Dave Porter and His Double Part 14

"I guess that's right, too," answered Dave's uncle. "Just the same, you take care. I don't want you young folks to have any accidents on this trip."

"I trust you all have a good time," came benevolently from old Caspar Potts, as he gazed at them and rubbed his hands. "My, my! how I used to enjoy sleighing when I was a young man! And how many years ago that seems!" he added with a little sigh.

"Don't stay any later than midnight," warned Mrs. Wadsworth.

"We'll be back by that time unless something unusual turns up,"

returned Dave. He turned to the others in the sleigh. "Everybody fixed and ready?"

"All ready!" came back the answering cry.

"Then we're off." Dave turned to the driver, a middle-aged colored man. "Let her go, Wash."

"Ya.s.sir," responded Washington Bones, with a grin. "Giddap!" he called to his horses. And with a crack of the whip and a grand flourish the turnout left the front of the Wadsworth mansion and whirled out on to the broad highway leading to Lamont.

The four horses were used to working together, and they trotted along in fine style, causing many a pa.s.ser-by to stop and gaze at the team and the gay load of young people in admiration. The horses were well equipped with bells, and each of the youths had provided himself with a good-sized horn, so that noise was not lacking as they dashed along past the stores and houses of Crumville. Then they came out on the Lamont road, where the sleighing was almost perfect.

"I hope we don't have any such adventure as we had at Conover's Hill,"

remarked Jessie to Dave while they were spinning on their way.

"I don't think these livery stable horses will run away," he returned.

"They are used every day, and that makes them less frisky than our horses, which sometimes are in the stable for a week. Besides that, Wash Bones is one of the most careful drivers around here. If he does anything, he'll let the team hold back on him rather than urge them to do their best."

On and on flew the sleigh, the young folks chatting gaily and occasionally bursting out into a verse of song.

"Let's give 'em our old Oak Hall song!" cried Dave, presently.

"That's it!" came eagerly from his two chums, and a moment later they started up the old school song, which was sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, the girls joining in:

"Oak Hall we never shall forget, No matter where we roam; It is the very best of schools, To us it's just like home!

Then give three cheers, and let them ring Throughout this world so wide, To let the people know that we Elect to here abide!"

"Say, that takes me back to the old days at Oak Hall," remarked Roger, when the singing had come to an end. "My, but those were the great days!"

"I don't believe we'll ever see any better, Roger," answered Dave.

The sleighing party had still three miles to go when suddenly Laura uttered a cry.

"It's snowing!"

"So it is!" burst out Belle. "What a shame!"

"Maybe it won't amount to much," said Ben. "It often snows just a little, you know."

The first flakes to fall were large, and dropped down lazily from the sky. But soon it grew darker, and in a short time the snow was coming down so thickly that it almost blotted out the landscape on all sides.

"Some fall this!" exclaimed Phil. "Looks now as if it were going to be a regular storm."

"O dear! and I wanted it to be moonlight to-night!" wailed Laura.

Dave was peering around and looking anxiously at the heavy, leaden sky.

"If this is going to be a heavy storm, maybe it might be as well for us to turn back," he announced.

"Turn back?" came from several of the others.

"Yes."

"What for, Dave?" questioned Phil. "I don't think a little snow is going to hurt us. Maybe it will help to keep us warm," he added with a grin.

"We don't want to get snowed in, Phil."

"Oh, let's go on!" interposed Roger. "Even if it does keep on snowing it won't get very heavy in the next couple of hours. We can hurry up with our dinner at Lamont and be home again before it gets very deep."

"All right, I'm willing if the rest are," returned Dave, who did not wish to throw "cold water" on their sport. "Lamont it is! Go ahead, Wash, we want to get there just as soon as possible."

On they plunged, the snow coming down thicker and thicker every minute. Then, just as the outskirts of the town were gained, they heard a curious humming sound.

"Oh, Dave! What is that?" queried Jessie.

"It's the wind coming up," he answered. "Listen!"

All did so and noted that the humming sound was increasing. Then the wind came tearing through the woods and down the highway with great force, sending the snow in driving sheets into their faces.

"My gracious, this looks as if it were going to be a blizzard!" gasped Phil, who had started up to see what the sound meant. "We had better get under some kind of cover just as soon as possible."

"We'll be up to dat hotel in anudder minute," bawled Washington Bones, to make himself heard above the sudden fury of the elements. "Say!

dis suah is some snowsto'm!" he added.

Again he cracked his whip, and once more the four horses ploughed along as well as they were able. They had to face both the wind and the snow, and these combined made progress slow. By the time the party came into sight of the hotel with the restaurant attached, the wind was blowing almost a gale, and the snow seemed to be coming down in driving chunks.

"Drive us around to the side porch," ordered Dave. "It will be a little more sheltered there."

"Ya.s.sir," came from the colored driver; and soon they had come to a halt at the spot mentioned. From under the snow and robes crawled the boys and the girls and lost no time in running into the hotel. Then the colored man drove the turnout down to the stables.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FROM UNDER THE SNOW AND THE ROBES CRAWLED THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS--_Page 103._]

"My! did you ever see such a storm!" was Roger's comment. "And how quickly it came up!"

"If it isn't a blizzard, it is next door to it," returned Dave. And then he added quickly: "It looks to me as if we were going to be s...o...b..und!"

CHAPTER XI

HELD BY THE BLIZZARD