"Well, mister," replied the governor, "it's a long story, but, if you want to hear it, I reckon I can tell it to you."
The passengers declared their willingness to listen, and Sam proceeded to give them a complete history of the Crusoe band from the day it was organized down to the time he met the robbers at Mr. Henry's store, describing their adventures in glowing language, and dwelling, with a good deal of pride, upon the exploits of this particular night. The men were no less astonished than every one else had been who had heard the story, and Sam could see that they were uneasy, too.
"So you really set fire to a vessel before you left the harbor, did you?" asked one.
"Sartin. We might as well have let it alone, howsomever, fur her crew put out the fire before it had a chance to do any damage, an' she is after us now. But that needn't scare you none, fur we are leavin' her behind fast."
"That makes no difference," replied the robber. "If she can't catch you, there are plenty of other vessels that can do it. You'll have the whole town after you before long, and we are in danger as long as we remain with you. We want you to set us ashore at once."
"How about our money?" asked Sam.
"What money?"
"Why, the thousand dollars you promised to pay us fur takin' you out to sea."
"O, you haven't earned that yet. We told you that you should have it when you had carried us safely out of sight of Newport. That's something you can't do, and so you need not expect to receive the money. We can't give it to you for nothing, you know."
"Well, if this yere aint the very meanest piece of business I ever heard of," muttered the governor, as he turned on his heel and left the robbers. "But they aint by no means so smart as they think they are. We'll larn 'em how to cheat us. What's the trouble now?"
This question was addressed to the skipper, who was running about the deck in a high state of excitement, having just discovered the Storm King coming up the narrows. Although Tom was very much interested in his plot against the robbers, he had not forgotten the responsibilities resting upon him, and he had kept a bright lookout for their pursuers. He knew the yacht had gone down the other side of the island, and he was well aware of the fact that he ran some risk of being cut off, but he had great confidence in the speed of his vessel, and held on his course, hoping to beat the sloop in the race, and to pass through the narrows before she came in sight. But in this he was disappointed. The Storm King was directly in his path and coming toward him at a rate of speed that made the skipper of the pirate craft extremely nervous.
"I say, Tommy," cried Sam, as soon as he had recovered from his surprise, "there's them spooneys again."
"O, now, am I blind?" drawled the captain. "Don't I see them as plainly as you do?"
"But how does it come that they are in front of us? That's what I want to know. I thought they were a mile behind by this time. We can make up our minds for a fight now, sartin."
"Why, they are boys," exclaimed one of the robbers. "We have nothing to fear from them."
"Now, don't you fool yourself," replied the governor. "If they are boys, there's lots of 'em, and they've got muskets, pikes, an' cutlasses, an' they know how to use 'em, too. You'd better be gettin' them shootin' irons of your'n ready."
For a few minutes there was a great commotion on the deck of the Sweepstakes. The captain's orders were promptly obeyed, but the schooner came about very slowly, while the Storm King continued to approach at the top of her speed, and the governor could see that Harry was making preparations to come to close quarters. While the little vessels were rushing through the water, side by side, and so close together that an active boy could almost jump from one to the other, the excitement on board the Sweepstakes was intense, and it was increased when the yacht began to fall off and swing toward the schooner. The Crusoe men had no desire to face cold steel in the hands of twenty enraged students.
"All hands repel boarders," shouted the captain of the pirate craft, flourishing his handspike about his head. "Crowd her, Xury. Jack Spaniard, get an ax and stand by to cut us loose if they try to lash the yacht fast to us."
But we know that Harry did not succeed in his attempt to lay his vessel alongside the pirate. Her superior sailing qualities enabled her to escape, and by the time the yacht was ready to fill away in pursuit, she was almost out of sight in the darkness. There was no exultation on the part of the officers of the Crusoe band, however. They had escaped from one danger, but they knew that there were others close at hand. It had been their desire to get into deep water with the least possible delay, but the yacht had sadly interfered with their plans. The Sweepstakes was fairly blockaded.
"I wish that sloop was at the bottom of the ocean," exclaimed Tom. "If we don't look out, Harry Green will get the better of us yet."
"Don't you think we could run by her?" asked the governor, anxiously.
"No, indeed. The schooner is very swift, but she couldn't do that. We must go back to our harboring-place. It isn't safe to go around the island again, for those tugs have raised steam by this time, and, whatever we do, we must keep away from them. Perhaps if we run into the cove we can give Harry Green the slip. He will not know where we are, and if he goes off to hunt us up, we'll come out and start for our island again."
The governor did not like this plan. The cove was too near the village to be a safe hiding-place now, and as soon as the events of the night became generally known the harbor would be covered with vessels and tugs. But he could see no other way of escape, and he finally went aft, and took his place at the wheel. The passengers stood in the waist, holding fast to the money, and watching all that was going on; but they had nothing to say until they heard the roar of the breakers, and discovered that the schooner was headed directly toward them. Then they wanted to know where the captain was going, and what he intended to do, but the reply they received did not convey to them the desired information. Tom could not forget that they had laid their plans to cheat the Crusoe band, and he thought that men who could go back from their word, as these intended to do, were not worth noticing. "You will please attend to your own business," said he.
"But this is our business, captain," protested one of the passengers. "We don't want to be wrecked."
"Well, if you are afraid, you can get out and go afoot," said Tom. "I am master of this vessel, and if you will keep quiet, you will find out that I know what I am doing."
But the robbers' actions indicated that they did not feel disposed to keep quiet. They looked at the shoals, whispered together for a moment, and then one of them thrust his hand into his pocket, and, approaching Tom, said, savagely:
"Look here! We are not going in among those rocks. If you want to keep out of trouble—"
Just at that moment the Sweepstakes dashed into the channel that ran between the shoals and the bluffs on the island, and the burglar forgot what he was about to say to Tom, and thought only of self-preservation. They both rushed frantically to the side, and while one of them held fast to the rail with one hand, and to the valise with the other, his companion hurriedly divested himself of his pea-jacket, and kicked off his boots, in preparation for his battle with the waves, which he seemed to believe was not far distant. The governor was uneasy also. He had never before attempted to take so large a vessel as the Sweepstakes through the channel, and he was by no means certain as to the result of his undertaking. But luck was still in his favor, and, after being tossed about on the angry waves for ten minutes—it seemed much longer to the trembling and excited Crusoe men—the schooner glided swiftly between the rocks at the entrance of the cove, and ran her bowsprit among the bushes that grew on the bank in front of the cabin. And while Harry Green and his crew were wondering at her mysterious disappearance, and telling one another that they had been pursuing a phantom, she lay snug and safe in the cove, and none the worse for her rough passage across the shoals.
"Well, I done it, didn't I?" exclaimed the governor, triumphantly. "We're safe from Harry Green now, an' if it wasn't fur the fuss we had with them farmers, we could stay here fur a year, an' nobody would be the wiser fur it. I'll go an' see how Jed is gettin' along."
Sam jumped ashore and ran toward the cabin, and Tom, after he had seen the schooner made fast to the bank, turned to the robbers and asked:
"What do you think of it now?"
"We think we have seen quite enough of you Crusoe men," was the reply. "We shall leave you. You can go your way and we'll go ours."
