by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXII.
THE GAME AMONG THE SHALLOWS
The Sylph was bothered by the last movement of the Goldwing. No one knewwhat she wanted; but she had demonstrated that she was after theschooner, and had business with her. Pearl seemed to be delighted withthe success of his manoeuvre. He had to drop the centre-board, andbeat back. He gave the point a wide berth in standing to the north-west.
"We can keep her going back and forth through the channel till night,"said Pearl in high glee. "This is really exciting business, and I enjoyit more than I should a game of cards. I am much obliged to you, DoryDornwood, for showing me this little trick."
Dory said nothing; for he saw that the game was not the same that he hadplayed early in the morning. There was an element in the contest whichhad not entered into that between the Goldwing and the Missisquoi; andhe thought Pearl was very stupid not to see it. He did not point it out,or even hint at it. He hoped and expected that the interference of theSylph would restore the schooner to him; and that was all he cared for,though he was quite willing that Peppers should capture and take hisprisoner to Plattsburgh.
The steam-yacht started her screw again, and went ahead. In the Gut shecame about, and passed between the buoys again. The schooner was almostup with the red buoy when the Sylph passed it, and again the man withthe gruff voice hailed the boat. At this moment Pearl tacked, and stoodto the south-west.
"I guess she will get tired of this game before a great while," saidPearl, elated with the success of his movements. "She had better give itup, and go about her business."
When the Sylph had passed the buoys, she put her head to the south, andran down close to the shoal-water. Pearl was so delighted that he wasbecoming reckless, and he held on to his course until he came within ahundred feet of the steamer. Once more she hailed the boat. "IsTheodore Dornwood on board of that boat?" shouted the man with the gruffvoice.
"If you answer, Dory Dornwood, I'll pitch you overboard!" exclaimed theskipper savagely.
Dory did not answer: he had no intention of doing so before Pearl usedhis threatening expression. He was not on the best of terms with hisuncle; and he did not care to have any thing to do with him, or even tosay to him.
There seemed to be a dozen persons on board of the Sylph. But she was alarge craft for a steam-yacht, and doubtless some of them were theguests of the owner.
"That will do nicely," said Pearl, as he came about, and let off hissheets again. "The steamer has my permission to go through the channelagain. This is better than a game of checkers."
To Dory it was getting rather monotonous. But he did not believe thatthe people on board of the Sylph would be willing to play at this gamemuch longer. The man with the gruff voice had indicated in his tones,the last time he hailed the boat, that he was becoming impatient at thefailure of the Goldwing to answer him.
Dory felt like one who stands between two fires, and he was sure to behit by one of them. He was in the frying-pan now, and he did not at alllike the idea of being compelled to jump into the fire by the Sylph. Hedid not like his uncle, her owner; and he did not care to be redeemedfrom his present unpleasant position by him.
It was bad enough to remain in the power of Pearl Hawlinshed, and to besubject to his caprice; but it seemed worse to be taken out of his handsby Captain Gildrock. If Pearl had not been a villain, in the very act ofbreaking the laws and committing an outrage upon him and the twopassengers in the cabin, he would have been willing to assist him inkeeping out of the way of the Sylph. He thought he knew just how thiscould be done; but, as he could not do any thing to help the rascal, hesaid nothing. He could not get himself out of the frying-pan, but hemeant to keep out of the fire if he could.
"She is coming about," said Pearl, as the Sylph began to stir up thewater again with her propeller. "She is going through the channel againto head off the Goldwing. I hope she will have a good time doing thisthing."
Dory made no reply to this remark; but he felt that the end of theadventure was rapidly approaching. Captain Gildrock was not a man to betrifled with, or one to be balked by a sailboat like the schooner. TheSylph went through the Western Cut again. Pearl had run almost up to thered buoy, and was near it when the steam-yacht passed through.
The skipper of the Goldwing started his sheets, and stood off in theshoal-water, where the steamer could not follow him. He chuckled as hedid so; and he did not appear to harbor a suspicion that his pursuercould do any thing but run back and forth through the cut.
"I think I shall take my passengers into Canada in spite of theopposition of that big steam-yacht. A mouse or a mosquito can make ituncomfortable for a lion," said Pearl, as he stood off from his pursuer."Do you know how the water is in this bay beyond the next point, DoryDornwood?" and the skipper indicated Simms's Point with his hand.
"I do," replied Dory.
"Well, how is the water?"
"It is wet," answered Dory.
"Is that so? How did you find it out?" asked Pearl.
"I felt of it one day."
