Ned Wilding's Disappearance; or, The Darewell Chums in the City, Page 2

  CHAPTER II

  PREPARING FOR A HUNT

  "What's the matter with my hand?" asked Bart holding the gun in the onethat had been injured.

  "Why you've taken it from the sling. The blood will rush to itand--and--"

  "Oh, I guess it's all right," spoke Bart carelessly, as he held up thegun. "You see fellows, this is the patent ejector, and the barrels--"

  "Well of all things!" exclaimed Alice. "I spend a lot of time fixing upyour injury and you go and undo all my work in a minute. I never sawsuch a boy!"

  "How did you hurt yourself?" asked Ned.

  "I had just loaded both barrels and put the gun on the table. It felloff and something hit one of the triggers or the hammers and it bangedout like a cannon. My hand was in the way, that's all."

  "Hurt much?" inquired Fenn.

  "Not much," was Bart's careless answer.

  But an exclamation of pain escaped him as he hit his bruised fingersagainst the gun stock.

  "There!" exclaimed Alice. "I knew you'd do something wrong. Now I supposeit will start bleeding again," and she turned back as if to undo thebandage.

  "Never mind!" spoke Bart quickly. "I'll stick some court plaster on ifit does. Say Alice get us some cake and lemonade, please."

  Alice agreed and while she prepared the beverage and got some cakes fromthe pantry, in which interval the four boys talked nothing but gun,there is an opportunity of making you better acquainted with them. It'shard to be introduced to a person when he has sustained a smashed thumb,so it is, perhaps, just as well that the formal presentation waspostponed until now.

  Bart Keene, Ned Wilding, Frank Roscoe and Fenn Masterson, (who wascalled Stumpy, for short, because of his rather limited height andbreadth of beam), were four boys who lived in the town of Darewell.This was located not far from Lake Erie, on the Still River, a streamin which the boys fished, swam and upon which they spent many hours intheir big rowboat.

  With the exception of Frank Roscoe, the boys lived in the heart of thetown. Their parents were fairly well off, and the boys had been chumssince they attended primary school together. In fact, when theircompanionship continued on through the grammar school and into the highschool, they became such a town fixture, in a way, that they were knownas "The Darewell Chums."

  Those of you who have read the first volume of this series, entitled"The Heroes of the School," know what sort of lads the four were. Thoseof you who are meeting them for the first time may be glad of a littlesketch of their characters.

  Frank lived with his uncle, Abner Dent, about a mile out of town. Mr.Dent was a rich farmer, and Frank had resided with him as long as hecould remember. He could not recall his father or mother, and his uncleseldom mentioned them. Frank was rather a strange sort of boy. His chumswere very fond of him, but they could not quite make out the curious airof mystery about him. Frank seemed to have some secret, but his chumsnever asked him what it was, though of late years his odd ways, attimes, had attracted their attention.

  Ned Wilding was an impulsive, lively chap, full of fun, and given toplaying tricks, which sometimes got him into mischief. He was ratherthoughtless, but never mean, and when his actions did result in troublefor others Ned was always ready and anxious to make reparation. Ned'smother was dead and he lived with his father who was cashier of theDarewell bank.

  As for Bart, he was so fond of sports, from baseball and swimming tosnowballing and skating, that he was seldom still long enough to studyhis lessons.

  Fenn, or Stumpy Masterson, had only one failing as far as his chums wereconcerned. He was "sweet" on the girls, as they called it. Fenn would goto considerable trouble to walk home with a girl. His chums made allsorts of fun of him, but he did not seem to mind much. His especialfavorite was Jennie Smith, who was quite fond of poetry and who liked torecite and act.

  As told in the first volume, the boys, during the summer preceding thewinter in which this story opens, had taken part in some strangeadventures. They discovered that some men in the neighborhood of thetown were acting very queerly, and they resolved to find what it meant.One day they went up in a captive balloon at a fair, and the restrainingcable broke. The four chums were carried off in the airship high abovethe clouds.

  The boys were detained as prisoners aboard a barge on the river,because it was learned they knew something of the mystery the strangelyacting men were trying to keep hidden. By dint of much pluck and hardwork the boys managed to solve the affair, and, in order to avoid alaw-suit, the men involved offered the boys one thousand dollars each,in valuable oil stock. This they accepted and their parents andrelatives did not prosecute the men, as they originally intended, fordetaining the boys on the barge.

  "Here's the lemonade!" cried Ned, as Alice came in with a big pitcherfulwhile the chums were examining Bart's gun. He took it from the girl, asit was quite heavy.

  "Now I'll get the cakes and glasses," Alice said.

  "Let me help you," begged Fenn.

  "Here, you quit that!" called Ned.

  "Quit what?"

  "Walking downstairs with Alice. I'll tell Jennie on you, Stumpy!"

  "Oh, you dry up!" cried Fenn, and, despite the boys' laughter Fennaccompanied Bart's sister to the next floor, where he got the cake andglasses.

  "Stumpy's as bad as ever," commented Frank. "He reminds me of--" Frankdid not finish his sentence.

  "Reminds you of what?" asked Ned. "There you go again, beginning a thingand not finishing it."

  "I guess I'll not say it. Doesn't make any difference," and Frank turnedaside and gazed out of the window.

  Bart and Ned looked at each other. It was a peculiarity of Frank's tobegin to say something, and then seem to recollect a matter that madehim change his mind. But his chums were now used to his strangeness.

  "Where'd you get that gun, Bart?" asked Fenn as he came in with thecake.

  "Saw it advertised in a catalog, and sent to New York for it."

  "How much?"

  "Eighteen dollars. It was the first money I used of the thousand I gotfrom the 'King of Paprica'"--for such was the assumed name of theprincipal man in the mystery the boys had cleared up.

  "From New York, eh?" spoke Ned. "That reminds me I have an invitation tovisit my uncle and aunt there."

  "That's so. You asked us to come and see you," added Bart. "Wish wecould go around Christmas time."

  "If the holiday vacation was longer maybe we could," remarked Ned.

  "Speaking of holidays, what's the matter with going hunting the end ofnext week?" asked Bart. "I've got my gun, and you fellows have yoursmall rifles."

  "I can borrow a shotgun," put in Fenn.

  "This is Thursday," went on Bart. "School closes to-morrow for theThanksgiving celebration. Let's see, Thanksgiving is a week from to-day.That would give us three days counting Monday, when we can start off.Why not go on a shooting trip and stay a couple of nights in the woods?It's not very cold, and we could take plenty of blankets."

  "The very thing!" cried Ned.