The Rival Campers; Or, The Adventures of Henry Burns

by Herbert Strang

  CHAPTER XX. AMONG THE ISLANDS

  The yacht _Spray_, with six jubilant boys aboard, sailed slowly away fromHeron and Spring Islands, shaping its course for a group of outer islandsof some considerable size, about two miles away. It was nearly seveno'clock, but the southerly breeze had not wholly died with the going downof the sun, and the tide, which had just begun to ebb, was favourable.

  "I think we can get across to-night," said George Warren. "This wind isgoing to hold for some hours yet and maybe all night; and we know our wayinto Cold Harbour at any hour of the twenty-four. I don't think CaptainSam will start to run out of the Little Reach at all to-night, for whenthe tide drops there are some bad ledges all along that thoroughfare,and, besides, he won't want to run the risk of drifting out here in thebay, in case the wind should drop. We shall have twelve hours start ofhim, anyway, and once among the islands we can keep out of sight fordays."

  "I'd have given something to see the colonel and the squire when theyfound we had slipped away from them at the very moment they thought theyhad us," said young Joe. "Didn't they look funny, standing up there onthe rock, watching us sail away?"

  "Captain Sam has my sympathy," said Henry Burns, dryly, and the verythought of the disappointed trio arguing it out together sent the boysinto fits of laughter. They fairly rolled over on the seats and huggedone another.

  "It's the richest joke of the season," said young Joe.

  And so, for the time being, in their elation, the consciousness that theywere runaways, fleeing from possible arrest, was forgotten. The starscame out, and a lighthouse far and near gave them their course. The watergleamed with phosphorescence, and the yacht _Spray_ left a wake ofgleaming silver and gold and flashing jewels. By and by the moon came upout of the sea and threw a radiant path across the waters, and theislands ahead stood out in huge black shadow.

  It was glorious sailing, with the soft summer night air blowing in theirfaces; and they sang as they sailed, and yo-hoed all the sea chorusesthey knew, and felt so free and irresponsible that the yacht _Spray_, asthough it absorbed some of their spirit, rolled along in a merry,swinging fashion, rocking gently from billow to billow, dipping andtossing in time to the music.

  The still shores of Eagle Island rang with their songs as they rounded toin Cold Harbour somewhere near midnight, and came to anchor close toshore in the deep water, within the shadow of the hemlocks that rose up,tall and black, almost from the water's edge, where the tide swashedgently against the rocks. High up in the thick branches of the greattrees some fish-hawks, startled by the unwonted noise, rose up from theirnests and uttered shrill, piercing screams of fright. And this was theironly welcome, for on all the island there was no other sign of life.

  "It's fairly certain they won't pursue us to-night," said George. "But itwon't do to be caught napping. We've got to set watch regularly everynight now, and we might as well begin to-night. Somebody's got to walkout on the point of rocks yonder and look out for sails. Two will beenough till morning. We will split the time from now till six into twothree-hour watches."

  "I'll begin it," said Bob.

  "My next," said Tom, not to be outdone by his chum.

  Bob rowed ashore in the little tender, and set off at once for a point ofrocks some half-mile distant, which commanded a view of the bay. Theothers were sound asleep by the time he was half-way there.

  When Tom awoke, about seven hours later, it was broad daylight and thesun was streaming into the hatchway. He scrambled out in a hurry as Bob'svoice hailed him from the deck.

  "Hulloa! Hulloa!" came the voice. "Are you fellows going to sleep allday?"

  "Why didn't you come back and rouse me to take my turn?" asked Tom,reproachfully.

  "Well, I wasn't sleepy," answered Bob, "and it grew light soon, and I gotto watching a mink fishing for his family, and carrying cunners to themalong the rocks, and I thought I'd let you sleep. It's tough to wake up,you know, when one has just dropped off. Come on, we'll take a swim now.The water is fine."

  Tom bared a muscular young form, and he and Bob dived off the rail of the_Spray_, making such a splashing and commotion in the water and bellowingso like young sea-lions, that the others gave up trying to turn over foranother nap, and came sprawling out of the cabin, diving overboard, oneafter another, to join them. Then they had a race ashore, which was wonby Tom, with Bob and Henry Burns a close second; after which they lay onthe beach sunning themselves, and then swam back to the yacht forbreakfast.

