“I’ve got a good notion to take it out of your hide, no matter what the consequences are. You boys were the cause of all my trouble. Before you got your finger in the pie things were going as smoothly as I could wish, but you had to get up a pack of lies, and coax my assistant away from me.”
“Well, you were exerting an evil influence over Cale,” snapped Billy. “He just happened to be a good subject for your silly old hypnotism. I’d like to see you try to make me do your will. You’d have a sweet time of it, Mister Fakir, and that’s right. Now, I’m going ahead to the Fair, and I’d trouble you to get out of my way.”
“Just hold on till I’m through with you, boy,” the man was heard to say. “You need taking down off your high horse. For three cents I’d give you the licking you need.”
“Oh! you would, eh? Well, begin and try it if you think it’d be so easy a job!” cried Billy, tauntingly, and as the other fellows came bustling around the bend just then they saw he was swinging a stick belligerently, as though meaning to make the best possible use of the same should the man actually assault him.
Of course when Hugh and his two companions put in an appearance the quack doctor instantly changed his mind. He might have whipped one scout, though Billy looked as though he intended to put up a game battle; but four meant a larger bite than he felt he could masticate.
So Doc Merritt shrugged his shoulders and with a sneer on his dark face slipped in among the trees, his act implying that he had changed his mind. Nor did any of them think it a duty to chase after him in order to let the tricky fellow know what they thought of his cowardly tactics.
Only Jack Durham did look so disappointed as he unwillingly unrolled the cuffs of his coat.
“Why didn’t we hold up just a little, till he got busy, and had actually hit Billy?” was the burden of his complaint; but the others only laughed at him, and said things were all right as they stood.
So the four of them continued on their way to the Fair grounds. Hugh was glad to have noticed that the fakir looked as though he might be heading out of Oakvale, perhaps meaning to intercept the stage running over the mountain road to another town, where there was some sort of Harvest Home about to start among the farmers of the community. His harvest would come from raking in the shekels when he had hypnotized the farmers, and made them believe his cure-all must be the greatest thing under the sun.
So the third day of the great Fair began, with the scouts on deck, and just as bent on earning the right to the title of “guides” as ever. Hugh was proud of all they had accomplished; and his ready words of commendation always brought a flush of pleasure to the cheeks of his chums.