An automobile chugging along at the rate of thirty miles an hour whirled around a bend in the road from the eastward and approached the youths, who halted and looked wonderingly at it. The youthful chauffeur bent over the steering wheel, and beside him sat a bearded, grim-looking man in middle life, with a big brass badge on his breast. The two were the only occupants of the car, the broad rear seat being unoccupied.
The moment the constable, as he was, caught sight of the lads, he raised his hand to signify he had business with them. At the same time the chauffeur slowed up in front of Alvin and Chester. The officer leaped out before the car had hardly stopped and strode toward them.
"I want you!" was his crisp remark.
"What do you want of us?" asked the astonished Alvin.
"I'll blame soon show you. No shenanigan! Hand over your pistols."
"We haven't any; you are the only one hereabouts that's armed," said the Captain, observing that the man had drawn a revolver.
"In here with you! I've no time to fool!"
The lads resented his peremptory manner. Chester asked:
"Why should we get into your auto? We prefer to choose our own company; we don't like your looks."
"I know mighty well you don't, nor do I likeyourlooks, but that makes no difference. In with you, I say, or I'll blow your heads off!"
The alarming words and action of the officer left no doubt of his earnestness. Alvin replied:
"We have a right to know why you arrest us; we have done nothing unlawful."
"I don't mind reminding you that the Rockledge post office was robbed last night. Banet Raymond the postmaster said it was done by three scoundrels—all wearing masks and dressed in yachting clothes. They came this way; where's the other fellow?"
"We had a companion with us when we came up the Sheepscot, but he's gone in search of our boat that some one stole from us a little while ago."
"You're the skeezicks I'm after; we'll soon have the third burglar."
"What do you mean to do with us?" asked Alvin. "Where is your warrant?"
"I don't need any."
Neither he nor Chester was alarmed. The arrest could have but one issue, since sooner or later their identity would be proved; but the situation was exasperating, for it promised to interfere with their capture of the stolen boat or at least cause serious delay in making the search. It was dangerous to trifle with an officer who was in no mood to accept any excuse from the couple whom he believed to be criminals. He added:
"Robbing a post office is a crime against Uncle Sam, and he's a pretty hard proposition to buck against. If you have a story to tell me, I'll give you three minutes to do it in."
The two stepped beside the auto, the glum chauffeur silently watching them.
"It's all well enough for you to be so bumptious in the performance of what you may think is your duty," said Alvin, looking into the iron countenance, "but I suppose you have made a mistake once or twice in your lifetime."
"What's that got to do with this business? Who are you?"
"My name is Alvin Landon and my friend here is Chester Haynes. Our parents each have a summer home on Southport, opposite Squirrel Island. My father made me a present of a motor boat a short time ago; we have been cruising about the bay and islands for several weeks; this morning we left home with a companion, an Irish lad named Mike Murphy; we stopped at the blockhouse up the river and went ashore to eat our lunch; while we were doing so, some one ran off with the boat; Mike has gone on a run down stream to see if he can overtake it; we walked to this place and sent a telegram to Point Quarry, inquiring about the craft and learned it had passed there a few minutes before, headed down stream. There you have our story straight and true: what have you to say about it?"
"I don't believe a word of it. Anyhow, you'll have the chance to tell it in court, where you're certain to get justice done you."
The officer handed his weapon to the chauffeur.
"Keep your eye on 'em, Tim, and at the first move, shoot!"
"Yes, sir," responded the chauffeur, showing by his looks that he would have been quite glad of an excuse for displaying his markmanship upon one or both of the prisoners.
His hands thus freed, the officer ran them deftly over the clothing of each lad from his shoulders to his knees, to assure himself they carried no weapons. The search was satisfactory.
"Throwed your guns away, I 'spose. Now for the bracelets."
He whipped out a pair of handcuffs, at sight of which Alvin recoiled with a flush of shame.
"Don't do that, please; we'll give our parole. With your pistol you are not afraid of two unarmed boys."
The appeal touched the pride of the officer, who dropped the handcuffs into the side pocket of his coat.
"Of course I'm not afeared of you, but you might try to give me the slip, if a chance should happen to come your way."
"We will not, for we have nothing to fear."
"All right. You," addressing Alvin, "will sit in front while I take your friend with me on the back seat."
Brief as was the conversation between the constable and his prisoners, it attracted the attention of several men, women and young persons, who gathered round the automobile, and catching the meaning of the incident from the remarks of those concerned, naturally indulged in remarks.
"Seems to me that this part of Maine has become a favorite tramping ground for yeggmen and post office robbers," said a man in white flannels, with a tennis racquet in one hand and two tennis balls in the other. "These gentlemen have begun young."
"Who would think it of them?" asked the sweet girl at his side.
"Can't judge a fellow by his looks."
"Which is fortunate for you, Algernon."
He lifted his hat in mock obeisance.
An older man, probably a member of the same party of players, spoke oracularly:
"You needn't say that, Gwendolen; youcanjudge a person by his looks. Now just to look at the face of that chap on the front seat. He is rather handsome, but it is easy to see that the stamp of crime is there, as plain as the sun at noonday. Like enough he is a tough from the Bowery of New York."
"And the one on the rear seat beside the officer isn't any better," said a middle-aged woman, peering through her eyeglasses. "Just think of two as young as they robbing a post office for a few paltry dollars, and almost beating the life out of the old postmaster! Ugh! it would serve them right if they were lynched."
Every word of this and many more were heard by Alvin and Chester during their brief debate with the officer. It "added to the gayety of nations" and caused Alvin to turn his head and say to his friend:
"Give a dog a bad name, Chester—you know the rest. We don't seem to have made a very good impression in Charmount. I never knew I looked so much like a double-dyed villain."
"I have noticed it many times and it has caused me much pain."
"It might distress me, if we both were not in the same boat."
"We have often been in the same boat, but I don't know that we ever shall be again. Ah, you have one friend in Charmount."
"Who is he?" asked Alvin, with quick interest.
"It's ashe; cast your eye toward the telegraph office."
As Alvin did so, he saw the sweet-looking telegraphist in the door and watching proceedings. He could not resist the temptation to touch his fingers to his lips and waft them toward her. Nothing daunted, she replied similarly, whereat most of the spectators were shocked.
"I should hold her in tender regard," said Alvin, "if she didn't ask such a big price for a look at Mike's telegram."