  "There's not a sail in sight, and the whole bay is as smooth as glass,"Bob had announced on his arrival; and, as not a breath of wind was yetstirring, there was no need of setting watch for the present. So they allsat down to hot coffee and griddle-cakes, and ate like wolves.

  After breakfast they went ashore to explore the island, roaming aboutlike young savages, leaving their clothing piled in a heap in the tender.Every now and then, as the humour seized them, they raced down to theshore, wherever they were, ran along on the fine white beaches, andcooled themselves in the clear, still water.

  They had it all to themselves, for nobody lived on this small island, thefishermen on the mainland or neighbouring larger islands coming over inthe late summer only, to cut the grass and make the hay.

  Then they went back to the tender and dressed, and Henry Burns, dauntedat nothing, tried to climb one of the giant hemlocks to a fish-hawk'snest, but gave it up when the birds screamed in his ears and beat at himwith their powerful wings.

  They had dug some clams at the low tide in the forenoon and put themaway, covered with wet seaweed. Now, shortly after their noon luncheon,as the tide flooded, they got out the lines from a locker in the _Spray_and tried the fishing in Cold Harbour. There were plenty of small harbourfish, flounders out in the middle where the water was muddy, and cunnersand small rock-cod in among the ledges. They soon caught a basket ofthese, cleaned them, and put them away, covered with seaweed, like theclams.

  Then, toward the end of the afternoon, as the bay was still calm, theyset out along the shore and gathered driftwood, which they threw in agreat pile on a flat, clean ledge. As supper-time came, they set thisheap afire and let it burn for an hour or two, until the great flat ledgewas at a white heat. Then they made a broom of some branches of hemlock,and swept the ledge clean of ashes, and brought the clams and poured themout on the ledge, covering them all with clean, damp seaweed till thererose clouds of steam, and, after a time, an appetizing odour.

  The fish they cooked in much the same way, wrapping them in big greenleaves and setting them upon the hot stones to bake.

  Then, as evening came on, they built the fire anew close by, for a fireis the cheeriest of companions in a strange place, and sat feasting onsteamed clams and fish, with a great pot of coffee filling all the airwith a most delicious fragrance. They lolled about the fire and ate, tilleven slim Henry Burns said he felt like an alderman. They told stories bythe firelight, and stretched out at ease till sleep nearly overtook themas they lay there; for the day had been brimful of exertion. By and by,long after the stars were out, and a gentle breeze from the south, comingup softly from among the islands, just rippled the water, they rowed outto the _Spray_, Tom returning ashore again to begin the night's watch.

  Then, later in the night, came George Warren's turn to watch, and hestayed it out till morning, for, with all the fun of the day, there wassomething that would keep turning over and over in his brain, and whichtook away the sleepy feeling and left in its stead a feeling ofunhappiness; a sense of something wrong. His father would have said itwas conscience, but George wrestled long and hard through the morninghours to avoid recognizing it as that, for conscience would say, ifrecognized, that it was all wrong, what they were doing,--and GeorgeWarren wanted to think he was having a good time.

  These moody thoughts began to dissipate, however, with the coming of thewarm golden glow in the east; and when the sun was at length up, and theboys had had their morning swim, and sat about a f
ire awaiting breakfast,George Warren seemed himself again.

  But the breakfast was rudely interrupted by a series of whoops from youngJoe, who had taken his brother's place on guard at the end of the pointof rocks, and who now came running down alongshore, crying out that therewas a sail that looked like the _Nancy Jane_ coming out from around theislands across the bay, and they all raced back to have a look at it.

  "It's the _Nancy Jane_, sure enough," said Henry Burns. "It's her bigmainsail, with the high peak. She's making slow headway, though, withthis breath of wind. However, we shall have to be off at once, if we aregoing to try to escape."

  It was noticeable that Henry Burns said "if."

  However, as no one felt like proposing to give up, they lost no time ingetting aboard the _Spray_, and had sail on and the anchor up in whatCaptain Sam would have called a jiffy. Heading out into the open bay thatlay between them and the outer islands, they bade good-bye to ColdHarbour and began a long, slow beat to windward, in the light breeze.

  "There's more wind coming, down between the islands," said Bob. "There'sa line of breeze about two miles to the southward, and we shall catch ita good half-hour before the _Nancy Jane_."

  "That's so; it will give us a fine start," said Arthur.

