When in Ithaca on his way home the fun-loving Rover had purchased an imitation rabbit, made of thin rubber. This rabbit had a small rubber hose attached, and by blowing into the hose the rabbit could be blown up to life size or larger.
Leading the way to Aleck’s room, Tom got out the colored man’s coat and placed the rubber rabbit in the middle of the back, between the cloth and the lining. It was put in flat and the hose was allowed to dangle down under the lining to within an inch of the split of the coat tails, and at this point Tom put a hole in the lining, so he could get at the end of the hose with ease.
It was not long before Aleck came in to dress. It was late and he was in a hurry, for he knew he had a rival, a man named Jim Johnson, and he did not want Johnson to get to the widow’s home ahead of him. He washed up and donned his clothing with rapidity, and never noticed that anything was wrong with the coat.
“Now, Sam, you fix his necktie for him,” whispered Tom, who, with his younger brother, was lying in wait outside the house. “Tell him it doesn’t set just straight.”
Sam understood, and as soon as Aleck appeared he sauntered up side by side with Tom.
“Hullo, Aleck, going to see your best girl?” he said pleasantly.
“I’se gwine to make a little call, dat’s all.”
“He’s after the widow Taylor,” put in Tom. “He knows she’s got ten thousand or so in the bank.”
“Massa Tom, you dun quit yo’ foolin’,” expostulated Aleck.
“If you are going to make a society call you want your necktie on straight,” said Sam. “It’s a fine tie, but it’s no good the way you have it tied. Here, let me fix it,” and he pulled the tie loose.
“I did hab a lot ob trubble wid dat tie,” agreed the colored man.
“It’s too far around,” went on Sam, and gave the tie a jerk, first one way and another. Then he began to tie it, shoving Aleck again as he did so.
In the meantime Tom had gotten behind the colored man and was blowing up the rubber rabbit. As the rubber expanded Aleck’s coat went up with it, until it looked as if the man was humpbacked. Then Tom fastened the hose, so the wind could not get out of it. Next the youth brought out a bit of chalk and in big letters wrote on the black coat as follows:
I have got to HUMP to catch the widow.
“Now your tie is something like,” declared Sam, after a wink from Tom. “It outshines everything I ever saw.”
“I’se got to be a going,” answered Aleck. “Much obliged.”
“Now, Aleck, hump yourself and you’ll get the widow sure along with her fourteen children.”
“She ain’t got but two children,” returned the colored man, and hurried away. His appearance, with the hump on his back and the sign, caused both the Rovers to burst out laughing.
“Come on, I’ve got to see the end of this,” said Tom, and led the way by a side path to the Widow Taylor’s cottage. This was a short cut, but Aleck would not take it, because of the briar bushes and the dust. As the boys were in their knockaround suits they did not mind this.
The widow’s cottage was a tumbled down affair on a side street of Dexter’s Corners. A stovepipe stuck out of a back window, and the front door lacked the lower hinge. In the front yard the weeds were several feet high.
“I don’t see why Aleck wants to come and see such a person as this,” observed Sam. “She may be pretty, as colored widows go, but she is certainly lazy and shiftless.”
“Yes, and she has more than two children and I know it. Why, once I came past here and I saw her with at least seven or eight.”
When the boys came up they saw several colored children hurrying away from the house. As they did this the widow came to the door and called after them:
“Now, Arabella, go to the cemetery, jest as I tole yo’, an’ stay thar!”
“I ain’t gwine to stay long,” answered Arabella.
“You stay an hour or two,” answered the widow. “To morrow, I’ll give yo’ money fer lolly pops.”
“What is she sending the children to the cemetery for?” asked Tom, in a whisper.
“Maybe to keep ’em quiet,” answered Sam, with a grin.
“Must be wanting to keep them out of Aleck’s way.”
At that moment the figure of a tall, lanky colored man came down a side street. The man entered the widow’s cottage and received a warm welcome.
