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[Illustration: "_I shall tell you nothing_," _said Jack finally_.]
THE HILLTOP BOYS
A STORY OF SCHOOL LIFE
BY
CYRIL BURLEIGH
[Illustration]
THE GOLDSMITH PUBLISHING CO.
CLEVELAND
MADE IN U. S. A.
COPYRIGHT 1917
PRESS OF
THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO.
CLEVELAND
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE BEGINNING OF THE TERM 13
II A HITCH IN JACK'S WELCOME 21
III SOME OF THE BOYS AND THEIR WAYS 29
IV ANOTHER ATTEMPTED HAZING 36
V THE HAZERS ARE HAZED 45
VI BILLY'S LITTLE JOKE 54
VII A TOUCH OF EXCITEMENT 63
VIII WHAT JACK FOUND IN THE RAVINE 71
IX ANOTHER OF JACK'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS 79
X AN INTERVIEW IN THE WOODS 88
XI A BIT OF SIGNAL WORK 94
XII THE TROUBLES OF AN EDITOR 102
XIII TRYING TO FIX THE BLAME 111
XIV "SUSPICION IS NOT PROOF" 117
XV FUN AND EXCITEMENT 125
XVI AN ANONYMOUS ACCUSATION 132
XVII THE MATTER SETTLED 138
XVIII AN EXPLORING TRIP THROUGH THE WOODS 144
XIX MORE THAN ONE WAY OUT 153
XX WHAT BILLY'S CAMERA REVEALED 160
XXI A PUZZLING AFFAIR 169
XXII LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT 175
XXIII ON THE WAY HOME 181
XXIV HOW IT ALL CAME OUT 185
THE HILLTOP BOYS
CHAPTER I
THE BEGINNING OF THE TERM
"I say, Art, let's take a run down to the train. There will be sure to
be some of the old fellows on it and perhaps some new ones."
"Yes, for I heard the doctor tell Buck to have the coach and horses
ready, as he expected several of the young gentlemen to come on the
afternoon train. Why can't we go down with Buck instead of going alone?"
"Because Mr. Bucephalus, called Buck for short, objects to doing any
more work than he is obliged to. We can ride back with him. That is
vastly preferable to pedaling up the hill."
"So it is, Harry, but I don't mind coasting down. Come on, there is the
train now, just leaving the station below."
Two bright looking boys of about fifteen, dressed in a half-military
fashion, stood on a terrace in front of a rambling, two-story building
overlooking the surrounding country, the Hudson River being seen in the
distance at the foot of a mountain of considerable height, everything
being most distinct in the clear Autumn air, the steamboats on the
river, the roof of the little railroad station and the puff of smoke
from the engine as it pulled out being seen very clearly.
The rambling, two-story building on the top of the hill was the Academy
and the boys were two of the pupils who were here a little in advance of
the rest to begin the new term, were, in fact, some of the Hilltop Boys
as they were called by the people of the town on the river where the
train on the branch road was now going at a fair speed, the incline
increasing with the distance from the station.
Arthur Warren and Harry Dickson hurried off to the stables where the
wheels of the boys were kept, selected their own, mounted quickly and
set out along the Academy drive to the road leading to the station, this
being a mile or more distant, although in a straight line it was much
less.
From the river to the station nearest the Academy it was five miles, but
on account of the grade and the numerous stops the two boys had plenty
of time to reach the railroad before the train which they had seen
leaving the river station could arrive.
"Did the Doctor say who was coming, Art?" asked Harry, as they reached
the road, set their brakes and started down the hill. "Dick Percival
generally comes at this time."
"Yes, I believe the black fellow said he expected Master Dick. He
always likes to fetch Dick up and will go for him at any time, day or
night."
"To be sure, for Dick always gives him a tip."
The hill down which the two boys were now gliding at a good rate was
quite steep, there being a decided drop a few rods in advance and a
number of sharp turns, the rounding of which required considerable
dexterity and the coolest of heads.
They were two-thirds of the way down and had reached the steepest part
of the hill when, in rounding a particularly sharp turn where they had
to keep all their wits about them, they saw just ahead of them, in the
middle of the road, a boy carrying a suitcase.
"Hi! get out of the road!" roared Harry, taking a tighter grip on his
handle bars and apprehending trouble.
"Look out!" cried Arthur in shrill tones.
The boy in the middle of the road, not more than fifty feet distant at
this moment, stood perfectly still and cried in a clear voice, sure to
be heard above everything else:
"Swerve a bit to the side, both of you and there will be room enough."
Simultaneously, he made a quick signal to the right and to the left.
Arthur steered a little to the right while Harry went to the left, both
whizzing past the boy in the middle of the road who held his suitcase in
front of him and stood perfectly still.
Neither of the boys even grazed him but there was little room to spare
and the wind of the two wheels caused his coat to flutter violently and
almost took off his soft hat.
In a moment more both boys were speeding down the hill at a tremendous
gait and in another were out of sight around another and less sharp
turn.
