“Don’t you worry about her,” grinned Dan Baxter. “I’ve got her fixed. She won’t squeal.”
“Then go ahead.”
“As I said before, the best thing you can do is to stay away from home until this unpleasantness blows over. Write to your father and tell him it is all a mistake, and that you are not guilty but that you can’t prove it. Ask him to square the thing with Aaron Fairchild and the others, and tell him you are going on an ocean trip and won’t be back until you know you are safe. Then you come with me, and we’ll have a jolly good time, besides squaring up matters with the Rovers.”
“Where are you going and how are you going to square matters with them?
“I’ve learned a thing or two since I came here. At first I was going to try to fix them while they were at home, but now I’ve learned that they are going away on a houseboat trip on the Ohio and the Mississippi. I propose to follow them and give them more than they want the first opportunity that presents itself.”
“You are certain about this houseboat trip?”
“I am.”
“And who is going?”
“The three Rover boys and some of their school chums.”
“Humph! I’d like to get square with the whole crowd!” muttered Lew Flapp. “I’d like to sink them in the middle of the Ohio River!”
“We’ll square up, don’t you worry,” answered Dan Baxter. “I’m not forgetting all they’ve done against me in the past. If I had the chance I’d wring the neck of every one of them,” he added, fiercely.
“I don’t think it is safe to stay around here any longer,” said Lew Flapp, after a pause. “Somebody may spot us both.”
“I’m not going to stay any longer. We can get out on the night train. By the way, supposing Sam Rover doesn’t get out of the river.”
“What do you mean?” questioned Flapp, with a shiver, although he knew well enough.
“Maybe Sam Rover was drowned.”
“Oh, don’t say that!”
“Bah! Don’t be chicken-hearted, Flapp.”
“I—I—didn’t mean to—to—kill him.”
“I know you didn’t. Just the same that is a dangerous river. The current is swift and it’s full of rocks.”
“You’re making me feel very uncomfortable.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Those Rover boys are like cats—each has nine lives. Sam Rover will be hot-footed after you before you know it.”
“Have you got that money with you, Baxter?”
“To be sure I have. I never travel without a wad.”
“Then let me have some.”
“You won’t need it, if we are to travel together.”
“We may become separated,” urged Lew Flapp. He did not altogether trust his companion.
“Well, I reckon that’s so, too. I’ll let you have twenty-five dollars. When that’s gone you can come to me for more. But remember one thing: you’ve got to help me to down the Rovers.”
“I’ll help you to do that. But—but—”
“But what?”
“We mustn’t go too far.”
“Oh, you leave that to me. You’ve heard how they treated my father, haven’t you?”
“They say Dick Rover was kind to him.”
“Bah! That’s a fairy story.”
“But your father says the same—so I have been told.”
“The old man is out of his head—on account of that fire. When he gets clear-headed again he won’t think Dick Rover—or any of the Rovers, for the matter of that—is his friend.”
There was another pause.
“Where do you propose to go to?”
“Philadelphia, on a little business first, and then to Pittsburg, and to that place where they have their houseboat.”
“And after that?”
“I’m going to be guided by circumstances. But you can rest assured of one thing, Flapp—I’ll make those Rover boys wish they had never undertaken this trip.”
Dan Baxter brought out a pocketbook well filled with bank bills and counted out five five-dollar bills.
“My, but you’re rich!” cried the bully of Putnam Hall.
“Oh, I’ve got a good bit more than that,” was the bragging answer. “I want you to know that once upon a time my father was as rich as the Rovers, and he would be as rich now if it wasn’t that they cheated him out of his rights to a gold mine,” went on Dan Baxter, bringing up something which has already been fully explained in “The Rover Boys Out West.” The claim belonged to the Rovers, but the Baxters would never admit this.
“Did they really cheat him?” questioned Lew Flapp, with interest.
“They certainly did.”
“Then why didn’t you go to law about it with them?”
“They stole all the evidence, so we couldn’t do a thing in law. Do you wonder that I am down on them?”
“No, I don’t. If I were you, I’d try to get my rights back.”
“I’m going to get them back some day,” answered Dan Baxter. “And I am going to square up with all the Rovers, too, mind that!”
CHAPTER XIII
CHIPS AND THE CIRCUS BILLS
It is now time that we return to Sam and find out how he fared after being so unexpectedly hurled into the river by Lew Flapp.
The youngest Rover was taken so completely off his guard that he could, for the moment, do nothing to save himself. Down he went and his yell was cut short by the waters closing over his head.
He was dazed and bewildered and swallowed some of the water almost before he was aware. But then his common-sense returned to him and he struggled to rise to the surface.
As he neared the top, the current carried him against a sharp rock. Instead of clutching this, he hit the rock with his head. The blow almost stunned him, and down he went once more, around the rock and along the river a distance of fully a hundred feet ere he again appeared.
By this time he realized that he was having a battle for his life, and he clutched out wildly for the first thing that came to hand, It was a tree root and by its aid he pulled himself to the surface of the river and gazed around him.
