While the newcomers continued to make themselves comfortable before the fire, and Spouter and Fred prepared a pot of hot tea for them to drink, Gif and Jack hurried into their clothing and then went outside.
The blast that struck them as they hurried toward the exhausted horse was terrific, and for the moment they thought they would have to turn back and abandon the animal. But then they took another grip on themselves, and finally managed to turn the horse in the direction of the stable.
They saw that the sleigh was filled with provisions and other things, and so managed to haul it under the shed where it would be partly protected. Then they placed the horse in the stable, gave him a drink, and likewise left some hay for him to chew on.
“We may not be able to get here in the morning,” said Gif; “so we’ll leave him some supper and some breakfast at the same time.”
“I don’t much like the idea of Glutts and Werner loading down on us in this fashion,” remarked Jack, as the pair prepared to go back to the Lodge.
“Like it!” exclaimed his chum. “I should say not! But what are we going to do about it, Jack?”
“Oh, we’ll have to make the best of it.”
“If this storm keeps up we may have those fellows on our hands for some days.”
“Well, if they stay here that long they can pay their own way,” declared Jack. “They have some provisions in that sleigh, and there is no reason why we should feed them for nothing. If we divide up our stuff they can divide up theirs.”
“It wouldn’t be any more than fair.”
“Where is this Tony Duval’s place they mentioned?” continued the oldest Rover boy.
“It’s about two miles from here, off to the eastward—in fact, the road on which this Lodge is located ends at Duval’s place. He is a French-Canadian, and he hasn’t a very good reputation in these parts. Some of the old hunters used to think Tony was a good deal of a thief—that he would go around in the night or early morning and empty their traps. He came from down east.”
“What do you suppose Werner and Glutts are going to do there?”
“Of late years Duval has made a specialty of hiring out his place to hunters. There are two or three shacks on his land, and he lets the various crowds have those buildings, and then, if the hunters want it, he cooks for them, for he is said to be quite a handy man with a coffeepot and a frying pan. More than likely, from what you heard at the moving picture theater, Gabe Werner has a chance to use one of those shacks and has got Glutts to go with him.”
“I wonder why Codfish isn’t with them—he was at that restaurant in Timminsport.”
“I’m sure I don’t know, except that Codfish may have got cold feet when it came to traveling up this way in such a snowstorm. You know there is nothing brave about that little sneak.” And in this surmise Gif was correct. Stowell had found a boarding place in the town and had said he would remain there until the storm cleared away and the others returned to get him.
In the meantime Glutts and Werner were seated at the living-room table drinking the hot tea which had been prepared and eating some doughnuts which Fred and Andy had offered. The bullies had become thawed out, and their usual aggressiveness was beginning to assert itself.
“Of course we could have kept on until we got up to Tony’s place; but what was the use on such a wild night as this when we knew this place was handy?” remarked Werner.
“I’m afraid you’re going to be snowed in with us,” said Spouter.
“Huh! I don’t know as that will be very pleasant,” grumbled Glutts. “Have you fellows got enough for all hands to eat?” he demanded eagerly.
“We’ve got some provisions,” answered Fred cautiously. “We shot nine rabbits to-day,” he added proudly.
“Nine rabbits!” exclaimed Werner. “How did you do it?”
“They must have driven the poor rabbits together in a bunch and then slaughtered them,” was Glutts’ comment.
“We did not!” cried Fred.
“I’m sure we’ll get all the rabbits we want when we reach Tony Duval’s place,” continued Werner boastfully. “I believe hunting up there is much better than it is around here.”
“And they tell me Tony is one of the best guides in these parts,” added Glutts. “We expect to get a deer or two and a whole lot of other game.”
“Say, have you fellows got a place where we can sleep?” questioned the other bully, looking around the living room.
“There is a bedroom here that is not being used,” answered Spouter. “But you’ll have to ask Gif about that. This bungalow, you know, belongs to Mr. Garrison and his brother.”
When Gif and Jack returned the situation was explained to them, and Gif said that for the balance of the night the two newcomers could occupy the bedroom which was not in use.
“And then we’ll see what can be done to-morrow morning,” he added.
“Of course we’ll pay for our accommodations,” said Werner, in his most lordly manner.
“We don’t want any pay, Werner,” declared Gif. “But if you have to stay here very long you’ll have to divide your stores with us. It is quite a task to get new stuff all the way from Timminsport; so if you’ve got anything in the sleigh outside it won’t be any more than fair for you to divide with us.”
“What did you do with the sleigh and the stuff?”
“We placed it under the shed next to the stable and covered your stuff with a horse blanket. The snow is sifting in there some, but I don’t think anything will get hurt; unless, of course, you’ve got some stuff that might freeze.”
“Let it freeze,” grumbled Glutts. “I’m not going out again, now I’m comfortable here.”
As there was no love lost between the newcomers and our friends, the conversation languished after this. Gif showed Glutts and Werner where they might sleep in the bedroom which had not been occupied, and gave them the necessary bedding and some extra blankets. Then the pair shoved off without even saying good-night and closed the door behind them.
