Dave Porter and His Rivals: or, The Chums and Foes of Oak Hall

CHAPTER XXI
THANKSGIVING, AND A SNOWBALLING CONTEST

The celebration that night was a grand affair, and Doctor Clay allowed the students to remain out until midnight. Many bonfires were lighted, and the boys danced around, sang songs, and played many practical jokes on each other and on Horsehair and Pop Swingly. Shadow was in his element, and was permitted to tell a dozen or more of his yarns, much to his own satisfaction if not of his listeners.

The only boys who felt blue were Nat Poole and the lads who had played against Lemington and then been put off the eleven. Nat had received a sharp lecture from the doctor and then been sent to his room, to remain there until the following morning. He wanted to pack up and go home, fearing the jeers of his fellow-students when they learned of his meanness, but he did not dare to make this move, for his father had written him a sharp letter, telling him to finish out the term at Oak Hall or otherwise to go to work, – and Nat did not want to go to work.

Of course the victory over Rockville made Dave and his chums feel good. The whole eleven were warmly congratulated by the doctor, and by Mr. Dale and Mr. Dodsworth.

The game with the military academy was followed by a number of other contests, and the school made a fine record for itself, winning six games out of eight. The two games lost were with college boys, and these players were all considerably heavier than the Oak Hall lads. The last game took place on Thanksgiving Day, and was witnessed by Dave's father and Mr. Wadsworth, and also by Laura and Jessie. Oak Hall won this contest by a score of 18 to 11.

"Oh, it was grand, Dave!" cried Jessie, after the boys had left the gridiron. "That run you made was the best ever!"

"You all did well," said Laura.

"It makes my blood tingle, and I feel like getting into the game myself," said Oliver Wadsworth. "It was a clean-cut contest from start to finish."

Phil and some of the other boys were going home, and soon said good-by. Mr. Porter and Mr. Wadsworth went off with Doctor Clay, and that left Dave and Roger with the two girls. As Senator Morr was at home from Washington, it was decided that the young folks should pay Roger's home a visit for the rest of the day, Mr. Porter and Mr. Wadsworth coming there in the evening to take Laura and Jessie back to Crumville.

The young folks made a jolly party as they boarded the train. They turned over one of the double seats and sat facing each other, and laughed and chatted until Hemson was reached. Here a carriage awaited them, and they were driven to the Morr mansion, where they received a warm greeting from the senator and his wife.

The girls had much to tell about themselves, and then asked about matters at the school. They were indignant to learn that Nat Poole had exposed the football signals.

"It is just like him – the sneak!" cried Jessie. "Oh, Dave, I hope you don't have anything more to do with him."

"I am willing to let him alone if he will let me alone."

"Do you hear anything from Link Merwell?" questioned Laura.

"Not much. But I understand he and Nick Jasniff have it in for me."

"Then, Dave, you must be on your guard," cautioned his sister. "I think Merwell is a regular snake in the grass – his actions at the ranch prove it – and Jasniff is no better."

"Jasniff is worse," said Roger. "He is a brute."

The boys and girls spent a happy evening together, and all too soon Mr. Porter and Mr. Wadsworth arrived to take Laura and Jessie back to Crumville. The boys hated to see them go, and went to the depot with them. There was some warm handshaking, and then the train rolled away, and the boys went back to the house.

"Splendid girls, both of them," was Roger's comment, and Dave quite agreed with him. But he was thinking more about Jessie than his sister, – and it is quite likely Roger was thinking more about Laura.

The boys remained at Roger's home until Saturday afternoon, and then returned to Oak Hall. The air was heavy and very cold, and they were glad to get out of the carryall, rush into the school, and warm up.

"Feels like snow to me," said Dave; and he was right. It started to snow that night, and kept it up for the greater part of Sunday, so that by Monday the ground was covered to the depth of a foot or more.

"Hurrah, for a snowballing match!" cried Buster. "Everybody in the line after school."

