CHAPTER VII Turning the Tables
When Anthony Graham left his home and started walking slowly through thewoods he had absolutely no definite intention of any kind in his mind. Hewas bored and a little ashamed of harassing his sister. For if Anthonyhad confessed the truth to himself down in his heart he was really bothglad and proud of what Nan was trying to do and had felt secretly moreashamed of himself since she began her efforts. For the boy had a bettermind than his sister and had more inheritances from his father's family.His idleness and weakness came more from his unfortunate environment andfrom the fact that nothing had as yet awakened any ambition or betterfeeling in him. He had not told Nan what he wanted with the money askedof her, but for the past ten days had been thinking that if only he couldget away somewhere out of Woodford, where no one knew anything of him orhis family, and have a fair start, why he too might amount to somethingin the future so that Nan need not be shamed by him.
He walked for half a mile or so and then sitting down on a log began towhittle. There wasn't any use trying to clear out without money to buyfood and he did not wish to remain anywhere in the immediateneighborhood. It had occurred to Anthony in the past week that he mightwork and earn sufficient money for his escape, but having applied atthree or four places and been refused, his old shiftlessness and lack ofwill power laid fresh hold on him so that he gave up the effort. Now, ashe sat at his usual occupation of killing time, he tried to banish allthought and all desire.
He intended waiting until it was time to walk back to the Sunrise cabinwith Nan and then go into the village and find his equally idle friends.
Suddenly Polly's laugh sounded and then Betty's, as though in response tosomething her companion had said. The girls were driving along the roadtoward home and a little farther on would come within a dozen yards ofthe spot where Anthony was seated, concealed from view of the road by thegrouping of trees.
The boy started, at first with surprise. The winter woods had seemed soquiet and so lonely, not even a teamster had passed in all the time ofhis musing. And then a curiosity seized hold on him to see his sister'smuch talked of friends without being seen by them. Of course he hadprobably passed both Betty and Polly on the streets of Woodford a goodmany times and that morning had caught a distant glimpse of them from thewindow, but he did not know one girl from the other, and from hissister's description he might now be able to tell. Betty was thebeautiful one, and Polly, well Nan no more than other people had everbeen able to decide whether Polly was beautiful or whether she was sofascinating that you had to think so while she was talking to you. Whenshe was quiet her face was apt to be pale and a little too thin.
Anthony found a hiding place behind a tree bordering the road, until thesound of the sleigh bells came nearer and nearer, and Fire Star made herappearance. Then an impulse stronger and more dangerous than curiosityswept over him. For the first time since leaving his sister in thekitchen he remembered Nan's information. The two girls would be carryingback to their cabin a box containing Betty's jewelry. How easy tofrighten them and make them surrender the box. Then he could get awayfrom this neighborhood he hated and have a chance at a new life. He woulddo the girls no harm and only take enough money to cover his actualneeds. The rest Betty could have back again. Anthony did not believe thateither Betty or Polly knew him on sight. Nevertheless, though he hadlittle time for reflection, with a quick movement he pulled his raggedcap down well over his forehead and eyes, turned up his coat collar andstooping picked up from the ground a heavy stick which was almost a login size.
An instant later Fire Star's bridle was seized with an ugly jerk and thepony brought to a standstill.
As Betty was driving, the tin box was being held in Polly's lap so thatthe highwayman's first words were addressed to her.
"Turn over that box to me," he demanded, trying to make his voice soundolder and more threatening than usual.
However, both girls were so entirely overcome by amazement at theunexpected appearance of a robber in their peaceful New Hampshire woods,that for a moment they could only stare. The next instant Polly with aquick flare of her Irish temper, leaned over and seizing hold of Betty'salmost toy whip, slashed it in the face of the intruder. "Get out of theway," she cried angrily. "I am sure you can't know what you are doing."
But almost in the same instant the whip was torn out of her hand anddropped on the ground. When Betty attempted to rush Fire Star forward thepony's bridle was caught the second time.
"If you don't do what I say I'll break your pony's back with this stick,"the boy muttered, and at this Betty winced, making no further effort todrive on. Fire Star had been her pony since she was a small girl and thestick the young fellow held was large enough to do her serious hurt, alsohis manner was sufficiently ugly to indicate that he meant what he said.
Polly was by this time so angry that she could scarcely think, but,fortunately, Betty, after the first moment of surprise and natural fear,had held herself well in hand.
Now she looked so steadfastly at the figure at her pony's head that theyoung man turned his face away.
