“Who’s the master of this craft?” asked one of the officers.
“I am, sir,” replied Walter.
“You!” exclaimed the lieutenant. The surprise he had at first exhibited seemed to be greatly increased by this answer. He looked at his companion, then swept his eyes all around the vessel, and finally turned them upon the young commander, whom he scrutinized closely. “You’re beginning this business rather early in life, are you not? You are not just the sort of a fellow I expected to see, and neither are your crew the desperadoes I thought them.”
“I don’t understand you, sir,” said Walter.
“You will soon enough. May I trouble you to show me your papers?”
“My papers! I haven’t any.”
“Ah! I thought so. Mr. Butler,” added the lieutenant, turning to his companion, “we’ve got them at last. Bring your men aboard and assume charge of the vessel. I will take the captain and these gentlemen on board the cutter, and the rest of the crew you will put under guard. Follow in our wake when we fill away for Bellville.”
Walter and the rest of the Club were struck dumb with amazement. The former looked at the lieutenant to see if he was really in earnest, then at the sailors who began to clamber out of the boat,and tried to protest against what he regarded as a most unwarrantable and high-handed outrage; but he could not find words strong enough to express his indignation. Mr. Craven, however, stepped forward and spoke for him.
“Mr. officer,” said he, “may I ask you to explain the meaning of this?”
“Certainly. We have a description of a smuggler that has been eluding us for a long time, and this vessel answers that description perfectly. We think you are the gentlemen we have been looking for, and we are going to take you back to Bellville with us.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Walter, drawing a long breath of relief; “but you have made a great mistake, a most ridiculous mistake.”
“You certainly have,” said Mr. Craven. “We are all well known in Bellville, and assure you that we and our vessel are all right. My brother is collector of the port.”
“I know him, but I don’t know you.”
“We don’t want to go back to the village,” continued Mr. Craven. “A matter of the utmost importance to this gentleman and myself demands our immediate attention. You never saw a smugglerfitted up like this yacht. Look about her, and you can easily see that she has no place for stowing away a cargo.”
“That is no part of my duty,” replied the officer. “I was told what to do under certain circumstances, and I must obey orders. I’ll trouble you to step into this boat.”
By this time the yacht was in full possession of the cutter’s men. The boy-crew had been ordered below, and were now in the cabin under arrest; a sailor had taken Bab’s place at the wheel, and Lieutenant Butler stood on the quarter-deck with Walter’s speaking-trumpet in his hand. It made Walter angry to see his beloved yacht under the control of strangers; but knowing that there was but one way out of the difficulty, he sprang into the boat, followed by Mr. Chase and Mr. Craven.
“Don’t take it so much to heart,” said the latter, addressing the dejected young captain. “This man is only a second lieutenant, and of course he is acting under orders. When we arrive on board the cutter we’ll talk to the captain. If he wants to find the smugglers we can tell him where to look for two of them.”
Walter caught at the encouragement thus heldout, as drowning men catch at straws; but his hopes fell again as soon as he found himself in the presence of the captain of the cutter. The latter, who was a very pompous man, and for some reason or other seemed to think himself of considerable importance, listened to the report of his officer, and after telling him that he had done perfectly right, and that the prisoners looked like a desperate lot, turned on his heel, and ordered the first lieutenant to fill away for Bellville. Mr. Craven tried to gain his ear for a moment, but the captain told him rather sternly that he was very busy just then, and would attend to him after awhile.
Walter had not been long aboard the cutter before he became aware that he was an object of interest to her crew. The officer who had commanded the boat pointed him out to his mess as the captain of the yacht, and they all looked at him with curiosity, especially the young third lieutenants attached to the vessel, who congregated in the waist, and stared at him as long as he remained on deck. Walter was a handsome fellow, as neat and trim as the vessel he commanded, and the lieutenants told one another that he looked every inch a sailor; but they could hardly believe that he wasthe chief of the band of outlaws of whom they had heard so much. Walter was nettled by their close scrutiny, and, when the captain of the cutter, unbending a little from his dignity, intimated that, if his prisoners had anything of importance to say to him, they might step down into the cabin, he gladly accepted the invitation. He thought, however, that he and his friends might as well have stayed on deck and kept silent, for the captain wouldn’t believe a word of their story. He wasn’t going back to Lost Island on any wild goose-chase, he said. There might be two smugglers there with a boy prisoner, and there might not—he neither knew nor cared. When they reached the village he would go with Mr. Craven and his two friends to the collector of the port, and see if they were really what they represented themselves to be, and that was all he would do. That settled the matter; and Walter, greatly disgusted with the captain’s obstinacy, bolted out of the cabin, slamming the door after him.
The cutter stopped once on the way to the village long enough to overhaul a schooner that was coming out of the harbor. The second lieutenant boarded her, and when he came back reported that she wasall right. She was the Stella, bound to Havana with an assorted cargo. But she wasnotall right, if the lieutenant had only known it. She had some articles on board that were not mentioned in her manifest, and among them was a boy named Fred Craven.