"You'll talk to the governor before you go, won't you?"
"The governor! What do we want to talk to him about?"
"Why, about that money—the thousand dollars, you know."
"Guess not," answered one of the robbers, with a laugh. "Good-by, captain."
"You are not gone yet," said Tom, to himself. "If I know any thing you will be glad to come to terms before you are ten minutes older." He waited until the burglars were out of sight, and then, calling his crew about him, continued: "Those fellows are trying to cheat us out of their passage money. They can't find their way out of the cove without a guide, and if they ask any information of you, send them to me or to the governor. If one of you says a word to them about that path, we'll tie you hand and foot, and leave you here on the island. We'll show them that we are quite as smart as they are."
At this moment the governor came running from the cabin, breathless and excited, and, clambering over the rail, stormed up and down the deck, swinging his arms about his head like the shafts of a wind-mill. "Fellers," he shouted, "we're done fur now. Our cake's all dough. Jed's gone!"
"Gone!" echoed all the Crusoe men, in concert.
"Yes, gone—sloped—mizzled—cleared out—and I can't find hide nor hair of him. We'll have all them farmers down on us now."
"Well, I wonder if any living man ever heard of such luck!" drawled Tom.
"Our jig is danced at last," snarled Will Atkins. "I knew all the whole time that we'd never see our island."
There was great excitement among the Crusoe men.
Johnny Harding was greatly discouraged by the result of his conflict with the Crusoe men. His victory had been turned into defeat; and while he was lying on his bed, bound hand and foot, the burglars were making good their retreat from the village. Every instant of time was precious; for, of course, the longer the pursuit was delayed, the more difficult would it become to effect the capture of the robbers. Johnny struggled desperately for his freedom, and shouted for help until he was too hoarse to speak; but the governor's own hands had tied the rope with which he was confined, and the only person within hearing of his calls was the watchman, who was as powerless as the clerk himself. It seemed to Johnny that he must have lain there three or four hours, although it was really not more than twenty minutes; and, during that time, the captain of the Crusoe band had made his unsuccessful attempt to destroy the yacht. Johnny heard the fire-bells, and wondered if a conflagration of the town was to be added to the excitements of the night.
There was not much sleeping done in Newport after the big bell at the military academy added its voice to the universal din. Business men thought of their property on the wharf, and ran down to assure themselves of its safety. Mr. Newcombe and the grocer met in front of the elevator. The former stumbled over his watchman, who, strangely enough, had not been discovered by the Crusoe men, and Mr. Henry, somewhat surprised that the bells had not alarmed Johnny, pounded loudly upon the front door.
"Come in, whoever you are," cried the clerk.
"Get up, and open the door," replied the grocer. "Don't you hear those bells? Is every thing right in there?"
"Not by a long way, sir. I've had visitors. You will have to come in at the side door."
Johnny knew that Mr. Henry was astonished, for he heard him talking to himself as he entered the passage. When he reached the side-door, and saw the hole that had been cut through it, he knew what had been going on as well as if his clerk had explained the matter to him. He lighted one of the lamps, and after glancing at the safe, and at the papers that were scattered about over the floor, he entered the office to look at Johnny. "I suppose they got it all?" said he, as he untied the ropes with which the prisoner was confined.
"If they didn't it was their own fault. We are short about twenty-five dollars worth of provisions, also. Tom Newcombe and his pirate crew have turned up again, and have drawn on us for supplies."
Mr. Henry's astonishment increased as his clerk hurriedly recounted his adventures. The latter took particular pains to describe to his employer the intended movements of the robbers, as he had learned them from the captain of the Crusoe band, and, when he had finished his story, the grocer said he would ask Mr. Newcombe to send out his tugs. But Johnny was too impatient to wait for the tugs. It would be half an hour before they were ready to start, and there was no knowing what the robbers might do in that time. The clerk wanted to find them, and keep as close to them as possible; and something might happen that would put it in his power to recover the money. He knew that the grocer did not blame him for any thing that had happened—he would have been a most unreasonable man indeed, had he done so—but still Johnny felt that he was, to some extent, responsible for his employer's property, and that the only way to redeem himself, was to return the money to Mr. Henry with his own hands. He did not then decide upon any plan of action. His first hard work must be to find the robbers; and, when that had been done, he would be governed by circumstances. He left the grocer on the wharf talking to Mr. Newcombe, and ran to the end of the pier where he had seen a yawl moored the night before; but that was the one the robbers had taken at Sam Barton's suggestion, and it was then dancing about in the bay, having been turned adrift after serving the purpose of its villainous crew.
"I want a skiff," said Johnny, to himself, "and I could find plenty if I was only on the other side of the harbor. I'll have to swim over."
Johnny was a boy who never allowed himself to be daunted by any obstacles, and having made up his mind that he wanted a skiff, he was determined to secure one by some means or other. He was about to jump into the harbor and swim to the opposite side, when he happened to glance toward one of the vessels lying in front of the elevator, and saw a yawl moored at her stern. He could cross the harbor much more easily and quickly in a boat than by swimming, and he decided to borrow the yawl.
"Well, now, what do you want here?" demanded one of the watch, as Johnny leaped over the rail, and began to cast off the boat's painter.
"I want to use this yawl," replied the clerk. "I can't stop to explain, for I am in a great hurry."
"Avast there!" shouted the sailor. "If I get hold of you, I'll pitch you overboard."
But the watch did not get hold of Johnny, for by the time he reached the stern, the clerk was a boat's length from the vessel, and was sending the yawl rapidly across the harbor. He found a number of skiffs on the opposite side, and, selecting the one that suited him best, he hoisted the sail and filled away for the island. He had scarcely cleared the harbor when he discovered the Sweepstakes; but knowing that his skiff was no match for her in sailing, and being perfectly well aware of the fact that, even if he should overtake her, he could not recover the money alone and unaided, he turned his boat's head toward the foot of the island. By this maneuver he would gain on the schooner nearly a mile and a half; and, when she came out of the narrows, he would follow her and keep her in sight until one of the tugs came up, when he would board her, and assist in securing the robbers. When he reached the foot of the island, the Sweepstakes was not in sight; and while he was waiting for her, he saw the Storm King dash up the narrows. Johnny was astonished to see her there at that time of night, and he was greatly encouraged. It was plain to him that Tom had been doing something to arouse the students, and the clerk was glad indeed that it was so. His only fear had been that the Crusoe men would succeed in getting out of the harbor, and making good their escape before the tugs could get ready to start in pursuit; but now he was satisfied that the chase would soon be over. He was sure that the yacht would capture the pirate, and he wished that he was on board to assist the students; and, being ignorant of the fact that Harry knew more about what had been going on than he did, he wanted to tell him that there were two desperate characters on board the schooner, that they had robbed Mr. Henry's store of seven thousand dollars, and that they were armed with revolvers. He stood up in his skiff, and shouted at the top of his voice, to attract the attention of the students; but they were too far off to hear him. Then he filled away in pursuit of the yacht; but she ran away from him very easily, and finally disappeared in the darkness.
