Harry Watson's High School Days: or, The Rivals of Rivertown

CHAPTER XXI – ELMER BAITS HIS RIVAL

Good care did the two boys who were bent on the downfall of our hero take to tell the story of Harry’s father being a forger only to those who were not particularly friendly to the lad – with the result that it found ready credence, and was soon being repeated with all manner of exaggerations.

“I don’t believe a word of it!” declared Viola, when the report reached her. “Harry Watson is a splendid chap. I – ”

“But this isn’t Harry, it’s his father whose appeal from a prison sentence has been refused,” laughed a girl who had told the malicious tale.

“It makes no difference, I don’t believe Harry’s father is a man who would stoop to any such act!” retorted Viola, hotly. And, putting her arm through Nettie’s, the richest girl in Rivertown High went off with her chum – for the story had hurt her more than she cared to have her schoolmates see.

Though in high spirits at the amazement their announcement caused among their schoolmates, Elmer and Pud were disappointed that the boy whose father they were traducing did not put in an appearance.

“Where do you suppose he is?” asked Socker, after they had discovered Harry’s absence.

“Probably afraid to show his head,” commented Misery. “I don’t think I’d care to exhibit myself to my school-fellows under such conditions.”

“But Jerry and Paul aren’t here, either,” asserted another boy.

“The three of them are off together somewhere, I suppose,” suggested Pud.

“Or else they’re waiting until school begins, to sneak in,” commented Elmer.

But in ignorance of all the cruel things that were being said about him, Harry was at the river with his chums, busily helping Paul rig up his iceboat.

Being new, there was no end of fussing and readjusting to be done before the Lightning was ready for her initial spin; and the three lads were in the act of making a final test of her ropes, when a crowd of the boys and girls rushed down to the river for their daily frolic on the ice after school – and among them were Elmer and Pud.

“Who’s iceboat is that?” demanded the bully, as he caught sight of the rangy looking craft, some half mile up the river.

“Must belong to some one from Lumberport or Cardell,” returned Elmer. “It’s a new one, that’s easy to see. Let’s skate out and look her over. If she’s any good, I’ll rig up the Glider and we’ll have some races.”

Readily the other boys agreed to the suggestion, and as soon as they had adjusted their skates, they dashed out over the smooth, clear ice.

Not far had they gone, however, before Pud let out a whoop of glee.

“That’s Paul Martin; and he’s got Jerry and Watson with him!” he shouted. “Come on, we’ll have some fun with the forger’s son!”

The evident viciousness of the bully did not meet with the approval of some of the fellows, however, and they were not slow to let Snooks know it. But the thought that he had a lever with which to make his enemy unhappy made him impervious to any comments of his schoolmates.

Ere the boys had covered more than half the distance which separated them from the iceboat they saw that unless something were done instantly to delay the start, they would arrive too late, for Paul and his companions were stretching themselves along the runners, preparatory to getting under way.

“Hey there! Wait a minute!” yelled Elmer, putting his hands to his lips that he might make a funnel that would carry the sound farther.

Surprised at the hail, the three boys rolled from the iceboat, looking expectantly at the fellows hastening toward them.

“What’s wanted?” shouted Paul, as the others came within easy speaking distance.

“I just wanted to tell you that the fellow you’re chumming with and going to take on your boat is the son of a prison-bird!” exclaimed Elmer. “I thought you ought to know it.”

As he heard the brutal statement, Harry’s face grew deathly pale, and he clutched one of the guide ropes with his hand as though to keep himself from falling, while Paul and Jerry looked from his accuser to him, bewildered.

“Wha – what do you mean?” finally stammered Paul. “Who’s the son of a prison-bird?”

“Harry Watson!” chorused Elmer and Pud.

“That’s not true!” cried Harry, in a quavering voice.

“It is! My mother received a paper from Lawrenceburgh this morning, and it says that Amos Watson is going to prison for five years for forgery!” announced the bully, gloatingly.

“And Amos Watson is your father, isn’t he?” demanded Elmer of Harry.

“Yes. But there has been some dirty work somewhere. My father is as innocent of the charge as you are, Elmer Craven!”

“Evidently the judge didn’t think so – or he wouldn’t have refused his appeal,” sneered the rich tormentor. “Before you get chummy with any more fellows, I advise you to make sure who they are, Paul. And you remember it was you who introduced this son of a prison-bird to Viola.”

