"Nine o"clock"s early enough," said Bob. "Everybody come around here then and we"ll make things hum. There"s still plenty to do, but we ought to get it finished before that."
The boys were so excited at the prospect of actually operating their set the following evening that they could hardly sit still two minutes at a time. They laughed and joked and speculated on what would be the first thing they would hear through the air, and finally Bob"s guests started home in an hilarious mood.
Bob himself cleaned up his bench a bit after the others had gone, and then went upstairs to his bedroom, which had a window in the rear of the house. He had just started to undress when he thought he heard a peculiar noise outside. At once the thought of what Joe had said about his encounter with Buck Looker and his companions leaped into his mind, and he crossed swiftly to the window and looked out.
It had been cloudy all the evening, but now, the clouds were beginning to break away, allowing bursts of moonlight to shine through at intervals. When Bob first looked out of the window, the moon was obscured by a ragged patch of cloud and he could barely make out the dim outline of the barn. But as the cloud pa.s.sed on and the moon began to shine through the thinning fringe of vapor, Bob saw an indistinct figure on the roof, and as the moon came out more strongly he could see that the figure was tinkering with the end of the aerial that was fastened to the barn.
Bob had no difficulty in recognizing Buck Looker, and without more ado he made for the back stairs leading down to the kitchen. Hot rage was in his heart and a resolve to have it out with the bully once and for all. Noiselessly he unfastened the kitchen door and pa.s.sed out into the night, approaching the barn with as little noise as an Indian.
Buck Looker was entirely unconscious of his approach, and was still fussing with the aerial when Bob"s voice reached him, pleasant enough, but with a steely note in it that almost made the bully lose his hold on the roof.
"h.e.l.lo, Buck!" said Bob. "What are you doing up there?"
For a few moments the shock of hearing Bob"s voice so unexpectedly unnerved Buck completely, and he could do nothing but peer down at Bob with an expression of guilt and dismay on his coa.r.s.e face.
"Why--why--" he gasped at last, making an effort to pull himself together. "Why, you see, Bob, I--I just thought I"d like to see how you fastened this thing up. Lutz and I were thinking of putting one up ourselves, and we wanted to find out how to do it," he went on, glibly.
"Come on down off that roof and take your medicine," said Bob, ignoring this flimsy excuse. "You"ve had a licking coming to you for a long time, and now you"re going to get it."
"Maybe you"ll be sorry when I do come down," bl.u.s.tered Buck. "You let me alone though, and I won"t hurt you."
"Shut up and come down," said Bob grimly. "You"ve got to come down sooner or later, and you can bet I"ll be waiting here for you when you arrive."
The bully hesitated for a time, but his position on the roof was precarious, and he saw that Bob was in earnest and meant to wait for him. He summoned up what little courage he could, therefore, and came slowly down a ladder that he had reared against the side of the barn furthest from the house.
Bob waited until Looker was fairly on the ground before making a move. While descending the ladder Buck had made up his mind to run for it as soon as he reached the ground, for he had little liking for an encounter with Bob, although many times he had talked big about what he was going to do to him some day. But Bob had no intention of letting him escape so easily, and as Buck put his foot on the ground and turned with the intention of running, Bob was on him with the fury of a wildcat. Buck was prepared for this too, and when he saw that he was fairly cornered started to fight back.
Looker was bigger and heavier than Bob, and for a time held his own, but Bob had the memory of more than one wrong to avenge, and a gallant spirit that took no heed of blows received so long as he could punish his enemy.
For many minutes they fought back and forth, giving and taking in fierce fashion. Buck landed one or two heavy blows, but Bob only shook his head and bored in more fiercely than ever. He rained blows on the retreating bully, who was soon getting enough and more than enough.
At length Bob saw an opening, and quick as a flash a fist shot up and caught Looker square under the jaw. The bully"s head rocked back, his knees sagged under him, and he dropped limply to the ground. Panting, Bob stood over him, waiting for Looker to get to his feet again, but when after a few seconds the bully opened his eyes, there was no sign of fight left in them.