"The robbers will be caught, anyhow," soliloquized Johnny, "and it will make no great difference whether I am there or not. If the Sweepstakes comes down the narrows, Harry Green will cut her off; and if she goes around the head of the island, she will run against some of the tugs. Tom won't give up as long as he sees the least chance for escape, and if he finds that he is likely to be captured, he will desert his vessel and take to the woods. He can't go ashore with his schooner, on the main land, for the water is so shallow that, after his vessel grounded, he would have to swim about half a mile. Tom is too lazy to do that, and besides, if he were to attempt it, he might be picked up by the jolly-boat. His only chance will be to land on Block Island, and perhaps he will go back to that harboring place he told me about. That's the very idea!" added Johnny, excitedly, striking his knee with his clenched hand. "There is just where Tom will go if he is cornered. He will think that because he has lived there a week without being discovered, he can do it again."
As these thoughts passed through Johnny's mind he came about and started for the island. When he reached it he drew the bow of his skiff upon the beach, and, clambering up the cliff, ran toward the shoals. Little dreaming how near he was to the object of his search, he stopped within a few feet of the head of the path that led into the cove, and strained his eyes through the darkness, in the hope of discovering the Storm King or the schooner. But they were nowhere to be seen, and he was about to start on again when his steps were arrested by a faint shout which seemed to come up from below. It was uttered by Jed, who, since the departure of the Crusoe band, had not ceased to call lustily for help. He had little hope, however, of bringing any one to his relief, for the roar of the breakers, although it would not have drowned the report of a cannon, as Sam Barton had declared, was still loud enough to render his being heard extremely doubtful. Johnny listened, and presently the shout was repeated. "There's certainly somebody down there," said he to himself, "and he seems to be in distress, too. Who knows but it may be one of the Crusoe men? If it is, he is just the fellow I am looking for."
As Johnny said this he walked along the cliff as near the edge as he dared to go, in the hope of finding some way to descend into the cove; but he did not long continue his search, for, as he was passing a thicket of bushes, a man suddenly sprang up and seized him by the collar.
"We've got you now, you young villain," said he, savagely, "and we'll take care to hold fast to you."
The first thought that passed through Johnny's mind was, that he had again fallen into the hands of the burglars; the second, that they could not manage him as easily as they had done before. He would fight as long as he was able to raise a finger. But the clerk did not have time to act on this resolution, for his assailant threw him down with as much ease as he had prostrated Tom Newcombe in the store, and caught him by the throat, and, at the same instant, a second man appeared, who quickly confined his hands behind his back, and gagged him by forcing a handkerchief into his mouth. His captors handled him very roughly, and Johnny would have yelled with pain, but the gag and the strong grasp on his throat rendered it impossible for him to utter a sound.
Having satisfied themselves that their prisoner was securely tied, the men jerked him to his feet, and then Johnny got his first good look at them, and was astonished to discover that they were not the burglars. They were two young farmers, whom he had often seen in the village—the same who had captured Tom Newcombe a few hours before. They were searching for Jed, and when they saw Johnny prowling about the cove, they hastened to secure him, believing him to be one of the Crusoe men. The clerk knew there was a mistake somewhere, but the gag effectually prevented him from explaining matters. If he tried to free his hands, in order to remove the gag, the farmers would think he was endeavoring to escape, and they might treat him even more harshly than they had done before. The only thing he could do was to submit quietly, and make himself known to them at the first opportunity.
"You young rascal!" said Bill, shaking his fist in Johnny's face.
"We'll show you how to rob potato-patches and cut down cellar doors," said Josh. "If you don't pay for this night's work, it will be because there is no law in the land."
The farmers grasped his arms, and Johnny walked submissively between them toward the house. He was satisfied, from what they had said, that the exciting events of the night had not been confined to the village. The people on the island had evidently come in for a share of the trouble, and Johnny, who was blessed with more than an ordinary amount of curiosity, wondered what had been going on, and grew angrier every moment, because he could not speak to his captors. He thought of the time he was wasting, too, and wished Josh and Bill had been a thousand miles from there before they attempted his capture.
Johnny was astonished at the sensation he created when he was led into the house. Every one present looked at him with curiosity, and wondered that so honest-looking a boy should belong to a band of young robbers. When he had taken the chair pointed out to him, Josh stationed himself near the door to prevent his escape, and Bill removed the gag. The rough treatment he had experienced had sadly ruffled his temper, and as soon as he was able to speak he looked fiercely at Bill, and exclaimed:
"I'd like to know what you are about!"
"Would! Well, I can soon tell you," replied Bill. "You are one of those fellows who robbed our potato-patches, aint you?"
"Do I look like a boy of that kind?" demanded Johnny, indignantly. "I never saw your potato-patch, and I don't know that you have one."
"Now, just look a here," said Bill, "what's the use of telling that?"
"It's the truth," protested the prisoner. "My name is John Harding, and I am clerk in Mr. Henry's grocery store, which has just been robbed of seven thousand dollars. I was in pursuit of the burglars when you caught me. I am not in the habit of telling lies," he added, more angrily than ever, noticing that the young farmers smiled derisively as they listened to his story. "All you have to do is to go back to the beach with me, and I will soon convince you that I am not trying to deceive you."
"You want us to take you there, so that your friends can release you, I suppose," said Josh. "We gagged you to prevent you from giving the alarm."
"You need not have put yourselves to so much trouble, for I haven't a friend on the island. I came here alone. Let me loose, can't you? I don't want to be confined here like a felon."
The farmers had been so nicely outwitted by the Crusoe men that they were very suspicious, and, believing that Johnny's story had been invented for the occasion, they did not put the least faith in it. They had caught him prowling about in the vicinity of the potato-patch, and that, in their eyes, was evidence strong enough to condemn him. Johnny said every thing he could to induce them to believe that he was really what he represented himself to be. He told how the burglars had effected an entrance into the store, described the operation of blowing open the safe, and even mentioned the fact of having heard somebody shouting for help while he was standing on the cliff. Then the farmers, for the first time, became interested.
"Perhaps it's Jed," said Bill. "He is our brother," he added, in answer to an inquiring look from Johnny. "He went out with us after the fellows who cut down the cellar door, and he hasn't come back yet. We had better go down there, for he may have fallen over the cliff."
"You will take me with you, will you not?" inquired Johnny.
"No, I guess not; we don't think it would be safe. You see, the way you fellows got those two prisoners out of the cellar makes us think we can't be too careful of you. We'll leave you here, and for fear that you might escape, or be rescued while we are gone, we'll take you up stairs and tie you fast to something."
Johnny protested loudly against this arrangement, but his words fell upon deaf ears, and he was obliged to submit to his captors, who conducted him into the garret and bound him to the chimney, which came up through the middle of the floor.
"There," said Josh, "I'd like to see your friends find you now. You'll be likely to stay here until we come back, unless you can pull the chimney down, and I don't think you are strong enough to do that."
Johnny was astonished at the care exhibited by the farmers in providing for his safe-keeping, and it led him to the conclusion that Tom and his band had been doing something desperate. He was impatient to learn the full particulars of the robbery of the potato-patch, and the rescue of the prisoners, but he was much more anxious to regain his liberty, and continue the pursuit of the burglars. He did not doubt that the students would capture them, and, as that would be a big feather in their caps, Johnny wanted to assist in the work, in order that he also might enjoy the honors of the exploit.
