OUT FOR REVENGE
After dinner, which the five young people ate without the presence of
their elders, as even Mrs. Temple was absent, having been picked up in
a friend's motor car during the afternoon and whisked away to a
country home near Southampton, all adjourned to the gallery. A
desultory conversation was maintained, but presently at a whisper from
Frank, Della slipped indoors with him. Then from the long french
windows of the music room came two voices mingling harmoniously in the
strains of an old Southern melody to an accompaniment played by Della
on the piano.
The others listened until the conclusion which they greeted with
spirited applause. Then by common consent all three arose and went in
to join. Thereafter for an hour, the singing continued, with first
Della and then Miss Faulkner at the piano.
When the common repertoire of songs had been nigh exhausted, Bob who
had wandered off to a window and stood there in the breeze, looking
out at the play of moonlight on the lawn, returned with a suggestion
that they all go for a short spin in the motor boat. The others
eagerly assented. What a lark. A spin in a speed boat under the
moonlight.
Wraps and sweaters were procured, for although the night was warm it
would be cool on the water, especially if any speed were attained.
Then the party set out, Jack and Bob squiring Miss Faulkner, and Frank
slightly in the rear with Della.
On the walk to the boathouse Della reproached Frank for having taken
so many risks the previous night. He regarded her slyly.
"But Jack and Bob took risks, too," he said.
Della flushed. Was the young rascal intimating her interest in him was
greater than in the others. She was about to reply tartly, but Frank
awkwardly took her hand and squeezed it, then hurriedly released it
again. Demonstrations of affection were not frequent between these
two, yet they had a pretty good understanding. They walked on in
silence.
"Just the same, Frank," said Della presently, "you must take better
care of yourself."
Frank nodded. He did not trust himself to speak. The interest shown by
this girl with whom he had grown up, living in the same household with
her from early boyhood, threw him into a softened mood. Then, too, the
moonlit surroundings were not without their effect. He knew that if
he spoke now, he would say something "soft." So he maintained his
silence.
The trio ahead meanwhile chattered gaily. And at length the boathouse
was reached. Bob swung back the door and, all pushing together, the
boat was trundled out on its little trucks, removed to the chute in
which rollers were set, and rolled down to the water and launched.
Then all climbed in, Bob examined the fuel supply and found the boat
well stocked, Jack seized the tiller, they seated themselves in the
little cockpit and, with Bob manipulating the engine, the boat moved
away, gathered speed and, with a roar, began zipping out to sea.
It was glorious sport, to which four of the five were accustomed, but
which they enjoyed enormously no matter how often engaged in. To Miss
Faulkner it was a revelation, and bundled in a sweater, her hair
loosed and flying back in the wind, her eyes dancing with the zest of
the adventure, she looked like an elf, as Della told Frank in a
whispered aside. Frank nodded and grinned.
"Bob thinks so, too," he whispered in reply. "He can't keep his eyes
off her. If we didn't have the whole sea ahead of us, he'd run into
something sure."
Up and up and up went the speedometer. The boat seemed no longer to be
rushing through the water. It spurned that heavier element, and took
to the air. It leaped from crest to crest of the swells. The girls
shrieked, the boys let out great chesty whoops of pure animal delight.
Then Bob cut down the speed and Jack, controlling the tiller, swung
her about towards home. They had been out only half an hour, but the
shore was miles away. However, the return was made without incident or
trouble of any kind, the motor working perfectly, and once more they
stepped ashore at the boat landing.
"Which do you like best, Mr. Temple," asked Marjorie Faulkner, as big
Bob rejoined the party on the landing, after locking the doors;
"boating, flying or motoring?"
"Oh, I don't know," replied Bob, "there's something fascinating about
every one of the three. To feel that powerful engine under your
control, that's what grips me. It's power, you know; you have vast
power under your control. They're all good," he concluded, with a
quick look at the others who were moving away, "but to-night I like
boating best."
He looked at her so pointedly that her eyes dropped. Then she
laughed.
"And think of you saying that," she declared. "Why, Della always told
me you were a perfect bear and never made a pretty speech to a girl in
your life."
"Neither did I," said Bob, boldly, "before to-night."
Once more the girl laughed as she danced away after the others, but
Bob following her was sure he had not displeased.
Events of the previous night were far from the thoughts of any of the
boys, as they moved across the open sandhills along the beach and
approached the grove separating them from the Temple home. There was
no thought of danger in their minds.
But barely had they entered the narrow trail, walking single file,
Jack in the lead, followed by Frank, Della and Miss Faulkner, with Bob
bringing up the rear, than from the trees on either side darted a
number of men who sprang upon them. The girls screamed in fright and
alarm, their shrieks rending the silence of the night.
Cursing, several of the attackers sprang for them, too, they were
seized, and rough hands clapped over their mouths.
