The Go Ahead Boys and the Mysterious Old House Part 20

The angry stranger, who by this time had recovered from his surprise, speedily departed. Indeed, the fact that the boys had had only a slight conversation with him perhaps increased his anger and as soon as his car had been pulled from the ditch, a task in which all joined to help, he soon afterward disappeared from sight.

The intense heat soon caused the faces of the boys to be shining with perspiration. The dust from the road also did its part until in the streaked countenances of the Go Ahead boys even their own mothers would have had difficulty in recognizing members of their families.

The difficult task and the heat of the day also united in increasing the irritation of the boys. There were several remarks made which happily were soon forgotten or ignored.

In the midst of the task the jack broke and the wheel dropped upon the ground.

"There you have it!" exclaimed George irritably. "A broken jack! No tube! Seventeen miles from nowhere and not a crumb to eat!"

"Never mind, George," said John good-naturedly. "Somebody will be coming along pretty soon and will lend us a hand."

"He will have to lend us a jack, I guess if we ever get anywhere. I don't know what is the matter with this thing," he added as again he examined the broken implement.

"There's nothing for us to do except wait," suggested Grant. "Come up here in the shade, fellows. We'll have to join that man who is sitting there."

As Grant spoke he pointed toward a bank or knoll near the roadside where a man was seen reclining on the ground beneath the shade of some huge maple trees.

"That's a good suggestion," declared Fred, and in a brief time the boys were seated on the ground, enjoying the relief from the heat of the burning sun.

Their only hope now rested upon some friendly driver stopping to aid them.

To the amazement of Fred, as well as of his companions, the man whom they discovered enjoying the shade was none other than the tramp who had first been seen in the old Meeker House.

He stared a moment at the unexpected sight and then as a grin spread over the countenance of the man he was convinced that his first impression had been correct. The tramp of the Meeker House was there before him. How he had come there, so far from the place where he had been first seen, was a mystery.

"You seem to have had bad luck, my friends," laughed the tramp, as he sat erect when the boys approached.

"Yes, the day is so hot," growled George, "that the tube burst. We had a blowout. We had it blown up too much anyway when we left Newburgh."

"Have you been to Newburgh!" inquired the tramp.

"Yes," replied George shortly.

"Did you find your car?"

"No."

"That's too bad." If the tramp, however, had any real sympathy for the boys in their loss his countenance failed to reflect the feeling, for he was still grinning at his young companions. "Not much use," he continued. "There must be seventy-five or a hundred thousand autos in Jersey alone, and when you stop to think of all that are in New York and Pennsylvania you will see you stand mighty little chance of ever finding your own car."

"Thank you," said George. "You needn't be worried though, for we are going to get it."

"What are you doing up here?" demanded Fred.

"Why I got to thinking of it last night," explained the tramp, "after you boys left home and the more I thought about it the more I thought I would like to come up into this part of the world too. You haven't any objection to my coming?" he added quizzically.

"Oh, no, not the slightest," said Fred glibly. "I was just wondering how a man as weary as you are could have made such good time. You must have come forty miles or more. How did you do it?"

"Part of the way," replied the tramp, "I came in an empty box-car. I got a lift with an old man who was taking a load of produce to market and another man gave me a ride in his automobile. I don't think I have walked all together more than half a mile. There's always somebody that is good to the halt, the blind, the lame,-"

"And the lazy," joined in Fred.

"I guess that's right," said the tramp. "But I'm not to blame for it. I don't like to work. It's the way I was born, and if I don't like it I don't see why I should do it, do you?"

"Not as long as some one else is willing to work and get you something to eat and wear," suggested George tartly.

"I guess you're right again," drawled the tramp. "If the time ever comes when there isn't anybody to do that for me, then I guess I'll have to go to work. But I'm putting it off as long as possible. h.e.l.lo," he added quickly, "there comes a car," pointing as he spoke toward an automobile which was swiftly approaching.

George ran speedily down to the road and hailed the approaching car.

The automobile was stopped as the signal was discovered, and for the first time George was conscious of his dust-discolored face, for seated in the back seat was a young girl with her mother. She laughed as she saw George's countenance and even her mother's face could not conceal the quizzical expression that appeared when George spoke.

"We had a blowout here," explained George, "and when we tried to put on a new tube our jack broke. Can you help us out?"

"Certainly," said the woman. "James, you help these young gentlemen,"

she added as she turned to her chauffeur.

The other boys now turned and offered their a.s.sistance to George, although Grant and John plainly were more interested in the occupants of the friendly car than they were in the task immediately confronting them.

"There's no use, boys," said the chauffeur at last. "That blowout must have been a big one."

"It was," spoke up Fred quickly.

"It has bent your rim. Yon never can get a new tire on that until it has been fixed."

"What shall we do?" inquired George blankly.

"The best thing I can suggest is for you to get in our car and we will take you to a good garage about four miles up the road. They will have to come back here in another car so you won't have to walk."

"That's a good suggestion," said George quickly as he prepared to accept the invitation.

His zeal, however was quickly shared by two of his friends, who insisted that their presence also was required. "You see," Fred explained, "if they cannot help us at that garage, why some of us will have to go on to another. We cannot leave our car here all day in the sun."

John was the only one of the party left behind and as it was deemed necessary for some one to remain with the car he volunteered for that service.

The task confronting him was not difficult, however, and John soon was reclining once more in a shaded spot near the tramp who was still seated in the same place he had first been seen.

In spite of John's efforts to draw the man into conversation the tramp was strangely silent most of the time. At last, however, his mood changed and turning to John he said, "Your friends ought to be back here by this time."

"They may have had trouble in getting a car right away to bring them back."

"Well, they will be here pretty soon," said the tramp. "I think I'll go up to that orchard up yonder," he added as he pointed to a hillside covered with apple trees about one hundred yards distant.

"Are there any apples there ripe?" inquired John quickly.

"Plenty of them. Plenty of them. The owner doesn't seem to care anything about them. He hasn't sprayed his trees or pruned them for years, but there are some juicy red apples in the corner of the orchard and they are mighty good. I know for I have tried them already."

"Wait a minute and I'll go up with you," said John.

Together they made their way up the side of the hill and John speedily discovered that the statement of his companion was correct. The ground beneath the trees was carpeted with a layer of red apples tempting in their size and appearance.