CON RILEY UNDER FIRE
The blizzard died down as suddenly as it began, and when the Hardy boys
and their chums left the cabin they found that the snow had ceased
falling and that the sun was shining brightly.
They found Jadbury Wilson's long sled tied to the outside of one of the
cabin walls. It had been unharmed, and it did not take the boys long
to place blankets upon it and make the old man comfortable. They had
to assist him out of the cabin, so greatly did his injuries pain him.
He had two pair of snowshoes, and Chet Morton and Jerry Gilroy donned
them, the Hardy boys being content to trudge along in the deep snow of
the lake.
In a short time they had left the cabin and were making their way
toward Willow River, pausing frequently to rest because the deep snow
soon wearied them. However, when they reached the river they found that
they made better progress because the stream was protected by high
wooded banks and the snow had not drifted as deeply as on the lake. But
it was mid-afternoon before they reached the road leading into Bayport.
From there on their progress was easy, and, dragging the sled with
Jadbury Wilson wrapped in his blankets, they at length reached the
Hardy home on High Street. Here they were all welcomed by Mrs. Hardy
and Aunt Gertrude, who had been frantic with anxiety concerning the
boys' whereabouts.
"We were going to send out a searching party for you!" exclaimed Mrs.
Hardy, as she kissed her sons and sent Chet and Jerry in to telephone
to their parents the news of their arrival.
"I knew they'd get lost. I told them so!" declared Aunt Gertrude
vigorously. But if she had a scolding in store for them she soon forgot
it in her immediate concern over Jadbury Wilson, whom Chet and Jerry
brought into the house.
When the Hardy boys explained the situation and told of their
adventures and the reason for their delay, Mrs. Hardy was insistent
that Jadbury Wilson should make his home with them until he could be on
his feet again.
"You'll certainly have to stay with us!" she said. "There's plenty of
room."
"I'm sure I'm most thankful to you, ma'am," said the old prospector
humbly.
As for Aunt Gertrude, she was already scurrying about the kitchen
making hot ginger for the new guest and when it was ready she stood
over Jadbury Wilson until he had drunk the last drop.
Then the boys put him to bed, and as the old man relaxed into the warm
blankets he sighed and remarked that it was the first time in five
years that he had experienced the comforts of a soft mattress.
Jerry and Chet hastened home, wondering a little what would be said to
them. But their people were so relieved at seeing them again that they
forbore to lecture the lads, and, all in all, they came through the
ordeal better than they had expected.
"Back to school to-morrow!" grumbled Joe, at supper that night.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" said Mrs. Hardy.
"Tell us what?"
"There won't be any school to-morrow."
"What?" shouted the boys incredulously.
"You should say, 'I beg your pardon?'" corrected Aunt Gertrude acidly.
Mrs. Hardy smiled.
"I thought you'd be surprised," she said. "And I suppose you'll be
almost heartbroken. No, there's to be no school to-morrow. Last
night's blizzard was one of the worst in the history of Bayport. The
wind was so strong that it wrecked the high school roof."
Joe gave a whoop of delight and danced around his chair.
"There's nothing to cheer about that I can see," sniffed Aunt Gertrude.
"They say the property damage was very bad and it will take about two
weeks before the roof is fixed."
The news proved too much for the Hardy boys. Like most youths of
their age, the unexpected prospect of a winter holiday filled them
with delight. Mrs. Hardy smiled at them indulgently, for she had not
forgotten her own schooldays.
Aunt Gertrude began laying down the law to the effect that the boys
must pursue their studies at home quite as ardently as though the
school had been undamaged, and on the following day she actually did
insist that they do two hours' studying before they got out in the
morning.
When the boys finally made their escape and raced to the nearest
hillside with their bobsleds they found most of the students of the
Bayport high school already there. Tony Prito, Phil Cohen, Biff Hooper,
Chet Morton and Jerry Gilroy were on hand, as well as many of the girls.
Callie Shaw, of whom Frank Hardy was an ardent admirer, and Iola
Morton, sister of Chet and the only girl who had ever won an approving
glance from Joe Hardy, were hilariously bobsledding and looking
unusually pretty in gaily colored sweaters and woollen toques, their
eyes sparkling and their cheeks flushed with the cold.
For half an hour or more the sliding continued, the boys having the
time of their lives, and then Nemesis appeared on the scene in the
person of Officer Con Riley.
Now, as old readers know, Riley was the sworn enemy of the youth
of Bayport. A stolid, thick-set individual with more dignity and
self-importance than brains, he took the responsibilities of his
position on the Bayport police force very seriously. He had the view,
too common to the type of elderly people who have forgotten that they
once were young, that all enjoyment is sinful and that all young people
are continually up to mischief.
