The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale - Laura Lee Hope
"We must soon stop for lunch," proposed Mollie. "I have not left it
behind this time," and she held out the small suitcase that contained the
provisions put up that morning. "I'm just dying for a cup of chocolate!"
"We will eat soon," said Betty. "There's a nice place, just beyond that
trestle," and she pointed to a railroad bridge that crossed a small but
deep stream, the highway passing over it by another and lower structure.
As the girls hurried on, the man passed them, off to the left and high on
the railroad embankment. He gave them not a glance, but hastened on with
head bent low.
When he reached the middle of the high railroad bridge, or trestle over
the stream, he paused, stooped down and seemed to be tying his shoelace.
The girls watched him idly.
Suddenly the roar of an approaching train was heard. The man looked up,
seemed startled, and then began to run toward the end of the bridge.
It was a long structure and a high one, and, ere he had taken a dozen
steps over the ties, the train swept into sight around a curve. The road
was a single-track one, and on the narrow trestle there was no room for a
person to avoid the cars.
"He'll be killed!" cried Mollie.
Fascinated, the girls looked. On came the thundering train. The whistle
blew shrilly. The young man increased his pace, but it was easy to see
that he could not get off the bridge in time.
Realizing this, he paused. Coming to the edge of the ties on the bridge,
he poised himself for a moment, and with a glance at the approaching
locomotive, which was now whistling continuously, the man leaped into the
stream below him.
"Oh!" screamed Grace, and then she and the others looked on, almost
horrified, as the body shot downward.
[Illustration: THE MAN LEAPED INTO THE STREAM.]
CHAPTER XXIII
THE MAN'S STORY
There was a great splash, and the man disappeared under the water. It all
occurred suddenly, and the man must have made up his mind quickly that he
had not a chance to stay on the trestle when the train passed over it.
"He'll be killed!" cried Mollie. "Oh, Betty, what can we do?"
"Nothing, if he really is killed," answered the practical Little Captain.
"But he jumped like a man who knew how to do it, and how to dive. The
water is deep there."
"Come on!" cried Amy, for once taking the initiative, and she darted
toward the bank of the stream.
"There he is!" cried Betty. "He's come up!"
As she spoke, the man's head bobbed into view, and, giving himself a
shake to rid his eyes of water, he struck out for the shore.
"Oh, he's swimming! He's swimming!" Mollie exclaimed. "We must get him a
rope--a plank--anything! We'll help you!" she called, and she ran about
almost hysterically.
The man was now swimming with long, even strokes. He seemed at home in
the water, even with his clothes on, and the long jump had evidently not
injured him in the least.
He reached the bank, climbed up, and stood dripping before the four young
travelers.
"Whew!" he gasped, taking off his coat and wringing some water from it.
"That was some jump! I had to do it, though!"
"Indeed you were fortunate," said Betty. "Are you hurt?"
"Not a bit--a little shaken up, that's all. I should not have been on
that bridge, as a section hand warned me a train was due, and the trestle
is very narrow. But I was taking a short cut. Railroads seem to bring me
bad luck. This is the second time, in a little while, that I've had
trouble on this same line."
Grace was rummaging about in the valise she carried.
"Where's our alcohol stove?" she demanded, of Mollie.
"Why? What do you want of it?"
"I'm going to make him a cup of hot chocolate. He must need it;
poor fellow!"
"I'll help you," said Mollie, and the two set up the little heating
apparatus in the lee of a big rock.
"Are you sure you're not hurt?" asked Betty, anxiously.
"Oh, I'm all right," the man assured the girls. "I wish I had some dry
clothes. This is about the only suit I have. However, the sun will soon
dry them, but they'll need pressing."
"We're making you some chocolate," spoke Grace. "It will be ready soon,
and keep you from getting cold."
The man--he was young and good-looking--smiled, showing his even,
white teeth.
"You seemed prepared for emergencies," he said to Betty. "Are you
professional travelers?"
"Just on a walking tour. We're from Deepdale. We're going home to-morrow,
after stopping over night in Judgeville. We were just going to get our
noon-day lunch when we saw you jump."
"Indeed," remarked the young man, who was now wringing out his vest.
"From Deepdale; eh? I've been through there on the train. This line runs
there; doesn't it?" and he motioned to the one he had so hastily left.
"Yes," answered Betty. "But we never walk the track--though we did once
for a short distance."
"And we found a broken rail, and told a flagman and he said the train
might have been wrecked," remarked Amy.
It was the first she had spoken in some time. The young man looked at her
sharply--rather too long a look, Betty thought; but there was nothing
impertinent in it.
"Railroads--or, rather, this one--have been the cause of two unpleasant
experiences to me," the young man went on. "I was nearly injured just
now, and not long ago I lost quite a sum of money on this line."
