“Oh, college.” The girl’s voice dropped. “Father wants me to go to college. I’m not going.”
“Why not?”
“Why should I?”
Johnny told her why. He spoke in such glowing terms of big football games, wild rallies, of bonfires, and sings around great open fireplaces, the joyous friendships of youth and the satisfaction to be had from learning something new every day that at last quoting from last Sabbath’s Sunday School lesson, she murmured:
“‘Almost thou persuadest me.’”
“But see!” she sprang to her feet. “Now we are all dry. And I shall keep my promise. Now for that big, black bass!”
CHAPTER V
THE CRIMSON FLOOD
Several days later, Johnny Thompson found himself crouching on the western sidelines of the football field at old Hillcrest. He had been there a half hour. During that time a variety of interests had vied for the attention of his active brain.
For a time he had thought of the mill down there at the foot of Stone Mountain in the Cumberlands. All that seemed quite far away now. Yet the strangeness and mystery of it lingered. He had not forgotten his resolve to solve that mystery. In his mind’s vision now he saw it all. Now the ancient mill, its secret trap door and the serious minded Donald Day presiding over it all. Johnny had hoped that Donald would tell him the secret of those strange recesses at the bottom of the old mill. He had pictured himself saying, “Donald, old son, how can you take an empty, double walled jug down there and bring it back full of something quite valuable when there is nothing down there but air and water?” He had never asked the question, had never quite dared. So the mystery of the mill remained a mystery still.
The old master of the mill, Malcomb MacQueen, was still in the hospital. Apparently his fall, when the bridge came down, had resulted in very serious injuries. No one seemed to know when he might be about again. One thing was sure, everyone would be glad when that day came. “How those mountain people do love him!” Johnny whispered as he crouched on the sidelines waiting for action.