Graham B. Forbes

“ Go back home, and put away your helmets for another day. You’ve lost your job, boys! Frank Allen and his high-school fire brigade put it all out! Three cheers for Frank and his bunch! Everybody yell now.”
It was the loud-voiced cheer captain who shouted these words; and it seemed as if a thousand people joined Herman Hooker in the cheers he called for, that made the ears of Frank Allen and his comrades burn, even as their eyes had smarted with the smoke of the fire in the basement of the high school. ”

“ There’s a new fellow up in Clifford that they say never gets tired, and can come in from a ten-mile skip without hardly a hair turned. That may be just talk, or as you say, hot air; but, Lanky, don’t be over-confident. It’s all well enough to be sure you can win; but never let up in your pace because you think you’ve got the thing cinched. A swift runner may dash past you in a second, and after that it’s up to you to get him! because he sets the pace, not you.”
“Frank, it’s mighty good of you giving me these pointers, and you going to be a runner in the long race, too.” ”

“ There will be others along after a minute or two, and they can help me. Go on, I tell you, Lanky. You must win this race. Think of Dora; and the proud colors of Columbia that will be trailed in the dust if you fail them. My duty is here; yours to beat out those two runners ahead. Now you’re off!”
Frank actually turned Lanky around, and gave him a shove. The tall boy glared once over his shoulder, and gave his chum a last look, in which affection mingled with the stern resolve that filled his soul. ”

“ Frank knew the obstinacy of his chum only too well. There never was a boy who would persist more in a thing than Lanky Wallace, though when he had the truth absolutely shown to him he would give up, and admit that he was wrong. Some people who did not fancy Lanky called him pig-headed and stubborn, but those who were better able to judge understood the difference between stubbornness and firmness. ”

“ It seemed to the mass of spectators, craning their necks to see what took place, as though that whole line of lithe runners sprang forward as one.
Every fellow doubtless had his favorite way of waiting for the signal; though a quick start is of far less importance in a long run of ten miles than when the race is a short dash. ”

“ I’m willing, all right, Frank,” declared the now light-hearted Lanky; “we just hit the right nail on the head when we came out here, and spied on that camp. Poor little thing! Say, that old woman’s got a temper, all right; and I reckon that child ought to be taken away from her, even if she doesn’t prove to be the long-lost Effie Elverson. Come on, Frank, let’s run a little along the road.” ”

“ Knowing the impulsive nature of the tall Columbia student, Roderick Seymour in the beginning had given Lanky to understand that he must govern his actions by those of Frank Allen. If the other gave him the word to let himself out at any time, then he could start on his own responsibility. For it was understood before the race started, that the contestants of each school could assist one another by advice, or in any other legitimate way, while endeavoring to land the prize. ”

“ We’re both proud of you; and Helen would be here to say the same if she wasn’t so busy telling Paul Bird something like that right now.”
Lanky Wallace was hovering around, as though he wanted to speak to Frank; and the latter could give a pretty good guess what it might be.
“Just wait for me a minute while I speak to Lanky, Minnie,” he remarked; “and then I’d like to walk home with you. I’ve got something to say about that little boat-ride we planned to take to-night, because the moon is full, and it’s going to be a glorious night. Can you wait for me a minute or two, Minnie?” ”

“ Some of the jumping tests were well carried out; and those who watched and figured on the marks made nodded their heads as though satisfied that Columbia had a good chance in this quarter.
The high-jumpers also held a carnival of their own, and brought out loud cheers by their showing; while the pole-vaulters, the shot-putters and hammer-throwers and the short-distance sprinters gave every evidence of being grimly determined not to lose the prizes offered in their departments, if grit and pluck and muscle could win out. ”

“ Many became anxious because the new wonder from Clifford, Larry Parker, had shot into the lead, and seemed capable of increasing the distance between himself and his competitors at will.
“It’s a walkaway!” whooped the Clifford boys; for if they could only pull off the most important event of the great day, that victory would go far toward healing the wounds caused by the poor showing of their athletes in other contests. ”

