The two young men were not long in getting down to the ground. Bowman was no more breathless than the school teacher. But his arm hurt greatly and he had to grit his teeth to keep from crying out.
“Now, are you all right?” asked Nelson. “We’d ought to hurry on.”
“I—I guess so,” gasped Frank Bowman. “I—I’m pretty near all in, I am afraid. You had best go on ahead with the little girl, Mr. Haley.”
Nelson saw that the exposure and pain had really pulled the other down. Up to this time he had seen very little of Frank Bowman. Not even when he called on Annette did he meet Frank at the Inn. To tell the truth, owing to his belief that Frank was deeply interested in Janice Day, the school teacher had not cared to know the young civil engineer at all.
He could not be unkind to the fellow, and it was plain that Frank faced the storm that charged down the hill with difficulty. Nelson came close to him and put Frank’s good arm over his own shoulder; the other hung useless at the young engineer’s side.
“Come on! we’ll push on together—won’t we, Lottie?” he cried, cheerily. “Hang on to my other hand, Lottie. We won’t be long in getting there.”
It was Nelson’s cheerfulness that kept them up to the mark. He had to carry Lottie the last hundred yards, as well as brace Frank Bowman.
The store of Hopewell Drugg was a scene of much excitement when they burst in from the snowy world without. Hopewell had returned, and he and Miss ’Rill were much troubled about the absence of little Lottie. Walky Dexter was preparing to go out and rouse the neighbors to search for the child.
“Wal, for the Land o’ Pity’s sake!” exclaimed Walky. “D’yeou young fellers reckon on this bein’ a nice time ter take a young lady out for a walk down Lovers’ Lane? Humph! looks like it’d been snowing where you hev been.”
“Don’t you try to be funny, Walky,” advised Nelson, helping Frank to the stove. “Where’s your team?”