Dave Porter and the Runaways Part 5

"And now for Oak Hall!"

It was Dave who uttered the words, the next morning, after a good night's rest and an early breakfast. The big touring car had been brought around by Dunston Porter, and the young folks had climbed in and stowed away the limited baggage they carried. All felt in excellent spirits, and Dave was particularly gay. What Jessie had said the evening before, and the way she had said it, still hung in his mind. She was a splendid girl, and if it was in him to do it, he was going to make himself worthy of her. He was still young, so he did not dwell long over these things, but his regard for her was entirely proper, and likely to make him do his best in his endeavors.

Phil had asked for permission to run the car for a while and took the wheel as soon as Ryeport was left behind. The shipowner's son knew how to handle an automobile almost as well as any of them, but he had one fault, which was, that he did not steer out of the way of sharp stones and like things calculated to bring on punctures and blow-outs.

"My, what a glorious morning!" exclaimed Laura, as they bowled along over the smooth roads.

"Couldn't be better," answered Roger. "Wish we were going on all day!"

he added.

"So do I," added Dave. They expected to reach Oakdale by noon, get dinner there, and then run up to the school.

"Not too fast, Phil," warned Mr. Porter, as the shipowner's son "let her out a bit," as he expressed it. "You don't know what sort of a road you've got beyond the turn."

"We'll soon be coming to some roads we know," answered Phil. "Those we used to travel on our bicycles."

They pa.s.sed through several towns and villages. Then they reached a crossroads, and here some men and a steam roller were at work, and the road was closed. One of the workmen motioned for them to take the road on the left.

"Must be a road around," said Dunston Porter. "It doesn't look very good, but you can try it. Shall I take the wheel?"

"Oh, I can run the car easily enough," answered Phil.

For half a mile they went on without trouble, through a rolling country where the scenery was very fine. Then they reached a point where the road was full of loose stones.

"Be careful!" cried Mr. Porter.

They rolled on, past a pretty farmhouse and some barns. They were just on the point of making another turn when there came a sudden bang!

from under the car, and the turnout swayed to one side of the road.

Phil threw out the clutch and put on the brakes, and they came to a standstill. Then the driver shut off the engine.

"What is the matter?" queried Jessie.

"A blow-out, I guess," answered Dave. "We'll soon see."

Dunston Porter and the boys got down to the ground and made an examination. The shoe of the rear left wheel had been badly cut by the sharp stones and the inner tube had been blown out through the cut.

"We'll have to put on one of the other shoes," said Mr. Porter. They carried two with them, besides half a dozen inner tubes.

"All right, here is where we get to work!" cried Dave. "Somebody time us, please," and he started in by getting off his coat and cuffs and donning a working jumper. His uncle quickly followed suit, while Phil and Roger got out the lifting-jack and some tools.

The girls stood watching the proceedings for a while and then strolled back towards the farmhouse. The boys and Mr. Porter became so engrossed in putting on a new inner tube and a shoe that they did not notice their absence. The new shoe fitted the rim of the wheel rather tightly and they had all they could do to get it into place.

"Phew! this is work and no mistake!" murmured Roger. "I wonder why they can't get tires that won't blow out or go down."

"Maybe some day they will have them," answered Dunston Porter.

"I reckon this is all my fault," put in Phil, ruefully. "I must have gone over some extra sharp stone, and it cut like a knife."

"Oh, such accidents are liable to happen to anybody," answered Dave.

He looked at his watch. "Twenty-five minutes, and we haven't blown it up yet! No record job this time."

"Thank fortune we've got a patent pump to do the pumping for us,"

remarked his uncle. Pumping tires by hand he found a very disagreeable task.

At last the shoe and tube were in place and the pump was set in motion. Dave watched the gauge, and when it was high enough he shut off the air. The tools were put away, and they were ready to go on again.

"The girls went back to that farmhouse," said the senator's son, pointing to a small cottage.

"Let us run back and pick them up, and wash our hands at the well."

Once in front of the house, Dunston Porter, who was at the wheel, sounded the horn. At the same time the boys made for the well, which stood between the house and one of the barns.

"Maybe the girls went inside," remarked Dave, as he looked in vain for them.

"Must be somewhere around," returned Phil.

All washed up, using soap and towels carried in the car. Then Dave went to the door of the farmhouse and knocked. In answer to the summons Laura appeared.

"Oh, Dave, come in!" she cried. "I want you to meet the lady here."

Wondering what his sister wanted, our hero stepped into the sitting-room, which was small and plainly but neatly furnished. In a rocking-chair sat an elderly woman, pale and careworn.

"Mrs. Breen, this is my brother," said Laura. "And these are his school chums," she added, nodding towards Phil and Roger.

"How do you do, boys?" said the woman, in a thin, trembling voice.

"We just told her we were bound for Oak Hall," said Jessie, who was also present. "And she says she knows somebody there."

"She knows Mr. Job Haskers," finished Laura.

"Mr. Haskers!" repeated Dave, mentioning the name of one of the teachers--a dictatorial individual n.o.body liked, and who was allowed to keep his position mainly because of his abilities as an instructor.

The chums had had more than one dispute with Job Haskers, and all wished that he would leave the school.

"Yes, yes, I know him," answered Mrs. Breen, nodding her head gravely and thoughtfully. "He is a great scholar--a very great scholar," and she nodded again. She was not well and her mind did not appear to be overly bright. She lived alone in the cottage, a neighboring farmer taking care of her few acres of ground for her.

"Dave, come here," whispered Laura, and led her brother to a corner of the room. "Mrs. Breen tells me that Mr. Haskers owes her money--that he used to board with her and that he borrowed some--and she says he writes that he can't pay her because he gets so little salary, and that sometimes he has to wait a long while himself."

"How much is it?" asked Dave, with interest. He remembered how close-fisted Job Haskers had been on more than one occasion.

"Nearly two hundred dollars, so she says."

"He ought to be able to pay that, Laura. I think he gets a fair salary--in fact, I am sure of it--and I am also pretty sure that Doctor Clay doesn't keep him waiting for his money."

"It is too bad! She looks so helpless and so much in need," murmured the girl.

"I'll find out about this," answered Dave.

He sat down, as did the others, and soon had the elderly lady telling her story in detail. It was not very long. Job Haskers had boarded with her one summer, just before obtaining his position at Oak Hall, and he owed her sixty dollars for this. During the time he had spent with her he had spoken of a school-book he was going to publish that would bring him in much money, and she had loaned him a hundred and twenty-five dollars for this. But she had never seen the school-book, nor had he ever paid back a cent. His plea, when she had written to him, had been that his pay was poor and that he had to wait a long time to get money, and that his publishers had not yet gotten around to selling his book.