AT THE FOOT OF THE LIBERTY POLE
"Look out!" shouted Frank, who was trying to find some sort of weapon
himself, armed with which he could hasten to the aid of his chum.
But Andy kept his senses well about him. Perhaps had he been alone,
and there opened a favorable chance whereby he could put a convenient
fence between himself and those grim square jaws of the ugly dog, he
would have been only too glad to do so. But that was utterly out of
the question now. The girl must be defended, come what might.
He fortunately remained fairly cool, which was a good point in his
favor. Just then, singular to say, Andy seemed to remember what he had
read about what Old Putnam said to his Colonials at the battle of
Bunker Hill: "Wait till you can see the whites in their eyes, boys!"
He held himself back until he was positive that he could land a blow on
that massive head of the prize bulldog.
Whack!
The wonder was that Andy did not crush the beast's skull in with the
monkey wrench. He surely would, had he struck with all his strength;
but being afraid that if he missed connections he might lose his
balance, and be seized by the brute, he only "tapped for a single," as
he afterwards remarked.
It staggered the beast at any rate, and drove him back a foot, stopping
his onward rush.
"Good! give him another like that, Andy! I'm coming right along!"
whooped Frank who had managed to lay hold on some sort of tool which he
carried for emergencies, and was jumping forward as fast as he could
move.
The dog tried a second time to seize the daring boy in those cruel
white fangs. He presented a terrible sight just then; for there was
blood showing on his white hair, where the edge of the monkey wrench
had struck.
"You will, will you?" gasped the boy, who had thrown himself into a
position of readiness once more, with his novel weapon upraised.
This time the dog tried to duck the descending blow. Had his ruse been
successful undoubtedly Andy would have found his ankle fast in the grip
of those terrible teeth before he could recover. But again he had
figured on such a move; and as he swung the tool downward he jumped
forward a pace himself. It was "meeting the ball before the break
came," as they would have it in baseball language.
Crunch!
That was surely a good sound crack. The force had been visibly
increased too, so that the brute was knocked completely over into a
kicking heap.
"Try it again, if you want to!" shouted the now aroused Andy. "Plenty
more like that left! Hi! hold on there; what're you sneaking away for?
Not had your fill yet, have you, pup? I guess you've got a streak of
yellow in you! No prize dog about you. Well, good-bye then. Next
time I call I'll try and do better by you!"
The dog seemed half dazed by that last blow. Struggling to its feet it
began to run away, though hardly able to keep a direct course.
Frank arrived on the scene just too late to be of any assistance; but
then as it turned out, his cousin had not really needed help.
"Well done, Andy, old fellow!" he exclaimed, proudly, as he seized the
hand of his cousin, and shook it heartily. "I'm glad to own you as a
member of the Bird family. And you're dead game on dogs, that's sure."
"Oh! it was splendid!" exclaimed the girl and both boys now saw that
she was a very pretty little miss, with sparkling blue eyes, and golden
locks. "I shall never, never forget how brave you were. That terrible
dog would have bitten me, I just know. I was so silly to cross this
field to save time."
She insisted on shaking hands with each of the lads, though naturally
it was Andy who took the greater share of her attention.
Just then a loud hoarse voice broke in upon them. Looking up they were
surprised to see a big, rough looking man, evidently the farmer
himself, coming toward them. He carried a gun in his hands, and had
all the appearance of anger in his manner.
"Jest stand whar ye be, ye scamps!" he bellowed as he made threatening
gestures with the gun. "Don't ye try to run away, er I'll gie ye
somethin' ye'll never furgit. Maul my prize dawg, will ye, and on my
own private groun's? I got the law back o' me, and ye'll pay damages
er go to jail. Hear that, consarn ye?"
Of course neither of the boys thought of running. Why should they when
their precious aeroplane lay there close at hand? Evidently the
excited farmer had not yet noticed this; or if so may have taken it for
some new species of motorcycle. His entire attention seemed to be
wrapped up in keeping the boys from fleeing. He was figuring on taking
advantage of his rights, and exacting heavy toll for the assault on his
"dawg."
He came on until within ten feet of the boys. Andy still held that
useful monkey wrench in his left hand, having transferred it at the
time the girl insisted on his taking her little white hand in his.
The enraged and suspicious farmer must have just noticed this, for he
suddenly started to bellowing again.
"Put up your hands, both o' ye!" he exclaimed, waving the gun
threateningly. "Ye be desprite scoundrels, I take it, an' I don't mean
to gi'e ye any chance to treat me like ye done my dawg. Fifty dollars
wouldn't buy that critter; an' like's not he won't never be any use
arter this. I'm goin' to march ye both to the town lockup, right away.
Don't ye move a hand, consarn ye!"
"Mr. Sweesey, how dare you? These boys are my friends!" and as she
uttered these words; in an indignant voice, the girl stamped her little
foot on the ground.
"Hey! what! oh! is thet you, Miss Alice? Sho! now, I never knowed ye,
Miss," the old man stammered, looking toward the girl for the first
time.
"I was coming to your house with an important paper my father asked me
to hand you, when he heard me say I meant to take a long walk. I
crossed this field to make a shortcut, as I've often done before. That
terrible dog of yours was loose, although you have been warned against
allowing it. And he would have attacked me, only that these brave boys
came to my assistance. I shall tell my father about it, you can
depend, sir."