"How much does she want?"
"Fifty thousand dollars."
"Why didn't you give it her?"
"I didn't happen to have the change with me; can you help me out?"
"I should like to help us both out, but the officer might object."
The chauffeur was backing and turning, and now headed the machine over the road by which he had brought his employer to this spot.
"Where to now?" asked Alvin of their gaoler.
"Augusta—as straight and fast as we can travel."
But Alvin Landon and Chester Haynes down to the present time have never seen the capital of the State of Maine.
The automobile with the constable and two prisoners sped down the road, aiming to stride the main highway leading northward to Augusta. It was a good run, but the machine ought to make it before night closed in, for the days were long and the course was favorable. The officer could have boarded theGardinerat one of the stopping places and made the journey by water, but nothing was to be gained by so doing.
The chauffeur slowed down and honked as he drew near the turn in the roadway. Just then he saw another auto coming from the north and curving about to enter the road leading to Charmount. It was similar to the car in which our friends were riding and held only one passenger who sat beside the chauffeur, the rear seat being empty.
Something in the appearance of the former struck Alvin as familiar. He was middle-aged, neatly dressed, with sandy mustache and slightly stooping shoulders. He looked sharply at the youth as the machines drew nearer. A moment before they came opposite, he called out:
"Hello, Alvin! where are you going? Gabe, what's up?"
The latter query was addressed to the constable, the two being old acquaintances. Each ordered his chauffeur to stop, and they obeyed, with the machines side by side.
It was at this juncture that Chester, who was the first to recognize the man, called to his companion:
"It's Mr. Keyes Richards from Boothbay Harbor. He used to own the Squirrel Inn, but has shifted over to Mouse Island."
"How do you, do, Mr. Richards?" saluted Alvin. "We are glad to meet you."
"But I say what are you doing in this part of the world?" continued the puzzled Richards.
"Askhim," replied Alvin, jerking his head toward the officer behind him.
"Where did you pick up your passengers, Gabe?" inquired the other of the officer, who was somewhat puzzled by the turn matters were taking.
"Do you know them?" was his question.
"Well, rather; they're particular friends of mine; they are staying for the summer on Southport. Are you kidnapping them?"
"That's what he is doing," Chester took upon himself to reply.
Alvin, feeling the humor of the scene, clasped his hands and rolled his eyes toward heaven:
"Oh save us, kind sir! Save us, for he means to eat us up, and then hang us and burn us at the stake. May I not rush to your loving arms, Mr. Richards, before it is too late?"
Richards was more mystified than ever. He didn't know what to make of it all. He kept his gaze upon his old friend the officer, and waited for him to speak. The constable's face had turned crimson, for he was beginning to suspect the truth.
"You have heard of the robbery of the post office at Rockledge, Keyes?"
"Yes; I look for news of something of the kind every few days. What has that to do with my young friends being in a position that looks as if they are your prisoners?"
"Banet Raymond tells me that that robbery was done by three men wearing yachting suits. These two are dressed that way and they admit they had another chap with them, but he's run off, so I arrested them on suspicion—what in thunder are you laughing at?"
Keyes Richards had thrown back his head and his laughter might have been heard half a mile away. As soon as he could speak, he said:
"So you took those two youngsters for burglars of the post office at Rockledge! The joke is on you, Gabe, and I'll make sure all your friends hear of it. Haw! haw! haw!"
The poor officer squirmed and asked sullenly:
"How should I know who they were? I never saw 'em before."
"You've had enough experience to judge a little by looks; your own small amount of sense ought to tell you better than this."
"That's what I did go by. Don't you think that they look like a couple of desperate criminals?"
And the officer turned his head, scrutinized the youth at his side and then leaned over and squinted at Alvin, as if he saw both for the first time. Chester felt sympathy for the man, and waiting for Richards to recover from his renewed outburst said:
"We must be hard looking fellows, for every one in the crowd who saw us leave Charmount agreed that we were a couple of villains."
"And one woman thought lynching wasn't too good for us."
"Well, Gabe, do you intend to carry them to Augusta?"
"Of course not, now that you vouch for them—unless they want to go there," he added.
"Can you take us with you, Mr. Richards?"
"I am on my way to Charmount to board the boat for Boothbay. I shall be glad to have your company."
"Have we your permission, officer?" asked Alvin, looking round at their guardian, as he partly rose to his feet.
The constable was uneasy. Moving about in his seat, he asked:
"I say, young men, you haven't any hard feelings agin me?"
Keyes Richards overheard the question and his waggishness could not be repressed.
"You boys have a clear case against Gabe; you ought to have no trouble in soaking him for ten or twenty thousand dollars damages."
"Is that a fact?" asked Alvin, pausing in stepping from one car to another, as if suddenly impressed by the idea.
"Gabe owns one of the finest farms in Lincoln county; you will have no trouble at all to get it from him."
The officer would have been scared almost out of his wits had he not caught the wink of Richards and the responsive smile of Alvin. The sympathetic youth replied:
"It is all right, officer, though we should have felt different if you had put those handcuffs on us. We have had a little fun and don't mind it. Good-by."
Each boy shook hands with the grim fellow, who was vastly relieved by their good will.
"You know we have to take chances now and then, but I always try to do my duty regardless of consequences."
"You have a hard job before you, Gabe, but I hope you will win; no one deserves it more," said Richards.
And the parties separated in the best of humor.
The run to Charmount was quickly made. Nearly all who saw the departure of the officer with the prisoners witnessed their return in the company of Keyes H. Richards, who was well known to nearly everybody from Augusta to the mouth of the Kennebec. He saluted a number of persons and the chauffeur who had brought him to that point circled his machine about, and skimmed off after the fleeing constable, who must have been many miles up the road by that time.
It was some minutes before the little group could understand the turn of affairs. Alvin lifted his cap to the woman who had thought that he and his companion deserved lynching and said:
"If you feel that we should be executed we are here to receive our sentence."
She stared at the impudent youngster, sniffed and flirted away without reply. The tennis player who insisted that the looks of the lads proved their villainy did not at first quite grasp the situation. He aimlessly patted his hip with his racquet and looked and wondered. Alvin with his winsome grin addressed him:
"We are unlucky that our faces give us away, but it can't be helped. The constable became so disgusted with us that he turned his prisoners over to Mr. Richards."
"Does he know you?" asked the other unabashed.