Josh and Bill were gone fully half an hour, and during every moment of that time Johnny's impatience increased, until at last it seemed to him that he could not possibly endure his captivity an instant longer. Of course he tried hard to free himself, but his captors, remembering the prisoners who had escaped from the cellar, had taken especial pains to make his bonds secure, and Johnny finally abandoned his attempts in despair, and awaited his release with all the fortitude he could command. At last, to his immense relief, he heard footsteps on the porch, and after a few minutes' delay Josh and Bill came up the stairs, accompanied by Jed. They all seemed to be very angry about something, and if Johnny had known what Jed had experienced at the hands of the Crusoe men, he would not have been at all surprised thereat. When Jed's eyes rested on the prisoner, his countenance fell, and he seemed to be very much disappointed. He took the candle from Bill's hand, held it close to Johnny's face, examined his clothing, and finally shook his head. "You'll know me the next time you see me, won't you?" asked Johnny.
"Yes, and I would know you now, if I had ever seen you before. He don't belong to the crowd," he added, turning to his brothers. "I took a good look at every one of them, and I can't be mistaken. You had better let him go."
"I think so too," said the prisoner.
"It's lucky for you that you aint one of the robbers," continued Jed, shaking his head in a threatening manner, "for I had made up my mind to give you a good drubbing. Let's return to the cove and watch for them. Perhaps they will come back."
"Do you mean the Crusoe men?" asked Johnny. "I know they will come back. They are blockaded, and they can't get out of the bay."
Josh and Bill were quite ready to go back to the cove, but they were not willing to release their captive. They could not be made to believe that he was not in some way connected with those who had plundered their potato-patch, and Johnny began to think them the most unreasonable men he had seen for many a day. There was Jed, who had had some adventure with the Crusoe men, and who repeatedly affirmed that he had never met Johnny before, but still Josh and Bill would not be convinced. "You see," said the former, "it does not follow that you ain't one of the robbers because we did not see you with them. If you had nothing to do with what has been going on here for the last week, what were you sneaking around the farm for? That's what I want to know."
"I wasn't sneaking around at all," replied Johnny, impatiently. "I was going about my business openly and above board, and I didn't care who saw me. I was looking for the men who stole Mr. Henry's money."
"Now, that's a funny story, aint it? A boy like you wouldn't be in any hurry to put himself in the way of two robbers, armed with revolvers. We are going back to the cove, and we shall take you with us. The men folks are all out looking for Jed, and we are too sharp to leave you long in the house with nobody but women to watch you."
"Wouldn't it be a good plan to obtain a little more assistance?" asked Johnny. "If you will collect half a dozen men, you can capture every one of those fellows if they come back."
"That's just what we intend to do," replied Josh, "but I think we three can manage them, and watch you besides."
"But you forget the robbers."
Josh smiled and shrugged his shoulders, intimating very plainly that he was not yet prepared to believe that the robbers existed, only in Johnny's imagination. "If you will agree not to make any fuss we won't gag you," said he.
That was something gained, and Johnny readily gave the required promise. Although his hands were still bound behind his back, his captors seemed to be very much afraid of him, and during the walk to the cove they kept a firm hold of his arms, and looked about them suspiciously, as if they every instant expected to be called upon to resist an attempt on the part of the Crusoe men to rescue their prisoner.
But Johnnywasreleased; not by the governor and his band, however, but by the crew of the Storm King, and Josh and Bill never once thought of offering any resistance to them.
It did not take Harry Green long to come to some conclusion respecting the mysterious disappearance of the pirate vessel, and, after his conversation with the boatswain's mate, he astonished his second lieutenant with an order to call away a company of small-armed men. While the jolly-boat was being lowered, the plucky midshipman Richardson, who commanded the company, reported for orders, and was instructed to go ashore and explore every nook and corner of the bluffs on that side of the island. He left the vessel as fully determined to effect the capture of Tom Newcombe as he had been before, and, when the party from the farm-house came up, he had stopped with his company on the cliffs above the cove to reconnoiter. When he heard them approaching, he ordered his men to conceal themselves. Of course he was not sure that they were the ones he had been sent out to capture, but he argued, as did Josh and Bill in regard to Johnny, that if they were honest people they would not be roaming about the island at that time of night.
"Halt!" shouted Richardson, when the farmers, with their prisoner, had advanced fairly within his ambush. "Close up around them, men, and punch the first one that tries to escape."
Bill and Josh were so astonished that they did not think of flight or resistance until it was too late. The young tars arose from their concealments on all sides of them, and they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a wall of gleaming bayonets, every one of which was held so close to them that the least forward or backward movement on their part would have brought them in contact with the cold steel.
"Well, look here! I swan to man!" said Jed, shrinking away from the bayonets in front of him, only to receive a slight prick from three or four behind.
"I say, fellows," stammered Bill, "you've made a mistake."
"Is that you, Richardson?" asked Johnny.
"Harding!" exclaimed the midshipman, excitedly, "and a prisoner, too. We've got the burglars. Put your hands above your heads," he added, sternly, addressing himself to Josh and Bill; "quick, or you'll feel the points of those bayonets."
"Hold on, Dave," cried Johnny, when he saw that the bayonets were drawn back for a thrust. "These men are not the robbers."
"They are not? How does it come, then, that you are a prisoner?" demanded the young officer.
"Untie my hands, somebody, and I'll tell you all about it."
"See here, fellows," exclaimed Jed, who seemed greatly annoyed by the close proximity of the muskets, "just turn them stickers the other way, will you?"
None of the young tars, however, paid the least attention to his words, and, indeed, he might as well have spoken to the wind; but Richardson heard the appeal, and, turning to Johnny, inquired:
"Are you sure these men are all right?"
"Certainly I am," was the reply.
"Fall back!" commanded the midshipman. The wall of bayonets was removed, and Jed was immensely relieved. The prisoner was quickly released, and in a few words told the story of his adventures. Bill and Josh were compelled to believe him now, and they apologized so freely that Johnny readily forgave them.
"I suppose it's all right," said the midshipman, "but, to tell the truth, I am disappointed. When I saw you a prisoner, Harding, I was sure that these men were the ones we were looking for. If they had been, we could have captured them easily enough, couldn't we? Now, what's to be done? I have ten good fellows with me, and if we can get Tom Newcombe and his band in as tight a place as we had you a minute ago, they won't stand much chance of escape."
A council of war was held on the spot, and, after Johnny had repeated the conversation he had had with Tom Newcombe in the store, Richardson was satisfied that he knew what had become of the Sweepstakes. He decided to go into the cove at once, and Jed volunteered to act as guide. They would approach as close to the pirates as they could without giving the alarm, and then they would charge upon them and overpower them. The sailors would attack the robbers, and leave the Crusoe men to the care of Johnny and his three friends, all except Tom Newcombe, whom the midshipman regarded as his own especial property. When all the details of their plan had been discussed, Richardson gave the signal to Jed, who led the way down the path.
