CHAPTER XVI
AN INSULTING REPLY
Frank hardly knew what to do. He was not in the habit of seeing girls cry, never having had any sisters, and the sight of a girl in whom he was more than ordinarily interested weeping bitterly was rather too much for him.
"Oh now! Now!" he exclaimed a bit awkwardly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Gertrude."
"But what can I do?" she asked. "And if I don't do something our home will be taken away from us! Mother is heart-broken, and she couldn't think of anything. I thought of you, and how you had the bonds, and I was wondering if we couldn't sell them quickly, even at a sacrifice, and get some money with which to pay Professor Callum."
"I—I just wish I had him here!" exclaimed Grace Knox. "I—I'dsaysomething to him!" and she stamped her small foot on the pavement.
Frank was thinking quickly. Clearly the emergency called for some action, but what he did not know. Matters seemed to be coming to a crisis.
"Perhaps Old Thorny is forcing things to get even with me, because he knows I am interested in the Mortons," thought Frank. "Well, if he wants to fight this way, making war on women and girls, I'm willing. Let's see, what can I do?"
"I—I hope you don't think it wrong of me to come to mail a letter to you at night," said Gertrude, looking up through her tears. "Mamma wrote it, and sent me to our post-office with it. Then I found I had missed the mail, so I called up Grace and she and I took the next trolley for Riverview."
"It was the right thing to do," declared Frank. "I'm glad you did it. I know what I'll do, I'll wire dad at once. It isn't so late but what I can reach him, and he'll advise us what to do."
"It seems very late," said Grace, for though it was but a little after eight o'clock, people retired earlier in the country town than in the city.
"Oh, New York is just waking up," replied the lad. "My father and mother are probably wondering what they shall do to spend the evening. Come on down this street. The telegraph office is there, and on the way you can give me the particulars."
"There aren't many to give," replied Gertrude as she and her chum followed the Racer lad. "We received notice from James Martin, a lawyer, to-night that a suit to recover a certain sum had been started against us by Mr. Callum. The lawyer said that unless we paid, judgment would be obtained against us, and that he would at once proceed to collect by levying on our house, whatever that means. He said we would be without a home, and winter is coming on. Oh, isn't it terrible!"
"Don't worry," said Frank soothingly. "Even if he was successful in getting a judgment it would take a long while to put you out of your home. But he's not going to do it. Here is the telegraph office. Now to rush a wire to dad."
The agent in the little office was rather surprised to see two pretty girls and a tall lad, all very much excited, enter his place. But he was used to all sorts of queer experiences, so he made no comments and was soon clicking off the message that Frank wrote out. In brief it told what had happened and asked for advice.
"It will probably be half an hour before we can expect an answer," said Frank, "perhaps longer. Suppose we go to a moving picture show? There's a nice respectable one around the corner."
"But won't you be staying away from school too long?" asked Gertrude.
"No, I guess I can make it," replied the lad, though, truth to tell, he was a bit anxious over the outcome. Still he was not going to admit it.
There were several interesting views in the little theatre and the girls and their escort enjoyed them very much. One showed the eight- and four-oared shells of Waterside Hall rowing on the river.
"Oh, aren't they just splendid!" exclaimed Grace.
"Did you hear about our crew?" asked Frank, a bit put out at the interest manifested in a rival school.
"No. Have you one?" asked Gertrude, and when Frank told of sending the challenge, she cried: "Oh, fine! We'll come to see the race; won't we, Grace?"
"I only hope they accept it," murmured Frank, while Gertrude's pretty chum nodded.
Shortly after that they hurried around to the telegraph office, and there found awaiting them a reply from Mr. Racer.
"Get Robert Bolton, a lawyer of Marsden, on the telephone," the message said, "and have him take charge of the case for me. He has handled some of my affairs before. Explain circumstances and ask him to get as long a delay as possible. Have been unable to do anything with bonds yet, but expect to soon."
"Get Robert Bolton, a lawyer of Marsden, on the telephone," the message said, "and have him take charge of the case for me. He has handled some of my affairs before. Explain circumstances and ask him to get as long a delay as possible. Have been unable to do anything with bonds yet, but expect to soon."
"Oh, perhaps he can't sell the bonds!" exclaimed Gertrude.