"It looks that way, doesn't it?"
"I have no doubt he was the third burglar who stuck up the Rockledge post office. You are all tarred with the same stick. However, I'll promise to drop in on you if they send you to Atlanta to keep company with Uncle Sam's guests—for I intend to make a business trip South next month."
"Are you sure it is solely onbusiness?" was the pointed inquiry of Chester.
"That is the present outlook, but if this post office robbing industry picks up a little more, you and I might join hands and whack up."
"Chester, we aren't making much here," said Alvin. "Suppose we pay our respects to the pert young lady who rattles the telegraph key."
They walked into the little building, while Richards stayed outside and explained that the fathers of the boys owned about half the city of New York and most of the railway lines westward to the Rocky Mountains; that they would probably buy Southport, Squirrel, Outer Heron and a number of other islands by the close of next season; that their sons were two of the finest-grained young gentlemen that had ever honored Maine with a visit; that young Landon was the owner of the prettiest motor boat ever seen in those waters, and that it was stolen exactly as they had described, and he was going to give them all the help he could in recovering it. If any one of his listeners wished to earn a handsome reward, all he had to do was to find the boat. Suffice it to say, the story of Mr. Richards made a sensation, and Alvin and Chester became objects of profounder interest than when they were prisoners charged with the crime of robbing a post office.
The young heroes never heard anything of these amazing yarns, for they had entered the telegraph office to see the bright-eyed operator who had had her fling at them. She glanced up from her table as she finished clicking off a message, and remarked:
"Out on bail I suppose; the next thing no doubt, you will skip."
"Would you blame us?" asked Alvin. "The punishment for that sort of thing is pretty severe."
"Ten or twenty years, I believe."
"Something like that, with considerable off for good behavior."
"You're not likely to get any allowance forthat—there's your boat!" she exclaimed, as the hoarse whistle of a steamer sounded from the river. Alvin would have liked to make appropriate reply to this irony, but really he had no time to think one up. He and his chum hurried out, merely calling good-by to her.
The steamer was a small one running between Wiscasset and Boothbay Harbor by way of the Sheepscot. She rounded gracefully to at the wharf at Charmount, making fast with the ease of long habit, and amid the trucks, laden with freight and shoved and pulled by trotting men, nearly a dozen passengers hurried aboard, among them being Mr. Richards and his young friends.
Leaving Alvin and Chester to themselves, Richards entered the pilot house where he shook hands with the captain and sat down. The visitor was welcome wherever he went, for every one knew him as among the most trustworthy of men. During the brief halt at the landing, Richards told his story to which the captain listened attentively.
"I have noticed that boat," he remarked; "she is one of the prettiest in these parts; it was a daring piece of thievery, and is sure to get the scamps into trouble."
"I want you to keep a lookout on the way to Squirrel."
"Don't I always do that, Keyes?"
"I am not certain; but a good many folks think so, and that's as good as if you really did attend to business. Now, if the launch has kept going, of course we shall see nothing of her."
"And if she hasn't kept going and doesn't wish to be seen by us, she won't have any trouble in hiding. There are lots of places where you couldn't glimpse her with a telescope. I won't forget, and will give you what help I can."
Just then the captain signalled to the engineer, the screw of the steamer began churning and she swung out into the crystalline current. Richards kept his seat behind the captain, the two exchanging remarks now and then and both scanning the water and banks as they glided past. Several times the caller slipped out of the small pilot house, and, shading his eyes with one hand, studied the shore like an eagle watching its prey. They passed small sailboats, exchanged toots with other steamers and made their landings nearly always on time.
While Mr. Richards was scrutinizing the banks, islands and the mouths of the small bays and inlets, Alvin and Chester were similarly engaged. They seated themselves at the extreme stern under the awning where the view on the right and left was as unobstructed as it could be.
They had come to the belief that the persons who robbed the Rockledge post-office included the two whom they saw at Boothbay Harbor, and that one of the couple took part in the attack upon Alvin when making his way home some nights before.
"When you remember that they were the same number as ourselves and that they wore yachting suits, it is easy to understand how the constable made his mistake."
"Not forgetting our villainous looks," added Chester.
"I understand there have been so many post office robberies in this part of Maine that there is no doubt that a well-organized gang is at work."
"And these three belong to it."
"There are more beside them. It looks as if they have divided a certain part of the State among them, and our acquaintances have been given this section. There are several facts about this business which I don't understand."
"It's the same with me. For instance, why should those fellows steal your boat? They have one of their own."
"It may be so far off that they could reach it much sooner with the help they got from theDeerfoot."
"I don't see how that can be, for they must have come up the river in their own craft and meant to go back to it with their booty. They would be sure to leave it at the most convenient place, which would be as near if not nearer than where we went ashore at the blockhouse."
"That would seem so, but if true they must have known they would add to their danger by stealing another boat. No, Alvin, we are off in our guesses."
"Can you do any better?"
"No, but you remember when studying in our school history the capture of Major Andre, that the British sloop-of-warVulturewent up the Hudson to take him on board after his meeting with Benedict Arnold. The spy would have been saved that way, if the sloop hadn't been forced to drop down stream, so that when Andre needed it, the vessel was not there. Now suppose it was something like that with these people."
Alvin thought over this view of the situation, but shook his head.
"It doesn't strike me as likely. But what's the use of guessing? The most curious part of it all to me is that they should have come along when we were sitting behind the blockhouse and find theDeerfootwaiting for them. A few minutes earlier or later and nothing of the kind could have happened. Then, too, we hadn't a thought of halting there till Mike's curiosity caused us to go ashore. Do you know, Chester, I am more anxious about Mike than about the motor boat?"
"I don't understand why."
"We are sure to get back the launch sooner or later, but, as I said, Mike is so headlong, so fond of a shindy, as he calls it, and so eager to get another chance at the fellow who ran away from him, that he is likely to run into trouble."
"He has been doing that all his life, and yet has managed to fight his way out. I haven't any fear of his not being able to do so this time."
"It seems to me that if we don't get any trace of theDeerfooton the way down, we may as well get off at Southport and send despatches to all the points along the river, asking that a lookout be kept for our boat, and word be sent to me as soon as anything is picked up. I am not worrying about the launch, only that those villains are robbing us of a lot of fun which we counted upon."
"We'll take the advice of Mr. Richards; he may think that Boothbay Harbor, where he lives, is the best point to send out inquiries."