At the mention of the girl’s name, Harry seemed suddenly to galvanize into action.

“You leave Miss Darrow’s name out of this, Elmer Craven!” he cried, hotly.

“Oh, is that so? Well, I reckon it will take more than a forger’s son to tell me what I shall do and what I shall not. Paul, you’ve either got to apologize to Viola for introducing this chap to her – or – ”

“Or what?” demanded Harry, fairly leaping on his skates toward the boy who had been baiting him until he had goaded him beyond endurance.

Something there was in the tormented boy’s eyes that alarmed his rich enemy, and the fellow gave ground, working himself toward the spot where Pud Snooks was standing, as though seeking the protection of the bully.

Harry, however, was too quick for him and, with a sudden turn cut off Elmer’s attempt, forcing the boy to face him.

“Or what?” he demanded a second time.

Finding escape impossible, the rich fellow glared into the white, tense face before him.

“Or he’ll have to settle with me!” Elmer finished, but his voice was so low that it carried none of its former bravado.

“You’re wrong there, Craven. He’ll be obliged to settle with me if he does apologize. I may not be as rich as you, nor my father as yours, but we’re just as honest!”

“That doesn’t seem to be what the judge thought!” repeated Elmer. “I – ”

But the limit of insult that Harry could endure had been reached.

After the repetition of the remark about the opinion of the jurist who had denied Mr. Watson’s appeal, the boy had drawn back his right arm – and the next moment, his tormentor lay stretched on the ice!

“Coward! Why don’t you take a fellow of your size!” cried Pud, skating toward Harry.

“Why don’t you?” demanded Paul and Jerry, throwing themselves between the hulking bully who overtopped their chum by three or four inches.

“What are you doing in this? Get out of my way!” snarled Snooks.

But the two boys refused to budge and, realizing that he would not be a match for the pair of them, the bully skated away, growling to himself.

In the meantime, Elmer had gotten to his feet.

“I’ll fix you for this, you see if I don’t!” he snarled with a look of fierce hatred at the boy who had knocked him down.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you, Elmer. You only got what you deserved!” returned Paul. “Come on, Harry, if we’re going to have our sail on the Lightning, we’ve got to hurry.”

“Much obliged – but I don’t think I’ll go this afternoon,” exclaimed our hero; and despite the protests of his chums, he skated to the shore and then for home.

CHAPTER XXII – DARK DAYS

On his way to his aunt’s house, Harry met Jed Brown, hobbling along, a valise in his hand.

One look at the boy’s white face told the veteran that some new trouble had come to him, and he solicitously inquired its cause.

Harry, however, was not disposed to share his grief with anyone.

“Going away?” he asked, warding off the question.

“Yes, down to my sister’s at Lawrenceburgh. You know I told you and Mrs. Watson the other night that I was going down – and this afternoon we were talking it over and decided that if I was to do any good, I ought to start without delay.”

For a moment Harry was silent as he strove to master himself sufficiently to speak about his father’s dilemma.

“I – I hope you’ll be able to find out something, Jed,” he said, but his voice quavered pitifully and as he heard it, a light of understanding broke over the aged cripple.

“Have the boys found out about the business?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Pud Snooks saw the announcement of the court in a paper that is sent to his mother from Lawrenceburgh.”

At the mention of the source of the information, the veteran’s brow clouded.

“That Snooks had better watch out!” he snapped. “I – ” then he evidently thought better of his intention to say anything further concerning the bully; and taking Harry’s hand, he exclaimed: “Just keep good courage in your heart, boy. Things will come out all right. Go about your study and play exactly as though nothing had happened. I’ll let you hear from me in a few days. And now I must go or I shall miss my train.”

And giving the boy’s hand another hearty shake, the crippled veteran started again on his way to the railroad station.

Not more than a few steps had he taken, however, then he felt a hand on his valise, and turning quickly, in the fear that it might be some of the boys who delighted to play tricks on him, he had a snarl on his lips, when he saw that it was Harry.

“I’ll go down to the station with you, Mr. Brown,” he announced. “Just let me take your valise.”

Glad of the assistance, for he had found his bag heavier than he thought, the veteran held the conversation to cheerful topics, and not again was the unfortunate matter, so close to the hearts of both, mentioned. And waiting until the train departed, Harry took his way home.

But he was not as bereft of friends as he had thought.

