“Drop that boy, you whelp!” rang out a clear voice. “What are you trying to do?”
Jarvis clung to Abe, but managed to draw a pistol.
“Interfere with me, will you, you fool!” he snarled.
Then the pistol spoke, and Chester Arlington, who had attempted to save Abe, dropped to the ground.
But Arlington was not alone. Several other boys had witnessed the encounter, and with shouts they charged on the man. Somehow Abe managed to struggle from Jarvis’ hands and plunge beneath the carriage. The sound of the pistol had caused the horses to begin prancing, and with a fierce oath Jarvis yelled at the driver and leaped into the carriage, slamming the door behind him.
The driver cracked his whip, and away went the horses.
The wheels did not pass over the hunchback, for he was between them, and he seemed unhurt when the cadets picked him up.
Not so Chester Arlington. The bullet had grazed his head and rendered him unconscious. Blood was flowing down the side of his face, and the horrified boys believed he had been killed. When a doctor examined the injury, however, it was found that the bullet had grazed Chester’s skull, but there was no reason why the wound should be serious. Indeed, Arlington recovered rapidly, and among the first to congratulate him on his bravery in attacking Abe’s enemy single-handed was Dick Merriwell.
Although a number of the cadets had attempted to follow the closed carriage, it dashed away at a furious pace and the boys were distanced.
The sheriff in Fardale was notified and requested to secure Abe’s assailant, if possible. Although the officer did his best to comply, Jarvis managed to hide until nightfall, when he escaped from Fardale.