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diff --git a/old/62027-0.txt b/old/62027-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8727e86..0000000 --- a/old/62027-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7368 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Keeping His Course, by Ralph Henry Barbour - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Keeping His Course - -Author: Ralph Henry Barbour - -Illustrator: Walt Louderback - -Release Date: May 5, 2020 [EBook #62027] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEEPING HIS COURSE *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - KEEPING HIS COURSE - - - - -By Ralph Henry Barbour - - -PURPLE PENNANT SERIES - - The Lucky Seventh - The Secret Play - The Purple Pennant - - -YARDLEY HALL SERIES - - Forward Pass - Double Play - Winning His Y - For Yardley - Around the End - Change Signals - - -HILTON SERIES - - The Half-back - For the Honor of the School - Captain of the Crew - - -ERSKINE SERIES - - Behind the Line - Weatherby’s Inning - On Your Mark - - -THE “BIG FOUR” SERIES - - Four in Camp - Four Afoot - Four Afloat - - -THE GRAFTON SERIES - - Rivals for the Team - Winning His Game - Hitting the Line - - -BOOKS NOT IN SERIES - - Keeping His Course - The Brother of a Hero - Finkler’s Field - Danforth Plays the Game - Benton’s Venture - The Junior Trophy - The New Boy at Hilltop - The Spirit of the School - The Arrival of Jimpson - - -D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, Publishers, New York - - - - -[Illustration: “Hold on! Isn’t that a sort of a light over there?”] - - - - - KEEPING - HIS COURSE - - BY - RALPH HENRY BARBOUR - - AUTHOR OF - “HITTING THE LINE,” “WINNING HIS GAME,” - “RIVALS FOR THE TEAM,” ETC. - - - [Illustration] - - - ILLUSTRATED BY - WALT LOUDERBACK - - - D. APPLETON & COMPANY - NEW YORK LONDON - 1918 - - - - - Copyright, 1918, by - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - - Copyright, 1916, by - The Commercial Advertiser Association - - - Printed in the United States of America - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. TOBY RESENTS AN INSULT 1 - II. THE _Turnover_ 13 - III. ARNOLD PAYS HIS DEBTS 26 - IV. FRIENDS AFLOAT 36 - V. SHOTS IN THE DARK 49 - VI. PURSUIT AND CAPTURE 62 - VII. THE STOLEN LAUNCH 75 - VIII. THE HIDDEN NAME 88 - IX. “THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD!” 100 - X. TOBY BLOCKS THE PLATE 112 - XI. TOBY MAKES UP HIS MIND 125 - XII. “T. TUCKER, PROP.” 143 - XIII. TRICK FOR TRICK 155 - XIV. TOBY IS DOWNHEARTED 170 - XV. PHEBE CHRISTENS THE KNOCKABOUT 181 - XVI. LOST IN THE FOG 193 - XVII. THE LIGHTED WINDOW 206 - XVIII. MR. TUCKER CONSENTS 220 - XIX. TOBY ACCEPTS A CHALLENGE 230 - XX. A CLOSE CALL 243 - XXI. THE DISTRESS SIGNAL 261 - XXII. INTO PORT 273 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - “Hold on! Isn’t that a sort of a light over there?” _Frontispiece_ - - FACING PAGE - - “We’ve gained like anything, Arn!” 66 - - Toby pegged hard to Tim 122 - - He consumed a large piece of apple pie 254 - - - - -KEEPING HIS COURSE - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TOBY RESENTS AN INSULT - - -A boy with light blue eyes that just about matched the slightly hazy -June sky sat on the float below the town landing at Greenhaven, L. I., -and stared thoughtfully across harbor and bay to where, two miles -northward, the village of Johnstown stretched along the farther shore. -He had a round, healthy, and deeply tanned face of which a short nose, -many freckles, the aforementioned blue eyes, and a somewhat square chin -were prominent features. There was, of course, a mouth, as well, and -that, too, was prominent just now, for it was puckered with the little -tune that the boy was softly whistling. Under a sailor’s hat of white -canvas the hair was brown, but a brown that only escaped being red by -the narrowest of margins. That fact was a sore subject with Toby Tucker. - -Perhaps had his hair been really and truly red, beyond all question, he -wouldn’t have minded being called “Ginger” and “Carrots” and “Sorrel -Top” and “Red Head” and all the other names frequently――but usually -from a safe distance――bestowed on him. Perhaps it was the injustice of -it that hurt. That as may be, a hint that Toby’s hair was red――or even -reddish――was equivalent to a declaration of