining his ears to catch every sound. From
below came a murmur of voices, but what was
said he could not learn. Once he thought he rec-
ognized Jasniff's rough tones, but he was not sure.
Tired of sitting on the edge of the bed, Dave
got up and tried to move around. Then he made
the discovery that his ankles were tied to a rope
that was secured to the bed, and that the latter
was stationary.
" I'm a prisoner, and no mistake," he reasoned,
grimly. " I wonder how long they intend to keep
me here? "
The room was cold, and he was glad that he had
his overcoat on. His cap had fallen off inside the
bag, but his thick hair and the bag prevented his
catching cold in the head.
" Guess I'll wake them up a bit," he thought,
and so commenced to stamp on the floor. Then
he stamped louder, until he felt he must be knock-
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 243
ing the plaster from the ceiling below. He was
in the midst of the stamping when the door of the
room was thrown open and somebody came in.
" Stop that noise, or I'll knock you down ! " said
a sharp voice, and at the same instant a strong
hand was placed on his shoulder, and he was
given a vigorous shake.
Dave was surprised, for the voice was not that
of Doctor Montgomery, neither did it belong to
Merwell nor Jasniff. Yet, in some way, the voice
sounded familiar.
"What are you going to do with me?" de-
manded Dave, as he stopped his stamping.
" You'll find that out later, Porter. Now keep
quiet, — if you know when you are well off."
" I want to know now. You have no right to
treat me in this fashion. I'll have you and Doctor
Montgomery put in jail for it."
' You shut up ! " cried the stranger, and he
gave Dave a shove that sent him back on the bed.
" You make any more noise and I'll quiet you in
a way you won't like ! " And then the fellow left
the room again, and the door was locked as before.
Feeling that he might be attacked and seriously
injured if he kept up the noise, Dave remained
quiet, and thus the remainder of the afternoon
passed. As night came on the room became dark
and extra cold, and he shivered in spite of himself.
" If they leave me here all night I'll be frozen
244 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
stiff," he thought, grimly. " Oh, why didn't I
tell Roger and Phil where I was going! They
might come to the rescue ! "
After another wait Dave heard more talking
below, and then three persons came upstairs and
into the room.
" Now, you keep real quiet and you won't get
hurt," said the person who had spoken before.
" If you start to raise a row — well, you'll wish
you hadn't, that's all."
" What are you going to do? "
" Keep quiet, and you'll find out before very
long."
" Do you know this is a very high-handed pro-
ceeding? "
"Shut up!"
The tone was extra sharp, and Dave received a
rough shake of the shoulder. Not knowing but
what he might be knocked down, he relapsed into
silence.
Presently his feet were unfastened, and he was
led out of the room and down the stairs. Then
the party made its way to the rear of the house,
and went outside.
" Now we are going to give you a little sleigh-
ride for your health," said the person who had
spoken before.
As there was no snow on the ground Dave felt
this must mean a ride on the river, and he was not
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 245
mistaken. A horse and a low box-sleigh were at
hand, and into the turnout Dave was lifted, the
fellow who had spoken getting on one side of him
and somebody else on the other. Then still an-
other party took up the reins, and started to drive
off, over the ice, which was just thick enough to
bear the weight of such an outfit.
Although Dave's arms were tied to his sides, he
could move his hands a little, and he managed to
get hold of a good-sized pin, which had been
fastened to a corner of his overcoat. As the sleigh
moved over the smooth surface of the river he
resolved to make an effort to learn the identity
of the silent fellow beside him, and so moved the
pin around, and shoved it towards the individual
as far as possible.
" Ouch ! " came the sudden exclamation, as the
point of the pin reached its mark, and the fellow
leaped partly to his feet. " What in thunder "
And then the speaker broke off short.
" I know you, Link Merwell ! " cried Dave.
" I thought all along it was you."
" I'm not Merwell ! " growled the fellow, in a
deep voice. " Don't you dare to stick me with
that pin again, or I'll mash you ! " And then he
refused to say any more. But he gave Dave's arm
such a pinch that it was black and blue for a long
time afterwards.
With the bag over his head, Dave could not
246 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
hear very well, yet he felt tolerably certain that
the fellow was Link Merwell, and if this was so,
then most likely the driver of the sleigh was Nick
Jasniff. But who the third party could be was
still a mystery.
" Some old enemy I have forgotten," reasoned
the captive. And then he wondered where he was
being taken, and for what purpose.
After a ride of half an hour the sleigh came
to a halt, and Dave was ordered to get out. Then
he was marched up a steep bank and up some steps.
A door was opened, and all of the party entered a
building of some sort. He was placed in a room
and tied fast to a ring fastened in the floor.
" Now you behave yourself and you'll soon be
freed and treated to a hot supper," said the man
who appeared to be the spokesman for the crowd.
" But if you make a row you'll not be freed, and
you'll not get a mouthful."
Then Dave was left alone once more, and all
three of his captors apparently left the building.
The room was warm, and for this the captive
was grateful. A chair had been placed for him
to sit upon, so he was fairly comfortable. An hour
passed and during that time all was silent. Then
somebody came in and started to release his arms
and take the bag from his head.
It was a man, tall and muscular, and Dave felt
sure he had seen him before, but where he could
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 247
not remember. The man wore a mask, made
of a handkerchief with holes cut in it for his
eyes.
" Sorry I can't let you go just yet," he said.
" But here is something to eat and to drink."
And he pointed to a table, upon which rested a
lamp, for it was now late in the evening and
dark. On the table was a cup of hot tea and
several cheese sandwiches and a small baker's
pie.
" Well, I'm hungry, that's certain," said Dave,
grimly. " And if I've got to stay here I might
as well eat."
" That's the sensible way to talk," answered the
man.
"When are you going to let me go? "
" I can't say yet — most likely in the morning."
" Why did you bring me here? "
" Just for fun."
" You've taken a lot of trouble for your fun,"
said Dave. He did not believe the man's state-
ment.
" Eat your supper, Porter," growled the man,
and sank down on a chair close to the door.
" No funny work now, mind you 1 " And he
brandished the very stick Dave had carried for
self-protection.
There was no help for it, and sitting down to
the table Dave began to eat and to drink. The
248 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
sandwiches were fresh, and so was the pie, and as
the ride in the keen air had given him an appetite,
he disposed of them quickly. The tea tasted rather
bitter, but he was dry and speedily drained the cup.
The man watched him drink, with evident satis-
faction.
" Now you had better lie down and try and get
a little rest," said the fellow of the mask. " When
I want you I'll call you." And so speaking he
left the room, locking the door after him.
As soon as the man was gone Dave tried to
loosen the rope that bound his feet together. It
was a hard task and took some time, and bending
over seemed to make his head swim. When he
straightened up his head grew even more dizzy,
and almost before he knew it he was staggering
around.
"What a queer sensation!" was his thought.
"What in the world is the matter with me?"
And then like a flash came the answer. " That
tea I It must have been drugged! "
The captive was right in his surmise. The tea
had been drugged, and soon poor Dave felt so
dizzy he had to rest on the bed. He tried several
times to rouse up, and then his senses forsook
him completely.
Dave had been unconscious for about a quarter
of an hour when the man came in, looked at him,
and shook him. Then he went below.
IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY 249
" Well, we've got him," he said to the others.
" He is practically dead to the world."
" Good! " was the answer. " Better bring him
down right away. We want to get this job over."
CHAPTER XXVI
A DASH FOR LIBERTY
WHEN Dave regained his senses he found him-
self in the tonneau of a big automobile that was
speeding swiftly over a dark country road. On
either side of him sat a person who was masked,
and in front were two persons whose faces he
could not see. His hands were tied behind him,
and his ankles were made fast to the foot-rest in
the bottom of the tonneau.
He wondered where he was being taken, but
knew it would be useless to ask any questions.
How long he had been unconscious he did not
know, but felt it must have been a considerable
time, for it was now night, and whenever they
passed a farmhouse it was without lights, showing
the occupants had gone to bed.
Dave fully realized that he was in a position
of peril. His enemies had treated him in an out-
rageous fashion, and what they proposed to do
next there was no telling. He felt that he must
escape if it could possibly be accomplished.
He had roused up a little, but now deemed it
250
A DASH FOR LIBERTY 251
best to let the others think he was still unconscious.
Accordingly, he uttered a deep sigh, and then
slipped further down on the seat, and let his head
fall forward on his breast.
" Pretty well dosed," he heard one of the party
murmur, and now he was sure he recognized Nick
Jasniff's voice.
