CHAPTER VII.
ADVENTURES ON THE ISLAND.
"Do you mean to tell me theSpriteis not at the cove?" demanded Paul, leaping to his feet from the log upon which he had been resting.
"If she is, I can't see her," answered Joe.
"Neither can I see the boat," added Fred.
"Let me take a look."
The others were willing and made room on the rock for their companion. Paul gazed down to the cove and strained his eyes to their utmost.
"Well?" asked several, impatiently.
"Gone, just as sure as guns!" he ejaculated at last. "Where can she be?"
"There's a sailboat away out on the lake," announced Link. "Can that be theSprite?"
All turned in the direction indicated. The craft was headed directly away from them, so it was hard to determine just what manner of boat she could be.
"She certainly looks like theSprite," said Paul, slowly. "I'm going down to the cove to see about this," he continued, leaping off the rock.
"We'll all go," put in Harry. "If the boat is gone how are we to get back home?"
All of the lads looked at each other in consternation. Not one had thought of this before.
"Well, staying here over night will be no novelty to me," said Fred.
"But our folks will be worried over us," came from Link.
"Yes, I promised to be back by nine o'clock sure," added another of the party.
"What can't be cured must be endured," said another.
"I'm sure I tied that boat good and tight," said Joe. "I was very particular about it, Paul."
"I know you were, Joe, for I looked at the rope myself, before coming away," answered Paul Shale. "If the boat is gone——" He did not finish.
"If she couldn't drift away somebody must have taken her," said Bart.
"Don't you remember what Joel Runnell said?" shouted Harry. "I mean about Dan Marcy hanging out up here?"
"I was thinking of him," said Paul. "Do you really think he would dare to take the sloop?"
"That chap would dare to do anything—if he thought he wouldn't be caught," answered Joe. "He is a thoroughly bad egg."
By this time the whole party was well on the way down the hill. As they reached the bottom they noted that the sky to the westward was much overcast.
"We are sure to catch that storm now," remarked Fred, "and when it comes I guess it will be a corker."
"Which proves the old saying that it never pours but what we have a flood," grumbled Frank. "Losing the sloop is bad enough, without any more troubles."
At last they reached the cove and all gazed blankly at the spot where theSpritehad ridden at anchor such a short while before.
"Gone, that's all there is to it," said Joe, who was the first to speak.
"Here are some footprints along the shore," said Link, who was examining the ground. "See, they come from back of yonder bushes."
"Only one pair of feet," said Harry. "That would seem to prove that only one person sailed away with the sloop."
"You must be right, Harry," said Paul. "And that person must have been Dan Marcy."
"We can't prove that—just yet," said another of the crowd.
They looked around, but could find nothing which might give them a clew to the one who had taken the boat. Then they looked at each other.
"Is there another boat around here?" asked Bart. "Even a rowboat will do—anything to get to the mainland in."
"I don't know of any boat," answered Joe.
Neither did any of the other boys, and it was decided to skirt the shore of the island for some distance on the lookout for a craft of any kind. But the search proved unsuccessful, and at last Joe called a halt.
"It's beginning to rain!" cried Fred. "We've got to get to some sort of a shelter, or we'll get soaked."
"Let us see if our shelter from last winter is still standing," said Harry. "I don't mean Snow Lodge, but the shelter by the cliff."
"Two Tree Lodge," said Fred. "I don't see why it shouldn't be standing, and it will make a good shelter from this storm."
Joe, Harry and Fred knew the way well and the others followed in their footsteps. They had to climb over some rough rocks and then jump a small brook. Just as they came in sight of the shelter the rain began to come down heavily.
"Hurrah! the shelter is O.K.," came from Fred. "Come on in, fellows, out of the wet."
The shelter, as my old readers know, was composed of two heavy trees which leaned up against a cliff twenty to twenty-five feet in height. The under limbs of the trees had been chopped off and piled on top, and large quantities of brushwood had been added. During the winter snow had been heaped over the brushwood, but now this was of course gone.
