Part 22 (2/2)

Then all climbed in, Bob examined the fuel supply and found the boat well stocked, Jack seized the tiller, they seated the the engine, the boatout to sea

It was glorious sport, to which four of the five were accustoaged in To Miss Faulkner it was a revelation, and bundled in a sweater, her hair loosed and flying back in the wind, her eyes dancing with the zest of the adventure, she looked like an elf, as Della told Frank in a whispered aside Frank nodded and grinned

”Bob thinks so, too,” he whispered in reply ”He can't keep his eyes off her If we didn't have the whole sea ahead of us, he'd run into so sure”

Up and up and up went the speedoh the water It spurned that heavier element, and took to the air It leaped froirls shrieked, the boys let out great chesty whoops of pure aniht

Then Bob cut down the speed and Jack, controlling the tiller, swung her about towards home They had been out only half an hour, but the shore was miles away However, the return was made without incident or trouble of any kind, theperfectly, and once

”Which do you like best, Mr Te Bob rejoined the party on the landing, after locking the doors; ”boating, flying or ?”

”Oh, I don't know,” replied Bob, ”there's so about every one of the three To feel that powerful engine under your control, that's what grips me It's power, you know; you have vast power under your control They're all good,” he concluded, with a quick look at the others erebest”

He looked at her so pointedly that her eyes dropped Then she laughed

”And think of you saying that,” she declared ”Why, Della always told me you were a perfect bear and never irl in your life”

”Neither did I,” said Bob, boldly, ”before to-night”

Once hed as she danced away after the others, but Bob following her was sure he had not displeased

Events of the previous night were far frohts of any of the boys, as theythe beach and approached the grove separating theer in their minds

But barely had they entered the narrow trail, walking single file, Jack in the lead, followed by Frank, Della and Miss Faulkner, with Bob bringing up the rear, than fro upon theht and alarht

Cursing, several of the attackers sprang for theh hands clapped over their h they were, and without weapons, the boys fought desperately How many their assailants numbered they could not tell There was no time to take account Frank was bowled over by the sudden rush, Jack borne back against a tree, Bob , his arms wrapped about the body of his own assailant

Everyup as if actuated by a spring, tripped the man who had attacked him and leaped towards the felloho had Della in his ar, his hand had come in contact with a stone the size of his fist and he had clutched it

Della's assailant had seized her fro her backward, a hand across her ht down the stone on the man's head with a tre Della free, then he fell to the ground, stunned

The man whom he had tripped ed aside to avoid the blind rush and, as the ht fist The blow caught the other under the ear, a fatal spot, and sent hiround

Meanti tree, was hard pressed by two h he was, Jack could not ward off an attack like that for long, and Frank realized it He sprang forward to go to the rescue Then a blow on the head felled him, and all became darkness

That blow came from a blackjack in the hands of Marjorie Faulkner's assailant Seeing the danger to his coirl and attacked Frank But his act brought down on hi at his face It was Della, crying with rage at the danger to Frank, insensible to everything else She was a ind and the man had all he could do to ward her off In fact, he did not fully succeed, for her hands found his face and her tearing fingers ripped a long gash down over his right eye, froan to spout Temporarily blinded, he dropped his blackjack, and stu

Della did not follow up her advantage, but dropped to her knees beside Frank and pillowed his head in her lap His eyes were closed The blow that had felled him had been a shrewd one Fortunately, however, instead of descending full on his head, it had glanced off one side

As she cradled hi unrestrainedly, Frank opened his eyes and gazed up

For a leam of satisfaction in his eyes, quickly veiled, as he saho had cole to his feet

All this had taken very little tiripped body to body with the biggest of the attacking party, a husky fellow of his own six foot height but with the added weight of a greater length of years As this man leaped for him from the woods, arm upraised with a blackjack clutched in his hand, Bob had seized the descending wrist and thrown his other arm about the fellow's body