THE MISSION OF THE SIX RUFFIANS.
Paul Bristol saw the conference between the six Chesterfield students
and Major Billcord; but he could not hear what passed between them, and
had no suspicion that he was the subject of remark. None of them saw
Paul when he entered the gate to Mr. Bissell's premises, though his
curiosity prompted him to stand there a few minutes to observe the
proceedings of the party.
He expected to see nothing more than a sort of reception of the magnate,
who was evidently to be their passenger to Sandy Point, and the students
proposed to take him to the scene of the afternoon's sport in state. But
Major Billcord appeared to have selected the six ruffians best suited to
the undertaking in which they were to engage. He had called them aside,
and made his offer to them.
Those who were near enough to the magnate to see his face could not help
noticing that he had a pair of black eyes. In this respect he was the
counterpart of his hopeful son, though the mourning of the latter was of
a deeper shade than that of his father. The major had remained in his
elegant mansion all the forenoon, for he was more modest in the display
of the weeds under his eyes than he was of his person generally.
Doubtless he had often looked in his lofty mirrors to observe the
condition of his face.
He did not like the looks of himself with the marks Paul had left on his
face, for they certainly added nothing to the dignity of his expression.
He was a pompous, overbearing, and tyrannical man, and every time he saw
his mourning organs they filled him with wrath, and inspired him to seek
a wholesale revenge. He did not give a thought to the insult his son had
offered to Miss Lily. She was of not the slightest consequence, and it
would have been quite proper, in his opinion, for her to submit in
silence to the pleasure of the reckless young man.
On the way home from the scene of his signal defeat at the hands of Paul
Bristol, he had called at the institute, and intimated that he had a
mission for the students, at the point, on the following day. He wished
them to call for him at his house in the afternoon, and he would insure
them an hour or more of the liveliest recreation. He did not say what he
had in view, and he had cautioned Walk not to mention the business in
which the young men were to be engaged.
As Walk went home with his father, he had no opportunity to let the cat
out of the bag, even if he had been so disposed. Father and son had
spent the rest of the day in studying out an adequate punishment for
Paul. If they could have "hung, drawn, and quartered" him, it might have
satisfied them. Walk suggested that he should be prosecuted, and that
the justice would send him to prison for a month or two. But his father
saw that such a course would bring out the whole story of the son's
assault upon Miss Lily, and the judge might not regard the affair in the
same light as the sufferers did.
They could agree upon nothing, but before morning Major Billcord had
devised the scheme he had now taken the first step to carry out. He
thought it wise not to implicate his son in the outrage, for he might be
prosecuted and compelled to pay a fine for himself and those he employed
to do the actual work. The vengeance of the magnate was to be
administered to Paul at Sandy Point. The plant for the black eyes had
been set out near the doomed cottage, and it was proper that the
punishment should be inflicted on the same spot.
Walk Billcord had not been in condition to return to the institute that
day, for he did not care to put his mourning on exhibition, and to
answer all the questions that it would call forth. But he was going to
Sandy Point in the boat to which he belonged, for he was anxious to take
part in the destruction of the cottage. After the students marched up to
the mansion of the magnate, they had informed him of the presence of the
Beech Hillers, and of Paul, in Westport. The story of the Silver Moon's
mishap had been related to them at the wharf when they landed. The
students from the other side had come to the town to convey the ladies
from the disabled boat; and this sufficiently accounted for their
presence.
Nothing was said about Paul, except that he had come in the sloop. Major
Billcord had no doubt that his stalwart foe was still staying at the
point, and he had arranged his plan on the supposition that he would be
found in that vicinity. But when he was informed of his presence in
Westport, he had been obliged to make a slight change in his scheme. He
had not intended to mention it till the students landed at Sandy Point.
He had before selected his ruffians, and he was simply obliged to make
his offer a little sooner than before arranged.
Paul Bristol went into Mr. Bissell's house and obtained his sister's
valise. As he was about to depart, the owner of the Silver Moon came
down stairs in his changed dress, with a letter in his hand.
"Paul, do you know where Captain Bleeker lives?" asked Bissell, as soon
as he saw the boy with the valise in his hand.
"Of course I do," replied Paul. "I used to work for him on his place
when he had anything for me to do."
"I am going to Sandy Point in the sloop, and Dory is waiting for me,"
continued the skipper. "I am in a hurry to be off, and if you will go
round by Captain Bleeker's and leave this letter at his house, I will
carry your valise down to the boat. I will put it on board of the
Marian."
"All right, if you will tell the coxswain to wait for me; for I suppose
I am to go in the barge," replied Paul, as he took the letter.