At the mention of money Betty started. The others looked at her.
"How did it happen?" asked Betty, and then of a sudden she stared at the
young man. "Excuse me, but, but--haven't we met before?" she stammered.
"Sure!" he answered, readily. "You young ladies were kind enough to share
your lunch with me one day."
"Oh!" cried Mollie. "But you--you looked different then!"
"You had a mustache and long hair," murmured Amy.
"That's right, so I did. But I had my hair cut day before yesterday and
the mustache taken off. Changes me quite a lot; doesn't it?"
"Yes," replied Betty. "But you were saying something about losing money
on this line," she added, quickly.
"Well, I was on my way to New York, expecting to complete a business
deal. I fell asleep in the car, for I was quite tired, and I guess I had
been thinking pretty hard on that business matter. You see a fellow
offered me an option on a small, but good, concern, for four hundred
dollars. I knew if I could clinch the deal, and get the option, that some
friends of mine would invest in it, and I'd have a good thing for myself.
"Well, as I say, I fell asleep. Then I dreamed someone was trying to get
my pocketbook. It was a sort of nightmare, and I guess I struggled with
the dream-robber. Then, all of a sudden, I woke up, and--"
"Was your pocketbook gone?" asked Mollie.
"No, but my money was. And that was the funny part of it. How anyone
could get the money without taking the pocketbook I couldn't see.
And there wasn't anyone in the car with me but a boy--a peddler, I
think he was."
The girls looked at each other. Matters were beginning to fit together
most strangely.
"I didn't know what to do," the young man went on. "I didn't want to say
anything that would seem as if I accused the boy, and I felt the same
about the trainmen. I knew if I said the money had been taken and the
pocketbook left they would only laugh at me. I was all knocked out, and
hardly knew what I was doing. I jumped off the train, and went back over
the line, thinking the bill might have blown out of the window. But--"
"That is just what did happen!" cried Betty.
"What's that?" the man exclaimed, excitedly.
"I say that is exactly what happened!" went on the Little Captain. "At
least, that is how I account for it."
"What sort of a bill did you lose?" asked Mollie, trying not to
get excited.
"It was one of five hundred dollars, and--"
"Did it have a--anything pinned to it?" exclaimed Betty.
"It did--a note. Wait, I can tell you what it said on it." He hesitated a
moment and then repeated word for word the writing on the note pinned to
the bill the girls had picked up. "But I don't see how you know this!" he
added, wonderingly.
"We know--because we found your five hundred dollar bill!" exclaimed
Betty.
CHAPTER XXIV
BY TELEGRAPH
The man stared at the girls as if he could not believe what Betty had
said. A strange look came over his face.
"If this is a joke, please drop it," he began. "I am almost crazy as it
is. I don't know what I am doing. I--"
"It isn't a joke!" declared Betty. "It may sound strange, but it's all
true. We did find your bill, under the railroad bridge in Deepdale. It's
in my father's safe now."
"That's great--it's fine. I'd given it up long ago. I advertised, and put
up a notice in the post-office, and--"
"Yes, my mother wrote me about it," said Betty. "But she did not give
your address, for some naughty boys tore it off the notice."
"And do you really think someone tried to rob you?" asked Mollie.
"I don't know what to think," frankly admitted the young man. "There was
a boy in the same car--"
"He never took it!" exclaimed Grace.
"How do you know?" the young man asked.
"Because we met that boy, and he told us just how you acted when you
discovered your loss. Besides, that boy is thoroughly honest."
"Say, is there anything about my case that you girls don't know?" asked
the young man with a smile. "But before I go any further, perhaps I had
better introduce myself--"
"Oh, we know your name!" exclaimed Betty.
"You do? And you never saw me before?"
"You forget that your name was signed to the notice in the
post-office--Mr. Blackford," and Betty blushed.
"That's so. But I don't know your names, and, if it's not too
impertinent, after the service you have rendered me--"
"We'll tell you--certainly," interrupted Betty, and she introduced
herself and her chums.
"I suppose you will wonder how I played the part of a tramp," said the
young man. "I will tell you why. I was almost out of my mind, and I
imagined that by going around looking ragged I might pick up some news of
my lost money from the tramps along the railroad."
Then he told of how he had started to write a letter, stating he could
not buy the business he was after, and had then torn the letter up,
because he still hoped to find the bill and get control of the business.
"And we found part of that letter," cried Betty. "We tried to find you,
too, but you had disappeared."
"Indeed. I know how that happened--I took a short cut through the woods."
"The chocolate is ready!" called Grace, a little later. "Won't you have
some, Mr. Blackford?"
"Thank you, I will. Say, but you young ladies are all right. Do you do
this sort of thing often?"