“Glad to see you, Mistah Thomas. Hopes yo’ is feelin’ fine this ebenin’,” said the widow graciously.
“I’se come fo’ to make yo’ an offah,” said Mr. Thomas. “Yo’ said yo’ would mahrry me soon as I had a job. Well, I’se got de job now.”
“Is it a steady job?”
“Yes, at de stone quarry dribin’ a stone wagon.”
“How much yo’ gits a week, Peter?”
“Twelve dollahs,” was the proud answer.
“Den I closes wid you,” said the widow, and allowed the suitor to embrace her.
Just then Aleck came in sight. As he saw the couple through the open door he straightened up.
“Maybe yo’ didn’t look fo’ me around, Mrs. Taylor,” he said, stiffly.
“Oh, Yes, I did, Mistah Pop,” she said, sweetly. “But yo’ see—I—dat is—” She stopped short. “Wot’s dat?” she cried.
“Wot?”
“Dat hump on yo’ back?”
“Ain’t no hump on my back,” answered Aleck.
“Suah da is.”
“He’s got a sign on, too,” put in Peter Thomas. “Look wot it reads, ‘I hab got to hump to cotch de widow.’ Hah! hah! hah! Dot’s a good one.”
“Yo’ needn’t hump yo’self to cotch me,” cried the widow, wrathfully. “I’se engaged to Mistah Thomas.” And she smiled on the individual in question.
Crestfallen and bewildered, Aleck felt of his back and took off his coat. He squeezed the rubber rabbit so hard that it exploded with a bang, scaring himself and the others.
“Dat’s a trick on me!” roared the Rover’s man, and tore the rabbit from his coat. “Dem boys did dat!”
“I can’t see yo’ to night, or any udder night, Mistah Pop,” said the widow. “I’se engaged to Mistah Thomas.”
“Den good night,” growled Aleck, and turning on his heel he started for home.
Tom and Sam saw that he was angry, yet they had to roar at the scene presented. They wondered what Aleck would say when he got back to the farm.
“We have got to square ourselves,” said Tom.
“How are you going to do it?”
“Oh, we’ll do it somehow.”
They took the short cut, but so did Aleck, and consequently all three soon met.
“Yo’ played dat joke yo’ can’t go fo’ to deny it!” cried the colored man.
“We are not going to deny it, Aleck,” said Tom. “But it was no joke. We did it for your good.”
“Huh!”
“We certainly did,” put in Sam. “Why, Aleck, we can’t bear to think of your getting married and leaving us.”
“Huh!”
“We want you to stay with us,” said Tom. “Besides, that widow has a lot of children and is after your money.”
“She ain’t got but two chillen. She had moah, but she dun told me all but two was in de seminary.”
“The seminary?” queried Tom. Then a light broke in on him. “You mean the cemetery.”
“Persackly—de place da puts de dead folks.”
“Well, they are in the cemetery right enough—but they are a long way from being dead.”
“Wot yo’ mean, Tom?”
“We saw her send five of them away this evening—she told ’em to go to the cemetery and stay there awhile.”
“Wot! Yo’ is fooling dis chile!”
“It is absolutely true,” said Sam. “I am quite sure she has s
even children.”
“Huh! If dat’s de case dat Thomas nigger can hab her,” grumbled Aleck, and walked on. “But I ain’t takin’ yo’ word fo’ dis,” he added cautiously. “I’se gwine to make a few investigations to morrow.”
“Do so—and you’ll thank us from the bottom of your heart,” answered Tom; and there the subject was dropped. It may be added here that later on Aleck discovered that the widow had ten children and was head over heels in debt, and he was more than glad that the boys had played the trick on him, and that the other colored man had gained Mrs. Taylor’s hand.
CHAPTER IV
A MIDNIGHT SEARCH
That night was destined to be an eventful one on the Rover farm. Arriving home, Sam and Tom told of the fun they had had and Dick laughed heartily. Then all three of the boys went to bed.
