Bernard Brooks' Adventures: The Experience of a Plucky Boy. Horatio Alger Jr.

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      “Certainly.”

      “I was never in an asylum!” said William Penrose.

      “Really, gentlemen – ” put in the landlord.

      “My dear sir, I will see that your bill is paid,” said James Roque, “but I depend upon you not to interfere with me, now that I have succeeded in overtaking my unfortunate cousin.”

      “Of course, if what you say is true – ”

      “Don’t these eminent physicians substantiate my statement?”

      “To be sure,” said the landlord, who was greatly influenced by the assurance that his bill would be paid.

      “I see you take a sensible view. William Penrose, you must go back with us.”

      “Never!” exclaimed Penrose vehemently.

      “You see his excitement. Can there be any clearer indication of insanity? Dr. Brown and Dr. Jones, give me your assistance, and we will secure my unfortunate cousin. Bring the cord from the carriage.”

      Dr. Brown produced a stout cord which the party had brought with them, and the precious trio approached their unfortunate victim.

      “Mr. Wilson,” exclaimed Penrose, “will you stand by and allow such an outrage to be enacted under your own roof?”

      “I think you had better go with your cousin,” said the landlord soothingly. “As you are crazy, it will be better for you.”

      “But I am not crazy.”

      “Undoubtedly the man is crazy,” broke in Mr. Snowdon. “I have had an interview with him in which he claimed to be a former pupil of mine, and told an absurd story of my being ridden on a rail.”

      “I see you are a sensible man,” said James Roque. “I might have known as much from your intelligent appearance.”

      “Moreover he has aided and abetted a pupil of mine to escape from my rightful authority.”

      “The case seems to be pretty clear,” said Roque, with a malicious smile. “Cousin Penrose, you may as well resign yourself to circumstances. You must go back with us. I trust you will not compel us to use force. Come, gentlemen, whatever is to be done must be done quickly.”

      “Stop a minute, gentlemen!” said the landlord. “You promised to pay my bill.”

      “I will do it as soon as my cousin is secured. You don’t want me to leave him here to burn down the house about your ears?”

      “No, no!” said the landlord hastily.

      “Come along, gentlemen!”

      The three closed in about William Penrose, and producing the cord were about to tie him when he called out in desperation, “Will no one save me from these villains?”

      “I will help you!” said Bernard, kicking Dr. Brown in the shins with such force that he dropped the cord, and yelled with pain.

      “And I, too!” added a new voice.

      All eyes were turned upon a long, wiry, loose-jointed man, an unmistakable Yankee, dressed as a Western miner, who had been sitting on the piazza, and had been an interested witness of what had been going on.

      CHAPTER VIII. THE CONSPIRATORS ARE FOILED

      Roque and the doctors loosened their hold of William Penrose when they heard the new voice. Then Roque in a supercilious tone said, “You had better attend to your business if you have any.”

      He clutched his cousin once more.

      “Let us lose no time,” he whispered to the doctors.

      “Look here!” said the miner, striding to the group, “you’re trying to kidnap an inoffensive man, and are going clear against the law. This is a free country, and it can’t be done.”

      “Sir,” said Roque, “this is an escaped lunatic, and I propose to carry him back to the asylum. I don’t owe you any explanation, but I don’t mind telling you that. Now, get out of the way!”

      “He’s no more a lunatic that I am.”

      “Thank you, sir,” said Penrose, with reviving hope. “It is a cruel attempt at abduction. Save me from a fate worse than death.”

      “I will!” responded the Yankee miner resolutely.

      “No man is going to be abducted when Josh Staekpole is around.”

      “Clear out!” said James Roque, incensed.

      “Clear out, or – ”

      “Or what?”

      “I’ll have you arrested.”

      “And I’d have you lynched if you were out in Colorado.”

      “You are officious and impertinent.”

      “Call me all the hard names you like, squire. It won’t do me any harm.”

      “I will do you harm. Landlord, are you going to permit this impertinent person to interfere with me?”

      “Really, gentlemen, I don’t know what to say,” answered the landlord, who was a weak and vacillating man. “If I knew the law – ”

      “I’ll tell you what the law is,” said the miner. “Before I went out West I spent a year in a law office at Burlington, Vermont. These men haven’t shown any papers – they haven’t proved this gentleman to be out of his mind. It’s just a high-handed violation of the law they are trying.”

      “In that case, I guess you’d better stop,” said the landlord. “This gentleman is probably right, and – ”

      “He’s a fool!” interposed Roque angrily.

      “Haven’t these eminent physicians declared my cousin to be a lunatic?”

      “They look more like tramps than eminent physicians,” remarked Joshua Stackpole.

      “We have wasted time enough with this fool,” said Roque. “Dr. Brown, take one arm, and you, Dr. Jones, take the other, and we will soon put an end to this foolery.”

      “Do it at your peril!” exclaimed Joshua Stackpole sternly.

      The doctors looked somewhat apprehensive, but at a nod from James Roque, and confident in the realization that they were three to one, they proceeded to obey orders. Then something unexpected happened.

      Joshua Stackpole sprang upon James Roque and pitched him headlong from the piazza. Then he started for Dr. Brown, and that luckless physician followed his principal.

      The miner was about to turn his attention to Dr. Jones when the latter threw up his hands and begged for mercy.

      “This is an outrage!” exclaimed Mr. Snowdon, much disconcerted. “Isn’t there a constable at hand, landlord, to arrest this bold ruffian? Bernard Brooks, I want you.”

      “Aha!” СКАЧАТЬ