He was under the bank, at a point where the current had washed away a large portion of the soil, exposing to view half of the roots of a tree standing above. To get out of the stream at that spot was an impossibility, and he let himself go once more, when he had regained his breath and felt able to take care of himself.
In a few minutes more Sam reached a point where to climb up the bank was easy, and he lost no time in leaving the river. Once on the bank he squeezed the water out of his garments. He had lost his cap, but spent no time in looking for the head covering.
“Oh, if only I had Lew Flapp here!” he muttered over and over again. But the bully had, as we already know, made good his escape, and Sam found it impossible to get on his track. Soaked to the skin he made his way back through the cemetery.
“Hullo, so you have fallen into the river!” sang out a man who saw him coming. It was Jack Sooker, the fellow mentioned by the cemetery keeper’s daughter.
“No, I was pushed in,” answered Sam, who knew Sooker fairly well.
“How did it happen, Sam?”
“I was after a rascal I wanted to have locked up. But he shoved me into the river and got away.”
“You don’t tell me! Where is he now?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s too bad. Do I know him?”
“No, he is a stranger around these parts.”
“A young fellow?”
“Yes, about Dick’s age.”
“Can’t say as I’ve seen him. What are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ve got to get some dry clothes first:”
Sam walked up to the cottage at the corner of the cemetery. Jennie, the
keeper’s daughter, saw him coming and gave a cry at his wet garments.
“Can I dry myself here?” he asked, after he had explained the situation.
“To be sure you can, Sam,” she answered, and stirred up the fire in the kitchen stove. “If you wish I’ll lend you a suit of my brother Zack’s clothes—that is, if you are in a hurry.”
“Thanks, I’ll borrow the suit. I want to report this; and I’ll send the suit back to-morrow.”
“You needn’t hurry. Zack isn’t home just now, so he doesn’t need the suit.”
The clothes were found, and Sam slipped into a bedchamber of the cottage and made the change. Then, after thanking Jennie once more for her kindness, the youngest Rover set off for Oak Run as fast as he could.
A train was just coming into the depot and the first person to hop off was Fred Garrison.
“Hullo, I thought you’d meet me!” sang out Fred. “How are you?”
“Pretty well, considering,” answered Sam, with a quiet smile. “But I’ve had a whole lot of happenings since I drove down to the depot.”
“What’s the matter, horse run away?”
“No, I met Lew Flapp.”
“Nonsense! Why, what is he doing around here?”
“I give it up, Fred. But he was here and we have had a lively time of it,” answered Sam, and told his story.
“Well, I’ll be jiggered! What do you propose to do next?”
“I don’t know what to do. I might get the village constable to hunt for him, but I don’t think it will do any good.”
“Why don’t you tell your folks first?”
“Yes, I reckon that will be best. Jump in the carriage and I’ll drive you over to our home.”
Fred had but little to tell out of the ordinary. His folks had wanted him to go to the seashore for the summer, but he had preferred to take the houseboat trip with the Rovers.
“I am sure we shall have a dandy time,” he said. “I was on a houseboat trip once, down in Florida, and it was simply great.”
“What do you think about the Lanings and the Stanhopes going with us?”
“That will be nice. We certainly ought to have a bang-up time,” answered Fred, enthusiastically.
Sam had driven over with the best horse the Rover stable afforded, a magnificent bay, which Anderson Rover had purchased in Albany at a special sale early in the spring. Sam had pleaded to take the steed and his parent had finally consented.
“That’s a fine bit of horseflesh you have,” observed Fred, as they sped along the level road leading to Valley Brook farm. “I like the manner in which he steps out first-rate.”
“Chips is a good horse,” answered Sam. “There is only one fault he has.”
“And what is that?”
“He is easily frightened at a bit of paper or some other white object in the road.”
“That is bad.”
The conversation now changed and the boys spoke of the good times ahead. Farm after farm was passed, until they were almost in sight of Valley Brook.
“What a beautiful stretch of country,” observed Fred, as he gazed around. “I don’t wonder that your uncle settled here while your father was in Africa.”
“We used to hate the farm, Tom especially. We thought it was too dead slow for anything. But now we love to come back to it, after being at school or somewhere else.”
They were just passing the farm next to that of the Rovers when a man came driving up to them at a rapid gait. He was seated on a buckboard and had behind him a box filled with showbills.
“Visit the circus day after to-morrow! Biggest show on earth for a quarter!” he shouted, and flung a couple of bills at them.
“A circus!” began Fred, when, without warning, Chips made a wild leap that nearly threw him and Sam into the road. Scared by the sight of the showbills the horse made a plunge and then began to run away.
“Whoa, Chips, whoa!” sang out Sam.
“Don’t—don’t let him get away, Sam!” came from Fred, as he gripped the side of the carriage.
“He shan’t get away if I can help it,” was the answer, from between Sam’s shut teeth. “Whoa, Chips, whoa!” he went on.
But Chips wouldn’t whoa, and the sight of another white handbill in the middle of the road caused him to shy to one side. Both boys were unseated, and Sam would have gone to the ground had not Fred held him fast.