"Let us choose sides," suggested Ben. "Instead of having an Army of the North and an Army of the South, we can have – "

"An Army of Red and an Army of Blue," finished Dave. "What do you say to the red sweaters against the blue sweaters?"

As many lads of the school wore red sweaters, and about an equal number wore blue, the idea caught on instantly, and at the noon recess the two armies, of Red and of Blue, were hastily organized. Each numbered twenty-five recruits, and Roger was made the leader on one side and Sam Day the leader on the other. With Roger went Dave and Phil, while Ben, Buster, and Shadow sided with Sam. Roger's side was the Army of Red, and they made themselves a big red flag, with the initials O. H. on it. Not to be outdone, Sam's army made a big blue flag, also with the school initials.

It was decided that the Army of Blue was to take a position in the woods, and that the Army of Red was to try to dislodge them and force them to retreat. If either army was driven back two hundred yards it must give up its flag and count itself beaten.

After school half an hour was allowed for getting ready, and most of that time was consumed in making snowballs and in fortifying the edge of the woods by throwing up a snowbank. Then a bugle belonging to one of the students sounded out, and the great snowball battle began.

It was certainly a hot contest, and the snowballs flew in all directions, and many a "soldier" received one in the body or in the head. Sam had placed his followers with care, and try their best the Army of Red could not dislodge them.

"I have a scheme," said Phil, after the battle had lasted for fully half an hour, and while the boys were pausing to manufacture fresh "ammunition" in the shape of snowballs. "Let us rush up and then pretend to retreat. They'll think they have us on the run, and as soon as they leave the woods and that snowbank, we can turn on 'em again, and wallop 'em."

"If you try that, be sure of one thing," said Dave. "Have plenty of snowballs on hand. Otherwise that fake retreat may become a real one."

"We'll make a lot of snowballs," said Roger. "Pitch in, everybody!"

In a little while, the Army of Red was ready for the movement Phil had suggested. Then Roger explained just how it was to be carried out. They were to advance on the left wing of the Blues and then retreat in the direction of the road. As soon as the Blues came from cover, they were to drive them – if they could be driven – to the upper edge of the woods and across the field beyond.

"Now then, all together!" cried the senator's son. "And make them think you are really retreating, at first."

Forward went the Army of Red, throwing snowballs wildly. Then came a shower of balls in return, and several of the Reds were seen to fall, as if knocked down. Then came a pause, and several lads started to go back.

"Stop! Don't run!" yelled Roger. "Don't run!" But as this was part of the deception, those in retreat kept on backing away.

"Hurrah! we've got 'em on the run!" came from the woods, and in a trice several of the Army of Blue appeared on the top of the snowbank. "Come on, let us chase 'em!"

Over the snowbank came the Army of Blue, carrying all the snowballs it could manage. The Army of Red continued to retreat, each boy loaded down with ammunition. Then, just as the edge of the woods was cleared, a loud whistle sounded out.

It was the signal to turn, and like one man the Army of Red faced about, and let fly a heavy volley of snowballs, directly in the face of the enemy. The Blues were taken completely by surprise, and almost dazed. Then came another volley of snowballs, and a dozen lads were struck, in the head and elsewhere.

"Wow!" yelled one boy. "Say, what are we up against?"

"Let 'em have it!" came the rallying yell of the Reds. "Down with 'em! Drive 'em to cover!" And on they came with a rush, throwing their snowballs with all the accuracy possible. The severe onslaught demoralized the other army for the time being, and two boys broke and ran – then half a dozen more – and then the whole army.

"Stop! Turn and face 'em!" yelled Sam. "Give it to 'em hot!" But this was not to be, for the reason that the Blues were out of ammunition. They ran close to the woods, but were driven from that cover by a flank movement, and then took to the field, trying to manufacture snowballs as they ran.

"We've got 'em going – don't let up!" cried Dave, and, having stopped to make a few more snowballs, he pushed on, with Roger and half a dozen others beside him. Phil carried the flag, and all made for where the enemy had its flag of blue. Then came an exchange of snowballs at close range, and poor Phil was hit in the face. He dropped the flag, and Dave picked it up.