war, and entailed similar -consequences! He wore, besides the duck hat, a sailor’s jacket of like -material, a pair of khaki trousers, and brown canvas “sneakers.” You -wouldn’t have called him “smartly dressed,” perhaps, but what he wore -seemed to suit him and was, at least, clean. - -From where he sat, perched on a box labeled “Sunny South Brand -Tomatoes,” he had a clear view of Spanish Harbor, and beyond its mouth -a wide expanse of Great Peconic Bay. Beyond that again lay the green -fields and low, wooded hills of the north shore. A coal barge, which -had lately discharged her cargo at Rollinson’s Wharf, was anchored in -the middle channel, awaiting a tug. Nearer at hand were a half-dozen -pleasure sailboats, a blunt-nosed, drab-hued fishing sloop, and a -black launch, all tugging gently at their moorings on the incoming -tide. On either side of the float a little company of rowboats and -small launches rubbed sides. Behind him, the rusted iron wheels of the -gangplank, leading to the wharf above, creaked as the float swung to -the rising water. - -Toby had the landing to himself. The box on which he sat held -provisions for the yacht _Penguin_, and some time around nine o’clock -a tender was to call for them. Toby, when school wasn’t in session, -did such odd jobs as fell to his hand, and just now, it being Saturday -morning, he was earning a whole quarter of a dollar from Perkins & -Howe, the grocers. Having propelled the box to the gangplank in a -wheelbarrow, and slid it down to its present resting place, all that -remained was to continue sitting right there until some one claimed it, -a task which suited Toby perfectly. - -Not that he was especially lazy or disliked work, for he wasn’t -and didn’t, but it was pleasantly hot today, and Toby was in a -contemplative frame of mind, and sitting there in the sun, with -the water lapping beneath him and the good smell of the sea in his -nostrils, was very satisfying to Toby’s soul. The visions he saw with -those blue eyes of his, squinted a bit because of the glare on the -dancing water, must have been enthralling, since he didn’t observe the -white launch that entered the harbor until it was almost up to the -landing. - -Then the chug-chug of her exhaust caught his attention, and he shaded -his eyes and observed her intently. She wasn’t very big, perhaps -eighteen feet over all, and she had a spray hood in lieu of cabin. -At present the hood was down, and Toby could see much mahogany and -polished brass as the launch sped, head on, for the landing. There was -only one passenger in sight, a boy of about Toby’s age, who stood at -the wheel in the bow. Toby, who knew most of the craft that entered -Spanish Harbor, failed to recognize this one. Nor did the name, in gilt -letters on her nose, make him any wiser. - -“_Frolic_,” muttered Toby. “Never heard of her before. Must be a new -one. Wonder where that lubber thinks he’s going to? He’ll be on the -float in a minute if he doesn’t look out!” - -When about forty feet away the boy in the launch threw the clutch into -reverse. There was much churning of green water under the stern, and -the boat’s speed lessened, but what with the impetus given her and -the incoming tide she seemed bound to either land high and dry on the -float or to considerably damage her immaculate white and gold bow. The -skipper dropped the wheel and looked excitedly around for a boat-hook. - -“Sheer off, you idiot!” cried Toby, nimbly scrambling out of the way. -“Put your wheel over!” - -“Grab her!” responded the boy in the launch. “Fend her off!” - -Toby grunted. Then there was a crash, the float bobbed and shivered, -and the white launch, finding further progress barred, rebounded from -the obstacle in her path, and, leaving much fresh white paint on the -canvas fender, churned merrily backward. Simultaneously two boys, one -on the float and one in the launch, scrambled to their feet again and -broke into speech. - -“Hey, you boob!” yelled Toby. “Look where you’re going! You’ll have her -stern into that dory in a minute. Shut off your engine!” - -“Why didn’t you grab her?” demanded the boy in the launch angrily. -“Couldn’t you see she was going to hit?” - -“I’d look nice trying to stop her, wouldn’t I?” countered Toby -contemptuously. “Why don’t you learn to run a launch before you come -around here