“Real loving and thankful—I don’t think,” whispered Randy.
“I don’t see why those fellows were wished on us,” growled his twin. “I’d just as lief have a skunk in the place as to have either of that pair.”
“Well, we couldn’t leave them out in the storm to perish,” answered Jack, in a low tone; “so we’ll have to make the best of it.”
“Just the same,” whispered Fred, “I’m going to keep my eyes and ears wide open while they are here.”
CHAPTER XVII
NEW YEAR’S DAY IN CAMP
When Randy and Andy retired it was a long while before the merry twins could get to sleep again.
“We ought to play some good joke on them,” was the way Andy expressed it. “Something they would remember.”
“I’d do it in a minute, Andy, if it wasn’t that they are so worn out,” responded his twin. “But I don’t think Jack and Fred would like it at all if we disturbed ‘em. And, besides, you must remember that while we are here we’re Gif’s guests.”
Gif and Jack were the first to get up in the morning, and they had the fire revived and breakfast underway before any of the others showed themselves.
“Where are Glutts and Werner?” questioned Spouter, when he appeared.
“They haven’t showed themselves yet, Spouter,” answered Jack. “Might as well let them sleep as long as they want to. They can’t leave here in such a storm as this.”
The snow was still coming down and the wind was blowing almost as fiercely as it had during the early part of the night. Gazing through the windows, the cadets saw that all of the cedars were bent down with the weight of the fine white crystals. The snow had swept up along one side of the little barn until there was an unbroken line reaching up to the very top.
“Well, I never!” ejaculated Jack, turning around suddenly to his c
hums. “Happy New Year, everybody!”
“Happy New Year!” came from the others, including Fred and the twins, who had just got up.
“Gosh! I forgot all about it’s being New Year’s,” exclaimed Fred.
“This looks like a real New Year’s Day, and no mistake,” remarked Randy. “Look outside! Isn’t it just like a picture on a New Year’s card?”
“It is assuredly a spectacle to fill one with awe and reverence,” came from Spouter. “Just gaze upon that magnificent stretch of snowy mantle and those tall cedars bending low before the wintry blasts! Can you imagine what this must be in the solemn depth of the mighty forest, where not a footfall is heard nor a—”
“Jack rabbit can get as much as a turnip to eat?” finished Randy gayly. “Spouter, if you are going to orate, why don’t you stand on the table when you turn on the spigot?”
“Let us have a regular New Year’s dinner!” cried Gif, “and then Spouter can do the speech-making—”
“While we do the eating,” finished Randy. “Say, Spout, how about it?”
“Nothing doing,” was the prompt reply. “I want my share of the eats every time.”
“We’ll make a regular rabbit potpie to take the place of turkey,” announced Gif.
“And for dessert, how about that canned plum pudding we brought along?” queried Fred.
“Great thought, Fred!” answered Randy. “And we can have some of those nuts, too. And to-night we’ll try our hand at some candy making.”
“One thing you fellows are forgetting,” remarked Gif. “And that is that we have Werner and Glutts with us. They’ll certainly want their share of the good things.”
“What! Plum pudding and all?” questioned Fred, with a gloomy look settling over his face.
“We can’t deny them anything that we have ourselves, Fred,” replied Jack.
“I don’t think Glutts or Werner deserve it!” exclaimed Randy. “I think as soon as this storm clears away they ought to be sent about their business. It isn’t so very far to that Tony Duval’s place, and with their horse and sleigh they ought to be able to make it somehow.”
Randy had scarcely finished speaking when the door to the bedroom the two bullies occupied was flung open and Werner strode into the living room.
“Fine way you have of talking about us, Rover!” he said, with a sour look on his face. “We didn’t come here because we wanted to. We came because it was necessary.”
“And we said we would pay for whatever we had to eat or drink,” added Glutts, who had followed his crony.
“I told you before that you wouldn’t have to pay a cent,” broke in Gif. “Just the same, Glutts, we might as well come to an understanding. You know as well as I do that there is no love lost between you fellows and our crowd. You are welcome to stay here and have your dinner, and if you think you can’t get out to-day you can stay here for supper and sleep here again to-night. By that time I think the storm will have cleared away, and you will be able to get over to Tony’s place without trouble.”
“You can take it from me, we won’t stay here an hour longer than we have to,” declared Werner. And then he turned back into the bedroom to finish his dressing, closing the door behind him.
The presence of the two bullies put a good deal of a damper on our friends, and as a consequence the breakfast was rather a silent one. Then Gif suggested that Glutts and Werner go out and look after their horse, and this they agreed to do.
“If you won’t take any pay we’ll stand for our share of the grub,” announced Werner just before he went out. “We’ve got some goods in the sleigh, as you know. What shall I bring in?”
“Bring in whatever you think is fair,” said Gif, after a few whispered words to Jack and Spouter.
The two bullies were gone the best part of an hour, and during that time the Rovers and their chums cleaned several of the rabbits and also got ready some potatoes and turnips for dinner.
