CHAPTER XVI
THE DOUBTERS
The party was on the point of breaking up, with much laughter over theembarrassment of poor Gus, when Skeets unexpectedly furnished furtherentertainment. She had paused to lean comfortably against a centertable, but its easy rolling casters objected to her weight, rolled awayhastily and deposited her without warning on the floor. Ted, whogallantly helped her to her feet, remarked, with a grunt due to extremeeffort, that she really might as well stand up or enlist the entire fourlegs of a chair to support her.
Bill, about to take leave of the host and hostess, felt a slight jerk athis sleeve and looking round was surprised to find Thad at his elbow.The youth said in a low voice:
"Want to see you out yonder among the trees. Give the rest the slip. Gota pipe of an idea."
Bill nodded, wondering much. A moment later Mr. Hooper was repeatingthat he was proud of the work done by the boys and glad that he hadtrusted them. Then he added:
"But say, young feller, much as I believe in you and Gus, seein' yoursmartness, I got to doubt all that there bunk you give them young people'bout that there what you call radier. I been borned a long time--goin'on to seventy year now,--an' I seen all sorts of contraptions likereapers an' binders, ridin' plows, typewritin'-machines, telephones,phonygraphs, flyin'-machines, submarines an' all such, but b'jinks, Iain't a-believin' that nobody kin hear jes' common talk through the airwithout no wires. An' hundreds o' miles! 'Tain't natch'all an' 'taintpossible now, is it?"
"Why, yes, Mr. Hooper; it's both poss--"
"Come on, Billy! Good-night, Mr. Hooper and Mrs. Hooper. We all had adandy time." And Bill was led away. But he was able, by hanging back alittle, to whisper to Gus that he was on the track of something fromThad,--for Bill could only think that the young man would make aconfession or commit himself in some way.
"See you in the morning," he added and turned back.
Thad was waiting and called to Bill from his seat on a bench beneath theshade of a big maple. The fellow plunged at once into his subject,evidently holding the notion that youth in general possesses a shadysense of honor.
"See here, Brown. I think I get you and I believe you've got wit enoughto get Uncle Hooper. Did he say anything to you as you came out aboutbeing shy on this radio business?"
Bill nodded.
"Say, he don't believe it's any more possible than a horse car can turninto a buzzard! Fact! He told me you fellows might fool him on a lot ofthings and that you were awful smart for kids, but he'd be hanged for aquarter of beef if you could make him swallow this bunk about talkingthrough the air. You know the way he talks."
"I think he can and will be convinced," said Bill, "and you can't blamehim for his notion, for he has never chanced to inquire about radio andI expect he doesn't read that department in the paper. If he meets aplain statement about radio broadcasting or receiving, it either makesno impression on him, or he regards it as a sort of joke. But, anyway,what of it?"
"Why, just this and you ought to catch on to it without being told:Unk's a stubborn old rat and he hasn't really a grain of sense, in spiteof all the money he made. All you've got to do is to egg him on as ifyou thought it might be a little uncertain and then sort o' dare to makea big bet with him. I'll get busy and tell him that this radio businessis the biggest kind of an expert job and that you fellows are blameddoubtful about it. Then, when you get your set working and let Unklisten in, he'll pay up and we'll divide the money. See? Easy as pie. Orwe might work it another way: I'll make the bet with him and you fellowslet on to fall down. Or we might--"
"Well, I've listened to your schemes," said Bill, "and I'm going to saythis about them: I think you are the dirtiest, meanest skunk I ever ranacross. You--"
"Say, now, what's the matter?"
"You're a guest under your uncle's roof; eating his grub, accepting hishospitality, pretending to be his friend--"
"Aw, cut that out, now! You needn't let on you're so awful fine."
"And then deliberately trying to hatch a scheme to rob him! Of all therotten, contemptible--" Unable to voice his righteous indignation, Billclenched his fist and struck Thad square in the eye.
Thad had risen and was standing in front of Bill, trembling with rage asimpotent as though _he_ were little and lame, leaning, like Bill, on thecrutch a less valiant cripple would have used instead of his bare fist.
With a look of fiendish hatred, instead of returning blow for blow, Thadmade a sudden grab and tore Bill's crutch out of the hand which had feltno impulse to use it in defense against his able-bodied antagonist.
"Now, you blow to Uncle and I'll break this crutch!"
Strange, isn't it, how we often are reminded of funny things even in themidst of danger? Bill, a cripple and unable to move about with theagility needed to fend off a cowardly attack by this miserable piker,showed the stuff he was made of when he burst out laughing, for he wasreminded by this threat of that old yarn about a softy's threatening tobreak the umbrella of his rival found in the vestibule of his girl'shouse, then going out and praying for rain!
Thad, astonished at Bill's sudden mirth, held the crutch mid-air, anddemanded with a malignant leer:
"Huh! Laugh, will you?"
"Go ahead and break it, but it won't be a circumstance to what I'll doto you. I can imagine your uncle--"
"So? Listen, you pusillanimous, knock-kneed shrimp? I'm going to mashyour jaw so you'll never wag it again! And right now, too, you--"
Possibly there was as much determination back of this as any evilintent, but it also was doomed to failure. There was a quick step fromthe deeper shadows and a figure loomed suddenly in front of Thad who,with uplifted crutch, was still glaring at Bill. Only two words werespoken, a "_You_, huh?" from the larger chap; then a quick tackle, ashort straining scuffle, and Thad was thrown so violently sidewise andhurtled against the bench from which Bill had just risen, that it andThad went over on the ground together. The bench and the lad seemed tolie there equally helpless. Gus picked up the crutch and handed it tohis chum.
"Let's go. He won't be able to get up till we've gone."
But as they passed out from among the shadows there followed them athreat which seemed to be bursting with the hatred of a demon:
"Oh, I'll get even with you two little devils. I'll blow you to--"
The two boys looked at each other and only laughed.
"Notice his right eye when you see him again," chuckled Bill.
Radio Boys Cronies Page 16