  But, somehow, no one seemed wildly enthusiastic over their prospects.However, as they caught the fresher breeze, and the little _Spray_ stoodstiffly up into it and ate away to windward, their spirits rose. Then, asthe islands came plainly into view and they drew nearer and nearer to thefirst, big Saddle Island, with its low range of little hills droppingdown in the centre in the shape of a horse's back, the excitement becameintense; for the _Nancy Jane_ had not rounded the point of Eagle Island,and it seemed as though they might be out of sight behind Saddle Islandbefore they could be seen by those aboard the pursuing yacht.

  "Go it, old _Spray_! Good little boat!" cried young Joe, as the yachtglided swiftly up into the shadow of the island. "We're going to make it,and, once behind old Saddle, who's to know which way we have gone?"

  "Five minutes more of this sailing, and we shall fool Captain Sam oncemore," said Bob.

  The five minutes were nearly up. They had but another leg to run to roundthe head of Saddle Island. They stood out till they had one and alldeclared that they could clear it on the next tack; they were all readyto go about. George Warren stood with one hand on the tiller and theother ready to grasp the main-sheet. Joe and Arthur Warren were waitingimpatiently to trim the jib-sheets, and then--and then George Warren tooktheir breaths away.

  All at once he jammed the tiller over, threw the _Spray_ clear off thewind, let the main-sheet run, and before they scarcely knew what hadhappened, instead of standing in to round the head of Saddle Island, thelittle _Spray_ was running dead before the wind and heading squarely backfor the point around which the _Nancy Jane_ must soon come in sight.

  It was so quickly done that at first they thought there was some mistake,and Arthur and Joe and Bob rushed to the stern to help bring her aroundagain; but George Warren, with a firm, set look on his face, stood themoff.

  "Oh, I say, George, you're not going to give it up now, are you?" criedyoung Joe, who had been in high spirits not a moment before.

  "That's what," responded his brother, quietly. "I've thought it all outat last, and I've come to the conclusion we are doing the cowardly thingto run away. We have got to face the thing, and we may as well do itfirst as last. Besides, we didn't set out to run away when we started."

  "That's a fact," said Tom. "We have sort of drifted into this runningaway business without realizing what we were doing. Now the best thing wecan do is to go back and have it out with Colonel Witham."

  "It's not Colonel Witham that I hate to face," said George. "It's fatherand mother. And the part they'll feel worst about is that we did not stayand talk it over with them."

  "That's so," added Arthur. "What a lot of loons we were to come downhere."

  "Shall I pull the centreboard up?" asked Henry Burns.

  "You bet!" answered George Warren. "And we'll take a leaf out of yourbook, Henry, and we won't worry over what cannot be helped. We're doingthe right thing now, anyway, so there's that much to feel good about."

  "There's the _Nancy Jane_," said Henry Burns.

  Sure enough, Captain Sam's pride was just turning the point, and CaptainSam, looking at the _Spray_ coming down free and pointing its nose rightat him, could hardly believe his eyes.

  "It's them, all right," he assured the squire and the colonel. "They arecoming back; tired of being runaways, I guess. Well, I thought they wouldget sick of it after a night or two away from home. They ain't the kindof boys to enjoy running away."

  "Humph!" snorted the colonel.

  "They're a lot of young scamps and scapegraces," snarled the squire.

  Getting aground and spending a night in a bed that the colonel swore wasstuffed with pig iron and seaweed had not improved their tempers.

  "Well, anyhow," responded Captain Sam, "they are coming back of their ownaccord, and that is something in their favour."

  The colonel and the squire only sneered.

  Meanwhile the little _Spray_ came running down the wind in merry style,and the end of the next hour found her swinging up into the wind, withsails flapping, while the _Nancy Jane_ ran alongside.

  The colonel and the squire were at last avenged.

  Full of wrath was the one, and brimming with wrathful satisfaction wasthe other.

  "So we have caught you at last, have we?" exclaimed Squire Brackett.

  "We seem to have sort of caught ourselves, squire," answered GeorgeWarren.

  "Well, never mind about being smart," said the colonel, hotly. "You areunder arrest for burning my hotel down. Perhaps that will take some ofthe smartness out of you."

  "Under arrest!" George Warren's face paled. "It isn't right," he added."We didn't do it nor have any hand in it."

  "Guess you won't attempt to deny that you were in the billiard-room, willyou?" broke in Squire Brackett. "Because, bein' as I saw you all inthere, it might not do you any good to swear as how you wasn't."

  "Don't you dare accuse us of trying--" But young Joe got no further.

