XVII. MORE SURPRISES 202 XVIII. LON DISCUSSES CROOKED THINKING 211 XIX. OF DUELS AND CONSCIENCE 222 XX. SAM MAKES A SPEECH 230 XXI. LON PLAYS DETECTIVE 239 XXII. TOM ORKNEY CHANGES HIS INTENTION 252 XXIII. LON GATES ENTERTAINS 266 XXIV. PETER GROCHE SCORES AGAIN 281 XXV. THE BLIZZARD 294 XXVI. OLD FRIENDS MEET 307 XXVII. PETER’S GRUDGE 319 XXVIII. SAM MAKES CHOICE 334 XXIX. SQUARING THE ACCOUNT 343 XXX. IN FULL SETTLEMENT 355 Illustrations PAGE HE DESCENDED THE SLOPE _Frontispiece_ HIS FINGER TREMBLED ON THE TRIGGER 37 “YOU’RE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE” 156 “HOLD HARD, THERE!” 216 “HE’S COMING ’ROUND ALL RIGHT” 283 The Safety First Club * * * * * The Safety First Club CHAPTER I “HEDGEHOG DAY” Sam Parker stepped out upon the side porch of his father’s house, closing the door behind him with a slam. There was a frown on his face, which by no means became it; and the corners of his mouth drooped sulkily. He was, as a matter of fact, in a fit of temper, which did not lessen as he surveyed the dull, gray sky, and saw its promise of a dismal day. “’Nother spoiled Saturday!” he grumbled. “Nowhere to go and nothing to do--oh, thunderation!” Now, to tell the truth, it may be that the weather had much to do with Sam’s pessimism, just as it often influences persons a great deal older and wiser than this boy of sixteen. Sam, commonly, was good-natured enough. This day, though, things had seemed to go wrong from the very start. He had overslept; one of his shoes had contrived to hide itself under the bureau; his necktie stubbornly had declined to slip into a smooth and even knot; he was late at breakfast, and the oatmeal was cold, and the eggs were as hard as the Fate which he was beginning to suspect was pursuing him. He had attempted criticism, and his father had checked him rather sharply with the reminder that the breakfast hour was 7:30 and not 7:50. His mother had not hastened to his defense; and even Maggie, the cook, frequently his ally and dispenser of consoling doughnuts and cookies, had failed him when he sought sympathy in the kitchen. “You got up wrong foot foremost,” she told him. “Get along with you now! This is bakin’ day, and I can’t be bothered.”