My Strange Rescue — A Pillow-Slip Full of Apples

"_A.

& H.

O.

A.

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_ "_The arch-room--ten o'clock to-night.

Bring a sheet and pillow-slip.

ABRACADABRA.

_" Charlie Draper gazed at the piece of paper containing these simple words and mysterious signature with mingled feelings of pride and trepidation--pride because it was the first time since his coming to Twin Elm Academy that he had been the recipient of one of these much-prized missives, and trepidation because he had very vague notions of what his accepting the invitation it bore might entail.

He was a new boy, just finishing his first month at the academy, and being of rather reserved disposition, had been slow in forming acquaintances.

Indeed, but for an incident that suddenly brought him into prominence, he might have made still poorer progress in this direction than he did.

A few days before this communication from "Abracadabra," a party of the boys were bathing in the river near Deep Pool.

A youngster who could not swim rashly ventured too near the pool, and disappeared in its dark depths.

There arose an immediate chorus of cries from his companions, but no intelligent effort was being made at rescue, when Charlie Draper, who had not been of the party, came rushing up, threw off his cap and coat, plunged into the pool, and brought out the drowning boy at the first try.

Of course he was a hero at once, and the leaders of the "A. & H.

O.

A.

S."

--the secret society of the academy, of which Charlie had already heard much, and admittance to which was the desire of his heart--lost no time in deciding that he was beyond question one of the right sort, and that he must become one of them forthwith.

Hence the short but significant summons whose contents have been already given.

Promptly at ten o'clock, Charlie, in his stocking feet, and provided with pillow-slip and sheet, crept cautiously up the long stairs that led to the arch-room.

All the students, except those who belonged to the society, were already sound asleep, and the two tutors who lived in the building, knowing nothing of this exception, and imagining that every cot was duly occupied, had settled down for a comfortable smoke and chat in the cozy sitting-room of Mr. Butler, whose quarters were farthest away from the arch-room.

Upon all this the members of the society had astutely reckoned, and the coast was accordingly clear for them to do as they pleased as long as they did not make too much noise about it.

Bearing his note of invitation as a passport, Charlie approached the door of the arch-room.

Suddenly out of its shadow a masked and draped figure darted, and putting its hand to his throat, inquired in a very husky voice,-- "What doest thou here?"

For answer, Charlie held up his sheet and slip of paper.

"'Tis well.

Pass on," said the husky mystery.

And with palpitating heart Charlie tiptoed through the door.

The moment he passed the portal, two other masked and draped figures seized him by either arm, and hurried him before a fourth figure, who occupied a sort of throne at the far corner of the room.

"Whom do you bring before me?"

asked this potentate, in the husky tone which seemed to be characteristic of the society.

"Charles Draper, may it please your sublimity," was the reply, accompanied by a reverent obeisance, in which Charlie was directed to join.

"He hath been well recommended to us.

Let him be put to the tests.

If he doth survive them and will take the oaths, he may be admitted into membership."

Then followed a lot of the usual elaborate nonsense such as boys delight to invent and execute in connection with their secret societies; and at the end of fifteen minutes or so, Charlie, flushed and excited, but triumphant, was handed a gown and mask, and informed by the figure on the throne, whose official title was the same as the signature to the invitation, that he was duly admitted into the membership of the society, whose full name he now learned was The Ancient and Honourable Order of Apple Stealers.

The next piece of information he received rather staggered him.

It was that, according to the rules of the society, he must at once justify the confidence its members had reposed in him by proving his prowess as an apple-stealer.

The August pippins in Squire Ribston's orchard were reported to be ready to drop into one's mouth.

Upon the novice, Charles Draper, devolved the perilous duty of securing a generous sample of those juicy golden globes, so that the ancient and honourable order might pronounce judgment on their excellence.

So soon as he understood this, Charlie began to wish he had not been in such a hurry to join the society.

He had been at Twin Elm long enough to learn that old Squire Ribston's dogs were as good in their way as his apples were in theirs, and he did not at all relish the prospect of having an argument with them in their own territory at the dead of night.

But he was too stout of heart to back out, or even to show any signs of flinching, as his sublimity proceeded to give him his instructions.

Each member had brought a sheet with him.

