CHAPTER XXII
THE BATTLE IN THE SNOW
Both Mildred Kent and Lettie Parker believed with the latter’s fatherthat the explosions of the engine near them in the storm meant that Danand Billy Speedwell were near at hand.
The girls, tossing aside the sheltering robe and the accumulation ofsnow, stood up, too, and clinging to each other shrieked their boyfriends’ names into the sounding gale.
Their own cries might not have carried very far, save in the lulls ofthe tempest; but with the voices of Mr. Parker and the sheriff, theyraised a cry that was certainly heard by whoever was working the motoriceboat through the blizzard.
The “put-put-put” came nearer. A hoarse hail reached the ears of thequartette in the sleigh.
Mr. Kimball had brought his horses to a dead stop. Indeed, the beastswere glad to breathe, although they were far from exhaustion. No betterpair of colts, as Mr. Kimball said, were to be found in the county.
“I don’t hear that engine now,” cried Mr. Parker. “Have they stopped?”
He called again, then waited for an answer. The snow seemed to havesmothered the sounds. Again Mildred and Lettie shrieked the names of Danand Billy. They had every confidence in the boys being able to help themif they only heard.
There was another answer—this time nearer. “Got ’em!” cried thedelighted Mr. Parker.
“I don’t just see how they are going to help us,” grumbled Mr. Kimball.
“Dan will find a way,” asserted Mildred, now the most hopeful of thequartette.
The next moment a figure appeared in the swirling snow. But it was notDan or Billy. It was much too tall for either.
“Hullo, there!” exclaimed the stranger, in a very hoarse voice. “What’sthe matter here?”
A second figure appeared before either Mr. Parker or the sheriff couldanswer. The second man said, quite as roughly as the first:
“Gals, by thunder! And a fine pair o’ horses, Tom.”
“You hit it right, Jake,” said the first man. “And just what wewant—hey?”
“I wouldn’t try ter go on in that blamed old scooter—not much! And wewon’t have to lug the box.”
“Shut up!”
“Aw, it’s all right. This _is_ luck——”
The sheriff interposed suddenly. “I take it you fellows consider thatyour meeting with us is providential; don’t you?”
“Huh?” growled the first speaker. “You’re slingin’ fine language, Iguess. What we means ter do is ter take the sled an’ the hosses. That’sall. And there won’t be room for youse gents—or the gals.”
“Why, you scoundrel!” exclaimed Mr. Parker. “What do you mean?”
“Cut that out!” commanded the man called Tom, stepping quickly to thecounty clerk’s side of the sleigh.
Lettie screamed. The man grabbed Mr. Parker by the collar and draggedhim out of the sleigh. Mr. Parker shouted aloud in his anger, and triedto grapple with the man, but was struck a hard blow with a short club,or piece of gas pipe, by the other man. For the moment he was knockedalmost senseless.
The sheriff was not frightened, however. He dropped the reins and leapedto the ice, where the snow was now almost knee deep.
“Get down in the sleigh, girls—down!” he commanded. “Look out forbullets! Hands up, you two fellows—put your hands up, quick! Quick, Itell you, or I’ll fire!”
He had drawn a pistol and his tone was so earnest that the men must haveknown that he would use it. They were amazed for the moment.
“I am the sheriff of this county. I believe you are two fellows for whomI have been looking. Tom Davis—Scar-Faced Tom—I recognize you from thewarden’s description. You were discharged from the Meadvillepenitentiary only a week ago, and it looks very much to me as though youwere going back there again.”
The man whom the sheriff addressed—the redoubtable “Scar-Faced Tom”—wasnot a little cowed by the sheriff’s speech—and extremely so by thebusiness-like look of the revolver. But while Mr. Kimball kept thisfellow under surveillance, and Mr. Parker was still lying stunned in thesnow, the other fellow dived into the darkness and the storm, yellingfor the third, who had remained with the motor iceboat.
The sheriff sent a pistol ball after him; but he would better haverefrained. Tom Davis, seizing his opportunity (as he thought) made agreat stride for the sheriff as the flame of the discharged revolverflashed right over his shoulder.
Davis would have had Kimball by the throat had it not been for thecounty clerk. The latter struggled to a sitting posture just at theright moment, and seized the villain’s ankle. He twisted it and,roaring, the man went down.
Sheriff Kimball tossed his pistol to Mr. Parker, and jumped on thefallen robber’s back. His attack was so unexpected that the other washelpless and it seemed as though the sheriff was going to make onecapture, at least, without much trouble.
Mildred and Lettie were about as scared as they could be. The firing ofthe sheriff’s pistol, and the rough tones and fighting seemed terribleto both the doctor’s daughter and her chum.
Once Mildred had been troubled by tramps in the swamp up near KarnacLake; but Dan had rescued her at that time. So it was not strange thatnow she should cry aloud:
“Oh, dear, me! I wish Dan were here.”
“And I’d like to know what’s got Billy Speedwell!” rejoined her chum.“Do you suppose these awful men have stolen the boys’ new iceboat?”
“Oh! they’re wicked enough to do anything,” gasped Mildred.
Mr. Parker was staggering to the sheriff’s assistance. But before hereached him he dropped the pistol in the snow. In the darkness and stormit was not easy to find the weapon again; and while he was scramblingabout on all fours to obtain it, two figures dashed out of the smotherand fell upon him. The second robber and his mate had returned.
They overpowered Mr. Parker in a moment. Then they hauled Mr. Kimballoff the prostrate ex-convict; but in that minute the sheriff had chokedthe fellow into subjection.
He could not rise to help his comrades. Mr. Parker and the sheriff facedbut two of the gang, but the latter had the advantage.
Mr. Parker was not used to such rough work. The sheriff, however, was aquick and agile man, ready for almost any emergency which might arise.
He was, too, one of those men who “never give up till the last gun isfired.” He kept on fighting, and the two robbers found him hard tosubdue. Suddenly Mr. Parker went down under a swing of the blackjackthat had previously felled him.
“Oh! my father! My father!” shrieked Lettie, who was peering over theback of the sleigh. “Billy! Billy Speedwell! Why don’t you help us?”
She screamed this last question at the top of her voice, and it did notgo unanswered. First aroused by the explosions of the motor iceboatengine, and led on by the shouting of the girls and their guardians inthe sleigh, the two Speedwell boys and Dummy had come near to the sceneof the battle in the snow just as the sheriff fired his pistol.
The boys recognized the girls’ voices, and also Mr. Parker’s.
“Mildred!” exclaimed Dan, in amazement. “She’s in trouble.”
“And that’s Let—as sure as shooting!” agreed Billy. “And her father.”
Dummy said nothing, but he kept on with his new friends—and he had totravel some to keep up with them. For neither the wind nor the snowretarded the Speedwells just then.
As the two robbers sprang upon Mr. Parker and the sheriff for the secondtime, Dan, Billy, and Dummy appeared. The Speedwells gave a great shoutand plunged into the affray, swinging their clubs. Dummy kept in therear, but he helped some in the end. The man, Tom Davis, whom thesheriff had overpowered, began to stir. The Dummy ran to him andthreatened him with the club he had brought from the cave on IslandNumber One.
The battle in the blizzard was soon over. The three rascals were down inthe snow, rubbing their heads, and begging for mercy almost as soon asreinforcements in shape of the three boys appeared.
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