CHAPTER XVI
RACING BACK TO HIS FATHER
In Frank’s mind there was no idea of theft. Just as he asked Lanky Wallace to do, he now did.
When these two men had calmly and slowly sauntered away from the trees, Frank stole silently to the boat and climbed aboard.
Here to his hand was a five-gallon can of gasoline waiting for proper use. And he knew the best use to which it could be put! For a moment he hesitated. Then, digging deep into one pocket he pulled out a pencil and a scrap of paper, writing thereon the name and address of a gasoline man in Columbia and saying that he had taken a five-gallon can of gasoline, to be charged to F. A. He was not going to give his own name to these unknown ones.
In what might have been another minute he was on the wharf with the can and had made his way stumblingly through the little grove of trees, over the gnarled knees and rough spots of the ground, breaking out again on the wharf at the point where the planks had been removed or had rotted away.
Just then came a shrill whistle! Through the silent night-atmosphere it had a ghostly sound, but he knew what it meant—Lanky Wallace had found a store of gas!
Frank knew also that both of them, chums, were making their separate ways back to the boat, each with the needed fuel.
There was on Frank Allen’s face a smile as he stooped once again and grabbed up the can which he had filched from the thieves who had broken into the Parsons’ house.
Not resting a single time, he made his way back to theRocket, moving swiftly, surely, as he recalled every step of the way along the wharf.
Back at theRockethe found Paul Bird and Ralph West, each on thequi vive, for they had heard the whistle of one of the boys, not being sure which it was, but knowing that a can of gasoline had been found or a cache of some kind was there for their taking.
These two boys, loyal to the last ditch, had conversed in low tones over the plight in which they found themselves, each anxious to know what the two leaders were doing, but knowing that if help of any kind were to be found on that part of the island, one of these two boys would find it.
“Got a can of gas!” he muttered, an optimistictone in his voice as Frank told the news to the waiting boys.
“Did you whistle?” asked Paul.
“No. That must have been Lanky. He’ll be along in a minute with another,” replied Frank.
At that moment out of the gloom came the long, lean body of the lad, lugging at his side a can of gas, the same size as Frank’s!
When Frank saw Lanky and Lanky saw Frank they each fell to chuckling. But Frank had the better of it.
They hurried in their efforts and poured both cans into the gas tank aboard theRocket—Lanky’s much-rehearsed duty of pushing off from land or wharf then became necessary, and theRocketmoved out from the landing at the island.
But all four of the lads heard the sudden explosions of a motor from the distance, along the wharf, and they knew that a boat at the farther end of the landing-wharf was moving quickly out into the stream of the Harrapin.
Frank alone knew that a race was on between the two craft. One of them had to win!
“What is that boat?” asked Paul Bird.
“Those are the fellows who loaned me one of the cans of gasoline, only they don’t know yet that they loaned it to me,” laughed Frank Allen grimly.
“How about fixing our searchlight before we get going?” asked Lanky. “We’ll need it to make any speed.”
“Let’s save every minute we can, Lanky,” replied Frank. “You work on the searchlight and I’ll get her out and start upstream as fast as we can without the light.”
Suiting the action to the word, Frank turned theRocketas he backed away from the landing, and soon was headed up the Harrapin.
It was slow work, while Lanky and Paul worked on the connections at the light.
As yet Frank had had no time to tell the other boys what he had overheard, and reserved the telling of it now until they had finished the work which was necessary to be done. Frank realized as he swung theRocketinto the stream that he would have to use the light before he could go very fast. But, at any rate, they were saving a little time.
TheRockethad gone about a mile up the river when Lanky found the connection which was loose, and, having made it tight, switched on the search.
Immediately Frank gave theRocketthe full speed of the engine. The fast little craft almost moved out from under the boys as it leaped forward under the suddenly applied power, the propeller churning up the water furiously.
Ahead of them, its beams darting here and there,jumping about the river to pick up anything which might do them injury or which might hold them back, the searchlight played under the guiding hand of Lanky Wallace.
“Fellows,” said Frank, “if you’ll stand close so that I can keep my eyes on the river, I’ll tell you something that I just learned.”
Instantly the three boys were alert with interest.
“That boat that just went out of the island ahead of us is on the way to Jed Marmette’s place to get that stuff up there. It’s going up to-night and they are going to make their getaway.”
Nothing that Frank might have said could have brought to all three of the boys a greater shock of surprise than this.
They started to ask questions, but he stopped them:
“Wait a minute. Don’t be so fast with the questions. I’ll tell you all about it.”
Whereupon he recited the proceedings in the little grove of giant trees, the three boys keen to hear each word, and not a question from any of them to interrupt him.
“Now, they’ve pulled out. We’ve got to beat it back just as fast as possible to get this medicine to dad, and, if the doctor says I may leave, I’m going to see the police and get up there as quickly as we can.”
“But suppose—” started Lanky.
“I’ve thought about that, too,” answered Frank, knowing what Lanky had intended when he hesitated. “In case dad is not doing so well, I’m going to ask you three fellows to go to the police, tell them the story, tell them everything I saw as well as what you saw; and then take them up on theRocketyourselves. Lanky knows exactly where the place is, and you’ll have to depend on Lanky’s ability to run theRocket.”
“But, Frank,” asked Paul Bird, “what boat was that at the island—the one that’s ahead of us?”
“The one from which I got the gasoline,” Frank answered, though his tone was a noncommittal one.
“Don’t you know what the boat’s name is?” Paul continued.