No sooner had he taken his departure from the river than the boys who had gathered about the iceboat took up the discussion of the affair.

“Well, even if Mr. Watson does go to jail, that doesn’t mean we should throw Harry down!” announced Paul, resolutely.

Quickly several of the other boys reiterated this opinion, but more of them sided with Elmer and Pud.

“You can associate with him if you want to – but I don’t think your father will let you,” sneered the rich lad.

“I know mine won’t,” declared the bully. But instead of his words making the impression he had intended, they drew a burst of laughter from Paul and Jerry.

“What do you find so funny about that?” demanded Pud, angrily.

“That your father should forbid your associating with anyone,” returned Paul.

“Say, do you think I ain’t as good as the Martins or the Posts or any people in Rivertown?”

“I’m not saying anything about that. It merely struck me that a fellow who was only saved from serious trouble by the kindheartedness of an old man whom he had tormented in every way possible ought not to make too many comments about other people,” exclaimed Paul, coolly, but uttering each word with deliberation.

Instantly the boys realized that Paul had referred to the incident of the fire which burned Jed Brown’s home, and they awaited the effect upon the bully with eagerness. But it was not what they expected.

For a moment, Pud looked into the eyes of the boy who had taken up the cudgels for his absent chum; then lowered his own, growled something that none of his auditors could understand, and skated away.

“Now you go, too, Craven,” advised Jerry. “If I were you, I’d hire Pud to go round with me – or else stop talking about Harry Watson.”

“What do you mean?” demanded the rich student.

“Didn’t I make myself plain enough? I said for you to stop talking about Harry Watson.”

“Huh, I’d like to see anyone stop me.”

“Well, you will, if you don’t watch out.”

At the words, Craven skated away from Jerry, evidently mindful of the blow he had received from Harry; and with one accord, the excited crowd of boys broke into small groups whose sole topic of conversation was the news from Lawrenceburgh.

Among the townsfolk as well as the scholars, the story spread, and in due time Mr. Larmore and all the teachers heard of it.

“I don’t belief it!” announced Prof. Schmidt, emphatically, when it was told him at supper. And when he had finished the meal, the kindly old German put on his fur coat and cap and went round to call on Mrs. Watson.

The coming of the professor was distinctly embarrassing to both the good woman and her nephew. But he soon put them at their ease by announcing that he hoped Harry would not let the matter keep him from school.

“That’s just what we were talking about when you came, Professor,” declared Mrs. Watson.

A ring at the door-bell interrupted her and when Harry answered it and admitted the principal of the Rivertown High School, she became even more confused.

Mr. Larmore, however, quickly made it evident that he had come for the same purpose as had the genial old German; and after much talking, Mrs. Watson finally agreed that her nephew should continue his studies.

But it was a quiet and sober Harry who entered his classroom the next morning.

His friends strove to convey their sympathy and belief in him by cordial nods. But their kindness was more than offset by the sneers and grunts with which his enemies greeted him. So keenly did the boy feel them that he made his laboratory work an excuse for not joining his companions during the recesses.

What hurt him most, however, was Viola’s attitude. Though she had smiled at him when he had entered the classroom, when he had tried to speak to her she had skilfully prevented it by moving away when she saw him approaching. And deeply did her action cut Harry, so that he vowed to himself he would not give her another opportunity to cause him pain.

For some time things drifted along, and Harry continued to be the storm center of the school world. Some of his fellows shunned him, and others tried to establish themselves on even a more friendly footing with him than at first. But Harry’s attitude was neutral, his only decided stand being to refuse to appear in the Pi Eta society room, though his friends endeavored in every way to persuade him.

During that time old Jed Brown did not return to Rivertown, nor did our hero hear from the old veteran. Harry’s aunt heard from Mr. Watson, but the news was not encouraging.

“They still consider your father guilty,” said the aunt to the youth. “But we know he is innocent, and some day the world will know it, too.”

“Perhaps,” said Harry, sadly. “But, oh, Aunt Mary, to have him in prison! It is awful! I can’t bear to think of it!”

CHAPTER XXIII – A MILE A MINUTE SPIN

“Good morning, Mrs. Watson; is Harry at home?”

Saturday had come, with clear skies, and a cold, crisp air that gave promise of a fine day’s sport on the ice for Rivertown’s young people. It was Paul Martin who had knocked at the door of the widow’s house, and greeted her with his cheery smile when she admitted him.