Now, our young friends cannot be censured because they talked in their ordinary tones, taking no pains to keep what they said from those around them. They were equally blameless in not noticing a certain gentleman who sat two or three paces away on the bench which curved around the upper deck, apparently absorbed in reading the last copy of the LewistonJournal. He smoked a big black cigar and seemed to be interested solely in his paper. None the less, he had taken his seat for the purpose of hearing the conversation, and he did not allow a word to elude him. He wore a gray business suit, with a white Fedora hat, a colored shirt and a modest striped necktie. The face was strong, with clean cut features, and was shaven clean of all beard. His eyes were gray and his manner alert. Most of the time he held the paper so high above his crossed legs that his face would have been invisible to the boys had they looked at him. But there were three other men, as many women, and a couple of children near that were equally interesting to Alvin and Chester, who feeling they had nothing to conceal, made no effort to conceal it.
"There would be a good hiding place for theDeerfoot," suddenly exclaimed Alvin, springing to his feet and indicating a part of Barter Island, whose northern end is just below Point Quarry, from which it is separated by Cross River. Thence it reaches southward for nearly five miles, not far from Sawyer Island and the Isle of Springs.
The point indicated by Alvin was near the southern extremity of Barter Island, and was a small inlet, inclosed by dense pines on all sides, and curving slightly to the north a little distance from the stream. The opening was broad enough to admit any of the steamers which pass up and down the river, though none of them ever turns in, since there is no cause for doing so. Had theDeerfootchosen to make the entrance, it could have been screened from sight by the turn of the small bay, and the thickly wooded shores.
As the boat glided swiftly past the boys scrutinized every part of the inlet in their field of vision, but saw nothing to give hope that it was the hiding place of the stolen launch. It was not to be wondered at, for they had already passed a score of places that offered just as safe refuge.
Neither Alvin nor Chester noticed that the man in a gray suit turned partly round, dropped his paper on his knee, and also studied the little bay upon which their gaze was fixed. He wore no glasses, for his sharp eyes did not need artificial help. Even had his action been observed by the youths, they would have thought nothing of it, for the exclamation of Alvin caused several of the passengers to take the same survey.
The steamer had hardly passed the bit of water and the boys were still standing, when Mr. Richards came out of the pilot house and hurried to them.
"Did you see anything?" he asked.
"No; did you?" asked Alvin in turn.
"I am not certain, but the captain and I caught a glimpse of something which we thought might be the stern or bow of a motor boat like yours, though as likely as not it was nothing of the kind."
"Can you get the captain to put us ashore?" eagerly asked Alvin. "I'll pay him for his trouble."
Richards shook his head and smiled.
"He wouldn't do it for a thousand dollars; there is no place to make a landing, though he might use one of the boats to have you rowed to land. He halts only at certain fixed points."
"What is the best we can do?"
"Do you mean to find out what it is that is lying in that inlet?"
Alvin replied that such was the wish of himself and his companion.
"All you have to do is to get off at Sawyer Island, our next landing, and walk back to this inlet."
"Can we go by land?" asked Alvin.
"No trouble. There are two or three bridges to cross and you may have a little tramping to do at the end of your journey, but it is easy."
"How far is it?"
"Something like three miles—perhaps a little more."
"That's nothing for us; we shan't mind it."
"It will carry you close to darkness, but that need make no difference. The sky has cleared somewhat, but I don't believe you will have any moonlight."
"That may be an advantage; at any rate let us hope so."
Sawyer Island, possibly a tenth as large as Barter, had been in sight for some time, and the steamer speedily drew up beside the rather rickety landing. It happened that no passengers and only a few boxes of freight were taken aboard. Only three persons left the boat—the two youths and the gentleman in a gray suit, who seemed to spend most of his time in reading the LewistonJournal. This fact led Alvin and Chester to look at him with some interest. He carried a small handbag, and appeared to be confused after stepping ashore. He looked about for a minute or two and then addressed the agent, an elderly man with a yellow tuft of whiskers on his chin, no coat or waistcoat, a pair of trousers whose tops were tucked in his boots, and a single suspender which made the garments hang lopsided in a seemingly uncomfortable manner.
"I beg your pardon, friend, but isn't this the Isle of Springs?"
"Not much," replied the agent, with a grin that displayed two rows of big yellow teeth. "This is Sawyer Island."
"My gracious! you don't say so!" exclaimed the new arrival in no little astonishment. "How is that?"
"It's 'cause it happens to be so; can't you read?"
"What do you mean by such a question?"
"There are the words painted on the front of that shanty in big enough letters to read as fur as you can see 'em."
The man glared at them.
"Was there ever such stupidity? If I signalled the steamer do you think she would come back and take me up?"
"I rayther think not, but you might try it."
And he did try it. Snatching off his hat he swung it over his head and shouted at the top of his voice.
"Hold on there! You've left me behind! Come back!"
Several deck hands on the boat must have seen the frantic passenger, who ran to the edge of the wharf, and added his handbag to the circlings, while he kept up his shoutings. Alvin and Chester, as much amused as the agent, fancied they could see the grins on the faces of several of the men on the steamer. One of them waggishly crooked a forefinger as an invitation for him to come aboard, but none the less the boat steamed straight on to the Isle of Springs.
"You might swim, stranger," suggested the agent.
Ignoring the sarcasm, the other asked:
"Can't I hire a boat to take me across?"
"No diffikilty if you've got money."
By this time the youths felt that they had had enough of the scene, and turned to follow the road nearly to the other side of the island, where it joined the one leading to Hodgdon Island and then extended across that to the bridge connection with Barter. They had made so careful a study of the map that they had no fear of going wrong. They might not have been in such haste, had not the afternoon been drawing to a close and night certain to be near when they should reach their destination.
The day was comparatively cool, for be it remembered that while we are smothering with summer heat in States farther south, there is little of it on the coast of Maine, except occasionally during the middle of the day.
Something more than half a mile brought the youths to the first turn, when they went due north to the skeleton-like bridge which joins the two islands that have been named. They had walked so briskly that upon reaching the farther end they paused for a brief breathing spell. Naturally they looked about them—across the comparatively narrow strait to Hodgdon Island, to the right toward the mainland, and westward in the direction of the Sheepscot River. Leaning against the railing, they next gazed back over the bridge which they had just trodden. At the end was a man resting like themselves and in the same attitude.