"Get up, you big blowhard!" panted Bob. "I"m not through with you yet."
But Buck Looker was through, abjectly and entirely through.
"Have a heart, Bob," he whined. "I don"t want to fight any more.
My jaw feels as though it was broken."
"I hope it is!" said Bob. "You big bully! What do you mean by climbing up on my barn and trying to wreck my aerial?"
"I won"t ever try to monkey with it again, honest I won"t!"
whined Buck.
"You"d better not," advised Bob grimly. "And when you see your friends, tell them I"ll do the same to them that I"ve done to you if they come around here. They"d better keep off these premises unless they"re looking for trouble."
"I"ll tell them to keep hands off," promised Buck, nursing his injured jaw. "Will you promise not to hit me if I get up?"
"Yes, get up and get out of here," said Bob, disgustedly, and he turned his back contemptuously on the bully and started for the house.
As he turned his back, Buck scrambled to his feet with a look of malignant hatred on his face and looked about him, apparently in search of some object he could use as a weapon. Fortunately there was nothing handy that he could use as such, and after stealthily shaking his fist at Bob he sneaked off toward town, one hand still holding his injured jaw.
After washing his face in cold water, Bob saw that he had received only a few minor scratches and bruises.
"I guess I taught that big bully a lesson that he won"t forget in a hurry," he reflected. "It will be a long time before he or any of his sneaking friends will come tampering with our wireless again. He"s had that licking coming to him for a long time, and I"m glad I was lucky enough to be the one to give it to him."
Tired out by the encounter, Bob turned in and slept soundly until awakened by the morning sun streaming in through the open window.
CHAPTER XIV
ON THE VERGE
Bob felt sore and stiff as a result of the moonlight battle, but he showed little visible sign of it, although there was enough to excite questioning at the breakfast table. Bob narrated what had taken place, and the family was very indignant over Buck"s invasion of their property.
"If you hadn"t given young Looker such a sound trouncing I would make a complaint to his father," said Mr. Layton. "But under the circ.u.mstances I guess there is no need to say anything further about it. His misdeeds seem to have brought their own punishment somewhat sooner than is usual," he added, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, I don"t think he"ll come bothering around here in a hurry, Dad," said Bob. "I always thought he had a streak of yellow in him, and now I"m sure of it."
"Most bullies have," observed Mr. Layton, as he rose to go down to the store. "I"m glad you caught him at it before he had a chance to do any damage, because I"m getting interested in that radio business myself. If you boys really get it going with the apparatus that you"ve made yourselves you"ll deserve a lot of credit."
"Well, we"ll soon know whether it works or not," said Bob. "We hope to have it in shape to test out to-night."
"So soon?" said Mr. Layton, surprised. "That will be fine! I hope you won"t be disappointed," and he went out on his way down to the store.
He had been gone hardly half an hour when Bob heard a cheerful chorus of whistles outside, and knew that his friends had arrived bright and early, as they had promised.
"Here we are, right on the job," said Jimmy, as Bob opened the door for them. "But say, what"s happened to you? You look as though you"d been in a fight."
"There"s nothing surprising about that, because I have been in a fight," replied Bob, grinning.
"With whom?" they all asked at once.
"An old friend of ours--dear old Buck Looker," responded Bob.
"Well, what--what--when did you see him to fight with him?"
stuttered Jimmy.
"It all happened last night after you fellows had gone home," said Bob, and then gave them an account of how he had surprised the bully and the fight that had followed.
"Well!" exclaimed Joe, drawing a long breath when Bob had finished, "I"m glad you gave him a good licking, Bob. I envy you because you had the chance first. I"d like to get a look at Buck now."
"I imagine he"ll keep out of sight for a few days," returned Bob.
"I don"t think I improved his beauty any."
"I wonder if he had time to damage the aerial any," said Herb. "Have you taken a look at it yet, Bob?"