“Good morning, Paul!” replied the good woman, the look of distress on her face giving way for a moment to one of pleasure at seeing this loyal friend of her nephew. “Yes, he is in his den, busy with something. The poor boy seldom goes out these days; and I’m afraid the constant grieving will tell on his health.”

“That is just why I’ve come around, ma’am, to try and influence Harry to take a spin with me on my iceboat,” Paul continued, eagerly. “You see, we were just going to have a run before, when Pud Snooks interrupted us with that unpleasant bit of news; and Harry backed out. We lost all interest in the sport soon afterward, and I’ve really had little heart for it since.”

“It was good of you to think of your friend in this way, Paul,” the widow said, laying a hand on the lad’s shoulder, and looking affectionately into his manly face. “And depend on it, Harry is worthy of all your regard. I know something about boys, even though I was never blessed with one myself; and if ever there lived a clean, brave and loyal fellow, Harry is one. And Paul, he must go off with you to get some fresh air. This staying in, and thinking of all his troubles, is not the best thing for even his strong nature.”

“Then please back me up,” said Paul, “in case he tries to beg off. I’m going to insist; and I think I know how to reach Harry’s weak spot. I’ll give him to understand that if he refuses, it’s going to spoil all my Saturday morning sport. Harry will make sacrifices for a chum that he would never think of doing for himself. And now I’ll push in on him, if you don’t mind.”

As he opened the door of Harry’s little den, where the boy did his studying, and kept such traps as boys usually accumulate, he found the object of his solicitude bending over a table, and deep in some book.

“Hello! here, old book-worm, this is no morning to bury yourself here indoors like a hermit!” cried Paul, as he burst in on his chum like a breath of the crisp winter air.

Harry looked up, and his face was immediately wreathed in a smile. The very presence of such a fine, healthy fellow like Paul was enough in itself to chase away the blues. He sprang to his feet, and grasped the hand that was thrust out toward him, wringing it with boyish ardor. For deep down in his heart he knew full well that Paul was almost as much concerned over the trouble that had of late befallen him, as he could be himself.

“Glad to see you, Paul!” he exclaimed. “Yes, it does look like a great day for a Saturday; and I guess lots of fellows will be glad. The ice must be fine after that little thaw, and hard freeze. I haven’t been down to the river you know, of late. I just seem to feel that I ought to keep away from my friends, and save them from embarrassment.”

If there was a trace of bitterness in Harry’s voice, Paul did not notice it. He did catch the tremor though, that told of a sore heart; and impulsively he again squeezed the hand of his chum.

“That’s just what brought me here right now,” he observed, seriously. “You must get out more, Harry. You know yourself that all this brooding over your affairs isn’t going to do you a bit of good. Things are going to come out all right yet; but it may take some time. Meanwhile it’s foolish of you to shun your best friends, and keep indoors. I’ve come to carry you off to the river with me, d’ye hear?”

Harry sighed, and cast a look of sincere affection on this staunch friend. They had been utter strangers only a few months back; and yet so strong had the ties become that bound them together, that he fancied he cared as much for Paul as he could have done for a brother.

“Thank you, Paul,” he said, slowly. “I’d like to go first-rate; but I’ve made up my mind to keep clear of all the high school young people until this mystery is solved, and I can look them in the face without a blush. Understand, I have the utmost faith in my father; and I know he must be innocent of the charge brought against him; but so far old Jed has not sent any cheering word; and I must wait.”

“But I say again, that’s no reason for you to keep on hurting your health,” Paul insisted. “Even your Aunt Mary is getting anxious about you; and Harry, she’s been so good to you, don’t you think it is a little cruel to add to her burden in any way?”

Harry sighed again, and looked undecided.

“Yes, Aunt Mary is as good as gold,” he observed. “And I certainly wouldn’t want to cause her any unnecessary pain; but Paul, somehow I haven’t the heart to do the things I used to. I feel a terrible weight in here,” – putting his hand on his chest as he spoke – “that hurts. In my present condition I’d only be a drawback to any crowd of merry boys and girls; and so I stay away.”

Perhaps Paul could understand more than Harry gave him credit for. Perhaps he guessed that it was partly the coolness of one particular girl that helped give his chum this heavy feeling in the region of his heart. For he knew how much Harry had come to care for Viola; and it was difficult for him to understand just why she should take up again with Elmer Craven, whom she had once cut dead.

