by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XVI.
IN WHICH ERNEST CONVEYS THE STUDENTS TO PINE ISLAND.
We landed the provisions at Pine Island, and being still favored witha fresh breeze, made a quick run over to Cleaver Island. It was brightmoonlight now, and very pleasant sailing on the lake. As we approachedthe landing-place, I discovered a row-boat pulling round the pointbelow. My first thought was, that Mr. Parasyte was paying a secondvisit to the camp, intent upon carrying out the threats he haduttered.
"Can you make her out, Ernest?" asked Tom.
"It is a boat full of men or boys--I don't know which," I replied. "Wewill run down to her, and see what she is."
"It may be Parasyte."
"Very likely it is," I added, heading the Splash towards theintruder.
"What shall we do if it is?"
"I don't know that we can do anything but keep an eye upon him. I havea great mind to serve him as he did me yesterday--run him down, andsink his boat; but I won't do it."
I decided, however, to give him a scare; and with all sail drawingwell, the Splash going through the water at a rapid rate, I randirectly for the row-boat. When we came within a few feet of theintruders, the fate that stared them in the face was too much fortheir nerves. They sprang to their feet, and begged me not to run themdown. It was a startling scene for them; but at that moment I put thehelm up, and ran astern of the row-boat, just grazing her as we wentby.
"Boat ahoy!" I shouted as I put the helm down, and the Splash came upinto the wind on the other side of the row-boat.
"Don't run into us," said one of the boys in the boat, whose voice Irecognized as that of Bill Poodles; and by this time I had found thatMr. Parasyte was not one of the party.
"Who are you?" demanded Tom Rush.
ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITS.--Page 178.]
"It's me," replied Poodles.
"Who's _me_?"
It was a disgrace to the Parkville Liberal Institute that any memberof the school should use such execrable grammar, and we were not quitewilling to believe that the party were fellow-students, with theexception of Poodles, from whom nothing better in the shape of correctspeech was to be expected.
"I'm Bill Poodles--don't you know me?"
"Bill Poodles!" exclaimed Tom, in disgust. "What do you want here?"
"We have come over to see you," said another in the boat, whose voicewas that of Dick Pearl.
"Well, what do you want?"
"We want to join you," answered Pearl.
"I don't know that we want you. Have you any news from the shore?"added Tom.
"We can tell you all that has happened since you left. We ran awayafter supper to join you," said Pearl. "If you will let us in, we willdo all we can to help you."
"I don't know; I will speak to the general, and if he is willing, youmay join; but you can't go ashore till he gives you leave."
Pearl, who seemed to be the leading spirit of the recruits, promisedto wait off the shore till Vallington had been informed of hisrequest, and his answer returned. The Splash filled away, and welanded at the point where the scow lay. We found that our enterprisinggeneral had not been idle during our absence. The tents had beenstruck, and the materials put on board the flat-boat. Everything wasready for the departure to Pine Island.
The approach of the row-boat had been noticed by the vigilantsentinels on the bluff, and the whole company had watched ourinterview with the new comers. Tom Rush reported on the case to ourgeneral, and it was necessary to act upon the request of the party foradmission to the camp. In this matter there was less unanimity thanhad before been manifested, and several of the students were opposedto granting the request. Bob Hale was the most earnest among them, anddeclared that Bill Poodles, Dick Pearl, and the rest of the partycould not be trusted; they were mean fellows, and we should be betteroff without them than with them. They were the "creatures" of Mr.Parasyte, and they would make trouble if we admitted them.
It would have been well for us if this advice had been heeded, as thesequel will show; but it was not. Some of our best declaimers urgedthat there was power in mere numbers; and the strength of anharmonious union was yielded to this idea. The vote was in favor ofpermitting the recruits to be received; but a very respectableminority voted against it. Bob cheerfully surrendered the point, andPoodles and his companions were invited to land. When they came onshore, Vallington questioned them in regard to their intentions. Theyall made fair promises, and assured the general they would be good andfaithful subjects.
Tom Rush had reported on the provision question, and gladdened thehearts of all the fellows when he stated what bountiful supplies ofham, bread, potatoes, and coffee had been deposited on Pine Island forthe use of the party.
"Now, we are all ready to move," said Vallington. "The boats are allloaded, and we submit the rest of the job to the skill of CommodoreThornton."
"Move!" exclaimed Dick Pearl, and in the bright moonlight I saw himglance anxiously at Poodles.
