CHAPTER III--WHAT DAVE HAD TO TELL
"It's rather a long story, and I scarcely know how to begin," said Dave,after he, Phil, and Roger had skated ahead and to the right, where theothers were not likely to overhear the conversation. "But, to beginwith, Jasniff and Merwell have been to Crumville since they left here insuch a hurry, and--I have some reason to believe--they have been here intown, too."
"Here!" cried the shipowner's son.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us of this before?" asked Roger.
"I didn't know of it until lately, and I didn't want to worry you overmy private affairs."
"But what have they done?" demanded Phil, impatiently.
"As I said before, Phil, I hardly know how to begin to tell you. But toplunge right in. In the first place, when they were in Crumville theyfollowed my sister Laura and Jessie Wadsworth to a concert by a collegeglee club. They forced their attentions on the two girls, and gaveoutsiders an impression that they had come as escorts. The girls were soupset over it that Laura wrote me that Jessie was actually sick. Twodays after that, when the girls were out walking one evening, Jasniffand Merwell followed them, and right on the main street, near thepost-office, they came up and commenced to talk and Merwell said toLaura, loud enough for half a dozen folks to hear: 'You've got to keepyour word--you can't go back on us like that.' And Jasniff added: 'Yes,you girls were glad enough to let us give you a good time before, downat the Rainbow.' The Rainbow is a ten-cent moving-picture place, and alow one at that. Of course there wasn't a word of truth in it, butMerwell and Jasniff gave folks the impression that Laura and Jessie hadbeen going out with them, and you know how such reports spread in asmall town like Crumville."
"The hounds!" exclaimed the senator's son, wrathfully. "They should havebeen run out of town!"
"Why didn't the girls tell your folks?" asked Phil.
"They did, as soon as they got home, and my father, Uncle Dunston, andMr. Wadsworth went out to look for Merwell and Jasniff, but they werenot to be found. But that was only the beginning. The next day an oldlady came to the house with a letter she had picked up in thepost-office. It was addressed to Link Merwell and had my sister's namesigned to it, and stated that she was sorry they had quarreled andwouldn't he please forgive her and take her to the dance as promised? Ofcourse the whole thing was a forgery, and it was dropped in thepost-office just to make talk. I suppose Merwell thought some chatterboxwould pick it up and spread the news."
"But what is his game?" queried the shipowner's son. "I don't see how heis going to gain anything by such actions."
"He wants to ruin our reputations, just as he and Jasniff have ruinedtheir own. But I haven't told you all yet. A day later my father heardof another letter being found, in which Laura and Jessie promised to gooff on a joy-ride in an auto with Merwell and Jasniff. Then Merwell andJasniff appeared in Crumville with a stunning touring car, and they hadtwo girls with them, loudly dressed and heavily veiled, and the wholefour tooted horns, and sang, and behaved in anything but a becomingfashion. A good many folks thought the veiled girls must be Laura andJessie, and you can imagine how my sister and her friend felt when theyheard of it."
"Those chaps ought to be arrested," murmured Phil.
"And tarred and feathered," added the senator's son.
"After that, my father and Mr. Wadsworth got after them so sharply thatthey left Crumville. That was only a few days ago. The very next daycame a lot of goods to the house, delivered by a large city departmentstore. The folks hadn't ordered the goods and didn't know what to makeof it. They investigated, and learned that a young woman calling herselfLaura Porter had selected the things and had them sent out. Then cameother goods for Mr. Wadsworth, said to have been bought by Jessie. Itwas an awful mix-up, and it hasn't been straightened out yet."
"It's the limit!" muttered the senator's son. "I'll wager your dad andMr. Wadsworth would like to wring those chaps' necks!"
"Wait, you haven't heard it all yet," went on Dave, with a sickly smile."Yesterday I received a notice from the express company here to call fora package on which eighteen dollars was due. I was expecting some thingsthat I am going to take home for Christmas presents, although they wereto come to fifteen dollars and a half. I paid for the package, thinkingI had made a mistake in footing up my purchases, and when I got it homeI found out it wasn't what I had bought at all, but a lot of junk nobodycan use. Then my own package came in by the next express, and, ofcourse, I had to pay again. I sent a telegram to the city about thefirst package and they answered that David Porter had purchased the sameand had it sent C. O. D. Then two other packages came, one calling forsix dollars and the other for twenty-four dollars. But I refused to haveanything to do with them, and said I could easily prove that I hadn'tbeen to the city to order them. But it is going to cause a lot oftrouble."
"I believe you," returned the senator's son.
"Anything more, Dave?" queried Phil.
"Yes. Last night, if you will remember, an old man came to see me. Hesaid that two young men had sent him to me, saying that we wanted a manin Crumville to take care of a certain young lady who was slightly outof her mind. He said he had once worked in an asylum and knew he couldgive satisfaction, even if he was getting old. It was another of Merwelland Jasniff's mean tricks, and I had quite a time explaining to the oldman and getting him to go away. He said he had spent two dollars and aquarter in car-fare to come to see me, and I felt so sorry for him thatI gave him five dollars to help him along."