"It's odd that he is the first person we have seen since we started," remarked Alvin. "Since we didn't meet him he must be going the same way as ourselves."
"Neither of us is doing much going just now," said Chester. "Have you thought, Alvin, that we haven't a pistol between us?"
"What of it?"
"We may need it before we are through with this business."
"I remember father telling me that when he was a young man he visited Texas and at Austin had a long talk with Ben Thomson."
"Who was Ben Thomson?" asked the wondering Chester.
"One of the greatest desperadoes that that State ever produced. He looked like a dandified young clerk or preacher, but it was said of him that in all his career he never missed the man at whom he fired. The governor found him a pleasant fellow to talk with and they became quite chummy. When asked his advice about carrying a revolver, Ben told him never to do it—at least while in Texas. 'If you do,' said Ben, 'it will be the death of you as sure as you are now alive. You can't draw half as quick as the bad men whom you are likely to run against, and the fact that you are carrying a gun will bring the other's acquittal in any court where the case may be tried. But if you are unarmed, no one will molest you, for only the meanest coward will attack an unarmed man.' Now, what I think is, that we are safer without a revolver than with one. Neither of us is an expert and we should have no show with these post office robbers if we got into a fight where guns were used."
Chester was not satisfied with this view of the situation.
"From what I have heard, such persons don't wait to find out whether another is armed before firing upon him, and in spite of what you say, I wish I had a loaded Smith and Wesson, or a Colt in my hip pocket."
"Well, you haven't nor have I. The governor has no patience with this fashion among boys of carrying deadly weapons. The temptation to use them when there is no need is too great."
Chester shook his head in dissent, and as they resumed their walk discussed the near future, for it was prudent to do so. After they had crossed the second bridge at the northern end of Hodgdon Island, he said:
"It can't be much farther to that inlet where we may or may not find theDeerfoot. It is time we made up our minds what to do. Suppose we come upon your boat with the thieves in charge, shall we tell them they have been very naughty and must go away and let us have the property without making any fuss?"
Alvin laughed.
"Maybe that's as good a plan as any. I believe I can convince them that the wisest thing for them to do is to turn the boat over to us and clear out."
"If they are desperate enough to rob post offices and steal a motor launch, they are not the ones to give it up for the asking. There!" exclaimed Chester stopping short, "we forgot something."
"What is it?"
"We meant to have telegrams sent out to different points from Boothbay Harbor, asking lots of persons to keep a lookout for theDeerfoot."
"What's the need of that when we have found her?"
"It isn't certain we have found her, but it can't be helped now."
They resumed their walk, and in due time trod the soil of Barter Island, by crossing another long wooden bridge. They had met on the way a rickety wagon, a carriage and one automobile, but no person on foot. A mile or so farther they came upon a hamlet, where it seemed prudent to ask a few questions. Night was so near that it was important that they should make no mistake in their course. They learned that from this cluster of houses a single highway led to the western coast of Barter Island. Barely a half mile beyond the terminus of this road was the inlet upon which they had centered their hopes. Mr. Richards had told them that they would have to tramp this distance, but would probably find a path which would make the task easy. Although minute knowledge was necessary to enable one to speak definitely, yet Mr. Richards reminded them that the fact of there being dwellings at varying distances all along the coast proved that there must be means of communication between them.
The boys knew they were within a half mile of the inlet when they paused more to consult than to rest. The road was lined on both sides by a vigorous growth of fir. To the rear it reached several hundred yards nearly straight, but curved sharply a little way off in front. By accident, Chester's face was turned toward the road behind them. The two had not spoken a dozen words when Chester remarked without any excitement:
"I wonder who it is that's coming this way; probably some countryman or fisherman." Alvin looked back.
"I don't see anyone."
"He dodged to one side among the trees when he saw us."
"What made him do that?"
"I wish I knew."
Naturally the boys were curious to know the meaning of the stranger's conduct. They could not see why anyone travelling the same way with themselves should wish to avoid observation. It would seem that he would have hurried forward for the sake of company in this lonely region. Could it be he was really trying to keep out of sight?
Chester's added explanation left no doubt on this point.
"It was accidental on my part. I happened to be looking at the very point where the road makes a turn, when I caught a glimpse of something moving on the edge of my field of vision as if coming this way. Before I could do more than see it was a person, he slipped to the side among the trees. That I think proves he does not wish to be seen by us."
"He must have knownyousawhim."
"No; the chances were a hundred to one against either of us noticing him, though we might have done so had he come two steps nearer. Not doubting that he was secure, he whisked out of sight for the time."
"He might have done that by leaping backward instead of sideways."
"I don't see any choice between the two methods. I am beginning to suspect that for some reason he is interested in us. How is it, Alvin, that we never had a suspicion of anything of that kind?"
"Because we had no reason for it."
"Now it would be odd if that man is the one who rested at one end of the first bridge while we were doing the same at the other."
"And has been dogging us ever since. It is easy enough to find out. Come on!"
Avoiding the manner of those who had detected anything amiss, the youths faced south once more, and, neither hastening nor retarding their pace, walked along the middle of the highway until they had passed beyond the bend which hid them from the sight of the individual whose actions were anything but reassuring.
"Now!" whispered Alvin.
As he spoke, he stepped into the wood on their right, his companion doing the same. There was no undergrowth and they threaded their way for several rods and then were unable to find a tree with a trunk large enough to hide their bodies. Doing the best they could, they fixed their gaze upon the highway, along which they expected to see the man come within the succeeding few minutes.
An impulse led Alvin to glance at his watch just at the moment he placed himself behind the trunk of a pine not more than six inches in diameter. After waiting seemingly longer than necessary, he examined his timepiece again. The minutes pass slowly to those who are in suspense, but surely the interval ought to have brought the stranger into view. But he was as yet invisible. A quarter of an hour dragged by and still nothing was to be seen of him. Alvin looked across at Chester, who was a few paces off, also partially hidden from sight of anyone passing over the highway.
"What do you make of it?" asked the puzzled Captain of theDeerfoot.
"How long have we been waiting?"
"A half hour."
"Then he isn't coming," said Chester, stepping forth and walking toward the road; "we are throwing away time and it is already growing dark."
On the edge of the highway the two halted and peered to the right and left. Not a person was in sight.
"He has turned back," said Alvin.
