Many another boy had done the same and not been caught; why
not he? It was, to be sure, against the rules to leave the school
grounds without permission, but one must take a chance now and then.
Did not half the spice of life lay in risks?
Accordingly after the noonday meal was finished and the boys had
scattered to recitations or the dormitories Van sauntered idly out
past the tennis-courts; across the field skirting the golf course
and then with one sudden plunge was behind the gymnasium and running
like a deer for the thicket that separated Colversham from the
Sawyer estate. He knew the lay of the land perfectly, for this short
cut was a favorite thoroughfare of the boys, in spite of the posted
protest of _No Trespassing_.
Creeping cautiously through the shelter of the orchard he contrived
to escape observation and reach the highway in safety; at this quiet
noon hour the road was entirely deserted save for the presence of
one small boy who was jogging on ahead, a dinner pail upon his arm.
He was a slender little fellow of six or seven years who whistled
shrilly as he went and kicked up clouds of dust with his bare feet.
As Van watched the sway of his shoulders and the unhampered tread of
his unshod feet he could not but recall the days when he, too, had
gloried in going barefoot. He smiled at the memory which now seemed
so absurd.
A slight sound behind him broke in upon his reverie.
Bounding the turn just at his back swept a big scarlet touring-car
driven by a solitary man.
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