by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VII.
THE MAN THAT LOOKED THROUGH THE KEYHOLE.
Pearl Hawlinshed had not looked to see if the Goldwing was where he hadlast seen her, outside of the breakwater. The water was unusually low onthe lake; and, though he saw the topmasts of several boats beyond thebreakwater, he was unable to determine whether or not any of thembelonged to the Goldwing. Captain Vesey had seen no boat go out, andPearl concluded that she was still at anchor.
Pearl made his trade with the acting skipper of the little steamer,which was hardly more than a steam-launch. Mr. Button the engineer, whowas to remain in the employ of the new owner, was wiping the water offthe machinery. He was called, and informed of the arrangement withPearl. To the astonishment of both, he refused to move the Missisquoifrom the wharf.
"I reckon the boat is in my care until she is delivered to the newowner," argued Captain Vesey.
"It don't make any difference to me whose care she is in. I won't go outwith a man who don't know any more about handling a boat than you do,Captain Vesey," replied Mr. Button warmly. "It was only by a miraclethat we got over here at all. I expected to go to the bottom everyminute of the time until we got inside of the breakwater."
"I reckon I know how to handle a steamboat as well as the next man,"returned Captain Vesey indignantly.
"That depends upon how much the next man knows about a tug-boat. If thenext man don't know any more about it than you do, I don't want to runthe engine for him."
Pearl could not help being on the engineer's side of the controversy. Heand Dory had agreed that the captain of the Missisquoi did notunderstand his business. But Pearl Hawlinshed believed that he knew allabout a steamer, and all about the lake. He considered himself competentto command one of the large steamers.
"I am going with you, Mr. Button, and it will be five dollars in yourpocket, as well as the captain's," interposed Pearl, who was disposed tobe liberal with the landlord's money.
"My life is worth something to me; or at any rate it is to my family,"replied Mr. Button doubtfully. "Do you know about handling such a boatas this?"
"I know all about it: I used to sail in the Au Sable," replied Pearlconfidently.
Mr. Button was doubtless a good engineer, but he was not a very shrewdman. If he had been, he would have asked in what capacity the applicantfor the use of the Missisquoi served on board of the Au Sable. PossiblyPearl would have evaded the question, or lied about the matter, for hehad simply been a waiter in the cabin for a few weeks. But Pearl thoughthe knew all about a steamer, and all about the navigation of the lake.
"If you are a steamboat man I have no objection to taking the boat out,"added the engineer. "It is a very rough day on the lake, and one has toknow something about handling a boat in such big waves."
"But I am the captain of this boat, and I reckon I don't want any bossover me," interposed Captain Vesey at this point.
"We shall have no trouble," added Pearl, as he walked aft with thecaptain. "I shall not meddle with your management of the boat. I onlysaid what I did to quiet the engineer."
But the boat had to take in a supply of fuel, for which Pearl promisedto pay out of the landlord's pocket. She could not leave for a couple ofhours. Pearl wanted to go back to the hotel, and attend to some mattersin connection with his mission which he had forgotten.
"I am to pay you five dollars, and the engineer five dollars, when youput me on board of the Goldwing," said Pearl, as he was about to leavethe boat. "Is that the trade?"
"That's it," replied the engineer; and so answered the captain.
Pearl walked up the pier, and then went down the railroad till he couldsee outside of the breakwater. He found the Goldwing lay at anchor inthe place she had chosen at first. Ten dollars would be a good sum topay if the Missisquoi was obliged to take him only out to thebreakwater. But, the sooner he brought Dory on shore, the sooner theGoldwing would be put up at auction again.
He walked to the Witherill House, and informed the landlord of what hehad done, and declared that the boy who had stolen the money should behanded over to him in a couple of hours. The hotel-keeper did not objectto the expense; but he wished his representative to be careful how hemanaged the business, for it was by no means certain that the boy hadtaken the money.
"I am as certain of it as I am of my own existence," replied Pearlwarmly. "I have found out something about the boy since I was here. Hehas the reputation of being wild, and no one sent him over here to buy aboat. And a fellow like him don't have forty or fifty dollars to investin boats."
"All that may be; but you can be careful just as well as not," added thelandlord.
"He is nothing but a young cub, and has no friends, so that nothing willcome of it if he shouldn't happen to be the thief."
"If he has no one to defend him, so much the more reason why he shouldbe fairly dealt with," replied the hotel-keeper,--a sentiment withwhich Pearl Hawlinshed had no sympathy. "I have seen Moody since youwent out, and he says a man was looking into the keyhole of the roomnext to his about ten o'clock last evening. That was your father's room.Have you any idea who that man was, Hawlinshed?"
