BRISTLES HAS AN IDEA
The following morning, as Fred was tinkering around, fixing up some of
his traps, he heard the whistle of one of his chums outside. Poking his
head out of the window, and wondering why, if it should be Sid, he did
not come upstairs without any knocking at the door, he saw to his
surprise that it was Bristles.
"Hello! Fred! Can I climb up, or will you come down here?" the latter
called out.
"Walk right into my parlor, said the spider to the fly," replied Fred,
being in rare good humor himself, and wishing he could do something to
help Bristles.
The other boy soon made his appearance in Fred's little den of a room;
which, however, was mighty comfortable, and as neat as wax. Mrs. Fenton
was a good housekeeper, and she had always trained her children to
never leave things "at sixes and sevens," as she termed it.
Fred saw that Bristles was considerably excited over something or
other. And of course the chances were that it must concern his own
personal affairs. Having made a confidant of Fred, and gained more or
less benefit because of his sympathy and advice, Bristles was rushing
over the first thing with further news.
"You look worked up, Bristles," Fred remarked, as the other threw his
cap on the table, and dropped down in the rocker.
"Well, I am, for a fact," the visitor replied, nodding his head to
emphasize his remark.
"Anything happened to make you feel better?" suggested Fred; "has there
been another mysterious robbery over at your aunt's house, so that she
can understand you didn't do it, because you were far away this time?"
Bristles heaved a big sigh.
"Huh! no such good luck as that, Fred," he remarked; "I only wish it
was that way. P'raps it will be, just as you say. But an idea hit me in
the night, when I was a-lyin' there, trying to get to sleep again. I
don't like to be awake when it's only three o'clock, you know. Makes me
feel bad in the morning. And I was tired as all get-out last night,
after what we did yesterday up at camp and on the way down, when we
beat Buck's bunch so neat in that race."
"Hold on, stick to the text," remarked Fred; "you're the greatest
fellow to ramble all over the lot when you start to telling anything.
Now you said you had run across an idea; let's hear it, then; for I
reckon it must have something to do with your trouble, Bristles?"
The other actually grinned, showing that he was feeling more hopeful on
this bright, sunshiny, summer morning, at any rate.
"That's right, Fred, it had a whole lot to do with it!" he burst out.
"Say, I've discovered who's been cribbing all those pretty little
stones up at my aunt's!"
"You don't mean it?" cried Fred, really taken aback.
"Yes, I do, now," went on the excited Bristles; "and you couldn't guess
it in a year of Sundays. It just seemed to pop into my head while I was
lying there on my back, grunting because I couldn't get to sleep, or
take my mind off Aunt Alicia and her queer old house."
"Now, don't stop like that, and chuckle, Bristles; but go on telling,
if you want me to sit here and listen." Fred prodded his chum with his
finger as he said this, to bring him to his senses.
"It's playing a mean game on the old lady, too, to take those opals so
slick, and give her all that bad feeling; but if she _will_ keep such
tricky pets, why she's got to pay for it, that's all, Fred."
"Pets!" burst out the other.
"Sure thing," laughed Bristles; "that wise old crow's the guilty
thief!"
"The black raven that she brought over from England, you mean?" Fred
went on, rather staggered himself by what Bristles had said, and yet
discovering an element of possible truth in it.
"Yes, the old chap that cocks his head on one side when you come in,
and examines you over from head to foot, just like he meant to say, 'If
you're not good looking you're not wanted here!' Oh! he's a gay old
villain, I just tell you! And, Fred, mark my words, he's the scamp
who's been taking Aunty's opals."
"Why, I do remember reading, more than a few times, that crows and
ravens have been known to fly away with bright spoons, and all sorts of
things that seem to catch their fancy; but I never heard of a bird
stealing from its mistress, and opals at that."
"Well, that's what this one is doing, you mark me," Bristles said,
positively. "Why, just see what a great chance the old boy has. He
finds the door open into the parlor once in a while, and just hops in,
takes up one of the shiny stones, and carries it away to some place
where he keeps his treasures. I just bet you now he's been carryin' on
that way a long time, and Aunty never noticed that things were
disappearing till I began to come over to see her."
"You think so, do you, Bristles?" remarked Fred, still pondering over
the matter, and wondering in his mind whether it could really be an
explanation for the peculiar little mystery that had given his chum so
much heart-pain.
"Why, it's a dead open-and-shut cinch that the answer to the conundrum
lies in that silly old black bunch of feathers," declared the other,
conviction in his voice. "I looked up all about ravens in our big
'cyclopædia as soon as I got downstairs this morning; and the more I
read, the stronger my mind got that Black Joe _must_ be the guilty
one."