" Say, Shime, I hope you didn't give him too
much of the drug," said another of the party, and
Dave felt certain it was Link Merwell who was
speaking. " If he shouldn't recover
" Oh, he'll come around all right enough,"
growled the man called Shime. He was running
the automobile, and now Dave was able to place
him as a fellow who worked around a livery stable
and garage in Rockville. Shime was a drinking
man, and his reputation was far from an enviable
one.
"How much further have we to go?" asked
Jasniff, after a few minutes of silence.
" Not far," answered the driver of the auto-
mobile. " We'll take to the side road now.
Hold fast, it's pretty rough," and then the touring
car turned off the main highway and began bump-
ing over the rocks and ruts of a narrow wood road.
The way was uphill, and the driver had to throw
in his second speed to gain the top of the rise.
Then the car made a sharp turn, and halted in
front of a stone building.
252 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Is this the place? " asked Jasniff.
" Yes," answered Shime. " Wait till I light a
lantern, and then you can bring him in."
" I shall have to care for him when we are
in the house," said the fourth person of the party
who had carried Dave off. It was Doctor Mont-
gomery, and his breath was thick from liquor.
Still thinking he might get a chance to escape
if he made out that he was unconscious, Dave
hung limp in the automobile, and allowed his
captors to lift him out and place him on the ground.
Then he was carried into the stone building and
placed on a bench.
" You certainly dosed him strongly," said
Hooker Montgomery. " I had better make an
examination. Loosen up his hands and feet."
A little bit alarmed, Jasniff and Merwell set to
work and released Dave from his bonds. In the
meantime Shime had lit a lantern, and placed it
on a rough table. Doctor Montgomery got out
a medicine case, and began to mix up a potion
in a glass.
" This ought to bring him around," he said, in
a thick, unsteady voice.
Dave did not dare to look around, but by the
draught in the room he knew that the door must
have been left open, probably to give him more
air. He did not think the disreputable physician
was in any condition to administer his medicines,
A DASH FOR LIBERTY 253
and he did not propose to swallow any if he could
avoid it.
" I must escape," he thought, and with a moan,
as if in great pain, he twisted around, and opened
his eyes for an instant.
That instant was long enough for him to locate
the doorway, and beyond he made out a stretch
of woodland, lit up by the lamps of the automobile.
Between him and the doorway stood Merwell and
Jasniff, with Shime and the doctor on the other
side.
"Shall I hold his head, doctor?" asked Mer-
well. " Maybe he won't be able to swallow
if "
Merwell got no further, for just then Dave
leaped to his feet with an agility that surprised
even himself. Stiff though he was, he ran at
Merwell, hurling him flat. Then he bumped into
Jasniff, who made a weak attempt to stop him.
The two swung around, and Jasniff was sent crash-
ing into the table, knocking over the lantern.
Then Dave leaped for the doorway.
" Stop him ! "
" He must not get away ! "
" Ouch ! Don't step on me ! " came from Link
Merwell. He was on his back, and Jasniff's foot
had landed on his stomach.
The four rascals had been taken completely by
surprise. As the lantern fell it went out, and in
254 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
his endeavor to get to the doorway, Shime bumped
into Jasniff. The doctor ran into the bench, and
his glass of medicine went splashing into Mer-
well's face, eliciting another protest from that
bully.
Dave did not care about what happened in the
building. His one thought was to get away, for
he fully realized that in a hand-to-hand encounter
he would be no match for his four enemies.
Had he had time he might have jumped into
the automobile, and started up the machine. But
he was afraid to risk this, and so ran down the
wood road a short distance, and then plunged
into the bushes. He did not stop there, but kept
on, until he calculated that he was a full quarter
of a mile from the stone building.
" I don't think they can follow me to here, at
least not in the darkness," he told himself.
He stopped to rest and to consider what he had
best do next. The effects of the drug were now
entirely gone, and he felt once more like himself.
" I ought to have the whole crowd locked up,"
he reasoned. " But it would be the testimony of
one against four, and they would most likely deny
everything."
He went on again, and presently came out on
the main highway. As he did this he saw the
flash of some lamps in the distance. He crouched
down behind some bushes, and a minute later saw
A DASH FOR LIBERTY 255
the automobile whizz by, with his enemies in it.
" They are going back," he reasoned. " I sup-
pose now I have gotten away from them, Merwell
and Jasniff will return to the academy as fast as
they can, and Shime and the doctor will return
to Rockville; and they'll all play the innocent."
As he walked on, Dave wondered what the plot
against him was. He felt convinced that carry-
ing him off was only the beginning of it.
" Well, whatever it was, I nipped it in the bud,"
he thought. " Perhaps some day I'll find out all
about it, — some day when I can corner one or
another of that rascally bunch. I take it that
Shime and Montgomery are simply in the employ
of Jasniff and Merwell. Both of them are hard
drinkers and willing to do almost anything to get
a few dollars."
Not far down the highway Dave passed a sign-
board which told him that Rockville was ten miles
away.
" I can't walk ten miles," he thought. " I had
better see if I can't get accommodations at some
farmhouse, and then drive over to the school after
breakfast."
With this idea in view he kept on, until he
reached a spot where the railroad crossed the
highway. As he did this he saw a freight train
standing near a siding where a milk car was to
be taken on,
256 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
"Does this train go to Oakdale?" he asked,
of one of the hands.
" Yes, but it isn't a passenger train," was the
reply.
" Can't you take me along? " questioned Dave.
" I wish to get to Oakdale very much, and with-
out delay."
The train hand looked Dave over by the light
of his lantern. He saw that the youth was no
tramp.
" All right, get in the caboose," he said. " But
it will cost you a smoke."
" I haven't any cigars, but you can buy your-
self some," answered Dave, and passed over a
quarter of a dollar, which the train hand pocketed
with satisfaction.
Soon the train was under way, and in less than
half an hour they reached the siding at Oakdale,
and there Dave jumped off. By his watch the lad
saw that it was three o'clock Sunday morning.
Without delay he struck off on foot for the school.
As he hurried on he wondered what he had best
do on arriving at Oak Hall. Should he rouse up
Doctor Clay and tell the master the whole story,
or would it be better to say nothing and await
developments ?
" If I say anything there will be a great hulla-
baloo, but it won't prove anything," he reasoned.
" Merwell and Jasniff will deny everything, and so
A DASH FOR LIBERTY 257
will Shime, and that fake doctor might take it into
his head to sue me for slander. No, I'll fight
my own battles, and see if I can't corner them on
my own hook. But I'll tell Phil and Roger."
Arriving at the school grounds, Dave wondered
how he was going to get in without being observed.
He tried all the doors, to find each locked.
" If I ring the bell I'll have to explain matters,"
he said to himself. " I'll see if I can't rouse up
some of the fellows."
He walked around to the window of No. n,
and threw several handsful of gravel up against
the glass. At first there was no response, but
presently the window was raised, and Roger's head
appeared.
" Is that you, Dave?" asked the senator's son,
in a low voice.
" Yes, Roger. Will you slip down and let me
in."
" Sure thing. Will the side door do? "
" Yes."
No more was said, and the window was closed.
Dave hurried to the door mentioned, and a mo-
ment later Roger opened it, and he entered. Then
both hurried upstairs, making as little noise as
possible.
" What kept you so long? " asked the senator's
son, while Dave was undressing.
" I'll tell you and Phil in the morning," was
258 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Dave's reply. " I've got a yarn to spin you will
hardly believe." And then he went to bed. But
it was a long time before he was able to drop
asleep, and then his dreams were little short of a
nightmare.
It was not until Sunday afternoon that Dave
got a chance to tell his two chums the particulars
of what had occurred. They listened with keen
attention to all he said, and the face of each plainly
expressed his amazement.
"That's the worst ever!" was Roger's com-
ment. " What were they going to do with you,
Dave?"
" I don't know."
" I believe it was some deep-laid plot," said
Phil. " Your getting away spoiled it all."
" For them, yes, — but not for me," answered
Dave, with something of a grin. " I don't know
what I escaped, but I am mighty glad I got away."
"What about your bicycle?" asked the sena-
tor's son. " Aren't you going to try to get that
back?"
" Certainly, — and I am going to interview that
Doctor Montgomery, too, — if I can catch him.
But I want you two to go along," answered Dave.
He was glad to take it easy for the rest of the
day. On Monday, after school, the three boys
went to Rockville on bicycles, Dave borrowing
a wheel belonging to Buster. They rode straight
A DASH FOR LIBERTY 259
to the Dunn house, to find it locked up tightly.
In the yard was Dave's machine, standing against
the tree as he had left it.
