THE MYSTERY OF CLEVERLY
* * * * *
THE MYSTERY OF CLEVERLY
A STORY FOR BOYS
BY
GEORGE BARTON
[Illustration]
NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO
BENZIGER BROTHERS
PUBLISHERS OF BENZIGER’S MAGAZINE
* * * * *
COPYRIGHT, 1907, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. In Which a Bully Comes to Grief 7
II. Herbert Finds Himself the Innocent Cause of Much Trouble 14
III. Proving that Birds of a Feather Flock Together 24
IV. In Which Fortune Unexpectedly Favors David Harkins 33
V. In Which David Harkins Becomes the Victim of Peculiar
Circumstances 39
VI. In Which David Harkins Quits This Life and Takes His
Secret with Him 48
VII. In Which Herbert Meets Adversity and Learns the
Meaning of Hard Work 58
VIII. Herbert Becomes Ambitious and is Fascinated by the
Smell of Printers’ Ink 66
IX. Having Become a Newspaper Writer Herbert Looks for New
Worlds to Conquer 77
X. Which Tells of How Herbert Came to Leave the Town of
Cleverly 88
XI. Herbert is Awed and Amazed by His First Sight of a Great
City 98
XII. In Which Herbert Becomes Acquainted With Some of the
Methods of Modern Journalism 109
XIII. Herbert Makes a Hit and Tides Over a Temporary Financial
Difficulty 120
XIV. In Which Herbert is Given an Unusual Opportunity to
Distinguish Himself 127
XV. In Which Herbert Does Some Very Hard Work and Receives a
Terrible Shock 135
XVI. In Which Herbert Loses His Position and Retires in
Disgrace 143
XVII. The Young Reporter Finds That the Door of Opportunity is
Closed to Him 153
XVIII. Wherein a Black Sheep Shows a Desire to Change His Color 161
XIX. Persistence Has its Reward and Herbert Finally Meets the
Mysterious Stranger 169
XX. In Which a Stain is Removed from the Memory of an
Innocent Man 180
XXI. In Which a Telephone Call Produces Some Unexpected
Results 186
XXII. Proving that Bad Persons, Like Bad Pennies, are
Constantly Reappearing 194
XXIII. In Which a Bad Man Reaches the End of His Rope 204
XXIV. Wherein the Clouds Pass Away and the Sun Shines on
Herbert Harkins 215
XXV. Demonstrating the Truth of the Saying that All’s Well
that Ends Well 225
* * * * *
THE MYSTERY OF CLEVERLY
CHAPTER I IN WHICH A BULLY COMES TO GRIEF
“If you fellows don’t open that door and let me in, there’ll be trouble
in this town before long.”
The only answer was a mocking laugh from the group of boys to whom this
threat was addressed.
Herbert Harkins, his face red with rage, pounded his fist on the panels
of the schoolhouse without making the slightest impression upon his
fellow schoolboys.
“Open the door,” he cried again, in a loud voice.
Once more a peal of laughter sounded from within. The scene of this
incident was the Cleverly District School. The time was the second of
January, and the occasion was the annual frolic of the boys, known as
“barring out day.”
It was a custom which, originating down east, had spread to the little
town in New Jersey. The method was quite simple. After the Christmas
holidays the big boys put their heads together and decided on a plan
of campaign. When all of the details had been arranged, it was decided
to put them into execution at the first regular session of the new
year. The forenoon passed off as quietly as any other day, the boys
looking very sober and extremely attentive to their studies, and
keeping unusual order. The moment the schoolmaster left the house for
his dinner and the smaller children were started homeward, the doors
and windows were suddenly and securely locked, and the older pupils
proceeded to spend the afternoon in play and hilarity.
When Mr. Anderson, the teacher, returned about one o’clock, he was
surprised to find the schoolhouse in a state of siege. He made an
attempt to enter, but failed. It so happened that Herbert Harkins
was the only one of the larger boys who had been locked out. Under
ordinary circumstances he would have taken the incident good-naturedly;
but in this case he knew that the teacher was frail and delicate,
and Herbert’s regard and sympathy for Mr. Anderson aroused all his
manly instincts and brought his fighting blood to the boiling pitch.
The teacher who had been employed in this district only a few weeks,
was evidently of a sickly disposition. It was a cold day. He was
insufficiently clad, and the prospect of taking some sickness which
might perhaps lead to pneumonia and death made the poor man quite
miserable. His face was beginning to get blue with the intense cold;
but he was too weak to resort to any physical methods for opening the
door.
