Edward Stratemeyer

“ He was afraid the crowd would set upon him and beat him mercilessly.
"Don't you do it," came from the bully. "They can't prove that we had a hand in this."
"Oh, so you acknowledge it," said Ben, quickly. "I must say it's a fine way in which to treat a new fellow like myself."
"Humph! You don't want to be friends," sneered Gus Plum.
"I certainly don't want to be a friend to a bully or a sneak," answered Ben. "I like to pick my company." ”

“ And then they heard the fall of a body to the floor.
"You brought it on yourself—you're not going to expose me just yet," muttered the other man.
"Come on—let us go in!" cried Dave. "He has knocked that other man down. He may kill him!"
They burst open the door and rushed into the room. A glance sufficed to show them one man in a sailor garb, on the floor, unconscious. Over him stood the other fellow, well dressed, with a thick stick in his grasp.
"Drop that club!" cried Roger. "Drop it, or it will be the worse for you," and he swung his skates in the air. ”

“ Here they sat down on some boxes.
"Chip, I am going right to the point, for I don't think it pays to beat around the bush," commenced Dave. "I want to know why you don't turn over a new leaf and be a better boy? Nobody likes a sneak, and it ought to be beneath you to toady to Gus Plum. If you'd give up your sneaking ways, and give up toadying to that bully, I'm sure all the other fellows would like you a great deal more than they do now."
At this unexpected outburst Chip Macklin was silent for a moment.
"You're a good enough fellow, in general," went on Dave, earnestly. ”

“ I should imagine some of the boys would like you for that," and the master of Oak Hall smiled.
"They do, but some others are down on me—those who didn't get on the team."
"Well, you must expect that. It is the way of the world. The higher you get in life the more jealous people will pick you out, and do what they can to pull you down. The really successful man, or boy, rises above such meanness." ”

“ Up from his stateroom comes a miser with his bag of gold. 'Save me!' he yells. 'Come into the small boat, but leave that gold behind,' yells back the captain. 'Not much!' cries the miser. 'Save the gold, and I'll try to swim ashore!' Gus Plum can't be one of us until he learns that his money doesn't count and that he has got to submit to the same treatment that others receive. ”

“ Aaron Poole argued for half an hour, and then strode from the cottage, shaking his head, angrily.
"I'll have the law on you," he cried, shrilly. "It's pay up or take the consequences. You might have had a hundred dollars extra; now you won't get a cent!" And then he jumped into his buggy and drove off.
As soon as his visitor was gone, Caspar Potts sank back in his chair in a state of collapse.
"Oh, Dave, I trust we have done what is best!" he groaned. "Perhaps—perhaps it would have been better to have sold out to him. A hundred dollars in cash is a good deal of money to us these days!" ”

“ It was true that Dave was now ahead of Nat Poole, who, as soon as he was out-distanced, gave up completely. Dave saw that the bully was at least five yards ahead of him. Could he close in on such a lead?
"I must!" he told himself, and shut his teeth hard. He bent forward for another spurt, and like a flash he was almost on Plum's heels.
"Porter is crawling up!"
"Hurry up, Dave!" screamed Roger. "You can do it, old man! Go it!"
"He can't catch Gus Plum," came back from another student, but even as the lad spoke, Dave gave another spurt, and came up alongside of the bully. ”

“ Dave, having nothing else to do, walked into the gymnasium, where he found Gus Plum and a dozen other pupils congregated. Dave began to swing upon some rings, when the bully promptly left off exercising.
"Come on, fellows," cried Plum, in a low but distinct voice, so that Dave might catch what he said. "I don't care to exercise with a nobody!" ”

“ The students of the football team kept together, and with them went half a dozen of their intimate friends. All felt in high spirits, and the conversation was an animated one, filled with talks of punts, fumbles, charging, scrimmages, kick-offs, and the like, terms well known to the initiated, but like so much Greek to those who do not follow the game.
"After this Rockville won't crow so much," said Roger.
"They were pretty nice fellows, anyway," said Dave. "They got excited and that made them rough."
The party was to take supper at the largest hotel of which the town boasted. ”

