by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XVIII.
IN WHICH ERNEST AND HIS COMPANIONS LAND AT CANNONDALE.
We landed on the beach, put on our shoes and stockings, and walkedtowards the village of Cannondale. It was still early in themorning,--as people who lie abed till breakfast measure time,--and Iwas quite confident that I should find the boats, if not the desertersfrom our camp, at the town. The fact that none of the party wereboatmen assured me they could not have gone on to Parkville. The windmust have brought them to Cannondale, and must have prevented themfrom leaving it.
We followed the beach from the point where we had landed until we cameto the steamboat pier, which was the usual landing-place for allboats.
On the further side of the wharf, sheltered from the wind and thesea, was our entire squadron, with the exception of the flat-boat.
"We are all right now," said Bob Hale; and we broke into a run, andhastened over to the point where the boats were secured.
"Where do you suppose the deserters are?" asked Tom Rush.
"Probably, as they didn't sleep any last night, they have gone to bedat the hotel," I replied. "It will be a good joke for them, when theywake up, to find they have had their labor for their pains."
On the steamboat wharf there was a building used for the storage ofgoods. Just as I was about to go down the steps at the foot of whichthe Splash lay, with the row-boats made fast to her, a lame man cameout of the warehouse, and hailed us.
"What do you want?" he demanded, in no conciliatory tones.
"I want this boat," I replied.
"You can't have her," he added, decidedly.
"Why not?"
"Because you can't."
"That doesn't seem to be a very good reason," I answered, descendingthe steps, and jumping into the Splash.
"Do you hear what I say?" demanded he, in savage tones.
"I do; I am not deaf, and you speak loud enough to be heard," I added,as I proceeded to remove the stops from the mainsail, preparatory tohoisting the sail.
"Are you going to mind what I say, or not?" he shouted, in loud tones.
"I am not."
"That boat's in my charge, and you can't have her."
"I don't care whose charge she is in. The boat belongs to me, and Iintend to have her."
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am; but I take it any one has a right to hisown property, wherever he finds it."
"Can you prove that the boat is your property?" asked he, in a mildertone.
"I can, but I shall not take the trouble to do so," I replied, withmore impudence than discretion.
"All I've got to say is, that you can't have that boat," added he,angrily; and he came down the steps, and took position by my side inthe Splash.
"Come aboard, fellows!" I called to my companions.
"I suppose you claim these row-boats too--don't you?" said the lameman, with a sneer.
"I do not," I answered, concluding, under the circumstances, to go nofarther than the facts would warrant. "Those boats belong to theParkville Liberal Institute."
"I know they do," growled the man, who seemed to be in doubt what todo.
"Hoist the jib, Tom. If you wish to land, sir, now is your time," Isuggested to the intruder, as I picked up the heavy oak tiller of theSplash.
"What are you going to do with that tiller?" continued he, fixing hiseye fiercely upon me.
"I am going to steer the boat with it," I replied. "If you wish to gowith us, I shall not object to your company."
I saw that the man only wished me to bully and threaten him a little,to induce him to pitch into me, though it was plain he did not likethe looks of the heavy tiller in my hand. I refrained from provokinghim any further than to persist in claiming possession of my boat.
"You say this boat is yours," said he, after a moment of deliberation.
"I do; if you need any proof, I will now refer to Mr. Leman, thegrocer, and Mr. Irwin, the provision-dealer; and if you belong on thiswharf, you must have seen me land from her more than once."
"I don't want to quarrel with you," he added. "I know the boat verywell, and very likely I've seen you in her; but I don't remember. Ilive close to the shore beyond the village, and I was waked up in thenight--it was about one o'clock, I guess--by a lot of boys hollering.I got up, and found all these boats heaved up on the beach, and theboys trying to get 'em off. I helped 'em a while, and then brought theboats round here, for they would all got stove to pieces there."
The man talked very well now, and I met him in the same spirit.
"The boys who got into the scrape ought to pay you for helping themout," I replied.
"I don't like to be turned out of my bed in the night to do such a jobfor nothing."
"You must make them pay you."
"They said they would, or that the schoolmaster over to Parkvillewould, for he sent them to look out for some boys who had run away."
"Did they?" I replied, glancing significantly at Bob Hale, for thisacknowledgment implied that Mr. Parasyte had sent the deserters to dothe work they had accomplished. "But I don't see that we have anythingto do with the matter. If I were you, I would hold the other boatstill they paid me for my trouble."
"I'll do that."
"How much do they owe you?" asked Bob.
"Well, I don't know; they ought to give me a couple of dollars, Ithink," replied the man.