  "Be quiet, Joe," said George Warren, calmly. And then, turning to thecolonel, he said:

  "We are not going to deny anything, Colonel Witham. That is why we arecoming back of our own accord. We have got nothing to conceal, and we aregoing to tell everything just as it happened."

  "That is just about what we are arresting you for," said the squire,sneeringly. "We calculate you'll have to tell everything."

  "Hold on there a minute, squire," cried Captain Sam. "Let's not be toohard on these boys. There may be some mistake, as they say. I hold these'ere warrants, and I don't see as there is any necessity of serving of'em just yet. If these boys will give me their word to go along straightas they can sail for Mayville, and agree to appear when wanted beforeJudge Ellis, why, I guess maybe the warrants will keep till--say, just aswe go in the door. Or perhaps Judge Ellis will consent that they comebefore him of their own accord, without serving these warrants at all,considering as they are only boys."

  It is needless to say that Captain Sam's legal experience was of the mostlimited sort.

  "Bully for you, Captain Sam!" cried Bob. "You're a brick,--and you won'tregret it." And a yell of thanks from the others gave Captain Sam a warmglow under his blue shirt.

  The squire and the colonel were loud and furious in their denunciation ofsuch a course.

  "It's against the law," cried the colonel; and he vowed he would make ithot for Captain Sam when Judge Ellis found his orders were not obeyed.But Captain Sam knew better than they of the warm corner in the judge'sheart, and knew, moreover, that his old friend of years, the judge, wouldnever reprimand him for a breach of duty of this sort. So he shut hislips firmly and let the squire and the colonel boil away as best theymight between themselves.

  The captain shortened sail on the _Nancy Jane_, so that the two boatskept alon
g near together, heading back for Southport.

  It was a sorry crew aboard the _Spray_ as the little craft silentlyfollowed in the wake of the _Nancy Jane_. They might have been indreamland as they sailed all that day, for scarcely a word was spoken;and when night dropped down and the boys, all but George Warren, piledinto the cabin to sleep, it was scarcely more quiet than by day.

  Very late that night, as the _Spray_ and the _Nancy Jane_ ran intoSouthport harbour and brought up for a few moments alongside the wharf,to let a serious-looking man, and a tearful woman aboard, the boys werestill sleeping soundly; and George Warren and his father and mother satalone together till the sun rose, while the _Spray_, following the _NancyJane_, ran along up the island and then stood across to Mayville, whereJudge Ellis would hold his court that morning.

  "I don't need you to make any denial about the fire," Mr. Warren hadsaid, when he stepped aboard the _Spray_ and put his hand on his eldestson's shoulder. "I know you boys would not do such a thing as that; but Ifear your recklessness has gotten you into serious trouble, and ColonelWitham seems inclined to press the matter to the extreme. So I want tohear everything from beginning to end."

  And George Warren told him all.

  There was another boat coming sluggishly up the bay that night, farastern of the _Spray_, a handsome big sloop, beautifully modelled andwith finely tapered, shining yellow spars. But she carried little sail,was reefed, in fact, though the breeze was very light; and she movedthrough the water so like a dead thing, or like a creature crippled by awound, that a sailor would have seen at once that there had been somemishap aboard, some injury to hull or spars that held her back.

  The youth at the wheel of this strange, big sloop bore a strikingresemblance to Jack Harvey, though the yacht was not the _Surprise_, butbigger and far more elegant. And the crew--yes, they were surely Harvey'screw--George and Allan and Tim and Joe,--and they addressed the boy atthe wheel as "Jack."

  And the _Surprise_--where was she?

  Four days had passed since, on that morning following the fire, the_Surprise_ had turned the point of the island that marked an entrance tothe thoroughfare where, a half-mile to leeward, a big black sloop wascoming fast up the wind.

  "There he is!" Harvey had cried. "Come, boys, get into shape now; butstay below till I give the word,--all but you, Joe,--and when I yell youpile out and get aboard that sloop the quickest you ever did anything inall your lives. He will fight, and we have got to act quick."

  If the thick-set, ill-visaged man who sat at the wheel of the black sloopfelt any concern at the sudden appearance of this new craft, dead aheadand coming down the narrow thoroughfare toward him, his alarm must haveabated as on its near approach the apparent number of its occupantsbecame disclosed.

  "She looks harmless enough," he muttered, between his teeth. "Pshaw!There's only a couple of boys aboard. But it did give me a start for amoment." And he slapped a hand at his jacket pocket.