destroying property? What were you trying to do, anyhow? -Climb the gangplank in her?” - -“I couldn’t come in any way but straight on, could I? Look at all those -boats along the sides! Why don’t they give a fellow a chance to get up -here?” - -“Well, you’re not expected to make your landing at sixty miles an hour, -you silly lubber. Here, hold that out and I’ll pull you in.” - -Somewhat disgruntled, the amateur navigator proffered the end of the -boat-hook and in a jiffy the _Frolic_ was alongside. Toby returned -to his seat on the box and watched the other make fast. Conscious of -Toby’s ironical regard, the skipper of the _Frolic_ was flustered and -awkward, and twice got the line tangled around his feet. When he stood -up from his task, he was red of face and out of temper. “That suit your -highness?” he inquired. - -Toby grinned. “Well, it ain’t customary in these parts to make a boat -fast with a square knot, but I guess she’ll hold.” - -“You think you’re smart, don’t you?” sneered the other. - -Toby made no reply to that, merely smiling in a most exasperating -manner. Presently, when the skipper of the _Frolic_ had laboriously -shoved the launch out of the way, he looked questioningly about the -landing. - -“Where can I get gasoline?” he asked more affably. - -Toby was maddeningly deliberate. “Gasoline?” - -“Yes.” - -“How much do you want?” - -“What’s that got to do with it?” demanded the other impatiently. - -“Well, if you want as much as ten gallons it would pay me to get it for -you.” - -“I can get it myself if you’ll tell me where they keep it. Don’t they -have it here at this landing? Isn’t this the town landing?” - -“Yes.” Toby looked around the float. “I don’t see any gasoline, though; -do you?” - -“Well, then, where――――” - -“You can get all you want at Tucker’s wharf over there.” - -The other followed the direction of Toby’s pointing finger. “At the -boat yard you mean?” - -Toby nodded. “Yes; just chug over there to the float where you see the -red tank.” - -“Why couldn’t you tell me that before I tied up?” - -“You didn’t ask me.” The other grunted and set about casting off again, -during which operation Toby studied him speculatively. - -He saw a boy of perhaps a year his senior, and Toby was fifteen, -fairly tall, slim, and undeniably good looking. He had brown eyes -and brown hair, the latter slicked back in a way that was strange -and awe-inspiring to the observer, and his face, with its straight -nose and somewhat pointed chin, lacked the healthy coat of tan that -Toby’s possessed. Yes, he was a good looking chap, Toby decided, but a -most unpleasant and unlikable one. That fact, however, was not going -to prevent Toby from making a sale, and when the visitor had sprung -aboard, Toby glanced doubtfully at his box of groceries, swept the -harbor without seeing anything that looked like the tender from the -_Penguin_, and jumped lightly to the _Frolic_. - -“I’ll go over with you and get it,” he said. “Where’s your boat-hook? -All right. Start her up!” - -The other viewed him doubtfully. “What have you got to do with it?” he -asked, suspiciously. - -“That’s my father’s wharf, and he’s busy up in the shed. If it’s -gasoline you want, I’m your man. Take her across easy now.” - -The engine started at half-speed, and the _Frolic_ slid quietly away -from the town landing, past the end of the coal wharf, and across -the Cove to the boat-yard landing. This time the launch’s operator -performed his task more creditably and nestled up against the small -float with no more damage to her paint. While he made her fast Toby -sprang out and ran up the gangplank to the big red tank at the end of -the wharf. - -“How much do you want?” he called back. - -“About nine, I guess. My tank holds ten, and I think there’s almost a -gallon in it.” - -“All right.” Toby held a five-gallon can under the faucet and when it -was full climbed down again and swung it to the bow of the launch. -“Look out for the paint,” requested the other boy. “Wait till I get the -funnel. Go ahead now.” - -Toby poured the contents of the can into the tank and returned again to -the wharf. When the final four gallons had been added he set the can -back on the float and observed: “One ninety-eight, please.” - -“One ninety―――― Say, how much do you charge a gallon?” exclaimed the -other, incredulously. - -“Twenty-two