A CLOSE SHAVE
"I never thought of that, Bessie! Do you suppose he'd really go after
the girls and look for us there?"
"You could hear how mad he was, Zara. I think he'd do anything he could
to get even with you for running away like that. It made him look
foolish before all those men and it'll be a long time before folks let
him forget how he was fooled by a girl."
"What are we going to do?"
"I'm trying to think. If I could get word to Miss Eleanor, she'd know
what to tell us, I'm sure. I'm afraid she'll be wondering what's become
of me--and maybe she'll think I just ran away, and think I was wrong to
do it."
"But she'll understand when you tell her about it, Bessie, and if you
hadn't come I never would have got away by myself. I'd have been afraid
even to try, if there'd been a chance."
"The worst part of it is that if Farmer Weeks really has any right to
keep you, or if you were wrong to run away, it might get Miss Eleanor
into trouble if they could find out that she's been helping you to get
away."
They were walking along the road, but now Bessie, who had forgotten the
need of caution in her consternation at the thought of the new plight
they faced, pulled Zara after her into the bushes beside the highway.
"I heard wheels behind us," she explained. "We mustn't take any
chances."
They stopped to let the wagon they had heard pass by, but as it came
along Bessie cried out suddenly.
"That's Paw Hoover!" she said. "And I'm going to speak to him, and ask
him what he thinks we ought to do. I'm sure he'll give us good advice,
and that he's friendly to us."
She hailed him, and the old farmer, mightily surprised at the sound of
her voice, pulled up his horses.
"Whoa!" he shouted. "Well, Bessie! Turning up again like a bad penny.
What's the matter now?"
Breathlessly Bessie told him what had happened, and of Zara's escape
from Farmer Weeks, while Zara interrupted constantly to supply some
detail her chum had forgotten.
"Well, by gravy, I dunno what to say!" said Paw Hoover, scratching his
head and looking at them with puzzled eyes. "I don't like Silas
Weeks--never did! I'd hate to have a girl of mine bound over to
him--that I would! But these lawyers beat me! I ain't never had no truck
with them."
"Will the law make Zara go to him, Paw?" asked Bessie.
"I dunno, Bessie--I declare I dunno!" he answered, slowly. "He seems
almighty anxious to get hold of her--an' I declare I dunno why. Seems
like there must be lots of other girls over there at the poor-farm he
could take if he's so powerful anxious, all of a sudden, to have a girl
to work for him. I did hear say, though, that he'd got some sort of a
paper signed by the judge--an' if that's so, there ain't no tellin' what
he can do. Made him her gardeen, I guess, whatever that is."
"But Zara doesn't need a guardian! She's got her father," said Bessie.
Paw shook his head. He looked as if he didn't think much of the sort of
guardianship Zara's father would give her. He was a good, just man, but
he shared the Hedgeville prejudice against the foreigner.
"I reckon you're right about not wantin' to get those young ladies I saw
you with mixed up with Silas, Bessie," he went on, reflectively. "Too
bad you can't get hold of that Miss Mercer. She's as bright as a button,
she is. Now, if she were here, she'd find a way out of this hole before
you could say Jack Robinson!"
"I believe she could, too," said Bessie. "If you'd seen the way she
started out after Farmer Weeks when I told her I thought he must have
gone to Zebulon!"
"Zebulon? Was she a goin' there? Then maybe she ain't come back yet, an'
we could meet her on the way. Eh?"
"Oh, I'm afraid she must have gone back to the girls long ago," said
Bessie.
"Well, you jump in behind there, and get under cover. Ain't no one goin'
to look in--you'll be snug there, if it is a mite hot. An' I'll just
drive along an' see if I can't meet your Miss Mercer. Then we'll know
what to do. An' I'll spell it over, an' maybe I'll hit on some way to
help you out myself, even if we don't meet her. Like as not I'll come
across Silas Weeks, too, but he'll never suspicion that you're in here
with me. Ha! Ha! Not in a million years, he won't. No, sir!"
Bessie laughed, and she and Zara jumped in happily.
"We've got ever so many friends, after all, Zara," she said, in a
whisper, as they drove along. "Look at Paw Hoover. He's been as nice as
he can be, and he thinks I set his place on fire, too! I'm sure things
will be all right. We'll find the girls again, and everything will be
just as we had planned."
"Bessie, why do you suppose Farmer Weeks is so set on having me to work
for him? Doesn't that seem funny to you? I'm not as clever as lots of
girls he could get, I'm sure."
"I can't guess, Zara. But we'll find out sometime, never fear. Did he
and your father ever have anything to do with one another?"
"They did just at first when we came out here. He came over to our place
in the evenings a good deal, and he and my father used to talk together.
But I never knew what they talked about."
"Did they seem friendly?"
"They were at first."
"Then I should think he would have tried to help your father when there
was trouble."
"No, no! They had an awful quarrel one night, and my father said he was
as bad as some of the people who hated him in Europe, and that he'd
have to look out for him. He said he was so rich that people would do
what he wanted, and after that he was afraid, and whenever he did any
work, he used to get me to stay around outside the house and tell him if
anyone came. And he always used to say that it was Farmer Weeks he
wanted me to look out for most."
"Well, there's not much use in our thinking about it, Zara. The more we
puzzle our brains over it, the less we'll know about it, I'm afraid."
"That's so, too, Bessie. I'm awfully sleepy. I can hardly keep my eyes
open."
"Don't try. You've had a hard time to-day. Get to sleep if you can. I'll
wake you up if there's any need for it. I'm tired, but I'm not sleepy at
all, and this ride will rest me splendidly."