"Why should he do that?"
"He must have known we saw him."
"More likely he dived into the wood and made a circle so as to come back to the road between us and the inlet. He can't be far off."
"He has had plenty of time to get out of sight."
"Perhaps not."
Led by the hope, the boys hastened to the next turn, which gave them sight of a hundred yards or more before it wound out of view again.
"There he is!" whispered Alvin excitedly.
"No; it is not he."
A large boy in a straw hat, with loose flapping linen duster and bare feet was strolling toward them. He kept in the middle of the road, for the walking was as good there as on either side. With his hands in his trousers pockets and whistling softly to himself he lounged forward. He started as the lads stepped out from among the trees.
"Gosh! you give me a scare!" he exclaimed with a grin. "Who be you?"
"Friends," Alvin took it upon himself to answer. "Who are you?"
"Henry Perkins," was the prompt response from the youth, whose manner showed that he was not at ease.
"Where do you live?"
"Up the road, not fur, near this end of the bridge to Hodgdon Island."
"Where are you coming from now?"
The youth hesitated a moment and then with his unrelaxing grin answered:
"I spent the day with my cousin Burt Eggles over at Westport; he rowed me across the Sheepscot, and as I told you I'm on my way hum; if I don't arriv there purty blamed soon, the old man will give me an all-fired licking."
"Did you meet anybody on the road?"
Henry Perkins shook his head several times.
"Didn't meet nobody; there ain't many folks in this part of the kentry."
"Well," said Alvin, "you may go on home now; if your 'old man' is cross with you tell him you were stopped on the road."
"Haw! haw! he mought ask how long I was stopped. Wal, I'm off."
He strode forward with long steps, as if anxious to get away from the couple who asked such personal questions. He had gone only a few paces when he abruptly halted, looked around at the two, who were amusedly watching him, and exclaimed:
"Gosh! I furgot something—I'm sorry," he added, using the catch phrase, which was beginning to take the place of the conventional "excuse me," or "I beg pardon."
"What is that?"
"Ididmeet a feller a little way down the road."
The youths were interested on the instant.
"Do you know who he was?" asked Alvin.
"Never seen him afore; didn't ask his name; don't spose he'd told me if I had; I nodded and he nodded; neither of us didn't speak; that's all."
"How was he dressed?"
"Had on a soft, light hat, gray suit and carried a handbag."
"Thank you, Henry, good night."
"I 'spose I was so rattled at fust I didn't think of him when you asked me if I'd met anybody. Wal, so 'long."
"What do you make of it now?" asked Alvin of his chum, as they resumed their walk toward the inlet.
"That's the man we saw pretending to rest at the further end of the first bridge; he's the one who sat near us on the steamer reading a newspaper, and he left the boat when we did. That swinging of his hat and yelling for the steamer to come back and pick him up was a bluff. He got off becausewedid and he has been following us ever since."
Neither could doubt this self-evident fact, which was enough to make them graver than usual.
The man in gray must have known from the actions of the youths that one if not both had discovered him while he was passing over the road behind them. He had, as Chester suspected, turned in among the pines and made a circuit by which he came out in advance of them. This might never have become known but for the meeting between him and Henry Perkins.
But the disturbing question remained to be answered: who was he and what did he mean by his actions?
"I believe he is one of the post office gang," said Alvin.
"So do I," assented his companion; "he knew from what we said on the boat that we are hunting the stolen launch and he means to be on the ground when we find it."
"What for?"
"Aye, there's the rub; whatever it may be it doesn't mean any good to us. We have another criminal to buck against and one that's likely to get the best of us. I wish now that I had two revolvers and you a repeating rifle."
"Wishing can do no good. We'll win if we can."
It was characteristic of these two young Americans that to neither came a thought of turning back. It was more than probable that they would run into personal peril, but none the less they cheerfully took the risk.
When they reached the end of the highway which has its beginnings on the southern point of Barter Island, it was fully dark. In the single small house that stood there a light was burning, and a form flitted between it and the curtain of the window.
"Alvin, I have just found out something," said his chum.
"What's that?"
"I was never hungrier in my life."
"The same here and have been for an hour or two."
"Let's go in and get something to eat."
No railings or fence showed in front of the little faded structure upon whose door Chester gently knocked. It was opened by an elderly woman, who was engaged in setting the table. In answer to her inquiring looks Chester said:
"Good evening! Can we buy something to eat?"
"No, sir; we don't sell food; we give it to them as needs it!"
It was not the thin, meek-looking woman who uttered these words of welcome. The tones were so thunderous that both the lads were startled, and they did not see the speaker, until they stepped across the threshold. He was an old man, one who must have been near eighty, who was sitting near the front window, smoking a corncob pipe. His face was weazened and wrinkled, his white hair thin and his shoulders stooping, but his little eyes twinkled kindly and he wore no glasses. He was in his shirt sleeves and his waistcoat hung loosely and unbuttoned down the front. His clean, coarse white shirt showed no necktie, but there was a pleasing neatness about his trousers and thick shoes.
Alvin and Chester removed their caps and saluted the couple. The woman had not spoken and for a long time kept silent.
"Take a cheer! take a cheer!" added the old man, holding his pipe in one hand while he waved the other toward seats; "take a couple if you like."
The wonder about the old fellow was his voice. Never had the callers heard so deep and resounding a bass. It was literally like thunder. Each asked himself what it was a half century before.
There was no mistaking his hospitality. Probably in his loneliness he welcomed any callers, no matter who they might be. He smiled upon the youths, who noticed that there was not a tooth visible.
"Bless my heart! It does my old eyes good to look upon two such handsome chaps as you! Your faces be clean, your eyes bright, you wear purty good clothes and I don't b'lieve you use terbacker."
"No," said Alvin; "we haven't begun yet."
"My! my! you don't know what you've missed, but there's time 'nough; wait till you're as old as me afore you start. How old do you think I am?"
The pleased lads scanned the wrinkled countenance as if trying to make up their minds. It was Chester who answered for both:
"You must be past sixty-five—pretty close to seventy."
The remark was diplomatic, for both knew he was a good deal older. The man threw back his head and shook with mirth.
"Do you hear that, Peggy? They think I'm purty close to seventy! That's the best joke I've heerd since I was a boy. He! he! Why, young man," he added, abruptly checking his laughter, "I'll be eighty-three come next Christmas. I was a Christmas gift to my father and mother."
