Frank Roscoe's Secret Part 11

"Oh, get out!" exclaimed Peter. "It's all in sport. What's the use of getting mad?"

But Denny declared he was going to watch his chance to pay the Darewell Chums back with interest.

But, though the four friends heard of Denny's threat, they were not alarmed over it. They felt they could hold their own. From then on, however, there was open warfare between the Upside Down Club members and the baseball nine and their friends, and many were the tricks each side played on the other.

One afternoon, about a week later, Jim Morton, who was watching a crowd of boys playing on the school campus, hailed Bart, as the latter, in chase of the ball, ran toward where Jim was lying stretched under a shady elm tree.

"What is it?" asked Bart

"I've been waiting until someone would knock a fly over in this direction, so's you come close," Jim went on. "I wanted to speak to you."

"Speak ahead," Bart went on, as he threw the ball back.

"Do you want a job as guide?"

"Guide? What do you mean?"

"I met a man the other day, stranger in town, I guess, and he asked me if I'd show him the corduroy road through the woods. I told him I had to go to school, and he said Sat.u.r.day would do. But I don't just feel like taking the job. I've got spring fever I guess. To-morrow's Sat.u.r.day, and he expects me to go to the hotel after him, and show him the road. But I know I'll be tired tomorrow and I thought maybe you'd like the job. He says he'll give five dollars."

"Oh, I don't know," Bart replied, somewhat surprised at what Jim told him. "What sort of a man is he?"

"He has red hair, that's all I remember. I was sort of sleepy the day he met me, and I didn't take much notice."

"How'd he come to ask you?" inquired Bart, wondering why lazy Jim had ever been requested to do anything.

"Sandy Merton told the man about me. The man went to Sandy first, said he heard Sandy knew the woods pretty well. But Sandy works for a farmer every Sat.u.r.day, and he couldn't go, so he recommended me. Said it would be easy work, but I don't fancy tramping through the woods.

Do you want the job?"

"Sure, I'll take it," Bart replied. "It'll be fun. I wonder if he only wants one boy?"

"I guess he doesn't mind. Said I could bring a friend along if I wanted to. Here, I'll give you his card, and you can inquire for him at the hotel," and Jim extended a bit of pasteboard on which was printed the name:

JACOB HARDMAN.

"I'll go see him," Bart remarked. "Sure you don't want the job, Jim?

Five dollars is a nice bit of money to pick up for just going to the corduroy road."

"I--got--spring--fever," murmured Jim, and Bart saw that the boy's eyes were closed as though he had gone to sleep.

"Queer he had energy enough to tell me that much," remarked Bart, as he moved off. "Just like him, to lie here and wait for a chance ball to bring me in his direction. Jim certainly is the limit when it comes to laziness."

That evening Bart went to see Mr. Hardman at the hotel. He found the stranger pleasant enough, and, as Jim had said, with a wealth of thick red hair.

"You're the third boy that has been engaged for this work," said Mr.

Hardman with a smile, when Bart had explained his errand. "I hope you will not fail me. You see I am a stranger in this locality, and I'm thinking of buying land for a house, if I like the place. But I'm fond of solitude, and I have heard that the woods, through which the corduroy road runs, are just about what I want. I don't wish to get lost, so I thought I would hire one of the town boys to show me around. Do you know your way through the forest?"

"Quite well," Bart replied. "I have camped there. The road is easy to find, but it winds in and out, and you might get lost, as there are several branches to it. What time do you want to start to-morrow?"

"About nine o'clock. You might bring a couple of friends, if you like.

I'm fond of company. Is it worth while to take lunch?"

"Well, we could hardly go there and back before dinner."

"Then we'll take something to eat," Mr. Hardman went on. "Here are two dollars. Get some sandwiches and things, and we'll have a little picnic in the woods."

In spite of the man's apparently hearty manner Bart felt an indescribable aversion to him. Mr. Hardman was pleasant enough, but he had a habit of shifting his gaze around as he talked and he did not look one squarely in the eyes. But Bart gave only a momentary thought to that. He was wondering whether he had better bring his three chums on the trip. He was about to ask the man if he would object to a party of four boys, but Mr.

Hardman evidently considered the incident closed, for he bowed to Bart and opened the door of his room, where the interview had taken place.

"I'll bring 'em anyhow," Bart decided, as he went downstairs. "He didn't mention any special number. Besides, I don't know the road any too well, and the others can help me out."

Bart told his three chums of the matter that night. Fenn and Ned said they would go, but Frank declared he had to do some errands for his uncle and would not be through in time.

"I may walk out that way and meet you," Frank said. "I expect to be finished shortly after dinner. Are you just going to the road and back?"

"I don't know how far he may want to go," Bart answered. "We'll probably be gone all day."

"Wish I could go," Frank said, but, as he spoke, his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

"Frank's getting stranger than ever," remarked Ned, as the former left Ned's house where the four chums were talking that evening. "I wonder if he doesn't want to go?"

"I guess he'd like to, if he could," Bart replied.

"Do you know anything about this Mr. Hardman?" asked Fenn.

"Only what I've heard," Bart answered. "He came to the hotel about a week ago. Seems to have plenty of money. Treated me very nicely, but, somehow I don't like him, and I can't give any reason for it."

"Did you get the grub with the money he gave you?" asked Ned.

"Yes."

The next morning the three chums went to the hotel. They found Mr.

Hardman waiting for them.

"On time I see," he remarked, as Bart introduced Ned and Fenn. "It's just the morning for a nice long tramp. I hope you boys are good walkers."

"I guess we can keep up with you," Bart replied, and they started off.

CHAPTER X

MR. HARDMAN'S QUEER ACT

It was about five miles from the hotel to where the corduroy road began to wend a tortuous way through the big woods back of the town of Darewell. It was the same road over which the chums had traveled the time they went camping just before the previous Thanksgiving, during which excursion they had shot considerable game.

They walked out through the suburbs of the town, and soon were in the open country. Then came a stretch of woodland, and, after a mile of this, the chums turned aside into a denser forest.