About midnight came a loud shouting from the barn, followed by the report of a shotgun. This was followed by a shriek from Sarah, the cook, who was afraid that burglars had come to murder her.
“What’s that?” questioned Dick, as he hopped out of bed.
“That’s Jack Ness’ gun,” answered Tom. “Something must be wrong at the barn.”
“Chicken thieves again—I’ll bet a new hat,” said Sam. By this time Randolph Rover and his wife were up and were lighting a lamp. Without waiting for them, the boys slipped on some clothing and their shoes and ran downstairs. Dick took with him a pistol and each of the others a baseball bat.
“Boys! boys! be careful!” shouted their uncle after them.
“All right,” returned Dick, readily.
He was the first outside, but Sam and Tom were close upon his heels. He heard Jack Ness running to the edge of a cornfield, shouting lustily. Then came another report of the shotgun.
“What is it, Jack?” shouted Dick. “Who are you shooting at?”
“I’m after two men,” was the hired man’s reply. “They jest run into the cornfield.”
“Chicken thieves?” queried Tom.
“I guess so—anyway they was prowlin’ around the hen house an’ the barn. I called an’ asked ’em what they wanted and they ran for dear life—so I knew they was up to no good.”
“They certainly must have been chicken thieves, or worse,” was Sam’s comment. “Really, this is getting to be too much,” he added. “We ought to catch them and have them locked up.”
“I’m willing to go after them,” answered Tom, readily.
“Did you get a good look at the rascals?” asked Dick.
“Not very good,” answered Jack Ness.
“They weren’t boys, were they?”
“No—they were men—both tall and heavy fellows.”
“Did you ever see them before?” asked Tom. “Not that I can remember.”
While they were talking the party of four had run down to the edge of the cornfield. This spot was really a peach orchard, but the trees were still so small that the ground was being utilized that season for corn, planted in rows between the trees. The corn was not yet full grown, but it was high enough to conceal a man lying flat or crouching down.
The sky was filled with stars and the old moon was beginning to show over the hills beyond the valley, so it was fairly light across the field. The boys kept their eyes on the corn and the peach trees, but failed to discover any persons moving among them.
“My shotgun is empty—maybe I had better go back and load up,” said the hired man.
“Yes, do it, but hurry up,” answered Dick. “I’ll stay here on guard with the pistol.”
The hired man ran off toward the barn. Hardly had he disappeared when Sam gave a short cry and pointed into the field with his hand.
“I saw somebody raise up just now and look around,” he said. “He is out of sight now.”
“Where?” came from Dick and Tom quickly. “Over yonder by the twisted peach tree.”
“I’ll investigate,” said Dick. “You can come along if you want to. Keep your eyes open for both men. We don’t want either to get away if we can help it.”
The three lads spread out in something of a semi circle and advanced slowly into the field, keeping their eyes and ears on the alert for anything out of the ordinary. Thus they covered fifty yards, when Tom found himself near one of the largest of the peach trees. As he passed this a form arose quickly from under a bough, caught him by the waist and threw him forcibly to the ground.
“Hi!” yelled Tom. “Let up!” And then he made a clutch for his assailant, catching him by the foot. But the man broke away and went crashing through the corn, calling on “Shelley” to follow him.
The yell from Tom attracted the attention of Dick and Sam, and they turned to learn what had happened to their brother. As they did this a second man leaped up from the corn in front of them and started to run in the direction of the river.
“Stop!” called out Dick. “Stop, or I’ll fire on you!” And then he discharged his pistol into the air as a warning. The man promptly dodged behind a row of peach trees, but kept on running as hard as ever.
The Rover boys were now thoroughly aroused, and all three started in pursuit of the two men. They saw the fellows leave the field and hurry down a lane leading to Swift River.
“I believe they are going to the river. Maybe they have a boat,” said Tom.
“I shouldn’t wonder,” answered Dick.
