Chapter XXVIII. The Man in the Grey Overcoat - The Rover Boys on a Hunt by Edward Stratemeyer
"Don't shut the door!" cried Randy. "Remember, Gif and Jack are outside."
"Hello out there!" yelled Spouter, hobbling to the door in the excitement. "Beware of the wolves!"
Whether his voice carried to Jack and Gif through the storm they could not tell. Then came another howl from the wolves, this time in concert, and suddenly two of the slinking forms appeared close to the open door. The eyes of the beasts appeared so baneful to the cadets that they quickly slammed the barrier shut and bolted it.
"But we can't leave Jack and Gif out there!" cried Fred. "Remember! they are unarmed."
"Get the guns!" ordered Spouter. "Hurry up! We'll give those wolves all they are looking for."
He hobbled across the floor to his own weapon, resting against the wall in a corner, and looked to see if it was loaded. The others also made a wild dash to arm themselves.
In the meanwhile the howls of the wolves kept increasing. Two more of the beasts had come up close to the Lodge, so that the total number was now five.
"Oh, oh! do you think they'll break into the house and eat us up?" wailed Stowell.
"If they break in they'll get one mighty warm reception," answered Andy. "Come on! let us open that door and go after them," he continued boldly.
Now that they were armed the Rovers and Spouter felt much safer, and they lost no time in getting back to the door which they had just closed.
"Oh, dear! don't open the door," pleaded Stowell. "They'll jump right in on top of us!"
"Not after we give 'em a few doses of shot," answered Spouter. "Here, Henry, you stand behind the door along with Fred. You, Andy and Randy, fire as soon as you catch sight of the wolves. I'll reserve my shot for any beast that tries to enter."
"Wait!" called out Randy suddenly. "When you shoot at the wolves be sure to aim low. Otherwise the shots may carry through the storm and hit Gif or Jack."
The door was opened cautiously by Fred, Stowell being too frightened to assist. Those ready to fire saw several of the wolves in a bunch less than fifteen feet away. The beasts had found some scraps of food which had been thrown out of the bungalow and were pawing for more in the snow.
"Bang! bang!" went the shotguns in the hands of the twins. The wolves gave loud yelps of pain, and one leaped high in the air. Another uttered a fierce snarl, and then, seeing the young hunters, made a dash directly for them.
It was a moment of great peril, for the wolf had been wounded just enough to make it tremendously ugly. Its eyes gleamed wickedly, and it showed every tooth in its wide-open mouth.
But Spouter was on guard. He waited until the wolf was less than five feet from the door, and then blazed away. The charge of shot was so heavy that the beast fell back, its neck completely shattered.
"Now give 'em a second barrel, boys!" cried Spouter, and a moment later three more reports rang out.
Then, unable to resist the temptation to get into the fight, Fred caught up his gun and also fired, managing to catch one of the fleeing beasts in the hind quarters.
"I guess that's the last of those wolves," remarked Spouter. "I don't believe they'll come around here again all winter."
The wolf shot through the neck was dead, while at least two of the others were so badly wounded they could scarcely drag themselves away through the storm. The others disappeared as if by magic, racing along at the top of their speed.
"Hello there!" came from out of the storm. "How did you make out with those wolves?" It was Jack who was calling, and a moment later he appeared with Gif following.
"There is what is left of the pack!" cried Randy, pointing to the dead wolf. "Spouter brought that one down, and we managed to wound at least two others."
"And those that could do it left quicker than them came," added his twin.
"Good for you, Spouter!" cried Jack. "Evidently spraining your ankle didn't interfere with your marksmanship."
"Huh! anybody could hit a target if he was right on top of it," answered the other cadet; nevertheless Spouter was immensely pleased over his success in laying the big wolf low.
The carcass of the dead beast was dragged into the entryway, and then Gif and Jack brought a few more sticks of wood from the shed.
"We'll have to skin that wolf," said Gif. "Spouter, you can get a very nice rug out of it, or maybe use the fur for some kind of a garment."
"I'll send it home," said Spouter. "I know it will please the folks very much."
It was not until some days later that the storm cleared away sufficiently for the boys to go out once more. Then, as they were running short of supplies, they decided to accompany Stowell down to Henryville, going as before on their skates.
"I must say I rather hate to leave you fellows," declared the little cadet. "You've treated me very nicely—much better than I was treated by Bill and Gabe. When we get back to Colby Hall I won't forget it."