“ Suspicious looks greeted their arrival at the camp. Both men and women, even the younger element among the nomads, seemed to question the wisdom of allowing a couple of boys to enter the enclosure where the belongings of the tribe were scattered about.
But Frank stepped up to the first man he met, and there was something so manly about his demeanor that unconsciously, before he had spoken a word, the gypsy smiled.
“I want to see the queen, Esther you call her, I think,” was what Frank said. ”

“ Some of the gypsy men turned to the new arrivals with a list of questions, and Lanky was only too willing to answer to the best of his ability.
“Greatest thing that you ever saw, or will see, if you live a thousand years,” he went on, in a way that made Frank smile, thinking that his chum might get an engagement as a “barker” for some side show to a circus. “Yes, sir, there will be the greatest crowd in and around Columbia that was [149] ever known. You’ll be mighty sorry to miss it, I tell you. And the farmers who want to trade horses, they always just flock to these athletic meets. ”

“ They certainly did smite that rising blaze right and left. Such a combination of chemicals as was poured upon it was enough to discourage almost any fire.
“We’ve got it on the run, boys!” cried the exultant Frank, as he saw that, bit by bit, the flames had begun to jump up less fiercely, and gave positive signs of giving up the unequal contest altogether. “Here, who’s that down there? Red Huggins has fainted with the smoke, fellows! Bones, you and Paul Bird carry him out! Come back again, if you can get hold of any water, and bring buckets, so we can soak this bin from end to end.” ”

“ Watching his hands after this, Frank noticed that they seemed to tremble constantly, which was a rather strange thing in a mere lad.
“That’s what they say excessive cigarette smoking will do for a fellow, Lanky,” he managed to whisper in the ear of his chum a little later on; for be it told, Lanky at several times had been known to indulge in a smoke of the “coffin nail,” as he scoffingly called it. “Watch his hands, and see them flutter. It acts on his heart. If he keeps it up, a year from now he’ll never be able to run at all.” ”

“ But very few Columbia fellows were anxious at this early stage in the race. They knew only too well that ten miles was a long distance to cover, and all sorts of things could happen before the goal was in sight.
“Frank and Lanky and Bones make a team that is simply unbeatable!” they continued to say, one to another, as the last of the nine runners vanished from view up the road in the distance.
“Yes,” others would add, “don’t we know the tactics of Frank Allen to a dot? You never would catch him letting himself out in the start of a grilling ten-mile run, like that new fellow does. ”

“ Frank should remember what he had said to Lanky as a warning, with regard to Larry Parker, in case he ever found himself in a position to pass the new Clifford wonder.
“It’s Bones!” Frank snapped out between his teeth; for it is no easy thing for a fellow who has been running speedily over four miles to talk while continuing to rush on.
“Oh! poor old Bones, he’s in the soup!” grunted Lanky; and it could be seen that he was genuinely sorry to know the third Columbia contestant had been thrown out of the race by an accident. ”

“ Of course this latter was the fickle Dora, about whom so much had been said, and who was surely pretty enough to turn the head of even a plain, sensible fellow like Lanky Wallace. And the boy could be no other than the “city fellow,” Walter Ackerman, toward whom half the maids in Columbia were friendly disposed, since he certainly was the best-looking boy in town.
Just then was heard a great shouting from the basement and a crowd of boys came trooping forth, laughing uproariously.
“There’s Bill Klemm and his bunch, with a few decent fellows in the bargain,” remarked Frank. ”

“ We’ve just got to save good old Columbia High!”
When the crowd of students, girls and boys, saw that dozen brave lads boldly enter the cellar from which that pungent smoke was pouring, they held their breath with suspense. In fact, just at that moment, besides the crying of a few hysterical younger girls, the only sounds that could be heard were the brazen notes of the town alarm bell, calling the volunteer firemen to rally at the engine house.
Already people were running wildly toward the high school. ”

“ I’d like to pike on to the grounds, and see who won the race before all the crowd gets away. But we’ll wait, no matter how long you take, Allen.”
“Oh! rats! what have we got to lose?” replied the other, laughingly. “We’re long since out of the swim, anyhow. But I say, Allen, where’d you learn how to put on a tourniquet so well? My dad’s the new doctor in Bellport, and I wager he’d say he couldn’t have done it better himself, in an emergency. If this fellow gets through alive, he’ll owe a heap to you, believe me.”
But Frank did not wait to listen to any words of praise. ”