“ Yes, yes! You are too good, Mr. Wadsworth."
"Then it's settled, and Dave can go to school as planned, eh, Dave?" This with a bright smile.
"I guess I must be dreaming!" came from the boy. "Won't you please pinch me! This almost knocks me flat!"
"Never mind; you'll get over it in time."
"But to go to a first-class school and to college! Mr. Wadsworth, I'll do my best, and if I ever get the chance to pay you back, I'll do it,—and with interest too!" And Dave's face showed that he meant every word he uttered.
"It will be pay enough to see you make something of yourself, Dave." ”

“ And Dave began to warm up. "Very kind indeed!"
"Not at all, Porter. You have as much right to an education as anybody. You—but what brought you here? Has anybody said anything of this to you?" And now the master of Oak Hall bent a pair of shrewd, penetrating eyes upon the youth. ”

“ It would be useless to deny that Dave felt nervous when he walked down to the pitcher's slab. He knew that for Oak Hall to win that game depended largely upon himself.
Fortunately for Dave the first batter up was not one of Rockville's best. He got two balls and two strikes, and then another ball.
"Steady, Dave!" said Phil. "Don't let him walk."
The pitcher made a signal to Roger. He made as if to throw in the ball easily, then let drive with all the swiftness at his command.
"Three strikes! Batter out!"
"Hurrah!" yelled the Oak Hall boys. "One gone! Now go for the other two, Dave!" ”

“ The only discontented students were those who had failed to get on the team, and among these were Gus Plum, Macklin, and a red-headed lad named Puffers.
"It wasn't fair to leave us on the outside," grumbled Puffers. "Every one of us ought to be on that team."
"Oh, I didn't expect any better treatment from Roger Morr," declared the bully of the school. "He is running this to suit himself."
"I'll bet our school loses this match," put in Macklin. "And if it does, it will serve those fellows right." He was not loyal enough to wish Oak Hall success if he could have no part in the victory. ”

“ Each football team had a uniform, and the rivals made a neat appearance when they ran out on the field, to indulge in a little practice.
"Now, fellows, do your best!" cried Dave, who was waving a small flag.
Soon the practicing came to a finish and the game proper began. It was Rockville's kick-off, and they sent the ball thirty-five yards into Oak Hall's territory in almost the time it takes to tell it.
"Hurrah! look at that!" came from the Military Academy boys. "This is our game, sure! Keep up the good work!"
"Keep cool, fellows," came quietly from Roger. "Watch 'em." ”

“ As Roger spoke, the gasoline launch shot into view. The craft was about twenty-five feet long and correspondingly broad of beam, and carried an engine of several horse-power.
"Why, I declare, there are Gus Plum and Chip Macklin!" cried Phil. "They must have hired that craft."
"They are coming this way," said Dave. "I hope they don't come too close."
"Hi, there, look where you are going!" cried Roger, loudly. "Don't run us down!"
"Get out of the way!" came roughly from Gus Plum. And he kept the gasoline launch to her course.
"They'll certainly run us down!" ”

“ Dave asked, coming up to Plum with his fists still clenched tightly.
In a dazed fashion the bully of Oak Hall looked up. He saw something in Dave's eyes that made him shiver—that look which made the country boy at times truly dangerous.
"Here comes somebody!" cried Macklin, at this juncture, and a second later the door swung open and Job Haskers strode in.
"What is the meaning of this noise up here?" demanded the assistant teacher, sharply. "It sounds as if you were pulling the school building down. Ha! you have been fighting!" ”

“ The third baseman pretended to reach for the ball just as Dave came up to him. Seeing this Dave dropped down on the ground and dove for the bag with his right hand. But the ball was not yet coming up, and in a twinkling the country boy was up again and starting for the home plate.
"Run! run!" yelled half a hundred voices in unison. "Run!" And Dave did run as he had never run before, coming over the plate with such an impetus that he was carried fairly to the players' bench beyond. Then the ball was sent in—but it was much too late. ”

