UNDESIRABLE VISITORS
"Wake up, Fred! There is somebody at the door trying to get in!" called
out Jack, as the cry from outside was repeated.
"What's that? What's the matter?" came sleepily from the other Rover
boy.
From outside came a feeble kicking and pounding on the main door to the
Lodge. Two boys were calling piteously for assistance.
"Get up, everybody!" sang out Jack, as he jumped up and stuck his feet
into a pair of slippers which were handy.
His call and the noise from outside aroused Gif and Spouter, as well as
Fred, and soon the four cadets were hurrying into the living room. They
wore nothing but their pajamas, and slippers, but now each slipped
hastily into his overcoat.
"Who is it?" demanded Gif, for he had no desire to have the Lodge
overrun by a crowd of noisy and possibly half-drunken lumberjacks.
"It's us--Bill Glutts and Gabe Werner," was the faint reply. "Please
leave us in before we are frozen to death."
"Werner and Glutts!" ejaculated Fred. And now the continued noise
brought Andy and Randy on the scene.
"What can they be doing out here this time of night?" demanded Fred.
"Say, let us in, won't you?" came pleadingly in Gabe Werner's voice.
"You don't want to let us freeze to death, do you?"
"What brought you here this time of night?" demanded Jack.
"We're on our way to Tony Duval's place," answered Gabe Werner. "But the
storm is so fierce we couldn't get any further. Our horse is completely
winded."
"You are sure you are alone?" demanded Gif.
"Yes, yes! Please let us in. My nose and ears are frozen."
"And I don't know whether I've got any feet left or not," broke in Bill
Glutts piteously.
The main door to the bungalow had not only been locked, but also barred.
Now the door was unfastened, and Gif, with the others beside him,
allowed the portal to swing open a few inches.
A terrible scene met their eyes. The snow was piled up against the door
to the depth of two feet or more, and the wind was swirling the white
particles in all directions, so that the snow came into the living room
in a perfect cloud. In this mass of white stood Bill Glutts and Gabe
Werner, their heavy clothing covered with a ghost-like mantle. Behind
them was a one-seated sleigh drawn by a horse that looked ready to drop
from exhaustion.
"Come in," said Gif briefly.
No such invitation was needed, for as soon as the door was opened wide
enough Bill Glutts staggered into the living room, followed by his
crony. A swirl of snow followed them, and continued until Gif and Jack
managed to close the door once more.
"Gee! I'm all in," gasped Glutts, as he sank down on a chair close to
the smouldering fire.
"I thought we'd drop before we got you fellows up," added Werner. "You
sure are some sleepers," he grumbled, as he too sank down on a seat.
Ordinarily the Rovers and their chums would have treated these two
bullies with scant courtesy. But now Glutts and Werner appeared to be
suffering so much from the cold that they had not the heart to find
fault with their enemies.
"I'll stir up that fire a little," said Gif, and did so while Andy and
Randy went out into the entryway, to bring in some additional sticks of
wood.
"We can't leave that horse out there," remarked Jack. "He'll be frozen
to death."
"Well, I'm not going out to take care of him," declared Gabe Werner
quickly. "I wouldn't go out in that storm again for a thousand dollars."
"Neither would I," growled Glutts. "The nag can look after himself."
"That's a shameful way to treat any animal, Glutts," declared Gif. "But
as you fellows seem to be so exhausted, we'll look after him," he
continued.
"If you go out, Gif, I'll go with you," said Jack quickly. "But we had
better slip some of our clothing right over our pajamas. I'll bet it's
as cold as Greenland's icy mountains around that stable."
While the newcomers continued to make themselves comfortable before the
fire, and Spouter and Fred prepared a pot of hot tea for them to drink,
Gif and Jack hurried into their clothing and then went outside.
The blast that struck them as they hurried toward the exhausted horse
was terrific, and for the moment they thought they would have to turn
back and abandon the animal. But then they took another grip on
themselves, and finally managed to turn the horse in the direction of
the stable.
They saw that the sleigh was filled with provisions and other things,
and so managed to haul it under the shed where it would be partly
protected. Then they placed the horse in the stable, gave him a drink,
and likewise left some hay for him to chew on.
"We may not be able to get here in the morning," said Gif; "so we'll
leave him some supper and some breakfast at the same time."
"I don't much like the idea of Glutts and Werner loading down on us in
this fashion," remarked Jack, as the pair prepared to go back to the
Lodge.
"Like it!" exclaimed his chum. "I should say not! But what are we going
to do about it, Jack?"
