We heard Jethro and the Man With the Black Gloves dash up-stairs, and
they hadn't hit the top step before Mark and I began clearing away the
door so we could get out. It didn't take us long, you bet, and it didn't
take us long to open the outside door and get out into the yard.
"A-arbor," says Mark, and we made for that as tight as we could go.
Plunk and Tallow had quit hollerin' fire, and in a minute along they
plunged and came right in on top of us.
"Where's Rock?" says Mark. "See him?"
"No."
"We're s-safe," says he. "Let's see if we can't rescue the young Duke. I
guess he's goin' to need rescuin' perty quick."
"There's a light in his room," says I.
"Let him know we're here," says Mark, and I whanged a stone out of my
sling-shot right through the open window. Rock stuck his head out.
"I'm goin' to sneak over in the shadow," says I, "and tell him to come
down."
Off I went, not waiting for anybody to say anything, and got to the
house all right. There was plenty of bushes and things to hide behind,
and when I got there I called Rock, cautious.
"Yes," says he.
"Come and git rescued," says I.
"Mark and Binney got out safely?" says he.
"You bet," says I, but I didn't mention the papers we found behind the
white brick.
"I never could get past Jethro down the stairs," says he.
"Stairs," says I, "was made for folks to walk up and down on--not for
folks to escape on. What would be the fun of escapin' jest by walkin'
down a flight of steps? Any adventure in that? Why," says I, "Mark Tidd
would be disgusted if you escaped that way!"
"What'll I do, then?" says he.
"Jump," says I.
"I need all my arms and legs," says he.
Just then something dropped on me, and I heard Jethro growl like a bear
that he had me. He needn't 'a' told me; I knew it. Of course I did what
I could to get away, and threw myself back and squirmed and kicked and
thrashed. But he hung on. I was on the ground and he was leaning over
me. All at once I heard a thump and a big grunt out of Jethro, and he
let go of me and keeled over, making funny, snuffling noises, like his
wind was knocked out. Which it was, for Rock had seen what was going on,
and he'd hung by his hands from the window-sill and dropped kerslam
right onto the back of Jethro's neck.
He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me up.
"Run!" says he, and we ran. I rather guess we ran. Before Jethro got his
breath back we had a good start, and in the dark it was enough. He came
plunging and yelling after us, but we took to the shadows and dodged and
wriggled through the hedge and made up the road. He didn't have any more
chance to catch us than an angle-worm has to catch a rabbit.
When we knew we had him beaten good we stopped and hid alongside of the
road to wait for Tallow and Plunk and Mark. It was quite a while before
they came along, and then they didn't come by the road, but back through
the fields and wood-lots. I then whistled out a signal whistle. Mark
answered it, so I knew it was our fellows, and in a minute we got
together.
"N-now for home," says Mark. "I'll take Rock to the house. You f-fellers
keep quiet about everythin' that's happened. I'll give out to-morrow
that Rock's a f-friend come to visit me."
That's how it was. Mark stopped on his way home, late as it was, to
pound on Lawyer Jones's door. Lawyer Jones was pretty mad when he woke
up, and said some pretty descriptive things to Mark, but when Mark told
him what was up he quieted right down, and him and Mark went inside for
a few minutes. Then we all went home.
Next day Mark and Rock and I went to Lawyer Jones's and we all read that
paper. Rock's eyes nearly popped out of his head, but Mark says he knew
it all the while.
"Now, Lawyer Jones," says he, "it was the _Trumpet_ that f-found this
paper and got it. So the _Trumpet's_ entitled to something hain't it?"
"You bet," says Rock. "Whatever you want from we."
"All I want," says he, "is to have this kept quiet till after the paper
comes out d-day after to-morrow. That'll be the end of the contest, too,
and the dinners and everything. And we can print this whole thing, and
almost knock the eyes out of folks with what's been goin' on right under
their eyes, and them never knowin' it!"
"I guess," says Lawyer Jones, "that you're entitled to that much."
And so the mystery kept on being a mystery for a couple more days.
Mark got a lot of mail that day and spent most of the morning opening it
and studying it. He didn't let on what he was up to and we knew better
than to ask. Then he went out, and him and Tecumseh Androcles Spat
talked and talked and figured. After that Mark came in and wrote all the
afternoon, and then most of the evening, and as fast as he wrote
Tecumseh and the young man we'd got to help him set up in type what Mark
had written. Part of what he was doing was writing the story about Rock
and the mystery, but most of it wasn't that at all. It was something
quite different, as Mr. Spragg and the merchants that had gone into his
daily-paper scheme found out.