cents. This is the best there is.” - -“Twenty-two! Why, I only paid twenty in New York the other day!” - -“You were lucky,” drawled Toby. “It’s twenty-two here. What you got -was low-grade, I guess.” - -“Well, I don’t intend to pay any twenty-two cents. I’ll pay just what I -paid in New York. Here’s two dollars, and I want twenty cents change.” - -Toby, hands in pockets, paid no heed to the proffered bill. Instead -he looked speculatively at the little round hole through which the -gasoline had disappeared. “It’s going to be hard to get it out of -there,” he mused. “Maybe we can do it with a pump, though.” - -“Get it out? What for? Look here, twenty cents is enough and――――” - -“Not when the price is twenty-two,” replied Toby decidedly. “We charge -the same as everywhere else here. You’d have paid twenty-two at the -town landing just the same.” - -“At the town landing! You said they didn’t keep it there!” - -“No, sir, I didn’t. I said I didn’t see any.” Toby grinned. “And I -didn’t, either. You can’t, from the float.” - -“You’re a smart guy, aren’t you?” said the other angrily. “You make me -come away over here and then try to hold me up! Well, you can’t do it! -You fork over twenty cents and you’ll get this two dollars, you――you -red-headed cheat!” - -Toby’s grin faded instantly. “What did you call me?” he asked very -quietly after a moment’s silence. - -“You heard it! Now you find twenty cents and――――” - -They were standing on the canvas-covered deck at the bow, a precarious -place at the best, with the launch rolling a bit, and not at all the -sort of place the _Frolic’s_ skipper would have selected for battle had -he been allowed a choice. But he wasn’t, for his naughty remarks were -rudely interrupted, rudely and unexpectedly! With something between a -grunt and a snarl, Toby threw himself upon him. - -“Take it back!” he panted. “’Tain’t red, and you know it!” - -The older boy gave way before the sudden assault, tried to wrest his -arms free from Toby’s grip, failed at that, and, bringing his greater -weight to bear, forced the other back across the tiny decking. They -struggled and panted, only the rubber soles they wore keeping them from -going overboard. - -“Let me alone, you silly ass!” grunted the older youth. “We’ll both be -in the water in a second.” - -“Take it back, then!” panted Toby. “’Tain’t red, is it?” - -“Yes, it is! It’s red as――as fire!” He wrenched an arm free and struck -out angrily. The blow missed, and Toby caught at the arm, trying now -to trip his opponent up. But the law of gravity cannot be trifled with -forever, and what was bound to happen sooner or later happened right -then. Toby’s leg worked behind the other; he bore back and――over they -went, still tightly clasped together, with a splash that awoke the -echoes of the Cove! - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE _Turnover_ - - -They came up separately, Toby first. Fortunately for the boy of the -launch, a good eight feet separated him from Toby at the moment of -his emergence, for Toby was by no means satisfied and proved it by an -earnest endeavor to reach his adversary before the latter could splash -and flounder his way around the bow of the launch and throw himself, -breathless and half-drowned, across the edge of the float. From that -position he squirmed not an instant too soon and half-leaped and -half-fell across the gunwale of the launch and seized the boat-hook. - -“Now, you wild idiot,” he gasped, “you keep away from me!” - -Toby viewed the situation, pulled himself to the float and grinned. -“All right,” he said. “You got the best of it now, but it ain’t red, -and I’ll make you say so sooner or later. Now you pay what you owe me.” - -An expression of blank dismay came to the other’s face, and he gazed -anxiously about deck and water. “I dropped it! You made me do it, too! -Now you find it!” - -Toby shrugged. “I guess it’s at the bottom now. Let me look.” - -“You stay where you are,” commanded the other, threatening again with -his weapon. - -“I won’t do anything――honest,” assured Toby. “Not now, that is. Put -that thing down and let me see if I can see your money.” - -In a moment the two were leaning over the side of the launch and -peering into the water. But the surface was ruffled and it was -impossible to see much below it. “When did you let go of it?” inquired -Toby. - -“How do I know? When you grabbed me, I suppose.” - -“Haven’t you got any more money with you?” - -“No, I haven’t, and if I had I wouldn’t give it to you,” was the -ungracious reply. Toby considered. Finally: - -“Well, I’ll take half the blame,” he decided, “but that’s all. You pay -me ninety-nine cents and we’ll call it square.” - -“That’s twenty-two cents a gallon, though.” - -Toby nodded. “Sure. That’s the price.” - -After a moment’s consideration the other consented. “But you’ll have -to trust me for it,” he said. “That two dollars was all I had.” - -“All right. What’s your name?” - -“Deering, Arnold Deering. I live on the Head.” - -“Spanish Head? Whose house have you got?” - -“We live in our own house. It’s called ‘Cedarcroft,’ and it’s the big -one right at the end――――” - -“Oh, the new one that was built last winter? All right. Arnold Deering, -eh? I’ll remember. You’re the fellow who owes me ninety-nine cents――and -an apology.” - -“You’ll get the ninety-nine cents, all right; I’ll bring it over -tomorrow. But you’ll have to whistle for any apology from me!” - -“I can whistle,” answered Toby undisturbedly. - -“You’ll have to!” Arnold was having difficulty with the knot he had -tied. Toby looked on quizzically. - -“Those square knots――――” he began. - -“Oh, shut up!” Arnold finally cast loose and climbed aboard. “You get -off now.” - -“I was thinking maybe you’d drop me at the town landing,” replied Toby -calmly. “I’ve got a box of groceries over there.” - -“Well, all right, but you’ll have to jump. I don’t intend to stop for -you.” - -“Sure. Reverse her when you start and back out. Put your wheel hard -over and――――” - -“Say,” inquired Arnold belligerently, “who’s running this thing?” - -“You are. How long have you had her?” - -“About a week.” - -“She’s a nice boat. If I was you I’d learn to run her. Don’t do a boat -any good to ram her into things.” - -“Is that so? I’ll bet I can run a launch as well as you can, you――――” - -“Careful!” warned Toby. - -“You fresh kid!” - -“All right. Look out for the coal wharf. Mr. Rollinson would be awfully -mad if you carried away the end of it! Just slow her up and I’ll jump -for it.” - -“I hope you fall in,” said the other vindictively. Toby laughed. - -“I wouldn’t be much wetter if I did! All right now. Thanks!” He made a -flying leap over the four feet of water between launch and float and -landed safely. Simultaneously Arnold twirled the wheel and the _Frolic_ -pointed her nose down the harbor and chugged indignantly away. Not, -however, until Toby had sent a gentle reminder floating after her. - -“_Frolic_, ahoy!” he shouted. - -Arnold turned an inquiring head. - -“Don’t forget that ninety-nine cents! And remember I’m still whistling!” - -There was no reply, and Toby, seating himself on the box, chuckled -wickedly and resumed his onerous task. - -Toby’s father wasn’t nearly as amused as Toby had expected him to be -when he was told the incident of the last two-dollar bill at dinner -that day. Mr. Tucker was a tall, stooped man of forty-odd years, with -faded blue eyes in a weather-tanned face. The Tuckers had been boat -builders for three generations, and Mr. Aaron Tucker’s skin seemed to -have borrowed the hue from the mahogany that for so many years past -had been sawed and shaped and planed and sandpapered in the big shed -across the harbor road. In the old days Tucker’s Boat Yard had turned -out good-sized fishing and pleasure craft, but business had fallen away -in the last dozen years, and now small launches and sloops and rowboats -constituted the output. And, at that, business was far from brisk. -Perhaps Mr. Tucker had the fact in mind when he inquired dryly who was -to pay for that other four and a half gallons of gasoline. - -“I guess I’ll have to,” said Toby, ruefully. - -“I calculate you will,” agreed his father. - -“At the wholesale price, though,” added the boy hastily; and Mr. -Tucker’s eyes twinkled as he nodded. - -But if the story won small appreciation from his father, there was -one, at least, at the dinner table who enjoyed it, and that was Toby’s -sister, Phebe. Phebe Tucker was thirteen, a slim, pretty girl with -hair that Toby called “yaller” and Phebe’s mother termed golden. She -had very bright, brown eyes under long lashes and a skin that, even -though nearly as brown as Toby’s, was clear