Bessie peeped out now and then, and she kept her eyes open on the
lookout for the spring where Farmer Weeks had surprised Zara. But when
they passed it, although she looked out and listened hard, she couldn't
tell whether the Camp Fire Girls were on the bluff above the roadside or
not, and she was afraid to ask Paw Hoover to stop and let her find out
for certain, since there was the chance that Farmer Weeks might have
returned with the idea that Zara, having escaped his clutches, would
naturally have come back to the place of her capture.
Bessie understood very well that, while Paw Hoover was proving himself a
true friend, and was evidently willing to do all he could for them, it
would never do for Silas Weeks or anyone else from Hedgeville to know
that he was befriending the two fugitives. She could guess what Maw
Hoover would say to him if she learned that he had helped her, and if
there was the chance that Farmer Weeks might get Miss Mercer into
trouble through her friendship for them, Paw Hoover was running the same
risk.
Until after they reached the crossroads where Bessie had so fortunately
been led to take the right turn in her pursuit of Zara earlier in the
day, they did not pass or meet a single vehicle of any sort, nor even
anyone on foot. Zara slept soundly, and Bessie, soothed by the motion of
the wagon, was beginning to nod sleepily.
She had almost dozed off when she was aroused sharply by a sudden shout
to his horses from Paw Hoover, and she heard him call out laughingly:
"Hello, there, Miss Mercer! Didn't expect to see me again so soon, did
you? I'll bet I've got the surprise of your life for you."
Then she heard Wanaka's clear voice.
"Oh, Mr. Hoover! You don't mean--"
"Yes, I do--and the pair of them, too," he said.
"Well, really? Oh, I'm so relieved! I've been half wild about poor
little Zara. I wasn't so afraid for Bessie--she's better able to care
for herself."
How proud Bessie was when she heard that!
"Jump up, Miss Mercer. Then you can talk to Bessie. She's keeping under
cover, like the wise young one she is. I'm afraid there's still trouble
stirring, Miss Mercer."
"I know there is, Mr. Hoover," Eleanor answered, gravely. And then she
looked through to see Bessie, and in a moment they were in one another's
arms.
"I've been to Zebulon, and I've found out lots of things," said Eleanor.
"Bessie, unless we're very careful that horrid old Mr. Weeks will get
hold of Zara again, and the law will help him to keep her. I don't know
how you got her away from him; you can tell me that later. But just now
I've thought of a way to beat him."
"I knew you would," said Bessie.
"The law is wrong, sometimes, I'm sure," said Eleanor. "And I'm just as
sure that this is one of the times. I've seen Mr. Weeks, and no one
would trust Zara to him. He'd treat her harshly, I know, and I don't
believe it would be easy to get him punished for it--around here, at
least."
"You're right there, ma'am," said Paw Hoover. "Silas Weeks has got too
many mortgages around here not to be able to have his own way when he's
really sot on getting it."
"Now, listen," said Eleanor quickly to Bessie. "I'm going to change all
our plans because I'm sure we can do more good than if we stuck to what
we meant to do. Mr. Hoover, can you spare the time to drive Bessie and
Zara to the road that crosses this about half a mile before you come to
Zebulon, and then a little way down that road, too?"
"I'll make the time," said Paw, heartily.
"Then it's going to be easy. I want them to get to the railroad. There
are too many people around the station in Zebulon, and there'd almost
surely be someone there who knew them. I'm not sure of just where Mr.
Weeks is right now. He might even be there himself. So that's too
risky--"
"I see what you're driving at," said Paw, suddenly. His face broke into
a smile. "There's a station further down the line--a little no-account
station, ain't there? I've seen it."
"Yes, Perryville. But the down train stops there, and it isn't just a
flag stop, either. Now, listen, Bessie. Mr. Hoover will take you there,
or nearly there, so that you can easily walk the rest of the way. And
when you get there don't get by the track until you hear the train
coming. Stay where no one is likely to see you, and then, when the train
whistles, run over and be ready to get on board. And get off at Pine
Bridge--Pine Bridge, do you hear? Will you remember that? When you get
there, just wait. I'll be there almost as soon as you are."
Paw Hoover burst into a roar of laughter as he listened.
"Bessie said you'd have a way to beat Silas Weeks, and, great Godfrey,
you sure have!" he said. "I never thought of that--but you're right. Get
her out of the state, and there ain't no way under heaven that Silas can
get hold of the girl unless she comes back of her own accord. Court
writs don't run beyond state lines, not unless they're in the Federal
court. Godfrey, but you're smart all right, young lady!"
"Thank you," said Eleanor, smiling at him in return for the compliment.
"You're sure you understand, Bessie? Here's the money for your fare. You
won't have time to buy tickets, so just give the money to the
conductor."
Then she dropped from the wagon to the road and Paw Hoover whipped up
his horses.
"You sleep, if you can, Bessie," he said. "I'll wake you up when it's
time to get down."
And Bessie, her mind relieved, was glad to obey. It seemed to her that
she had only just gone to sleep when Paw Hoover shook her gently to
arouse her.
"Here we are," he said. "Station's just over there--see, beyond the
bend. Remember what Miss Mercer told you, now, and good luck, Bessie! I
reckon we'll see you again sometime."
There were tears in Bessie's eyes as she said good-bye. She watched him
drive off, and then she and Zara sat down to wait for the coming of the
train. They sat on the grass, behind a cabin that had been abandoned,
where they could see the track while they themselves were hidden from
anyone approaching by the road they had come. And before long the rails
began to hum. Then, in the distance, there was the shriek of a whistle.
"Come on, Zara," cried Bessie, and they ran toward the station, just as
the train came into sight, its brakes grinding as it slowed down.
And then, as they climbed aboard, there was the sudden sound of
galloping hoofs, and of hoarse shouting. Farmer Weeks, in his buggy,
raced toward the train, his hands lifted as he called wildly to the
conductor to stop.