HELD BY THE BLIZZARD
"Snowbound!" The cry came from several of the party.
"Yes, snowbound, if this heavy fall continues," answered Dave. "Just
see how the chunks of snow are coming down, and how the wind is
driving them along."
It was certainly an interesting sight, and all the young people
watched it for some time before they took off their wraps and prepared
to sit down to the meal, which had been ordered over the telephone
before leaving Crumville.
"My, just listen to the wind!" was Phil's comment. "You'd think it was
a regular nor'-wester."
"If it keeps on it certainly will be a blizzard," put in Roger. "In
one way we can be glad we are under shelter, even though we are a good
many miles from home."
"Yes. And snow or no snow, I move that we sit down to dinner,"
continued Phil. "We can't go back while it is snowing and blowing like
this, so we might as well make the best of our stay here."
After having ordered a meal for the colored man, which was served in
another part of the hotel, Dave joined his friends in the restaurant.
A special table had been placed in a cozy corner, and that was
decorated with a large bouquet of hothouse flowers, with a smaller
bouquet at each plate.
"Oh, how lovely!" burst out Jessie, when she saw the flowers.
"You folks in the East certainly know how to spread yourselves," was
Cora Dartmore's comment. "Just look at those beautiful flowers and
then at the fierce snowstorm outside."
"Oh, let us forget the storm!" cried Laura. "It will be time enough to
think about that when we have to start for home."
"That's the truth!" answered her brother, gaily. "Everybody fall to
and do as much damage to the bill-of-fare as possible;" and this
remark caused a general smile.
Then the first course was served and soon all of the party were eating
and chatting with the greatest of satisfaction.
In the meanwhile, the blizzard--for such it really was--continued to
increase in violence. The wind tore along through the woods and down
the streets of the town, bringing with it first the heavy chunks of
snow and then some hard particles not unlike salt in appearance. The
fine snow seemed to creep in everywhere, and, driven by the wind,
formed drifts which kept increasing in size steadily.
After the first course of raw oysters, came some cream of celery soup
with relishes, and then some roast turkey with cranberry sauce and
vegetables. After that the young folks had various kinds of dessert
with hot chocolate, and then nuts with raisins.
"What a grand dinner!" remarked Belle, when they were finishing.
"Dave, you certainly know how to order the good things."
"Oh, I had Roger and Phil to help me on that," returned our hero.
"Trust them to order up the good things to eat."
"And trust Dave to help us get away with them," sang out the senator's
son, gaily.
"There is only one time when those fellows can't eat," retorted Dave.
"That is when they are asleep."
At a small table not far away from where the young people were seated,
sat an elderly man and a lady.
"There is Doctor Renwick and his wife," said Laura, when the meal was
finished. "They must have been sleighing, too. I am going to speak to
them." For Dr. Renwick came from Crumville, and had often attended
the Porter family, as well as the Wadsworths.
"We are staying here for a few days," said Mrs. Renwick to Dave's
sister, after they had shaken hands. "You see, the proprietor of this
hotel and restaurant is my cousin."
"Oh, I didn't know that," said Laura. "They certainly have a very nice
place here, and the dinner we had was just too lovely for anything."
"Are you folks calculating to drive back to Crumville now?" questioned
Dr. Renwick.
"That was our expectation," replied Dave, who had followed his sister;
"but it looks pretty fierce outside, doesn't it?"
"I should say so, Porter. Just listen to that wind, and see how it is
driving the snow! I shouldn't like to face it for any great
distance."
The others came up, and all the strangers were introduced to the
doctor and his wife, and then the entire party left the restaurant and
entered the parlor of the hotel, from the windows of which they could
watch the storm.
"It certainly is fierce!" remarked Phil, as they gazed at the furious
onslaught of the elements.
The wind was blowing as hard as ever, rattling the windows and sending
the snow against the panes as if it were so much hail. It was
impossible to see across the street, and, although Lamont boasted of
a limited electric light service, all the lights upon the street
corners were out.
"This storm is going to break down a lot of the wires," announced
Roger.
"What do you think about our trying to get back to Crumville?"
questioned Dave.
"To tell the truth, Dave, I don't see how we are going to make it. You
don't want to face that wind, do you? And going back we'd have to head
into it nearly all the way."
"I think I'll go outside and have a talk with the driver," answered
our hero, and went out accompanied by Roger and Ben.
"I'd like to get home on account of my father's being sick," announced
the real estate dealer's son. "Otherwise I would just as lief stay
here until to-morrow."
"That's all right enough for us boys," put in Roger, "but how about
the girls?"
