Читать книгу Dave Porter and the Runaways: or, Last Days at Oak Hall - Stratemeyer Edward - Страница 2

“I say, Dave, here’s an odd piece of news.”

“An odd piece of news, Roger? What about?”

“A wild man in the woods back of Oak Hall,” answered Roger Morr, who held a letter in his hand. “Queerest thing you ever heard of.”

“I should say it was, if it’s about a wild man,” returned Dave Porter. “Who sent that letter?”

“Shadow Hamilton.”

“Maybe it’s another one of Shadow’s innumerable yarns,” suggested Dave, with a faint smile. “If he can’t tell them by word of mouth, he writes them down.”

“What has Shadow got to say about the wild man?” asked Phil Lawrence, looking up from the suit-case he was packing. “Has he been trying to clean out Oak Hall, or anything like that?”

“No, not exactly,” returned Roger, turning back to the letter, which he had not yet finished. “He keeps in the woods, so Shadow says, and scares everybody who comes that way.”

“How does he scare them?” asked Dave, pausing in the act of stowing a suit of clothing in a trunk.

“Shadow writes that he and Lazy were out walking one day and the wild man came after them with a big club. He wears long hair and a long beard, and his clothes are in tatters.”

“What did they do?” questioned Phil.

“They ran back towards the school. The wild man followed ’em as far as the bridge over the brook, and then jumped into the bushes and disappeared.”

“Humph!” muttered Phil. “Is that all?”

“Oh, no! The day before that, Chip Macklin and two other of the smaller boys went out, along the river, and the wild man came after them and shoved Chip into the water. He yelled to them never to come near him again. The other fellows ran away, and as soon as Chip could get out of the water he went after ’em. Then, three days later, Doctor Clay sent out Mr. Dale and Horsehair, the driver, to look into the matter, and the wild man met them at the bridge and threw mud balls at ’em. One mud ball hit the teacher in the arm, and one struck Horsehair in the nose and made it bleed. Horsehair was afraid to go on, because the wild man jumped around and shouted so furiously. Mr. Dale tried to catch him, but he ran away.”

“Poor chap! He must be crazy,” was Dave’s comment. “He ought to be taken care of by the authorities.”

“Yes, but they can’t catch him,” continued Roger. “They have tried half a dozen ways, but he slips ’em every time.”

“Who is he?” asked Dave, as he continued to pack his trunk.

“Nobody has the least idea, so Shadow writes.”

“Say, that will give us something to do – when we get back to Oak Hall!” cried Phil. “We’ll organize a posse to round up the wild man!”

“I think we’ll have plenty of other things to do when we get to school, Phil,” remarked Dave. “Just remember that we have lost a lot of time from our lessons, and if we want to make up what we have missed, and graduate from Oak Hall with honor, we’ve got to buckle down and study.”

“Oh, I know that,” answered Phil, and gave a little sigh. “Just the same, I’m going to have a try at the wild man – if he comes my way.”

“So am I,” cried Roger. “And Dave will try with us; won’t you, old man?” And Roger caught his chum affectionately by the shoulder. “You are the fellow to solve mysteries!”

Dave was about to answer when there came a knock on the bedroom door. He opened it to find himself confronted by a middle-aged lady, who was smiling but anxious.

“How are you getting along, boys?” she asked.

“First-rate, Mrs. Wadsworth,” answered Roger. “We’ll soon be finished now.”

“Are the girls getting anxious?” questioned Dave.

“Say, what do you think?” burst out Phil. “We are going back to Oak Hall to capture a wild man who–”

“Phil!” burst out both Dave and Roger, and the other youth stopped short in confusion.

“A wild man?” cried the lady of the house, in consternation. “Oh, Dave, I hope–”

“Oh, don’t let him worry you, Mrs. Wadsworth,” responded Dave, quickly. “There is a wild man up there, but I don’t think he will bother us any, and we’ve got too much to do to hunt for him.” And the lad gave his chum a look that said as plainly as words: “What did you want to mention it for?”

“Oh – I – er – I was only fooling,” stammered Phil. “Of course, if there is a wild man he won’t come near us. Tell the girls we’ll be ready in five minutes – at least I will,” he added, and resumed his packing.

“Can I do anything for you?” asked the lady.

“You might try to find my striped cap,” answered Dave. “I can’t seem to locate it.”

“It is in the library – I saw it a while ago, Dave.”

“And my baseball bat – the new one with the black handle.”

“That is in the back hall, in a corner. How about your books?”

“I’ve got all of them. Send Laura with the bat and cap, will you, please?”

“Yes;” and Mrs. Wadsworth hurried off, anxious to be of all the assistance possible.

“Say, that was a bad break for me,” murmured Phil, as the door closed, and before Dave or Roger could speak. “I didn’t want to worry her, Dave. I’m sorry I mentioned the wild man.”

“And the man may be caught before we get back to Oak Hall,” said Roger. He crossed the room and peered into a closet. “Has anybody seen my baseball shoes?”