"Well, you turn over a new leaf, Henry, and join the right crowd, and you'll get along much better," answered Jack. "It will never do a fellow any good to train with chaps like Glutts and Werner or with fellows like Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown."
They found quite a little snow on the river and had often to plough across the drifts on their skates as best they could. But there were many long, cleared spaces, and here all of the cadets made good time, for even Stowell was a fairly good skater.
"You'll be just in time, Henry," said Gif, as they came in sight of the town. "It's now half-past ten, and, if I remember rightly, the public sleigh for Timminsport leaves at eleven o'clock."
Gif's surmise proved correct and all walked over to the hotel from which the sleigh for the other town started. It was an easy matter for Stowell to obtain accommodations in this turnout, and soon he had said good-bye and was bound for home.
"I'm mighty glad he is going to give up training with Glutts and Werner," remarked Fred, and the others agreed with him.
The boys had made out a list of what they wanted, and, leaving the hotel, they went over to the general store where they had traded before. The proprietor was glad to see them, especially when he found out they needed so many things.
"I had a man in here last night asking about you," said the storekeeper when he was busy putting up their things.
"Asking about us?" repeated Jack. "Who was he?"
"I don't know. He was in here once before, two or three weeks ago asking about the different hunting lodges and lumber camps in this vicinity. He didn't give any name, and he didn't say what his business was."
"What sort of looking man was he?" asked Gif.
"Oh, just an ordinary looking sort of fellow—not very tall and not very short either. He had a clean-shaven face and dark hair and dark eyes."
"How was he dressed?" questioned Fred.
"He wore a dark grey overcoat and a slouch hat and fur gloves. He bought a couple of my best cigars, and stood around awhile, talking about the people who came to the store to trade. Then he asked about Cedar Lodge, and he wanted to know all about who was staying there. When he heard the name Rover he was very much interested, and when I told him you were a bunch of cadets from Colby Hall he said he would have to look you up."
"Maybe he's a friend of ours!" cried Randy. "Too bad you didn't get the name."
"I don't know as he was any particular friend. You see, he asked about some of the other places around here too—about Jed Wallop's place, and those shacks belonging to Tony Duval, and about the old Hunker cabin and the deserted Parkingham house, and the old Crosby camp, and those shacks down at Miller's saw mill, and a lot of places like that. I thought maybe he had an idea of buying some place and locating here."
"He may have been nothing but a real estate agent," declared Andy.
"What did you tell him about the old Parkingham house?" questioned Jack curiously.
"I told him a bunch of foreigners were staying up there—I thought possibly they might be Germans trying to hide themselves so as to keep out of the draft. Say! do you suppose he might be a Government agent rounding up the slackers?" continued the storekeeper, with interest.
"I'm sure I don't know," answered Jack. "If he calls again ask him his name, and if he is a friend of ours tell him we would be glad to see him up at the lodge at any time."
"All right, I'll do that."
Had they not been hampered by so many bundles and packages, some of which were quite heavy, the cadets would have remained out hunting for the rest of the day. But as it was, they decided to skate directly home and obtain a belated lunch at the Lodge, and then, if they felt like it, go out later.
"We're up here just for the fun of it, so there is no necessity of being too strenuous," said Gif. "We want to go back to Colby Hall feeling really refreshed."
They had reached the river once more, and were busy putting on their skates, when they heard a shout behind them. Turning, they beheld a man who, as soon as he saw they were looking in his direction, waved his hand at them.
"Excuse me, but are some of you the Rover boys?" he questioned, as he came closer.
"Yes," answered Jack. "I am one of the Rovers, and these are my cousins," and he indicated the others.
"I was up at the store, and the storekeeper told me you had just gone away and were bound up the river. If you don't mind, I would like to have a talk with you."
The man was of medium size, with dark hair and dark eyes, and as he wore a dark grey overcoat and a slouch hat, the cadets immediately put him down for the individual mentioned to them by the storekeeper. He had a quiet smile on his face which was reassuring to all of the lads.
"What is it you want to know?" questioned Fred.
"Are you the Rovers from Colby Hall—the young men who had so much to do with rounding up those Germans at Camp Barlight and capturing that hidden submarine?"
"Yes."
"And you also helped in rounding up those other fellows who were trying to put through some deal with two men named Brown and Martell?"
"We did," said Andy.
"It was a fine thing to do, and it shows that you fellows are true blue," returned the man, with satisfaction.
"Are you a Secret Service man?" questioned Jack suddenly.
"Why do you want to know that, Rover?" was the counter question.
"If you belong to the Secret Service you are just the man we are looking for."