CHAPTER XV
SPOILING THE FUN
There was a scurrying within the room and Hicksley heard the sound of awindow being hastily thrown up. Then after a long pause the door wasslowly opened.
"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Bronson in a tone of relief.
"Sure it is," replied Hicksley tersely. "Who did you think it was?What's the matter with you fellows anyway. Any one might think I was acop, from the time you took to open the door."
"Worse than that," grinned Bronson. "I thought you might be Dr. Raymondor one of the teachers. We were smoking. Now you've made us throw awaytwo perfectly good cigarettes and freeze ourselves by opening the windowto get the smoke out of the room. Shut the window again, Jack. It's onlyTom."
"Well, I'm not going to tell on you," replied Hicksley. "That is," headded with a grin, "if you've got another cigarette left for me."
It was strictly against the rules to smoke, but in the opinion of theseworthless fellows rules were made only to be broken, and all three weresoon puffing away, after making sure that the door was securely locked.
Bronson was a tall, thin boy, with straw-colored hair. Jinks wasshorter, but very stocky. A squint that made his small eyes look smallerstill gave him a most unprepossessing appearance.
"Well, what's up?" asked Bronson, seeing from Hicksley's manner that hehad something to propose.
"I've just heard something that gave me an idea of how to get even withthat Bobby Blake and the bunch of boobs he goes with," replied Hicksley.
"Hope it's a good idea," said Bronson. "Anything that will down thosefellows you can count me in on."
"Same here!" ejaculated Jinks. "I never had any use for any of thatcrowd."
"Let's have it, Tom," broke in Bronson impatiently. "Don't keep uswaiting."
"They're planning to have a big coasting time to-night," explainedHicksley. "I heard them talking about it when I was down in thegymnasium just now. And while I was listening I thought of a way toqueer the whole thing."
This sounded promising, and the interest on the faces of the others grewintense.
"What is it?" they asked in the same breath, leaning forward eagerly.
Hicksley lowered his voice a trifle and rapidly outlined the plan thathad come to him.
He was fully satisfied with its reception, for both of his hearersroared with delight.
"It's just bully!" cried Bronson.
"Best thing I've heard since Hector was a pup!" ejaculated Jinks.
"That'll put a spoke in their wheel all right," gloated Hicksley.
"Won't they feel sore?"
"They'll be frothing at the mouth."
"We'll have to be hiding somewhere near by where we can see the wholething," said Bronson.
"I wouldn't miss it for a hundred dollars," chuckled Jinks.
"They'll sing small for a long time after that," grinned Hicksley. "Butnow if you think the plan is all right, we'll have to figure out justhow to go about it. It'll be a lot of hard work, and I don't want to doit myself. I don't suppose you fellows want to muss yourselves upeither."
"I'll tell you what!" exclaimed Bronson. "Do you know who Dago Joe is?"
"He's that Italian fellow down town who goes about doing odd jobs, isn'the?" queried Hicksley.
"That's the one," Bronson assented.
"Well, what about him?" asked Hicksley.
"Just this," Bronson answered. "He's just the fellow for this job. He'sgot a hand cart, and that will make it easy for him. Then, too, a dollarwill look as big to him as a meeting house. But even if he charges morethan that we can all chip in and it won't make very much for any of us."
"I wouldn't care if it cost us a dollar apiece," said Jinks. "It wouldbe worth it."
They talked for a few minutes longer, and then decided that rather thanlet Hicksley do it alone they would all go down together to see DagoJoe.
But to their surprise, Joe was at first inclined to balk at theproposition. He was poor and had a large family to support and he neededevery dollar he could get, but he seemed to fear that the plan that thebullies suggested might get him into trouble.
"I donta know," he said, shrugging his shoulders and extending the palmsof his hands. "Perhaps people nota like it. Maybe I be arrest."
"Nonsense, Joe," said Bronson. "There isn't a chance in the world thatanybody will get on to who did it. It will be after dark anyway. Be asport and take a chance."
"We'll make it two dollars," said Jinks. "It's easy money and you'd be afool not to take it."
Joe still had some qualms, but when the boys raised the price to threedollars his scruples vanished.
"You can get the stuff down near the roundhouse," suggested Jinks."There's always plenty of it there."
Joe wanted his three dollars at once, but they compromised by paying himhalf down with a promise of the other half when the work was done.
"Now for the big blowout," chuckled Jinks, as they wended their way backto the school.
"It'll be a scream," gloated Bronson.
"A perfect riot," added Hicksley, who was in high feather, now that hisscheme seemed in a fair way of going through.
As for Dago Joe, he was a busy man for the rest of the day and for sometime after darkness fell.
There was an unusually good supper that night in honor of the holiday,and the boys did it full justice. But they would have lingered stilllonger at the table, if they had not been impatient to get out on thehill for their carnival of coasting.
The wind had died down, but the air was keen and brought a frosty glowto their eyes and cheeks as they made their way to the hill, drawingtheir sleds behind them by ropes that hung over their shoulders.
"We'll make a new record to-night," said Bobby jubilantly. "I shouldn'twonder if we fetched as far as the bridge; and we've never done thatyet."
"If we don't do it to-night we never shall," replied Fred, as they cameto the hill.
"It doesn't seem as if the sleds could ever stop when they get startedon ice like this," exulted Mouser.
"I'll tell you what let's do," suggested Sparrow. "The hill's wideenough to hold six sleds going down at the same time. There's just aboutseventeen or eighteen of us here. Let's start out in a bunch of six at atime and go the whole length. Then, after that, we can have the separateraces."
"That's all right," agreed Fred. "The trouble is that each fellow willwant to go off in the first six."
"We'll soon settle that," replied Sparrow. "We'll draw lots and thennobody will have any kick coming."
This proposal was greeted with acclamation, and amid a great deal ofchaff and laughter the lots were drawn.
The lucky ones happened to be Fred, Bobby, Mouser, Sparrow, Skeets andPee Wee.
"We'll let Pee Wee go in the middle," laughed Fred, "and we'd bettertake care to keep close to the side of the road. He'll need more roomthan any of the rest of us."
"I'd hate to have him plunk into me," grinned Bobby. "It would be a casefor the doctor, for sure."
"For the undertaker, more likely," chuckled Mouser.
"You fellows think you're smart, don't you?" grunted Pee Wee. "All thesame I bet I'll fetch farther than any of you."
"Hear who's talking," jibed Sparrow. "We'll leave you so far behind youwon't be able to see us with a telescope."
They ranged their sleds side by side and lay upon them flat on theirstomachs, holding firmly on the sides in front in order steer correctly.
"Are you all ready?" asked Howell Purdy, who had been chosen to give theword.
"Ready," they answered.
"Then go!" shouted Howell.
The six sleds shot forward with a rush.