“ The two lived alone, and there were times when Caspar Potts was certainly more than half out of his mind, acting childish, and begging Dave not to desert him.
"I am not going to desert you," had been Dave's answer. "You have done for me as long as you could, and now I am going to do for you."
"But they may put us out of this house, Dave."
"If they do, we'll have to find some other place to live."
"I cannot undertake to develop another farm, lad; I am too old and feeble."
"Oh, you mustn't talk that way, professor." ”

“ Another thing, to my mind, Plum is on the downward road, and if you keep on following him, sooner or later you'll get into some trouble that will bring you dismissal from the Hall. Your stepfather won't like that, and neither will your mother."
At these words Chip Macklin's head sank on his breast.
"If I were you, I'd cut Gus Plum dead after this, and I think I'd cut Nat Poole, too, although he isn't quite so bad as Plum, only foolish. Those fellows will never help you to make a man of yourself, and both of them will never help you in your studies, for each is near the bottom of his class." ”

“ As Dave and Roger hurried to the boathouse they passed Gus Plum and Chip Macklin. The big youth scowled at Dave, and the sneak squinted at Roger.
"What a pair!" said the boy from the country. "All the money in the world will never make Gus Plum a gentleman." ”

“ The team to play the Rockville Institution was placed under Roger's control, and he picked his players with great care. Ben, he knew, was a good football player, and was made quarterback, while Phil was a halfback. Much to Dave's surprise Sam Day was put in as right tackle.
"Can Lazy fill that place?" asked Ben, in wonder.
"Certainly," answered Roger, promptly. "You have never seen him wake up. When he does, he is as spry as anybody." And so it proved.
Roger wished very much to put Dave on the team, but the latter declined. ”

“ Then they asked him if he drank. 'You bet I do,' said the engineer. 'How much?' was the next question. 'Oh, not over a dozen glasses a day.' 'You can't have the job—we don't want a man who drinks.' 'But all of you drink,' said the engineer. 'I do not,' answered the head of the examiners. 'You do.' 'Only water, coffee, and soft drinks.' 'That's what I drink, too,' said the engineer—and got the job."
"Well, Plum drinks something stronger than that," said Roger. "I've seen him do it. He ought to have been reported, but I am not the one to play the sneak." ”

“ Dave helped the small boy to bring in his things, and two or three of the others gave a hand to help him settle down. He felt strange at first, and exceedingly suspicious, but gradually these feelings wore away, and he became quite another lad.
"Don't you wish yourself back in No. 13?" asked Dave, one day, after he had helped Chip to do an extra hard example.
"No, no!" was the quick answer. "I never want to go back! It is ever so much better here. I can see now what a fool I was, Dave, to toady to Plum, and to play the sneak for him. ”

“ The oaks were bare of leaves, and the cold blasts sighed mournfully through the branches. Football came to an end, and so did rowing, and the students began to look forward to snow and skating.
"Last year we had great sport in the snow," said Buster Beggs. "We built a big snow fort and half the school defended it, while the other half tried to capture the place. The fight lasted all of Saturday afternoon, and the fort fell just as the bell rang for supper."
"Of course you weren't hit with snowballs," said Dave, with a smile. ”

“ Then the fellow was stripped to the waist, and his hands were fastened behind his back.
In the meantime the molasses had been warmed over the pocket stove mentioned. It was smeared on with a whisk broom, and Gus Plum groaned and tried to break away, feeling certain it was tar. Over the molasses went the feathers.
"My! but he's a bird!" remarked Sam Day.
"Say, Plum, you ought to hire out in a dime museum," said another. "They can advertise you as the curio from Borneo—half man and half bird. It will bring you a fortune."
"He'll never get that tar off, never," murmured Macklin. ”

“ The declaration that Dave made filled all of his companions with astonishment. All knew the particulars of the occurrence mentioned, and knew that the evildoer had not yet been handed over to justice.
"You are sure he is the man, Dave?" queried the senator's son.
"Yes, I know him not only by his looks but by his voice as well."
"You don't want to make any mistake about this," said Phil. "Accusing a man of a robbery is no slight thing to do. If you made a mistake you might get yourself into serious trouble."
"I am positive," said Dave. "The question is, what ought we to do?" ”