by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER IV.
FANNY THE SKIPPER.
"What did he want of you, Fan?" asked Kate Magner, with a curiosity notunmixed with anxiety, as her leader in mischief joined her at the footof the pier.
"O, never mind that," exclaimed Fanny, in reply. "We have no time totalk about it now."
"But what did he say?" demanded Kate, who thought her present actionought to be governed in some measure by the words of the constable.
"He didn't say much; it is all right now. Come, jump into the boat. Wehaven't a moment to lose."
"I want to know what he said before I get any deeper into the mud,"persisted Kate; but we are compelled to acknowledge that her scrupleswere mere worldly prudence, and were not called forth by theupbraidings of an awakened conscience.
"You can't back out now, Kate. I made it all right with Mr. Long,"replied Fanny, with energy, as she drew the skiff up to the steps,ready for her more timid companion to embark. "Now, get in, and don'twaste another instant in talking about nothing."
"You are keeping everything to yourself. If you don't tell me what Mr.Long wanted of you, I won't get into the boat. Was it about the moneyyou _found_?" asked Kate.
"No; he didn't say a word about that. He only asked me why I was not atschool."
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him the teacher sent us down to get some green branches to putover the clock, for we were to have visitors at school this afternoon."
"Did he believe you?"
Kate laughed; she appreciated what she regarded as the joke of a cleverdeception; the wickedness of the act did not disturb her.
"Of course he believed me--why shouldn't he? He has gone up to ask Mrs.Green if I went to school."
"But he will find out all about it."
"No, he won't; besides, if he does, we shall be a mile off when he getsback here again."
"Didn't he say a word about the money you found?"
"Not a word, Kate. Now, jump in, or we shall certainly get caught. Weshall have time enough to talk about these things when we get away fromthe pier."
Kate was satisfied, and stepped into the skiff. All her fears relatedto the money in the possession of her friend, which, she was almostcertain, had been stolen. She was moralist enough to understand thateven if the money had been found on the floor, as Fanny represented, itwas just as much stolen as though it had been taken from Mr. Grant'spocket-book. Kate had not engaged in this theft, and she was notwilling to bear any of the blame on account of it. If the crime hadalready been discovered, she did not wish to expose herself to theperil of helping to spend the money. According to Fanny's statement,nothing had been found out, and she got into the skiff.
Fanny had been among the boats a great deal during her residence atWoodville, and rowing and sailing were suited to her masculine taste.She was a girl of quick parts; her faculty of imitation was highlydeveloped, and generally what she had seen done she could do herself.She could row cross-handed very well, and she had no difficulty inpulling the skiff out to the Greyhound's moorings. Kate stepped onboard of the sail-boat, and Fanny, fastening the painter of the skiffat the stern, began to bustle around with as much confidence as thoughshe had been a skipper ever since she left her cradle.
She had often sailed in the Greyhound with Ben and others, and she knewprecisely what was to be done in order to get the boat under way. Sheunderstood how to move the tiller in order to make the craft go in agiven direction, and had an indistinct idea of beating and tacking; butshe was very far from being competent to manage a sailboat.
The stops were removed from the sails, under the direction of theadventurous Fanny, and the foresail hoisted. It was a more difficultmatter to cast off the moorings, but their united strength accomplishedthe feat, and the Greyhound, released from the bonds which held her,immediately drifted to the shore, for her unskilful skipper had nottrimmed the foresail so that it would draw.
"I thought you knew how to manage a boat," said Kate, contemptuously.
"So I do," replied Fanny, as she gathered up the fore-sheet, andtrimmed the sail.
"What are you doing in here, then?"
"I only came in here to get a fair start," added the skipper, not atall disconcerted by the mishap.
"Folks don't generally run the boat ashore before they start," sneeredKate, who certainly had no confidence in the seamanship of the feminineskipper.
"That's the way they do it!" exclaimed Fanny, triumphantly, as the sailbegan to draw, and the boat moved off from the shore. "Now, we are allright. That's just the way I meant to make her go."
The wind came from the Woodville side of the river, but it was verylight, and the Greyhound moved but slowly. Fanny was entirely satisfiedwith herself now, and was confident that she could manage any boat thatever floated. It was a very easy thing, she thought, and she did notsee why folks made such a "fuss" about sailing a boat; anybody could doit, if they only thought they could. But the Greyhound did not movefast enough for her impatient temperament, and, against theremonstrances of her more prudent companion, she insisted upon settingthe mainsail.
"Mr. Long may be after us soon, and we must get along as fast as wecan," said she, as she took the throat halliard, and gave the peak toKate. "Now, hoist away. We are as good sailors as any one need be."
The mainsail was set, and the Greyhound began to travel through thewater pretty rapidly, much to the delight of Fanny. She had beendeceived in regard to the force of the wind; under the lee of theshore, where it was obstructed by the bank, by the trees, and by thebuildings, the breeze was very light: out in the middle of the riverthe wind was quite strong; but the boat had not yet begun to feel itsfull force.
"Now she goes beautifully!" exclaimed Fanny, as she observed the effectby the added sail.
"She goes very well; but don't you see how rough the water is out inthe middle of the river?" replied Kate, rather anxiously, though shewas not willing to acknowledge the full extent of her fears.
"That's nothing."
"But why don't you go down the river more, and keep out of that roughplace?"
"I like the waves! It's splendid to hear them beating against theboat."
"It may be when you have a man in the boat with you," answered Kate,sceptically.