The governor and his band were certainly in a predicament. A half dozen tugs were, by this time cruising about the bay in all directions; the Storm King lay at the upper end of the shoals under the bluffs, her crew kept constantly at quarters, in readiness to board the Sweepstakes if she came out; and a strong force, under command of the midshipman, was preparing to assault the pirates in their hiding-place. Harry thought he had them surrounded; and there were few, indeed, among the Crusoe men who did not believe that their voyage was at an end. It is true they had a way of escape from the cove that the students knew nothing about—by the channel that ran across the lower end of the shoals—but who among them could promise that they would not meet a tug there when they went out? Even Tom, who was generally expert at finding his way out of difficulties, believed it was all over with the Crusoe band. He leaned against the rail and looked down into the water; the governor thoughtfully paced the deck, and the rest of the band stood in a group in the waist, watching the movements of their officers, and waiting impatiently for them to make known their plans.
"Come, skipper," said Sam, at length, "why don't you wake up and talk to us?"
"O now, what shall I say?" drawled Tom. "I am the unluckiest boy in the whole world!"
"We've heard that a thousand times," said the governor, impatiently. "We're all of us unlucky, for the matter of that. But what shall we do? Are we goin' to give up?"
"No, we are not. We have had a good many adventures to-night. I don't believe that any other boys of our age ever came safely out of as many scrapes as we have been into, and now we are not going to allow ourselves to be cornered, like rats in an oat-bin. We must leave here at once."
"I say, governor," suddenly exclaimed one of the robbers, who had made the circuit of the cove without finding any way of egress, "how do you get out of this hole?"
"We don't go out at all," replied the chief. "We stay in."
"We do not intend to remain here any longer. We have wasted time enough with you, and now we are going off on our own hook."
"Well, then, why don't you go?" drawled the skipper
"Because we can't find any way out of the cove."
"We don't want nothing more to do with you two fellers, whatsomever," said Sam. "Go off about your business."
"Now see here, boys, this thing has gone about far enough. We've had more than we want of this nonsense, and we'll teach you to give a civil answer to a civil question. We are going out, and one of you must show us the way," said the burglar; and, as he spoke, he came on board the schooner, and, striding up to Sam, seized him by the collar.
"Let me be!" roared the chief.
"Will you guide us to the top of the cliff?"
"Will you pay us the thousand dollars you promised us for taking you out to sea?" whined Tom. "If you go back from your word, you need not ask favors of us."
"You have not taken us to sea yet."
"That's because you haven't given us a chance. We can do it, and we will, too, if you will stay with us."
"Let go my collar, I say!" shouted Sam.
"Answer my question first," replied the robber.
"I don't know nothing about a way to the top of the cliff. Stand by, here, fellers. Hit him with a handspike, somebody."
The Crusoe men began to bustle about in a state of intense excitement, and the other burglar leaped over the rail to assist his companion. There was a lively prospect for a fight, and, no doubt, if Tom Newcombe had not interposed, the deck of the pirate vessel would have been the scene of a desperate conflict. The governor and his men were very much enraged at their passengers, and were fully determined that they should not leave the cove until they had kept their promise, in regard to the thousand dollars. Sam was a very stubborn fellow, and the robber would have found it a much more difficult task than he had bargained for to force the secret of the path from him. "It's no use, mister," said he, doggedly. "You may shake me as much as you please, but I just ain't a goin' to tell you what you want to know till I see the color of that money. You promised to give it to us, an' we're bound to have it. Punch him in the ribs with your boat-hook, Friday."
"O now, look here!" drawled the skipper. "I won't have any quarreling and fighting on a vessel I command. Stand back, Friday. Put away that handspike, Xury. If you are determined to leave us, I'll send a man to show you the way up the cliff."
"No you won't, neither!" shouted Sam, indignant at the proposition.
"But if I do," continued Tom, without noticing the interruption, "you won't gain any thing by it. On the contrary, you will find yourselves in ten times the danger you are in now; for the prisoner we had confined in that cabin has escaped, and of course he has alarmed every body on the island. We are going to sea again, immediately, and, if you will remain with us, and behave yourselves, we will take you to a place of safety. You ought to remember that we don't want to be captured any more than you do."
"But you have got the whole village after you," said the burglar.
"Look here, mister, be you goin' to let go my collar?" asked Sam.
"It is by no means certain that every man in Newport is afterus," said Tom. "Don't you suppose there are some in pursuit ofyou? Your best plan would be to remain with us; and, if we succeed in getting out of the bay, we will land you on some island, out of reach of the police officers and the telegraph. If we find our escape cut off, we will run our vessel ashore and take to the woods."
The burglar seemed to be impressed with Tom's arguments, for he released the governor, and turned to consult with his companion; while Sam, who was utterly amazed at Tom, led him off on one side and inquired:
"Hain't you made a nice mess of it now? Do you intend to show them fellers the way up the cliff?"
"Of course I do."
"Well now, skipper," said the governor, doubling his fist, and shaking it in the air, "of all the mean things I ever knew you to do, this yere is the beat. Have you forgot that we want to pay them for tryin' to cheat us?"
"No, indeed," replied Tom, emphatically. "I am bound to carry out my new idea, and you have seen enough of me to-night to know that I mean what I say. We will guide them up the path as far as the chasm, and leave them. We'll tell them that we had a bridge across there, but it is gone; and that they'll have to get over the best way they can. In the meantime I will turn the schooner around, and, when I am ready to sail, I'll send you word; and I'll wager my share of the thousand dollars that the robbers, rather than be left alone in the cove, will come with us."
"Humph!" grunted the chief. "You're trustin' a good deal to luck, 'pears to me. Mebbe that plan will work, an' mebbe it won't. If we lose our passage-money, we can thank you for it."
"What else can we do?" asked Tom. "It's the only way I know of to avoid a fight."
"Well, captain," said the burglar, who had thus far done the most of the talking, and who answered to the name of Sanders, "we've concluded that we had better go. You can send a man to show us up the path."
"All right," replied Tom. "You have acted very meanly toward us, and you may have the satisfaction of knowing that you take with you our best wishes for your speedy capture. Governor, you and Atkins guide them up the path, and the rest of us stand by to get the vessel under-way."
Sam thought that the skipper, in spite of his assertions to the contrary, had either given up all hopes of carrying his new idea into execution, or else, that the disappointment he had experienced in the failure of his plans against the yacht, had turned his brain. This new scheme of his for avoiding a fight with the robbers, the governor regarded as a sure method of throwing away their last chance for obtaining possession of the passage-money. If the burglars left the cove, the Crusoe men would never see them again, and the only thing that would prevent them from so doing, was the difficulty of bridging the chasm; and that could be easily overcome.
"Good-by to them thousand dollars," growled the governor, as he lighted his lantern and led the way toward the path. "I'd a heap sooner have a fight with the bugglars, than let them off so easy. They can build a bridge in five minutes."
There were other obstacles, however, besides the building of the bridge, that stood in the way of the robbers leaving the cove, that neither Sam nor Tom knew any thing about; but the former discovered them the instant he came in sight of the chasm. He stopped, astonished at the scene before him.