"We can leave them in Mrs. Renwick's care if we have to," announced
Dave. "Laura and Jessie know her very well, and I am sure she'll be
only too glad to play the chaperon. She's a very nice lady, and the
doctor is a very fine man."
They found that Washington Bones had had his supper and had returned
to the stable to feed his horses. When they questioned the colored man
about getting back to Crumville he shrugged his shoulders and shook
his head.
"Might try it if you say so," he said; "but it ain't gwine to be no
easy job, boss, and we may git stuck somewheres so as you cain't git
to not even a house. Then we might all be froze to death."
"What do you think it is, Wash, a blizzard?" questioned Roger.
"Dat's jest what dis is, boss. And my opinion is it's gwine to be a
heap sight wo'se before it gits bettah," added the driver.
"I guess you're right there," answered Dave. "And that's one reason I
think we ought to try to get back to Crumville. But just the same, I'd
hate to get stuck somewhere along the road, as he says. We boys might
be able to get out of it along with Wash, but we couldn't expect the
girls to do any tramping in such deep snow and in such a wind."
There was an old-fashioned covered walk from the hotel to the stables,
so that the boys in going from one place to the other had not had to
expose themselves to the elements. Now, to get an idea of how bad the
storm was, Dave walked out as far as the street, followed by his
chums.
"Great C├Žsar's ghost!" puffed the senator's son, as they stood where
they could get the full benefit of the storm. "This is frightful,
Dave! Why, it would be nothing short of suicide to try to go
anywhere!"
"I--I--guess we h-had better g-go in and telephone that we c-c-can't
come!" panted Ben; and then lost no time in returning to the stable,
followed by the others.
They had been outside less than five minutes, yet the fury of the
blizzard had nearly taken their breath away.
"We won't attempt it, Wash; so you can make arrangements to stay here
to-night," announced Dave. He turned to his chums. "Come on back to
the hotel, and we will do what telephoning is necessary."
They returned to the parlor, and there the situation was explained to
the girls and to Dr. Renwick and his wife.
"Oh, you mustn't think of trying to get back to-night!" cried the
doctor's wife, quickly. "There are plenty of vacant rooms here, and
I'll see to it that my cousin gives you good accommodations."
"And will you look after the young ladies, Mrs. Renwick?" questioned
Dave.
"I certainly will, Dave," she answered graciously. "Don't let that
worry you in the least. I'll be glad to take charge of such a nice
family," and she smiled sweetly at all the girls.
"We are going to telephone to Crumville and let the folks know how
matters stand," announced Ben; and then he and Dave hurried to where
there was a telephone booth.
Here, however, they met with no success so far as getting into
communication with their folks at Crumville was concerned. It took a
long time to get Central, and then it was announced that the storm had
taken down all the wires running to Crumville and beyond. One wire
that was down was still connected, but, try their best, neither of the
boys was able to understand anything of what was said over it. Then
this line snapped; and that ended all efforts to send any messages.
"I wish they knew we were safe," said Dave. "Now that they don't know
it they may worry, thinking we are snowed in somewhere along the
road."
"Well, we've got to make the best of it," answered Ben. "I did hope to
speak to mother, to ask her how father was, and to let her know that
we were all right."
"It looks to me, Ben, as if this blizzard might last for several days
or a week."
"So it does. But sometimes these storms clear away almost as rapidly
as they come."
The two youths returned to the others and announced the failure of
their effort to get into communication with Crumville. This was
disheartening to Laura and Jessie, but as it could not be helped the
girls said they would make the best of it. Then Laura and Dave went
off with the doctor and his wife, to obtain accommodations for the
whole party.
It was learned that Dr. Renwick had a fine apartment on the second
floor, and that there were two rooms adjoining which were vacant.
These were turned over to the four girls. The boys were accommodated
with two rooms on the floor above.
"Not quite as good as they might be," observed Dave, when he and his
chums inspected their rooms, which were directly under the roof of the
country hotel. "But they are much better than nothing, and, as the
sailors say, 'any port in a storm.'"
"Oh, this is plenty good enough," returned Phil. "But I am glad the
girls are on the floor below. Those rooms are much better than
these."
As the boys had no baggage, there was nothing for them to arrange in
the rooms which had been assigned to them, so after a hasty look
around they started to go downstairs again, to rejoin the girls in the
parlor. As the boys passed the room next to the one which Dave and Ben
had elected to occupy, the door of the apartment was opened on a
crack. Then, as the youths left the corridor to descend the stairs,
the door was opened a little wider, and a young man peered out
cautiously.
"Well, what do you know about that!" muttered the young man to
himself, after the four chums had disappeared. "Right here at this
hotel, and going to occupy the room next to the one I've got! Could
you beat it?"
The young man was Ward Porton.