To Walter’s great relief the village was reached at last, and as soon as the cutter had dropped her anchor he stepped into the boat with the captain and the two gentlemen, and put off for shore to visit the collector of the port. Having business on hand that would admit of no delay, Mr. Craven did not hesitate to call him out of his bed to listen to their story and set them right with the captain of the cutter. The collector, little dreaming what had taken his brother into the Gulf at that time of night, laughed heartily at the idea of his being taken for a smuggler; and the revenue captain, finding that he had committed a blunder, apologized so freely and seemed to regret the circumstance so much, that Walter was almost ready to forgive him. Mr. Craven, however, was not so easily appeased, and neither was Mr. Chase. They had lost more than three hours by their forced return, and they did not know what might have become of their boys in the mean time.
We have no space in this volume to relate the further adventures of our heroes. It will be enough to say that the Banner sailed away from Bellville that very night—this time armed with documents that would carry her in safety through a whole fleet of revenue cutters—but her cruise did not end when she reached Lost Island. It extended hundreds of miles beyond it; and what she and her gallant young crew did during the voyage shall be told in “The Sportsman’s Club Afloat.”
THE END.
Specimen Cover of the Gunboat Series.TheFamousCastlemonBooks.byHarryCastlemon.No author of the present day has become a greater favorite with boys than “Harry Castlemon;” every book by him is sure to meet with hearty reception by young readers generally. His naturalness and vivacity lead his readers from page to page with breathless interest, and when one volume is finished the fascinated reader, like Oliver Twist, asks “for more.”⁂ Any volume sold separately.GUNBOAT SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$7 50Frank, the Young Naturalist1 25Frank in the Woods1 25Frank on the Prairie1 25Frank on a Gunboat1 25Frank before Vicksburg1 25Frank on the Lower Mississippi1 25GO AHEAD SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Go Ahead; or, The Fisher Boy’s Motto1 25No Moss; or, The Career of a Rolling Stone1 25Tom Newcombe; or, The Boy of Bad Habits1 25ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Frank at Don Carlos’ Rancho1 25Frank among the Rancheros1 25Frank in the Mountains1 25SPORTSMAN’S CLUB SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75The Sportsman’s Club in the Saddle1 25The Sportsman’s Club Afloat1 25The Sportsman’s Club among the Trappers1 25FRANK NELSON SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Snowed Up; or, The Sportsman’s Club in the Mts.1 25Frank Nelson in the Forecastle; or, The Sportsman’s Club among the Whalers1 25The Boy Traders; or, The Sportsman’s Club among the Boers1 25BOY TRAPPER SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75The Buried Treasure; or, Old Jordan’s “Haunt”1 25The Boy Trapper; or, How Dave Filled the Order1 25The Mail Carrier1 25ROUGHING IT SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75George in Camp; or, Life on the Plains1 25George at the Wheel; or, Life in a Pilot House1 25George at the Fort; or, Life Among the Soldiers1 25ROD AND GUN SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Don Gordon’s Shooting Box1 25Rod and Gun1 25The Young Wild Fowlers1 25FOREST AND STREAM SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Joe Wayring at Home; or, Story of a Fly Rod1 25Snagged and Sunk; or, The Adventures of a Canvas Canoe1 25Steel Horse; or, The Rambles of a Bicycle1 25WAR SERIES.By Harry Castlemon. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00True to his Colors1 25Rodney, the Partisan1 25Marcy, the Blockade Runner1 25Marcy, the Refugee1 25OUR FELLOWS; or, Skirmishes with the Swamp Dragoons. By Harry Castlemon. 16mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra1 25
Specimen Cover of the Gunboat Series.
Specimen Cover of the Gunboat Series.
TheFamousCastlemonBooks.
byHarryCastlemon.
No author of the present day has become a greater favorite with boys than “Harry Castlemon;” every book by him is sure to meet with hearty reception by young readers generally. His naturalness and vivacity lead his readers from page to page with breathless interest, and when one volume is finished the fascinated reader, like Oliver Twist, asks “for more.”
⁂ Any volume sold separately.