" I guess the doctor has come and gone," said
Dave, after trying all the doors. " Most likely
he'll make himself scarce for a while."
"Why not interview that fellow Shime?" sug-
gested Phil.
" I will," answered Dave, and taking the extra
wheel along, the three students rode around to the
Rockville livery stable and garage. Here Dave
asked the proprietor about Shime.
" He has gone," said the man, sourly. " Day
before yesterday he took one of my best autos for
a joy ride. When he came back this morning I
discharged him. He took his things and got out
— and I don't know where he went to."
This was as much as the garage owner could
tell, and with it Dave had to be content. He and
his chums turned away; and a little later set out
on the return to Oak Hall.
CHAPTER XXVII
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY
" I RECKON you scared them pretty thoroughly,
Dave."
" I am glad of it if I did," answered Dave. " I
hope I scared them so much that they never bother
me again."
Several days had passed, and in that time Dave
had learned many things. From Rockville had
come the news that Doctor Montgomery had left
rather suddenly, without stating where he was go-
ing, and Dave had likewise learned that Shime had
not shown himself since his discharge by the garage
owner. And now from the military academy came
word that Merwell and Jasniff had obtained leave
of absence for a week.
" They say Doctor Montgomery must have been
getting ready to leave," said Phil, who had been
to Rockville. " He owes a board bill at the hotel
as well as at his boarding-house. Mrs. Dunn is
back, and is very angry to think the doctor got
away during her absence."
" I suppose Merwell and Jasniff think the affair
260
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 261
will blow over by the time they return," said Roger.
" Well, Dave, you can do as you please, but if I
were you I'd try to corner them."
" If I did that, Roger, they'd try to squirm
out of it somehow. What I'd like to do best of
all would be to give Merwell and Jasniff a good
thrashing."
" Well, they deserve that, Dave."
" I believe they were going to place you in some
kind of an awkward position," came from Phil.
" Maybe they were going to commit some crime
and try to fasten it on you."
" Well, whatever it was, they got left," declared
Dave.
" By the way, did you see the notice Nat Poole
posted up in the gym. ? " asked Roger, during a
pause.
"No. What is it?"
" He has lost a watch-chain charm, and he offers
a dollar reward for its return."
" As if the fellows wouldn't return it without
a reward, if it was found! " exclaimed Phil.
" That just shows Nat's natural meanness of
mind!"
" Nat is busy organizing his ice-hockey team,"
said Roger. " They are going out to practice
this afternoon." *
" Which puts me in mind that we were
going to organize a hockey team also," returned
262 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Dave. " I guess the sooner we get at it the
better."
The ice on the river was clear and smooth, ideal
for hockey playing, and that season ice hockey
was taken up in earnest at both Oak Hall and
Rockville. Nat Poole had little difficulty in or-
ganizing a team, he being the captain and playing
rover. The others on his team were made up
of those who had played with him on the football
eleven and some new students at the Hall.
Dave had studied the play and the players with
care, and he finally made up a team as follows :
Goal, Sam Day.
Point, Dave Porter, captain.
Cover Point, Phil Lawrence.
Center, Roger Morr.
Rover, Gus Plum.
Left Wing, Maurice Hamilton.
Right Wing, Ben Basswood.
Substitutes: Tom Atwood, Luke Watson, and
Henry Babcock.
" You have got to play as if you meant it, if
you want to win any games," said Dave to his
fellow-players, and so much in earnest did he be-
come that, between ice hockey and his studies, he
completely forgot about the adventure which had
followed his visit to Doctor Montgomery.
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 263
Nat Poole could not help but boast of what his
team could do, and when a challenge came to
Oak Hall from Rockville to play a game he wanted
to accept it without delay. But before he could
do so, Mr. Dodsworth interfered.
" We have two hockey teams in this school,"
said the instructor. ' Your seven, and that of
which Dave Porter is captain. I think it would
be no more than fair that you play a game between
you, and that the winner be permitted to accept
the Rockville challenge."
This did not suit Nat at all, as he wanted mat-
ters entirely his own way. But nearly every boy
in the school sided with Mr. Dodsworth, so at
last the money-lender's son had to agree to play
the game with Dave's team, and it was decided
that this game should take place, weather per-
mitting, the following Saturday, and that the
game with Rockville should come off one week
later.
" To hear Nat Poole talk you would think
he had won the game already," said Roger, to
the others on Dave's seven. " He makes me
sick!"
" Speaking of having it won already, puts me
in mind of a story," came from Shadow. " A
little girl went in the pantry and stayed quite a
while. When she came out she asked her mother :
'Ma, can I have a cruller?' 'Yes, my dear,'
264 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
answered ma. Then she saw that the little girl
wasn't eating anything, so she asked : ' Why don't
you take a cruller, Alice? ' ' Oh,' says Alice; ' I
had that when I first went to the pantry ! ' "
" Wow ! " murmured Sam. " That joke came
from the ark ! "
" It was told to Pharaoh by Napoleon, when
they were hunting for the North Pole," added
Plum.
" Well, I don't think it hits Nat Poole's case,"
was Sam's comment. " He won't get any cruller
in this game."
" Right you are ! " cried Plum.
Plum was as anxious as anybody to defeat the
money-lender's son. Since the former bully had
turned over a new leaf Nat was constantly saying
mean things about him, and it was only Gus's
grim determination to " keep the peace " that kept
him from pitching into Nat " rough-shod." In
keeping his hands off Nat, Plum had a harder
battle to fight than if he had attacked the money-
lender's son bodily.
It had to be admitted that, as the day for the
contest between the two Oak Hall sevens ap-
proached, Poole's team was in good shape. Nat
had drilled them with care, and had profited by
the work of two of the players who had been on
another boarding-school seven the winter previous.
One of these players knew several sharp tricks,
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 265
and it was hoped that these tricks would help to
defeat Dave's seven.
The game was to be played under the inter-
scholastic rules of that year, with two halves of
twenty minutes each, and an intermission of ten
minutes. Mr. Dodsworth was the referee, and
the accustomed goal umpires and timekeepers were
also selected. The " field " had already been
marked on the ice, and the goal nets set, so that
everything was in readiness for the match. Each
player had the regulation ice-hockey stick, and
wore regulation hockey skates, well sharpened for
the occasion.
" Well, we've got our work cut out for us," said
Phil, as he came out for practice.
" Beware of off-side plays," warned Dave.
" Don't give Poole's crowd a chance to claim off-
play or fouls — and don't let them do anything
unfair without a protest."
Just before the play was to start Chip Macklin
beckoned to Dave.
" Look out for Bolton," he whispered, as Dave
skated up.
11 Why do you say that, Chip? "
" I heard him and Nat whispering together.
Bolton said their side must win — he had a bet on
it with somebody. Then Nat advised him to take
chances — which means that they may club you, or
kick you with their skates."
266 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" We'll be on the lookout," answered Dave, and
he immediately let the others know what Poole
and Bolton had in mind to do.
Amid a cheering for both sides, the puck was
brought out and placed on the ice, directly in the
center of the field, and between the sticks of two
of the players. Then the whistle blew, and the
contest commenced.
Back and forth over the smooth ice flew the
rubber disc, first towards one goal and then to-
wards the other. Dave got it and carried it far
down the field, and then turned it over to Plum.
Gus lost it to Poole, who knocked it over to a
player named Foss. It came dangerously close
to Dave's goal, but was sent spinning forward
again by Sam, and then followed a turning and
twisting back and forth, in the midst of which
Nat Poole went flat on his back, and Phil went
sprawling over him.
" Foul ! foul ! " yelled Nat, as he scrambled
up. " You did that on purpose ! "
" I did not ! " answered Phil, with flashing eyes.
" I guess you fell on purpose ! "
" There was no foul ! " decided Mr. Dodsworth.
" It was simply an accident all around." And
then the play was resumed.
At the end of eight minutes of play Dave's team
rushed the puck forward once more. Nat's team
tried its best to send the disc back, but lost it by
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 267
a bad fumble by Bolton. Then straight into the
goal net flew the puck.
" Hurrah ! One goal for Porter's team ! "
" That's the way to do it!"
"Humph! They got that by a fluke!"
growled Bolton.
" They got it because of your error ! " answered
one of the students at the side line.
Again the puck was placed in the center of the
field, and once more the struggle was renewed.
This time the disc was again forced close to the
Porter goal, but without avail. Sam sent it back,
and Dave shot it to Phil, who whizzed the puck
over to Shadow. Then came a mix-up, and the
puck flew close to the Poole goal.
