CHAPTER XIII
The Battle of Town and Gown
Jean had come about a mile from Riveredge before encountering herunwelcome escort, and a mile for old Baltie was considered a gooddistance by Mammy who always blanketed him carefully and gave him along rest after such exertion. The sight of the old woman's care forher horse had won her more than one feminine customer in SouthRiveredge and not infrequently they entered into conversation with herregarding him. Mammy needed no greater encouragement to talk, andBaltie's history became known to many of her customers.
Could Mammy have witnessed Baltie's wild careerings as he poundedalong to escape his tormentors, while Jean strove desperately to beatthem off, she would probably have expired upon the spot.
But Baltie's strength was not equal to any long-sustained effort andhis breath soon became labored. The shouting cavalcade had gone abouthalf a mile at its wild pace and Jean had done her valiant best, butthe numbers against her had been steadily augmented as she proceeded,and the situation was becoming really dangerous. She stood up in thephaeton, hat hanging by its elastic band, hair flying and eyesflashing as she strove to beat off her pursuers. Most of them, it mustbe admitted, were good-natured, and were simply following up theirprank from a spirit of mischief. But two or three had receivedstinging lashes from the whip and the sting had aroused their ire.
Jean's strength as well as old Baltie's was giving out when from theopposite side of a high arbor-vitae hedge arose a cry of:
"Gown to the rescue! Gown to the rescue!" and the next second the roadseemed filled with lads who had apparently sprung from it, and alively scrimmage was afoot. The boys who had so lately been makingthings interesting for Jean and Baltie, turned to flee precipitately,but were pretty badly hustled about before they could escape; he ofthe stick being captured red-handed as he launched a blow that camevery near proving a serious one for Jean since it struck the whip fromher hands and landed it in the road. The poor child collapsed upon theseat, and strove hard to suppress a sob, for she would have diedsooner than cry before the boys of the "Irving Preparatory School."
Baltie needed no second hint to make him understand that the time hadcome to let his friends take up the battle, and bracing his tremblingold legs he stood panting in the middle of the road.
"I say, what did this fellow do to you, little girl?" demanded a tall,fine-looking lad, whose dark gray eyes were flashing with indignation,and whose firm mouth gave his captive reason to know that he meantwhatever he said. At any other time Jean would have resented the"little girl," but during the past fifteen minutes she had felt a verysmall girl indeed.
"He's a coward! A great, hulking coward!" she blazed at the haplessyouth whom her champion held so firmly by his collar as he stood bythe phaeton. The other lads who had now completely routed Jean'stormentors were gathering about her, some with looks of concern forher welfare, some with barely restrained smiles at her plight and herturnout.
"What'll I do to him? Punch his head?" demanded knight errant.
"No, shake it most off!" commanded Jean. "He nearly made mine shakeoff," she concluded, as she pushed her hair from her eyes and jerkedher hat back into place. "My goodness just look at the state I'm inand look at Baltie; I don't know what Mammy will say. Aren't youashamed of yourself, you great big bully, to torment a girl and a poorold blind horse. Oh, I _wish_ I were a boy! If I wouldn't give youbally-whacks."
A smile broke over knight errant's face, but his victim trembled inhis boots.
"All right then, here goes, since you won't let me punch it," andJean's injunctions to shake her tormentor's head "most off" seemed ina fair way to be obeyed, for the next second its owner was beingshaken very much as a rat is shaken by a terrier and the head wasjerked about in a most startling manner.
"Now get out! Skiddoo! And if we catch you and your gang out this wayagain you'll have a pretty lively time of it, and don't you forget iteither," said knight errant with a final shake, and Long Stick washustled upon his way toward his friends who had not paused to learnhis fate.
This boy who acted as spokesman, and who appeared to be a leader amonghis companions, then said:
"I say, your old horse is pretty well knocked up, isn't she? How farhave you come? Better drive into the school grounds and rest up a bitbefore you go back. Come on!" and going to Baltie's head the lad tookhold of the rein to lead him through the gateway.
Baltie never forgot his manners, however great the stress under whichhe was laboring, so turning his sightless eyes toward his new friend,he nickered softly, and rubbed his muzzle against him. The lad laughedand raising his hand stroked the warm neck as he said:
"Found a friend at last, old boy? Well, come on then, for you neededone badly."
"Guess he _did_!" said Jean. "My gracious, I don't know what we wouldhave done if you boys hadn't come out to help us. How did you happento hear us?"
