“Did you know the other fellows?”
“Yes, they are the regular bunch Porter travels with. I’ve got to keep out of sight of all of them. From what they said they are evidently snowbound here on account of this blizzard, so there is no telling how long they will stay,” added the former moving-picture actor in disgust. “Confound the luck! I suppose I’ll have to stay in this room a prisoner and let you get my meals for me.”
“This fellow’s being here may not be such a bad thing for you,” remarked Tim Crapsey. “Maybe you can impersonate him and touch the hotel clerk for a loan of ten or twenty dollars.”
“I am not going to run too many risks––not with so many of those fellows on hand. If I had only Porter to deal with it might be different,” returned Ward Porton. “Just the same, I’m going to keep my eyes open, and if I can get the best of him in any way you can bet your boots I’ll do it.”
In the meanwhile Dave and his chums had rejoined the girls and Dr. Renwick and his wife in the parlor of the hotel, and there all made themselves as much at home as possible. There was quite a gathering of snowbound people, and a good 116 deal of the talk was on the question of how long the blizzard might last.
“Some of the people here are going to try to get over to Pepsico,” said one man. “That is only a mile and a quarter from here, and they are hoping to get the train that goes through that place about one o’clock in the morning.”
“The train may be snowbound, too,” returned another; “and if it is those folks will have their hard tramp to Pepsico for nothing.”
Outside it was still snowing and blowing as furiously as ever. All the street lights were out, and so were the electric lights in the hotel, so that the hostelry had to depend on its old-time lamps for its illumination. But the lamps had been discarded only the year before so it was an easy matter to bring them into use again.
Not to keep the good doctor and his wife up too long, Laura told Mrs. Renwick that they would retire whenever she felt like it. About half past ten good-nights were said and the girls went upstairs with the lady, followed presently by the doctor. The boys remained below to take another peep out at the storm.
“It’s a regular old-fashioned blizzard,” announced Dave.