Part 48 (2/2)
”Down the road about half a mile. We just saw that Jerry Koswell and Bart Larkspur, and they are having a quarrel with a man who acts as if he was half intoxicated.”
”It must be Henry Parwick!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Tom.
”Yes, his name is Parwick,” said Dora. ”We heard Koswell mention it.”
”Where are they?” asked Sam as the whole party hurried down the main street and out of Ashton, Dora leading the way.
”They are at a cottage where an old woman named Brice lives. We were going to stop for a drink of water when we heard voices, and saw the young men. Then Nellie and Grace heard them mention you, and they asked me to come here and get you just as quickly as possible. They said they would remain, and, if possible, hear what it was all about.”
”I think we are on the right track!” cried d.i.c.k joyfully. ”Maybe matters will come to a head quicker than we imagined.”
”d.i.c.k, you stay with Dora!” cried Tom. ”Come on, Sam!” And off the two brothers sped at top speed, leaving d.i.c.k and Dora to follow as rapidly as the strength of the girl would permit.
Curiosity lent strength to the legs of the two Rovers, and they covered the distance to the Brice cottage in an incredibly short s.p.a.ce of time. As they came into view they beheld Grace watching for them.
She held up her hand for caution. She was standing in among some bushes by the roadside.
”Be careful, or those wicked boys will see you!” she cried in a low voice. ”They are back of the cottage, near the barn.”
”Where is Nellie?” asked Tom.
”She is watching them.”
”Have you learned anything?” asked Sam.
”Yes, indeed. We have learned that Koswell, Larkspur and Flockley were guilty of this plot against you, and that a man named Parwick aided them by getting a strange powder for them, the powder that made you dizzy and sick,” were Grace's words, and they filled the Rovers with much satisfaction.
CHAPTER x.x.x
A BEGINNING AND AN ENDING
”It was Allan Charter's coming that clinched matters,” said Tom.
”Doctor Wallington might not have believed us, but he had to believe Charter.”
”He had to believe the girls, too,” added d.i.c.k. ”He knew they would not tell him such falsehoods. But I am glad Charter came along. He hated to get mixed up in it, I know, but he acted the man about it, didn't he?”
”Wonder what the doctor will do with Koswell & Company?” questioned Sam.
”Fire 'em, most likely, and they deserve to be fired,” growled Stanley. ”Oh, when I think of the trick that was played I feel like wiping up the floor with every one of those scoundrels!”
”It was certainly a bit of dirty work,” was d.i.c.k's comment.
The boys were seated in Sam and Tom's room, talking it over. It was Sunday afternoon, and outside the sun shone brightly and a light breeze stirred the trees.
It had proved a strenuous Sat.u.r.day afternoon and evening. d.i.c.k and Dora had come up, meeting Allan Charter, the leading senior of Brill, on the way. They had persuaded Charter to accompany them to the Brice cottage, and there all had witnessed a bitter quarrel between Henry Parwick and Koswell, Larkspur and Flockley. Parwick was semi-intoxicated, and in a maudlin way had exposed all that had been done at the haunted house. He had spoken about getting the powder for them, and mentioned how Koswell had fixed a fuse and lit it, and he told of getting the liquor bottles and flasks and other things. He had warmed up during his recital, and had demanded fifty dollars on the spot. When refused he had threatened to go to the Brill authorities and ”blow everything.” Then Koswell had threatened, if this was done, that he would have Parwick arrested for robbing his former employer, William Schlemp. Then had come blows, and in the midst of this Charter had stepped forward and confronted the evildoers.
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