FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93  
94   >>  
t, with a roof seen above the low underbrush of young pines, holly and sweet gum, was a building of some kind toward which the path turned abruptly. A hundred yards ahead the woods ceased, and Gus knew that beyond were the ever-shifting sand dunes crowned with their short-lived scrub oaks or pines and tufts of beach grass which bordered a wild and lonely shore for many miles. Twelve miles to the south was a somewhat popular seaside resort. Gus had not crossed the woods at this spot, though he had at some other very similar places. He had been all along the beach and had boated on the thoroughfare clear to the inlet. This was nowhere deep enough for even a large sloop. But he was thinking less of this than of a very possible opportunity that seemed to loom ahead. "What your name?" asked the Italian. "Sam is my name," said Gus. "Now then, Sam, you stay here. If some man who no business has here come to look, you give order to go--see? You say this your father's ground and no--what you call?--trespass. All this day you stay. To-morrow you come, also. Two dollar you get each day, eh?" "Thought it was _big_ money. Mebbe I'll have t' shoot somebody an' I will, quick. But----" "We give three dollar, Sam, and you stay with us. If not and somebody comes you get nothing but this." The man slapped his pocket. "But no, we friends, eh? And you will shoot?" "You bet I will!" said Gus, and meant it. But whom would he shoot? He was not saying. The man went toward the building and presently came back with a modern, high-powered rifle. He edged off through the woods to the left. After a while he came back with another fellow and they fell to talking in a language which Gus could not understand. They stopped for the new man to look Gus over and the boy turned his head to gaze at none other than his late schoolmate and bitter antagonist, Luigi Malatesta! The general resemblance between the two men made Gus know that he had been talking to the older brother. Luigi, the younger, went off. At that distance he could not have recognized Gus, though for one moment the boy had a queer feeling, a real bit of fright, but not enough to rob him of the quick sense to be ready with his gun if his enemy had guessed his identity. On second thought Gus felt pretty sure that if he kept his ragged hat well pulled down Luigi would never know him. And Gus was tremendously elated, so much so that he could hardly keep from prancing or slap
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93  
94   >>  



Top keywords:

talking

 

dollar

 

building

 
turned
 
understand
 

pocket

 
slapped
 

language

 

friends

 

modern


powered
 

presently

 

fellow

 

thought

 

pretty

 
identity
 

guessed

 

ragged

 

prancing

 
elated

tremendously

 
pulled
 

fright

 

bitter

 

schoolmate

 

antagonist

 

Malatesta

 
resemblance
 

general

 

stopped


moment

 

feeling

 

recognized

 

distance

 

brother

 

younger

 

ground

 

lonely

 

Twelve

 

bordered


places

 

boated

 

similar

 

popular

 

seaside

 

resort

 
crossed
 

underbrush

 

abruptly

 

shifting