And still the subscriptions came in. It was running close. The Home
Culturers had four hunderd and thirty-four, and the Literary Circlers
had four hunderd and twenty-nine. Of course nobody knew how many votes
there were but just us fellows. That night the first dinner, the
Literary Girders' dinner, came off, and you'd better believe it was good
eating. Eat! Whee! I almost busted the band of my pants, and Mark! you
wouldn't believe what that fat kid mowed away. I was sure I'd never be
able to go to the dinner the next night and eat a bite. But I did. Of
course we all took quite a lot of exercise during the day, and didn't
eat much, to save space.
The Home Culturers' dinner looked to me like it was every bit as good as
the Literary Girders', but among other folks there was a lot of
argument. I don't know but there might have been a real squabble if
Constable Ginney hadn't been there with his star right outside of his
coat, warning folks to keep the peace. He scared 'em.
The last day was a tough one for all the women in the contest. They
worked like anything, both getting ready for the food show and hauling
in the last subscriptions that were to be had. We were busy, too, and as
the day moved along we began to get kind of worried. Goodness knows,
when we saw how things was coming we had reason enough to worry.
Mark went out to get the last items of news before we went to press, and
I went with him. We saw the afternoon train come in, and there got off
it Mr. Spragg, who grinned at us like the cat that ate the canary, and a
whopping big man that was tanned and dark as an Indian. He went to the
hotel, and Mark told me to go in and write what items I had while he
went to the hotel to see if there was anything there. He didn't come
back for quite a while, and I went out again. I passed the hotel and saw
him talking to the big man, both of them as earnest as if they was
planning to run off with the bank.
When Mark came back he looked all excited, and fidgeted around as if it
was hard for him to hold himself in. It was easy to see something had
happened.
"Well?" says I.
"If I was to t-t-tell you now," says he, "it would spile a m-mighty fine
s'prise for you," says he.
"Huh!" says I. "I'd rather suffer from a spoiled surprise," I says,
"than to be worn to the bone by curiosity."
"I'll take a chance," says he.
"You hain't takin' any chance," says I. "You _know_."
"You b-bet I do," says he, and that was all I could get out of him.
"How about Pekoe?" says I. "Is he goin' to be left out at the farm
forever?"
"Pekoe's comfortable," says he. "I guess he's about due to c-c-come to
town."
Subscriptions straggled in all the afternoon, one at a time. The way the
contest was turning out for us was great. We knew we'd have close to
fifteen hunderd paid-up yearly subscribers, and Mark says every
newspaper man in the world admits a country weekly can make good money
with that many.
"But Spragg's daily?" says I.
"He can't t-t-take our subscribers away from us for a year," says he.
"He kin git the advertisin' with his cooperative scheme, though," says
I.
"Maybe," says he, "and ag'in m-maybe not. I've been doin' a leetle
f-figgerin' for Spragg's benefit--and for our own, too. We got to quit
runnin' this paper perty soon and go back to school. Well?"
"Yes," says I, "what then?"
"Why," says he, "we got either to sell it or to hire an editor to run
it."
"That's right," says I.
"Well," says he, "it l-looks to me l-like it would be the best idee to
sell it."
"If we kin," says I.
"The f-fellers that's int'rested with Spragg has a meetin' to-morrow
n-night," says he. "I'd l-like to know what'll turn up."
"Spragg seems perty well pleased," says I.
"Spragg," says he, "would git along b-better if he done more thinkin'
and less t-talkin'."
"Where's Rock?" says I.
"Down to the hotel," says Mark, with a funny look in his eye. "I don't
calc'late we'll see Rock 'fore night."
"That's funny," says I.
"'Tain't so funny as you m-might think," says he.
Tallow was keeping count of subscriptions, and every little while he'd
come and tell us how many was in.
"Lit'ry Circlers is two ahead," says he, about four o'clock. The contest
was goin' to close at five, so it looked like the Circlers had it. But
in come Mrs. Bobbin with three more, and put the Culturers jest one
ahead. That was all till the clock was 'most ready to strike, when in
come Mrs. Strubber with one. One!
Mark and I looked at each other, and then we looked at Tallow and Plunk.
It was a tie. Them women had got four hunderd and forty-six
subscriptions for each club--and the fat was in the fire. Anything else
could have happened and made a little trouble, maybe, but to have this
thing end up in a tie was to bring on a regular war.
"Mark," says I, "I guess I got to go out of town for a couple of
days--over to Uncle Oscar's."
He grinned.
"We're up against it, Binney," says he, "but we got to stick it out."
"Let's give one of 'em an extry," says Tallow, "that'll fix the tie."
"No," says Mark. "This t-t-thing has been run fair, and it'll be
f-f-finished fair. We'll take what's comin' to us, and git out of it the
best we can. Anyhow," says he, beginning to shake all over, "it'll be
the f-funniest thing that ever happened in Wicksville."
"Yes," says I, "I'll bet we laugh like anythin' at it when our folks
come to the hospital to tell us about it. A tie," says I. "Think of the
row them women will make when they find out they're tied."
"I'm t-thinkin' about it," says Mark.