"What are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid; but I think folks ought to be very careful when theydon't know anything about boats."
"But I know all about boats. Don't you see how beautifully she goes? Iwish she would go a little faster."
"She goes fast enough," said Kate, as she listened to the ripple of thewaves against the bow.
"She might go a little faster; besides, we are in a hurry."
"We are going fast enough, Fan."
"The faster the better! I suppose, when Mr. Long goes over to theschool and finds we are not there, he will come down to the pier afterus. We want to be out of sight when he gets there."
"Why should he come after us? I thought you said it was all right,"demanded Kate, nervously.
"He will go over to the school to find out whether the teacher sent usafter the boughs."
"_I_ wish I had not come," continued Kate, gloomily.
If she had known the whole truth, and understood the full extent of herbold companion's plans, she would have been still more dissatisfiedwith the situation.
"Here, Kate, you take the tiller a moment," said Fanny, as she rosefrom her seat in the stern-sheets.
"What are you going to do now?" asked Kate, nervously.
"I'm going to hoist the other sail."
"We don't want it hoisted. We are going fast enough."
"We can just as well go faster; and I want to get out of sight beforeMr. Long sees us," replied Fanny, persuasively, though her bright eyessnapped with increasing lustre under the excitement of the moment.
"I won't touch the tiller; I say we go fast enough. You want to drownme--don't you?"
"If I drown you, I must drown myself--mustn't I?"
"I won't touch the ti
ller; I don't want the other sail hoisted,"persisted Kate.
"What are you afraid of? I didn't think you were a coward. If I had, Ishouldn't have asked you to come with me."
"I'm not a coward, any more than you are. I don't see what you want tohoist the other sail for; we are going like fury through the waternow."
"We need more head sail," answered Fanny, using an expression she hadborrowed from the nautical speeches of Ben, the boatman.
"No, we don't need more head sail," replied Kate, who, however, had notthe most remote idea of the meaning of her friend's language.
"Take the tiller, Kate, and don't bother me."
"I will not."
"Then I will hoist the sail, and let the boat take care of herselfwhile I do it. If she is upset, it will be your fault,--not mine."
Fanny was resolute; she had a will, as well as a way, of her own. Shedid not want any advice, and she was not willing to take any. Shelooked upon her companion as a weak-minded, poor-spirited girl, and shetreated her opinions and her wishes with the utmost contempt, now thatshe had her completely in her power. It was useless for Kate to attemptto oppose her.
"I don't know anything about the tiller, as you call it. I don't evenknow what it is, and I'm sure I couldn't tell what to do with it,"continued Kate.
"That's a good girl!" replied Fanny, in patronizing tones, when she sawthat her companion was disposed to yield.
"I don't want to touch it."
"But you must."
"Must! Who says I must?"
"I say so; if you don't, we may be upset."
"I have gone far enough, Fan Grant; I don't want to go any farther: Iwant to go on shore again!" exclaimed Kate, now completely disgustedwith the venture, for in addition to the perils of wrong doing, shefound she must submit to the impudence and the arrogance of her friend.
"Well, why don't you go on shore?" replied Fanny, with the utmostcoolness and self-possession.
"You know I can't. Turn the boat round, and let me go back to theland."
"I think not."
"I have had enough of this thing."
"Will you take the tiller, or will you let the boat upset?" addedFanny, with firmness and decision. "You can't go on shore again till Iget ready to let you. I command this vessel, and if you ever want toput your foot on the dry land again, you must mind what I say."
"Please to let me go back," pleaded Kate.
"I won't please to do anything of the kind. Take the tiller, I say."
"What shall I do with it?" asked the poor girl, cowed down and subduedby the force and decision of her companion.
"Sit here," replied Fanny, pointing to the corner of the stern-sheets,where the helmsman usually sits. "This is the tiller," she added,indicating the serpent-shaped stick attached to the rudder, by whichthe boat is steered. "Keep it just as it is, until I tell you to moveit."
"I don't know how to move it."
"When I say right, move it this way;" and Fanny pointed to thestarboard side. "When I say left, move it the other way."
Fanny watched her a moment to see that her instructions were obeyed.
"We don't want this any longer," said she, unfastening the painter ofthe skiff and throwing it into the water, thus permitting the boat togo adrift.
"What did you do that for?" demanded Kate, as the Greyhound dashed on,leaving the skiff behind to be borne down the river by the tide.
"We don't want the skiff, and dragging it behind keeps us back some."
"What did you bring it for, then?"
"To keep Mr. Long from chasing us in it. All the rest of the boats arehauled up, and he will have to find one before he can come after us."
Fanny went forward, and having fearlessly removed the stops from thejib, which required her to crawl out a little way on the bowsprit, shehoisted the sail, and carried the sheet aft to the standing-room, asshe had often seen the boatmen do. The effect of this additional canvaswas immediately seen, for the Greyhound had now reached the middle ofthe river, where she felt the full force of the wind, which was freshfrom the north-west, and came in puffs and flaws.
When the Greyhound went out from the shore, her sails were over on theright hand side; that is, she took the wind abaft the port beam. Theboat was now careened over nearly to her rail, and was darting throughthe water like a rocket. Kate trembled, but Fanny was delighted.
"Now we will go down the river," said Fanny, as she took the tiller.
Suiting the action to the word, she put the helm up just as a flaw ofwind came sweeping over the waves. The boat came round; the threesails, caught by the flaw, suddenly flew over, filled on the otherside, and the Greyhound careened till she was half full of water.