These were quickly converted into a rope, which reached from the window of the arch-room to the ground.

Stuffing the pillow-slip into his pocket, and putting on his shoes, Charlie, amid the whispered commands of his companions--to "Be sure and fill the pillow-slip," "Don't call the dogs bad names," "Give the compliments of the order to the squire if you happen to meet him," and other inspiring injunctions--climbed carefully out of the window, and let himself down hand over hand to the ground.

Pausing only to kiss his hand circus-fashion to the faces at the window, he hastened off noiselessly over the dew-laden grass in the direction of the squire's orchard.

He knew his route well enough, and the distance was not quite half-a-mile, so that a few minutes' quick walking brought him to his destination.

The Ribston mansion stood well back from the road, and the orchard lay to its rear.

Charlie therefore thought it well to leave the road before he reached the gate, and to take a slant through the fields that brought him up to the orchard fence about fifty yards behind the house.

Here he crouched down, and listened, with strained ears and throbbing pulses, for the slightest sound that might indicate the proximity of a dog.

But not a growl, or bark, or even sniff, broke the clover-scented stillness.

As it chanced, he had hit upon a particularly favourable night for his enterprise, the good squire being wont to spend his Friday evenings with admirable regularity at Doctor Aconite's, where the genial rector of St. David's and important Judge Surrebutter helped to make up a quartette that could play whist by the hour without so much as winking.

For the sake of company on the way home the squire always took his dogs with him, so that until his return, which was never later than eleven o'clock, the Ribston premises were entirely unguarded.

Encouraged by the perfect silence, Charlie gently got over the fence, and making his way to the August pippin-tree, set diligently to work to fill his pillow-slip.

The boughs were bending low beneath their weight of juicy fruit, and he had no need to shake them.

There were far more apples within easy reach of his hand than he could carry home.

Five minutes sufficed to fill the pillow-slip, and then, with a vast sigh of relief, he crawled back over the fence, hastened across the field, and came to the fence beside the road.

Knowing nothing of the squire's whist club, he took it for granted that all danger was practically over, and without looking to right or left, he tossed his bag over the fence and vaulted lightly after it.

Hardly had his feet touched the ground than a sharp, suspicious bark came from only a few yards away, and the next moment a collie dog, followed closely by a fox-terrier, bounded toward him, barking fiercely, while looming dimly through the darkness the portly form of their owner could be descried, as he demanded angrily,-- "Who are you?

and what are you about?"

Charlie could have answered both questions easily enough had he chosen to do so.

But the time did not seem to him altogether favourable, and instead of a verbal reply he picked up his pillow-slip, threw it over his shoulder, and took to his heels, with the dogs after him in full cry.

"Catch him, Grip; catch him, Oscar!"

shouted the squire to his dogs, as he joined in the chase with all his might.

Although hardly in condition for a sprinting match, Squire Bibston had been renowned for fleetness of foot in his younger days, and he showed a surprising turn of speed as he dashed down the road after the fleeing boy.

Now, had Charlie dropped his heavy pillow-slip, he might have distanced his human pursuer easily, and as the dogs seemed to be content with barking, and to have no idea of biting, the irate squire would never have known more about the daring raider of his orchard than his strong suspicion that it was one of those rascally Twin Elm boys.

But to let go his burden was the last thing Charlie thought of doing.

To his daring, determined nature only two alternatives presented themselves--escape with his booty or capture red-handed.

So away he sped, holding tight to the pillow-case, the collie and terrier punctuating his strenuous strides with short, sharp barks.

After his first furious spurt, the squire's speed rapidly slackened until it became little more than a laboured jog-trot; and by the time he reached the entrance to the long avenue leading from the main road to the academy, Charlie was under the window and jerking the sheet-rope by way of a signal to the boys to haul him up.

Unfortunately, they were so occupied with some of their nonsense that they did not at first observe the signal, and precious moments were lost before they responded, so that Charlie's anxious ears caught the sound of the squire's panting as he toiled gamely along the avenue.

[Illustration: (Charlie climbing the sheet-rope)] "Hurry up, boys!"

he called, as loudly as he dared; "the squire's after me!"