  "He's taking long chances, if he did but know it," said Harvey, as thebig sloop came about after a tack close in shore. "That boat cannot morethan clear those ledges by an inch, if it does that. It's a regular stonefield where he's sailing. The channel here winds like a cow-path in apasture. However, if he can clear there, we can, so we'll begin to crowdhim."

  It was no easy matter now to close in on a boat beating across thethoroughfare and not arouse suspicion. To follow him, tack by tack, andpoint so as to head him off every time he went about, must inevitably puthim on his guard long before the time came to strike, and might evenallow him, by clever sailing, to slip by.

  With his cap pulled down over his eyes, so that the stranger could not byany chance identify him as the youth he had knocked down in the pasturethe night of the fire, and his head bent low, Jack Harvey watched theman's every move, and calculated every inch of the way.

  "Three more tacks will bring him up to us," he said. "And there's shoalwater to starboard and some ledges just beyond them. He's got to meet usabout in that spot," and Harvey laid his own course according to hiscalculation and held to it steadily.

  It must have served to allay the man's suspicions, if he still had any,but now, as he came about on the third tack, he viewed the oncoming_Surprise_ with anger.

  "Keep away, there!" he cried, in a fierce, violent tone. "Keep off! Can'tyou see you're going to foul me if you don't keep off?"

  "Ready to jump, now, Joe," said Harvey, in a low voice. "I'm going to runhim down. It's the only way to be sure, though it may wreck us.

  "Fellows," he called, softly, to the boys below, "all ready, now. Youknow what you've got to do the moment she strikes."

  The man at the wheel had risen to his feet, and he shook one fistthreateningly, while his other hand clutched the wheel, throwing hissloop off as far as he could.

  "Curse you!" he cried. "You're running me down. Keep off, I say, or I'llblow your stupid head off your shoulders."

  The next moment Harvey, with a sudden turn of the tiller, threw the_Surprise_ full tilt at the oncoming sloop. There was a sharp crash ofsplintering wood, the tearing of head-sails, and a shock that shook theyachts from keel to topmast, as the _Surprise_ rammed the big black sloopjust by the foremast stays, snapping her own bowsprit short off andmaking an ugly hole in her own planking.

  Leaping just as the boats crashed, and holding a coil of rope on his arm,Joe Hinman landed on the top of the big sloop's cabin in the very midstof the confusion. A moment more and he had made a few quick turns aboutthe mast, lashing the two yachts fast together at the moment when Harvey,followed by the rest of his crew, who came swarming out of the cabin,sprang aboard the strange sloop.

  "I'll shoot the first boy that steps a foot on this boat," cried the man;but the words were scarce out of his mouth before they were upon him. Hehad been in danger before and knew how to make the most of his chances,and he stood, desperate but cool, as they made their rush.

  There was a shot, and Jack Harvey, who was leading, gave a cry of pain,for a bullet just grazed his left shoulder. He stumbled and fell full atthe feet of the man as another shot was fired and young Tim thought hisright hand was gone.

  The next moment Harvey had the man by the legs, while Allan Harding andGeorge Baker and Joe made a rush for him. The man fell heavily, JoeHinman clinging with both hands to one wrist, so that he could not fireagain. They rolled over and over in the cockpit for a moment, the boysand he. Twice the man got to his knees and twice they dragged him downagain; till, at length, young Tim, whose hand was not shot away, but onlyslightly wounded, managed to run in and deal the man a blow with the endof an oar, which stunned him for a moment, so that they got him flat andhad bound the loose end of a halyard about him before he came fully tohis senses. Then, as they proceeded to complete the job and tie him fast,hand and foot, he recognized Harvey for the first time.

  "Hulloa!" he exclaimed. "Why, where have I seen you before? You're notthe chap in the pasture, are you?"

  "The same," said Harvey.

  "Well, the game's up," said the man, coolly. "'Twas a mistake, and I knewit the moment after I had done it. I was a fool to hit you that night.It's my temper, that's what has beat me. It gets away from me sometimes.I dare say if I had gone along about my business you wouldn't havefollowed me, eh?"

  "Probably not," answered Harvey. "That is why I am glad you knocked medown," and then, taking a quick glance over the side of the boat, hecried:

  "Joe! Allan! George! Out with the sweeps, lively! We're going aground."

  Harvey sprang to the wheel, hauling in on the main-sheet as he did so.