When Josh and Bill went into the cove to release Jed, they had built a bridge of saplings, by the aid of which the storming party was about to invade the governor's stronghold. Midshipman Richardson was half-way across the bridge, and Johnny Harding, who had armed himself with a heavy club, was preparing to follow the young officer as soon as he was safely over. Behind Johnny stood the young tars, leaning on their muskets, one of them holding a powerful dark lantern, which rendered objects in the vicinity of the bridge as plainly visible as though it had been broad daylight. The chief saw and comprehended, and a smile of exultation lighted up his face, but speedily gave way to an expression of alarm. There was some satisfaction in knowing that the robbers could not leave the cove, and that he and his band might yet have an opportunity to secure the valise and its contents; but there was little to be found in the knowledge of the fact that he was on the point of being attacked by a force that outnumbered his two to one. Sam recognized the midshipman, and knew instinctively that something was going to happen. The fight in the harbor had taught him that the young officer was an unpleasant fellow to have about.
"Ah, Mr. Barton, we 're glad to see you," said Richardson, when he had recovered from his surprise. "You are just the man we are looking for. You may consider yourself a prisoner—you and your villainous companions there. Your harboring place is completely surrounded, and you will save yourselves trouble if you surrender at once."
"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Will Atkins, looking about him, as if seeking some avenue of escape. As he did so, his eyes rested on the pile of stones which he and Jack Spaniard had collected to defend their breastwork against the assaults of the governor, and a bright idea struck him. "Sam," he whispered, "let's heave them rocks at him, an' drive him back, an' then throw down the bridge."
The chief was prompt to act upon the suggestion. He and Atkins sprang behind the breastwork, and, before the midshipman could make up his mind what they were going to do, the stones were flying about him in a perfect shower. It would have been utter folly to stand longer upon the bridge in that exposed position, and, without waiting for a second volley, the officer turned and took to his heels.
"Hurrah for Governor Barton and the Crusoe men," shouted Sam. "You needn't talk to us about surrenderin', 'cause we ain't them kind of fellers, as I told you once before to-night. Chuck the bridge into the gully, Atkins."
If the chief imagined that he had disposed of the attacking party, he soon discovered his mistake. They were by no means defeated simply because their commanding officer had been driven from his position on the bridge. They had come there to capture the pirates, and they knew that two of them carried revolvers in their pockets. If the knowledge of that fact was not enough to turn them from their purpose, they were not likely to be frightened away by such missiles as Sam and his man had discharged at them. They were sharp enough to know that the bridge was the key to the enemy's position, and that much depended upon their ability to prevent Atkins from carrying out the governor's order. Stones were plenty on their side of the chasm, and there was also nearly half a bushel of potatoes left of those Sam had used against the mutineers. They were prompt to follow the example set them by the enemy, and, when Will Atkins ran forward to throw the bridge into the chasm, the order to halt, which he disregarded, was enforced by a volley of stones and potatoes that made the path in the vicinity of the bridge so uncomfortable that the Crusoe man was glad to retreat.
"Go on," thundered the governor. "That bridge must come down."
"Well, you can throw it down yourself," retorted Atkins "I ain't in no hurry to be hit by them taters an' rocks."
"Keep away from that bridge," said the midshipman. "Harding, if you and your three friends will act as artillery-men, we'll charge across and capture those fellows—the Crusoe men, I mean. Of course we can't arrest the robbers unless we can take some advantage of them; but we can keep them in here until we can send word to Mr. Grimes, and I don't think they will dare use their revolvers on him. If they find that they are fairly cornered, they won't have the courage to resist an officer of the law."
"But how can we keep them in?" asked Bill.
"Easy enough. If they attempt to come across the bridge we'll pepper them with stones. If they return to their vessel, and go out the other way, we can't help it. That's Harry Green's business. Simmonds," he added, "go down and report to the first lieutenant that we have found the pirates, that the robbers are with them, and that we are preparing to attack them."
The midshipman was almost on the point of adding: "And tell him that he had better send for re-enforcements and keep a bright lookout for the Sweepstakes, for she may try to run by him;" but he did not say it, for he knew that it was no part of his business to instruct his superior officer. Harry was smart enough to attend to all such matters, and Richardson was sure that he would neglect no precautions to insure the capture of all the schooner's crew.
"Now," continued the young officer, when Simmonds had started off to obey the order, "open fire on them, and drive them into the bushes, so that they can't throw at us."
Although Richardson spoke in a tone so low that the governor could not catch his words, he knew what he was saying, and saw the necessity of making some arrangements to offer a decided resistance to the advance of the students. "Atkins," he whispered, "go down an' bring up the rest of the fellers. That bridge must come away from there, or them spooneys will be down on us like a hawk on a June bug."
"Suppose we point our revolvers at them," said Sanders.
"What good will that do? They ain't easy scared, an' they know you wouldn't dare to shoot them as well as you know it yourself. What I am afraid of is, that they will send off after more help. We must get out of here to onct, but we must throw that bridge down first, or they will catch us before we can get our vessel under-way."
Scarcely had Sam ceased speaking when the artillery-men opened fire on him, and he and his companions were driven to the shelter of the bushes; but not until a potato, thrown by Jed, his former prisoner, had smashed his lantern and extinguished the light. The bull's-eye of the dark lantern was turned full upon the place where he had taken refuge, and, although the artillery-men could not see him, they kept up a continuous shower of missiles, hoping to confine him so closely in his concealment that he could not return the fire. In this they thought they were successful, for not a single stone was thrown from Sam Barton's side of the chasm, and the midshipman, believing that he had retreated to his vessel, gave the order to advance, and led the way upon the bridge. The governor, however, had never once thought of retreating. He was still in a position to defend the cove, and, moreover, he had been re-enforced by Tom Newcombe and the rest of the band. While the fire from the artillery-men was the hottest, the Crusoe men and their allies had been quietly collecting ammunition and patiently awaiting an opportunity to use it. The burglars worked as hard as the rest, and Sanders, little dreaming how closely his movements were watched by all the members of the band, hid his valise in the bushes, and stood with his arms full of stones, ready to fire upon the young tars when they came in sight. This did not escape the notice of Sam Barton, who mentally resolved that, the instant the bridge was thrown into the chasm, he would catch up the valise and run for the vessel. He and his men were well enough acquainted with the path to travel it rapidly in the dark, and they might, perhaps, succeed in getting the Sweepstakes under-way before the burglars could reach her. This plan he communicated in a whisper to Tom, who declared himself strongly in favor of it, and watched his opportunity to reveal it to the other members of the band. The Crusoe men were all intensely excited, and heartily enjoyed their anticipated triumph over the robbers.
The governor and his companions, who dared not show so much as the tops of their hats above the bushes, could not see what was going on among the students, but they had a plain view of about half the bridge, and when the attacking party appeared they opened so hot a fire upon it that the advance was speedily checked, the column thrown into confusion, and the young tars, after expending all the ammunition they had brought with them, in the vain attempt to dislodge the enemy, retreated precipitately to the shelter of the trees on the opposite side of the chasm.
"Now's your time, governor," exclaimed Sanders, who entered as heartily into the work, and was as much interested in what was going on, as though he had been a boy himself; "rush out and throw down the bridge."
"Well, now, if you are in such a hurry to see that bridge come down, you had better rush out there yourself," replied Sam. "I can't see any sense in a feller's puttin' himself in the way of gettin' his head broke."
"We whipped 'em, didn't we?" said Xury.