" Back with it ! " was the cry. " Don't let 'em
score another goal ! "
A player named Gardener had the puck. He
was about to send it to Bolton, when Phil interfered
and sent the disc over to Ben Basswood. As Ben
swept over the ice with the disc Bolton rushed
forward, swinging his hockey stick viciously.
" Look out ! " yelled somebody, and many saw
a swing of the stick that came dangerously close
to Phil's head.
" Bolton, you try that again, and I'll knock
you down! " said Phil, his eyes flashing fire as he
spoke.
" My — er — my stick slipped," stammered Bel-
268 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
ton, and turned away quickly. Before more could
be said a cheer went up.
" Another goal for the Porter team ! "
" That's the way to play ice hockey I "
It was true, Ben had made the second goal.
With five minutes more of the half to play the
puck was placed in position once again.
" Say, we've got to do something ! " growled
Nat Poole.
" All right, do it," answered one of the team,
who had seen Nat make several errors, and who
was growing disgusted.
Both Nat and Bolton were ugly, and showed it
in every movement. The puck was worked down
into the Porter territory, but again without avail,
and as it commenced to move in the opposite
direction Nat and Bolton grew furious. Nat gave
his follower a meaning look, and a minute later
Bolton swung his hockey stick around, almost on
a line with Dave's shoulder.
Had the blow landed as intended, Dave would
have been seriously lamed, and possibly his arm
might have been broken. But Roger was close
at hand, and in a flash the senator's son thrust
out his hockey stick, so that the blow glanced off,
doing little harm.
" Time ! " called Roger, and it was granted,
and both teams at once gathered around Dave and
Bolton.
A GAME OF ICE HOCKEY 269
" Bolton, that was done on purpose; you can't
deny it ! " cried Roger. " You did your best to
injure Dave."
" I did not ! " roared Bolton, growing red in
the face.
"He did! He did!" was the general cry.
" Put him out!"
There was a great hubbub, in the midst of which
Mr. Dodsworth consulted with Andrew Dale, who
was assistant referee. Then Mr. Dodsworth came
forward.
" Bolton," he said, clearly and coldly; " you are
retired."
" Can't I play any more? " growled the student.
" No. Your conduct is unworthy of a gentle-
man, and you must leave the field. The game
will proceed."
CHAPTER XXVIII
A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST
IT was a stinging rebuke, and everybody within
hearing felt its effect. There was a sudden hush,
and then Bolton turned and skated away, mutter-
ing savagely under his breath.
Once more the game proceeded, but before the
puck could be gotten within striking distance of
either goal the whistle blew; and the first half of
the game came to an end.
" Wonder what Nat Poole thinks of his team
now?" remarked Roger, as the boys gathered in
a group to discuss the plays made.
" He is as mad as hops," reported Plum. " He
says Bolton was not to blame, and that it wasn't
fair for Mr. Dodsworth to rule him off."
" They ought to be satisfied," said Messmer,
who was close by. " Langley, the substitute, is
as good as Bolton, if not better."
" Say, we must keep them from scoring in the
second half ! " cried Ben. " That will break Nat's
heart. He has been blowing constantly that he
was going to do us up."
270
A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST 271
" Look out for tricks," cautioned Dave.
" They may have something up their sleeve they
haven't tried yet — although I doubt it."
Promptly on time the second half of the game
started. As soon as the puck was put into action
it was seen that Nat's team had adopted new
tactics. This was to " worry " the disc along close
to the side line, and in such a manner that Dave's
seven had to either miss it or run the risk of off-side
plays.
" Get it out, fellows ! " cried Dave, and then
gave a signal to bring it back. This was not
expected by the Poole players, and before they
realized what was occurring, the Porter seven had
the puck nearly to the goal net. Here a fierce
fight occurred, and the disc went back and forth
with astonishing rapidity. But at last Dave got
it and made a goal so swiftly and so neatly it
brought forth tremendous applause.
" Another for Porter's side I "
" Say, they are piling 'em up, aren't they?"
" Come, Nat! Get in the game and show us
what you can do ! "
With a glum face Nat Poole ordered his team
to their places, and again the try for a goal started.
But the seven was now thoroughly demoralized,
and another goal was made by the Porters in
less than four minutes. Then followed three
minutes of ragged work near the middle of the
272 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
field, and then the whistle blew and it was all
over.
" And a regular slaughter for Nat Poole's
team," was the comment of one of the students.
" It knocked us out to take Bolton out of the
game," grumbled Nat. " That wasn't fair."
" Bolton wasn't any better than the rest," an-
swered Phil. " Nat, you were beaten fairly and
squarely, and you know it."
" Oh, shut up ! " growled the money-lender's
son, and hurried away out of sight as soon as
possible.
" Well, young gentlemen," said Mr. Dodsworth
to Dave and his followers, " you did very well, and
I am proud of you."
" Mr. Dodsworth, do you think we stand any
chance of beating Rockville?" asked Dave, ear-
nestly.
" I do, yes. But it will be no easy work."
" Not as easy as to-day, eh? " put in Ben, with
a grin.
" By no means, Basswood. I have seen the
Rockville seven play two games, and they are very
quick and clever. No, you must not look for
any walk-over. If you win it will only be by
good, clean-cut work."
" Then I can send an acceptance of their chal-
lenge? " questioned Dave.
" Yes, and you had better do it at once," an-
273
swered the instructor; and the letter was sent by
special messenger within the hour.
That evening the boys celebrated their victory
by lighting a number of bonfires along the river.
They were allowed to be out an hour later than
usual, and skated and had a good time generally.
Nat Poole and his cronies were not in evidence,
but nobody missed them.
" I hope we don't get snow," remarked Dave,
on retiring. " A heavy fall would knock out the
game with Rockville."
" Oh, they could clear the ice," answered Phil.
" But I'd like to see it stay clear."
But this was not to be. All day Sunday the
sky was overcast, and by Monday morning it was
snowing furiously, blotting out the landscape on
all sides.
" Here is where we stay indoors and do some
studying," remarked Roger, making a wry face.
" Good chance to catch up," was Ben's com-
ment. " I've got to bone at some Latin any-
way."
" And I have a theme to finish," added Dave.
" Let us do all the studying we can," he went on.
" Then, if it clears off, we'll have so much more
time outdoors."
This proposal was accepted by the lads of Nos.
ii and 12, and soon nearly all of them were at
work over their lessons. The exception was Luke
274 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Watson, who said he was ahead in his studies for
once.
" I am going to put my clothing in order," said
Luke. " My closet and my bureau drawers are
something fierce. I hardly know where to find a
necktie or a shoe any more."
" You ought to follow Polly's example," sug-
gested Dave. " He has everything as neat as a
pin."
" It's easy enough," said the girlish student.
" All you've got to do is to put everything in its
proper place at the start, and then put it back after
you have used it."
" Say, that puts me in mind of a story," began
Shadow. " Once two boys "
"Drop it!"
" We are studying, not listening to stories ! "
" Throw a book at him if he opens his mouth
again ! "
" All right, if you don't want to hear it,"
murmured Shadow, and turned to his own
lessons.
Luke arranged his bureau drawers to his satis-
faction, and then went to his clothing closet. Out
came several suits of clothing, some shoes and
slippers, and a quantity of other things.
" I don't see why I am keeping these old slip-
pers," he murmured, half to himself. " I haven't
worn 'em this term. Guess I'll turn 'em over to
A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST 275
Pop Swingly. He might get a little good out of
'em."
" Did you speak to me, Luke ? " asked Dave,
looking up from his books.
" No. I was musing over these old slippers.
I am going to give 'em away."
" Maybe some poor person would be glad to
get them."
" I don't know any poor person around here.
I'll turn 'em over to Pop Swingly. He can
Hello, what's this?"
Luke had turned the slippers over in his hand,
and from the toe of one of them had dropped a
small, shining object. Luke picked it up with
interest.
" Why, it's a watch charm ! " exclaimed Dave,
coming forward.
" So it is! How did that get in my slipper? "
" What's that ? " cried Shadow, coming over,
while some of the other students did the same.
" Luke just found this watch charm stuck
in the toe of one of his old slippers," explained
Dave.
" That is Nat Poole's charm — the one he lost
from his watch-chain ! " cried Ben.
"Are you sure, Ben?"
" Pretty sure, yes. I've seen it often enough to
know it."
" Yes, it looks like Nat's charm," said Roger.
276 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" And was that charm in your slipper? " ques-
tioned Shadow, excitedly.
" Yes, it just dropped out."
" Were those slippers taken at the time all our
shoes and boots and slippers disappeared?" con-
tinued Shadow.