"You are Nan Graham's brother," Betty remarked quietly, "and I hope poorNan may never hear what you are trying to do. You may not believe I haveever seen you before, but I have. Then as we have told only Nan thereason for our errand to town only she could have told you. I am quitesure though that she did not mean to betray us."
Betty said this so loyally and in such an unafraid, yet accusing voice,that Anthony Graham wished himself ten thousand miles from the placewhere he stood and as many leagues from the deed he was doing. However,since he had already disgraced both his sister and himself there was allthe more reason why he should go through with this cowardly business andget himself away if he possibly could.
"No matter who I am, you will hand that box over just the same and bequick about it," he commanded with another threatening wave of his stick.
"We will do no such thing but will have you arrested as a thief," Pollyannounced defiantly, wishing with all her heart, in spite of her CampFire training, that the despised Billy Webster might appear at thismoment driving one of his father's wagons either to or away from town. Atother times she might look down upon Billy for having only a farmer'sideals, just now, however, the splendid strength that his outdoor lifemust have given him would have been peculiarly desirable.
However, to Polly's surprise and chagrin, Betty, whom she had alwaysconsidered braver than herself, showed signs of weakening.
"I will give you the key to my box if you will let me have some papersthat are inside it which can be of no value to you."
Betty said this with a nervous laugh, her face suddenly turning pale whenit had formerly been flushed. Then she set her lips to keep them fromtrembling. Without waiting for an answer she afterwards leaned forwardand began searching under the carriage rug on the bottom of her sleighfor the purse bag in which Polly remembered the key to have beenconcealed.
Anthony might at this instant have seized the tin box from Polly and beenoff with it before Betty could have driven Fire Star on. But he waswilling enough to have the key to Betty's box and even to leave herpapers behind some tree if she so much desired them. He had never meantto take all her foolish trinkets which were of no value to any one excepta girl. So for a brief moment Anthony did not look toward either Betty orPolly but kept his eyes fastened on the pony's head. In that same moment,hearing a sudden whirr through the air, before he was able to move theboy found himself securely caught by a rope and his arms drawn tight tohis sides so that his stick dropped with a clatter on the frozen ground.While Betty Ashton with another rapid movement wound the other end of herrope about the cross bar of her sleigh catching it with a clove hitch andthen, with a little gasp of astonishment at her own prowess, dropped backinto her seat, only faintly hearing Polly's cry of delighted amazement.
Not for nothing had Betty Ashton been learning to acquire honors in campcraft for the past six months, prac
ticing different kinds of knot tyingwith the other girls in friendly rivalry hour after hour. In the bottomof her sleigh along with the purse bag which really did contain her key,Betty had remembered that they had fifty feet of new clothes line beingtaken back to the cabin. In the moment of fumbling under the rug she hadquickly tied the much practiced slip noose and then had thrown it withbetter skill than she could ever repeat.
Polly gave a characteristic laugh to relieve the tension of thesituation. "We have caught the enemy and he is ours now, Betty, dear, butwhatever are we going to do with him?"
But Betty had gathered up her reins and was quietly urging Fire Starahead.
So there was nothing for their prisoner to do but to run along by theside of the sleigh. By superior strength the young man could have jerkedaway from Betty's and Polly's hold, but not from the sleigh itself. Nowthe more he pulled on the clothes line the tighter it bound him. Besidesit was difficult to do even this when all his strength was requiredkeeping up with the pony's rapid gait.
"I have often wondered how it would feel to be a conqueror drivingthrough the streets of Rome with one's prisoners lashed to their chariotwheels and this is deliciously like it," Polly sighed before hercompanion had once spoken, enjoying with all her vivid imagination theretribution that had overtaken the evildoer.
But Betty's expression was strangely grave and every now and then shekept glancing aside at the figure running along beside them. For, exceptfor a first oath and a few violent threats, the young man seemed to ownhimself beaten and had since said nothing. There was a horrible droopinstead to his head and shoulders, and indeed to his whole figure, and helooked so ashamed that it made Betty sick to look at him, Polly did notseem to have noticed but Betty felt that she had never seen just such anexpression before.
"Polly," she whispered softly, "do you think we ought to drive up to thecabin taking this fellow with us like this? Of course we can turn aroundand go back to town and even drive up to the jail with him but that isjust as bad. After all, he is poor little Nan's brother, and if we do thechild can never hold up her head again! I keep imagining how I shouldfeel if I were to be taken prisoner and carried before a lot of strangeboys to act as my judges." Then Betty shuddered as though her vision werereal, but Polly only laughed so scornfully that the boy, overhearing her,cringed.
