CHAPTER VIII
WHEN THE PEDDLER WAS "FRISKED"
It was a hot and dusty road that lay before them when they againtook up their march that day.
Yet Dick Prescott insisted that, despite the late start, theymust count upon covering twenty miles for that second day.
At night they halted on the edge of woods so far from the nearestfarm house that Prescott did not consider it necessary to huntup the owner and ask permission.
"Now, we'll have to see if we can find water here," Dick proposed."Let's scatter, and the fellow who finds drinkable water mustlet out a yell to inform the others."
"I'll save you some trouble," Reade offered. "You fellows needn'thunt water at all. Give me the buckets and I'll go and get it."
"Have you been in this part of the country before?" asked Dick.
"No; and I don't need to have been here before in order to knowthat this ground is full of water," replied Reade, who was fullof practical knowledge of that sort. "If I were a civil engineer,out with a field party, I'd mark this section 'water' on the map.Look at the ground here under the trees. It's as moist as canbe."
Tom departed, but barely two minutes had elapsed when he was backwith two pailfuls of water as clear as crystal.
"It's nearly as cold as ice water," Tom announced. "There's abully big spring just a few steps back in the woods."
"Then I'm going to use some of this to wash up," Darrin declared."I'll go with you on the next trip, Tom, and help carry the water."
"You'd better wait until we get the tent up before we wash," suggestedPrescott. "Then you'll need it more."
Quick work was made of the encamping. Dan and Greg, from thewagon, passed down the tent itself, the floor boards and joists,the cots and bedding and some of the food supplies.
Then all hands quickly put up the tent. Reade and Hazelton hadthe flooring down in a jiffy. Dan and Greg put up the cots, whileDick and Dave set up the folding camp table and started the firein the stove with a bundle of fagots brought in by Hazelton.
"Now, get busy with the wash-up," Dick called.
Within thirty minutes after halting, supper was on the table.
"How far from a swimming place this time?" Tom asked.
"Three miles, if I've studied the map right," replied Prescott,taking the road map from his pocket and passing it over.
"To-morrow," said Dave, "some of us will swim in plain sight ofthe outfit all the time."
"Do you think you can hike three miles and swim before breakfastin the morning?" asked Dick.
"The way I feel now," said Tom, pushing his campstool back fromthe table, "I shan't need anything to eat to-morrow."
"You must feel ill, then," declared Danny Grin.
"No; I feel just filed up enough to last for two or three days,"sighed Reade contentedly.
Harry and Greg were a bit footsore, but the other boys claimedto feel all right.
"Do any of you feel like taking an evening walk?" asked Dick witha smile.
"I do," Darrin declared promptly.
"Not I," replied Tom. "At least not so soon after supper."
"Shall we try the walk?" Dick asked Darrin.
"I'm ready," Dave agreed. "Come along, then." Though it wasdark, the two boys decided not to take a lantern with them.
"We don't need one on a public highway," said Dick as they plungedoff down the dark road.
"How far shall we go?" Darrin asked.
"I think two miles away from camp and two miles back, ought tobe far enough," Dick replied.
"If we feel like going farther, we can tackle it when the timecomes," Darrin answered. "But how shall we judge the distance?"
"We'll walk briskly for thirty-five to thirty-eight minutes,"Prescott suggested. "Then we'll turn back. While we're out wemay get some idea of whether there's a swimming place nearer thanthree miles from camp."
Neither felt in the least footsore. Indeed, these two hardy highschool boys thoroughly enjoyed their tramp in this cooler partof the twenty-four hours.
"I wish we could live outdoors all the time," murmured Darrin,as he filled his lungs with the fine night air.
"A lot of folks have felt that way," smiled Dick. "The idea isall right, too, only the work of the civilized world couldn'tbe carried on by a lot of tramps without homes or places of business."
"I've heard, or read," Darry went on, "that a tramp, after oneseason on the road, is rarely ever reclaimed to useful work.I think I can understand something of the fascination of the life."
