Four Afoot: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Highway

  CHAPTER VIII

  IN WHICH POVERTY CLAIMS THE FOUR

  The next day was Thursday. Nelson declared it wasn’t; that it wasonly Wednesday; but the blue, red, and yellow calendar advertisingSomebody’s Smokeless Powder, which hung in the hotel office,contradicted him. But whatever day it was it was anything but apleasant one. Last evening’s thundershower had resolved itself into asteady, persistent drizzle. The boys woke late, in consequence of theearly morning diversions, and when they looked at the sky and the muddyroad they sighed. It was Tom who dared voice what all were thinking.

  “This is no kind of weather to go messing around the country in,” hesaid disgustedly. “Besides, there’s Dan’s health to think of. Why, he’sjust out of bed, as you might say!”

  “A little rain won’t hurt,” said Dan half-heartedly.

  “Not a bit,” agreed Bob. “It--it would be rather fun. We haven’t triedour ponchos yet, you know.”

  “I fear you’re lazy, Tommy,” added Nelson sorrowfully.

  “Lazy nothing! Look at that street out there and then think what thecountry road would be like! I’ll tell you one thing, if you fellows go,you go without little Tommy.”

  “Oh, well, if you won’t go along,” said Nelson, in a somewhat relievedtone.

  “If you want to make us miss a day,” continued Dan.

  “I don’t think we ought to break up the crowd,” said Bob. “I don’tbelieve our folks would like that. So if Tommy won’t go, why, we’ll allstay here to-day and go on to-morrow. What do you say?”

  “Oh, pshaw,” said Tom disgustedly; “you’re all just as anxious to stayas I am! You make me tired!”

  The others grinned.

  “Only consideration for your welfare, Tommy, keeps us here,” said Dan.

  “Then you can ju-ju-just let my wu-wu-wu-welfare alone,” answered Tomaggrievedly.

  “Not for worlds, old chap! Come on downstairs and let’s see if we can’tfind something to do.”

  They went down and rescued Barry from the admiring attention of thepopulace, which, having learned by this time of the early morningadventure, had flocked in to view the scene and the heroes.

  “I wonder what they’ll do to him,” said Dan, in reference to themarauder, as they pushed their way through the crowd about the officedoor.

  “Put him in prison, I suppose,” answered Bob.

  “Reckon they won’t do anything to him just at present,” volunteered thedriver of the station ’bus who was standing near by.

  “Why?” asked Dan.

  “’Cause,” said the driver with a chuckle, “they ain’t got him.”

  “Ain’t got him!” repeated Dan ungrammatically.

  “No; he broke away from Joe Brooks last night just this side of thejail. Joe fired at him and _he_ says he hit him, but I don’t believeJoe could hit a barn door, let alone a man runnin’ like all git out!Anyway, the feller never stopped runnin’; I reckon he’s runnin’ yit!”

  “Well,” said Dan, as they went out on to the porch with Barry atheel, “of course he was a thief and all that, and he had one of thetoughest-looking faces I ever saw, but, just the same, I’m kind of gladhe got away. He looked just about half-starved, Bob. And I’m not stuckon helping to put anyone in prison. Maybe he’ll behave himself afterthis.”

  “Well, from what I’ve seen of the tableware,” said Bob dryly, “I guessthe chap’s better off without it. I don’t believe he could have gotthirty cents for the lot!”

  Presently they went to writing letters, and even Tom, with the burglarepisode to tell of, managed to fill two pages. Afterwards they wererequested to bring Barry out to the office, and, doing so, found theproprietor and a couple of dozen others assembled waiting for them.Barry was placed on the top of the office desk and the proprietormade him a speech of thanks, frequently interrupted by laughter andapplause, and when he had finished presented to the hero a new collarand leash. Dan, speaking for Barry, responded somewhat embarrassedlyand the new collar was placed around the dog’s neck. Then everyone wentinto dinner in high good humor.

  “What did you do with the old leash, Dan?” asked Tom.

  “It’s upstairs. Why? It’s busted, you know.”

  “I know it is. Give it to me?”

  “Sure. What for?”

  “Oh, nothing much,” answered Tom.

  But after dinner he went up and got it and disappeared for a while.When he returned he proudly exhibited a black leather cardcase andthree braided leather watch fobs.

  “Where’d you get those?” asked Bob.