"Much hurt, Phil?" asked Roger, anxiously.

"I guess not," was the plucky reply. "Go on and wax 'em!" And then Phil turned back for a moment to catch his breath.

At the edge of the field was a ridge, and back of this a deep hollow. Sam decided to take a stand behind the ridge, and so directed his followers.

"But look out for the holes," said one of the boys. "Some nasty ones around here."

The battle soon waged as fiercely as ever. On came the Army of Red with a fresh supply of ammunition, and snowballs flew in all directions. Poor Sam was struck in the ear, and the carrier of the flag was hit in the arm and in the mouth. Down went the flag, and before the carrier could pick it up, three of the enemy pounced upon him, and while two held him, the third captured the all-important trophy.

"Hurrah! We've got their flag! Now drive 'em along!" was the cry.

"We must get the flag back!" called out Sam. "Now then, all together!" And again the battle went on.

"Now, for a final rush!" said Roger, after the blue flag had been taken to the rear. "We are going to win! Come on!" And he led the way.

Near the top of the ridge, the Red and the Blue fought fiercely, for all the boys were now thoroughly warmed up. Back and forth surged the long lines, and for several minutes it looked as if the Blues might succeed in driving the Reds back. Once Dave came close to losing the flag, and only saved it by sending two of the enemy sprawling headlong in the snow.

At last the Reds managed to reach the top of the ridge, and from that point send down a fierce shower of snowballs. The Blues could not withstand this fire, and broke and ran.

"Hurrah! the victory is ours!" yelled several of the Reds.

"Let us clinch it, and make 'em cry for mercy!" shouted one of the victorious army, and forward he went, and nearly all of the others after him.

"Be careful!" cried Dave. "There are a lot of holes around here! Somebody may break a leg."

His voice was drowned by the shouts of those who had won, and over the ridge and towards the hollow poured the victors and vanquished – the latter trying to dodge the fresh shower of snowballs.

"It's all over – let up!" yelled one boy of the Army of Blue. "Let up, can't you?"

"One last shower, fellows!" cried Roger. "Now then, all together!"

The snowballs were delivered, and then came a pause, as all realized that the battle was at an end. Then, from the far end of the hollow, came an unexpected yell:

"Help! help! I am down in a hole and can't get out! Help!"

CHAPTER XXII
IN WHICH THE SHOES COME BACK

"Somebody is in trouble!"

"Who is it?"

"Where is he?"

"It is Tom Hally!" cried Roger, mentioning one of the new boys at Oak Hall. "He must have fallen into one of the holes near the big hollow."

"Come on and see what is the matter," said Dave, and dropping the flag, he sped in the direction of the cries, and a dozen others followed.

When they reached the spot from which the cries for help had proceeded they could see nothing of Tom Hally.

"He was here a minute ago – I saw him!" declared a student named Messmer. "He must have gone down out of sight!"

"Be careful that somebody doesn't go down on top of him," cautioned Roger.

He had hardly spoken when there came a cry from Messmer, and, looking in his direction, the other boys were horrified to see him sink into the snow up to his waist.

"Hi! hi! help me!" yelled Messmer. "Quick, something has me by the foot!"

"Maybe it's Hally, at the bottom of the hole!" burst out Dave.

"Let us make a chain and haul him out," suggested Phil.

This suggestion was considered a good one, and in a twinkling a long line was formed, the boys taking hold of each other's hands. Dave was at one end of the line, and he approached Messmer with caution.

"Help me!" gasped Messmer. "Something is dragging me down!"

"Take hold of my hand," answered Dave. "Hold tight!"

Messmer did as requested, and then Dave gave the other boys the signal to haul away.

"But be careful," he added. "Otherwise the line may break, and some more of us will go in the hole."

The students hauled steadily and cautiously, and slowly but surely Messmer came out of the snowy hole. As his feet came into view it was seen that a pair of hands were clasped around one of his ankles.