"I can't see any fascination about being a tramp," Prescott repliedjudicially. "First of all, he becomes a vagabond, who prefersidleness to work. Then, too, he becomes dirty, and I can't seeany charm in a life that is divorced from baths. From mere idlenessthe tramp soon finds that petty thieving is an easy way to getalong. If I were going to be a thief at all, I'd want to be anefficient one. No stealing of wash from a clothes-line, or ofpies from a housekeeper's pantry, when there are millions to bestolen in the business world."
"Now, you're laughing at me," uttered Dave.
"No; I'm not."
"But you wouldn't steal money if you had millions right underyour hand where you could get away with the stuff," protestedDarry.
"I wouldn't," Dick agreed promptly. "I wouldn't steal anything.Yet it's no worse, morally, to steal a million dollars from agreat bank than it is to steal a suit of clothes from a housewhose occupants are absent. All theft is theft. There are nodegrees of theft. The small boy who would steal a nickel or adime from his mother would steal a million dollars from a strangerif he had the chance and the nerve to commit the crime. All tramps,sooner or later, become petty thieves. Thieving goes with thelife of idleness and vagabondage."
"I don't know about that," argued Dave. "A lot of men becometramps just through hard luck. I don't believe all of them steal,even small stuff."
"I believe they do, if they remain tramps," Dick insisted. "Noman is safe who will deliberately go through life without earninghis way. The man who starts with becoming idle ends with becomingvicious. This doesn't apply to tramps alone. Any day's newspaperwill furnish you with stories of the vicious doings of the idlesons of rich men. Unless a man has an object in life, and worksdirectly toward it all the time, he is in danger."
"I'd hate to believe that every ragged tramp I meet is a criminal,"Dave muttered.
"He is, if he remains a tramp long enough," Dick declared withemphasis. "Take the tramps we met this morning. Look at allthe trouble they were taking to rob us of food for a meal or two."
"There may have been an element of mischief in what they did,"Dave hinted. "They may have done it just as a lark."
"They were thieves by instinct," Dick insisted. "They would havestolen anything that they could get away with safely. Hello!There's a light over there in the woods."
"Another camping party?" Dave wondered.
"Tramps, more likely. Suppose we speak low and advance with cautionuntil we know where we are and whom we're likely to meet."
In silence the high school boys drew nearer. The light provedto come from a campfire that had been lighted some fifty feetfrom the road.
"Yes, you have!" insisted a harsh voice, as the boys drew nearer."Don't try to fool with us. Turn over your money, or we'll makeyou wish you had!"
"Why, it's our tramps of this morning," whispered Dave.
"And look at that wagon---the peddler's!" Dick whispered in answer.
"Come, now, old man! Turn over your money, unless you want usto frisk you for it!" continued a voice.
"There are your honest tramps, Dave," Prescott whispered.
Then his eyes flashed, for, by the light of the campfire the ladssaw the tramps seize frightened Reuben Hinman on either side andliterally turn him upside down, the old man's head hitting theground.
"Don't make any noise," whispered Prescott, "but we won't standfor that!"
"We surely won't!" Darry agreed with emphasis.
"Come on
, now---soft-foot!"
As the tramps jostled Mr. Hinman, upside down and yelling withfright, a sack containing the peddler's money rolled from oneof the peddler's trousers pockets.
"Shake him again! There'll be more than that coming!" jeeredone of the tramps.
But just then they let go their hold of the old man, for DickPrescott and Dave Darrin rushed in out of the darkness, dealingblows that sent the tramps swiftly to earth.
Yet the two high school boys were now doomed to pay the penaltyof not having scouted a bit before rushing in.
For the two tramps were not the only ones of their kind at hand.Out of the shadows under the surrounding trees came a rush offeet, accompanied by hoarse yells.
Then, before they had had time fully to realize just what washappening, Prescott and Darrin found themselves suddenly in themidst of the worst fight they had ever seen in their lives.
"Beat 'em up!" yelled the man whom Dick had knocked down. "Iknow these young fellers! They put up a bad time for us thismorning. Beat 'em up and make a good job of it, too."
There was no use whatever in contending with such odds. Yet Dickand Dave fought with all their might, only to be borne to theground, where they received severe punishment.