" Yes. Say, Shadow, you don't think "
" Yes, I do ! " shouted the lad who had the
reputation of walking in his sleep. " I think Nat
Poole took those shoes, slippers, and boots, and
then got scared in some way and returned them.
And when he boxed 'em up he caught his watch
charm in the slipper, and the charm dropped in-
side."
" It looks reasonable," was Dave's comment.
" You let me have that charm and I'll find out
about this," went on Shadow. " I'll show him
he can't do such a thing and then shove it off on
me, and make folks believe I took the shoes while I
was walking in my sleep ! "
" Going after Nat now? " asked Buster.
" Yes."
"Do you want anybody along?" asked Dave.
" Better have witnesses to this."
"All right; Dave, you come along, — and you
too, Phil. I guess you want to know what became
of that missing gym. shoe."
" So I do," answered the shipowner's son.
" Where is Nat? " asked Roger.
A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST 277
" I don't know, but I'll soon find out," answered
Shadow, with determination. He had been deeply
chagrined over the disappearance of the shoes,
boots, and slippers, and had felt it keenly when
he was suspected of having walked in his sleep
once again and made off with the foot coverings.
The three students left the dormitory, and from
another lad learned that Nat was in the library.
They sent a small boy after him, stating that he
was wanted at once at the " den," a room where
the students sometimes congregated, but which
just then was deserted.
Wondering what was coming, the money-
lender's son soon put in an appearance. He had
not been told who wished to see him, and his face
fell when he saw Shadow, Dave, and Phil.
" What do you want? " he asked, surlily. " I
am busy this afternoon."
" Nat, is this your watch charm, the one you
lost? " questioned Shadow, holding out the piece in
his hand.
"Sure it is!" cried the money-lender's son.
"Where did you find it?"
" Found it just where you lost it — in Luke
Watson's slipper."
11 Eh? " And Nat looked startled.
" Nat, we have found you out ! " cried Shadow,
sternly. " You needn't attempt to deny it. You
took those shoes, boots, and slippers."
278 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
44 Who says so?"
11 1 do."
" I— I did not."
" Yes, you did."
" Don't you know you were seen ? " asked Phil,
with a wink at his chums.
It was only a chance shot, but it told in a most
unexpected way.
" Say, has Tom Rally been talking about me? "
roared Nat, in sudden rage. " If he has I'll —
I'll "
" Now, take it easy," advised Dave. " Nat,
don't you realize that this is a serious matter? "
11 1 don't care ! I'll fix Rally, see if I don't ! "
At that moment the door opened, and the boy
who had been rescued from the hole in the snowy
hollow came in with several chums.
" Hally, come here ! " called Phil.
"Say, did you give me away, after all?" de-
manded Nat Poole, rushing forward and catching
Tom Hally by the arm.
" Let go of me I " returned Hally. " I don't
know what you are talking about."
" Yes, you do, you sneak! "
"I'm no sneak!" And Tom Hally 's eyes
flashed dangerously.
" Hally, tell me, did Nat Poole take our shoes
and boots and slippers that night?" demanded
Dave.
A DISCOVERY OF INTEREST 279
11 He did." Hally grew red in the face. " I
wasn't going to mention it, but now you ask me a
direct question I'll not tell a falsehood. He took
the shoes and hid them in the trunk room. I
caught him doing it, but I thought it was only
a joke, and so kept silent. Then, after you fellows
rescued me from the hole in the snow, I made Nat
send the shoes back. At first I was going to tell
on him, but, somehow, I didn't want to play the
sneak."
" I understand," answered Dave. He turned
to Shadow. " This clears you."
" So it does, Shadow, and I am mighty glad of
it," put in Phil.
' Yes, it clears me," answered the student who
was known as a sleep-walker. " Or at least, I will
be cleared — after I am done with Nat Poole," and
Shadow looked at the money-lender's son in a man-
ner that was full of grim significance.
CHAPTER XXIX
HOOKER MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION
"WHAT do you want?" demanded Nat, and
his voice trembled a little, for he realized that he
was cornered.
" In the first place, I think you'll have to restore
Phil's missing gym. shoe," remarked Dave dryly.
"How about it, Phil?"
" That's so," answered the shipowner's son.
" I've got the shoe in my closet," growled Nat.
" It dropped out when I was packing the box. I'll
get it now."
"No, you don't I" cried Shadow. "You can
get the shoe any time. We will settle the rest of
this affair before you leave."
"I — er — I don't understand?" stammered the
money-lender's son. " You've got your shoes
back. What more do you want? Can't you
stand for a joke? "
" Not that kind of a joke, Nat. You put me
in a false light — made everybody think I had
walked off with the shoes in my sleep — and you
280
MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION 281
made the whole crowd buy new shoes. We ought
to make you pay that bill."
" I won't pay a cent ! You — you've got the new
shoes."
" Well, you've got to settle with me anyway,"
went on Shadow, firmly. " You can take your
choice of two things. If you won't explain to the
whole crowd how the thing happened, and won't
apologize to me, why I'm going to give you a sound
thrashing, that's all."
"Humph!"
" No ' humph ' about it. You can take your
choice."
" I won't apologize to you, or to anybody."
" Then you'll get a sound thrashing, Nat
Poole."
" I am not afraid of you 1 "
" You won't apologize ? "
"No!"
" Very well, then. Remember, I am going to
give you the thrashing of your life the very first
chance I get," declared Shadow, and then, without
another word he left the u den," and Dave and
Phil went with him.
" Are you going to do what you just said,
Shadow? " questioned Phil.
" Indeed I am ! I'll teach him that he can't put
off his dirty tricks on me ! " declared the sleep-
walker.
282 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
;< When will you meet him? "
" I don't know. I'll lay for him some day when
he goes to town."
" He'll keep out of your way most likely," de-
clared Dave.
" Never mind, I'll catch him some time," de-
clared Shadow, grimly.
A little later the missing shoe was returned to
Phil. Nat Poole showed himself only during
class hours, and it was plain to see that Shadow's
threat had scared him. He and Bolton talked of
" squaring up " with Dave, Shadow, and the
others, but nothing came of the discussion.
"You are not afraid of Hamilton, are you?"
asked Bolton of Nat.
" Of course I ain't ! " cried the money-lender's
son.
" Then why don't you challenge him to a regular
fight?"
" Why, I — er — that is, it wouldn't do," stam-
mered Nat. " Shadow would be just mean enough
to let one of the teachers or the doctor hear about
k, and I might be expelled. My father has been
very strict lately, so I don't dare do anything to
worry him. But if he attacks me I'll defend
myself, don't you fear!" added Nat, boastfully.
It may be added here that Nat and Shadow met
the very next afternoon, back of the boathouse,
and though the money-lender's son tried to get
MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION 283
away, Shadow pounced upon him and knocked
him down, and ended up by blackening Nat's left
eye, and making his nose bleed. Later on, Nat
tried to " square himself " with his friends by
stating that Shadow had attacked him while he
was feeling sick, but it is doubtful if anybody
believed this statement.
By Wednesday the storm cleared away, and
the air became clear and bracing. Word was sent
in from Rockville that, unless another storm fol-
lowed, the ice on the river would be cleared off for
the game of hockey as scheduled.
" Well, we must get into practice," said Dave,
and that very afternoon a portion of the river
near the Oak Hall boathouse was scraped clear,
and the seven got to work, under the eyes of Mr.
Dodsworth and Andrew Dale.
" Rockville will do its best to win," said Roger.
" If for no other reason than to wipe out the foot-
ball defeat."
" And we must do our best to down 'em I "
cried Dave.
" I am going for a sleigh ride to-morrow,"
announced Phil. " I've hired a big sleigh from
Oakdale, and I want the whole bunch to go."
" Bully for Phil ! " cried Ben. " A sleigh ride
will suit me first-rate."
" Where will you go? " asked Shadow.
'" I thought of going to Hopperville and back.
284 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
That is about as far as we can go between four
o'clock and ten. I'll telephone to the Hopperville
Hotel to have supper ready for us."
" Phil, you're a brick! " cried Roger.
" Will the doctor let us go? " asked Ben.
" Yes, I asked him before I hired the sleigh."
The thought of a sleigh ride was a pleasant one,
and Phil had little difficulty in making up a party
of eight, including Roger, Dave, and Ben.
" It will be moonlight," said Dave. " And that
will make the riding extra fine."
It was a merry crowd that climbed into the big
sleigh on the following afternoon. The turnout
was filled with straw, so that they might keep
warm, and was drawn by four good horses.
" Now then, let her go 1 " cried Phil, and the
driver cracked his whip, and they were off,
the envy of all the students who had been left
behind.
