“Indeed we will, you wait just a moment and we will improvise something to carry you on,” replied Phil.
“No, you won’t have to do that, just give me an arm to lean on; that will do very nicely.”
The boys did as he wished, and in a few minutes of easy walking they came to a neat little cottage, set back a few yards from the door with a number of flower beds scattered over the little lawn.
“Oh Grace,” called the man, and soon a pretty young woman came to the door. When she saw her husband, for so he proved to be, leaning on the arm of Garry she flew down the path and asked anxiously what was the matter.
“Nothing at all. Just wait till we get in the house and I will tell you all about it,” said the stranger. Then turning to the boys, he asked them to come in.
Anxious to hear what the cause of attack was, and why the man had wanted the rascals to escape, the trio accepted his invitation, and soon were sitting in the attractive little living room of the cottage.
“Now I suppose you boys who so kindly helped me out of a nasty hole would like to know what the whole business is about, wouldn’t you?” asked the owner of the cottage.
“We are rather curious,” answered Garry speaking for the others.
“My name is Howells, Arthur first name, generally called Art by my friends, and I am a timber scaler by occupation. I am scaling on the Boone cutting a few miles from here, and the chaps who attacked me were, until a few days ago, lumber jacks employed on the cutting. One morning I found them ‘spiking a tree,’ and forthwith sent a report to the office with a demand that they be fired. For that reason they met me tonight and attempted to get satisfaction by giving me a sound beating. Perhaps it would have been worse had you boys not come along so opportunely. I don’t think they would have murdered me, but could have easily put me out of commission so that I could not work, and that is one thing that I must do now of all times.”
“But why did you want us to let them escape. I should think you would have wanted them put safely under lock and key for such an unwarranted attack,” demanded Garry.