"Oh, we'll have to make the best of it."
"If this storm keeps up we may have those fellows on our hands for some
days."
"Well, if they stay here that long they can pay their own way," declared
Jack. "They have some provisions in that sleigh, and there is no reason
why we should feed them for nothing. If we divide up our stuff they can
divide up theirs."
"It wouldn't be any more than fair."
"Where is this Tony Duval's place they mentioned?" continued the oldest
Rover boy.
"It's about two miles from here, off to the eastward--in fact, the road
on which this Lodge is located ends at Duval's place. He is a
French-Canadian, and he hasn't a very good reputation in these parts.
Some of the old hunters used to think Tony was a good deal of a
thief--that he would go around in the night or early morning and empty
their traps. He came from down east."
"What do you suppose Werner and Glutts are going to do there?"
"Of late years Duval has made a specialty of hiring out his place to
hunters. There are two or three shacks on his land, and he lets the
various crowds have those buildings, and then, if the hunters want it,
he cooks for them, for he is said to be quite a handy man with a
coffeepot and a frying pan. More than likely, from what you heard at the
moving picture theater, Gabe Werner has a chance to use one of those
shacks and has got Glutts to go with him."
"I wonder why Codfish isn't with them--he was at that restaurant in
Timminsport."
"I'm sure I don't know, except that Codfish may have got cold feet when
it came to traveling up this way in such a snowstorm. You know there is
nothing brave about that little sneak." And in this surmise Gif was
correct. Stowell had found a boarding place in the town and had said he
would remain there until the storm cleared away and the others returned
to get him.
In the meantime Glutts and Werner were seated at the living-room table
drinking the hot tea which had been prepared and eating some doughnuts
which Fred and Andy had offered. The bullies had become thawed out, and
their usual aggressiveness was beginning to assert itself.
"Of course we could have kept on until we got up to Tony's place; but
what was the use on such a wild night as this when we knew this place
was handy?" remarked Werner.
"I'm afraid you're going to be snowed in with us," said Spouter.
"Huh! I don't know as that will be very pleasant," grumbled Glutts.
"Have you fellows got enough for all hands to eat?" he demanded eagerly.
"We've got some provisions," answered Fred cautiously. "We shot nine
rabbits to-day," he added proudly.
"Nine rabbits!" exclaimed Werner. "How did you do it?"
"They must have driven the poor rabbits together in a bunch and then
slaughtered them," was Glutts' comment.
"We did not!" cried Fred.
"I'm sure we'll get all the rabbits we want when we reach Tony Duval's
place," continued Werner boastfully. "I believe hunting up there is much
better than it is around here."
"And they tell me Tony is one of the best guides in these parts," added
Glutts. "We expect to get a deer or two and a whole lot of other game."
"Say, have you fellows got a place where we can sleep?" questioned the
other bully, looking around the living room.
"There is a bedroom here that is not being used," answered Spouter. "But
you'll have to ask Gif about that. This bungalow, you know, belongs to
Mr. Garrison and his brother."
When Gif and Jack returned the situation was explained to them, and Gif
said that for the balance of the night the two newcomers could occupy
the bedroom which was not in use.
"And then we'll see what can be done to-morrow morning," he added.
"Of course we'll pay for our accommodations," said Werner, in his most
lordly manner.
"We don't want any pay, Werner," declared Gif. "But if you have to stay
here very long you'll have to divide your stores with us. It is quite a
task to get new stuff all the way from Timminsport; so if you've got
anything in the sleigh outside it won't be any more than fair for you to
divide with us."
"What did you do with the sleigh and the stuff?"
"We placed it under the shed next to the stable and covered your stuff
with a horse blanket. The snow is sifting in there some, but I don't
think anything will get hurt; unless, of course, you've got some stuff
that might freeze."
"Let it freeze," grumbled Glutts. "I'm not going out again, now I'm
comfortable here."
As there was no love lost between the newcomers and our friends, the
conversation languished after this. Gif showed Glutts and Werner where
they might sleep in the bedroom which had not been occupied, and gave
them the necessary bedding and some extra blankets. Then the pair shoved
off without even saying good-night and closed the door behind them.
"Real loving and thankful--I don't think," whispered Randy.
"I don't see why those fellows were wished on us," growled his twin.
"I'd just as lief have a skunk in the place as to have either of that
pair."
"Well, we couldn't leave them out in the storm to perish," answered
Jack, in a low tone; "so we'll have to make the best of it."
"Just the same," whispered Fred, "I'm going to keep my eyes and ears
wide open while they are here."