LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

the woods."

      "Poor fellow! Somebody ought to catch him and place him in a sanitarium," was Dave's comment.

      Various matters were talked over until the supper hour, and then the boys filed down to the dining-hall. Here our hero met more of his school chums, including Gus Plum, who had once been his enemy but who was now quite friendly, and little Chip Macklin, who in days gone by had been Plum's toady.

      "Very glad to see you back, Dave!" cried Gus. "And, say, you've certainly made a hero of yourself," he added, warmly.

      "It was great, what you and Roger and Phil did," added Chip, in deep admiration.

      Everybody was glad to see Dave back, and after supper it was all he could do to get away from many of his friends. But he managed it at last, and he, Roger, and Phil went upstairs, to put away their things and get out their schoolbooks.

      "We have got to study and that is all there is to it," said Dave, firmly. "Fun is one thing and getting ready to graduate is another. We have got to get down to the grind, boys."

      "That's right," answered the senator's son.

      "But don't forget what old Haskers said," grumbled Phil. "He'll make us sweat, just you wait and see!"

      "'Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof,'" quoted Dave. "I think we can get through if we buckle down hard."

      "Supposing Mr. Dale and the other teachers pin us down as old Haskers did?" demanded Phil.

      "They won't do it," declared our hero. "Take my word for it, Mr. Dale will give us a month, if we want it. I know him. And the others will do the same."

      "Well, maybe we can get through, if that's the case," said the shipowner's son, slowly. "Just the same, I think old Haskers the meanest man alive."

      The following morning, after a good night's rest, the boys went to their various classes. As Dave had predicted, Mr. Dale, the head teacher, treated them with all possible consideration, for he loved boys and understood them thoroughly. The other teachers were likewise very lenient.

      "Old Haskers is the one stumbling-block," said Roger. "Dave, maybe we had better see Doctor Clay about him."

      "Not much!" cried Phil. "We've got a club we can use on Haskers. Why not use it?"

      "You mean, go to him and tell him we know about that Mrs. Breen affair, and that we will expose him if he doesn't let up on us, Phil?" said Dave.

      "Yes."

      "Do you think that is a--well, a gentlemanly thing to do?"

      "It's what old Haskers would do, if he was in our place."

      "Perhaps. But I'd rather not do it. Let my uncle's lawyer try to collect that money without our appearing in the case. We have had trouble enough in the past with Haskers. Let us buckle in and study up. I am sure we can get through," added Dave, earnestly.

      "All right," growled Phil; but his manner showed that he was not satisfied.

      Two days went by, and the boys settled down to the regular routine of the school. The lessons to be made up were exceedingly hard, and Dave found he had to study almost constantly to do what was required of him.

      "But I am going to make it!" he murmured, setting his teeth hard. "I am not going to disappoint the folks at home."

      One afternoon the three chums had a very hard lesson in Latin to do. It was a clear, sunshiny day and they had one of the windows wide open to let in the fresh air. Dave and Roger were bending over their books when they heard a sudden exclamation from Phil.

      "I'll be hanged if I'm going to do it!"

      And then of a sudden a Latin book was hurled across the room, to land on a bureau, just missing the glass.

      "Hello!" cried Dave, raising his head. "What's wrong now?"

      "I'm not going to do it!" cried Phil, stretching himself. "It's an outrage and I won't submit to it."

      "You mean this boning away for Haskers?" queried Roger.

      "Just that," answered the shipowner's son. "Why can't he treat us as fairly as the other teachers did? It wouldn't hurt him a bit to give us more time."

      "Phil, what's the use of talking it over again?" asked Dave. "I thought we had settled it once for all."

      "No, I won't stand it, I tell you," cried Phil, stubbornly. "He can't make a pack-mule of me."

      "Well, then, speak to the doctor about it," advised Roger.

      "I don't have to speak to the doctor," stormed Phil; and walking over to a rack, he caught up his cap and marched from the room.

      "He is certainly in a bad humor," was Dave's comment. "I am afraid he'll put his foot into it, Roger."

      "So am I. He's been aching to get back at old Haskers ever since he put all this studying up to us."

      "Do you know, Ben is just as angry at Haskers as Phil is?" went on our hero, after a pause, during which both had hoped that their close chum would return. But Phil had stalked down the stairs and out of the building.

      "Ben?"

      "Yes, so he told me this noon."

      "What about?"

      "Oh, Ben talked in class and old Haskers penalized him heavily--gave him a lot of extra Latin to do. It nearly broke Ben up."

      "You told Ben about that Breen affair, didn't you?"

      "Yes."

      "Maybe he and Phil will both go to Haskers about it."

      "I hope not, Roger. I don't think it is just the right thing to do--to use that as a club over Haskers to get him to let us off. I don't like that kind of dealing."

      "Neither do I. But it's just what such a mean-spirited fellow as Haskers deserves. He has never treated us squarely since we came here. I think this school would be a good deal better off without him, even if he is well educated."

      Dave heaved a deep sigh. He was on the point of replying, but changed his mind. He took up his book again, and soon was trying his best to study. Roger followed his example.

      But both boys made slow progress. Each was thinking about Phil. What would be the outcome of their headstrong chum's actions?

      CHAPTER VII

      PHIL AND BEN MAKE A MOVE So far Dave and Nat Poole had not met face to face. Our hero had seen the money-lender's son a number of times, but Nat had always been with some of his cronies and had, apparently, not taken any notice.

      But on the morning following the conversation just recorded, the pair came face to face in one of the narrow hallways.

      "Good-morning, Nat," said Dave, pleasantly.

      "Morning," grumbled the other student. He was about to pass Dave, but suddenly changed his mind. "So you got back, eh?"

      "Yes, I've been back several days."

      "I heard that Link Merwell got away from you?"

      "That is true."

      "Humph! If I had the chance to nab him that you had, I'd not let him get away."

      "We held Jasniff."

      "Maybe you let Merwell go on purpose," continued the money-lender's son, shrewdly.

      "Not at all, Nat. He gave us the slip, clean and clear."

      "Humph!" Nat paused for a moment. "I got word from my dad that you

Скачать книгу