Herbert knocked again; but his appeal was received only with jeers and
shouts of derision. Mr. Anderson turned to him with a kindly smile, and
said:
“There is no need of doing anything more, Herbert. I thank you for your
good intentions; but I think the only thing left for me to do is to go
home for the day.”
As Herbert was about to reply he happened to glance upward and noticed
the smoke coming from the chimney on the top of the schoolhouse. He
remembered that the room was heated by means of an old-fashioned wood
fire, which was constantly replenished during the day. Whenever a fresh
or green log was placed on the fire, more or less smoke went up the
chimney. As Herbert gazed at the little curls of smoke making their
way skyward, he suddenly conceived a means of breaking up the siege in
the schoolhouse and procuring entrance for himself and the teacher. To
think was to act. A small pile of lumber lay in the roadway nearby.
Herbert walked over to it and picked out a wide, square board. It was
quite heavy; but by dint of much energy and persistence he managed
to get it under his arm and carry it to the schoolhouse. Mr. Anderson
wondered what he was about to do. The boys on the inside, too, gazed
at this unexpected activity with much interest. Herbert’s next move
was to secure a large ladder, which he put up against the side of the
house. Then reaching for the board, he made his way to the top of the
schoolhouse and in less than two minutes had placed it over the top of
the chimney. Then he hurried down the ladder again, and rejoining Mr.
Anderson, said calmly:
“I am willing to wager that we will be inside of that schoolroom before
you have time to count a hundred.”
And so it proved. The smoke, unable to find its way out of the chimney,
was thrown back into the schoolroom, and in a minute’s time the boys
were choking from the effects of the fumes. Some were in favor of
holding out, but when their eyes began to run water and they were
filled with a stifling sensation, they quickly decided to surrender.
The bars were taken down and the doors and windows thrown open.
Herbert, delighted with the success of his little scheme, remounted the
ladder, and going to the roof, took the board from the chimney. The
boys made no further attempts at disturbance; within fifteen minutes
order had been entirely restored, and the afternoon session went on as
if nothing had happened.
Most of the boys were filled with admiration at Herbert’s cleverness;
but a few of them murmured against him and threatened to punish him
for breaking up their fun. The largest of these boys was Arthur Black,
who was a year older than Herbert, and had the reputation of being
the bully of the school. After the children had been dismissed for
the afternoon, they gathered in groups outside the schoolhouse and
talked about the unusual event. Arthur Black raised his voice above
the others, declaring that he had a great notion to thrash the boy who
had dared to interfere with their sport. Some of the more timid pupils
approached Herbert and advised him to hurry home in order to escape
punishment. He smiled at their fears, however, and said he had no
reason for running away. Just then Arthur Black approached.
“What’s that you say?” he asked in an insulting voice.
“I said that I had no reason for running away,” replied Herbert quietly.
“Well, that’s because you haven’t got any sense,” was the ugly
rejoinder. “You’re a sneak and a busybody and ought to be thrown out of
the school.”
“Why?” asked Herbert.
“Because you spoiled our fun,” was the reply.
“I don’t think it’s much fun to keep a sick teacher out in the cold and
make him run the risk of losing his life. I--”
“Oh, we’ve had enough of your talk,” said Arthur, interrupting Herbert.
“But you will listen to what I have to say,” persisted Herbert manfully.
“No I won’t,” was the rejoinder, “and if you say another word I’ll
thrash you within an inch of your life.”
“Two can play at that game,” said Herbert coolly.
The other made no reply, but began to take off his coat, and flinging
it on the ground, started to roll up his shirt sleeves. Instantly the
other boys formed a ring about them. There was nothing left for Herbert
but to accept the invitation that was thrown down to him in such a
noisy way. He took off his coat, and in a trice the two boys were
engaged in a rough and tumble fight. It looked for a time as if Arthur
Black, who was the older and heavier of the two, would get the better
of Herbert. The boys crowded around the two fighters and urged them on
with yells and shouts of approval. Herbert kept comparatively cool, and
at a critical stage in the fight he pummeled Arthur so vigorously that
he cried for mercy. Indeed his nose was bleeding and one of his eyes
was beginning to show evidence of the contest. Picking up his hat and
coat, and hardly able to repress his tears, he hurried off towards his
home. Herbert was immediately proclaimed the hero of the hour. He had
thrashed the bully of the school, and from that moment he was the idol
of his schoolmates and the most popular boy in Cleverly.