The boys responded with a sudden jerk that snatched him off the ground, and nearly made him drop the apples.

Then up he went more steadily, foot by foot.

But he was not half-way to the window when the squire, guided by his clever dogs, arrived upon the scene, and in spite of the semi-darkness his keen old eyes took in the situation at a glance.

"Aha, you young scoundrel!

I have you now.

Take that!"

And he hurled his stout oak cane at the ascending boy.

The result greatly exceeded his expectations, for the stick, going straight to its mark, gave Charlie such a stinging blow that he involuntarily let go of the weighty pillow-slip, and down it dropped full upon the squire's pate, crushing his tall gray beaver over his eyes and sending him headlong to the ground.

It was some moments before he could pick himself up again, and by that time Charlie was safe inside the window.

Beside himself with wrath, the squire assailed the front door with furious blows, bringing both the tutors out in startled haste.

To them, as well as his breathless, disordered condition permitted, he explained himself, and was at once invited to enter, while Mr. Butler went for Professor Rodwell.

On the professor's arrival all the boys were summoned to appear in the school-room, and presently in they flocked, all but the members of the A.

& H.

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(who, by the way, had managed to get into their night-gowns with marvellous celerity), manifesting their innocence by their unmistakably startled, sleepy faces.

"Are all the boys here?"

asked the squire suspiciously, on finding every one arrayed in his night-gown.

Professor Rodwell counted heads carefully.

"Yes, squire, all the boys are present," he replied.

"Humph!"

snapped the squire.

"A clever trick; but they can't pull the wool over my eyes in that way."

An anxious, expectant hush following, Professor Rodwell addressed the boys in grave yet not unkindly tones:-- "Young gentlemen, it is clear beyond possibility of denial that some of you have been guilty of robbing Squire Ribston's orchard.

Now, I dare say, it will not be difficult to trace out the culprits, but I would much prefer that they should acknowledge their wrong-doing of their own accord.

I therefore wait to give them the opportunity."

There was but a moment's pause, and then Charlie Draper, stepping forward, said in a steady voice, looking full at Professor Rodwell,-- "It was I that took Squire Ribston's apples.

Let me bear all the punishment."

A look of mingled surprise and relief came into the professor's troubled face, and even the squire's anger-wrinkled countenance seemed to take on a softer expression, touched with approval of this frank avowal.

"Charles Draper, I am very sorry," said Professor Rodwell slowly.

"Although you've been but a short time with us, I had thought better things of you than this."

Charlie's eyes fell and his lip began to tremble.

He was already feeling deep regret for his part in the matter, and these gentle words touched him to the heart.

He was just about to express his contrition and ask for sentence upon himself, when the squire exclaimed,-- "Charlie Draper!

is that Charlie Draper?"

"It is," replied Professor Rodwell, wondering why the squire asked.

"The same boy that saved my little grandson Hughie from drowning in Deep Pool a week ago?"

"Yes, squire, the same boy," replied the professor, now beginning to catch the old gentleman's drift.

"Then," cried the squire, who was as quick of generous impulse as he was of temper, jumping from his seat and advancing toward Charlie, "I don't want this thing to go any further.

--Here's my hand, my brave lad.

You're welcome to every apple on the tree, if you'll only come after them in honest, manly fashion, and not be playing such foolish pranks, skulking through the fields when you ought to be abed.

--Come, now, Professor Rodwell, let's cry quits.

I'm willing to let the matter rest.

Boys will be boys, and if your boys will promise never to go out robbing orchards again, I'll promise to let 'em into my orchard on Saturday afternoons and take every apple they find in the grass so long as the crop lasts."

For a moment the boys were so bewildered by these astounding words that they could hardly credit their ears.

Then a spontaneous cheer burst from their throats, and the upshot of the whole matter was that they heartily gave the promise the squire asked;

and the professor, relieved beyond measure at the turn affairs had taken, dismissed them with the understanding that the night's doings should be no further inquired into, provided good behaviour was maintained in future.

The pledge thus given, taking away from the A. & H.

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S.

its principal reason for existing under that name, did not, however, put an end to its career.

It simply altered its title and amended its ways, and continued to flourish as vigorously as before, with Charlie Draper as one of its most popular and active members.