CHAPTER XVI
A HARD FALL
Jerry Hopkins hardly knew whether or not to be angry at the small ladwho had the assurance to stow himself away in the auto. Bob lookedat his tall chum as if to shape his own conduct by Jerry’s. Ned wasfrankly angry.
“Well, you have got nerve, Andy Rush!” exclaimed Ned. “What do you meanby slipping in on us this way; eh? What do you mean?”
“I--er--I, well, I just couldn’t help it,” burst out Andy, who seemedto be in some difficulty as to what to say. “I wanted to come awfullybad, and I was afraid you fellows wouldn’t let me if I asked you.”
“That’s the time you spoke the truth!” muttered Ned. “You sure areright--we wouldn’t have let you.”
“And I thought maybe, if I came along anyhow, and you didn’t find meuntil you had a good start, you’d let me stay rather than take mehome,” finished Andy.
“Take you home!” cried Ned. “Well, you sure have got nerve! Take youhome? Well, you’ll go home the best way you can. We’re not going toturn around and take you back to your mother; you can make up your mindto that!”
“You--you won’t leave me here; will you?” faltered Andy, looking aroundapprehensively, for they were in a rather lonely neighborhood.
“It’s as good a place as any,” grumbled Ned. “Stowaways can’t bechoosers.”
Andy looked more frightened than ever. He was only a small chap, andnot very robust. His usual vivacious manner, and his rapid style oftalking seemed to have deserted him.
“Go on home!” exclaimed Ned. “We don’t want you!”
“Oh, don’t be mean,” urged Bob in a low tone to his chum.
“No, we can’t desert him this way, even if he did sneak in on us,”added Jerry.
Andy took heart from this.
“I--I didn’t mean to do wrong,” he said eagerly. “I’m willing to pay myway. I’ve got ’most five dollars saved up. You can have that!” and hepulled some change from his pocket. “Don’t send me back!” he pleaded.“Let me come along.”
A flicker of a smile lighted Ned’s face. I fancy those of you who knowthe merchant’s son realize that this harsh attitude was only assumedfor the time being. Really Ned was very gentle, and he only spoke thatway on the impulse of the moment, and to make Andy feel a proper sorrowfor his escapade.
“You will let me stay; won’t you?” the small boy pleaded. “I--I’ll doanything you say. I’ll help a lot--run all your errands for you--I’llget water for the auto--I’ll pump up the tires--I--I’ll put up thetent, chop wood--whoop! I’ll do _everything_!” And Andy fairlyyelled--a return of his usual spirits.
“All right, if you want to work your passage,” agreed Ned, as thougha problem were solved. “I’ve no objections, if you’re willing to helpout,” and he winked at his chums. “But it won’t be easy,” he warnedAndy.
“Oh, I’m not looking for anything easy,” replied Andy quickly. “I’ll doanything you tell me to.”
“All right, then get some wood and make a fire,” ordered Ned. “We wantto boil some coffee. Then hand me another of the boxes of the cakes Iput away. If it hadn’t been for them we wouldn’t have known where youwere. After that you can hunt up a spring and get a pail of water. Iguess the auto radiator needs filling; doesn’t it, Jerry?”
“Oh, be a bit easy with him,” pleaded fat Bob, who knew what it was tokeep pace with Ned’s demands.
“Keep still! It’ll do him good to hustle,” warned Ned to Chunky, asAndy set off on his first errand, that of getting wood.
“But we don’t need a fire,” objected Jerry. “The coffee is hot in thevacuum bottle.”
“I know it,” laughed Ned, “but Andy ought to do something to work hispassage, and that’s the only thing I can think of now. Let him make afire. And we really ought to put some water in the radiator. Let himgo.”
“All right,” agreed the tall lad. “Of course Andy had no right to stowhimself away, and he ought to have it rubbed in on him a little. Butdon’t be too rough with him, Ned.”
“I won’t,” was the promise, but Ned winked at Bob.
If Andy thought he was to have a sinecure on his stolen jaunt with theboys he was sadly mistaken. Ned particularly seemed to “have it in forhim” and invented new tasks constantly.