"O yes, we did, but what good will it do?" drawled the captain. "They'll keep on charging us as long as that bridge is there. All they want is to employ us here till daylight, and by that time we must be out of the bay, or we can just consider ourselves captured. I've got another idea," he added, suddenly. "Mr. Mate, send a man to the vessel after a rope."
"Will Atkins," said Xury, "go down and fetch up a rope."
"Will Atkins! Will Atkins!" repeated the owner of that name, angrily. "It's always Will Atkins, if there is any thing to be done. Aint there nobody in this band that can do nothing besides Will Atkins?"
"Go on, now, an' bring up that rope, an' quit your growlin'," commanded the governor, sternly.
Atkins sullenly started down the path, grumbling to himself as he went, and vowing vengeance against the officers of the band. The mutinous spirit in him was as strong as ever, and only awaited a favorable opportunity to break forth again in open opposition to the governor's authority. He spent a good deal of time in searching for the rope, and, before he returned to the chasm, the Crusoe men had successfully resisted another attempt, on the part of the students, to charge across the bridge.
"How are things in the village?" asked the governor, as Atkins spitefully threw the rope down in front of Tom. "Did you see Mr. Henry?"
"I hain't been near the village for two hours," replied the discontented member.
"Well, you might have been there and back two or three times, since you went away. I concluded you couldn't find a rope on board the vessel, and had gone over to Mr. Henry's store for one."
Some sharp words passed between the governor and his man, and while the conversation was going on, Tom completed his arrangements for carrying out his new idea, which were very simple. He coiled the rope on the ground so that it would run out rapidly, and to one end of it fastened a heavy stone. "I understand it all, now," said the chief. "That bridge is bound to come down. Be ready to run, fellers, the minute I grab the valise," he added, in a whisper.
Tom's first attempt to remove the bridge was successful. He threw the
stone over it, hauled in on the rope, and in a moment more the saplings were lying at the bottom of the chasm. The yell of indignation which arose from the students, mingled with the triumphant shouts of the Crusoe men.
"That's the way to do it," cried Sanders. "We are all right now. I say! Hold on, there, boy!" he continued, in quite a different tone of voice, when he saw the governor, with the valise in his hand, disappear around the bend in the path, closely followed by his men. "What do you mean? Stop, I tell you."
The burglars looked as though they thought it was not all right with them after all. They stood for an instant irresolute, and then started in hot pursuit of the Crusoe men, dashing recklessly down the slippery path, apparently all unconscious of the fact that a single misstep would precipitate them upon the rocks forty feet below. They reached the cove in safety, having made such good use of their time that, when the governor sprang over the schooner's rail, they were close at his heels. Sam was astonished, and highly enraged, but accepted the situation as gracefully as he could. Seeing that his plan for "getting even" with the robbers had failed, he placed the valise against the rail, and said, innocently:
"There's your money, mister. Cap'n, get under-way, to onct."
Sanders looked sharply at the governor. He had nothing to say, but he resolved that as long as he remained on board the Sweepstakes, he would never for an instant release his hold upon the valise. He believed the chief had some designs upon it.
"I reckon you'll stay with us now, won't you?" asked Sam.
"We must, I suppose," replied Sanders. "What are you going to do? Do you intend to cross the breakers again?"
"Sartin; there aint no other way to get out of the cove."
The actions of the burglars very plainly indicated that they did not like the idea of again attempting the passage of the shoals; and Sam himself would have been very glad indeed if there had been some less dangerous avenue of escape open to them. He could not forget the rock on the outer edge of the breakers, nor the risk he had run there a few hours before. Every thing being ready for the start, he went to the wheel, the line with which the schooner was made fast to the bank was cast off, and she moved slowly out of the cove. The skipper stationed two men at the fore and main sheets, placed Xury in the waist to pass orders, and then took his stand beside the governor. The latter would have stoutly denied that he felt the least nervousness or timidity, but his compressed lips and trembling hands told a different story. All the Crusoe men were more or less alarmed, with the exception of the mate, who was as careless and indifferent as ever. Nothing seemed to disturb him. He stood leaning against the rail, whistling a lively tune, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes fastened on the rock at the opposite side of the shoals. He never moved a muscle when a huge wave carried the schooner almost over the ledge, and, when the order was given to haul in the sheets, he repeated it with as much calmness as he would have exhibited had the Sweepstakes been in smooth water, and running before a favorable breeze. The passage was safely accomplished, much to the relief of every one on board; and again the Crusoe men told themselves that they had dared the fury of the shoals for the last time. Where was the Storm King all this while? She was still lying at the upper end of the breakers, waiting for the Sweepstakes. Her commander did not know there were two channels that led across the shoals.
To say that Tom Newcombe was delighted to find himself once more out of the cove and safely across the shoals, would but feebly express his feelings. He had never expected to see the bay again except as a prisoner. While he was in the cove and besieged by the students, he would willingly have disposed of his interest in the Crusoe band, and freely surrendered his share of the passage money, if he could have wiped out the record of that night. He had not seen a single hour's peace since he joined Sam Barton's society. He had constantly been in some trouble or other. It would have been well enough with him, he thought, if the governor had not turned up again—Tom had a great habit of laying the responsibility of his misdeeds upon other shoulders than his own—and he had more than once wished that the spar which had brought Sam into the harbor had drifted the other way, and carried him out to sea, and that he had been picked up by some vessel and taken to China or some other remote quarter of the globe. In short, when the captain of the Crusoe band found that his voyage was in danger of being brought to a speedy termination, he had been very hard on the governor, and had felt disposed to look on the dark side of things; but now that he was once more bounding over the waves of the bay before a fine breeze, and with not a tug or sailing vessel in sight, his spirits rose again. He was once more ready to believe that the expedition might prove successful. After bringing himself safely out of all the difficulties he had been in that night, it would be singular indeed if he could not find some way to overcome the obstacles yet before him. There was no immediate danger to be apprehended from the students. Harry Green had been outwitted, and with proper precautions their other pursuers might also be avoided. He sent Xury to relieve the governor at the wheel, and ordered him to hold the schooner directly across the bay toward the main land. His plan was to run as close to the shore as the depth of the water would permit. It was dark in the shadow of the bluffs, and if there were any tugs between him and the entrance to the bay, he hoped to run by them unnoticed.
Now that the danger attending the crossing of the shoals was passed, the Crusoe men could think about other matters. Tom and the governor, after exulting over their escape, pondered upon the failure of their plan for obtaining possession of the valise, and Atkins nursed his wrath against the officers of the band. The mutineer no longer desired the success of the expedition. All he cared for was to insure his own safety, and to be revenged upon the governor, Tom, and Xury.
"We'll never see Crusoe's island nohow," said he, to himself. "Tommy aint sailor enough to take us through a bay twenty-five miles long, with tugs runnin' up an' down it all the time lookin' fur us. We're bound to be ketched sooner or later. But just s'pose we do find our island! What fun will I see livin' there? It'll be Atkins, Atkins, all the whole time. Atkins will have to do every thing, and them lazy officers will sit around in the shade an' see me work. I aint a going to be a servant fur nobody, an' the best thing I can do is to leave the band. Jack Spaniard, come here."
