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[Illustration: WITH THE NEW STUDENT STILL BORNE ALOFT THEY RETRACED
THEIR STEPS. (Page 80)]
HARRY WATSON'S
HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
Or
The Rivals of Rivertown
BY
FRANK V. WEBSTER
AUTHOR OF "ONLY A FARM BOY," "AIRSHIP ANDY," "THE
BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
BOOKS FOR BOYS
By FRANK V. WEBSTER
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume.
ONLY A FARM BOY
TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY
THE BOY FROM THE RANCH
THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER
BOB, THE CASTAWAY
THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE
THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS
THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES
THE TWO BOY GOLD MINERS
JACK, THE RUNAWAY
COMRADES OF THE SADDLE
THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL
THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS
BOB CHESTER'S GRIT
AIRSHIP ANDY
DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER
DICK, THE BANK BOY
BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE
THE BOYS OF THE WIRELESS
HARRY WATSON'S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
_Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New York_
Copyright, 1912, by
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
Harry Watson's High School Days
Printed in U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Harry Shows His Mettle 1
II. Jed Brown Finds a Protector 8
III. Socker's Plot 17
IV. Harry Shows His Grit 24
V. The Race on Skates 29
VI. The Girls' Race 36
VII. The Rivalry Between Harry and Elmer 41
VIII. Paul's Party 48
IX. The False Charge 54
X. Harry is Exonerated 59
XI. "Old Grouch" 67
XII. Pledged to the Pi Etas 74
XIII. A Serious Charge 79
XIV. The Boys Appoint a Committee 85
XV. Mr. Larmore Issues an Ultimatum 90
XVI. Stumbling Across a Clue 95
XVII. The Trip to Lumberport 102
XVIII. Harry Arranges for a Settlement 107
XIX. Upholding the Honor of Rivertown 114
XX. Harry Receives Bad News 127
XXI. Elmer Baits His Rival 137
XXII. Dark Days 144
XXIII. A Mile a Minute Spin 151
XXIV. Harry Pilots the Lightning 170
XXV. "All's Well that Ends Well" 189
HARRY WATSON'S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS
CHAPTER I--HARRY SHOWS HIS METTLE
"Hey, fellows, we've a new student at Rivertown High!"
"Who is he, Socker?" chorused a group of boys to whom their schoolmate
had come running with his tidings.
"Don't know. Nettie told me that she and Viola had met him as he was
coming out of Principal Larmore's office."
"Yes, and you'd better watch out, Elmer. Nettie said Viola has been
talking about nothing else but that good-looking fellow since she saw
him!" bantered another of the group.
The boy, light and rather handsome, but with a weak face, to whom this
last remark had been addressed was about to reply, when a warning was
sounded.
"Keep quiet! Here he comes now!" declared Socker.
Instantly all eyes were turned in the direction of the schoolhouse where
they saw a lad walking with a swinging stride. Apparently about fifteen
years of age, he was well built and rather tall. Dark hair, which curled
about his cap, and laughing eyes bespoke him as a jolly, handsome
fellow, and the ruddy glow brought to his cheeks by the crisp winter air
was evidence that he was possessed of health in abundance.
"Why, I know who he is!" asserted another of the group.
"Who?"
"He must be Harry Watson, nephew of the Widow Watson. I remember Mrs.
Watson told mother the other day that her nephew, Harry, was coming to
Rivertown."
"Where's he from?"
"Can't say."
"Well, let's see if he's any good!" exclaimed a big, hulking fellow, Pud
Snooks, who was the bully of the school. "Hey, you, Watson, come over
here!" he shouted.
Rivertown High School, a two-story brick building containing some
fifteen class rooms and a large assembly room, was situated on a bluff
overlooking the Conoque River: and the road leading from it to the
village, in addition to being steep, made a sharp turn at the foot of
the hill.
The spot was a favorite one with the scholars for coasting, and several
of the boys had been in the act of placing a double-runner bob in
position at the top of the hill, when they had been apprised of the fact
there was a new student in school.
The boys of Rivertown High had a fondness for trying out new students,
and Pud's suggestion met with ready approval.
