CHAPTER XV
THE KEYPORT GAME
"These are bad burns," said the physician, looking up at the wide-eyedcrowd. "And I believe he is hurt internally. Where did he come from?"
"This gal brought him in her car, Doc," said the storekeeper, who hadforgotten trade for the moment.
"Who is he?" asked the physician, with his hand on the man's pulse,but looking curiously at Hester.
"I don't know--oh, yes! I remember! He said his name was Billson."
"Jeffers-pelters!" ejaculated the storekeeper. "I'd never ha' knowedhim. His whiskers is burned off, that's a fac'."
"Then you know all about him, Carey?" pursued the medical man.
"Not much! not much!" exclaimed the storekeeper, hastily. "He's jest asquatter. Come from one of the lower counties, I b'lieve.Holler-chested. Bad lungs, he said. Goin' to live in the open an' cure'em."
"He ought to go to the hospital at once," growled the doctor.
"I can take him," said Hester, quietly. "He's a very brave man, Ibelieve. He warned all the people through the section back ofTentorville----"
"I guess you druv the car, Miss," cackled Carey, the storekeeper.
"But I should have driven it home in a hurry after finding him on theroad without knowing anything about the people in danger," said thegirl, honestly. "He did it."
"No matter who did it. I want to get him to the hospital. I'll go toCenterport with him, Miss, if you'll take us."
"Of course," said Hester.
"You know him, Carey," said the doctor, turning to the storekeeper."Can I use your name at the hospital in Centerport?"
"No, you can't," said the other, quickly. "I can't stand no 'nearestfriend' game for a man that never spent fo' bits a week in my storefor groceries. No. I dunno him."
"We'll stand sponsor for him, sir," said Hester, hastily. "Come on.You'll have to tell me how to drive. I don't know these roads verywell."
"What's your name, Miss?" asked the physician, climbing into the caras Hester touched the electric starter.
Hester told him, and the medical man nodded. "Henry Grimes's gal, eh?"he said. "Well, he's well able to be sponsor for this poor fellow.Drive on."
He was a shabby old man, this country doctor. His name was Leffert,and he seemed none too blessed with this world's goods. But he waskindly and he eased the senseless man into a comfortable position inthe tonneau with the gentleness of a woman.
The car started on the long run to Centerport with a plentifullyfilled tank. And the engine worked nicely. When they passed the Sitzplace Hester saw that the farmer and Otto were out ploughing along theedge of the woods by lantern light. But the sky above the ridge glowedlike a live coal. The forest fire was sweeping on.
When they came down the hill past Robinson's Woods the doctor nudgedHester from behind.
"Hadn't you better take that left-hand turn, Miss?" he demanded.
"What for? This is the nearest way," returned the girl, slowing down abit.
"But it goes through the Four Corners. They have a habit of setting onautomobiles there."
"They won't dare bother us," declared Hester. "Most of those peoplework for father."
"Aw--well," said the doctor, and sat down again.
The car roared through the settlement of shacks about the Four Cornerslike a fast express. Nobody tried to bother them. In twenty minutesthereafter the car stopped at the City Hospital. The patient wascarried in on a stretcher, and one of the interns took Hester's nameand address. Dr. Leffert evidently had no standing at the institution,and he merely handed the patient over to the hospital authorities andhurried away. Hester drove the car home and found both her mother andfather excitedly awaiting her coming.
"Now, don't you bother about me--or the car!" she said, sharply, whenher parents began to take her to task for worrying them so. "I haven'thad a bite to eat, and I'm tired, too. Your old car isn't hurt any----"
"But you can't ride that car all over this country alone, Hess! Iswear I won't have it!"
"But I _did_ drive it alone, didn't I? And it isn't hurt any. Neitheram I," she replied, and it was several days before her parents learnedthe particulars of their daughter's wild ride over the mountainsidewith the squatter, Billson, warning the small farmers of the comingfire.
"I declare for't!" her mother then said. "You're the greatest girl,Hess! The folks say you're a heroine."
"They say a whole lot beside their prayers, I reckon," snapped Hester.
"But one of the country papers has got a long article in it about youand that Mr. Billson. Only they don't know your name."
"No. I told Doc. Leffert to keep still about it," said Hester. "Now!there's been enough talk. I want two dollars, Ma. I want to send thatBillson some jelly and some flowers. He's having a mighty hard time atthe hospital. And there isn't a soul who cares anything abouthim--whether he lives or dies."
"Ain't that just like you, Hessie?" complained her mother. "You throwthat poor fellow good things like you was throwing a bone to a dog!I--I wish you wasn't so hard."
But events were making Hester seem harder than usual these days. Shewas completely cut off from the society of her school fellows. She hadno part in the after-hour athletics. Nobody spoke to her about thefine time expected at Keyport when the basketball team went over tobattle with the team of the Keyport High.
And when that day arrived, fully a carload entrained at the Hillstation of the C. K. & M. Railroad, bound for the neighboring city.These were all the girls of Central High interested in the game andtheir friends among the boys.
It was not a long run by train to Keyport, but they had a lot of fun.Chet and Lance were full of an incident that had occurred in ProfessorDimp's class that morning, and Chet was telling his sister and a groupof friends about it.
"Short and Long got one on Old Dimple again to-day," said Chet. "Youknow he's forever hammering the Romans into us. We ought to call him'The Old Roman'--we really had! There's that Roman lad who was such anathlete and all-around pug----"
"'Pug!'" gasped Laura. "Wait till mother hears you say _that_."
"Ha! I'm going to watch to see that she doesn't hear me, Sis,"returned her brother. "Well, Old Dimple was telling us about this ladwho used to swim across the Tiber three times before breakfast. Andwhen he'd expatiated on the old boy's performance, Short and Long putup a mitt----"
"'A mitt!'" groaned Laura again.
"Aw, well! His hand, then. Dimple perked right up, thinking that Shortand Long was really showing some interest, and says he:
"'What's your question, Mr. Long?'
"And Billy says: 'What's puzzling me, is why he swam it _three_times?'"
"'Eh?' says Dimple. 'How's that, young man?'"
"'Why didn't he swim it _four_ times,' says Billy, grave as a judge,'and so get back to the bank where he'd left his clothes?' And not asmile cracked Short and Long's face! Dimple didn't know whether tolaugh or get mad, and just then the gong sounded 'Time' and Dimple gotout of it without answering Billy's question."
"Tickets!" cried Lance, as the girls laughed at the story. "Here comesthe conductor. Get your pasteboards ready."
"Who says that's the conductor, Lance?" demanded Chet.
"Huh! It's Mr. Wood, isn't it? He's the conductor of this train."
"Impossible," sighed Chet "Wood is a non-conductor."
But the crowd wouldn't stand for puns like that and shouted Chet down.
When they debarked at the Keyport station they formed in marchingorder and, the boys with canes and the girls with flags, marched twoby two to the Keyport girls' athletic field. The game was called forfour o'clock, and Mrs. Case got her team out and "warmed them up" withten minutes' practice before the referee called both teams to thecourt selected for the match game.
The boys in the audience droned out the Central High yell, with its"snap-the-whip" ending of, "Ziz--z--z--z----Boom!" and the ball was throwninto play. Right at the start the home team got the best of thevisitors. There were excellent players on the Keyport
team. Indeed, inall athletics the Keyport girls had excelled for years. Our friendsfrom Central High were outmatched at several points.
But they fought hard. Laura and her mates battled every moment, andwhen the whistle ending the first half sounded, the Keyport team wasonly two points ahead. But the visitors ran to their dressing room inno hopeful frame of mind.