Jack Ranger's Western Trip Part 2

"Look out!" cried John Smith suddenly.

At the same time he sprang forward and pushed Jack to one side. To do this he had to get almost in the path of the car, and was struck by one of the projecting springs. He was knocked to one side, but not before he had pushed Jack out of harm's way, the latter being hit only a glancing blow.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" called an angry voice, as the car sped on.

"Are you hurt, John?" cried Jack, springing to pick up his friend.

"No, only bruised. They have nerve to go running without lights and then ask us where we're going. I wonder who they were."

"I have an idea." said Jack. "That voice sounded like Adrian Bagot's."

"What, that sporty new student?"

"That's who."

"Well, he'd better go a bit slow, I'm thinking."

CHAPTER II

JACK IN TROUBLE

The boys crowded around Jack and John, anxious to know if they were hurt. All were loud in their indignation when they learned what had happened.

"Let's pay that sn.o.b back!" suggested d.i.c.k Balmore.

"Make him sleep with you one night," suggested Fred, for d.i.c.k was so tall and thin that he had been christened "Bony" by his chums.

"Dry up!" exclaimed d.i.c.k. "I'd rather be thin than a wandering minstrel like you."

"Easy now!" suggested Jack. "No noise, we are too near quarters.

Ouch! I think I've sprained my ankle, or that auto did it for me."

He tried to walk but had to limp, and was forced to accept the aid of Sam and John, on whose arms he leaned. In this manner he entered the Hall just as the monitor was closing up for the night. The other boys slipped to their rooms, but Jack had to be helped upstairs.

As the trio were pa.s.sing through the corridors they met Professor Grimm. Now, Mr. Grimm was an old enemy of Jack's, since Jack had once caught him smoking, a violation of the school rules.

"Ha! More skylarking!" the instructor exclaimed. "What does this mean, Ranger?"

"I sprained my ankle," replied our hero.

"What are you doing out at this hour? And what are the others doing?"

"We had permission to go to the village," replied Jack, truthfully enough, for Dr. Mead had allowed the boys to go; though the object of the trip, of course, had not been disclosed to the master.

"Go to your rooms," commanded Professor Grimm. "I will look into this."

"I wish he hadn't seen us," said Jack, when his two chums had taken him to his dormitory.

"Why?" asked Sam. "Where's the harm?"

"I have a sort of queer feeling that something is going to happen,"

Jack replied. "I want to finish out the term with a good record, for my aunts' sakes. If there are any pranks played tonight, Grimm will be sure to suspect me."

"Don't cross a bridge until it trips you up," said Sam. "Now, let's have a look at that ankle."

They found it was not as bad as Jack had feared.

"I've got a bottle of arnica somewhere," he said. "I think I'll put some on."

His chums found the bottle, and were rubbing the swelling with the medicine when there came a knock at the door.

"Who's there?" asked Jack.

"Professor Grimm," was the reply. "I want to see if you are really in your room."

Sam opened the door and the cross-grained professor entered.

"So you're not fooling this time, eh?" he sneered, as he smelled the arnica and saw the swelling on Jack's ankle. "It's a good thing you were not."

"Nice old party, isn't he?" murmured Sam, when the teacher had withdrawn. "Well, I think I'll say good-night, Jack. Hope you sleep good. Say, but that Klu-Klux business was the limit!" and chuckling over the night's fun, he went to bed, leaving Jack and the Indian student together.

"A few weeks more and we'll not have to sneak around this way to have a little fun," said Jack. "Vacation will soon be here. I hope I can carry out a plan I have in mind, John."

"What is it, Jack?"

"I want to go out west and search for my father. I ought to be with him in his trouble. Besides, the time must be almost up, so he could come back to civilization again."

"I hope you do find him," said the semi-Indian.

"I wish you could help me, John."

"I wish so, too. Perhaps I can. But you'd better get to bed now. We don't want Grimm coming around again."

Jack fell asleep dreaming he was crawling through a deep canyon after his father, who was being carried away captive in a birch bark canoe by Indians. But in spite of this he slept so soundly that he did not hear a number of unusual noises under his window. Perhaps it was as well for his peace of mind that he did not.

It was about half past seven o'clock the next morning when Jack awoke with a start.

"I wonder what's the matter," he said to himself. "It seems as if something had happened. Oh, I know, I haven't heard the morning bell."

It was the custom at the academy to awaken the students by ringing the big bell in the tower every morning, and Jack had come to depend on it as a sort of alarm clock.

"I wonder what's the matter," he went on. "Can Martin have forgotten to sound the tocsin? It's the first time he ever slipped up."

A little later there came the sound of persons moving in the hall, and then voices could be heard calling one to the other.