"We have decided to break up our camp here and move to Pine Island."
"Be you?" said Poodles.
"We _be_," answered Vallington.
"If we had known it, I don't know that we should have come," addedPearl.
"What possible difference can it make to you whether we camp at PineIsland or at Cleaver Island?"
"I don't know."
"It is too late to back out now; you have found out where we aregoing, and you must go with us, to help keep the secret," said ourgeneral, decidedly.
Pearl and Poodles looked at each other, and evidently wished toconsult together; but there was no opportunity.
For my own part, I was not satisfied with their conduct, and Idetermined to keep a close watch upon them; for it seemed to me, fromtheir appearance, that they intended to make mischief. I whispered mysuspicions to Vallington, who thought it was well enough to keep aneye upon them; but he did not believe ten such fellows as they werewould attempt to interfere with the plans of the company. I assuredhim Pearl was a smart fellow, and under his lead the party might maketrouble.
As the wind was not only fresh, but fair for our passage to PineIsland, I rigged one of the tent poles as a mast for the flat-boat,intending to save the boys the hard labor of towing her seven miles. Isecured another pole across the mast for a yard, to which I bent onthe canvas of one of the tents for a sail. There was a heavy steeringoar in the boat, which answered the purpose of a rudder. Havingadjusted all this gear to my satisfaction, we pushed off, and I tookmy station at the helm of the flat-boat, which was crowded with boys.
I appointed Bob Hale, who had some experience as a boatman, to thecharge of the Splash, though, as a matter of prudence, I directed himto set only the jib and mainsail. The row-boats were towed alongsidethe scow. The sail fully answered all my expectations, and the old"gundalow" actually made about three knots an hour under her new rig.The students stretched themselves on the tents, and very likely someof them went to sleep, for it was now two o'clock in the morning, andmost of them were tired out, and gaped fearfully.
It was daylight when we ran into the little sheltered bay where we hadlanded the goods from the Splash. It was quite chilly in the morningair, and the fellows were glad of the exercise required to unload thescow and pitch the tents. But in a couple of hours the work was done,and the weary laborers were glad enough to stretch themselves on thebeds of pine foliage in the tents. All the boats were hauled into aninlet, where they could not be seen by any passing craft on the lake,and I felt that everything was safe.
Everybody was worn out, and I think everybody went to sleep, even tothe sentinels, who were stationed where they could give notice of theapproach of any intruders. I was so exhausted myself that I shouldhave slept if I had known all the deputy sheriffs in the state hadbeen after me. And there we all lay till noon, buried in slumber. Andwhen we awoke there appeared to be no life anywhere but on theisland. The lake was calm and silent, and from the distant shores nota sound came to disturb us.
When the boys did wake they were
wide awake, and immediately votedthat "breaking away" was a capital idea. It was then unanimouslyresolved that it was time to have something to eat. The boys had hadsome experience in the culinary art in previous campaigns, and we hadall the pots, kettles, and pans provided for such occasions. A firewas made in the woods, near the centre of the island, where it washoped the smoke would not betray us, and potatoes and ham were soonhissing in the pans. About twenty of the students were employed inthis work,--peeling potatoes, and preparing the pork and bacon,--whileonly four of the most experienced were intrusted with the care of theactual cooking. We had a big meal, though we had no knives and forks,or plates. The company was divided into messes of ten each, therebeing one large tin pan for each, from which the boys took the "grub"with sharpened sticks or jackknives. We enjoyed it quite as much aswe did our dinners at the Institute.
We passed a quiet day, without interruption from within or without. Weneither saw nor heard anything from Mr. Parasyte, and the Poodlesparty behaved better than we had expected, so that we had learned totrust them. The necessary work of the camp was all we could do, andwhen night came we were glad to turn in at an early hour, for we hadnot yet fully recovered from the fatigues of the previous day andnight.
It was ordered by the general-in-chief that the watch during the nightshould be relieved every two hours, and that three should be on dutyat once. A sufficient number of the company were detailed for thispurpose, and a tent apart from the rest assigned to them, that othersmight not be disturbed when the watch was changed. How faithfully thiswatch performed their duty we learned from the developments of thenext day.
I turned out about five o'clock in the morning, intending to try myhand at fishing with Bob Hale and Tom Rush. We went down to the inletwhere the squadron had been secured, to obtain one of the row-boats.
There was not a boat there!
Even the old scow had disappeared, and the Splash was nowhere to beseen!