"We were out on the field with the ball. I guess it's lucky for you wewere, too, for there's a tough gang up there near Riveredge. We'realways on the lookout for some new outbreak, and we make it lively ifthey come up this way, you'd better believe. They don't try it veryoften, but you were too big a chance for 'em this time, and theysailed right in. But they sailed at the wrong time for we are neverhappier to exchange civilities with them than when we have on ourtogs," ended the lad, as he glanced at the foot-ball suits which heand a number of his chums were wearing.
"Oh, are you playing foot-ball? I wish I could see you," cried Jeaneagerly, all thoughts of her late plans flying straight out of herhead.
"Better come over to the field then," laughed her escort.
"I'd love to but I guess I can't to-day. I'm on important business.I'm going to South Riveredge," she said, suddenly recalling hererrand.
"South Riveredge!" echoed a lad who walked at the other side of thephaeton. "Why it's nearly four miles from here. It's almost two toRiveredge itself. What brought you out this way if you were going toSouth Riveredge?"
But to explain just why she had turned off the direct road to SouthRiveredge would be a trifle embarrassing, so Jean decided to giveanother reason:
"I thought I knew my way but I guess I must have missed it, those boystormented me so."
"I guess you did miss it, but I don't wonder. Well, rest here a littlewhile, and then we'll start you safely back. Guess one of us better goalong with her hadn't we, Ned?" he asked of the gray-eyed boy.
"If we want her to get back whole I guess we had," was the laughinganswer, as Baltie's guide led him up to a carriage step and stopped.Baltie's coat was steaming. "Got a blanket? Better let me put it onyour horse. He's pretty warm from his race and the day is snappy."
Jean bounded up from the seat and pulled the blanket from it. It wasnot a very heavy blanket and when the boy had put it carefully uponthe old horse, it seemed hardly thick enough to protect him. "Let mehave the rug too," he ordered, and without a second's thought jerkedup the rug and gave it a toss. Up came the box of candy with it, tobalance a second upon one end as daintily as a tight-rope dancerbalances upon a rope, then keel gracefully over and landbottom-side-up, upon the tan-bark of the driveway, the packages ofcandy flying in twenty different directions.
Jean's cry of dismay was echoed by the boys' shouts as their eyesquickly grasped the significance of those dainty white parcels. A wildscramble to rescue her wares followed, as Jean was plied withquestions.
"Are they yours? What are you going to do with them?" "Are they forsale?" "Can we buy some?" "How much are they?" "Lend me some cash,Bob?"
Never was an enterprising merchant so suddenly plunged into a rushingbusiness. Jean's head whirled for a moment. How much were the packagesof candy? She hadn't the vaguest idea, and circumstances had not madeit convenient to ascertain before she set forth. However, her witscame to her rescue and she recalled the little packages whichConstance had made for the fair, and which had sold for ten centseach. So ten cents _she_ would charge, and presently was doling outher rescued packages of fudge and dropping dimes in
to her box to takethe place of the packages which were so quickly disappearing from it.Given four dozen packages of exceptionally delicious home-made candy,and twenty or thirty boys, after an hour's foot-ball exercise, upon acrisp January morning, each more or less supplied with pocket money,and it is a combination pretty sure to work to the advantage of thecandy-maker.
Jean's eyes danced, and her face was radiant. Her business was in itsmost flourishing stage when she became aware that another actor hadappeared upon the scene, and was regarding her steadily through a pairof very large, very round, and very thick-lensed eye-glasses, and withthe solemn expression of a meditative owl. How long he had been asilent observer of her financial operations Jean had no idea. Hispresence did not appear to embarrass the boys in any way; indeed, whenthey became aware of it two or three of them promptly urged him topartake of their toothsome dainties. This he did in the same grave,absorbed manner.
"Great, aint they, Professor?" asked one lad.
"Quite unusual. Who is the juvenile vender?" he asked.
"We don't know. She was out yonder in the road with half McKim'sHollow after her when we fellows rallied to the rescue. She was asplucky as any thing, and was putting up a great standoff when we gotin our licks."
"Ah! Indeed! And how came she to have such a feast along with her.I'll take another, thank you, Ned. They are really excellent," andinstead of "another" the last three of "Ned's" package were calmlyappropriated and eaten in the same abstracted manner that the otherpieces had been. Ned looked somewhat blank and turning toward one ofhis companions, winked and smiled slyly, then said to the Professor:
"Better buy some quick. They are going like hot cakes."
Three Little Women: A Story for Girls Page 13