The road to Hopperville lay through Oakdale
and Rockville, and as each town was passed the
boys set up a cheer and blew the horns that had
been brought along. Some folks cheered them in
return, and just as they were leaving the town
where the military academy was located, some
cadets rushed from around a corner and pelted
them with snowballs.
" Never mind ! " yelled Roger, as he dodged.
" You'll get yours next Saturday! "
MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION 285
It was dark by the time Hopperville was reached
and all of the boys were glad enough to jump out
of the sleigh and go into the hotel to warm up
before sitting down to supper. The horses and
the turnout were taken around to the stables.
The hotel was located on a corner, and across
the side street was another hotel — a resort that
did not bear a particularly good reputation. It
had a bar attached to it, and it was whispered
that sporty men often went to the resort to gamble.
The reading-room of one hotel faced the other,
and as Dave, Roger, and Phil entered one apart-
ment they noticed that the one across the way was
lit up, and that the window curtains had not been
lowered. Then Dave gave a sudden cry of sur-
prise.
" Look at that man over there, Phil ! "
" Why, it is Doctor Montgomery ! " answered
the shipowner's son.
" Montgomery ! " cried Roger. " I thought he
had cleared out from these parts."
" I am going over to talk to him," said Dave.
"Want us to go along?" came from both of
the others.
" You might as well."
"Say, why don't you scare him?" suggested
Phil. "If you do that, you may get him to tell
all about the plot against you."
" Oh, I'll do that— don't fear," answered Dave.
286 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
As supper would not be ready for half
an hour, the three lads excused themselves, and
hurried across the street. They found Hooker
Montgomery still alone, reading a sensational
newspaper.
"Well, doctor, how are you?" said Dave,
coolly, as he dropped in a chair beside the so-styled
physician.
" Why — ah — who — ahem ! — where did you
come from ? " stammered Hooker Montgomery.
He was so taken back that he knew not what to
say. He had not dreamed that Dave and his
chums would visit Hopperville, which was some-
what out of the regular line of travel.
" I guess you didn't think I'd find you," con-
tinued Dave.
"Were you — ahem! — looking for me?" asked
the doctor, weakly. And now the boys noticed
that he looked more dissipated than ever, and that
his garments were decidedly shabby.
" See here, Doctor Montgomery, I am not going
to beat around the bush with you," said Dave,
sternly. " You played me a mean trick, and you
know that I can put you in prison for it."
" Why, I— ahem !— I— that is "
" You kidnapped me, and that is a serious
offense."
" No ! no ! I did nothing of the sort ! " cried
the man, and his face showed actual misery. " Oh,
MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION 287
Porter, don't blame me for it! I made a big
mistake ! I was a fool to listen to those others !
But I needed money — times were very hard — and
they said it was only a schoolboy trick — that is,
that is what they said first. But afterwards "
The pretended doctor did not finish.
" Who said it was a trick? "
" Those two young men, Merwell and Jasniff.
They were angry at you because of something of
which I know nothing. They wanted to get you
in their power for a lark — that was the story they
first told. They promised me twenty dollars if
I would aid them — and I never got a cent — not a
cent! " added Hooker Montgomery, almost tear-
fully. " Oh, don't prosecute me ! I am down
and out! My practice has been ruined — some
folks even want me arrested for practicing without
a state certificate — and those rascals never came to
my aid! And after all I did for them! "
Dave was a good judge of character, and he saw
at once that Hooker Montgomery was assuredly
in a pitiable condition. Drink had made him lose
his practice and his ability to induce people to buy
his medicines, and now he had relied upon Mer-
well and Jasniff to aid him, and they had failed
to do so. Evidently the man was not so much of
a rascal as he was weak-minded.
" So Merwell and Jasniff promised to pay you
if you aided them? " said Dave.
288 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Yes."
" But you got me to come to your boarding-
house."
" So I did, but it was those two fellows who put
me up to it."
" Where did Shime come in? "
" Oh, he only furnished the auto for a con-
sideration. He was under Jasniff's thumb — and
now he is down and out, too."
" You say it was the plot of Jasniff and Merwell
to get me in their power. Why did they want
to do this ? "
" If I tell you, Mr. Porter, will you — ahem ! —
will you prosecute me?" asked Hooker Mont-
gomery, tremblingly.
" I may prosecute you if you don't tell me."
" As I said before, I didn't understand their plot
at first. They said it was only a schoolboy trick.
But it was not, — as I found out later. It was
a villainous plan to get you into serious
trouble."
"What trouble?"
" I don't know all of the particulars, but I know
some. From that old stone building you were to
be taken to some town near by. I heard them
say something about breaking into a jewelry fac-
tory, and you were to be drugged and left in the
factory. I think they were going to make it
appear as if you had broken into the factory, and
MONTGOMERY'S REVELATION 289
that an explosion to blow open a safe had stunned
you."
" Can that be true? " burst from Roger.
" What cold-blooded plotting? " was Phil's
comment.
" I can't give you any details, for I was — ahem !
— sick at the time and did not quite understand,"
went on Hooker Montgomery, and Dave reasoned,
and rightfully, that he had been under the influence
of liquor. " Of course, they'll deny the whole
thing. But that is what they plotted to do to
you."
" Where are Merwell and Jasniff now? Do you
know?"
" Yes, they are in this town. That is why I
came here — to see them and get some money, if I
could, for I am dead broke. But they wouldn't
see me."
" Here ! " cried Dave, in astonishment.
"Where?"
" At the residence of one of MerwelPs relatives,
on the other side of town. Do you want to see
them?" And a sudden look of interest dawned
in Hooker Montgomery's fishy eyes.
11 1 do."
" Going to have it out with them? "
" Yes."
11 Good for you, sir I I'll show you where you
can find them ! "
CHAPTER XXX
THE ENEMY RUNS AWAY
IN a very few minutes Dave and his chums
were on the way to find Merwell and Jasniff. As
the party walked along Hooker Montgomery told
more about his dealings with the rascally students.
It was plain to Dave that the so-styled doctor had
been nothing but a weak tool, and in a way the
youth had to pity the poor wretch whom dissipa-
tion had so dragged down.
In less than five minutes the party arrived at
a small residence set well back in a garden. The
walk was unshoveled, and they had to pick their
way through the snow. When they rang the
doorbell a tall, thin elderly woman answered their
summons.
" Good-evening, Mrs. Slater," said Hooker
Montgomery. " I'd like to see Mr. Merwell and
Mr. Jasniff."
" They have gone," was the sharp answer, and
Mrs. Slater looked as if she wished to shut the
door in the faces of the callers.
290
THE ENEMY RUNS AWAY 291
"When will they be back?"
" They won't be back."
" Will you kindly tell me where they have
gone ? " questioned Dave.
" Who are you? " And the woman eyed Dave
suspiciously.
" My name is David Porter, and I wish to see
Merwell and Jasniff very much."
" Porter! Then you must be that young villain
Link told me about — the one who made so much
trouble for him out on the ranch ! " exclaimed Mrs.
Slater. " Well, you can't see Link, or his friend.
They have gone, and they won't be back."
" Have they gone to Rockville Academy? "
"You can find that out for yourself!" cried
Mrs. Slater, and then slammed the door shut, and
locked it.
" Very accommodating lady, I must say 1 " mur-
mured Phil, sarcastically.
" Very essence of politeness," added Roger.
" Well, if they have gone, there is no use of
our staying here," declared Dave. " Come on."
And he led the way back to the hotel. Here they
had another talk with Hooker Montgomery.
" If you'll promise not to prosecute me I'll ap-
pear against Merwell and Jasniff any time you
want me," said the so-called doctor. And there
the matter rested; and the boys went back to join
their companions and help to make way with the
292 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
generous supper that was awaiting the whole
party.
" What place do you suppose Merwell and
Jasniff were going to rob ? " asked Roger of Dave,
on the way back to Oak Hall.
"I am sure I don't know, Roger. Mont-
gomery didn't say. More than likely those rascals
didn't tell him."
" What are you going to do next, go up to
Rockville after Link and Nick?"
" I've been thinking I'd go up there early next
Saturday, before the hockey game. Want to go
along?"
" Certainly, if you wish it. I guess Phil will
go, too — if you ask him."
" I'll do it. I don't think I can manage the
two alone."
" Going to have them arrested? "
" That depends on how they act. One thing
is certain, I am not going to stand for any more
of their underhanded work," answered Dave,
grimly.
The day of the game dawned clear and bright.
The contest was scheduled for three o'clock, and
Dave, Phil, and Roger got permission to go to
Rockville in the morning. They said they would
meet their fellow-players on the river later.