Accordingly, when the bully proposed putting Harry Watson to the test,
the other boys sat down on the double-runner, taking good care to leave
the steering seat vacant.
"When I shove off, everybody stand up!" whispered Pud. Then he exclaimed
aloud:
"Hey, Watson! Can you steer a sled?"
Stopping as he heard his name, Harry looked toward the group of boys.
"Sure thing, if you'd like to have me," he answered. "My name is Harry
Watson."
"And mine's Pud Snooks," announced the bully. Then bowing in mock
seriousness, he continued:
"That fancy blonde behind me is Elmer Craven. He is the richest and most
famous personage we have at Rivertown High. Twice a week he goes across
the river to Lumberport, and he believes that Viola Darrow is never
happy when----"
"Oh, cut it out, Pud!" growled Elmer.
With a grin, the bully went on with his introductions.
"The next exhibit is Socker Gales, and the specimen with the ten-foot
reach is Longback, whom his family calls Sam Dalton. Now just take the
ropes and I'll push off. We're a precious load, as I hope I've made
clear to you, so don't tip us over!"
While Harry had been acknowledging these bantering introductions, he had
also been looking at the icy roadway.
A glance at the sharp turn had told him it would require clever work to
make it, and so, when he took the steering ropes, instead of sitting
down on the sled, he gave them a quick jerk--to have one of them part
near the runner.
"Good thing that didn't happen on the hill!" he exclaimed, quickly
cutting off the broken end and making a new knot, after which he again
tested the rope and found it sound.
Pud and his chums, however, though they pretended to, did not share this
opinion, and that there might not be more delay, as soon as Harry sat
down and placed his feet on the bracers, the bully started the sled.
"We're off!" he shouted, as he gave the double-runner a terrific shove.
As though eager for the fun, the first sled shot over the crest of the
hill--and then all the boys put their feet down and let the sled pass
between their legs!
Instantly Harry realized that he was alone on the double-runner.
With no weight on the hind sled, he knew it would bump and slew as soon
as he got fairly started and especially when he struck the curve. But
Harry was game.
"I'll show these Rivertown High chaps that they can't stump me by any of
their tricks," he said to himself, and braced his feet more firmly,
leaning back to throw as much weight as possible on the hind sled.
As the double-runner gained momentum, it fairly danced over the icy
roadway.
Behind, Pud and his cronies were hurrying as fast as they could that
they might gain a spot whence they could see the spill they expected
when the sled struck the curve.
But as Harry approached the turn, he leaned far out.
"Oh, you Pud! You guessed wrong when you picked Watson for an easy
mark," chuckled Longback. "That boy knows something about steering."
The next instant, however, the disappointment of the boys at learning
that they were not to have the fun of seeing Harry dumped, was forgotten
in their alarm at hearing shouts of warning and fright beyond the curve!
Just as Harry's sled dashed around the turn, he had caught sight of two
little children starting up the hill, dragging their sleds behind them.
A group of high school girls, among them Viola Darrow and her chum,
Nettie Masterson, were descending the hill, and it was they who, when
they heard the rattlety-bang of the double-runner, and saw the toddlers
ahead, had cried out in terror.
One side of the road was banked by the hill, while the other dropped
down toward the river; a fence with one rail some three feet from the
ground serving as a guard.
What was below the embankment Harry did not know, but he remembered to
have seen some bushes as he had walked up the hill.
In their effort to save the children, the girls had run out into the
roadway, practically blocking it.
So great was Harry's speed, however, that they realized it would be
impossible for them to seize the toddlers and get them to one side in
time to let the double-runner pass--and in such a manner were they spread
across the road that Harry had no chance to guide his sled past them.
"Open out! Let him through!" shouted Longback and Socker; while Elmer
and Pud, terrified at the impending tragedy threatened by their trick,
simply stared at the scene in silence, their faces white, their mouths
agape.
But in the instant that had followed his discovery of the little girls
starting up the roadway, Harry had made up his mind what to do--and
acted.
With a sudden pull, he jerked the sled from its course, headed it
between two of the posts which supported the guard-rail--and the
double-runner leaped over the embankment at a spot less than six feet
from where the group of girls and the two children stood, panic-stricken
and crying.