Dave Porter and His Double Part 15

"s...o...b..und!" The cry came from several of the party.

"Yes, s...o...b..und, if this heavy fall continues," answered Dave. "Just see how the chunks of snow are coming down, and how the wind is driving them along."

It was certainly an interesting sight, and all the young people watched it for some time before they took off their wraps and prepared to sit down to the meal, which had been ordered over the telephone before leaving Crumville.

"My, just listen to the wind!" was Phil's comment. "You'd think it was a regular nor'-wester."

"If it keeps on it certainly will be a blizzard," put in Roger. "In one way we can be glad we are under shelter, even though we are a good many miles from home."

"Yes. And snow or no snow, I move that we sit down to dinner,"

continued Phil. "We can't go back while it is snowing and blowing like this, so we might as well make the best of our stay here."

After having ordered a meal for the colored man, which was served in another part of the hotel, Dave joined his friends in the restaurant.

A special table had been placed in a cozy corner, and that was decorated with a large bouquet of hothouse flowers, with a smaller bouquet at each plate.

"Oh, how lovely!" burst out Jessie, when she saw the flowers.

"You folks in the East certainly know how to spread yourselves," was Cora Dartmore's comment. "Just look at those beautiful flowers and then at the fierce snowstorm outside."

"Oh, let us forget the storm!" cried Laura. "It will be time enough to think about that when we have to start for home."

"That's the truth!" answered her brother, gaily. "Everybody fall to and do as much damage to the bill-of-fare as possible;" and this remark caused a general smile.

Then the first course was served and soon all of the party were eating and chatting with the greatest of satisfaction.

In the meanwhile, the blizzard--for such it really was--continued to increase in violence. The wind tore along through the woods and down the streets of the town, bringing with it first the heavy chunks of snow and then some hard particles not unlike salt in appearance. The fine snow seemed to creep in everywhere, and, driven by the wind, formed drifts which kept increasing in size steadily.

After the first course of raw oysters, came some cream of celery soup with relishes, and then some roast turkey with cranberry sauce and vegetables. After that the young folks had various kinds of dessert with hot chocolate, and then nuts with raisins.

"What a grand dinner!" remarked Belle, when they were finishing.

"Dave, you certainly know how to order the good things."

"Oh, I had Roger and Phil to help me on that," returned our hero.

"Trust them to order up the good things to eat."

"And trust Dave to help us get away with them," sang out the senator's son, gaily.

"There is only one time when those fellows can't eat," retorted Dave.

"That is when they are asleep."

At a small table not far away from where the young people were seated, sat an elderly man and a lady.

"There is Doctor Renwick and his wife," said Laura, when the meal was finished. "They must have been sleighing, too. I am going to speak to them." For Dr. Renwick came from Crumville, and had often attended the Porter family, as well as the Wadsworths.

"We are staying here for a few days," said Mrs. Renwick to Dave's sister, after they had shaken hands. "You see, the proprietor of this hotel and restaurant is my cousin."

"Oh, I didn't know that," said Laura. "They certainly have a very nice place here, and the dinner we had was just too lovely for anything."

"Are you folks calculating to drive back to Crumville now?" questioned Dr. Renwick.

"That was our expectation," replied Dave, who had followed his sister; "but it looks pretty fierce outside, doesn't it?"

"I should say so, Porter. Just listen to that wind, and see how it is driving the snow! I shouldn't like to face it for any great distance."

The others came up, and all the strangers were introduced to the doctor and his wife, and then the entire party left the restaurant and entered the parlor of the hotel, from the windows of which they could watch the storm.

"It certainly is fierce!" remarked Phil, as they gazed at the furious onslaught of the elements.

The wind was blowing as hard as ever, rattling the windows and sending the snow against the panes as if it were so much hail. It was impossible to see across the street, and, although Lamont boasted of a limited electric light service, all the lights upon the street corners were out.

"This storm is going to break down a lot of the wires," announced Roger.

"What do you think about our trying to get back to Crumville?"

questioned Dave.

"To tell the truth, Dave, I don't see how we are going to make it. You don't want to face that wind, do you? And going back we'd have to head into it nearly all the way."

"I think I'll go outside and have a talk with the driver," answered our hero, and went out accompanied by Roger and Ben.

"I'd like to get home on account of my father's being sick," announced the real estate dealer's son. "Otherwise I would just as lief stay here until to-morrow."

"That's all right enough for us boys," put in Roger, "but how about the girls?"

"We can leave them in Mrs. Renwick's care if we have to," announced Dave. "Laura and Jessie know her very well, and I am sure she'll be only too glad to play the chaperon. She's a very nice lady, and the doctor is a very fine man."

They found that Washington Bones had had his supper and had returned to the stable to feed his horses. When they questioned the colored man about getting back to Crumville he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

"Might try it if you say so," he said; "but it ain't gwine to be no easy job, boss, and we may git stuck somewheres so as you cain't git to not even a house. Then we might all be froze to death."

"What do you think it is, Wash, a blizzard?" questioned Roger.

"Dat's jest what dis is, boss. And my opinion is it's gwine to be a heap sight wo'se before it gits bettah," added the driver.

"I guess you're right there," answered Dave. "And that's one reason I think we ought to try to get back to Crumville. But just the same, I'd hate to get stuck somewhere along the road, as he says. We boys might be able to get out of it along with Wash, but we couldn't expect the girls to do any tramping in such deep snow and in such a wind."

There was an old-fashioned covered walk from the hotel to the stables, so that the boys in going from one place to the other had not had to expose themselves to the elements. Now, to get an idea of how bad the storm was, Dave walked out as far as the street, followed by his chums.

"Great Caesar's ghost!" puffed the senator's son, as they stood where they could get the full benefit of the storm. "This is frightful, Dave! Why, it would be nothing short of suicide to try to go anywhere!"

"I--I--guess we h-had better g-go in and telephone that we c-c-can't come!" panted Ben; and then lost no time in returning to the stable, followed by the others.

They had been outside less than five minutes, yet the fury of the blizzard had nearly taken their breath away.

"We won't attempt it, Wash; so you can make arrangements to stay here to-night," announced Dave. He turned to his chums. "Come on back to the hotel, and we will do what telephoning is necessary."

They returned to the parlor, and there the situation was explained to the girls and to Dr. Renwick and his wife.

"Oh, you mustn't think of trying to get back to-night!" cried the doctor's wife, quickly. "There are plenty of vacant rooms here, and I'll see to it that my cousin gives you good accommodations."