  “At the leather store. I took the leash back and told the man it was nogood; broke the first time it was used. I said I’d take something elsein exchange.”

  “Well, I’ll be blowed!” gasped Dan. “And he did it?”

  “He didn’t want to at first. Said he hadn’t sold the leash to me. ButI told him you couldn’t come yourself because you had to stay at thehotel and hold the dog by the collar to keep him from running away.Then I offered to take ninety-five cents’ worth of other goods, andthat fetched him; the leash was a dollar, you know. So I got thiscardcase for myself in payment for my trouble, you see, and broughtthose fobs for you chaps. Swell, aren’t they?”

  “Oh, they’re terribly dressy,” answered Dan sarcastically. “I couldn’tthink of wearing mine on ordinary occasions, Tom.”

  They tried to tease him about the transaction, but Tom didn’t mind abit; he was quite satisfied with his dickering.

  “If you fellows don’t like the fobs,” he told them, “you can go backand change them. He’s got some dandy things there.”

  For the rest of the afternoon they played cards in the smoking room,and Dan and Nelson won overwhelmingly. Then they took Barry out fora few minutes of exercise, and Bob squandered more money on souvenirpostals and spent half an hour after supper trying to think ofsomething to write on them. Dan and Nelson unearthed a box of dominoesand had an exciting game. Tom went to sleep in an armchair over a NewYork paper, and Barry, comfortably curled up in his lap, mingled hissnores with Tom’s.

  Friday dawned fair and cool. After breakfast they packed their baggage,paid their bills--which were suspiciously moderate--and, with theproprietor’s hearty “Come again, boys!” in their ears, swung offdown the street. When they reached the country road they found thatthe rain had done a world of good. The dust was laid and the roadbedwas hard and firm. Barry was in fine fettle and kept them laughing athis wild sorties after birds and chipmunks. From Kingston their routeled diagonally across the island toward the south shore, which theyintended to reach that evening. By this time their muscles were wellhardened and they reeled the miles off without conscious effort.

  They had brought lunch with them in case, as seemed probable, theyshould find no hotel on the way. And so when, at a little before noon,they reached the edge of a big pond where a cluster of willows alongthe edge offered inviting shade, they pitched camp.

  “I tell you what let’s do,” said Nelson.

  “Go ahead,” said Bob lazily from where he was stretched out on his back.

  “Let’s have a swim before lunch. What do you say?”

  They said various things, the tenor of which was that Nelson sometimesexhibited almost human intelligence and in the present case had evolveda brilliant idea.

  “But we can’t undress here,” said Bob. “Too many autos and carriagesand things going along this road. Let’s keep along here by the edgeuntil we get away from the public.”

  So they took up their packs and followed the margin of the pond andafter a few minutes found themselves in a thick grove several hundredfeet from the highway. Here they dropped their knapsacks, undressed,and donned their trunks, Barry viewing proceedings with eager eyes. Andwhen they raced down to the water he leaped and barked ecstatically.

  “I should think,” said Nelson severely, “that you would have had enoughwater to last you for some time, Mr. Dog.”

  “Oh, that was salt water, wasn’t it, Barry?” answered Dan. “Le
t’s seeif he’ll come in. Here, Barry! Sic ’em!”

  Barry settled the question in an instant, plunging in beside Dan andswimming about excitedly in circles and biting at the floating twigsand leaves. The water was quite warm and, as Dan said, reminded them ofLake Chicora, by whose shore they had all spent the preceding summer.But it wasn’t deep enough for Dan, to whom bathing meant diving, and heset off along the shore in search of deeper water. The others followed,Barry retiring to the shore and barking joyfully as he trotted along.There were some residences on the opposite side of the lake, almosthalf a mile away, and Bob pointed them out.

  “Maybe they don’t allow bathing here,” he said.

  “Maybe they don’t,” laughed Nelson; “but it’s too late now. There goesDan; he’s found a tree trunk to dive off of.”

  They had a fine time for half an hour and then swam back in search ofthe place they had left.

  “I don’t see anything that looks like it,” said Tom.

  “Nor I,” said Dan. “Say, wouldn’t it be a joke if we couldn’t find ourclothes?”

  “A mighty poor one,” answered Bob. “We’d ought to have made Barry stayand look after them. Then we’d known where they were.”

