Bobby Blake on a Plantation; Or, Lost in the Great Swamp
Page 4
CHAPTER IV
FACING THE BULLY
There was silence in the room for a minute or two. The boys all sensedthe nearness of the tragedy that had been so narrowly averted, and eachhad an inward shudder as he thought of what might have been.
But though the death angel had passed so close that they had almostheard the rustling of his wings, here they were after all alive andsafe, and their spirits rose while their hearts swelled withthankfulness.
“Well,” remarked Wilson, breaking the silence, “this will be a lesson tome, as the darky said when he was about to be hanged. I don’t get in anymore boats unless they’re as dry as a bone.”
“And even then I’ll keep out of them,” said Thompson with emphasis. “Dryland is good enough for me, at least, until I learn how to swim.”
“Wouldn’t care to have us row you back to Belden, eh?” queried Bobbywith a grin.
“Not on your life,” laughed Miner. “They’ve ’phoned over that they’llsend an auto for us and we’ll go back in style. But we’ll never forgettill the last day of our lives what you fellows have done for us. And ifI ever hear any fellow knock Rockledge, he’ll have a fight on his handsright away.”
Bobby laughed, as he and his two companions rose to go.
“Oh, Belden and Rockledge will have many a fight yet,” he said, “butthey’ll be good-natured fights on the baseball or football fields, andmay the best school win.”
They exchanged hearty farewells with the Belden boys, and went out ofthe room and down the corridor. On the way they passed Bill Snath, whofavored them with a malicious stare in passing and uttered the word“heroes,” in a sneering tone, as he went by. It was spoken in a lowtone, but loud enough for Fred, who was nearest him, to hear it, and histemper took fire at once.
“What was that you said, Bill Snath?” he demanded, as he turned on hisheel.
“Nobody spoke to you, redhead,” returned Snath, snapping out the epithetwith a good deal of relish.
This was like a spark to powder, and Fred’s face became as red as hishair.
“You take that back!” he cried, rushing up to Snath, who had stopped andwas regarding him with a tantalizing grin.
“Suppose I don’t, what are you going to do about it?” demanded thebully, his tone the more confident because he could see behind Fred’sback the tall figure of Mr. Leith, the head teacher, coming up from theother end of the hall.
“I’ll show you what I’m going to do about it,” Fred replied, and wasstarting to unbutton his coat, when Bobby, who had come up, restrainedhim.
“Mr. Leith’s coming, Fred,” he warned him. “Cool off now and come along.He’s close behind you now.”
There was no need of saying anything else, and Fred by a great effortrestrained himself. Mr. Leith came by and looked curiously at theflushed face of the boy. He said nothing however, but when he hadreached the other end of the hall stood there as if in meditation.
“It’s lucky for you that he came along just then,” Fred said in a lowtone to the bully. “If you have nerve enough to come somewhere out ofsight of the school, we’ll settle this thing right now.”
“You’re three to one,” Snath replied. “If you were alone I’d make yousing small.”
“They’ll only go along to see fair play,” answered Fred. “But if youlike, I’ll go with you alone. I’ve taken about all I’m going to takefrom you. Bill Snath.”
“You’ll have to take all I care to give you,” drawled Snath, feelingperfectly safe as long as Mr. Leith was in sight.
As at that moment Mr. Leith began to come back along the hall, there wasnothing more to be done or said and the boys separated, Snath saunteringtoward the teacher with affected nonchalance, while Fred with Bobby andSparrow went in the opposite direction.
“That fellow gets my goat,” growled Fred. “He never goes past without anasty look or word. He’s getting just as bad as Sandy Jackson, and heneeds to be taken down.”
“He’s aching for a thrashing,” agreed Bobby, “and that’s twice to-dayhe’s come near getting it. But if I were you, Fred, I’d take as littlenotice of him as I could. If you hadn’t paid any attention to what hesaid about heroes, he’d have thought we didn’t hear him, and that wouldhave made him sore. As it is, he’s tickled to death because he thinks heput one over on us.”
“But he called me redhead!” exclaimed Fred, “and no one can do that inearnest without a fight.”
“That of course is different,” admitted Bobby. “I wouldn’t let any onecall me names and get away with it. But as far as we can, the best thingis to let him alone. Some time or other he’ll get to the end of hisrope, just as his pal did and get out of Rockledge School.”
“I guess Bobby’s about right,” remarked Sparrow. “I suppose it’s alwaysbetter to go round a skunk than take a kick at him. But I don’t blameFred for feeling sore. I feel the same way.”
The chums went out on the steps of the school, where they found a groupof their friends waiting for them.
“How are the fellows getting along who were nearly drowned?” askedSkeets.
“Fine and dandy,” replied Fred, who by this time had regained his usualgood nature. “Not one of them is going to kick the bucket. And what doyou think, fellows? They’re all Belden boys.”
“Belden boys!” echoed Shiner. “Our chief rivals! That’s what you callheaping coals of fire on their head.”
“I guess coals of fire would have felt comfortable when they were out inthe lake,” laughed Mouser. “But I’m mighty glad they’re getting alongall right. If any of them had died, I’d expect to hear their ghostswalking about the halls of the building to-night.”
“Listen, to him talk,” said Howell Purdy scornfully. “You can’t hearghosts walk. They just float around as soft as anything.”
“That’s right,” came in a chorus from the boys, who had involuntarilygathered a little closer together at the talk of ghosts.
“No, he isn’t right,” chirped up Billy. “Mouser had it straight when hetalked about hearing ghosts walking.”
“There you are,” said Mouser, glad of the reinforcement.
“It’s easy enough to say that,” put in Howell, “but how are you going toprove it? All the books I ever read say that they don’t make any noise.You can’t bear them coming. So what do you make of that?” he addedturning triumphantly toward Billy.
The latter however seemed not to be a bit disturbed.
“All the same I’m right,” he asserted with quiet confidence.
“How can you prove it?” demanded Howell defiantly.
“That’s the talk” came from the others. “Prove it, Billy. Put up or shutup.”
“All right,” replied Billy, accepting the challenge. “I know that ghostswalk because I’ve heard them do it!”