A SURPRISING MEETING.
The game was over; after the third touchdown by Oakdale it had not
lasted long enough for Clearport to recover and accomplish anything.
The visitors had won, and they were being congratulated by their
overjoyed admirers. Hayden was applauded, and his hand was shaken until
he repulsed the exuberant crowd that surged around him. Stone likewise
came in for his share of applause and praise, and, although his heart
was happy, his unfortunate manner might have led many to fancy him
stolid and almost sullen. Nevertheless, when, with a hand on Ben’s
shoulder, Winton told him that he was the man who had saved the day and
won the game, he smiled a little, and there was a blurring mist in his
eyes.
Roger Eliot, his face lighted by that rare smile of his, praised them
all.
“I see my father is here with his touring car,” he said. “I wish the
car were large enough to take you all back to Oakdale, boys; but it
isn’t, and so by the way of company I’ll take one of you. Come on,
Stone, old chap.”
Ben flushed, surprised because he had been singled out.
“He’s the feller,” cried Chipper Cooper generously—“he’s the feller to
take, Roger. Give him a good ride; he deserves it.”
Hayden said nothing; he had not expected to be invited, yet he was
angered because Roger had selected Stone.
The boys had left their regular clothes in a room at the hotel, and to
this they repaired to shed the dirty, sweat-stained garments of the
game. Stone took no part in their light-hearted chatter; when they
congratulated him, he simply said he had tried to do his best. Finally,
bearing his bundle of football togs, he descended with Roger and found
Mr. Eliot’s car waiting at the door. Little Amy was in the car with her
father, who sat beside the driver. The child laughed and clapped her
hands as her brother and Ben appeared.
“I’m going to ride on the back seat between you,” she called.
Mr. Eliot beamed on the boys. “You pulled out of that game pretty well,
Roger,” he said. “I saw only the last of it, for I couldn’t get here
sooner. I thought you were done for, son, but Ben saved you with that
great run. That was really what won the game, as it gave you a chance
to make the touchdown you needed.”
Roger’s father had called Ben by his Christian name, and Stone felt his
heart swell. Seated in the tonneau of the automobile with Amy beside
him, he was borne out of Clearport and away over the brown, winding
road that led to Oakdale. Often he had longed to ride in an automobile
and wondered if he would ever have the privilege. The sensation of
gliding softly along as he lay back against the tufted leather cushions
brought him a feeling of great satisfaction and peace. The sun, peeping
redly over the western rim of the world, smiled upon him, and nowhere
in all the sky was there a cloud, even as large as a man’s hand.
Amy talked gaily; she told how excited she had been as she watched Ben
running with the ball, and, although she did not understand the game,
she knew he had done a splendid thing.
“It would have been a frightful calamity for us if you had been knocked
out at the finish of the first half, Ben,” said Roger. “I was afraid of
it, and we never could have won that game without you.”
Stone recalled his suspicions, and a shadow fell athwart his face, but
his lips remained silent. If Hayden had really perpetrated that foul
trick, he had failed in his purpose, and Ben, triumphant, had no desire
to speak of it.
A soft, tingling, cold twilight came on with the setting of the sun. At
their bases the distant hills were veiled in a filmy haze of blue. The
engine beneath the hood of the car purred softly as it bore them over
the road with the power of fifty horses. As, with a mellow warning note
of the horn, they swept around a gentle curve, they came upon a small,
dusty human figure trudging slowly in the direction they were
traveling. It was a boy, ahead of whom trotted a little yellow dog,
held by a line attached to its collar. Over the back of the little lad
a violin was swung by supporting strings.
The dog turned aside, pulling at the line, and the boy followed him, as
if led and guided in this manner.
Ben Stone uttered a sudden shout. “Stop,” he cried wildly—“stop
quickly! Please stop!”
“Stop, Sullivan,” commanded Mr. Eliot; and the chauffeur responded by
bringing the car to a standstill as soon as possible. Even before the
wheels ceased to revolve Stone had vaulted over the side door of the
tonneau and was running back toward the boy they had passed. “Jerry!”
he called. “Jerry! Jerry!”
The little yellow dog barked at him, but, paying no heed to the animal,
Ben swooped down on the lad who held the line and scooped him up in his
arms.
“Who is it, Roger?” asked Urian Eliot in surprise.
“Jerry,” said Roger—“he called him Jerry. Why, father, it must be Ben’s
own brother.”
“His brother? Why, I didn’t know——”
“He told me about his brother,” explained Roger. “They were separated
after Ben’s parents died. Jerry is blind.”
“Oh!” murmured Amy. “Isn’t that just dreadful! Blind and walking all
alone with only a dog for company! We must take him in the car, papa.”
“Certainly,” said Mr. Eliot, opening the door and stepping out. “This
is a most remarkable occurrence.”
In the meantime, Ben and Jerry—for it was indeed Ben’s unfortunate
younger brother—were transported by the joy and surprise of the
unexpected meeting. They clung to each other, laughing, crying and
talking brokenly and incoherently. The little dog, who had at first
seemed to fear some harm threatened its master, frisked back and forth
before them, barking frantically, finally sitting up on its haunches
with its forward paws drooping, its mouth open and its protruding
tongue quivering; for at last it appeared to comprehend that there was
really no danger, and this affair was one over which even a small
yellow dog should laugh and be happy.
Roger had left the automobile likewise, and he came back to them,
waiting near at hand until they should recover from the distracting
excitement of the moment.
“Oh, Jerry!” choked Ben. “To find you here—I don’t understand it,
Jerry.”
“I’ll tell you all about it, Ben, as soon as I can. I’ve been searching
for you everywhere, but I was afraid I’d never, never find you.”
“Stone,” said Roger, “take him into the car.”
Jerry shrank against his older brother. “Who—who is it, Ben?” he
whispered.
“A friend—the best friend—besides you, Jerry—that I’ve ever known.
We’ve been playing football, and we’re going back to Oakdale now—going
back in a big, fine automobile. This is Roger Eliot, Jerry.”
Roger stepped forward and took one of the little lad’s soiled hands.
“I’m very glad to meet Ben’s brother,” he declared with such sincerity
that Jerry’s alarm was instantly dispelled and his sympathy won. “My
father’s auto is waiting, and there’s room to spare.”
“You never rode in an automobile, Jerry,” said Ben. “It’s corking.”
Through the dusk Roger saw the smaller lad’s sightless eyes turned upon
him.
“But—but my little dog, Pilot?” said Jerry questioningly. “I must take
him. I know he’s tired, the same as I am, and I wouldn’t leave him
for——”
“Certainly we’ll take him,” assured Roger. “Come on.”
To the sightless wayfarer it was a marvel beyond words, almost beyond
comprehension. He heard them speak of Roger’s father and felt the
reassuring touch of Urian Eliot’s strong but gentle hands, while the
voice of the man sounded in his ears. He was lifted into the tonneau of
the car, the dog whining nervously at the end of the line until bidden
follow, upon which, with a single sharp yap of thankfulness, he sprang
up. He heard also the voice of a child, who spoke softly and seemed
glad to welcome him. It was not strange that his head swam with the
wonderment of it.
While waiting, the chauffeur had lighted the gas lamps of the car, and,
with the machine again under way, they blazed a golden path through the
deepening autumn darkness. The sharp, cold air whipped Jerry’s cheeks,
but the strong arm of the brother he loved was about him, and his heart
beat with happiness so intense that it was like a keen, sweet pain.
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