Arriving at Rockville, the three chums put up
at the hotel, where they rested from the long
THE ENEMY RUNS AWAY 293
skate, and then had dinner. Then they started
in the direction of the military school.
The street on which they were walking ran past
the railroad station, and as they passed the plat-
form Roger happened to look at the people as-
sembled, waiting for a train. He gave a shout:
" There is Merwell now ! "
" Where? " asked Dave and Phil.
" Just went into the waiting-room."
The three lads quickened their pace and hurried
into the waiting-room. They saw Merwell and
Jasniff at the ticket window, just picking up some
tickets and change.
" I want to see you fellows," said Dave, coldly,
and placed a hand on a shoulder of each of the
rascals.
Merwell and Jasniff wheeled around, and the
face of each turned pale.
" Wha — what do you want, Porter?" stam-
mered Merwell.
"Ah, don't talk to him," blustered Jasniff.
" Let go of me !" And he tore himself loose.
" Jasniff, you've got to talk to me," answered
Dave. " If you won't talk I'll call an officer."
"Don't you do that!" cried Merwell, in in-
creased alarm. "You let me go! It's a — a —
mistake! I haven't done anything!" And he
commenced to back towards the door.
" Merwell, you and Jasniff played me a dirty
294 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
trick! " declared Dave. "I don't know whether
to have you arrested or to take it out of you. I
gave you a sound thrashing once, but it doesn't
seem to have done you much good."
" You — you let me alone, Porter! "
"Where are you going?" asked Roger.
" Don't you tell them ! " burst out Jasniff,
quickly. " It's none of their business! " And he
looked knowingly at Merwell.
" I guess I had better call an officer," sug-
gested Phil, just by way of intimidating the
rascally students.
" No — no — don't do it ! " cried Link Merwell.
" Come on, Nick, there is the train! "
He leaped past the others, and out of a back
door of the station. As Dave, Phil, and Roger
went after him, Jasniff went out of the front
door.
A train had come to a stop, and a number of
passengers were getting off and on. Link Merwell
darted into the midst of the crowd, and mounting
one of the platforms, entered the car.
"Going after him?" asked Phil.
"No. What's the use?"
" Where is Jasniff? " asked Roger.
" There he goes ! " cried Dave, and pointed to
the end of the train, which the student named had
just boarded.
The train was now moving, and as it swept by,
THE ENEMY RUNS AWAY 295
the three lads on the platform saw Link Merwell
peer anxiously out of a window at them. Then,
as the last car rolled by, they beheld Nick Jasniff
in the doorway. He shook his fist at them.
" Just wait, Dave Porter! " he yelled, defiantly.
" Just wait, that's all ! " And then the train dis-
appeared swiftly from view.
" Wonder if they are running away from
the academy ? " came from Phil.
" It looks like it to me," answered Dave. " I
guess they are pretty badly scared. Maybe they
know that Doctor Montgomery had turned against
them."
" Well, if they only stay away it won't be so
bad," said the senator's son.
" I might telegraph ahead and have them held,"
said Dave. " But I guess it isn't worth while."
" Do you know what I think? " said Phil. " I
think they were at that Mrs. Slater's house the
night we called, and what we said scared them."
And in this surmise Phil was correct.
An hour later found the three chums down on
the river, where they were met by the other mem-
bers of the hockey team. A great crowd was as-
sembling, and in the number were Vera Rockwell,
Mary Feversham, and a number of other people
they knew.
The boys from Oak Hall had come in sleighs
and on skates, and they had brought their horns,
296 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
rattles, and banners with them. The Rockville
cadets were also alive to the occasion, and the
combined din from both sides was deafening.
" Here is where we do up Oak Hall ! "
" Here is where Rockville gets another defeat ! "
" Remember, this is for the championship of
the Leming River! "
So the cries rang on, drowned ever and anon
by the tooting of horns and the clacking of rattles.
Soon came a short practice, and then the two
sevens lined up for the great contest.
At a glance it was easy to see that the Rockville
team was a fine one. Every player was tall and
thin, and an exceptionally swift skater. They had
been well drilled into team work, and sent the
puck from one player to another in a manner that
brought forth many favorable comments.
" We sure have our work cut out for us I " whis-
pered Ben to Dave. " They are the swiftest bunch
I have yet seen on skates."
" And their captain is certainly a star," added
Shadow. u I never saw a fellow turn quicker or
send the puck with more force."
"We've got to fight and fight hard!" cried
Dave. " I want every fellow on the job, first,
last, and all the time ! "
CHAPTER XXXI
ANOTHER VICTORY — CONCLUSION
" THAT'S the way to do it ! "
" What did I tell you? Oak Hall won't be in
this game ! "
" This will wipe out that football defeat ! "
So the cries rang out. The great ice-hockey
contest was but six minutes old, and amid a wild
yelling and cheering Rockville had carried the puck
down into the Oak Hall territory, and Mallory,
their star player, had made a swift and safe goal.
" Wasn't that going some! "
" Three cheers for Mallory! " And the cheers
were given with a will.
" Oak Hall! Oak Hall ! " came the answering
cry, and then the supporters of that school burst
out into a new slogan:
" Ice hockey!
Nice jockey !
Oak Hall
Has the call !
Wa ! wa ! wa ! wa ! Whoop ! "
" Oh, what a shame that Rockville scored ! "
sighed Vera Rockwell.
297
298 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
" Never mind, the game isn't ended yet," re-
turned Mary Feversham.
" No," came from a Rockville cadet, sitting
near. " When it is the score will be about forty
to nothing, in our favor." And this remark caused
some cadets to smile, and made both of the girls
turn very red.
" Aren't they horrid! " whispered Mary.
" Don't mind them," answered her friend.
" But, oh, I do so hope Oak Hall wins ! " And
then both girls waved their Oak Hall banners
vigorously, by way of encouragement to the team.
Once more the puck was put into play in the
center of the field of ice, and again Rockville sent
it flying near to the Oak Hall goal. But this
time it came back, and now the fight was on for
several minutes near the left side line. There was
a little rough play on both sides, and the referee
called time.
" I want no more such work," he said, almost
sternly.
" I was hit in the side by somebody," growled
Plum.
" I was hit in the back," came from a Rockville
player.
" If there is any more such work I'll call the
game," said the referee, and then the whistle blew
to start again.
This time Oak Hall worked with vigor, and
ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION 299
presently had the rubber disc down close to the
Rockville goal. But alas for their hopes! Just
as Ben was on the point of striking for the net, a
Rockville player stole the puck from him, rapped
it to another player, who sent it whirling to Mai-
lory, and in a twinkling it was down at the other
end of the field.
" Another goal for Rockville ! "
" What did I tell you ? Boys, this is a walk-
over for our school ! " cried Guy Frapley, who was
on hand and as anxious as anybody to see Oak
Hall defeated.
" Oak Hall may be able to play football, but
they don't know how to play ice hockey! " added
John Rand, who was with him and equally anxious
to see Dave and his friends lose.
The supporters of Oak Hall had little to say.
The only lad who felt happy was Nat Poole.
" Here is where Dave Porter and his crowd get
what is coming to them," thought the money-
lender's son. It pleased him greatly to think his
school might be beaten. Which shows how really
mean-spirited Nat was.
Again the game proceeded, and now the contest
waged in earnest. In a mix-up near the center
of the field, one of the Rockville players named
Devine crashed into Plum, and both went down
in a heap, with two other players on top. The
puck went sailing toward the Oak Hall goal, and
300 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
though Dave did his best to stop it, the goal
was made an instant later.
" Time ! time ! Somebody is hurt ! "
" That goal ought not to count ! "
A babble of voices sounded out, and slowly the
players untangled themselves. Then it was
learned that Plum had been hurt on the shoulder,
and one of the Rockville players had gotten cut in
the ankle, and both had to retire. Luke Watson
took Plum's place. It was decided that the goal
had been made unfairly, after time was called and
allowed, and so it was not counted.
But even this did not help Oak Hall in the first
half of the contest. Rockville went at it hammer
and tongs again, and soon scored a legitimate third
goal, amid a cheering that was tremendous. Then
the whistle blew, and the first half of the game
became a thing of the past.
" We are up against it and no mistake," re-
marked Roger, dolefully, as he and the other
players sat down on a bench in the boathouse to
rest.
" We are too slow," answered Dave. " We
simply must put more ginger in our playing."
" Yes, and we've got to take more chances,"
added Sam. " Might as well do it — we can't lose
anything," he added, bitterly.