So, when Con Riley saw the merry party on the hillside he recollected
an ancient and obsolete city ordinance forbidding bobsledding elsewhere
than in the parks. This ordinance had originally been passed to prevent
youngsters sliding down hills adjacent to the trolley tracks and
thereby endangering their lives. The fact that there were no trolley
tracks near this particular hill mattered nothing to Officer Riley.
Majestically he stood at the bottom of the hill and held up his hand.
Sled after sled pulled to a stop and Officer Riley, the personification
of the majesty of the law, ordered the fun to cease.
There was nothing to be done. Officer Riley had the authority, and he
knew it.
"Well," said Chet Morton grimly, "we'll just have to have our fun some
other way. Let's have a snowball fight."
Officer Riley looked dubious and produced a little notebook which he
perused earnestly. He knew Chet Morton and his mischievous proclivities
of old. But although he looked through the rules and regulations
hopefully he could find nothing to prohibit snowballing. However, he
withdrew to the street and paced slowly up and down in the faint hope
that perhaps a stray snowball might break a near-by window, in which
case he would have a delicious opportunity to interfere once more with
the sport.
Chet gathered his cohorts and talked earnestly for a few minutes.
Then, with many giggles, his followers set to work building two snow
forts directly opposite one another. The forts were merely rude snow
embankments, just sufficient to provide protection for the opposing
sides. Then the young people began rolling snowballs.
So far, so good. Officer Riley was unable to detect anything wrong in
this. Still, the fight had not started. There was still the hope of a
shattered window pane.
Majestically, he paced to and fro, keeping a wary eye on the snow forts
and the gaily clad figures behind the banks. Then, to his surprise, he
saw Chet Morton walking slowly toward him.
Officer Riley eyed Chet suspiciously. The fact did not escape him that
Chet had one hand behind his back.
"Aha!" he muttered. "A snowball."
He was right.
Hardly had the suspicion crossed his mind than it became a frigid
reality.
Chet seemed to aim at one of the forts. But his foot appeared to slip
and the snowball smacked Con Riley's helmet with deadly accuracy,
knocking it off into the snow.
Riley emitted a roar of rage and astonishment. Snow was trickling down
his neck. He stooped merely long enough to pick up his helmet and
thrust it back on his head, where it rested at a ridiculous and rather
precarious angle.
Then he gave chase to the rash youth who had thus tempted his wrath.
Chet went ploughing through the snow, directly in between the forts.
Con Riley plunged recklessly in pursuit. Even yet he did not suspect
the trick, did not suspect that Chet was merely luring him on to
destruction.
Not until a second snowball whizzed past his head, not until a third
smacked wetly against his ear, did he realize that he had plunged
neatly into a trap.
He floundered about in snow up to his knees, and from either side came
a volley of snowballs. They squashed against his helmet, knocking it
off again, they thumped against his uniform on every side. No matter
which way he turned, flying snowballs met him. And the boys took good
care to keep their faces out of sight.
"Stop it!" he roared.
But the merciless bombardment continued.
He made a frantic rush toward one of the forts, but the snow was too
deep to permit of rapid progress and the air seemed full of white
missiles. One snowball caught him in the eye and stopped his rush
momentarily. He wavered. More snowballs caught him in the rear. He
turned around and a concerted bombardment opened up from each fort.
Officer Riley decided that discretion was the better part of valor and
he ignominiously retreated.
As for Chet Morton, he was safely ensconced behind a particularly heavy
snowbank, laughing until the tears came to his eyes. When next he
peeped out he saw that Officer Riley, having retrieved his precious
helmet, was making great speed back toward the comparative safety of
the sidewalk. With the greatest dignity that he could command under the
circumstances, he brushed the snow off his uniform. Then, sadly, he
resumed his beat, and headed toward the downtown part of Bayport, where
citizens were more law-abiding and where snowballs were unknown.
The Hardy boys and their chums saw their enemy disappear around the
block, and then Chet rose to the top of the ramparts and gave a cheer
of victory.
"'We have met the enemy and they are ours!'" he quoted.
A snowball from the opposite fort struck him on the ear and he sat down
abruptly.
Then the fight began in earnest. It was not until Chet had personally
led his warriors out of their fortress and across the no man's
land between to win a glorious victory over the other army and
had personally washed the face of the marksman who had ruined his
triumphant cheers that peace was restored. Then, the forts having been
demolished, the bobsleds were pressed into service again, and the hill
rang with shouts and laughter until nightfall. For Officer Con Riley
made it his business to attend to duties downtown for the rest of the
day.