"Tom Hally is there!" shouted Dave. "Be extra careful, or he may slip back!"

He had hardly spoken when Messmer's foot came up with a jerk. The unfortunate boy below had let go, being probably too exhausted to keep hold.

"Oh, Dave, what shall we do?" gasped Roger. He stood next in the life line.

"Make two lines!" cried Dave. "Here, you get hold of one of my feet, and Messmer can get hold of the other. Now don't let go, whatever you do. I'll go down after Hally."

"But the danger – " began Ben.

"We can't leave Hally to smother to death there, Ben. Now then, hold tight," answered Dave.

The two lines were formed, each end boy holding tight to one of Dave's ankles. Then Dave threw himself down in the snow and wormed his way to the edge of the hole. Several feet below he saw one of Tom Hally's hands sticking up, the fingers working convulsively. He made a clutch and got a firm grip of the wrist.

"Haul away!" he called. "But be easy, or the edge of the hole may cave in!"

Under Dave's directions the boys hauled away with care, and presently poor Tom Hally came to the surface of the snow, and was dragged to a safe spot. He was all but exhausted, and too weak to stand.

"Here, we'll carry you to the school!" cried Roger, and he and some others made a "chair," and thus the unfortunate lad was carried to Oak Hall, where he was placed in a rocking chair in front of a fire.

"I went down all of a sudden," he explained, when he could talk. "I yelled for all I was worth, and I saw some of you running towards me. Then I went out of sight, and the next I knew Messmer's feet were on my head. I caught hold of one foot and was dragged almost to the surface. Then my strength gave out, – and I hardly know what I did after that."

"Dave pulled you out," answered Phil. "He saw one of your hands sticking out of the snow, and he got us fellows to form two lines, with him on the end."

"I am very thankful," said Tom Hally, and he gave Dave's hand a warm squeeze. "I shall never go near that hollow again!"

"It's a dangerous place in the winter time," said Roger. "We should have known better than to have retreated in that direction."

"Well, the Army of the Red won!" cried one of the students. "Say, wasn't it a dandy battle!"

"It certainly was!" answered several others.

Doctor Clay was much alarmed to learn that Hally and Messmer had gone down in a hole in the snow, and he came to see how the former was getting along. Then he praised Dave and his chums for their bravery in effecting a rescue.

In the past Hally, who was a rather silent student, had had little to say to the other boys, but now he spoke to Dave, and asked him quite a number of questions concerning himself and the other occupants of dormitories Nos. 11 and 12.

"I'd like to be in with your bunch," said he, wistfully. "I don't like our crowd very well."

"Where are you?" asked Dave.

"In No. 13 – with Nat Poole and his crowd."

"They aren't very much of Nat's crowd any more, are they?"

"Oh, several boys still stick to him. But he makes me sick."

"Well, I am sorry, Hally, but our rooms are filled up," said Dave.

"Poole is down on you, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"He told me you and he had had a lot of trouble."

"So we have – but I claim it was mostly Nat's fault. He does some pretty mean things."

"So he does, for a fact," and Tom Hally nodded earnestly. "He is down on Maurice Hamilton too, isn't he?"

"Yes, but Shadow never did him any harm. It's just Nat's mean disposition," returned Dave; and there the conversation had to come to an end.

But that talk, coupled with the fact that Dave and his chums had so bravely gone to Tom Hally's rescue, produced an unexpected result. Two days later, when the occupants of dormitories Nos. 11 and 12 got up, they were surprised to find, just inside of one of the doors, a big pasteboard box, securely tied with a heavy cord.

"Why, what's this?" asked Phil, who was the first to see the box.

"Must be a Christmas box!" cried Dave. "And yet it is rather early in the season for that."

"Is it addressed to anybody?" questioned Ben.

"Nothing on it," announced Roger, after an inspection. "Maybe the box was placed in this room by mistake."

"Let us open it and see what is inside," suggested Polly Vane.

"I second that motion," added Luke. "Hope it's got some nice Christmas pies in it."