The governor was well enough acquainted with Atkins to know that, after what had transpired at the bridge, it was best to keep a close watch over him. When he saw him standing sullen and alone on the forecastle, he knew that he was brooding over his wrongs, and, when Jack Spaniard joined him, Sam was sure there was mischief brewing. He saw them engage in a whispered consultation, and, when he could stand it no longer, he walked up to them, and laid a hand upon the shoulder of each.
"See here, my hearties," said he, "what's goin' on? It looks mighty suspicious to see your two heads so close together. Be you studyin' up another mutiny? If you are, you can bear two things in mind: One is, that you will come out at the little end of the horn, just as you did before. The other, that you won't get off so easy, by no means."
"We aint quite so foolish," replied Atkins. "What could me an' Jack do
ag'in you four fellers? We were talkin' about that money, an' we've thought up a way to get it. Mebbe it won't work, but there's no harm in tryin' it, you know."
The governor listened attentively while Atkins unfolded his plan, and said it contained some suggestions that were well worth listening to. The discontented member did not, however, tell all that he and his companion had been talking about. He kept back some things which, had he repeated them to the chief, would have brought him into trouble immediately.
Sam went aft to consult with Tom, and presently the schooner's bow veered around until it pointed toward one of the numerous islands that lay near the middle of the bay. In reply to a question from Sanders, Tom said:
"We're going to land. It isn't safe to continue our cruise at present, for it is nearly daylight. There is a creek on Deer Island, and we think it best to conceal ourselves there until night."
The governor and his men kept a bright lookout while they were running across the bay toward the island, but none of their pursuers were in sight, and, after coasting along the shore for a short distance, the Sweepstakes entered the creek of which Tom had spoken. Half an hour afterward she was snugly hidden in the bushes that grew in the water along the edge of the bank, and her crew were stretched out on the deck, sleeping soundly, after their night of excitement and adventure—all except Will Atkins, who had been ordered to keep awake and watch for the enemy. This was another injustice that the mutineer declared he would not submit to. Wasn't he as sleepy as the others? and was there no one in the band except himself who could stand watch? Because Tom, Sam, and Xury were officers, was it any reason why they should shirk their share of the work? Atkins could not see that it was, and he told himself that he was about to do something that would make ample amends for all he had endured at their hands.
But keeping a lookout for their pursuers was not the only duty Atkins was expected to perform. He had a difficult and dangerous task to accomplish, and one that he would rather had fallen to the lot of some other member of the band. While he paced up and down the deck he thought more of the passengers and their money than he did of the tugs that might at any moment come steaming up the creek. The robbers lay upon the forecastle, Sanders with the valise under his head for a pillow, and both of them were snoring loudly. Atkins was sure they were sound asleep, but he was too wary to ruin his plans by being in too great a hurry. He allowed an hour to pass before he made any attempt to secure the valise—that was the extra duty he was expected to perform—and then he went about his work very cautiously. With a step that would not have awakened a cricket, he crossed the deck and took his stand beside the rail, within easy reach of the robbers. After assuring himself that there was no sham about their sleep, he placed his foot against the valise and began pushing it from under Sanders's head. Slowly and cautiously was the movement executed, Atkins scarcely daring to breathe the while, lest it should arouse the robber, and, at last, he had the satisfaction of seeing Sanders's head roll down upon the deck. Quick as a flash Atkins's foot came back beside the other, and if the burglar had awakened then he would have seen him leaning over the rail, gazing into the bushes ahead of the vessel, and looking as innocent as a boy of that kind could look. But Sanders was not aroused. Wearied with his night's work, he still snored lustily, and Atkins congratulated himself on having accomplished the most dangerous part of his undertaking.
The next step was to arouse the band. He did not touch the valise again, but left it lying on the deck and crept to the place where the governor was sleeping. "Sam," he whispered, "it's all right. I've got the money."
"No!" exclaimed the governor, starting up and rubbing his eyes. "Where is it?"
"I left it layin' close to him, so that if he wakes up before we are ready to start he will think that his head rolled off of its own accord."
"You're a brick," said the governor, approvingly. "This 'most makes me forget that you were a mutineer. Call the other fellers an' we'll be off."
Atkins was on the point of obeying this order when, to the intense chagrin of both the Crusoe men, Sanders awoke with a start, and, raising himself on his elbow, looked about him. Seeing the governor on his feet he inquired:
"What's going on there?"
"Nothing," replied Sam, "only I must take my turn standin' watch now."
The robber raised a pair of very sleepy-looking eyes toward the clouds, remarked that it was pretty near daylight, and then, pulling the valise under his head, went off into the land of dreams again.
"Did you ever see such luck?" growled Atkins. "The whole thing must be done over again."
"Well, you can do it, can't you?" asked Sam.
"I reckon I could, but I just aint a goin' to try. You told me to get the valise out from under his head an' call you, an' I done it. 'Taint my fault that he woke up. If you want any thing more done you can do it yourself."
"I guess I am as good a hand at that kind of business as you are," said the chief. "Let's call up the other fellers, so that if I get the valise we can start to onct."
The Crusoe men were quietly aroused, but still remained stretched out on the deck, watching the governor, and ready to move when he gave the word. He approached the robber with more fear and trembling than he had ever before exhibited in the presence of the members of the band, for he could not help thinking of what would be done to him if the burglar should chance to awake and find him meddling with his pillow. Sanders had had nothing to say when Sam ran away with his valise in the cove, but he had looked very savage, and the governor did not care to be caught in the act of robbing him. He was a long time at his work, but finally the burglar's head rolled down on the deck again, and Sam hastily picked up the valise and joined his companions. They followed him to the stern, let themselves silently down into the water, and swam after the governor, who, holding his prize above his head with one hand, struck out for the farthest shore with the other. They all cast frequent and anxious glances over their shoulders, and made their way through the water with all the speed they could command, expecting every instant to hear the bullets from the burglars' revolvers whistling about their ears. But nothing of the kind happened. Sanders and his companion slept on, all unconscious of their loss, and the Crusoe men crossed the creek in safety and disappeared among the bushes that lined the bank. Tom Newcombe's idea had been successfully carried out, and Atkins was the one who had suggested the way.
The governor and his band would perhaps have been astonished to know that, while they were revenging themselves upon the robbers, they were playing into the hands of one of their pursuers. But it turned out that such was the fact; and if Johnny Harding, who was at that moment standing on the deck of the Storm King, disappointed and utterly disheartened, could have received intelligence of what had just transpired on the deck of the pirate vessel, he would have danced for joy. Johnny was not one who made loud boasts of what he intended to do. He possessed quite as much courage as the majority of his fellows, but he did not deny that he was afraid of the robbers. He even confessed
that if he should overtake them he would be at a loss to know how to recover the money. But there was no one in the Crusoe band that he was afraid of, and if he had known that his employer's property was in possession of the governor, he would have been certain of success.
"We're even with them fellers now," said the chief, as he and his men concealed themselves in a thicket of bushes, from which they could watch the schooner without being observed themselves. "We'll larn 'em how to swindle us. Five thousand dollars! That's a heap of money, aint it, fellers?"
(The Crusoe men did not know how much money they had in their possession. Sanders had told them that there were five thousand dollars in the safe, and they imagined that was the amount in the valise. Had they known that it was more than seven thousand dollars, their excitement, which was already intense, would have known no bounds.)