and smooth. There were no -other children and so Toby and his sister had always been very close -companions, a fact which probably accounted for a somewhat boyish -quality in Phebe. She could sail a boat nearly as well as Toby, catch -quite as many fish, was no mean hand at the oars, and could perform -almost as many “stunts” in the water as he could. She asked no favors -and was always ready for adventure――a jolly, companionable girl with a -wealth of spirits, and good nature and good health. - -Neither of the children resembled their mother in looks, for Mrs. -Tucker was small, with dark hair and eyes, and comfortably stout. Her -children called her “roly-poly,” a descriptive term which Mrs. Tucker -pretended to resent. For the rest, she was a quiet, kind-hearted little -woman, who worshiped her big husband and her children, and whose main -ambition was to see that they were happy. - -Saturday afternoon was always a holiday for Toby and Phebe, and after -dinner was over they went out to the front steps and pondered what to -do. The cottage was a neat, white-clapboarded little house, perched on -a slope above the harbor road. From the gate a flight of six wooden -steps led to a tiny bricked walk which ran the length of the cottage. - -A wistaria vine, venerable with age, was in full bloom at one side of -the doorway, while between house and walk narrow beds held a wealth of -old-fashioned flowers. From the steps one looked across the cobbled, -winding harbor road, tree-shaded in summer, to the boat yard with its -weather-beaten shed and its old stone wharf, and beyond that to the -little harbor and to the nestling village houses on the other side. - -“We might go out in the launch,” suggested Toby, “only I’d have to fix -the wiring first.” - -“Would it take long?” asked his sister. - -“I guess not. I couldn’t find the trouble yesterday, though. We might -take a run around to Shinnecock if I can get her started.” - -“Let’s,” said Phebe. “It’s too beautiful a day to stay ashore. You go -ahead and see if you can’t fix it and I’ll be right along.” - -So Toby crossed the road, passed around the further side of the big -shed, from which came the tap-tap of hammers and the buzz of the -bandsaw, climbed down a slippery ladder and dropped into the launch. - -Toby had made most of that boat himself. It wasn’t as grand as the -_Frolic_ and it boasted little bright work and no gilt. But, in spite -of its name, it was at once safe, roomy and fast. Its name――you had to -look on the stern to find it――was _Turnover_. In lowering the engine -into it the summer before Toby’s assistant had lost control of the -rope, with the result that the engine, at that instant poised over the -gunwale, had descended very hurriedly. The boat, probably resenting -the indignity, had promptly turned its keel to the sky and dumped the -engine to the bottom of the slip in six feet of water. The boat hadn’t -actually turned over, for having got rid of the engine and shipped a -good deal of water it had righted itself very nicely, but Toby had -dubbed it _Turnover_ there and then. - -The _Turnover_ was sixteen feet long, with a four-and-a-half-foot -beam, had a two-cylinder engine――purchased second-hand but really as -good as new――capable of sending the launch through the water at a -good twelve-mile gait, and was painted a rather depressing shade of -gray. Toby favored that color not so much for its attractiveness as -because it didn’t show dirt, and it must be owned that the _Turnover_ -was seldom immaculate, inside or out. But she suited Toby down to the -ground――or perhaps I should say down to the water――and I doubt if any -one else could have made her go as he did. The _Turnover_ had her own -eccentricities and it was necessary to humor her. - -Toby began operations by pushing his duck hat to the back of his head -and reflectively scratching the front of it, a trick caught from his -father. Then, having decided on a plan of action, he set to work. -Before he had discovered the trouble and remedied it, with the aid of -an odd bit of insulated copper wire pulled from a locker, Phebe was -swinging her feet from the edge of the wharf and watching. Experience -had taught her the advisability of keeping out of the way until the -work was done. At last, wiping a perspiring face in a bunch of greasy -waste, Toby threw