But, attacked thus unexpectedly though they were, and without weapons,
the boys fought desperately. How many their assailants numbered they
could not tell. There was no time to take account. Frank was bowled
over by the sudden rush, Jack borne back against a tree, Bob managed
to keep his footing, his arms wrapped about the body of his own
assailant.
Every muscle and nerve taut, Frank sprang up as if actuated by a
spring, tripped the man who had attacked him and leaped towards the
fellow who had Della in his arms. In falling, his hand had come in
contact with a stone the size of his fist and he had clutched it.
Della's assailant had seized her from the rear and was bending her
backward, a hand across her mouth. His back was towards Frank. The
latter brought down the stone on the man's head with a tremendous
crash, and the fellow's arms relaxed, setting Della free, then he fell
to the ground, stunned.
The man whom he had tripped made a leap for Frank, but his blood up,
the boy dodged aside to avoid the blind rush and, as the man lurched
past, he lashed out with his right fist. The blow caught the other
under the ear, a fatal spot, and sent him toppling to the ground.
Meantime, Jack, with his back to a big tree, was hard pressed by two
men. In the hand of one gleamed a dagger. Good boxer though he was,
Jack could not ward off an attack like that for long, and Frank
realized it. He sprang forward to go to the rescue. Then a blow on the
head felled him, and all became darkness.
That blow came from a blackjack in the hands of Marjorie Faulkner's
assailant. Seeing the danger to his comrades from Frank, he released
the girl and attacked Frank. But his act brought down on him a
perfect fury, tearing, scratching at his face. It was Della, crying
with rage at the danger to Frank, insensible to everything else. She
was a whirlwind and the man had all he could do to ward her off. In
fact, he did not fully succeed, for her hands found his face and her
tearing fingers ripped a long gash down over his right eye, from which
the blood began to spout. Temporarily blinded, he dropped his
blackjack, and stumbled back, cursing.
Della did not follow up her advantage, but dropped to her knees beside
Frank and pillowed his head in her lap. His eyes were closed. The blow
that had felled him had been a shrewd one. Fortunately, however,
instead of descending full on his head, it had glanced off one side.
As she cradled him, smoothing back his hair and crying unrestrainedly,
Frank opened his eyes and gazed up.
For a moment his daze continued. Or did it? Was there not a gleam of
satisfaction in his eyes, quickly veiled, as he saw who had come to
his rescue?
Then he started to struggle to his feet.
All this had taken very little time and, while it progressed, Bob had
been gripped body to body with the biggest of the attacking party, a
husky fellow of his own six foot height but with the added weight of a
greater length of years. As this man leaped for him from the woods,
arm upraised with a blackjack clutched in his hand, Bob had seized the
descending wrist and thrown his other arm about the fellow's body.
Thus they had wrestled.
As Frank shakily, with Della's assistance, was getting to his feet,
there came a panting cry from Bob, another scream from Miss Faulkner.
Then through the air went flying the form of Bob's assailant. He had
fallen victim to Bob's famous wrestling grip, which lifted the man
from his feet and sent him flying over Bob's head. But into the
propulsion this time Bob put all his great strength. The result was
that, instead of falling immediately behind Bob, the fellow cannoned
through the air a distance of several yards.
As luck would have it, this human meteor descended upon one of Jack's
assailants, and the pair went down to the ground together. At this,
the other man turned and fled incontinently into the woods.
The first round had been won. But there were still five assailants
left. And all armed, while the boys were without weapons. Frank saw
the danger of delay and called:
"Bob, Jack, quick. We must get the girls home."
Shaking his head to clear it, he seized Della by the hand and started
running towards the house. A glance sufficed to show him the others
saw the danger of delay, and were pelting after him with Marjorie
Faulkner. Bob was bringing up the rear.
But their troubles were not ended. Thus far the attackers had
refrained from using revolvers in order to avoid bringing others to
the scene. But, seeing their prey escape, several now whipped out
weapons and began to fire.
Bob, the last in line, groaned:
"Got me."
He fell. Jack spun around, took in the situation, then called:
"Girls, you run on home and get help. Frank and I will stay with
Bob."
"I'm not hurt much," Bob declared. "Just put my leg out."
He struggled to regain his feet.
Several more shots whistled unpleasantly close. Their assailants were
approaching, shooting as they came.
"Run, girls," cried Jack.
They darted away.
Suddenly Tom Barnum came crashing through the woods, service revolver
gripped in his hand. He had been aroused, as he slept nearby at the
Hampton radio plant, by the cries of the girls on first being
attacked. In the moonlight, it was not difficult to see at which
party to fire, and Tom did not hesitate. He sent a half dozen bullets
whistling about the attacking party in quick succession. The arrival
of reinforcements completed the discomfiture of the latter. They fled
back towards the beach.
Tom was all for pursuing them, but Jack called to him.
"Here, Tom, let 'em go. Bob's hurt. Help us get him to the house."