“ Kline is a very religious woman, which makes it all the more queer why she lets her boy go with such fellers as Bill Klemm and Asa Barnes. Now, I never’d ’a’ believed she’d sent Rufus on an errand, and carryin’ a package like that, on a Sunday.”
“Oh! you never can tell,” replied Frank. “Perhaps he’s taking something to a sick woman friend of hers. There are lots of times when rules have to be broken, I reckon. But you don’t think of holding him up, just to ask; do you, Lanky?” ”

“ Frank was shocked at hearing such talk. He knew that the better class of Bellport fellows would never stand for it; but was afraid that the two schools might be drawn into a dispute that would put a stop to all their friendly rivalry in field and track sports.
“Bellport’s sore because of that football drubbing she got last fall!” called out a Columbia backer, one word leading to another, as is always the case when boys get to accusing each other. ”

“ Lanky remarked, “and I reckon there’ll be quite a squad of our fellows down at the athletic field, tryin’ every stunt going; because, you see, lots of ’em believe they can qualify for the broad jump, the shot-put, the hammer-throw, or even in the sprints. And you’ll see some of the queerest athletic work ever if you come down there right now.”
“I’ll go you, then, Lanky,” agreed Frank. “Besides, I heard someone say there was going to be a big bunch from Bellport coming over to watch, and see what our boys could do. ”

“ All I want to remark is this, Lanky; keep your eye on him, and look out for a trick, if you do start to go ahead of him. That fellow believes in the rule or ruin policy, if ever it was written on a boy’s face. But see, here comes the sack race; it ought to be funny enough to make us forget all our troubles.”
The crowd was in a mood for something comical; and if sack races are properly conducted, they afford [187] plenty of fun; except for some of the unfortunate participants who in falling manage to skin their noses. ”

“ Frank Allen always bore a leading part in all these athletic doings; as did his particular chum, Lanky. And they were out on this Saturday, with another well-known long-distance runner, Bones Shadduck, to get their muscles in good trim for [6] the grind of the Marathon that was to be the crowning event of the great meet so soon to come about.
They were the hope of Columbia High. No other boys ventured to compete with these long-distance runners when they took a notion to do their best. ”

“ And, knowing Lanky as he did, Frank felt positive that this would not be the last of the affair.
“He’ll go to their camp and make trouble sooner or later,” Frank was saying to himself, as the three runners neared the outskirts of Columbia; “and I suppose it’s up to me to stick to a chum through thick and thin. Perhaps he’ll be cured if only he can see the kid and talk with the mother. However, I’ve got to back Lanky up, no matter what wild scheme he may hatch in that brain of his. Because he’s a good fellow, and one of the best chums I’ve ever had.” ”

“ Fact is, I explained in the start I only fetched this paper for you to see that what Bones said isn’t true. Right in these up-to-date times children do disappear once in a while. Yes, and I wouldn’t put it past a gypsy tribe to steal a little girl, and even dye her hair! Laugh, if you want to, Frank.”
“No, I’m not laughing, Lanky,” replied the other. “To tell the honest truth, somehow you’ve gone and got me worked up more than a little about this business. And since I promised to help you out, if I could, I’ll go along when you visit that gypsy camp. ”

“ At the same time, upon hearing those significant words uttered by the injured Columbia student, he and Lanky exchanged looks.
It seemed almost impossible that even a tricky fellow, such as Larry Parker appeared to be, could manipulate things so that he might throw a competitor out of the race in this remarkable way. And yet if it were really an accident, then Frank would be forced to believe that Parker must have been born under a lucky star indeed. ”

“ In another week the great athletic meet was to take place.
[132] “Well,” mused Lanky, as he prepared to go to bed in the small hours of Sunday morning, after returning the rig to the livery stable where it had been procured; “I hope something will turn up before the gypsies move away. I’d hate to spend all that coin for nothing; and never know whether I was a smart guesser, or just a simple fool, for thinking that baby girl could be the long-lost Effie Elverson. P’raps I’m due for another little streak of luck. They say it always hunts in threes. But, as Frank tells me, I mustn’t worry. ”