“It bore a mighty strong resemblance to theSpeedaway,” came the low-spoken words from Frank.
“TheSpeedaway!” All three of the boys muttered the word at the same time.
“I said it very much resembled theSpeedaway. I could not make out the name, and I didn’t stop to look closely at it. I was in a hurry to get the gasoline and I was in a hurry to get away before they returned.”
“But,” urged Paul, “that is Fred Cunningham’s boat, and you did not say you saw him!”
“I didn’t,” Frank held back from making any accusationor from saying anything which might be interpreted as an accusation. “There were only two men there when I got close, though I know there were three men when I first saw them, and I also know they were waiting for some one to join them. He must have come along just as I succeeded in getting away.”
“Wonder how well filled their gas tank is,” muttered Lanky. “If they had a full tank they could get quite a distance. The extra gas would have given them the additional chance.”
All stood in silence while Frank held the wheel of theRocketand sent the sturdy little craft up the Harrapin at a speed that might have been a little less than the speed they had when going downstream, but they did not notice any difference.
Frank’s mind was on the question of whether there was any possibility of their catching the boat ahead of them, perhaps of passing it. Yet, thought he, the chance was very remote, inasmuch as they had gotten away a full three minutes before theRocket. Not for a moment did he consider the idea that theSpeedaway, if that were the boat, could outdistance theRocket. Frank Allen considered that the men ahead of him were merely the same distance ahead as at the start.
“I wonder if that is the boat which crossed our path and caused Paul to go over,” remarked Ralph.
“If it is, I want to catch the fellows that are in it and duck all of them,” Paul replied.
Frank paid no heed to the two boys who now started bantering each other, all crouching low to the deck of the boat as it sped along.
“Lanky,” spoke up Frank after everything had grown quiet, “when we get to Columbia I’ll run up to the hospital, and I wish you’d get to police headquarters as quickly as you can, tell them the story of those fellows—where they are going and what we saw to-day. Tell them that theRocketwill see them through. And I wish Paul and Ralph would find some gasoline and fill up the tank.”
The boys agreed at once to this program.
“I have an idea we’re going to have a race this night after those fellows, and we’ll need plenty of gas aboard. So, be sure about it. We’re getting near town now, and I must get this package up to the hospital post haste,” Frank went on.
As they neared the landing place at Columbia Frank cut off the engine, relying on its momentum to send theRocketto the boat-house, so that he could listen for the exhaust of the boat ahead of them.
“That’s it!” cried Lanky, as all the boys plainly heard the steady put-put of an exhaust ahead of them up the river.
“We’ve come along behind them,” Frank saidquietly. “TheRocketmust be a pretty speedy boat, after all.”
They warped the craft into the landing place, did not attempt to enter the boat-house, but, instead, tied at the outside. The instant they touched Frank was on the wharf and started on a dead run for the hospital. He had no idea of the time of night or early morning, whichever it might be.
The three boys now conferred in low tones as to the duties of each, and Lanky started away for police headquarters, all unmindful of the hour of night.
Frank dashed up the steps of the hospital, and there at the head of the steps leading to the second floor stood the doctor. Behind the medical man were Mrs. Allen and Frank’s sister Helen, who had reached Columbia an hour before.
“Is he all right?” gasped Frank.
“All right, Frank. We need this stimulant badly, but we’ve held him steady while you were gone. You made a quick trip.”
“I thought we would never get back here! We had trouble.”
The doctor took the package and hurried into the room where his patient lay. Frank greeted his mother and sister with a kiss and followed close behind.
The doctor made up his mixture for the hypodermic injection, and he and the nurse administered it to Mr. Allen, who lay on the cot breathing slowly, his mouth wide open as if he were trying hard to get as much air as possible. Frank’s heart went out to his father and suffered with him and for him. Would the fight be won? Would his father survive? Had the race been a winning one?
All was silent as they stood by, the doctor intently watching the patient with the practiced eyes of the man who has stood with many close to the shadow and who has seen the battle for life won and lost many times.
It seemed they stood there looking down on the man for an interminable period, when, with a smile on his kindly face, the doctor turned and laid a hand on Frank’s shoulder and grasped Mrs. Allen’s hand.
“He’s winning.” He spoke very quietly.
Tears came to Frank’s eyes, tears of sheer joy. It had been worth the while, that race to Coville! He had helped bring his father back! The doctor listened with his stethoscope, lay it down on the small table at the head of the cot, and again there appeared that sweet, kindly smile.
“You must go now, boy, and get a rest. Come back in the morning, and I’m sure we’ll find him considerably better. He’s safe now, thanks to ourgetting that stimulant in time,” the doctor spoke in low tones. “Run along now and get a rest.”
“Yes, go home by all means, and get a good sleep,” said Mrs. Allen.
“You’ll need it—after such a run on the river,” added Helen. Then she added impulsively: “Oh, Frank, it was grand of you to get that medicine! I’m so proud of you!”
Frank walked slowly out of the room into the hall and down the long flight of steps to the first floor.
How much better the whole world seemed! How much lighter the load on his shoulders. The doctor said his father would be better in the morning and his mother was here to lift part of the burden from his shoulders.
Reaching the front door, walking out into the night, Frank saw three people running down Main Street, and, just behind, came two more. As he darted under a street light Frank recognized the lean form of Lanky Wallace in the lead.
He had the police! They were on their way to theRocket! Down the steps he bounded, over the fence of the hospital yard, and before they reached the boat-landing, Frank had caught up with them. Another race was on!