"Will you go and tell your aunt, and ask her to make a search for his
hiding-place?" Fred inquired.
"Well--er--no; not just that," answered the other, slowly, and watching
Fred out of the tail of his eye; "fact is, I'm afraid she'd laugh at
me, and say it was only another excuse for me to get inside her house.
Now, if _you_ could drop in to see Aunt Alicia on some excuse or other,
Fred, perhaps you might get a chance to look around, and find out where
Black Joe keeps his little crop of treasures hid."
Fred burst out into a laugh.
"Oh! I see, you want me to be the one to take chances; is that it,
Bristles?" he demanded.
"Well, I didn't think you'd mind doing a little more for a poor fellow,
as you've been such a help already to me, Fred; and then, she won't
accuse you of wanting to do anything wrong like she might me. Fact is,"
he went on eagerly, so as to better carry his point, "she once said she
kind of liked your looks, after you'd been in there with me. I sure
believe you made a hit with Aunt Alicia; because, as a rule, she
doesn't care much for boys, you know."
"Hold on, Bristles," said Fred, laughingly; "that won't wash a bit.
You're giving me some taffy now, just to make me agree to visit your
aunt. But, honest, I don't care to take the chances. My reputation is
pretty good up to now; but it might go to flinders if anyone said I was
taking things that did not belong to me."
"But, good gracious! Fred, she wouldn't have any reason to accuse you!"
Bristles burst out, very much disappointed because his pet scheme
promised to meet with a hitch so early in its development.
"You forget one thing?" said Fred, soberly.
"Perhaps I have, because, you see, I'm all excited; and it isn't apt to
leave a fellow in decent trim for thinking. But what was it I forgot,
Fred; tell me that?"
"Why, perhaps one or two of the balance of those opals might take a
notion to disappear about the same time I dropped in to see your aunt,
without any invitation to do it. And in that case she'd just naturally
think you'd put me up to keeping the queer business going. I'd hate to
have her think that of me, and much worse send word to my father and
mother that I was a thief!"
"I should say so," declared Bristles, gloomily. "Bad enough to have her
say that I was; and that's all in the family, you see. I never once
thought of that, believe me, Fred. Wouldn't have asked you to take such
chances, if I had. 'Course it wouldn't be fair, and I'm a selfish
feller for hinting at it."
"I don't think so, Bristles," Fred went on, consolingly. "It looked
good to you, because you never thought of the chances of another raid
being made on your aunt's opals. But perhaps you might have your mother
go over and see Miss Alicia. She could mention what you thought, and
even if the old lady did pretend to scoff at the idea, it would put a
flea in her ear, so perhaps she'd keep an eye on Black Joe."
"I'll think about it, Fred. I don't fancy dragging my mother into the
game if it can be helped. I'd like to lift the lid myself, and then
have the laugh on Aunt Alicia. Some day, perhaps, she'll be sorry she
thought so mean of me, and wouldn't listen to my defense. You wait and
see. I'm going to get at the bottom of this thing if it takes me all
summer."
"Well, General Grant got there in the end, and let's hope you'll be as
lucky, old fellow," said Fred, cheerfully. "Anyhow, that was a bright
thought about Black Joe; and it would be a jolly story to tell if it
did turn out that way."
"Why, right now you more'n half believe it yourself, Fred!" cried
Bristles.
"It's worth thinking about," was the noncommittal answer Fred made.
"Oh! by the way," his visitor suddenly exclaimed, "while I was on my
way over here I met Corney, who said he'd heard the Mechanicsburg
fellows got their boat last night."
"Good for that," remarked Fred, with satisfaction. "Now both crews can
get busy, and whip themselves in shape for that big race later on. I
expect we'll do much better next time. Colon wasn't himself at all,
after being nearly drowned only the day before. But he'll come around
all right; and when he's in trim there isn't a huskier fellow in the
Riverport school."
"We practice again this afternoon, don't we?" asked Bristles.
"That was the programme last night, Brad told us," replied Fred.
"Well, I only hope I get relief from this cloud that's hangin' over my
head all the time," Bristles went on, sighing again. "It's just like
the toothache, Fred; you suffer, and know it means goin' to the
dentist's chair; but how you hate to go and get her yanked out! But
once you make up your mind, and the job's done, how glad you feel you
went; eh? Well, some bright day, I'm hoping, I'll feel just as happy as
if I'd had a tooth drawn," and Fred was compelled to smile at the
homely way his chum illustrated the condition of his feelings, though
he understood just how Bristles felt.