"Well, if he can't, I know who can!" said Frank quickly.
"Who?" asked the girl.
"I—er—that is—I can find someone," he answered hesitatingly. He had referred to himself and his brother, but he did not want Gertrude to know that. "Now let's call up this lawyer," he said.
Fortunately Mr. Bolton was at home, and as soon as the name of Mr. Racer was mentioned he at once consented to take charge of the case.
Frank arranged to have him call on Mrs. Morton in the morning, and then sent another telegram to his father advising the silk merchant of what had been done.
"And be sure and sell those bonds, dad," was the way Frank ended up his message. Mr. Racer laughed when he read it.
"I guess our boy is getting quite interested in a certain party," he remarked to his wife.
"Goodness! He's too young!" exclaimed Frank's mother.
"Well, I guess this is all that can be done to-night," remarked Frank, as he came out of the telegraph office with the two girls. "Mr. Bolton will call on your mother to-morrow."
"Then we had better get home and tell her," spoke Gertrude. "Come, Grace."
"Wait. I'm not going to let you go alone!" exclaimed Frank. "We'll get the next car for Dailsburg."
"Oh, we couldn't think of letting you go with us!" objected Gertrude.
"Why not?"
"Because you will get back to school so late, and——"
"We're not a bit afraid," protested Grace.
"But I'm coming just the same," declared Frank calmly. "I'll manage to get back to school somehow. I don't suppose Professor Callum is in Dailsburg; is he?" and he laughed.
"No, I fancy he is done paying us visits," replied Gertrude. "But I wish you wouldn't come."
"Really?" asked the lad.
Gertrude did not answer and as the Dailsburg car came along just then they all got aboard. A quick trip was made, and soon Frank was on his way back to school.
Truth to tell, he was a little nervous about being caught, and, as it was, he nearly suffered that fate. He saw a prowling monitor, but managed to elude him, and got in through a basement door that Flopps, the gardener, sometimes obligingly left open.
But Frank was no sooner in bed, having given a hasty account of his adventures to Andy than there came a summons on the door. It appeared that a number of boys had run the guard that night, and a general "round-up" was in progress. Fortunately our heroes had "a clean slate," to the obvious disappointment of Mr. Callum, who had hoped to catch them.
Frank received a note from Gertrude the next day stating that the court proceedings had been started, but that Mr. Bolton had secured an adjournment.
"So there is no immediate danger," the girl wrote. "My mother and I cannot thank you enough for what you and your father have done for us."
Frank felt a warm glow about the region of his heart, and he carefully put the letter away among some cherished possessions, including an old baseball catching glove.
"Well, how soon do you think Waterside will answer?" asked Jack Sanderson a few days later, when, as yet, no reply had been received to the challenge.
"Oh, it can't be long now," answered Frank, as he helped to lift the shell into the water. "We ought to hear to-day or to-morrow."
Before the crew could row off a messenger from the school came hurrying down to the river bank. In his hand he held a letter.
"This just came!" he panted. "Special delivery. It's for Frank Racer."
"Let's have it!" cried the young captain. "Maybe it's from dad."
Hurriedly he read the few lines. His face went white and then flushed a dull red.
"Well, of all the insults!" he muttered.
"What is it?" chorused his companions.
"Look!" he said. "It's the reply of Waterside to our challenge for a rowing race."
His brother and his chums read this:
"Replying to your favor of recent date in regard to our crew rowing you in a four-oared shell race we beg to decline. Riverview isn't in our class, and we don't wish to get the name of rowing with an inferior school. You have no crew worthy of the name, and no decent shell. We should be the laughing stock of the river if we entered into a race with a one-horse school. There's nothing doing."Yours,"Athletic Committee."
"Replying to your favor of recent date in regard to our crew rowing you in a four-oared shell race we beg to decline. Riverview isn't in our class, and we don't wish to get the name of rowing with an inferior school. You have no crew worthy of the name, and no decent shell. We should be the laughing stock of the river if we entered into a race with a one-horse school. There's nothing doing.
"Yours,"Athletic Committee."
"Well, wouldn't that bend your outriggers!" cried Andy, while Frank crumpled up the paper in his hand and ground it under his heel.