CHAPTER XII
HAS TO DO WITH STORM AND LIGHTNING; DISCOVERS TOM IN TEARS, ANDCONCLUDES THE ADVENTURE
When Mr. Verder gave the word, twenty-three hounds started in pursuitof the hares, and in the foremost group trotted Tom. They had justreached the village when the rain burst, and the way in which theypiled into the post-office led the village gossips there assembled tojump from their chairs in terror, thinking they were attacked by a gangof desperadoes. And when the fellows had slammed the door behind themand gathered at the windows to watch the torrent, they saw throughthe hissing sheets of water the solitary form of Mr. Thomas CourtenayFerris trotting doggedly on up the road. Then the door opened andclosed again, and Bob sped after him.
“What are you going to do, you crazy dub?” panted Bob when he hadcaught up.
“Cu-cu-catch those fu-fu-fu-fellows,” answered Tom resolutely.
“Why, they’ve given it up by this time, you idiot!”
“I haven’t. I su-su-said I was going to finish, and I am!”
“Poppycock!” muttered Bob. “However, I’ll see you through.”
“You’ll gu-gu-gu-get wet,” said Tom.
“So’ll you.”
“I du-du-du-don’t mind.”
“Neither do I; I like it. Fine, isn’t it?”
“Su-su-swell!” gasped Tom.
So on they plodded, every footfall sending a spray of muddy wateragainst their bare legs, keeping the trail in sight with difficulty,since the torn paper had in many places been washed aside or covered bythe pools of water that had already formed along the road. They overranthe trail where it left the highway and had to cast about for fully aminute before they found it again, and took off across the field, whichwas rapidly becoming like a cranberry bog. Once in the forest it wasn’tquite so bad, for the trees afforded some slight protection. But poorTom’s breath was almost gone, and when they finally reached the placewhere a pile of wet paper told its own story, he was glad to throwhimself down on the wet ground and rest. What to do next was a problem.Finally Bob, with a fair idea of their whereabouts, suggested climbingthe hill and reaching the road on the other side. So Tom, with a finalgasp, struggled to his feet, and they took up their way again. It wasTom who caught sight of the hut.
“Lu-lu-lu-look over there, Bu-bu-bu-Bob!” he spluttered.
And that is how it happened that Nelson and Dan, horrified one instantby the ghastly object at their feet, were terrorized the next by asudden loud shout behind them. They turned and fled ignominiously tothe door. The flash of lightning had intensified the darkness thatfollowed, and neither saw anything until their exit was suddenlyimpeded, and even then not enough to understand what was up. Dancollided with Tom just inside the doorway, and, like a center puttingout his opponent, bore him backward to the ground. Tom, stammering insurprise at the welcome, clung desperately to his assailant.
“Lu-lu-lu-let go of me! Wha-wha-what’s the mu-mu-mu-matter with you?Gu-gu-gu-get off mu-mu-my stomach!”
Nelson, tumbling out with scared face on the heels of Dan, ran intoBob outside. The latter grabbed him just in time; in another moment hewould have been a hundred yards away, and still going.
“What’s the row?” cried Bob, turning from Nelson to where Dan and Tom,the latter on his back in a litter of wet leaves, and the formersitting on top of him, were viewing each other in wide-eyed surprise.“What kind of a game are you fellows playing?”
“Is that you?” muttered Nelson sheepishly.
“Hu--hallo, Tommy!” grunted Dan, pulling him up.
“‘Hallo, Tu-tu-tu-Tommy’ be bu-bu-blowed!” muttered that youth ashe found his feet and viewed Dan angrily; “wha-wha-what kind of afu-fu-funny fu-fu-fool are you?”
At that instant the rain, which had momentarily let up as thoughinterested in the proceedings, came down harder than ever, and theFour crowded inside the hut, Dan and Nelson, however, keeping close tothe doorway and casting uneasy glances into the darkness. At lengththe matter was explained, and Bob, lighting a match, advanced towardthe back of the cabin, the others following breathlessly and gazingnervously over his shoulder. As the match flared up, there lay theskeleton, and even Bob drew a sudden breath and backed away a foot,thereby stepping on Nelson’s toes and eliciting an exclamation of painthat almost resulted in another stampede to the door. It was Tom whostayed the rout.
“Huh!” he cried; “it’s nothing but a calf!”
And so it proved. Grown suddenly brave, they examined more carefully,and Bob began to tease Dan and Nelson for being frightened at theskeleton of a calf.
“That’s all right,” said Nelson, “but I noticed you were looking up theexits a minute ago!”
“Let’s have that fire,” suggested Dan. “Any matches left?”
Tom had a pocket full of them, and in a minute they had found severaldried branches on the floor and a box nailed to the wall. They toredown the latter and soon had a fire going. As the heat began topenetrate their chilled bodies their spirits arose.
“I wish it had been a human skeleton,” said Dan regretfully.
“Yes, you do!” responded Bob sarcastically. “Why?”
“So I could have had the skull. My uncle has one for a tobacco jar;it’s swell!”
“I can see you getting the skull!” said Bob laughingly. “Why, youwouldn’t have stopped running before to-morrow morning if we hadn’tstopped you!”
“Get out!” answered Dan good-naturedly. “I’d have come back for it. ButI tell you, fellows, that old pile of bones looked mighty unpleasant inthe lightning. I’d have sworn the thing moved.”
“It was you that moved,” said Tom, “and you moved fast.”