Some of them were errands that really needed to be done, and, to thecredit of Andy be it said, he did not once grumble. He might havesuspected he was being “worked,” when he was made to wash the fewdishes from lunch through two waters, a hasty rinse being all that theboys usually indulged in. But Andy was “game” and the dishes fairlyshone when he restored them to the hamper.
But when, as they were traveling slowly along, looking for a good placeto camp for the night, Ned looked over, saw one of the tires flat, andordered Andy to get ready to pump it up, Jerry objected.
“You know he can’t pump it up--he isn’t strong enough,” the tall ladsaid. “Besides, we have an air pump on the motor.”
“I know, but I just want to see what Andy will say.”
Again the small lad was “game.”
“Where’s the pump?” he asked cheerfully, as the auto stopped.“I’ll have it full of air in a jiffy,” and he seemed ready for theback-breaking work.
“You’re all right!” declared Jerry, with a laugh. “I guess you canbelong, Andy. Never mind the hand pump. I’ll soon have the tire fixed.We’ll have to put in a new inner tube, anyhow.”
And, while this was being done Andy explained how, after hearing ofthe boys’ contemplated trip, he had made up his mind to go with them.He knew his request would, most likely, be refused, so, watching hischance, and being small, he managed to slip under the seat, back of apile of luggage.
“And I wouldn’t have come out when I did, only I was hungry,” hefinished. “I took the cakes because I couldn’t find anything else.”
“Well, since you’re here you might as well stay,” spoke Jerry. “We’llhave to send some word to your folks, though.”
“You needn’t bother,” said Andy coolly. “I told ’em I was coming withyou, and they said it would be all right.”
“Well, you have your nerve with you, if nothing else!” exclaimed Ned.
“Yes, and I’ve got my baggage, too!” cried the small lad, as he reachedinto the cavity where he had made a place for himself and pulled out asmall bundle. “I brought some clothes along,” he said.
This took place shortly after Andy’s discovery. Then he had been fed,the trip was resumed, and the puncture discovered. The repaired tirewas soon pumped up from the motor, and, after going on a short distancefarther a good camping site, near a spring of clear, cold water, wasreached.
“We’ll put up the sleeping tent, and use that,” decided Jerry as, withAndy along, there would scarcely have been room in the car.
“And we’ll have a camp fire,” suggested Bob.
“Andy will get the wood,” broke in Ned, with a wink at his chums.
“Sure!” assented the small lad, and, a little later they were eatingbacon and eggs, with fragrant coffee, around a merry blaze.
There was no need for haste on the trip, and the boys did not speedtheir auto. They felt that Professor Snodgrass, even if he weresuccessful in finding the two-tailed lizard, would not return to hishome at once. He would, most likely, remain in the mountains in searchof other specimens. So the boys took their time. They planned to be twodays on the road in the auto, and about as much longer in the boat,though this time could be cut down considerably if there were need forit.
They camped, on the evening of their third day’s auto trip, at thefoot of a steep hill, the road having been cut through it, and highbanks rising on either side. So far, aside from tire troubles, and oncegetting stuck in a bog, when they tried a short cut, the journey hadnot been eventful.
Supper was gotten at a road-side blaze, and the boys were stretched outin lazy comfort on the grass when Bob, who usually showed little desirefor unnecessary exercise, scrambled to his feet.
“What’s up?” asked Jerry, looking at his fat chum.
“I thought I saw some sort of a lizard in a hole up on the face of thathill,” responded Bob. “Maybe it’s the two-tailed one the professorwants. If it isn’t it may be some kind of a rare specimen. I’ll see ifI can get it for him,” and with that Bob started up the incline.
“Come back--you’ll fall,” cried Ned, for the climb was not an easy one.
“Oh, I can make it,” was the answer. “It’s some sort of a lizard sureenough, but not a two-tailed one,” and Bob pointed to where a wrigglingobject could be seen. His chums sat up watching him, but they were notprepared for what followed.
Bob reached for a shrub, growing on the side of the hill, intending topull himself up by it. But, as he grasped it, the shrub pulled loose,and, an instant afterward, the stout lad toppled backward, turningcompletely over, and rolled to the bottom of the hill. The others couldhear his head come in contact with a stone, and then poor Bob rolledinto a crumpled heap, and lay motionless.