SUCH GLORIOUS LUCK
Paul walked down the street, swinging the baseball bat carelessly, and
softly whistling to himself.
He left the street on which his chum's house fronted, and presently came
to his own thoroughfare.
"H'm!" he said to himself, as he boldly turned in here; "looks kind of
half dark for a fact; but that always suits fellows up to a mean dodge. I
musn't hit too hard, for this is an awful tough old bat, that has brought
me in more than a few home-runs. Well, it's helping me make one now," and
he actually snickered at the conceit.
As he advanced he braced himself for the expected fray. Of old he knew
Ted Slavin was a muscular fellow, capable of enforcing obedience from his
slavish followers.
What was that? He certainly heard the sound of voices a little further
along. And somehow one of them seemed to give Paul a strange feeling;
for he was positive that it was a girl's tones; and he recognized them
too!
Ward Kenwood was taking Arline home; and for some unknown reason chose to
select this very street as a part of his route, although it was a little
out of the way.
How strange that they should all come together just at that very
identical spot, where the trio of ambushed boys were crouching, ready to
spring out.
Ah! Paul caught sight of something moving close by. He felt sure that it
must be the concealed fellows, launching their boom. Yes, now he could
make out their figures as they emerged from the bushes on the jump.
Some one screamed. It must be Arline, frightened by the appearance of
these ugly, uncouth forms dancing upon the pavement.
Instantly the greatest confusion existed, with the ambushers attacking
Paul, to shout in consternation when he began to thump them heartily on
the legs and backs with his baseball bat; and the girl standing there
trying to shut out, with her clasped hands, the strange sight, seen so
dimly in the half darkness.
The patter of feet down the street told only too well where her protector
had gone; but he was valiantly calling lustily for help as he ran.
Met by such a determined opposition, overwhelmed by the shower of punches
and whacks that seemed to be freighted with painful reminders; and
startled by the cries of the fleeing Ward, not to mention the little
shrieks of Arline, the three boys who had been the cause of all this
excitement soon had enough.
"Skip out, fellers!" roared Ted, as he almost doubled up when the
swinging bat came with considerable force against his ribs.
The others were only too willing to obey. Away they clattered after the
fleeing Ward, who, hearing what he took to be a hot pursuit, let loose
more vigorously than ever, still crying for assistance.
Paul was laughing now, for the comical side of the thing seemed to have
occurred to him. He took out a match and struck it. As the light flamed
up, Arline, who had by now ceased her cries of alarm, possibly guessing
the truth, stared at the face of the victor.
"Oh! Paul! is it you?" she said; and somehow he seemed to understand that
she was more than glad of the opportunity to make up with him.
Boylike he pretended to hold back, and as the light went out, leaving
them once more in the gloom, he remarked:
"Yes, those fellows were lying in wait for me. They expected to give
me a sound thumping; but I was warned and ready. I'm sorry that you were
annoyed by the row, Miss Blair. I'll stay here with you until your
company comes back. I think he must have gone for help!" this with some
bitterness and scorn.
She moved closer to him. Possibly the darkness made her afraid; and then
again some other cause may have influenced her.
Paul felt her hand on his arm, and was thrilled when she said:
"Please don't mention him to me again. Oh! what a miserable coward, to
run off and leave a girl that way. Won't _you_ take me home, Paul?"
He could not say anything for a minute, he was so overcome. And perhaps
Arline thought he must still be angry because she had treated him so
shabbily of late.
"Please, please do, Paul. I want to tell you how sorry I am for believing
what came to me in a roundabout way. I'll never forgive myself, never!"
she went on, clinging to his arms.
Paul could hold out no longer.
"Of course I will, Arline, and glad of the chance. Come on before anybody
hurries out to see what all this noise means."
So they walked down the street together, Paul with his faithful bat
tucked under one arm, and a pretty girl clinging, oh! so confidingly
to the other.
But the boys of Stanhope often made more or less of a noise on the
streets after dark, being filled with exurberant spirits; and so no one
thought it worth while to investigate what all the racket meant.
Paul heard what had been carried to the ears of Arline, and had no
trouble in proving to her complete satisfaction that he was entirely
innocent of the charge.
"And to think that I allowed myself to believe it," said the girl, almost
crying; "oh! Paul, will you ever forgive me? Nothing can ever make me
listen to anything wrong about you again. I wonder if he had a hand in
hatching that wretched story up. If I knew it I would tell him to his
face what I thought of him!"
"You mean Ward. Please don't do that. I really can't believe any fellow
would be so mean and low. It must have been just accident that coupled my
name with that affair. But I'm satisfied if you say we're going to be
just as good friends as ever," Paul said, warmly.
"Better than ever, I hope, Paul. I've had my lesson. It will never happen
again, I promise you," she answered, pressing his arm as she spoke.
So Paul saw her safely to her door, and then said good-night; but Arline
insisted upon shaking hands with him; and the tingle of his fingers as he
walked down the street made him laugh with joy.
"What luck!" he kept saying to himself, as he made out to shake his own
hand; "and what a mess of it Ward made of his chances. He thought to have
the laugh on me if we met, and here the shoe is on the other foot. Oh!
I'm not complaining a little bit. Everything's coming my way now."
Nothing further happened on his way home. But when he reached the house
his father met him with the announcement that Jack was holding the wire,
and waiting for him.
"On deck there!" he said, briskly, and heard an exclamation of relief.
"How is it, Paul? Anything doing? Seemed to me I heard an awful racket
over your way; but the nine-forty train was just coming in at the
station, and drowned it out. Did they tackle you, son?" demanded Jack,
eagerly.
"Did they? Well, I guess some! Ask Ted," chuckled the one addressed.
"You're laughing, and that tells me you enjoyed the circus. What did you
do to poor old Ted and his cronies, Paul?" entreated the other.
"I could tell you easier what I didn't do to 'em, Jack. I gave the boys
about every style of punch and jab I could think of, and with my home-run
bat too. Oh! make up your mind they're going to be a sore lot in the
morning. And if you run up against Ted, just sniff the air for arnica. My
word for it, he'll empty the bottle to-night on his bruises."
"Bully! bully! and again bully! I would have rushed to assist you only
you made me promise to keep my hands off; and you're my superior officer,
you see. Besides, I reckoned that with such a hunky-dory bat you'd be
able to give just pie, which you did, Paul."
"But the half hasn't been told yet," went on the narrator.
"What! do you mean there's a sequel to this story?" asked Jack, burning
with eagerness apparently, to hear.
"I guess that's what it is. Listen. Ward was just taking a young lady
home. He chose to pass along our street, though now he wishes he hadn't;
for they arrived just when Ted and his backers jumped out of the bushes.
She screamed, and her escort sprinted down the street for help. After I
had punched and pounded the three Hallowe'en left-overs from last year
until they faded away, I had the pleasure of seeing the young lady to her
door, yum! yum!"
"Hurrah! and I bet all differences are patched up again between you!"
cried Jack.
"Everything is lovely, and the goose hangs high," sang Paul.
"Meaning poor old blundering Ward. He showed himself for a coward to
the girl he's sweet on. Oh! my, oh! me, how is the mighty fallen.
Congratulations, good friend, and then more of them. So the clouds have
disappeared along your horizon, just as they did on mine. I only wish I'd
had a hand in clearing your skies."
"So you did. You kept that baseball bat of mine until the right minute
came. Only for that my name might have been mud," laughed Paul.
"And if you'd only open your heart now, and give me a hint about the
fellow you believe has been playing that trick on me with my old
coins--"
"Just you wait a little. It's coming soon. So-long!" and with a click the
connection was cut off.