"Dave, where is this going to end?" cried Roger.
"That is just what I want to know," returned Dave. "Perhaps by the timewe get back to Oak Hall there will be more packages waiting for me--orpotatoes, or a horse, or something like that."
"You could have Merwell and Jasniff arrested for this," was Phil'scomment.
"Yes, if I could catch them. But they know enough to keep shady. Butthat isn't all. Yesterday I got a letter, or rather a note. It waspostmarked from Rocky Run, about fifteen miles from here. Inside of theenvelope was a card on which was written: 'We'll never let up until wehave ruined you.'"
"Was it signed?" asked the senator's son.
"Oh, no. But I am sure it came from Merwell and Jasniff."
"They are certainly sore," was Phil's comment.
"Traveling around must cost them money. Where do they get the cash?"asked Roger.
"From Mr. Merwell most likely," answered Dave. "He got a good price whenhe sold his ranch, and he seldom denies Link anything."
"Have you any idea who the girls were who were in the auto inCrumville?"
"Not exactly, but I think they must have been some of the girls NatPoole goes with. When Jasniff and Merwell were there with Nat, I saw thewhole crowd out with some girls from the cotton mills. They were niceenough girls in their way, but they were very boisterous and not thekind Laura and Jessie care to pick for company. I suppose those girlsplayed their part thinking it was nothing but a good joke. One had a haton with feathers such as Jessie wears and the other wore a coat and veillike Laura's. I guess a good many who saw them riding in the auto andcutting up like wild Indians thought they were Laura and Jessie." AndDave heaved a deep sigh.
"And what are you going to do, Dave?" asked Phil, after a short silence,during which the three chums continued to skate in advance of theirfriends.
"What can I do? We are trying to locate the rascals, and when we dowe'll make them stop. But in the meantime----"
"They may cause you no end of trouble," finished the senator's son.
"I don't care so much for myself as I do for Laura and Jessie, and forMr. and Mrs. Wadsworth. I hate to see them suffer because of my troublewith those rascals. I don't see why Merwell and Jasniff can't fight itout with me alone."
"You forget one thing, Dave," returned Phil. "Merwell was once sweet onyour sister. I suppose it made him furious to be turned down by her."
"Well, then, why does he annoy Jessie? She never harmed him, or Jasniffeither."
; "Huh! As if you didn't know why!" replied Roger, with something like achuckle. "Don't they both know that Jessie is the very apple of youreye, and that anything that brings trouble to her will cut you to theheart? Of course they know that, Dave, and you can rest assured thatthey will try to hurt you quite as much through Jessie as they'll try tohurt you direct."
"Perhaps, Roger. If I was sure----"
"Low bridge!" shouted Phil at that instant, as a bend of the river wasgained, and then the whole crowd of students swept under the lowhangingbranches of a number of trees. Those ahead had to go slowly and pick theway with care.
"How much farther have we to go?" called out Sam Day.
"Only a couple of miles," replied Dave. He turned to Phil and Roger."That's about all," he whispered. "Keep it to yourselves."
"We will," they replied.
"Somebody else going to carry this hamper?" cried Chip Macklin. "It'sgetting rather heavy."
"I'll carry one end," said Ben Basswood.
"And I'll take the other," added Phil. "Dave, you and Roger go ahead andbring down a couple of deer, and a bear, and one or two tigers, orsomething like that," he continued, with a grin, for he wanted to getDave's mind off of his troubles.
"Nothing but an elephant for mine," answered Dave, with a forced laugh."I don't want to waste my powder."
"As the society belle said when she left the mark of her cheek on thegent's shoulder," remarked Buster Beggs, the fat lad of the group.
"Say, that puts me in mind of another story," came from Shadow. "Once ona time a Dutchman heard that a certain lady was a society belle. Hewanted to tell his friend about it, but he couldn't think of the rightword. 'Ach, she is von great lady,' he said. 'She is a societyding-dong!'"
"Wow!"
"There's a ringer for Shadow!"
"Shadow, you want to frame that joke and hang it in the woodshed."
"Put it down in moth-balls until next summer, Shadow."
"Oh, say, speaking about moth-balls puts me in mind of another story. Aman----"
"Was it a young man, Shadow?" asked Dave, calmly.
"Maybe it was a very old man," suggested Phil.
"Was he clean-shaven or did he have a beard?" queried Roger.
"Never mind if he was young or old, or clean-shaven or not," cried thestory-teller. "This man----"
"Was he an American or a foreigner?" demanded Gus Plum. "That issomething we have simply got to know."
"And if he was knock-kneed," put in Sam. "I hate love stories aboutknock-kneed men. They aren't a bit romantic."
"Who said anything about a love story about a knock-kneed man?" burstout Shadow. "I said----"
But what Shadow was going to say was drowned out in the sudden report ofa shotgun,--a report so close at hand that it made nearly every studentpresent stop in alarm.