the switch on and turned the fly-wheel over. - -A heartening chug-chug rewarded him, and, tossing the tools back in -the locker, he unscrewed the cap of the gasoline tank, plunged a stick -into it, examined the result, did some mental calculation, and at last -declared himself ready to start. Phebe lowered herself nimbly down -the ladder and seated herself at the wheel while Toby cast off the -lines from the bow and stern. The _Turnover_ backed out of the little -slip rather noisily, swung her pert nose toward the harbor mouth, and -presently was sliding past the moored craft at a fine clip. Once around -the point the breeze met them and the _Turnover_ began to nod to the -quartering waves. Toby slathered oil here and there, gave her more gas, -and seated himself across from his sister. - -“She’s going fine,” he said. “I guess we could make Robins Island if we -wanted to.” - -“That’s too far, Toby. I’d rather go to Shinnecock.” - -“All right. It’s going to be dandy after we get around the Head. -There’s a peach of a swell, isn’t there?” - -The launch dipped her way past Nobbs Island, with its squatty -lighthouse, and Phebe turned the launch toward the Head. - -“There’s the place that fellow lives,” said Toby, nodding at a fine -new stone-and-shingle house on the point. “The fellow I had the scrap -with, I mean.” - -“It’s a lovely house,” said Phebe. “I suppose they have lots of money, -don’t you?” - -“Slathers, I guess. He’s a pill. Can’t run that launch any more than -Mr. Murphy can.” (Mr. Murphy was Phebe’s parrot, and, while he had been -through some nautical experiences, he was naturally no navigator!) “He -didn’t do a thing to her paint when he bumped into the float.” Toby -chuckled. “And wasn’t he peeved with me!” - -“I guess you were horribly superior and nasty,” said Phebe. “You can -be, you know.” - -“Oh, well, I hate fellows to put on a lot of airs just because their -folks have money,” grumbled Toby. “The way he talked to me, you’d have -thought I was a hunk of dirt.” - -“Was he nice looking?” asked Phebe. - -“Oh, I suppose you’d call him that. Sort of a pretty boy, with his hair -all slicked back like it was varnished. It didn’t look so fine when he -came out of the water, though!” - -“That was a horrid thing to do, Toby.” But she smiled as she said it. - -“I didn’t do it, sis. He stumbled――sort of――and went over backwards, -and I went with him. You ought to have seen the way he scrambled out -of there when he saw me coming after him! Say, we might run in to their -landing and collect that ninety-nine cents, eh?” - -“Indeed, we aren’t going to do anything of the kind!” replied Phebe -severely, and Toby laughed. - -“I was just fooling. He’ll pay it, all right. And he’ll apologize for -calling me red-headed, too.” - -“I don’t see why you mind that so much,” said Phebe. “I think red hair -is lovely. I wish mine was red, like Nellie Rollinson’s.” - -“I don’t. I think it’s awful.” - -“Why, Toby, you said once you thought Nellie’s hair was very pretty!” - -“Maybe it is, on her. It wouldn’t be on you, though. And I don’t want -any of it, thanks. Take her in a little closer to shore. It’s flood -tide.” - -The _Turnover_ was remarkably well behaved today and they ran into the -canal long before two o’clock, and, at Phebe’s suggestion, disembarked -and walked over to the hills and, finally, to the south shore. The -summer season was well begun and there was plenty to see and to -interest them. They had ice cream sodas at a little shop and wandered -back to the launch about three. Instead of making straight home, Toby, -who claimed the wheel now, headed the _Turnover_ toward the middle -of the bay, and, with a nice breeze blowing Phebe’s hair about her -face and enough of a chop to set the launch advancing merrily in the -sunlight, they spent the next hour in running leisurely across to the -north shore and back. It was when the _Turnover_ was pointed homeward -again, about four, that Phebe, curled up in the bow, called Toby’s -attention to a small launch a mile or so distant and some two miles off -Spanish Head. - -“They are either fishing or have broken down. I’ve been watching them -for some time.” - -“There aren’t any fish there,” replied Toby, viewing the distant -launch. “Guess their engine’s gone back on them. They’ve got their -anchor over. We’ll soon find out.” - -“They’re waving at us, I think,” said Phebe a minute later. “Look, -Toby.” - -“That’s right.” Toby waved his hat in reply and sent the _Turnover_ -along faster. “I wonder what launch that is,” he added as the distance -lessened. “She looks a bit like――――” his voice dwindled. Then he -laughed, and: “That’s just who she is!” he cried gayly. “That’s the -_Frolic_, sis! And, unless I’m much mistaken, that’s Pretty Boy -waving!” