Abner Doubleday by Montrew Dunham

Author:Montrew Dunham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction/Sports & Recreation Baseball
ISBN: 17760
Publisher: Patria Press, Inc
Published: 2009-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Figure 6.1: The boys swung the heavy rounded lid of the trunk open and their faces fell.

Hans nodded.

“All right, Charley, now pull!” He and Charley pulled with all their might and Hans shoved. They tugged and they pushed but the heavy trunk had settled into the soft earth and would not move. Finally the boys stopped.

Abner straightened himself with a deep sigh and leaned against a tree. “I don’t think we can do it,” he said.

“If we can’t even move it, how do you suppose the robber got it here?” asked Hans.

“Maybe there were two men,” Abner said.

All three of the boys were panting, trying to regain their breath.

“That may be,” said Charley with lifted eyebrows, “but if so, where is the other robber?”

Abner’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Maybe he’s right behind you.”

Charley jumped and looked over his shoulder.

Hans and Abner both laughed.

“I don’t think that’s funny,” Charley said.

Abner sat and thought. The ground under him was damp and the forest seemed dark and unfriendly.

“I guess we’ll just have to walk back to town and tell Mr. Sherwood where the trunk is,” he said at last.

“What if we can’t find our way back again?” asked Hans.

“What if the robbers should come back for it when we leave?” asked Charley.

Abner was silent for a moment. “I know, Charley. You go back to town and tell Mr. Sherwood where the trunk is. Hans and I will stay here to guard it.”

“Me!” cried Charley. “I don’t think I can find my way. Besides, what if I see the robbers?”

“I’ll make a map for you,” said Abner. “You can find your way out of the woods and then you’ll have the map to guide you back here to the trunk.”

Abner took out a piece of paper and with a stub of pencil started to sketch the map quickly. He knelt beside the trunk and used its top for a desk.

“You don’t need to go back the way we came,” he said. “You can take the other fork of the path, which will be closer to town anyway.” He worked hastily. “Here, I’ll show you.”

“But what if I see the robbers?” Charley interrupted. “What if they try to stop me?”

Abner looked at Charley’s frightened face. “All right, Hans, you go with Charley and I’ll stay here. Hans, you look at the map, too.”

Charley and Hans both leaned over the trunk to see the map.

“You go this way to the crooked oak tree,” Abner explained, “and then you turn north—”

“Which is north?” asked Charley.

Abner looked at his friend with disgust. “This way on the map,” he said and put an arrow and a big N on the map. “Your right side as you walk,” he added, then paused a moment. “But you’d better run—just in case!”

Hans looked troubled. “But, Abner, if I go with Charley, what about you? I don’t think we ought to leave you all alone. What if the robbers come back here?”

Abner straightened his back and held his chin up stiffly. “I’ll be all right.

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