“Say, what the dickens are we going to do, fellows?” asked Nelson. “Wecan’t get home in this storm. Just listen to it!”
“Oh, it’ll let up after a bit. What time is it?” asked Bob.
“Ten of four,” answered Tom. “Wish we had something to eat; then wecould stay all night. Wouldn’t it be swell?”
“Yes,” said Dan, “but we haven’t, and I, for one, prefer to get wetagain rather than go without supper. I’m starved now.”
“Well, let’s wait a bit and see if it doesn’t hold up some. This fire’simmense! Wonder can we find any more wood?”
At that instant there was a blinding flash of lightning, a terrificcrash of thunder, and a shock that threw Dan and Tom, who had beenstanding, off their feet. Simultaneously a portion of the roof of thecabin fell, with a cloud of dust and débris, and one of the timberscrashed into their midst, scattering the fire. For an instant there wassilence. Every one of the quartet had been momentarily stunned by thelightning. Then they were on their feet, white-faced and trembling;all save Nelson, who lay stretched on the floor, with the bloodflowing from a gash in his head. Here and there a brand from the fireflickered, but a new light flooded the cabin from without, where agiant pine, its trunk lying across the cabin, was burning fiercely.After the first instant of terror Bob ran to Nelson.
“Get some water, somebody!” he called.
“Is he dead?” asked Tom weakly.
“I don’t know; he’s got a beast of a cut here from that log; stunnedhim, I guess. Where’s the water?”
Dan hurried back with his cap dripping.
“Here’s some,” he panted. “Fetch some more, Tom; hold your cap underthe corner of the house. Is he much hurt?”
But Nelson answered the question himself, reaching up to push away thehand that was bathing his face and head, and opening his eyes to blinkdazedly about him.
“You lie still a minute,” commanded Bob. “That log fetched you a whackon the head, but you’ll be all right in a minute.”
“Oh,” said Nelson, memory returning, “say, that was a peach of a bump,wasn’t it? Any one struck? Where’s Tommy?”
“He’s here. Shut up a minute and lie still.”
“I’m all right.” He felt of his wound, and wiped the blood from hisfingers onto his jersey. “If I had a handkerchief----”
/> “Here’s one,” said Dan. “You tie it on, Bob.”
Bob did so, and Nelson was helped to his feet, where he stood aninstant swaying unsteadily.
“Say, we’ll have to get out of this,” said Dan. “The hut’ll be on firein a minute. Gee, but that was a close shave! That tree wasn’t thirtyfeet away!”
“We got some of it as it was,” said Bob. “I felt as though some one hadhit me with a plank. Can you walk, Nel? Here, we’ll give you a hand.We’ll have to get out at the corner there; the doorway’s blocked up.Where’d Tommy get to?”
“He went for some more water,” said Dan. “Come on; it’s getting hot!”
Outside they came on a strange sight. Tom was sitting on a log, withhis face in his hands, sobbing as though his heart was breaking.Beside him lay his cap, and a small rivulet of water from the top ofthe cabin was spattering down onto his bare head. The three stared inbewilderment. Then Bob patted him on the back:
“Come on, Tommy,” he said kindly. “You’re all right; cheer up!”
But Tom only shook his head without looking up.
“He’s du-du-du-du-dead!” he wailed.
“Who’s dead, you idiot?”
“Nu-nu-nu-Nelson,” sobbed Tommy.
“No, I’m not, Tommy,” called Nelson; “here I am!”
Tom raised a wet and miserable face; then he leaped to his feet,tumbled over a branch, and fell into Nelson’s arms.
“I th-th-th-thought you were a gu-gu-gu-goner!” he cried.
“I’m all right,” answered Nelson, cheerfully submitting to Tom’s hugs.“Get your cap and come along, or we’ll be drowned.”
Tom sniffed a few times, picked up his hat, and sheepishly joined theprocession that wound its way up the hill in the rain.
“Poor old Tommy!” chuckled Dan.
“He’s a good-hearted dub,” answered Nelson softly.
Five minutes of toil brought them to the summit, and after that it waseasier work. By the time they had reached the road the rain had almostceased, and for the rest of the way they had only the mud and theirchilled bodies to contend with. Twenty minutes later they straggledinto camp to find Mr. Clinton in the act of leading a search partyafter them. Nelson was conducted to the surgery, where Dr. Smith washedand bandaged his head, and the other members of the party hied themto the dormitory and dry clothes, followed by half the fellows of thecamp eager to hear the story of their adventures. And when it had beentold--losing nothing in the telling by Dan--Bob suddenly exclaimed:
“Well, if he didn’t do it!”
“Do what?” “Who did?” “When?” were the queries fired at him.
“Why, Tommy did! He said, before we started, that he was going to beatthe hares home, the cheeky kid! And he did it!”
“But we all came home together,” objected Dan.
“Yes, but if you’ll recollect, it was Tommy who headed the processioncoming into camp.”
“So it was,” said Dan.
“So I did,” said Tom. “Ain’t I a smarty?”
Whereupon Dan tumbled him over backward onto the bed and sat on topof him a long, long time, and told him how very, very smart he was.And it was not until Nelson, appearing on the scene with a wealth ofsurgeon’s plaster adorning his brow, asked innocently, “Who’s going tosoak?” that Dan’s attentions ceased; and then it was only because hefelt obliged to stand firmly on his feet in order to put the necessaryamount of withering sarcasm into his reply to Nelson.