"You don't mean it!" replied Alvin, with a shake of his head.
The wife paused in crossing the floor and laughed, but without the least sound.
"I don't mean it, eh? Ask Peggy."
The youths looked inquiringly and she nodded several times in confirmation, but remained mute.
"We can't doubther," said Chester. "You are surely a wonder, Mr.——"
"Folks don't call me mister; I'm Uncle Ben—Ben Trotwood. Who might you be?"
There was no need of evasion, and Alvin briefly told all the important facts. Having given their names, he related how their motor boat had been stolen while they were taking lunch that day in the woods near the blockhouse. It was not worth while to mention Mike Murphy.
"Consarn such scamps!" exclaimed Uncle Ben. "They oughter be made to smart. But when Peggy opened the door I think you said something 'bout devouring food."
"We are hungry."
"Wal," said the old man, rising briskly from his chair in answer to a nod from his wife, "supper's ready and we'll all set by. If you want to please us you won't leave a crumb on the table."
"Then we'll be sure to please you."
It was a most enjoyable meal of which our young friends partook, after Uncle Ben had said grace as was his invariable custom. The food was plain but excellently cooked and there was an abundance. The host was as spry as a man of half his years, and presided, his wife pouring out tea which never tasted better to Alvin and Chester. Each of the lads, when no one was watching him, slipped a dollar bill under his plate, where it was not likely to be seen until after they had gone.
The kindliness of the old man as well as that of the mute wife made the guests feel at home. Toward the close of the meal Chester said:
"Uncle Ben, you've got the most wonderful voice I ever heard."
Plainly the old man was pleased.
"It ain't a sarcumstance to what it was when I was younger. They asked me to sing bass in the church at Trevett, but I nearly busted proceedings. The folks said that when I let out my voice, they couldn't hear anybody else in the choir."
"It is easy to believe that."
"Then," added Uncle Ben whimsically, "they made me pay for several panes of glass that they insisted my voice had broke. I stood that, till one Sunday, a boy begun yelling that he was afeard of that big black bear in the gallery and he like to have went into fits ontil I put on the brakes. Then I quit, plumb disgusted."
"Don't you find it rather lonely here?"
"Sometimes when the children wait too long to visit us."
"How many children have you?"
"Seven boys and six girls. We lost three afore they growed up."
"You are rich indeed," said Chester admiringly.
And then the wife spoke for the first time:
"We ought to be thankful andwe are!"
It came out that all the sons and daughters were well married and lived within a radius of little more than fifty miles. Each family had often urged the old couple to make their home with it, but they preferred to live by themselves. There was no danger of their suffering for anything that affection could provide.
Alvin and Chester would have been glad to stay over night, as they were urged to do, but they decided to push on and learn what they could with the least possible delay. While daylight would have been more favorable, in many respects, for their task, they feared that the thieves would make off with theDeerfootbefore daylight. The intrusion of the man in gray added a zest to the search that had something to do with their haste.
Since Uncle Ben rarely went beyond sight of his humble home, he could tell them nothing of the launch. He admitted that most of the time when he sat by the front window smoking, he dozed or was fully asleep. He had seen no one pass the house during the afternoon except the boy, Henry Perkins. The man in gray might have gone by, but Uncle Ben knew nothing of it.
Promising to call if they ever came into the neighborhood again, the youths bade the old couple good night. They hurried, for the wife had begun clearing away the things from the table, and was sure to discover the tip that each had left. They chuckled because they got clear of the home without such mishap.
It will be remembered that night had descended some time before, and the clouded sky veiled the moon. The path of which Uncle Ben told them was well defined, but in the dense gloom it was hard to keep it. Alvin, taking the lead, spread out his arms and swept them in front of his face to prevent collisions with projecting limbs. Once or twice he strayed to one side, but with the help of Chester regained the trail and they pushed on in good spirits, glad that they had not far to go. The temperature was so mild that they felt no discomfort from the lack of extra clothing.
As they drew near the inlet their caution increased. Alvin in front stepped as softly as an Indian scout entering the camp of an enemy. Chester was equally careful and for some time neither spoke. With the deep gloom inclosing them on every hand, they were mutually invisible.
Suddenly Chester bumped lightly into his companion.
"What's the matter?" he asked in a whisper.
"I'm out of the path again."
"I don't see that that makes any difference; we must be close to the bay. Push on!"
They felt their way in silence for a few minutes and then stopped once more. Not the slightest sound was given out by the water that was somewhere near them. Alvin hesitated, as he was afraid of a mis-step.
At this juncture, when the two stood motionless and uncertain, nature, singularly enough, came to their relief. The laboring moon for a few seconds shone partly through the heavy clouds that were drifting before its face, and the dim illumination revealed that two paces farther would have taken them into the inlet. Scarcely was this discovery made when blank night again shut them in.
"Well, here we are," said Alvin; "and what comes next?"
After all that had been said and done, it dawned upon both at this moment that their whole venture was foolish to the last degree. Suppose they located theDeerfoot, they would be powerless to do anything more. Two unarmed youths could not retake it from the thieves, and they might grope around the place for the whole night without learning the truth. If they had been able to reach the spot before night, or, failing in that, had waited till the morrow, their eyes would have quickly told them all they wished to know.
Standing side by side nonplussed for the moment, Alvin sniffed several times.
"Do you notice it?" he asked in a guarded undertone.
"Notice what?"
"I smell a cigar; somebody is near us."
Chester tested his smelling apparatus and replied:
"You are right; the odor is in the air."
"It reminds me of the kind the governor smokes; and is therefore a mighty good one."
"It is the man in gray; he smoked nearly all the time on the boat."
Having convinced themselves that the man in gray was near at hand, the next question Alvin and Chester asked themselves was whether he knew oftheirproximity. It would seem not, for they had moved with the silence of shadows, and spoken in the most guarded of undertones. Moreover, it was not to be supposed that he would smoke a cigar, knowing the liability of betraying himself, just as he had done. Further, there was the danger of the glowing end catching the eye of anyone in the vicinity. The youths peered here and there in the obscurity in quest of a tiny torch, but failed to see it.
While speculating over the situation an unexpected shift took place. Chester laid his hand on the arm of his comrade and whispered:
"Look out on the water!"
