"Will you ever forget," asked Tom, "how the old Scout b.u.mped over the ties at the rate of a mile a minute while the express train came roaring up behind us?"
"Never," replied d.i.c.k. "More than once I"ve dreamed of it and lived it all over again until I woke in a cold perspiration. Once it actually seemed to strike and throw me up in the air, and when I landed I almost jumped out of bed. It gives me the creeps just to think of it, and I don"t want anything more of that kind in mine."
"It sure was a case of touch and go," chimed in Bert. "I could feel the heat from the engine on my neck as I bent over the wheel. Of course we knew that the engineer was working desperately to stop, but the question was whether he could do it in time. If anything had given way in the Scout, it would have been all up with us."
"But she pulled us through all right," said d.i.c.k, patting the side of the car, "like that famous horse on his way to the battlefield:
"As though it knew the terrible need, It stretched away at its utmost speed."
But we can"t gamble that way with death more than once and hope to "put it over," and after this I don"t need to have any railroad sign tell me to "Stop. Look. Listen." I"ll do all three."
With chat and song and laughter the hours sped by. They were young, life ran warm in their veins, the world lay before them full of promise and of hope, glowing with all the colors of the rainbow. A happier, more carefree group it would have been hard to find in all the broad s.p.a.ces between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Had any one told them of the awful hazard, the haunting fear, the straining horror that they were soon to undergo they would have laughed at him as a false prophet of evil. The present at least was theirs and they found it good.
At about two o"clock in the afternoon they reached the county town, and here they reluctantly said good-bye for the present to the Red Scout.
The one road through the wilderness up to Mr. Hollis" house was a rough path to be trodden only on foot or, at need, in one of the mountain buckboards that could b.u.mp its way along over spots and around stumps that might have wrecked a machine. So after arranging for the care of the auto, they shouldered their few bundles and set out on foot. It was an ideal day for walking. The sun scarcely made itself felt as it filtered through the trees, and the balsam of the woods was like a tonic. Long before dusk they reached the lodge where a good supper awaited them, prepared by the caretaker whom Mr. Hollis had notified of his coming.
The night came on clear and almost cold in that high mountain alt.i.tude and it was hard to realize that men were sweltering in cities not far away.
"We"ll sleep under blankets to-night," said Mr. Hollis, "and in the meantime what do you say to building a roaring camp fire right out here in the open? It"ll be a reminder of the old days in camp when Dave Ferris used to spin his famous ghost and tiger yarns."
The boys hailed the suggestion with enthusiasm. They speedily gathered a supply of dry branches, enough to replenish the fire the whole evening.
Then while the flames crackled and mounted high in the air they threw themselves around it in all sorts of careless att.i.tudes and gave themselves up to unrestrained enjoyment of the time and place. At last slumber beckoned and they turned in.
They slept that night the dreamless sleep of health and youth and woke refreshed the next morning ready, as Tom put it, "for anything from pitch and toss to manslaughter." A plunge in a nearby stream whetted their appet.i.tes for the hearty breakfast that followed, and then they went out for a stroll, while Mr. Hollis remained in the lodge, discussing with the caretaker the approaching visit of his family.
It was a glorious morning. The dew still sparkled on the gra.s.s, birds sang in the trees, and the newly risen sun flooded the landscape with beauty. A mountain brook rippled over the stones. Partridges drummed in the tangled thickets, chipmunks flitted like shadows across the mountain paths, squirrels chattered noisily in the branches. Everywhere was life and movement, but all the artificial noises of the town were conspicuous by their absence. To the boys, so long used to city life, the change was delightful beyond words.
By the side of the path, about a quarter of a mile from the lodge, was a great dogwood tree snowy with its fragrant blooms. Tom reached up to break off a branch, but just as he snapped the stem it slipped through his fingers and fell in the bushes beneath. He stooped over to pick it up. There was a whirring sound, a rattle that struck terror to their hearts and Tom jumped back with a great, gray, writhing thing hanging to his sleeve. He shook it off and staggered backward, while the rattler instantly coiled to strike again.
CHAPTER III
A RUN FOR LIFE
Quick as lightning Bert slashed at the wicked head with a heavy stick he had been carrying. It caught the snake just as it darted forward and broke its back. It fell, twisting and writhing, and Bert throwing away his stick leaped to Tom"s side.
"Did he get you, Tom?" he asked, with a horrible fear tugging at his heart.
"I don"t know," answered Tom, trying to smile. "He seemed to be tangled up in my sleeve. Perhaps his teeth didn"t go through. But I feel--rather--queer."
In an instant d.i.c.k and Bert yanked off Tom"s coat and rolled up his shirt sleeve. Their hearts almost stopped beating. There, just below the elbow were two tiny punctures, fiery red against the white skin.
Like a flash d.i.c.k"s lips were on the wound as he strove to draw out the venom. Bert whipped out his handkerchief and tied it tightly just above those ominous spots. Then he thrust a stick through the folds and twisted it until Tom grew white with the pain.
Drawing his whistle from his pocket, Bert blew loud and shrill a series of short and long notes in the Morse alphabet that told of deadly need and peril. He knew that if it reached the ears of Mr. Hollis it would bring him instantly.