"Well, we like to be outdoors," explained Betty, as she handed him a cup
of the hot beverage. "We like to take long walks, but this is the first
time we ever went on a tour like this."
"And we've had the _best_ time!" exclaimed Mollie.
"And _such_ adventures," added Grace. "Will you have more chocolate?"
"No, thank you. That was fine. Now I must try and get dry. But I'm used
to this sort of thing. I'm from the West, and I've been in more than
one flood."
"You have!" cried Amy, and the others knew of what she was thinking--her
own case. "I hope he didn't have the same sort of trouble I had, though,"
she thought.
"Perhaps if you were to walk along your clothes would dry quicker," said
Betty. "And if you went on to Judgeville you might be able to get a
tailor to press them."
"Thanks, I believe I will. That is, if you don't mind being seen with
such a disreputable figure as I cut."
"Of course we don't mind!" declared Betty. "We are getting rather
travel-stained ourselves."
"Our trunks will be waiting for us at your cousin's house, Betty," spoke
Grace, for it was there they were to spend the last night of their now
nearly finished tour. "We can freshen up," went on the girl who loved
candy, "and enter into town in style. I hope mamma put in my new gown and
another pair of shoes."
"Grace Ford! You don't mean that you'd put on a new dress to finish up
this walking excursion in, do you?" asked Mollie.
"Certainly I shall. We don't know who we might meet as we get into
Deepdale."
"We will hardly get in before dusk," said Betty. "From Judgeville there
is the longest stretch of all, nearly twenty-two miles."
"Oh, dear!" groaned Grace. "We'll never do it. Why did you arrange for
such a long walk, Betty?"
"I couldn't help it. There were no other relatives available, and I
couldn't have any made to order. There was no stopping place between here
and home."
"Oh, I dare say I can stand it," murmured Grace. "But I guess I won't
wear my new shoes in that case. Twenty-two miles!"
"It is quite a stretch," said Mr. Blackford.
He helped Grace put away the alcohol stove, and the cups in which the
chocolate had been served. They were washed in the little stream, and
would be cleansed again at the house of Betty's cousin.
"You haven't asked us when we are going to give you that five hundred
dollar bill," said Mollie, as they started for Judgeville.
"Well," spoke Mr. Blackford, with a laugh, "I didn't want to seem too
anxious. I knew that it was safe where you had put it, Miss Nelson," and
he looked at Betty. "Besides, I have been without it so long now that it
seems almost as if I never had it. And from all the good it is going to
do me, perhaps I might be better off without it now."
"We didn't exactly understand what you meant by the note you wrote,"
said Betty.
"Well, I'll tell you how that was," he said, frankly. "You see, I was
left considerable money by a rich relative, but I had bad luck. Maybe I
didn't have a good business head, either. Anyhow, I lost sum after sum in
investments that didn't pan out, and in businesses that failed. I got
down to my last big bill, and then I heard of this little business I
could get control of in New York.
"I said I'd make that my last venture, and to remind myself how
desperate my chances were I just jotted down those words, and pinned the
note to the bill. Then I must have gotten excited in my dream. I know
just before I fell asleep I kept taking the bill out of the pocketbook,
and looking at it to make sure I had it. I might have done that while
half asleep, and it blew out of the window. That's how it probably
happened, and you girls picked up the money. I can't thank you enough.
But I'm afraid it will come to me too late to use as I had intended,"
the man went on, with a sigh.
"Why?" asked Betty.
"Because the option on the business I was going to buy expires at
midnight to-night, and as you say the five hundred dollars is in
Deepdale, I don't see how I am going to get it in time to be of
any service."
"Isn't that too bad!" cried Amy.
"And we might have brought it with us," said Mollie.
"Only we didn't think it would be wise to carry that sum with us," spoke
Grace. "And we never thought the owner of it would jump off a railroad
trestle right in front of us," she added, with a laugh.
"No, of course not," admitted Mr. Blackford, drily. "You couldn't foresee
that. Neither could I. Well, it can't be helped. Maybe it will be for the
best in the end. I'll have the five hundred, anyhow, and perhaps I can
find some other business. But I did want to get this one on which I had
the option. However, there's no help for it."
A sudden light of resolve came into Betty's eyes. She confronted the
owner of the bill.
"There's no need for you to lose your option!" she exclaimed.
"But I don't see how I can get the money in time. I might if I had an
airship; but to go to Deepdale, and then to New York with it, is out of
the question."
"No!" cried Betty. "We can do it by telegraph! I've just thought of a way
out. You can take up that option yet, Mr. Blackford!"
CHAPTER XXV
BACK HOME
Betty Nelson's chums stared at her. So did Mr. Blackford. Betty herself,
with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, looked at them all in turn. Her
idea had stimulated her.