“All right,” he said cheerily; “for once, then, you’ve just got to put that idea out of your head, and come along with me, Harry. Your aunt says you must, and insists that I carry you off to get a few hours of bracing air. And yet, if you’d rather stay here in your den to being in my company, why – ”

“Oh! you know better than that, Paul!” cried the other lad eagerly, as he looked into the face of his friend. “I’ve enjoyed many happy hours in your company; and if it wasn’t for this unfortunate business – ”

“That’s enough, Harry,” and Paul in turn broke in on what the forlorn boy was trying to say in a trembling voice; “you’ve just got to come along now, or else all my plans for the morning will be broken up. I’d arranged for the two of us, no others, mind, to take my new iceboat, Lightning, and have a great spin far up the river. The ice couldn’t be beat; and I’m determined that it’s just got to be you with me, or no one. That’s flat. Now, what do you say?”

Harry smiled with pleasure. It was almost worth suffering all that he had endured in these last few unhappy days, just to learn what a true friend meant.

“Well, you put it up to me in a way that knocks out all my argument,” he said.

“Then you’ll come with me?” demanded Paul, eagerly.

“Sure I will, and mighty glad of the chance,” Harry replied, as he started to look for his cap, and his warm sweater to go under his coat; for he knew that a long ride on an iceboat, going a mile a minute more than likely, meant chilled bodies, unless care was taken to supply warm clothing.

Once he had decided on his course, Harry seemed somewhat like his old self. Mrs. Watson, as they passed through the outer room, smiled, and nodded to Paul.

“I’m glad to see you managed to coax him to go, Paul,” she remarked; and both lads waved her good-bye as they left the door, walking briskly down the street of Rivertown.

Paul’s father had a boat-house on the bank of the river just outside the town limits, where in Summer the boys often gathered in order to enjoy the sports of the season. There was a new shed attached to this, in which Paul kept the iceboat he had had built recently, but which had as yet hardly been tried out.

In a short time the two lads were busily engaged getting the frail craft out of its quarters, and down on the ice. The mast had to be stepped every time Paul wished to make use of the flier; since the shed was too low to admit of its being stored as it stood. But this proved a job of small moment.

“I guess you know a heap about these kind of boats, Harry?” remarked the owner of the Lightning, as he watched the deft manner in which his new chum handled the various ropes connected with the up-to-date craft built for ice use.

At that Harry laughed, the first little burst of merriment that had escaped his lips for days; and which made his friend feel that he had done well to coax the grieving lad outdoors, where he could get the invigorating influence of the ozone to be found in the crisp wintry air.

“Oh! yes, I suppose I might say I have, without seeming to boast,” he answered, as he bent down to make sure that everything was adjusted, and the wire stay that held the mast in place as taut as the turnbuckle could make it. “We used to have a boat down at Lawrenceburgh, and somehow they got to making me the skipper; last winter we won every race we entered for. But Paul, that boat wasn’t in the same class as this new one you’ve got, I tell you that.”

“Then you think the Lightning is apt to go some?” inquired the owner, eagerly.

“Do I?” echoed Harry, quickly. “Unless I’m away off in my judgment, she’s bound to beat everything along the river. I never saw such fine lines; and best of all, I don’t think the builder has sacrificed anything in the way of staunchness to speed. Mark my word, Paul, she’s going to turn out a crackerjack!”

“I’m mighty glad to hear that, Harry!” declared Paul, “for a good many reasons. A fellow likes to have a clipper boat, you know, one that isn’t going to take dust from any other chap’s racer. And then, it would just give me heaps of fun if I could leave the old Glider far back in the lurch.”

“That’s Elmer’s iceboat, isn’t it?” asked Harry.

“Sure. He hasn’t had it out this winter, I understand, because for two years now it’s just run away from everything there was; and Elmer said he was tired of making circles around the rest of us. But three times now he’s asked me when I expected to get my new boat running; and as much as told me he was waiting to add it to the has-beens he’s beaten.”

“Well, don’t you believe he’s going to have an easy job walking away from this dandy thing on runners,” Harry observed. “I’m ready to say that you’ve got the very last word in iceboats here in the Lightning. And before another hour has passed you’ll feel that you made no mistake when you gave her that name. Now, if you’re ready, let’s make a start.”