A point of light glowed like a tiny star from a spot directly opposite, but quite a way from shore. It was of a neutral or yellow color, and the reflection of the rays showed a few feet from where it shone above the surface. The gleaming speck, however, was too small to tell anything more.
"I believe that's on theDeerfoot!" whispered Chester.
"It may be, but it's on the other side of the inlet; we shall not learn anything more while standing here."
A new problem was thus presented. They could stay where they were until daylight told them the truth, go back to Uncle Ben's house and sleep in a comfortable bed, or pick their way through the wood and darkness to the other side of the water. After a few minutes' consultation they decided to follow the last course.
Once nigh enough to the launch to touch it with outstretched hand they would have no trouble in identifying it, no matter how profound the gloom. While each youth saw the imprudence of the action, he was impelled by the dread that the thieves would give them the slip, and be almost beyond tracing within the following few hours. If they had run into this place for shelter, there was no guessing how long they would stay.
The task before the lads was formidable. They did not know the width of the inlet around whose head they must thread their course in order to reach the point where theDeerfootor possibly some other motor boat was lying. The distance might be brief or prove too great to be traversed during the night. None the less they decided to try it.
The star still shone a little above the silent surface which was as smooth as a mirror. The light did not seem to be far off—a fact which led our young friends to believe they would not have to walk far to reach their destination.
The immediate cause for misgiving was the man with the cigar. The most careful snuffing failed to tell the direction from which the vapor floated, and not a breath of air stirred the stillness. Whether the youths moving eastward would be going toward or from him could not be guessed. They could only trust to providence.
"The slightest sound will give us away," said Alvin as he took the lead. "Keep so near that you can touch me with your hand; I'll feel every inch of the way."
It should not be long before they would be far enough from the man in gray to move with more freedom. The plan was to make a circuit around the head of the inlet and come back to the spot where theDeerfootnestled under the wooded bank. How long it would require to complete this semi-circle remained to be seen.
When twenty minutes had gone by and they had progressed several rods, Alvin paused and said in his guarded undertone:
"I don't smell the cigar; do you?"
Chester called his nose into action and replied:
"I don't detect any odor."
"That means we have got away from him."
"Or that he has finished his cigar and thrown away the stump. Push on."
To avoid mishap, they kept several yards from the water. The task was so hard that it would have been impossible but for the help given by the moon. The sky had cleared considerably, so that the dim light shone at brief intervals upon the water. Another blessing was appreciated by the venturesome youths. The pine woods were free from briers and undergrowth, the ground being soft, spongy and dry under their feet, because of the cones and spines which had accumulated for many and many a year. Still again, the inlet had no tributaries—at any rate the boys did not come upon any, so they were not troubled in that respect. It was simply a cove whose sole supply of water came from the broad Sheepscot.
Such being the favoring conditions, Alvin and Chester made better progress than either expected when setting out. Now and then Alvin led the way to the water's edge in quest of the beacon which had served them so well thus far. It still gleamed with a calm, unwinking clearness like the point of an incandescent light.
A gratifying discovery came sooner than the youths expected—they were turning the head of the inlet and coming back on the other side from the shore first reached. If all went well they ought to arrive at the right spot within the next half hour. They ran against an unimportant difficulty, however. A vigorous growth of underbrush clogged their progress, but having left the mysterious stranger behind, they felt no need of further care with their footsteps.
It was yet comparatively early in the night when they completed the broad half circle and came opposite the point of their first arrival. The occasional clearing of the moon had been of much help, and they had every reason to be satisfied with their progress. But before coming to a pause, they were puzzled by a discovery for which at first they could not account.
The gleaming point that had served as a guide was nowhere near them. It seemed like an ignis fatuus that recedes as the traveller tries to approach it. So far as the lads could judge they were no closer to the light than before.
"That's the queerest thing I ever saw," said Alvin, as he and his companion stood on the edge of the wood. "I thought we should run right against the boat, and now there is no chance of doing so."
"It must have crossed to the other shore while we were passing round the head of the inlet," suggested Chester, as much perplexed as his chum.
"Then we shall have to turn back."
"And have it give us the slip again. That can't be the explanation, Alvin; we should have heard the engine in the stillness. Ah! I have it! TheDeerfootis not near either bank, but anchored in the middle of the cove or beside a small island."
This obviously was the explanation, but it did not improve the situation, so far as the searchers were concerned. With the partial illumination given now and then by the moon they could not catch the faintest outlines of the boat. It might have been a dozen miles away.
"It looks as if we were up against it," remarked Alvin, with a sigh. "We shall have to wait until daylight and may as well go back to Uncle Ben's."
Chester was silent for a minute or two. He was turning over a project in his mind.
"The boat can't be far off," he said. "What do you say to my taking off my clothing and swimming out to it?"
The proposal struck Alvin dumb at first. His friend added:
"It will be easy; it won't take me long to go there and back."
"Suppose you are seen?"
"I have no fear of that; they won't be expecting anything of the kind and I shall learn something worth while."
"I won't agree to it," replied Alvin decisively; "it may look simple to you, but there is more danger than you suspect. No, give it up. It ismyboat and if anyone chose to risk his life to recover it he should be myself, and I'll be hanged ifI'lltry it."
"All right; you are the Captain and I am only second mate, but it grieves me to have you turn down my proposition. Sh! you heard that?"
From the direction of the launch came the sound of a sneeze. In the profound stillness there was no mistaking the nature of the noise.
"I wonder if our friend is catching cold," was the whimsical remark of Chester; "it sounds that way," he added as the person, whoever he was, sneezed a second, third and fourth time in quick succession and then rested.
"Suppose I call to him to be careful," suggested Chester.
"Do so if you choose, but it strikes me that we are the ones who need to be careful."
"Hello! the light is gone."
Such was the fact. Not the slightest illumination pierced the gloom that was now on every hand.
"I guess they have gone to bed," remarked Chester, "and that is what we might as well do. The weather is so mild that we can sleep on the soft carpet in the woods without risk; it's a long walk to Uncle Ben's and we want to be on hand at the first peep of day."
"I can't say that I fancy spending the night out of doors."
"It will be easy to start a fire."
"And have it seen by those on the boat."
"We can go so far back that there will be no danger of that."
"What about breakfast?"
"We can reach Uncle Ben's in time for that."
"I have been suspecting, Chester, for the last hour that we have been making fools of ourselves and now I haven't any doubt of it."