“Whoa!” yelled Sam, and now he pulled in tighter than ever on the reins. But on and on went the bay steed, straight through the lane leading to the Rovers’ barn.
“He’ll smash us up!” gasped Fred.
“Hi! hi!” came from the barnyard and then Dick Rover came into view. His quick eye took in the situation in an instant and he made a grand dash to reach Chips’ head. He was successful, and in spite of the steed’s efforts to throw him off, held on until at last the bay was brought to a standstill, trembling in every limb and covered with foam.
“How did this happen, Samuel?” asked his uncle, as he too came forward.
“A fellow with circus bills scared him,” answered Sam, and he added: “I’d just like to catch that fellow and give him a piece of my mind!”
“And so would I,” added Fred.
“Are either of you hurt?”
“No.”
“Let us be thankful for that,” said Mr. Rover; and then had the horse taken to the stable by Jack Ness.
CHAPTER XIV
FUN AT THE SHOW
As soon as the family were assembled and Fred had been greeted all around, Sam told of what had happened since he had started out to have his hair cut.
“Well, you’ve had your share of happenings,” declared Mrs. Rover. “It is a wonder you are alive to tell of them.”
“We ought to go after Lew Flapp,” said Dick. “He ought to be arrested by all means.”
“Yes, but where are you going to look for him?”
“Perhaps he will take the late train to-night from Oak Run.”
“That’s an idea,” came from Tom. “Let us watch the train.”
This was decided upon, and he and Dick, accompanied by their father, went to Oak Run that evening for that purpose. But Lew Flapp and Dan Baxter took the train from a station three miles away, so the quest was unsuccessful.
“I guess he didn’t let the grass grow under his feet,” said Sam, the next morning. “No doubt he was badly scared.”
“What could he have been doing in this neighborhood?” asked Dick.
“I give it up.”
During the day Sam got his hair cut and also returned the clothing loaned to him by the cemetery keeper’s daughter. While in Oak Run he met the fellow who was distributing circus bills.
“You want to be more careful when distributing bills,” said he to the man.
“What’s the matter with you?” growled the circus agent.
“You scared my horse yesterday and made him run away.”
“Oh, go tumble over yourself,” growled the fellow, and turned away.
The manner of the man angered Sam, and likewise angered Tom, who happened to be along.
“Some of those circus chaps think they own the earth,” was Tom’s comment. “I’ve a good mind to go to his old circus and have some fun with the outfit.”
“Just the thing, Tom! Let us ask the others to go too. I haven’t seen a circus in a long time.”
“Well, this won’t be much to look at. But we may get some fun out of it,” added Tom, with a sly wink.
“Yes, there is sure to be fun when you are around,” added his younger brother, with a laugh.
When the circus was mentioned at home Dick said he would be glad to go and so did Fred.
“It is Frozzler’s Grand Aggregation of Attractions,” said Tom, looking over one of the showbills. “The Most Stupendous Exhibition on
Earth. Daring bareback riding, trained elephants and a peanut-eating contest, likewise an egg-hunting raffle. All for a quarter, twenty-five cents.”
“What is an egg-hunting raffle?” questioned Fred.
“He’s fooling you, Fred,” answered Sam. “You mustn’t believe all Tom says.”
“Thus doth mine own flesh go back on me,” came from Tom, with an injured look. “Never mind, it is put and carried that we go and see Frozzler’s outfit, occupying reserved orchestra chairs, close to the family circle and adjoining the second gallery west.”
As soon as it was settled Tom and Sam laid their heads together to have all the fun they could at the circus, “just to get square with that agent,” as Sam expressed it.
None of the older folks wanted to go, for which the boys were thankful.
“Say, I’d like to see dat show, Tom,” said Aleck Pop, when he got the chance. “Ain’t seen no circuses since I was a little boy.”
“Then you must go by all means, Aleck. But don’t you get too close to the monkey cage.”
“Why not, Tom?”
“They might take you for a long-lost brother.”
“Yah! yah! Dat’s one on me!” Aleck showed his ivories in a broad grin. “Maybe da will take yo’ for a long-lost brudder, too—yo’ is so full ob monkey shines,” and then Tom had to laugh at the sally.
At the proper time the four boys drove over to the circus grounds, taking Aleck Pop with them. Aleck was arrayed in his best, and from his broad expanse of shirt bosom sparkled an imitation diamond which looked like a small electric light.
Tickets were procured for all by Dick, and the boys and the servant pressed their way into the first of the tents, in company with one of the largest crowds ever gathered in that vicinity.
Now, as it happened, Frozzler’s Grand Aggregation of Attractions was largely so only in name. Frozzler was himself the man who had given out the showbills, his regular agent having refused to work because his salary had remained unpaid for three weeks. The circus was fast going to pieces.
“Here is where I am going to make a bunch of money,” said Frozzler to himself, as he saw the crowd coming in. “This day will put me on my feet again.” But he never saw the “bunch” of money in question, for before the show was over a sheriff came along and levied on the receipts, in behalf of several tradespeople and some performers.
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