NEWS FROM THE WEST
The boys stiffened into attention, listening intently for the faintest
sound. At first they could hear nothing more than the whisper of the
wind in the trees, and then, so faintly as to be almost inaudible, they
did catch a rustling in the grass, that told of the approach of someone.
"That man--he's coming back!" said Frank softly.
"Let me attend to him!" exclaimed Andy, and, before his brother could
stop him, the younger lad had run back over the course they had come.
"Stop!" called Frank aloud.
A moment later there was the sound of someone running away, and it was
not the footsteps of Andy that made the noise.
"I see him! I see him!" cried the younger Racer lad. "It's the man with
the limp!"
"You come back here!" ordered Frank, and his voice was such that Andy
did not think it wise to disobey. He came back panting from his run.
"I could have caught him if you'd let me alone," he said, protestingly.
"You never mind that," went on Frank. "There's been enough trouble
to-night. Now come on, and don't delay. That fellow won't follow us
again."
"I guess not," declared Andy. "He was running hard when I saw him. I
guess he thought he could sneak up and finish the mean work he began,
but he didn't count on our being here."
"That's right," agreed Billy. "When he attacked me we struggled and
I rolled to one side of the lane. Then he must have hit me with a
black-jack or a sand-bag, and made me unconscious."
"It must have been some sharp instrument, to cut your head," declared
Frank. "He probably heard us coming, and ran away. Then, thinking
perhaps we hadn't seen you, he decided to come back for a second try."
"Well, I guess he's gone for good--to-night, at least," remarked Andy;
and a little later the boys reached Riverview Hall. The proctor was
waiting for them, with anger in his eyes for their being out so late,
but he calmed down when told of the cause.
"Attacked, eh?" he exclaimed. "That is bad business, boys. Are you much
hurt, Chase?"
"No, not much."
"Highwaymen, I expect. I did not dream they would be so bold. Footpads
so near the school! The police must be notified at once," and the
proctor proceeded to call up the authorities on the telephone. Billy,
with a wink at his two chums not to say anything of that which he
had told them, allowed the school official to think that an ordinary
criminal had made the attack.
After the alarm had been given, bringing an answer to the effect that
policemen and detectives would be on the lookout for any desperate
characters, Billy sent in his telegram.
If Frank or Andy had hoped to gather, from overhearing the wording of
the message, any intimation as to what it was the lame man had tried to
get from the Western lad, they were disappointed, for the telegram was
in code words, meaningless to all but to those holding the key. And, to
do them credit, Andy and his brother were curious only from a desire to
help Billy, whom they had grown to like very much.
"My uncle and I always use a code, or cipher, in sending messages,"
explained Billy, when he had finished telephoning. "It saves many a
big cattle deal from falling through sometimes, for my uncle has many
competitors who would do anything to learn his plans."
"You had better let the doctor attend to that cut on your head,"
suggested the proctor, and presently the school physician was called in
to dress the wound.
"A nasty cut, but that's all," was his opinion. "No bones broken.
You'll probably have a worse headache in the morning than you have now."
He proved a true prophet, and for three days Billy was laid up in bed,
being delirious part of the time. Andy and Frank went in to see him,
and during a lucid moment he begged them not to say anything about the
lame man.
"Let everybody think it was just an ordinary thief who attacked me,"
said Billy. "I can best serve my uncle that way, and I have the papers
he tried to get safely put away now. So don't say anything."
They promised, though wondering much, and so the attack on the Freshman
passed as a bold, though ordinary, case of a criminal trying to rob a
lone traveler after dark. The police could get no trace of him, which
did not greatly surprise the Racer boys and their new chum.
Meanwhile the first ball game of the season was played and--lost by
Riverview. The score was five to two.
"It was because Billy Chase wasn't in center field," declared Frank
after the game, for Billy had been unable to play on account of the
injury to his head. "If he'd been there the flies that Reynolds muffed
would have been caught, and we could have stopped their winning
streak."
"Well, we didn't play very hard ourselves, when it came to making
runs," declared Jack Sanderson.
"No, we've got to do better," added Ward Platt, and the next practice
was sharp, and full of vim, under the watchful eyes of the coach and
captain.
It was about two days after Billy had gotten out of bed, following the
attack on him, that he sought out Frank and Andy in their room.
"I've got a message from my uncle," said the Western lad, as he held
out a telegram. "It's in the code, and I've just translated it. By the
way, I believe I forgot to mention that my uncle's name is Richfield
Thornton, and that his place is near Sageville, Kansas."
"We've never been very far West," volunteered Andy, "so we never heard
of that place."
"What does your uncle say?" asked Frank, for it was evident that Billy
had come to tell some news.
"Oh, he says he's sorry I was hurt, but he's glad that that man didn't
get hold of the papers that I carried. He says he is having his own
troubles out there, for the men opposed to him are making it hard to do
business. It seems they have divided up their forces and attack. Some
of them are in the East here, trying to get the best of me, and others
are working the game from the Western end. I don't know what to do.
The deal is far from being completed, and anything may happen at any
time to spoil it. I wish my uncle would come on and tell me what to do."
"Maybe we can help you," suggested Frank. "Our father is in business
in New York, and I know he has had lots of law-suits about different
matters. Maybe he could advise you----"
"No, thank you," said Billy, with a shake of his head. "The trouble is,
I can't give you the details of my uncle's business for two reasons.
One is that I don't know all the ins and outs of it myself, and the
other is that it has to be kept secret for a certain length of time.
And to get intelligent advice I'd have to give all the details."
"That's so," agreed Frank.
"But I tell you what we can do," exclaimed Andy. "We can stick close to
you, Billy, and if there are any more attacks there'll be three of us
to dispose of instead of one."
"That's right!" cried Frank. "Billy, we're with you from this on!" And
he held out his hand, which the Western lad took in a hearty clasp.
"You hang out with us, Billy," went on the elder Racer lad, "and we'll
see what happens."
"Fine!" cried Andy, who loved excitement. "Maybe they'll attack you
again."
"I hope not," murmured Billy, as he felt of the lump that was still on
his head. "My uncle wants me to come back out West," he added; "but I
don't want to unless I have to. I like it here. It's a great school."
"You ought to have seen it when the Racer boys first came," spoke Jack
Sanderson, entering in time to hear Billy's last remark. "It sure was
fierce!"
"That's right," agreed Frank.
"And they did everything to get it in shape," went on Jack.
"Oh, get out! Everyone helped!" declared Andy, who, like his brother,
was modest under praise. Nothing more was said for the present about
the news from the West, but later that day Billy remarked:
"If I do have to go back to the ranch, I hope you fellows will come and
visit me during vacation."
"We'll be glad to!" exclaimed Frank, his eyes sparkling in anticipation
of the delights of the prairies.