"If you don't keep a civil tongue in your head, you will feel of itagain to-day," added Pearl savagely.
Dory knew there was a half mile of shoal water, deep enough for theGoldwing, but not for the Sylph. But it was shallow off the point; andDory thought the skipper would get aground before he reached Hyde's Bay.But the water was clear, and Pearl saw the bottom in season to avoid thedanger. He stood to the southward then, watching the bottom all thetime.
Dory saw that the skipper was making the worst possible move for his owncase, and he was rejoiced to see him do it. The Sylph continued fartherinto the Gut, and finally stopped her screw half a mile east of Simms'sPoint.
"All right!" exclaimed Pearl, who had half a mile of shoal water betweenthe steamer and the shore on either side of her. "I couldn't have puther in a better place myself."
The skipper looked about him anxiously, as though he was in doubtwhether to go to the east or the west. But he had been around the twopoints west of him, and he seemed to think that his safest way was tostick to the ground with which he had become acquainted. The schoonerwas half a mile from Simms's Point by this time; but Pearl evidentlythought that all he had to do was to return to the westward of the buoysby the way he had come into the Gut, and the Sylph could not come nearhis boat. He came about, and stood to the north-west.
"We are all right still, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl, as he glanced atthe steamer. "She can't come any nearer to us than she is now, and aquarter of a mile is as good as a mile."
Dory kept his eye on the Sylph. The moment she stopped her screw, therewas a lively movement on board of her. Orders were given in quick andsharp tones; and presently her two quarter-boats, which were swung ondavits, were dropping into the water. This was what Dory had expectedher to do before this time.
"What is she doing, Dory Dornwood?" asked Pearl, when he discovered thatsomething was going on upon the deck of the steamer.
"She is doing the next thing," answered Dory, who was determined not togive the enemy any comfort.
"What is she about?" demanded the skipper.
"You have a pair of eyes, and you know how to use them."
By this time the boats began to drop into the water. They were loweredfrom the davits with the oarsmen on the thwarts, and an officer in thestern-sheets. Pearl could not help seeing what the steamer was doingnow. He looked troubled, and he used some needless profanity in an undertone.
"What is going on now, Dory?" asked Peppers, who could not see thesteamer through the aperture in the door.
"The steamer is getting out her boats," replied Dory. "She has justdropped one from each quarter into the water."
"Four boats!" exclaimed Peppers.
"No," answered Dory, laughing in spite of his situation. "I didn't sayfour boats."
"You said one from each quarter; and there are four quarters in anything, according to my arithmetic," added the officer.
"A vessel has but two quarters, and she has dropped two boats int
o thewater. There are five men in each of them," continued Dory.
"That will do! Dry up, and shut up, all of you!" interposed Pearl. "Iam going to fight this thing out to the end, and I don't want any moretalk."
The Goldwing was in behind the land, so that she did not feel the fullforce of the wind. The lake was calm and smooth behind the point, andthe boat moved very sluggishly. Pearl began to be very impatient; but ashort distance ahead the surface was ruffled, and she would soon have abetter breeze.
The starboard quarter-boat pulled towards Simms's Point, and the portboat in the opposite direction. Whichever way the schooner went, she wassure to be intercepted by one or the other of them. The oarsmen of theboats appeared to be all young fellows. They were dressed in a blueuniform; and all of them wore white linen caps, without visors. Theofficers showed a profusion of brass buttons on their frock-coats, andwore yacht-caps of white linen.
The boats were white, and were very graceful in their build. The fourrowers in each boat pulled a man-of-war stroke. The starboardquarter-boat was ahead of the Goldwing; and the officer in charge of herwas urging his men to their best exertions, so as to come in ahead ofthe schooner. Before the Goldwing could reach the point, she was inposition to intercept her.
Pearl scowled when he saw the boat directly in his course. He lookedback, and saw the other boat beyond the steamer. He could not helprealizing that the pleasant game he had been playing had ended in hisbeing beaten.
"Goldwing, ahoy!" shouted the officer in charge of the starboardquarter-boat.
"In the boat!" replied Pearl in a surly tone: "what do you want?"
"Is Theodore Dornwood on board of your boat?" asked the officer.
"Yes, he is," answered Pearl. "If you want him, you can have him."
At this moment the skipper threw the Goldwing up into the wind, andsprang forward to the place where Dory was seated. Without saying aword, he dragged him off the seat, and proceeded to remove the cord thatbound his hands behind him. The prisoner's wrists were numb from thepressure of the line, and he stood up to rub a little life into them.Pearl put the boat about, and headed her for the shore.