CHAPTER III.--A NIGHT ALARM.
After supper that night, a meal consisting of fried salt pork, boiledpotatoes and some fresh fish which Frank had caught earlier in the day,the elder of the Chester lads called what he termed "a conference,"although Billy Barnes declared it was more in the nature of a "councilof war."
We are not going to detail here all that was said as it would makewearisome reading; but, after an hour or more of talk, Frank spoke hismind.
"It may be all foolishness, of course," he said, "but I think that weought not to leave the island unguarded to-night. Daniels and his sonhave had a taste of that wire fence and they may have figured out someway to get around it--it would be a simple enough matter to do, afterall."
"Well, what's your proposal?" inquired Billy Barnes.
"To patrol the island all night, taking turns on watch. It's not morethan a mile or so all round it, and it ought to be an easy matter tokeep the ground thoroughly covered."
"Rifles and rattlesnakes!" burst out Pudge, "I thought this was to be asort of working vacation and not a civil war."
Frank smiled, and then assumed a graver expression as he went on:
"There is so much valuable property here which it would be easy formalicious people to injure that I wouldn't feel justified in leaving theisland unguarded all night. What do the rest of you think?"
"Just as you do, Frank," rejoined Harry heartily, while Billy and Pudgenodded vigorously; "we've got to keep a sharp lookout. I nominate myselfand Pudge for the first watch--say from eight to twelve. You and Billycan go on duty from midnight till daylight."
After some discussion this order of procedure was adopted. Promptly ateight o'clock Harry and Pudge Perkins went "on duty," while Frank andBilly turned in to get what sleep they could. As a matter of precaution,when they came to the island, the boys had brought along a revolver, andHarry was armed with this when he went on duty. He was not, of course,to use it as a weapon of offence, but it was agreed that, in case therewas any alarm during his watch, he was to fire it three times, when theothers would come to his assistance.
Harry and Pudge accompanied each other as far as the gate, and thenthreaded their way down the path among the rocks toward the beach. Amild current had been turned on in the fence, enough to give anuncomfortable shock to any one tampering with it, but not enough toexhaust the storage batteries which supplied it.
When they reached the beach, Harry paused.
"We'd better start this patrol in opposite directions," he said, "andthen we can meet each other once on every circuit."
"All right," agreed Pudge, "but--pirates and parachutes--keep a good eyeopen."
"Don't worry about me," rejoined Harry; "so long!"
As he spoke each boy stepped off into the darkness to begin the patrol.As Harry trudged along the beach his mind was full of the events ofwhich Frank had spoken that afternoon. Up in the lighted hut, with hiscompanions around him, it had seemed a very remote possibility to theboy that any attack should be made on the island. But pacing along underthe stars, with only the sound of his own footsteps for company, placeda very different light on the matter. What if the disgruntled fishermenshould make a night descent on the island?
"This won't do," exclaimed Harry to himself, coming to a sudden halt inthe cove opposite to which the motor boat was moored, and where ablacker patch on the dark sand showed him the beached dinghy, "it's nouse getting shivery and scared just because a couple of cranky fishermenare so sore at us. I've got to brace up, that's all there is to it."
His surroundings, however, were not calculated to soothe the nervoussuspense of the lad. Except for the stars glittering like steel pointsin the night sky there was no light. The night was so pitchy dark, onthe beach under the shadow of the trees, that he could hardly see withcertainty a yard ahead of him. The surf roared hoarsely against therocks at the point--for the tide was full, and the night wind moaned inthe trees like a note of warning.
With an idea of carrying out his patrol properly, Harry went toward thedarker patch amid the gloom which showed him where the beached dinghylay. He examined it as well as he could, and made sure that it was wellabove tide water. Having completed this, he paced on, and in due timeheard footsteps approaching him which he knew must be those of PudgePerkins. A minute later the two young sentinels met and exchangedgreetings. Pudge had nothing to report, except that it was what hecalled a "creepy" job. However, he pluckily averred: "Ghosts andgibberish, Harry, I'm going to stick it out."
"That's right," approved Harry, and after a few words both boys oncemore started out on their lonesome tours of duty.
In due course Harry again reached the cove opposite the schooner hulk,and this time, being rather tired, he decided to sit down on the beacheddinghy and take a rest. But, to his astonishment, it didn't seem to bein the place where it should have been.
"I could have sworn it was right here," said Harry to himself, as hetrudged about on his quest, "it must be close at hand. Guess I'll fallover it and hurt my shins in a minute."
But although he reassured himself, the boy felt far from secure in hisbelief. After a further painstaking search he was fain to confess--whathe really believed from the first--that the dinghy which had lain there ashort time before had mysteriously vanished!
"Can it be those miserable Daniels?" gasped Harry to himself. "Yes, itmust be," he went on, answering his own questions, "who else would havedone it, unless it drifted off."
He was moving about as he spoke, and as he uttered the last words hestumbled across something that showed him very plainly that the dinghycould not have drifted away from the beach. What he had fallen over wasthe anchor firmly embedded in the sand, with a length of rope stillattached to it.
Harry felt along the bit of rope in the darkness till he reached the endof it. Then he struck a match. In the flicker of light which followed hesaw plainly enough what had occurred--the rope had been slashed through.The boy had just made this discovery when from the water he heardsomething that caused him to listen acutely, bending every sense to theoperation.
What he had heard was the splash of an oar, and a quick exclamation ofimpatience, as if the rower, whoever he was, had blamed his involuntarymisstroke.
"Some one's out there, and they're aboard the schooner, too; or I'm verymuch mistaken," exclaimed Harry to himself, as, listening acutely, hecaught the sound of footsteps proceeding, seemingly, by their hollowring, from the decks of the dismantled hulk; "what will I do? If I firethe pistol I'll scare them off, and if I don't----"
He stopped short. A sudden daring idea had flashed into his mind. Theboy hastily slipped off his shoes and divested himself of all but hisundergarments. Then, leaving his pistol on the beach, he slippednoiselessly into the bay and struck out in the direction of theschooner. The water was bitterly cold, as it always is off the Mainecoast, even in the height of summer, but Harry kept dauntlessly on,determined to brave anything in the execution of his purpose.
The hulk lay only about a hundred yards off the shore, and before longhe could see her dark outlines looming up against the lighter darknessof the sky on the horizon. He fancied, but could not be certain that itwas not an illusion, that for an instant he could see two forms creepingalong the decks. The next moment something showed up ahead of him withwhich he almost collided.
Harry, with a gasp of gratitude, for the water had chilled him to thebone, recognized it as the motor boat. As silently as he could he drewhimself up into it, and then, casting himself flat in the cockpit, helistened with all his might for further sounds from the schooner.
Boy Aviators' Flight for a Fortune Page 3