"We'll take up the Scout's pace, and keep at it till we reach the station. We have almost ten minutes to make three quarters of a mile. I'll lead, and I want each fellow to hang close to the heels of the one ahead."
"I'll be rearguard," said Specs, as the nine boys broke into a trot. "Remember, Roundy, if you drop back, I'll—I'll pick you up and carry you into Harrison City."
There was nothing about the road to hinder people on foot. Deep ruts and gullies made it practically impassable for finicky automobiles, but the nine boys strung out in single file and thus avoided bad places and fallen branches that had toppled upon the trail. Less than a quarter mile from the lake, they skimmed the crest of the first hill with every fellow hanging close to his pace-setter.
"It's like taking candy from a baby," Specs grinned, as the group dropped into a walk. "What do you say, Bunny, if we make the run a hundred yards and the walk fifty? We can do it easy enough."
Bunny was unwilling. "Yes, we could," he admitted, "but we have a ball game to play this afternoon, and I guess we'll need all our strength to win it."
The road was a little better now. Trees that met overhead threw a grateful shade upon the hikers. There were even clumps of wild flowers waiting to be appreciated by anybody in the mood to look at them. But the Scouts and the Scout-trained Prissler had their minds set upon catching that train, and the most beautiful flowers in the world could have bloomed their heads off without getting more than a passing glance.
"Off again!" Bunny announced, giving the signal for the jog.
They wound past a clump of trees and around a turn to the left. Without warning, Bunny slowed and halted. Behind him, Scout bumped Scout, like a row of dominoes that is set falling.
A man with a cane faced Bunny. "I—it's—" He stammered incoherently before he loosed a flood of words. "Boys, I must have help! I must have it! I must ask you to help me!"
"What's the matter?" called Specs, who had not heard the request. He was rubbing an affronted nose that had collided with Roundy's back.