“You left those at the Hall, Roger,” answered Dave.

“Did I? All right, then. I came away in such a hurry I can’t remember what I took and what I didn’t.”

“I guess we’ve got about everything now,” resumed Dave, looking around the bedroom. He glanced at his watch. “Ten minutes to twelve. We are to have lunch at a quarter past, and start at one, sharp.”

“Provided the auto is ready,” interposed Phil.

“It will be – trust my Uncle Dunston for that,” answered Dave. “My, but isn’t it jolly to think we are going back to school in the auto instead of by train!”

“Yes, and to think that the girls and your uncle are going with us!” added Roger.

“Dave, look out for Roger, he’s got his eye on Laura!” said Phil, slyly.

“Oh, you give us a rest, Phil Lawrence!” burst out Roger, growing red. “I guess you’ve got an eye on her yourself.”

“Poor me! Poor me!” murmured Phil, as if talking to himself. “Roger will talk to nobody but Laura, and Dave will see and hear and think of nobody but Jessie, and I’ll be left in the cold! Oh, what a cruel world this is! If only – wow!” and Phil’s pretended musings came to a sudden end, as Dave shied a pair of rolled-up socks at him and Roger followed with a pillow. In another instant a mimic battle was on, with pillows and various articles of clothing for ammunition. Then came another knock on the door and Laura Porter appeared, with a baseball bat in one hand and her brother’s cap in the other.

“Oh dear me!” she cried, and then stopped short, for a red sweater, thrown by Roger at Phil, had missed its aim and landed on her head.

“I beg your pardon, Laura, really I do!” gasped Roger, as he sprang forward and took the sweater from its resting-place. “I – I didn’t mean that for you.”

“Oh, Roger, of course you did!” cried Phil, with a twinkle in his eye. “That’s the way he salutes girls always, Laura.”

“Is this the way you are packing up?” demanded Dave’s sister, with a little smile, while poor Roger grew redder than ever.

“Oh, we were only waiting for you to bring my things, Laura,” answered her brother, coolly. “We’ll be ready in three minutes and a half by the factory whistles.”

“Say, what is this I hear about a wild man?” continued Laura, as she sat down on a chair Roger shoved towards her. “You’ve made Mrs. Wadsworth and Jessie all excited over it.”

“Oh, it isn’t anything,” burst out Phil, quickly. “I made a mistake even to mention it.”

“She came down and told Jessie and me that she was afraid you’d have more trouble, when you got back to school. As if you haven’t had troubles enough already!” And Laura looked affectionately at her brother, and then at his chums.

“Oh, this won’t amount to anything, Laura,” said Dave. “So tell Mrs. Wadsworth and Jessie not to worry about it.”

“But I want to know what it means?” demanded the sister; and in the end Dave and his chums had to relate what they knew about the wild man. As they finished the girl shook her head doubtfully.

“I don’t like that a bit,” she said. “I am sure you’ll get mixed up with that wild man somehow. Why, he might attack you and try to kill you!”

“We’ll be on our guard – when we go near the woods,” answered Roger.

“You had better not go alone,” insisted the girl.

“We seldom travel alone,” said her brother. “Generally Roger, Phil, and I are together, and very often some of the other fellows are with us. But don’t you worry, Laura, and tell Jessie and her mother it will be all right.”

“And there is another thing to be careful about, Dave,” went on Laura, as she prepared to leave.

“What is that?”

“Be careful of how you treat Nat Poole.”

“Why, what do you mean?” cried Dave, and then he added quickly, as he saw that his sister had something on her mind: “What has happened now?”

“I don’t know exactly, Dave. But I got word through Ben Basswood’s cousin that Nat had told Ben he wasn’t going to let you ride over him this term. I think Nat is jealous because you were so successful in that trip to Cave Island.”

“Did you learn of anything Nat intended to do?” questioned Roger, curiously.

“No, excepting that he said he wasn’t going to play second fiddle to your crowd any longer. He tried to get into a quarrel with Ben, but Ben would have nothing to do with him.”

“Did Nat go back to the Hall when it opened?” asked Phil.

“Yes, the same day Ben went back.”

“I am not afraid of Nat Poole,” declared Dave, stoutly. “He is a bully, always was, and I suppose he always will be. I tried to do him a favor the last time I saw him – but he doesn’t seem to have appreciated it.”

“Laura!” called a musical voice, from the stair landing.

“Coming, Jessie!” answered Laura. “Now you boys, hurry – lunch will be served in a few minutes;” and she left the room.

“So Nat Poole wants to make more trouble, eh?” mused Dave, as he resumed packing. “What a chap he is! Why can’t he be decent and mind his own business?”

“Because he isn’t that breed, that’s why,” answered Phil. “He hates to see another fellow become popular. Dave, you take my advice and watch him, when we get back to school.”

“I’ll do it,” answered Dave, thoughtfully.