"Maybe it's a trick," cautioned Shadow. "Go slow on opening it."

The boys pushed the box to the center of the dormitory with care, and then Roger cut the cord with his pocketknife.

"You open it," said Phil to Dave.

"I am not afraid," answered Dave, and took off the cover.

And then what a shout went up!

"Our shoes, and boots, and slippers!"

"Where in the world did this come from!"

"Say, I thought my shoes were gone for good!"

"Are they all here?"

"I guess so. Let us sort 'em out and see."

Hastily the box was turned over, and the contents dumped on the floor. Then began a general sorting out, lasting for several minutes.

"One of my gym. shoes is missing," announced Phil.

"Perhaps one of the other fellows has it," suggested Dave, and the shipowner's son started a fresh search. But it was of no avail. Every shoe, slipper, and boot that had been taken had been returned excepting one of Phil's foot coverings.

"Well, I don't care much," said Phil. "These shoes were about worn out, anyway."

"Where do you suppose this box came from?" asked Ben, and then he gazed curiously at Shadow, and the others did the same.

"I – I suppose you think – that is, you imagine I – er – I had something to do with this," stammered the boy who had on several occasions walked in his sleep.

"Do you know anything about it, Shadow?" asked Dave.

"Not the first thing!"

"Did you dream of anything last night?"

"Yes, I dreamed about a – er – a – " stammered the sleep-walker. "I – er – Oh, it wasn't about shoes, or anything like that."

"Well, what was it?" demanded Roger, sternly.

"It was about a party, if you must know. I dreamt I took a girl, and we had a nice time dancing and playing games. There weren't any shoes in it," and poor Shadow got redder than ever.

Dave looked the box over with care. It was a common pasteboard box, with nothing on it in the way of writing or advertising.

"This certainly is a mystery," he said, slowly. "First the shoes disappear, and now they come back. I give it up."

"Somebody has been playing a trick on us!" declared Roger. "The question is, who?"

"I don't know of anybody who would do such a thing, excepting it was Nat Poole," declared Ben.

"Well, there is no use of taxing Nat with it," declared Dave. "For he would deny it point-blank, unless you could prove it against him."

The boys talked the affair over until it was time to go down to breakfast, but they could reach no conclusion regarding the mystery.

"Maybe it will never be explained," said Buster.

"Well, even so, I am glad to get my shoes and slippers back," lisped Polly Vane.

A few days after the restoration of the foot coverings there came a thaw and then a sudden cold snap. Ice began to form on the river, and soon it was thick enough for skating, much to the joy of the students, for nearly all of them loved to skate. Some of the boys had ice-boats, and these were also brought out for use.

"I understand that Rockville is going to put out a strong ice-hockey team this winter," said Roger to Dave one day. "They are going to challenge us, too."

"Well, we'll have to make up a team to beat 'em," answered Dave.

"That won't be so easy," declared another student. "They have some great skaters and hockey players at the military academy this season. They've got one player who is a star."

"Who is that?"

"Will Mallory. He came from down East, and he is the slickest ice-hockey player you ever set eyes on."

"Well, if they challenge us we'll do our best," declared Dave, and some others said the same.

The next day, after school, Dave had occasion to go to Oakdale on an errand. Roger was going along, but at the last minute had to stay behind, so Dave went alone.

He had scarcely passed out of the school grounds when he noticed that he was being followed. A tall, thin man had stepped from behind some oak trees, and was coming after him.

"I wonder what that chap was doing around the school?" the youth asked himself.

He walked along rapidly, and the man did the same. Then Dave slackened his pace, and the follower did likewise.

"He doesn't want to catch up to me, that's sure," thought the youth. "Maybe he is afraid I'll recognize him. Wonder who he is?"

He turned and looked back. But the man had his overcoat pulled up and his soft hat pulled far down, and Dave could see little of his face.

"This is a mystery," mused Dave. "I am going to speak to him," and he stopped short and waited for the mysterious individual to come up.