When the call sounded to start the second half
of the game, the Oak Hall seven came forward
ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION 301
with a do-or-die look on their set faces. Rock-
ville, on the other hand, wore a happy smile, as
if the victory was already a sure thing.
For a minute the playing was uncertain. Then
came a surprise, for Oak Hall " broke loose," to
use Messmer's way of expressing it. The puck
was fairly stolen from Mallory himself by Dave,
and sent forward, and to the right and the left,
in a manner that was bewildering.
"Send it back, Rockville!"
" Don't let them score ! "
"Back with it! Back!"
" Go it, Oak Hall ! Whack it, Hamilton I "
41 Now for the goal, Morr! "
" There she goes ! "
" Hurrah! Score one for Oak Hall! "
" Now then, you've struck your gait, fellows !
Keep up the good work ! "
It was true. Oak Hall had scored on a beauti-
ful strike by Roger, aided by Shadow. But Dave
had started the thing by getting the rubber away
from Mallory, much to that star player's chagrin.
The goal warmed the hearts of the Oak Hall
seven wonderfully, and when the puck was again
placed in position, they went for it like hungry
cats after a mouse. The exchange of blows was
rapid, and the disc was stolen and recovered half
a dozen times in as many seconds. Then came a
long drive by Ben, and another by Dave, and then
302 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
a Rockville player sent it out of bounds. Bringing
it back gave the lads time to recover their breath,
and again they went at it with a determination
that was terrific.
" Oh, somebody will be killed ! " cried Vera,
as several came together with a crash.
" What a rough game ! " murmured Mary.
" But look, Dave Porter has the rubber! "
" Yes, and he is carrying it to the Rockville
goal!"
" Oh, look at the others after him ! "
Dave had the puck, and with almost a clear
field ahead of him he was " worrying " it along,
while the whole of the Rockville team was follow-
ing on his heels. He waited until they were al-
most on him, then made a half turn, raised his
stick, and let drive with all his power.
" Say, look at that ! "
"What a beautiful drive!"
" Another goal for Oak Hall ! "
"Three cheers for Dave Porter! " came from
some of the Oak Hall supporters, and the cheers
went echoing far and wide across the river. Vera
and Mary cheered with the rest, and so did a
number of other girls.
" Now then, Oak Hall, tie the score ! "
" We will ! " murmured Roger.
" That's the talk! " cried Dave. " Everybody
in the game now, and on the jump ! "
ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION 303
Fearing they were losing their hold on the game,
Mallory spoke to the others of his team. He gave
the signal for a trick play on the left side. But
Dave was on the alert, and the trick was blocked,
and then Dave gave a signal to try the same trick
on Rockville. Neither Mallory nor his followers
dreamed this would be done, and they were so
neatly caught that every old ice-hockey player who
witnessed the play had to smile. The trick took
the puck halfway down into the Rockville terri-
tory, and though the cadets worked hard to send it
back, it was not to be, and Phil knocked the goal
that tied the score.
"A tie! A tie!"
" Now, Oak Hall, one more to win ! "
" Rockville ! Rockville ! One more ! One
more ! "
By this time everybody was thoroughly worked
up over the contest. All who had been seated were
on their feet and cheering wildly for their favorites.
" Whatever you do, don't let them score
again ! " said Dave, to his players. " Keep the
rubber away from our goal."
" We'll send it down to their goal," answered
Shadow.
" So we will! " cried Ben.
" This is our game — we have got to have it,"
was Phil's response.
" It's win or bust," muttered Roger.
304 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Once more the puck was placed in position.
Rockville now played as they had never played
before, and twice the disc came dangerously close
to the Oak Hall goal. But each time Luke Wat-
son drove it back. Then it came forward swiftly
to the other end of the field. Here there was a
battle-royal between Mallory and Roger. Dave
came whizzing up, and managed to steal the rub-
ber, and sent it to Ben. He got it within three
yards of the goal, and then Shadow took hold,
and landed it safely in the net.
" Hurrah ! One more for Oak Hall 1 "
" That makes the score four to three ! "
" Wake up, Rockville ! Six minutes more to
play!"
" Now hold 'em ! " cautioned Dave, as the puck
was brought forth once more. " Hold 'em, I tell
youl"
" We'll do more ! " answered Roger, grimly.
" That is, if we get the chance."
" Of course — but don't run any risks."
Back and forth flew the rubber disc. Rockville
was wild to tie the score. This made one of the
players take a " long chance." Roger saw it, and
in a twinkling he rushed forward and upset the
fellow's calculations, and sent the puck again into
the Rockville territory. Then came a rush of
players, and back and forth swung the human
mass. Then of a sudden the rubber disc flew up
ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION 305
into the air, to land almost at Sam Day's
feet.
It was Sam's chance, and like a flash he im-
proved it. Down the icy field went the rubber
with Sam behind it.
"Stop him!"
"Send it back!"
Dave was behind Sam, and now he swept ahead.
Then came a mix-up with Mallory. But Dave
got the puck and sent it straight for the
net.
" Another goal for Oak Hall! "
" Two minutes more to play ! "
" Rockville can't win now ! "
With saddened faces ^Rockville lined up once
more, and again the disc was put in action. The
fight was hot, and the puck moved rapidly in the
center of the field. Then the whistle blew, and
the wonderful contest came to an end.
Final score: Oak Hall 5, Rockville 3.
It was assuredly a well-earned victory, and Dave
and his team were warmly praised by all their
followers. Even Doctor Clay came up to shake
each player by the hand.
" I am proud of you," he said. " This will be
quite a feather in the Oak Hall cap."
" Can we celebrate to-night, Doctor? " asked
Roger, quickly.
" You can — up to twelve o'clock. But please
306 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
don't wreck the school building," and the master
of Oak Hall smiled indulgently.
" Oh, it was just too lovely for anything 1 "
cried Vera.
"The best ever! " added Mary.
" I got a number of good snap-shots of the
game," said Polly Vane, who was quite an amateur
photographer. " I'll have the pictures developed
and printed, and give each of you copies to take
home."
" That will be splendid, Polly," answered Dave.
Later on Dave received his set of pictures, and
took them to Crumville, where he showed them to
Jessie and the others with much pride.
" That contest was harder than the one on the
gridiron," remarked Phil, when they were return-
ing to Oak Hall in one of the big sleighs.
" Rockville meant to win," said Buster. " And
it looked as if they would win, at first."
" They have a star player in Mallory," said
Ben. " But one star doesn't make a team."
" Say, that puts me in mind of a story," began
Shadow. " Once three fellows " But then
he broke off short, as a handful of soft snow thrown
by Roger took him full in the mouth.
" Keep your stories for to-night, Shadow ! "
cried Dave. " Now for a song ! " And then the
crowd in the sleigh began singing at the top of
their lungs.
ANOTHER VICTORY— CONCLUSION 307
It was assuredly a grand victory, and that even-
ing the whole school celebrated, with bonfires, sing-
ing, and dancing. Dave was called on for a speech.
Plum took part in the celebration, for he was
not seriously injured.
"And now for the holidays and home! " said
Dave, on the following Monday morning. " Just
two weeks more of the grind, boys ! "
" They'll soon slip by," said Phil.
" Dave, do you imagine that Merwell and
Jasniff will return to Rockville?" continued the
shipowner's son.
" I don't know — perhaps, after a while —
when they think I will drop the charge against
them."
" Perhaps they are too scared to come back,"
said Phil.
" They are bad eggs," murmured Dave. But
how bad, he was still to learn. He was to
meet Merwell and Jasniff again, and what that pair
did to injure him and those he so dearly loved will
be told in another volume of this series, to be
entitled: "Dave Porter on Cave Island; or, A
Schoolboy's Mysterious Mission." In that book
we shall meet Dave and many others of our char-
acters again, and learn the particulars of a hap-
pening at Crumville that was as dismaying as it
was perplexing.
" Well, let us forget Merwell and Jasniff," said
308 DAVE PORTER AND HIS RIVALS
Roger. " Say, that hockey victory has made me
feel two years younger."
" That and a letter he got from Laura," mur-
mured Phil.
" Humph, as if I didn't see the letter you got
from Belle Endicott," retorted the senator's son.
" Dave got a letter, too — from Jessie," went
on Phil. " Perhaps "
" Hi, you fellows, get through grinding, and
come for a skate ! " shouted Ben, bursting into
the dormitory. " The ice was never better."
" That's the talk ! " cried Dave, throwing down
his Latin grammar. " First fellow to get his
skates on gets a ginger snap ! "
And off he ran, with the others at his heels.
And here for the present we will say good-by to
Dave Porter, his chums, and his rivals.
THE END
L
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