  “Oh, they’re right along here somewhere,” said Nelson. “We went inopposite that big white house over there, the one with the high chimneyon the outside.”

  “Huh!” said Dan. “That’s a half mile away. Any place over here isopposite. Let’s go out here and look around.”

  They did, and they looked a long time. But finally there was a shoutfrom Tommy, who had meandered off on his own hook.

  “Here they are!” he called. Then, a moment later,

  “We’ve been ru-ru-ru-ru-robbed!” yelled Tom.

  “_What?_” cried Dan.

  “Oh, it’s one of Tommy’s jokes,” muttered Nelson anxiously as theyraced toward where he was standing. But it wasn’t. It needed but oneglance to prove that. The contents of the knapsacks were scatteredabout under the trees, the lunches were gone, and their clothes hadevidently been handled. Bob picked up his coat and thrust his handinto a pocket. Then he seized his trousers and went through the sameperformance. And the others followed suit as though it had been a gameof follow-your-leader. Then they all dropped the garments and looked ateach other blankly.

  “Stripped!” said Dan.

  “Every blessed cent gone,” said Nelson. “Watch too!”

  “I had twenty-six dollars,” said Tom mournfully.

  “You shouldn’t carry so much wealth about with you,” answered Dan witha grin. “It ought to be a lesson to you. I only had eight.”

  “You shut up!” growled Tom.

  “Well, whoever they were,” said Bob ruefully, “they made a pretty goodhaul. I had about fifteen dollars. And they got my watch too. But itwas only a cheap one.”

  “Mine wasn’t,” said Nelson. “It cost forty dollars. Say, what’s thematter with Barry?”

  The terrier was running excitedly about, smelling and sniffing andgiving vent to short yelps. Once or twice he started off through thetrees as though nothing could stop him. But each time he turned back,whining, and began sniffing the ground again.

  “Barry’s got the fellow’s scent,” said Nelson.

  “And the fellow’s got every cent of mine,” said Dan.

  “Gee!” said Tom sorrowfully, “I don’t see anything to ju-ju-joke about!”

  “Hello!” Bob stooped and picked up a piece of paper. It was part of anenvelope which had inclosed a letter to Nelson and had reposed in thatyouth’s coat pocket. On the blank side a few words had been laboriouslyscrawled with a pencil.

  “‘I gess this wil tech you Not to But in,’” read Bob slowly.

  “What’s that mean?” asked Dan.

  “Search me,” said Nelson. “Who’s butted in?”

  “Du-du-don’t you su-su-su-see?” cried Tom. “I-i-i-it’s the fu-fu-fellowthat su-su-stole the su-su-su-su----!”

  “Silver! That’s right, Tommy!” cried Dan. “That’s just who did it. AndI said yesterday I was glad he’d got away! I wish one of you chapswould kick me!”

  “He was probably hiding in the woods here and saw us undress,” saidBob. “I wish----”

  “I wish I had hold of him again,” said Nelson angrily. “What’ll we do?”

  “Get to the nearest town as soon as we can and report it to thepolice,” replied Bob.

  “Where is the nearest town? Couldn’t we find a telephone somewherearound? How about those houses over there?”

  “It would be a good two miles around there, I guess,” said Bob,consulting his map. “And there’s some sort of a town about a mile and ahalf ahead of us. We’d better light out for there.”

  “All right,” said Nelson.

  “I’m glad he left us our clothes, anyhow,” said Dan. “And look, maybewe can find which way he went. Here, Barry, seek him out! Get afterhim, sir!”

  Barry whined and sniffed and ran around, but every time he started offon the trail he lost it and had to come back.

  “Seems to me,” said Tom, “if I had a watchdog I’d make him watch.”

  “Maybe he’s lost his watch, like the rest of us,” said Nelsonsoothingly. “Come on; I’m ready. What’s the odds, anyhow? It’s all inthe day’s work--or rather walk. We’ll feel fine after we’ve had somelunch.”

  “Lunch!” sniffed Tom, struggling with his trousers. “Lunch! Where arewe going to get it, I’d like to know?”

  “Oh, we’ll find something in this village Bob’s talking about.”

  “Wu-wu-wu-well, s’posing we du-du-do? How we gu-gu-gu-going topu-pu-pu-pay for it?”

  “By Jove!” muttered Nelson blankly. “I hadn’t thought of that!”