Bissell hastened to the wharf with the valise, and Paul started for his
destination, which was on a street in the rear of Major Billcord's
mansion. The procession had re-formed in the spacious grounds to escort
the magnate to the wharf. The six ruffians had been excused from
marching in the line, by request of the major, and they were consulting
in regard to their mission in the street in front of the house.
Paul was obliged to take a cross street to reach the house of Captain
Bleeker, and he had to pass within a few rods of the elegant mansion. As
he turned the corner, the chief of the six ruffians, who was called Buck
Lamb by his fellow-students, discovered him, and the conference came to
a sudden conclusion. The time for council had passed, and the time for
action had come. Buck Lamb was an acknowledged leader, and, without any
appointment as such, he assumed the position and began to give off his
orders.
Paul was in sight, going up the cross street with a letter in his hand.
The back street ran parallel to the main street, and the object of the
attack must be going to some house in that direction. Buck sent two of
his force to the cross street next beyond that taken by Paul, with
orders to intercept the victim if he went that way. Two more were to
remain near the mansion of the magnate, and Buck himself, with Ham
Jackson, followed Paul. One of the two parties was sure to meet him, or
if they failed, by any accident, the pair on the main street were in
position to capture him. It was a quiet little place, and there was
scarcely a person in the streets after the procession had marched to the
wharf.
Paul Bristol, all unconscious of what had been done to make him a
prisoner, walked with a rapid step towards the house of the person to
whom the letter was addressed. He had not noticed the movements of the
six ruffians, or even that any of the Chesterfields had been left
behind. He was thinking that the students would soon reach Sandy Point
with Major Billcord, and he was engaged in picturing their astonishment
and disappointment when they discovered that the cottage had taken to
itself wings, and that the locality had assumed its original appearance.
He went up to the door of the house, and rang the bell. It was answered
by Captain Bleeker himself. He seemed to be somewhat surprised when he
saw Paul, for he had been expecting another person.
"Is that you, Paul? I was in hopes that it was Bissell; for I expected
an important letter as soon as the mail got in, and he promised to bring
it over to me," said the captain.
"He asked me to bring the letter over, and here it is," replied Paul,
as he handed the important missive to him.
"Good! It contains a draft which I need as much as I need the air I
breathe," added Captain Bleeker, as he took the letter, and thrust his
hand deep into one of his trousers pockets, drawing forth a quarter. "I
am more glad to see you than I should be to meet my grandmother, who
died twenty-five years ago. Here is something to prove it;" and he
handed him the quarter.
"I don't want anything for this errand; I only did it because Mr.
Bissell asked me to."
"Take the money," said the captain imperatively. "If you come over here
in about a week, I shall have something for you to do, for it will be
time then to hoe the garden."
"I don't think I can come, sir, for I have a place now, with steady
work, on the other side of the lake," replied Paul.
"All right," added Captain Bleeker, as he broke the seal of the letter,
and proceeded to close the door, manifesting no interest in the
messenger's new position.
Paul put the quarter in his pocket, thinking there had been no time in
two years when it was so little needed as at present, thanks to Captain
Gildrock. But he did not lose a moment, for he thought that by this time
the crew of the Marian might be waiting for him. He walked at his most
rapid pace up the street in the direction by which he had come. There
was not a person to be seen in the back street, though Buck Lamb and Ham
Jackson had reached the corner.
Paul saw them approaching him on the same side of the street. If he had
seen them in the neighborhood of the institute, he might have known
them; as it was, he did not recognize them, though they wore the barge
uniform. Being in a hurry, he deserted the sidewalk to cut off the angle
at the corner of the street. But the two ruffians promptly placed
themselves in front of him in the middle of the highway.
"Stop where you are!" said Buck Lamb, in an imperative tone.
"What am I to stop for?" asked Paul, with a smile, and with the
simplicity of an infant.
"You are to stop because I order you to do so," replied Buck, who was of
the genus bully, and could not well help manifesting authority, whether
he had it or not.
"As I am in a hurry to join my boat, I don't think that is a sufficient
reason for my stopping," replied Paul, with abundant cheerfulness. "If
you will excuse me, I had rather not stop just now."
"But I order you to stop!" said Buck savagely.
"Oh, you do!" added the intended victim. "Then I must take the liberty
to disobey your orders."
"When I order you to stop, I mean to enforce my order," said Buck, with
his teeth set fast together.
"I can't stop to jaw with you now; for, as I told you, I am in a hurry,"
replied Paul, beginning to be a little indignant at the interruption.
"If you move another step, I shall hit you," continued the bully,
placing himself in front of the victim, with his fists clinched ready to
execute his threat.
Paul dodged back, and attempted to pass the ruffians, but Buck got in
front of him again.