And now for a doctor. But where? He cast wildly about him and his heart sank as he realized that there was none nearer than the county town fourteen miles away. Fourteen long miles over a rough forest road. There was no telephone or telegraph in that wilderness. The only horse on the place was a sedate old brute who couldn"t be flogged into a gallop.
There was one thing to do and only one. He leaped to his feet.
At that moment an answering whistle came over the hill, telling him that Mr. Hollis had heard and was coming.
"I"m off," Bert cried to d.i.c.k. "Keep a stiff upper lip, old man," as he clapped Tom on the shoulder. Another moment and the woods closed round him.
Those giant trees, centuries old, had seen some strange sights in their time. Perhaps in the old days some Indian brave in pursuit of his quarry or himself pressed hard by enemies had pa.s.sed beneath them like the flight of an arrow. But it is doubtful if they had ever seen a white man running at such speed as Bert"s, as like a young Mercury with winged heels he rushed along under their branches. Life was at stake--Tom"s life, he reflected as a pang tore through him--and he must run as he had never run before if he were to come out winner.
The road itself was a fearful handicap. It was little more than a woodcutter"s path, ridged by deep furrows, dotted here and there with stumps, strewn with branches blown down in storms. Even where it was comparatively clear, the pine needles that carpeted it in spots offered a slippery and treacherous footing. Low-hanging branches brushed his face, long creepers reached out to grasp his flying feet. If he should once slip or trip or sprain an ankle--. He shuddered and ran on.
He had started off at a terrific pace and had covered three miles or more at top speed. Then the strain began to tell. His lungs were laboring and his breath came in gasps that were almost sobs. He took a grip on himself. At this rate he would collapse before he had gone five miles. He must husband his strength or he would never reach the end of his journey. And then----.
At the thought he slackened speed and fell into the long steady lope that yet covered the ground at an amazing rate. His breathing became easier and he knew that he would soon get his second wind. Then he felt that he could run all day.
Now he had made half the distance and from the crown of a hill he caught sight of the far-off spire of a church that marked the location of the town. It put new speed into his feet and life into his veins. He would win through. He must win through. Yet through his self a.s.surance came at times the terrible thought--suppose that after all he should be too late.
A fierce rage against the whole snake family took possession of him.
Again he heard the blood-curdling rattle; again he saw the malicious eyes in which a devil lurked, the ugly triangular head, the long slimy diamond-marked body that turned him sick with loathing. He could have wished that all the venomous tribe had been compressed in one, that he might kill it with a single blow.
But he shook off this feeling. Hate weakened him--taxed too heavily his vital forces. He must concentrate on just one thing--Tom and the terrible need for haste.
Now he was running easily. His wind was in good condition. His legs had taken on new strength. The only danger left was the path. If he could avoid injury that would cripple him, he knew he could win. He had shed hat and coat and vest, had even thrown away his knife and whistle to lighten himself by every ounce for the final sprint. A mountain brook lay in his path. He stooped, dashed the water over his head and ran on.
At last the woods became less dense. Scattered clearings here and there told him he was reaching the outskirts of the town. He pa.s.sed a farmhouse, then another. He caught a glimpse of people at doors and windows staring at him as though at an apparition. A team drew hastily aside to let him pa.s.s. A straggling line of houses marked the entrance to the town. Just as he reached the main street, he caught sight of a doctor"s sign, and dashing upon the porch hammered at the door.
The woman who opened it started back at the sight of him. He was dripping with sweat, his face was haggard and drawn, his eyes burning with excitement.
"The doctor," he gasped.
"Here he is," said a tall, keen-faced man, appearing at this moment.
"What is it?"
Between gasps Bert made known his errand. The doctor"s face grew grave.
"Sit down," he said, "and I"ll harness up and be with you in a minute."
And he hurriedly left the room.
But Bert was thinking quickly. Over that rough road and largely uphill, even a good horse--and the doctor"s nag was not likely to be a thoroughbred--would find it hard to negotiate the distance within two hours. And what might happen to Tom in that time he did not dare to think. What could he do? And then like a flash came the solution. The Red Scout! She could make it in twenty minutes.
Without a word he rushed out of the house and across to the combination livery and garage where the machine was stored. There it stood, the most conspicuous object in the place, with all trace of its journey removed and its cylinders shining. It was the work of a moment to explain matters to the proprietor and see that there was plenty of gasoline in the tank. He sprang to the driver"s seat, threw in the clutch and glided swiftly out to the road. So that when the doctor drove around the side of the house he was astonished to see the great car come swooping down upon him.
"All ready, doctor," shouted the wild-eyed youth at the wheel, "come along."
"You"ll never make it," he protested, "on this road. You"ll split it apart. You"ll tear it to pieces."
"We will make it," cried Bert. "We _must_ make it. Jump in."
For a moment the doctor hesitated. He knew--none better--the need of haste. Still his own life was precious. Then he rose to the occasion.
His sporting blood was roused. He would take a chance. He swung his case into the tonneau and leaped in after it. "Let her go," he called.