Harry was anxious to be off. He had noticed that several boys and girls were heading toward them, having skated up from below. And in his present state of mind he would rather avoid meeting any of his school companions if it could be arranged.

“How about the wind?” asked Paul, as they started to take their places on the thin but strong planks of the iceboat, which had been padded with folded blankets, so as to make it more comfortable for those who had to stretch out at full length while managing the running craft.

“It seems to be everything we could want this morning,” Harry replied. “In fact, I don’t think there ever was a day here on the Conoque River better fitted for a try-out of a new iceboat than this same Saturday morning. And I’m glad now that I came with you, Paul.”

“Bully for you, Harry! That’s all I wanted to hear. And now, let’s cut loose before all those fellows get in our way.”

Longback, Socker Gales, and Misery Jones were among those coming full tilt for the spot where they had discovered the new boat on the river’s edge.

They gave vent to various whoops and cries when they saw that Paul and Harry were starting off without waiting for their arrival.

“Hi! aint you goin’ to let us have a look-in at the new boat, before you smash her with that Jonah aboard?”

“Listen, Paul! Just you keep right on up the river, and my word for it you’ll get yours before you come back!”

“Wow! look at her go, would you? Say, fellers, she’s all to the mustard, you c’n tell me what you please about the Glider. Paul knew what he was doing when he gave the order for that dandy contraption. Gee! don’t I wish I was on her right now!”

These last words just barely reached the ears of the two who lay flattened out on the delicate flooring of the ice yacht. Harry heard his chum chuckling, as if somehow the last remark had given him a good feeling.

The skaters started after them, but were speedily left far behind, and presently gave the chase up as useless. And now the whole river lay before the two iceboat chums, with not a single person to interfere with their sport; since it was as a rule farming country above Rivertown, on both sides of the watercourse.

Few rivers offered better fields for this sport than the Conoque. While not of any great depth, it was as a rule quite wide; and in places presented a magnificent spread of smooth, clear ice, over which the sharp runners glided like magic, as the favoring breeze filled their sail, and urged them on at tremendous speed.

Then again, once in a while they would come to a neck where the going was quite different, since the ice was rougher, and they had to look out for airholes. In the Summer season, when the water was lower, these places were called the “rips”; being in reality small rapids, where the water rushed with noisy volume, and the fishing was considered prime.

“Well, what d’ye think of that?” called out Paul, after they had been booming along in this manner for a little while, passing a couple of the narrow places, where considerable care had to be exercised to avoid trouble.

“Splendid! Never went like this before! You’ve got a wonder here, Paul, and don’t you forget it,” answered Harry, whose face was now rosy with the action of the keen wind and the cold air; while his eyes sparkled much as they had been wont to do before this trouble came upon him, to crush his young spirits so completely.

“That pleases me a whole lot, Harry,” laughed the owner of the craft. “And say, I’ve been watching the way you handle that tiller. Elmer Craven boasts of being the best iceboat sailor on the river; but I’m ready to put you up against him any old day. Why, you manage things so that she seems to be next door to human. No matter what sort of wind strikes us, you’ve got a way of setting her with it, that just suits every time. If this boat’s a wonder, Harry, you’re the fellow that can get every ounce of speed out of her.”

“Here, that will do for you, Paul,” answered Harry; though naturally the words of genuine praise made him feel happy, as he had been up against so many hard knocks lately, at the hands of those who bore him so much ill will. “I’d just like to try her against some other boat of the same class. That’s the only way to get a pointer on her speed and cleverness, you know.”

“Perhaps we may, and this very morning,” remarked Paul, mysteriously, but with a grin accompanying the words.

“What makes you say that?” demanded his companion, who had to keep his eyes on the alert pretty much all the time, since a flaw of wind might swoop down on them at any second, and if he failed to be quick with the rudder, in order to ease up on the sudden strain, an upset was likely to follow.

“Didn’t you hear what Misery Jones shouted after us?” Paul went on, answering one question, Yankee fashion, by asking another.

“Was it Misery who called out for you to listen; and then said something about you ‘getting yours’ if you kept on up the river?” Harry continued.

“Sure, that was Misery. He’s never so happy as when acting as a prophet, and predicting all sorts of trouble ahead for other people. That’s why the boys call him Misery; he sees all kinds of accidents looming up, even if they hardly ever come along. But Harry, I don’t think the fellow had any accident in store for us that time, when he said I would get mine up here to-day.”