“I wish they would take to a boat,” said Sam. “We could follow them easily—in Dan Bailey’s boat.”
“Hi, where are you?” came a shout from behind, and they saw Jack Ness returning. “Your uncle and aunt want you to be careful—they are afraid those villains will shoot you.”
“We’ll be careful,” answered Tom. “But we are going to capture them if it can be done,” he added, sturdily.
The hired man had reloaded the shotgun and also brought some additional ammunition with him. He was nervous and the boys could readily see that he did not relish continuing the pursuit.
“We can’t do nothin’ in the dark,” he grumbled. “Let us wait till morning.”
“No, I am going after them now,” answered Dick, decidedly.
“So am I,” added Sam and Tom.
They were going forward as rapidly as the semi darkness would permit. The ground was more or less uncertain, and once the youngest Rover went into a mud hole, splashing the mud up into Jack Ness’ face.
“Hi, stop that!” spluttered the hired man. “Want to put my eye out?”
“Excuse me, Jack, I didn’t see the hole,” answered Sam.
“It ain’t safe to walk here in the dark—somebody might break a leg.”
“If you want to go back you can do so,” put in Dick. “Give Tom the shotgun.”
“Oh—er—I’m goin’ if you be,” answered Jack Ness. He was ashamed to let them know how much of a coward he really was.
It was quite a distance to Swift River, which at this point ran among a number of stately willows. As the boys gained the water’s edge they saw a boat putting out not a hundred feet away.
“There they are!” cried Dick.
“Stop!” yelled Tom. “Stop, unless you want to be shot!”
“We’ll do a little shooting ourselves if you are not careful!” came back in a harsh voice.
“Take care! Take care!” cried Jack Ness, in terror, and ran to hide behind a handy tree.
The two men in the boat were putting down the stream with all speed. The current, always strong, soon carried them around a bend and out of sight.
It must be confessed that the boys were in a quandary. They did not wish to give up the chase, yet they realized that the escaping men might be desperate characters and ready to put up a hard fight if cornered.
“Jack, I think you had better run over to the Ditwold house and tell them what is up,” said Dick, after a moment’s thought. “Tell Ike and Joe we ar
e going to follow in Dan Bailey’s boat.” The Ditwolds were neighboring farmers and Ike and Joe were strong young men ever ready to lend a hand in time of trouble.
“All right,” answered the hired man, and set off, first, however, turning his firearm over to Tom.
The three Rover boys were well acquainted with the river, and had had more than one adventure on its swiftly flowing waters, as my old readers know. They skirted a number of the willows and came to a small creek, where they found Dan Bailey’s craft tied to a stake. But there were no oars, and they gazed at one another in dismay.
“We might have known it,” said Dick, in disgust. “He always takes the oars up to the barn with him.”
The barn was a good distance off and none of the boys relished running that far for oars. More than this, they felt that by the time the oars were brought the other craft would be out of sight and hearing, and thus the trail of the midnight prowlers would be lost.
“Here is a bit of board,” said Sam, searching around. “Let us use that for a paddle. The current will carry us almost as swiftly as if we were rowing. The main thing will be to keep out of the way of the rocks.”
“I wish those chaps would run on the rocks and smash their boat to bits,” grumbled Tom, who had gotten a stone in his loose shoe and was consequently limping.
The boys shoved the rowboat from the creek to the river and leaped in. Dick, being the largest and strongest, took the board and using it as a sweep, sent the craft well out where the current could catch it. Down the stream went the boat, with Sam in the middle and Tom in the stern. There was no rudder, so they had to depend entirely upon Dick, who stood up near the bow, peering ahead for rocks, of which the river boasted a great number.
“Those fellows must know this river,” remarked Sam, as he started to lace his shoes, there being nothing else just then to do.
“They ought to—if they are the fellows who visited our henhouse before,” answered Tom. “Dick, can you see them?”
“No, but I know they must be ahead.”
“Perhaps they went ashore—just to fool us.”
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 185