"My word! but that was a close shave!" ejaculated Harry, with a sigh and
a feeling of intense relief. "I made sure that we were going to get
spilled, the three of us."
"Some cool head that!" returned Arthur. "Lots of fellows would have gone
all to pieces. I came pretty near doing it myself."
"He knew just what to do and when to do it," Harry went on. "Only for
that there would have been a bad mix-up."
"Well, there wasn't!" grunted Arthur, "so don't say any more about it.
It gives me the creeps to think of it. That fellow has some nerve.
Wonder what he was doing on our road? You can't get anywhere except to
Hilltop Academy that way. If he's a new student why didn't he come with
Bucephalus and the coach?"
"Can't tell you. Maybe he didn't know anything about it."
The boys reached the bottom of the hill without further incident and
went on to the little railroad station, hearing the sound of the
expected train as they dismounted and stacked their wheels.
The colored coachman of the Academy, who bore the high-sounding name of
Bucephalus, but who was almost always called Buck by the boys and by the
people of the town at the foot of the hill, sat on his box as if carved
out of black marble and neither looked to the right nor the left,
considering it beneath his dignity to converse with any one in the
village while on duty and seeming to see no one.
"Did you meet a young fellow going up the hill as you were coming down,
Buck?" asked Harry, stepping alongside the big coach. "A new fellow, do
you think, Bucephalus?"
"Ah dunno, sah, Ah done paid no attention to anybody Ah met on de road,
sah. Ah done had 'nuff to do to look aftah mah hosses witho't
catechisin' or scrutinizin' strangers, sah."
The whistle of the train was heard again at that moment and in a short
time it arrived and many of the passengers alighted, among them being
two or three boys who were warmly welcomed by the two students.
"Hello, Dick, back again, eh? Glad of it. How are you, Billy, how do,
Tom? Ready for work, of course?"
"And incidentally, a bit of fun," replied one of the newcomers. "Hope we
will have a good crowd this term. Any new ones to put through their
paces and make toe the mark?"
The boys chatted and laughed at a lively rate while their trunks and
valises were being put on top and behind the coach and then all got
inside, Bucephalus objecting when Harry and Arthur put their wheels on
the rear rack and took their seats with the others.
"Yo' young ge'men am discommodin' de reg'lah passengers an' taking up
mo' room dan Ah speckerlated on," he muttered. "Whyn't yo' go back de
same way yo' come?"
"Walk and wheel our bikes?" cried Harry. "Not much. There's room for all
of us and I want to talk with Dick."
"That's all right, Buck," said Dick Percival, one of the newcomers, a
handsome boy of sixteen, strong, well built and sturdy, slyly passing
something to the coachman. "Come up on the box, Harry. I have a lot to
tell you. Come on, there's lots of room."
The two boys sat on the box alongside the coachman who set off up the
hill for the Academy and Dick at once began to tell of an adventure
which had happened to him during the vacation.
"I was taking a hike up in the fruit country," he began, "and in making
my way across lots lost my bearings and came out in a peach orchard
where I could not see the road nor a house nor anything. Two
rough-looking fellows, fruit pickers, and they are not the best men to
meet even if they are sober, and these were not, came up and looked
rather hostile and threatening. I had considerable money with me and
although I could have met either one of the men singly, did not feel
like engaging both of them. It was either a case of run or be
outmatched, and I was puzzled what to do."
"What did you do?" asked Harry, interested. "They must have been pretty
husky fellows for you to decline meeting them."
"A young fellow in overalls and a rough shirt who was picking peaches in
a tree, I had not seen him at first, suddenly appeared and ordered the
men to get to work and then the boss happened up and sent them away. The
boy went back to his picking and the man gave me directions how to reach
the road. I suppose the boy was a picker just like the rest but at any
rate he had some idea of fairness. He spoke well and I was astonished to
see him with the rest but you can't always tell."
"Art and I had a close call this afternoon," said Harry. "We were coming
down the Academy hill on our bikes when, at one of the worst places in
it, we came upon a young fellow. It looked as if we would run him down
but he stood stock still and with all the nerve in the world, whisked
his arm first to the right and then to the left as a signal to us. We
just flew past but did not hit him and it was a mercy we didn't. Only
for his coolness there would have been a bad upset for the lot of us."
"It was very fortunate that there wasn't. Did you know him?"
"No, never saw him before."
"What was he doing on the Academy hill?"
"I'm sure I don't know. That's what bothered Art and me."
The coach went on up the hill and at last stopped in front of the
Academy and the boys began to alight.
Dr. Theophilus Wise, the principal, was standing on the front veranda
with a good-looking boy in a brown suit and soft hat.
"This is a new pupil, young gentlemen," said the doctor, coming forward
with the strange boy. "Let me make you acquainted with John Sheldon. I
trust that you will make him at home."
"Why, that's the boy that Art and I met on the road," whispered Harry to
his companion as they were descending.
"It is? Why, that is the first picker I was telling you of."
"Oh!" said Harry in a tone of disappointment.