“That will give us quite a meal, along with the dried lima beans that I put to soak last night,” said Gif. “Of course, we’ll have the plum pudding, well steamed, as Fred suggested.”
“And we’ll make a pan of biscuits, too,” added Spouter. “Gee! by the time we get through up here, fellows, we’ll be able to get jobs as chefs in some of the first-class New York hotels.”
When Glutts and Werner returned they carried two packages which they threw on the living-room table.
“There are some dried apricots and a package of rice,” said Werner. “They ought to help out for a New Year’s dinner.”
“Very well, we’ll cook what we need for the meal, Werner,” said Gif briefly, “and the rest you can take with you.”
Gif and Spouter made a small rice pudding, and also stewed some of the apricots. All told, the New Year’s dinner proved to be quite a bountiful affair, and after all of the lads had eaten their fill, it must be confessed that everybody felt in better humor. The plum pudding especially came in for a large share of their attention, as well as did the nuts and the small amount of raisins which followed.
“I think we’ll go and take a nap,” announced Werner presently. “I didn’t get very much sleep last night.”
“And I’ll do the same,” added Glutts.
“What about washing those dishes?” remarked Fred, with a significant look at the two bullies.
“That’s right, Glutts and Werner!” cried Jack. “You ought to be willing to do your share of the dish-washing.”
“Me wash dishes!” roared Bill Glutts. “I never did anything like that in my life!”
“You washed your own dishes at the encampment,” answered Spouter sharply.
“Oh, well, that was different.”
“Oh, don’t gas,” grumbled Werner. “We’ll wash our own dishes, anyway,” and he went to work without another word, although with very bad grace, and presently Glutts followed him.
Gif and the other boys also took hold, so the dish-washing and the pot cleaning did not take very long.
The majority of the boys felt sleepy, so the rest of the day was spent in taking it easy or in reading. Then, toward night, they had a light supper, and Fred and the twins started to make some home-made candy.
By this time the storm had cleared away; no more snow was coming down and the wind had also ceased. Overhead the stars glittered like so many diamonds.
“It will be a great day to-morrow,” announced Gif.
“Perhaps we can get out and get on the track of a deer!” cried Fred.
“Say, Fred, you must think the deer in this vicinity are standing around just waiting to be shot,” came from Jack, with a smile.
“I don’t care, Jack. I’m going to get a crack at something worth while before I go home,” announced the youngest Rover.
Declining to partake of the taffy and the nut candy the twins and Fred had made, Glutts and Werner retired early.
“We’ll be going in the morning if the storm will permit it,” said Werner to Gif. And then he added curtly: “Much obliged for taking us in.”
“Don’t mention it, Werner,” answered Gif, just as briefly.
“Remember, we’ll pay you if you’ll tell us how much it is,” added Glutts.
“You can’t pay me anything, Glutts.”
“Just as you say.”
Then the door to the bedroom was closed as before, and Gif and his chums were left to themselves.
“Some New Year’s Day, believe me,” was Fred’s whispered comment. “The presence of those fellows is about as cheering as a funeral.”
Randy and Andy had their heads close together and were whispering. Presently Randy got up and stretched himself.
“Now that it has stopped snowing I am going to go out and get a little fresh air in my lungs,” he remarked.
“And I’m going along,” responded his twin quickly.
“So am I,” broke in Fred.
“And that means we can wash the dishes,” said Jack. “All right, there are only a handful anyway. Go ahead, only don’t walk too far and get lost.”
The three lads were soon outside, ploughing around through the deep snow. Then Randy caught Fred by the arm.
“Come on down to the stable,” he said. “Andy and I have a little something up our sleeves.”
“Just what I thought,” chuckled Fred, “I bet you’re planning to play some trick on Glutts and Werner.”
“Can you blame us?” demanded Andy.
“Certainly not. I’m with you. What do you propose to do?”
“We want to find out first what those fellows are carrying in the way of provisions. Quite something, I imagine.”
Reaching the stable, the three Rovers passed around one corner to where was located the shed. Here they found the sleigh and its contents just as it had been left by Glutts and Werner when they had procured the rice and the apricots. Randy carried a flashlight, and this was turned on so they might see what was stored there.
“A pretty complete lot of stuff,” was Randy’s comment, after they had looked over the various bundles and packages, each one of which was marked.
“Here is a bag of sugar and another bag of salt,” announced Andy. “I think the flavor of each will be vastly improved by mixing them up a bit,” and he grinned.
“And here’s a bottle of vinegar and two bottles of catsup and maple syrup,” came from Randy. “I think a little mixing up here will help matters also.”
“Say, don’t go too far!” cried Fred in alarm.
“Too far!” exclaimed Randy. “You couldn’t go too far with Gabe Werner and Bill Glutts! Just remember what they did to us at Colby Hall and at the encampment. Both of those fellows are nothing but rascals. They didn’t deserve to be taken in.”
After that Fred joined the twins in “doctoring up the provisions,” as Andy expressed it. The three had quite some fun doing this, and all returned to the bungalow grinning broadly.
The Rover Boys Megapack Page 395