  But it was too late. There was a gentle shock that shook the sloop fromend to end, a dull, grating sound, and the next moment the big slooprested firmly on a jagged rock of the reach, listing as she hung, andwrenching the bilge so that she made water rapidly.

  "Whew!" cried Harvey. "Here's a mess. We're wrecked, and badly, too. Howin the world are we ever going to get out of this?"

  It was, indeed, a serious problem. The _Surprise_, her bow plan
ks rippedopen by the collision, had sunk within a few minutes, and now lay onbottom, with her deck covered. The big sloop, hard aground and full ofiron ballast, was not a thing to be moved easily.

  "This is a scrape and no mistake," said Harvey. "Here we are, where aboat may pick us up in a day or a week, but more likely not for a week.We've got our man, but the reefs have got us. Well, we have got to figureout some way to get out of it ourselves."

  But first they took account of their wounds, which had, now that theexcitement was over, begun to sting and smart. They found that neitherHarvey's nor Tim's wound was at all serious, mere surface flesh-wounds.The back of young Tim's hand was bare of skin for the length of threeinches across, and Harvey's shoulder bled badly till it was cleansed andbandaged, but it was the price of victory, and they accounted it cheap.All of them had honourable scars of battle, bruises and scratches withoutnumber, and every one of them was proud of his, and wouldn't have had oneless for the world.

  Taking their prisoner, securely bound, they all rowed ashore to surveytheir surroundings, build a fire and get breakfast, and make plans forgetting away.

  "There's only one thing to be done," said Harvey, after they had finishedbreakfast and sat by the shore, surveying the wrecks of the yachts. "The_Surprise_ is done for. We can't raise her. But the big sloop is not sobadly hurt but what we can repair her, if we can only float her. Thefirst thing we have got to do, when the tide goes out, is to get all thatpig iron out of her, and that's a day's job, at the least. Then we maybeach her at high tide and patch her up. It's a big contract, though."

  That day they brought the spare sails of the sloop ashore and pitched atent with them; and, when the tide was low enough for them to work, theybegan the hard labour of lightening the big sloop of its ballast.

  They worked all that tide like beavers, and by night the yacht was light.They camped on shore that night, standing watch by turns over theirprisoner.

  The next day at low water they found the worst of the leaks in the sloop,and made shift to patch them up temporarily with strips of canvas tackedon and daubed with paint, which they found in the sloop's locker, and byrecaulking some of the seams with oakum. By the next high tide, with hardpumping, she was sufficiently lightened to float clear of the reef,though still leaking badly, and they got her around to a clear, steeplyshelving strip of beach, where they rested her more easily when the tidefell, and so could work on the repairs to better advantage.

  Another night in camp ashore, and the next day they floated the sloop offagain at high tide and loaded about half of her ballast in again.

  "That will keep her right side up till we can get back to Southport,"said Harvey. "I think we can make it, if we carry short sail, so as notto strain her and open up those places where we have patched her. We willtry it, anyway, for I have half an idea that our running off so soonafter the fire may have made talk about us, and the quicker we get backand put an end to that the better."

  So that afternoon they began their voyage home again, looking veryserious as the mast of the yacht _Surprise_, sticking out of water, fadedfrom their view, but swelling with pride and satisfaction as they peeredin now and then at a form that lay secure on one of the cabin bunks.

  They sailed all that night, for the breeze held fair and light, and bydaybreak of the following morning they came into the harbour ofSouthport.

  Harvey and Joe Hinman rowed ashore, soon after they came to their oldmoorings off the camp, to see how the land lay; but came back on the runin about twenty minutes, and made the water boil as they rowed out to theyacht.

  "We're off for Mayville," cried Harvey. "We'll put on more sail, too, ifit pulls the bottom out of her. Why, what do you think! Who's arrestedfor the fire?"

  And he told the news, to the amazement of young Tim and George Baker andAllan Harding.

  "I've got a score to pay to Tom Harris and Bob White," he exclaimed.

  "Why, they saved your life, Jack," said young Tim.

  "That's what," said Harvey. "I owe them one for that. Here's a chance toget square, if we can only make it in time."

  "And only to think," muttered the man in the cabin, as he looked out atthe stalwart but boyish figure at the wheel, "that I had that youngfellow in the same boat with me at night in the middle of Samoset Bay!Well, if I had only done as I set out to, then, I wouldn't be here now,that's all. But how is a man to look ahead so far?"