"I haven't the least idea in the world," answered Pearl; and possiblythe landlord did not notice his confusion when he replied, "Very likelyit was this same boy."
"It wasn't a boy, but a man: I asked Moody particularly about thismatter."
"I don't know any thing about the matter at all," protested Pearl. "Ifthe man that lost the money saw any thing of this kind, why didn't hetell of it before?"
"I asked him this question, and he says he did not think of it before.The fact of it is, that Moody had been drinking, though he sticks to itthat he wasn't drunk. He went into his room at about ten o'clock, andput the money into his trunk, for he was afraid he might lose it. He sawthe man looking in at the keyhole of your father's room when he wentinto his own to put the money in a safe place. He heard voices in thenext room when he opened his trunk. The boy was with your father at thattime very likely."
"If the man had been drinking, it is not probable that he knows muchabout the boy or the man," added Pearl.
"He had not got very tipsy, or he would not have thought to look out forhis money. But bring the boy up, if you can get him without violence oroutrage. If he explains where he got the money to buy the boat, that isthe end of the matter so far as he is concerned. In my opinion the manwho was looking in at the keyhole of your father's room is more likelyto be the thief than the boy."
"Where did the boy get forty-two dollars to pay for the boat, then?"demanded Pearl.
"I give it up," laughed the landlord. "But we are likely to knowsomething more about the case before dinner-time. I called in Peppers,who used to be a detective in New York City; and he is at work on thecase now."
"What did you do that for?" demanded Pearl, who did not seem to relishthe information. "You set me at work on the case; and now you havecalled in another person to attend to it, after I have engaged asteamer."
"All I asked you to do was to bring the boy in to be questioned. Pepperswon't interfere with any thing that you may do," replied the landlord,not a little surprised at the objection of Pearl.
"What is Peppers doing?" asked Pearl uneasily.
"I don't know what he is doing: at least, I don't know much about it,and he told me not to tell what I did know."
"But you can tell me, for I am at work on the case," said Pearl in acoaxing tone.
"No: I won't tell you any thing. You won't interfere with each other,and it is best for each of you to work on his own hook," replied thehotel-keeper, as he turned to attend to a guest who wished to speak tohim.
Pearl saw that it was useless to press the matter any farther; and hewas evidently very much disturbed about the turn the investigation hadtaken during his absence. He was particularly anxious to know what thedetective was about, but he was unable to obtain any information fromany person. He returned to the steamboat wharf. When he came in sight ofthe breakwater, he was not a little startled to s
ee the Goldwing dartout from behind the structure, with only a small jib and a reefedmainsail.
He was startled; because not more than an hour had elapsed since he leftthe Missisquoi, and he expected it would be another hour before shewould be ready to go in pursuit of the Goldwing. The latter could saillike the wind if she would only keep right side up, and she would get along start of the steamer. Besides, Pearl did not like the looks of thebig waves on the lake any better than Mr. Button had; and he was notaltogether sure that he could manage her any better than Captain Veseyhad done.
The Goldwing was running from the end of the breakwater over towards themain shore, and it was possible that Dory intended to make a landing atPlattsburgh. But it was not more than a quarter of a mile from thebreakwater to the shore, and he could soon tell what she intended to do.He hastened down the railroad to settle this point. In the furiousbreeze that was blowing, the Goldwing seemed to leap over the water. Ifshe intended to go up to the wharf from which she had started, she wouldhave to tack in a moment.
Pearl ran with all his might; for it occurred to him that if he couldinduce Dory to come on shore and go up to the hotel with him, he mightsave the ten dollars he had agreed to give the captain and engineer, andcontrive some way to have it stick in his own pocket. The Goldwing ranwithin a hundred feet of the shore, and Pearl got behind a car on a sidetrack to ascertain what she intended to do.
Gradually her main sheet was let off, and the Goldwing was headed to thesouthward. This settled the matter. The boat was not going back to thewharf. Her skipper had evidently run her over in that direction in orderto get her under the lee of the shore, where she would not get the fullforce of the wind.
"Hallo! on board of the Goldwing!" shouted Pearl, as he ran to thewater's edge, yelling as loud as he could.
"On shore!" replied Dory, "what do you want?"
"You are wanted at the hotel," replied Pearl.
Dory discovered by this time who it was that hailed him; and he took nofurther notice of Pearl, who hastened to the wharf.