"What--how--I don't see--" stammered Mr. Blackford. "If you--"
"It's this way!" cried Betty, all enthusiasm. "You know you can transfer
money by telegraph in a very short time--it only takes a few minutes to
do it--really it's quicker than an airship," and she smiled at Mr.
Blackford.
"That's so," he admitted. "I see now."
"I'll have my father telegraph the five hundred dollars to me at
Judgeville," explained Betty. "Then I can give it to you, and you can
telegraph it to your business man in New York. It is sure to reach
there before midnight, and you can take up your option, if that is the
proper term."
"It is--very proper," said Mr. Blackford. "I believe you have the right
idea, Miss Nelson. I should have thought of that myself, but that shows
I am really not a good business man."
"Now let's hurry on to town," proceeded Betty. "We haven't any too
much time."
It was rather an astonished telegraph operator who, a little later, was
confronted by four pretty girls, a man who looked as if he had been in a
shipwreck, and a much-flustered lady. The latter was Betty's cousin, at
whose house the girls had stopped. It was necessary for the recipient of
the money to be identified, and this Betty's cousin, who knew the
operator, agreed to look after.
There was a little delay, but not much, and soon Mr. Blackford was in a
position to take up his option. A local bank, where the telegraph concern
did business, paid over the five hundred in cash, and four hundred of
this was at once sent on to New York, by telegraph.
"I hope it reaches my man," said Mr. Blackford. "I have told him to
wire me here."
A little later word was received that the transaction had been
successfully carried out. Mr. Blackford could now get control of
the business.
"And it's all due to you young ladies!" he said, gratefully. "I don't
know how to thank you. You are entitled to a reward--"
"Don't you dare mention it!" cried Betty,
"Well, some day I'll pay you back for all you did for me!" he exclaimed,
warmly. "I won't forget. And now that I have some money to spare, I'm
going to get a new suit of clothes."
He said good-bye to the girls, promising to see them again some time, and
then he left, having made arrangements to go on to New York and finish up
his business affairs.
"Well, now that it is all over, won't you come on to the house and have
supper?" said Betty's cousin, as they came out of the telegraph office.
"I must say, you girls know how to do things."
"Oh, you can always trust Betty for that," said Mollie.
"It just did itself," declared Betty. "Everything seemed to work out of
its own accord from the time we found the five hundred dollar bill."
"But you helped a lot," insisted Amy.
"Indeed she did," added Grace.
"Well, our walking tour will soon be over," Betty said as they neared her
cousin's house. "We'll be home to-morrow. We've had lots of fun, and I
think it has done us all good. We'll soon be home."
"But not without a long walk," said Grace, with a sigh. "I wonder what we
shall do next? We must keep out of doors."
"We have a long vacation before us--all summer," said Amy. "I do wish we
could spend it together."
"Maybe we can," said Betty. "We'll see."
And how the four chums enjoyed the vacation that was opening may be
learned by reading the next volume of this series, which will be entitled
"The Outdoor Girls at Rainbow Lake; Or, The Stirring Cruise of the Motor
Boat _Gem._"
The stay of the girls at the home of Betty's cousin was most enjoyable.
They remained two nights, instead of one, sending word of the change of
their plans to their parents. Then, early in the morning, they started
for home on the last stage of their tour.
"Twenty-two miles!" sighed Grace, as they set out. "Oh, dear!"
But they were not destined to walk all the way. About five miles from
town they saw a big touring car approaching, and as it neared them they
beheld Will Ford and his chum Frank in it.
"Hurray!" cried Grace's brother.
"Welcome to our city!" added Frank. "Get in and we'll take you home
in style."
"Oh, you boys!" cried Betty, but she and the others got in. Off they
started, all of them seemingly talking at once, and in a short time they
arrived at Deepdale. They attracted considerable attention as they passed
through the town in the car Will and Frank had hired to honor the members
of the Camping and Tramping Club.
"But it rather spoiled our record, I think," said Betty. "We were to
walk all the way."
"Oh, we walked enough," declared Grace. "I did, anyhow," and she glanced
at her shoes.
"But it was fun!" exclaimed Amy.
"Glorious!" cried Mollie.
A little later the four tourists were warmly welcomed at their respective
homes, later meeting for a general jollification at Mollie's house.
"Oh, you dears!" cried Betty, trying to caress the twins, Paul and Dodo,
both at once. "And we saw the dearest little lost girl. Shall I tell you
about her?"
"Dive us tum tandy fust," said Dodo, fastening her big eyes on Grace. "Us
'ikes tandy--don't us, Paul?"
"Us do," was the gurgling answer, and Grace brought out her confections.
And, now that the four girls are safely at home again, we will take
leave of them.