"It is an absurd supposition, Betty, and I can't well imagine yourputting yourself in this dreadful fellow's place. You can hardly expectme to conceive of you, even in these advanced female days, suddenlystopping a number of young men and demanding their pocketbooks."
Notwithstanding Betty appeared deaf to her beloved Polly's teasing, forinstead of answering she slowed her pony down.
"Don't you think we owe anything to Nan as a member of our Camp Firecircle?" she asked. "It seems to me that allegiance is one of the firstthings boys learn and it is because we girls don't feel it toward oneanother that women have the harder time."
Instantly Polly sobered. "That is true, Princess," she agreed, "and I amdesperately sorry for Nan and would spare her if we could, but do youthink it right to let an intended thief go free? Besides, if we do cuthim loose how do we know he will not seize your box away from us?"
"Because I should drive up almost to the Webster farm, where we could beheard if we called for help before letting him go. And anyhow even if wedon't let him go free I should like to talk to him."
Polly shook her head. "Don't try reformation at the eleventh hour, Idon't believe in it," she declared.
Notwithstanding this Betty drove on until within hailing distance of theWebster farm house and then, without asking further advice from Polly,calmly brought her pony to a standstill.
The young fellow made no effort to come nearer the sleigh or even to tearhimself away, but kept gazing in astonishment at Betty as she dismountedand walked fearlessly up to him.
"What made you want to take my jewelry, Anthony?" she inquired. "I knowyour name because I have heard Nan speak so often of you. I wonder if youhave ever tried to steal anything before?" She said this apparently toherself since the boy did not seem inclined to answer. And then Bettyshook her lovely head softly. "I wonder what it feels like to want tosteal?" she questioned. "It must be some very dreadful reason that temptsone. You see I have never been poor myself or known what it was to wantterribly anything I could not have." And then very swiftly and withoutallowing time for Polly to stop her, Betty drew out her Camp Fire knifeand cut the rope that bound the young fellow's arms to his sides. "Idon't know whether it is right or wrong for me to do this," sheconfessed, "but for Nan's sake I cannot bear to hold you a prisoner."
Then both to her surprise and Polly's, Anthony made no movement and atthe same instant the girls to their embarrassment saw that he was crying.Not weeping like some girls to whom tears come easily, but shaken by drypainful sobs, as though his shame and self-abasement were too great to beborne.
"It was for Nan's sake that I wanted to get away," he confessed finally,pulling himself together by a tremendous effort. "I thought maybe if Icould get a chance like she is having, somewhere away from here where noone knew me, that I might be able to do something for myself. It wasnearly killing me thinking I had ruined everything for her."
"So you were intending to steal in order to begin leading a better life,"Betty repeated thoughtfully, and the young man flashed an angry look ather. But she was not trying to be sarcastic and the expression on herface at that moment he never afterwards forgot.
"I should hate you to stop trying to make things right for yourself andNan because you began the wrong way," she continued after a littlethoughtful pause. Then with a blush and an humble look verycharacteristic of Betty when wishing to be allowed to do another person afavor, she picked up her purse bag from the bottom of the sleigh andslipping her hand in it drew out a crumpled bill.
"Won't you let me lend you the money for your chance?" she asked, asthough speaking to a friend and utterly ignoring the ugly scene that hadjust passed. "I haven't much money with me, so you must not mind. You canpay it back to me when you get to the new place and have good luck."
And then, before the dazed boy had time to understand what she was tryingto do, Betty had thrust ten dollars into his partially clenched hand andjumping back into her sleigh had driven rapidly away. Fire Star wasrather bored with so much unnecessary delay on his journey home andwanted to get back to shelter.
A little later Billy Webster, who had been cutting down trees in aportion of his father's woods, took off his fur cap to wave to the girlsjust as Polly in her dramatic fashion dropped down on one knee in theirsleigh attempting to kiss Betty's hand.
"Betty dear, if ever I saw you do a Princess-like act in a Princess-likefashion it was when you gave that abominable boy that money," she saidadmiringly. "It is my opinion that either he is absolutely no good orelse he will reform from this moment and be your faithful knight to theend of the chapter."
But Betty only smiled a little uncertainly. "Perhaps it wasn't honest ofme, Polly, to be giving away money when I owe so much to other people."And then, touching the tin box in her friend's lap, she said half jokingand half serious, "but since I am having to give up my kingdom I am gladto be able to help some one else to come into theirs."