"Hullo, somebody has had a campfire in here!" cried Joe, as he entered. "See, the ashes are still hot!"
"Yes, and here are several cans and cups," added Fred. "Somebody has surely been living here. Wonder if it was Dan Marcy?"
"More than likely, although other folks come here, too," added another of the crowd. "This is certainly cozy enough!" he continued, gazing around admiringly. "And the name, Two Tree Lodge, just fits it."
"Just listen to the rain!" exclaimed Joe. "We didn't get here any too quick."
It was a hard shower, and at the end of half an hour it was raining as steadily as ever. With the coming of the shower the wind at first died down, but now it came up stronger than before, whistling furiously through the pines and bringing many a decayed branch down with a loud crash.
"If we were out in this we'd be wet to the skin," remarked Frank. "Even as it is, some water is coming in here."
"Let us start up the fire," suggested Link. "It will make it more cheerful."
"Do you imagine there are any wild animals around here?" questioned Frank.
"More than likely—I don't think we killed all of them last winter," answered Harry with a grin. "Wouldn't you like to meet a wildcat, or a big bear?"
"Not much!"
"What a pity somebody didn't bring a gun along," came from Fred. "We may need it for protection, or for bringing down some food."
"I've got a fishing line and some hooks in my pocket," said Frank.
"Good! Then we can catch some fish if we can't do anything else."
It was not until sundown that the rain ceased. The wind blew as hard as ever and soon the sky became perfectly clear.
"Our folks will certainly be worried over us, especially because of the storm," said Link. "But I suppose it can't be helped. If it was daylight we might build a raft and try to reach the mainshore that way."
All were anxious to catch a few fish, and soon they were back to the shore. Some bait was found and Frank also had two very good artificial flies along. Four of the lads went fishing at once, in as many different places.
"Hurrah! here's the first catch!" cried Link, and brought up a perch weighing seven or eight ounces. "Not very big, but better than nothing."
Frank was after a lake trout and was making his casts near the foot of a big tree which overhung the lake. Presently there was a flash and a tug and he knew he had his game. Then began a bit of real fishing, which came to an end as he brought his prize up on the bank and clutched it in both hands.
"Good for you, Frank!" sang out Joe. "That is certainly worth while. A pound and a half if he is an ounce!"
After that the fishing continued steadily, until they had three trout, two bass and nine perch to their credit.
"There's a good supper for all hands," declared Link. "Now the question is, who is going to do the cooking?"
"Harry is the boy to cook fish," declared Fred.
"Yes, when I have something to work with," was Harry's answer. "However, I'll do the best I can with the utensils we found at the shelter."
It was dark by the time they returned to Two Tree Lodge. The fire was stirred up and several set to work to bring in firewood for the night, breaking it up with their feet and knees or cutting it with their jack-knives.
"This shows how useful a hatchet is," said Link. "When you've got it you don't appreciate it, but when you haven't got it you want it the worst way."
"And that's the way with lots of things," added Frank. "'Do without, if you want to know the real worth of a thing,' is what my father often says."
It was not long before the fire was blazing in good shape, and while the others cleaned the fish Harry set to work to cook them to a turn.
"This is the way to eat fish!" declared Joe, smacking his lips over a particularly sweet morsel. "The fish one buys in a market is nothing like this."
"I know some men who won't eat fish unless they are just caught," came from Link. "They say the right way to eat trout is to take 'em from the hook and drop 'em in the pan."
"Well, I want mine cleaned first," said Frank, dryly.
The boys took their time about eating, and along with sandwiches and some cake they had brought with them, the fish made them a substantial supper.
"One of us ought to stay on guard to-night," said Joe. "It won't be safe for all to go to sleep. There is no telling what animal may be prowling around in the darkness."
"Let us take turns at watching," answered Fred. "Each fellow can stay on guard just an hour. That will give us eight hours for sleep."
"With one cut off for guard duty," corrected Bart. "All right, that suits me."
It also suited the others, and soon all turned in but Frank, who was the first selected to remain on guard.