We passed a few words among ourselves, and Tom handed the man twodollars.
"That's to pay for saving this boat," said Tom. "We ought not to payit, for our boat was stolen from us; but you must collect as muchmore before you let the other boats go."
"Thank ye," replied the man, with a broad grin, indicative of hissatisfaction, as he took the money. "I spoke rather sharp to you atfirst, because I thought you were going to take the boats withoutpaying for the job I did. I didn't mean nothing by it, and I hopeyou'll excuse it."
"It is all right."
"You can take the other boats too, if you like," continued the man,magnanimously.
We concluded that we did not want them. They were of no service to us,for with a south-west wind, I could work the scow over to Parkville;and I intended to go in search of her in the Splash.
"Did the fellows that came in these boats say anything to you aboutwhere they came from?" asked Bob Hale of the man.
"They told me all about it; but I knew something about it yesterday,for the schoolmaster came over here in the steamer, inquiring afteryou. He said you went to the Cleaver first, and then left--he didn'tknow where you was now."
"Mr. Parasyte here!" exclaimed Tom Rush.
"He's at the hotel, and he's going to find you and bring you backto-day," added the man, with a laugh. "You have done the handsomething by me, and I don't mind telling you all about it."
We could scarcely believe that this was the man who had been so intentupon quarrelling with us; but it seemed he supposed we were the sameboys who had come in the boats, and intended to cheat him out of hismoney for the job he had done.
"What is he going to do?" asked Bob Hale, rather excited.
"He has engaged the Adieno, and is going to look for you."
"The Adieno!" ejaculated Tom Rush.
The Adieno was a small steamer, owned in Parkville and Cannondale,employed in towing, conveying pleasure parties, and other uses on thelake. She was lying at the other side of the steamboat pier, and thesmoke was already rolling out of her smokestack. Our informant did notprecisely know in what manner Mr. Parasyte intended to proceed; andwe could not ascertain whether he intended to bring off our party byforce, or to resort to some milder means to break up the camp; but wewere very grateful for the information we had obtained. By this timeMr. Parasyte had learned from the deserters where we were.
Our new-made friend, who, I think, had learned to respect me for thedecision with which I had answered him, went up the steps. As he didso, he repeated his offer to allow us to take the other boats, whichwe again declined.
"He's coming!" sai
d our new ally, as he reached the cap-sill of thewharf.
"Who?"
"The schoolmaster, and all them boys. Be in a hurry! He's close by."
I ran the mainsail up, and cast off the fasts which secured theSplash; but just as I had pushed off from the steps, Mr. Parasyte,attended by the deserters, appeared on the wharf. The eyes of thelatter opened wide when they saw our party in the Splash, and itappeared to be a great mystery to them how we happened to be on themain shore, when they had left us on the island without a boat orcraft of any kind. We were behind the wharf and building, so that thesails of the Splash did not get the wind, and I told a couple of mycompanions to take the oars.
"Stop, Thornton!" shouted Mr. Parasyte.
"Hold on a minute, and let us hear what he has to say," said Bob Hale.
We waited, looking up at the principal of the Parkville LiberalInstitute to hear what he had to communicate. Mr. Parasyte went downthe steps with the deserters, and they got into a couple of therow-boats.
"We are ready to hear anything you have to say," called Tom Rush.
"I simply wish to know whether you intend to compel me to use extrememeasures," said Mr. Parasyte, as, by his direction, Dick Pearl pushedthe boat in which they stood towards the Splash.
"We will return to the Institute when you comply with the terms statedby Henry Vallington," replied Bob Hale, as the bow of the row-boatcame up to the stern of our craft.
"Perhaps I did not clearly understand what that proposition was," saidMr. Parasyte, as he turned and said something to Pearl which we couldnot hear.
Bob was going to restate the terms, when Pearl suddenly made fast thepainter of his boat to a ring in the stern of the Splash.
"Only to hold her for a moment," said the principal, as he steppedinto the bow of the row-boat.
We watched him closely. The other row-boat, in which six of thedeserters had taken their places, was also working up to the Splash. Idecided that we were getting into a scrape, and told my companionswith the oars to pull. They obeyed, and in a moment we caught thestiff breeze; the Splash forged ahead, twitching the row-boat afterit.
"Hold on tight, Pearl!" said Mr. Parasyte, savagely, now indicatingthat he meant war, and not peace.
I dragged the boat half a mile from the shore, and then, in tacking,gave it such a sudden twitch as to throw Mr. Parasyte, who was stillstanding, off his balance, and he went over the side into the angrywaters.