Dave Porter and His Double Part 16

"And will you look after the young ladies, Mrs. Renwick?" questioned Dave.

"I certainly will, Dave," she answered graciously. "Don't let that worry you in the least. I'll be glad to take charge of such a nice family," and she smiled sweetly at all the girls.

"We are going to telephone to Crumville and let the folks know how matters stand," announced Ben; and then he and Dave hurried to where there was a telephone booth.

Here, however, they met with no success so far as getting into communication with their folks at Crumville was concerned. It took a long time to get Central, and then it was announced that the storm had taken down all the wires running to Crumville and beyond. One wire that was down was still connected, but, try their best, neither of the boys was able to understand anything of what was said over it. Then this line snapped; and that ended all efforts to send any messages.

"I wish they knew we were safe," said Dave. "Now that they don't know it they may worry, thinking we are snowed in somewhere along the road."

"Well, we've got to make the best of it," answered Ben. "I did hope to speak to mother, to ask her how father was, and to let her know that we were all right."

"It looks to me, Ben, as if this blizzard might last for several days or a week."

"So it does. But sometimes these storms clear away almost as rapidly as they come."

The two youths returned to the others and announced the failure of their effort to get into communication with Crumville. This was disheartening to Laura and Jessie, but as it could not be helped the girls said they would make the best of it. Then Laura and Dave went off with the doctor and his wife, to obtain accommodations for the whole party.

It was learned that Dr. Renwick had a fine apartment on the second floor, and that there were two rooms adjoining which were vacant.

These were turned over to the four girls. The boys were accommodated with two rooms on the floor above.

"Not quite as good as they might be," observed Dave, when he and his chums inspected their rooms, which were directly under the roof of the country hotel. "But they are much better than nothing, and, as the sailors say, 'any port in a storm.'"

"Oh, this is plenty good enough," returned Phil. "But I am glad the girls are on the floor below. Those rooms are much better than these."

As the boys had no baggage, there was nothing for them to arrange in the rooms which had been a.s.signed to them, so after a hasty look around they started to go downstairs again, to rejoin the girls in the parlor. As the boys pa.s.sed the room next to the one which Dave and Ben had elected to occupy, the door of the apartment was opened on a crack. Then, as the youths left the corridor to descend the stairs, the door was opened a little wider, and a young man peered out cautiously.

"Well, what do you know about that!" muttered the young man to himself, after the four chums had disappeared. "Right here at this hotel, and going to occupy the room next to the one I've got! Could you beat it?"

The young man was Ward Porton.

CHAPTER XII

TIM c.r.a.pSEY'S PLOT

"Who are you talking to, Port?" questioned a man who was resting on the bed in the room which Ward Porton occupied.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me by that name, c.r.a.psey?" returned the former moving-picture actor, as he closed the door softly and locked it.

"What's the difference when we're alone?" grumbled the man called c.r.a.psey, as he shifted himself and rubbed his eyes.

"It may make a whole lot of difference," answered Porton. "I've just made a big discovery."

"A discovery?" The man sat up on the edge of the bed. "Discovered how to git hold of some money, I hope. We need it."

"You remember my telling you about that fellow who looks like me--the fellow named Dave Porter?" went on the former moving-picture actor.

"Well, he's here in this hotel. And he and three of his chums have the rooms next to this one."

"You don't mean it?" and now Tim c.r.a.psey showed his interest. "Did they see you?"

"Not much! And I don't intend that they shall," was the decided reply.

"Did you know the other fellows?"

"Yes, they are the regular bunch Porter travels with. I've got to keep out of sight of all of them. From what they said they are evidently s...o...b..und here on account of this blizzard, so there is no telling how long they will stay," added the former moving-picture actor in disgust. "Confound the luck! I suppose I'll have to stay in this room a prisoner and let you get my meals for me."

"This fellow's being here may not be such a bad thing for you,"

remarked Tim c.r.a.psey. "Maybe you can impersonate him and touch the hotel clerk for a loan of ten or twenty dollars."

"I am not going to run too many risks--not with so many of those fellows on hand. If I had only Porter to deal with it might be different," returned Ward Porton. "Just the same, I'm going to keep my eyes open, and if I can get the best of him in any way you can bet your boots I'll do it."

In the meanwhile Dave and his chums had rejoined the girls and Dr.

Renwick and his wife in the parlor of the hotel, and there all made themselves as much at home as possible. There was quite a gathering of s...o...b..und people, and a good deal of the talk was on the question of how long the blizzard might last.

"Some of the people here are going to try to get over to Pepsico,"

said one man. "That is only a mile and a quarter from here, and they are hoping to get the train that goes through that place about one o'clock in the morning."

"The train may be s...o...b..und, too," returned another; "and if it is those folks will have their hard tramp to Pepsico for nothing."

Outside it was still snowing and blowing as furiously as ever. All the street lights were out, and so were the electric lights in the hotel, so that the hostelry had to depend on its old-time lamps for its illumination. But the lamps had been discarded only the year before so it was an easy matter to bring them into use again.

Not to keep the good doctor and his wife up too long, Laura told Mrs.

Renwick that they would retire whenever she felt like it. About half past ten good-nights were said and the girls went upstairs with the lady, followed presently by the doctor. The boys remained below to take another peep out at the storm.

"It's a regular old-fashioned blizzard," announced Dave.

"And no telling how long we'll be stalled here," added Roger. "Quite an adventure, isn't it?" and he smiled faintly.

"Well, we can be thankful that we weren't caught somewhere along the road," broke in Phil.

"That's it!" came from Ben. "Why, if we had been caught in some out-of-the-way place, we might be frozen to death trying to find some shelter."

The two rooms which the chums occupied on the third floor of the hotel were connected, and before they went to bed the youths all drifted into the one which was to be occupied by Dave and Ben, for here it was slightly warmer than in the other room, and the lamp gave a better light. It seemed good to be together like this, especially on a night when the elements were raging so furiously outside. The former school chums talked of many things--of days at Oak Hall, of bitter rivalries on the diamond, the gridiron, and on the boating course, and of the various friends and enemies they had made.

"The only one of our enemies who seems to have made a man of himself is Gus Plum," remarked Dave. "He has settled down to business and I understand he is doing very well."

"Well, Nat Poole is doing fairly well," returned Ben. "I understand his father owns stock in that bank, so they'll probably boost Nat along as rapidly as his capabilities will permit."

"Nat was never the enemy that Plum and Jasniff and Merwell were!"

cried Phil. "He was one of the weak-minded kind who thought it was smart to follow the others in their doings."

"This storm is going to interfere with our studies, Dave," announced Roger. "Not but what I'm willing enough to take a few days' rest," he added with a grin.

"We'll have to make up for it somehow, Roger," returned our hero.

"We've got to pa.s.s that examination with flying colors."