All the bravado had vanished from the farmer by now. He seemed to
fairly cringe before the girl. Afterwards the boys learned that there
was good reason for this, since her father was Mayor Stephens, the
richest man in Hazenhurst, and the farmer a tenant who was forever
behind in his rents, and heavily in the debt of the owner of the place.
"I didn't mean to run 'em in, Miss Alice," he hastened to explain. "I
was just a-tryin' to skeer 'em, ye know. I've had heaps o' trouble
with boys from town, and in course I thought they was up to more o'
their tricks. Tige broke loose this mornin'. But p'raps he got just
what he orter hed from this brave boy. I'm orful glad he didn't bite
ye, Miss. And I hopes ye won't complain to yer governor."
"I'll think it over, Mr. Sweesey," replied the girl, somewhat softened
by his abject demeanor. "Here is the paper father wanted me to take to
you. I think I'd better be going back to town after this. And I
promise you I'll never again cross this field."
She turned her back on him, and looked toward the biplane.
"How wonderful that you should have come to my help in that way," she
said.
"Well, the fact is, Miss Alice," remarked Andy, quick to catch the name
used by the old farmer, "we were on our way to Hazenhurst, meaning to
drop down on the commons and give your people over here a chance to see
what a biplane looked like, while my cousin Frank Bird was making a few
little changes in this new machine; when we happened to see the dog
chasing after you. Then we dropped down in a big hurry; but
fortunately no damage was done."
"Oh! are you the famous Bird boys I've heard so much about?" she
exclaimed; at which Andy turned red in the face, and laughing
awkwardly, replied:
"I'm Andy Bird, all right, and this is my cousin Frank, the head and
brains of the combine; but as to our being famous, that's all a
mistake. We have taken up aviation as a business, and mean to follow
it. My father was a well-known aviator; so you see it runs in the
blood. You live in Hazenhurst, I suppose, Miss Alice?"
And it was at this point the pretty girl informed them who she was.
"Oh! I hope you will stay long enough by the liberty pole for me to
get back!" she observed, eagerly.
Andy nodded his head.
"Oh! I can promise you that we're not going to be in any very great
hurry to start back home. Why, we might even have to wait a whole
hour. There are lots of little things to be done, you see;" and as he
said this Andy gave his cousin a sly kick on the shin with his toe,
which was apparently understood by Frank, since he did not venture to
say a word in opposition to what had been spoken; though truth to tell,
he believed ten minutes would have sufficed him to make what little
changes he had in mind.
"Then I'll start right away," Alice declared. "And as I chance to be a
good walker I will show up inside of fifteen minutes at the most."
She shook hands with them again, and started toward the road. The old
farmer, with bulging eyes, watched the two lads get their biplane
ready; and obeying Frank's request even gave a shove at the proper
instant. Then he stood there, craning his scrawny neck as he watched
the great bird-like object soar upwards, hardly able to believe that he
had actually assisted in the launching of one of the modern miracles
that had conquered the forces of the upper air currents.
Andy was watching, and as they sailed over the road where Miss Alice
was trudging back to town he shouted a greeting, and waved his
handkerchief, to be delighted by a return salute.
"If I'd just dared, Frank," said Andy, regretfully, "I'd have offered
to take her to town along with us; but I was afraid you'd say no."
"Which I certainly would," replied his cousin, immediately. "It may be
all right for us to risk our lives in the way we do, but I don't
believe we have any business to take chances with that of another,
except under certain conditions. If we had to take up some one to gave
them from peril that would be all right. Now, here we are at the
commons, Andy."
"Wow! look at the people rushing out of the houses," cried Andy, "would
you? I guess this is the biggest thing that's happened at Hazenhurst
for a whole year of Sundays. Hope they give us plenty of elbow-room to
land. If they push in too far, somebody is going to get hurt."
Frank called out in time, and the crowd swayed back, so that presently
the wonderful biplane dropped as lightly as a feather on the beautiful
green commons, and close to the foot of the liberty pole.
"Please keep back before you do any damage!" Frank exclaimed.
Fortunately there were some sensible fellows present, who realized the
need of care; and when these athletic young chaps had formed a ring
around the aeroplane Frank breathed more freely again.
He went about making his little changes leisurely, while Andy did most
of the talking, and answering the multitude of questions that were
fired at them.
When the good people of Hazenhurst learned that these two modest young
chaps were the Bird boys, of whom they had heard and read so much, they
were loud in expressions of pleasure at welcoming them to the town.
And when later on Andy told them of the contemplated race, they
declared that everybody in Hazenhurst would surely be on hand to see
the two contestants turn around the liberty pole.
Of course Miss Alice arrived, even ahead of schedule time; which would
indicate that she had indeed hurried. And presently the boys were
introduced to her father, and had to receive his hearty thanks after he
learned how greatly the Stephens family were indebted to them.
But Frank noticed with secret pleasure that the girl entered no
complaint against the old farmer. From which he understood she had
come to the wise conclusion that a lot of good had sprung out of the
chance meeting, that might never have happened only for Tige's breaking
loose that morning.
And later on, when the biplane arose gracefully from Hazenhurst green,
a mighty roar of cheers attested to the fact that the Bird boys had
succeeded in making a very favorable impression, not only on Miss Alice
and her father, but the rank and file of the townspeople as well.