Specimen Cover of the Ragged Dick Series.Alger’sRenownedBooks.byHoratioAlger, Jr.Horatio Alger, Jr., has attained distinction as one of the most popular writers of books for boys, and the following list comprises all of his best books.⁂ Any volume sold separately.RAGGED DICK SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$7 50Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York1 25Fame and Fortune; or, The Progress of Richard Hunter1 25Mark, the Match Boy; or, Richard Hunter’s Ward1 25Rough and Ready; or, Life among the New York Newsboys1 25Ben, the Luggage Boy; or, Among the Wharves1 25Rufus and Rose; or, the Fortunes of Rough and Ready1 25TATTERED TOM SERIES.(First Series.) By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated.Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Tattered Tom; or, The Story of a Street Arab1 25Paul, the Peddler; or, The Adventures of a Young Street Merchant1 25Phil, the Fiddler; or, The Young Street Musician1 25Slow and Sure; or, From the Sidewalk to the Shop1 25TATTERED TOM SERIES.(Second Series.) 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Julius; or the Street Boy Out West1 25The Young Outlaw; or, Adrift in the World1 25Sam’s Chance and How He Improved it1 25The Telegraph Boy1 25LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES.(First Series.) By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Luck and Pluck; or John Oakley’s Inheritance1 25Sink or Swim; or, Harry Raymond’s Resolve1 25Strong and Steady; or, Paddle Your Own Canoe1 25Strive and Succeed; or, The Progress of Walter Conrad1 25LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES.(Second Series.) By Horatio Alger, Jr. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Try and Trust; or, The Story of a Bound Boy1 25Bound to Rise; or Harry Walton’s Motto1 25Risen from the Ranks; or, Harry Walton’s Success1 25Herbert Carter’s Legacy; or, The Inventor’s Son1 25CAMPAIGN SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Frank’s Campaign; or, The Farm and the Camp1 25Paul Prescott’s Charge1 25Charlie Codman’s Cruise1 25BRAVE AND BOLD SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Brave and Bold; or, The Story of a Factory Boy1 25Jack’s Ward; or, The Boy Guardian1 25Shifting for Himself; or, Gilbert Greyson’s Fortunes1 25Wait and Hope; or, Ben Bradford’s Motto1 25PACIFIC SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00The Young Adventurer; or, Tom’s Trip Across the Plains1 25The Young Miner; or, Tom Nelson in California1 25The Young Explorer; or, Among the Sierras1 25Ben’s Nugget; or, A Boy’s Search for Fortune. A Story of the Pacific Coast1 25ATLANTIC SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00The Young Circus Rider; or, The Mystery of Robert Rudd1 25Do and Dare; or, A Brave Boy’s Fight for Fortune1 25Hector’s Inheritance; or, Boys of Smith Institute1 25Helping Himself; or, Grant Thornton’s Ambition1 25WAY TO SUCCESS SERIES.By Horatio Alger, Jr. 4 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$5 00Bob Burton1 25The Store Boy1 25Luke Walton1 25Struggling Upward1 25New Book by Alger.DIGGING FOR GOLD.By Horatio Alger, Jr. Illustrated 12mo. Cloth, black, red and gold1 25
Specimen Cover of the Ragged Dick Series.
Specimen Cover of the Ragged Dick Series.
Alger’sRenownedBooks.
byHoratioAlger, Jr.
Horatio Alger, Jr., has attained distinction as one of the most popular writers of books for boys, and the following list comprises all of his best books.
⁂ Any volume sold separately.
New Book by Alger.
Specimen Cover of the Wyoming Series.ANew Seriesof Books.Indian LifeandCharacterFounded onHistoricalFacts.By Edward S. Ellis.⁂ Any volume sold separately.BOY PIONEER SERIES.By Edward S. Ellis. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Ned in the Block House; or, Life on the Frontier1 25Ned in the Woods.A Tale of the Early Days in the West1 25Ned on the River1 25DEERFOOT SERIES.By Edward S. Ellis. In box containing the following. 3 vols., 12 mo. Illustrated$3 75Hunters of the Ozark1 25Camp in the Mountains1 25The Last War Trail1 25LOG CABIN SERIES.By Edward S. Ellis. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printedin colors. In box$3 75Lost Trail1 25Camp Fire and Wigwam1 25Footprints in the Forest1 25WYOMING SERIES.By Edward S. Ellis. 3 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$3 75Wyoming1 25Storm Mountain1 25Cabin in the Clearing1 25New Books by Edward S. Ellis.Through Forest and Fire.12mo. Cloth1 25On the Trail of the Moose.12mo. Cloth1 25By C. A. Stephens.Rare books for boys—bright, breezy, wholesome and instructive; full of adventure and incident, and information upon natural history. They blend instruction with amusement—contain much useful and valuable information upon the habits of animals, and plenty of adventure, fun and jollity.CAMPING OUT SERIES.By C. A. Stephens. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$7 50Camping Out.As recorded by “Kit”1 25Left on Labrador; or The Cruise of the Schooner Yacht “Curfew.” As recorded by “Wash”1 25Off to the Geysers;or, The Young Yachters in Iceland. As recorded by “Wade”1 25Lynx Hunting.From Notes by the author of “Camping Out”1 25Fox Hunting.As recorded by “Raed”1 25On the Amazon;or, The Cruise of the “Rambler.” As recorded by “Wash”1 25By J. T. Trowbridge.These stories will rank among the best of Mr. Trowbridge’s books for the young—and he has written some of the best of our juvenile literature.JACK HAZARD SERIES.By J. T. Trowbridge. 6 vols., 12mo. Fully Illustrated. Cloth, extra, printed in colors. In box$7 50
Specimen Cover of the Wyoming Series.
Specimen Cover of the Wyoming Series.
ANew Seriesof Books.
Indian LifeandCharacterFounded onHistoricalFacts.
By Edward S. Ellis.
⁂ Any volume sold separately.
New Books by Edward S. Ellis.
By C. A. Stephens.
Rare books for boys—bright, breezy, wholesome and instructive; full of adventure and incident, and information upon natural history. They blend instruction with amusement—contain much useful and valuable information upon the habits of animals, and plenty of adventure, fun and jollity.
By J. T. Trowbridge.
These stories will rank among the best of Mr. Trowbridge’s books for the young—and he has written some of the best of our juvenile literature.