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -ARNOLD PAYS HIS DEBTS - - -Toby was not mistaken, for presently the _Turnover_ was close enough to -the disabled white launch for him to identify one of her two passengers -as Arnold Deering. Who the other boy was Toby didn’t know, nor did he -much care. He slipped the clutch into neutral and let the _Turnover_ -run down alongside the _Frolic_. As he did so he vastly enjoyed the -expression of surprise and annoyance that came into Arnold’s face when -the latter recognized him. - -“Hello,” said Toby as the boats bobbed side by side. “Want some more -gasoline?” - -“Hello,” answered Arnold gruffly. “This silly engine’s out of whack. We -can’t start her. If you’ll give us a tow I’ll pay you for it.” - -Toby considered a moment, or appeared to. Then, as the _Turnover_ was -floating past, he threw in the clutch again and circled around to the -other side. At last: “I don’t know about towing,” he said doubtfully. -“The _Frolic’s_ pretty heavy for us, I guess. I might send some one -out to you when I get in.” - -Phebe uttered a low-voiced protest. “Don’t be horrid, Toby,” she said. -“Of course we can tow them.” - -But the boys in the white launch didn’t hear that, and Arnold looked -dismayed. “But, look here, whatever-your-name-is――――” - -“Well, you said it was Red-head this morning,” replied Toby carelessly. - -Arnold flushed. “We’ve been here since half-past two, and we want to -get home. I’ve a rope here, and if you’ll tow us in I’ll give you a -dollar.” - -The second occupant of the _Frolic_, an older and bigger boy with dark -hair and eyes and a somewhat sulky expression, chimed in impatiently. -“We’ll give him two dollars. I’ll pay half. I’ve got to get back by -five o’clock, Arn.” - -“All right then, two,” amended Arnold anxiously. “Get that half-inch -rope out of the stern locker, Frank, will you?” - -“Oh, I’d do it for a dollar,” said Toby, “or I might do it for nothing -at all. It isn’t that.” He ruminated again and again chugged the -_Turnover_ into position. “Tell you what I will do,” he continued then. -“I’ll come aboard and see if I can start her for you.” - -“What’s the good of that?” demanded Frank. “We’ve been trying for -nearly two hours. And we want to get in.” - -“Maybe I might think of something you haven’t,” answered Toby. - -“All right, come ahead,” said Arnold. - -Toby slid the _Turnover_ close to the other launch and shut off the -engine. “You hold her, Phebe,” he instructed. Then: “This is my sister, -Phebe,” he added by way of introduction. “Phebe, this is Arnold -Deering. You remember I spoke of him this noon,” he added innocently. - -Arnold colored as he murmured a response and then introduced Frank -Lamson. Phebe nodded shyly and Toby clambered aboard the _Frolic_. The -two boys then followed him as he tested the engine by throwing the -spark on and turning the wheel a few times. There was no response from -the cylinders and Toby disconnected the wires from the spark-plugs and -grounded them against the engine one at a time. He got sparks from -three of the four, and, after he had cleaned the fourth plug, from all -of them. An examination of the carbureter followed leisurely, Toby -whistling softly all the time. Presently he followed the gasoline -supply pipe back from engine to tank, having to raise the locker covers -to do so, and at last, snapping the door of the forward locker shut -again, he faced Arnold with a satisfied nod. - -“Got it,” he said. - -“Really? What was the trouble?” asked the _Frolic’s_ skipper. - -“Nothing much. I can fix it in a minute.” - -“Go ahead, then,” said Frank Lamson, with a scowl. “We’re in a hurry, I -tell you.” - -Toby observed him ruminatively for a moment, and then turned his gaze -to Arnold. “I’m still whistling, you see,” he said, and to prove it -went on with his tune. - -“Don’t be a fool,” begged Arnold. “If you can fix it――――” - -“Won’t take me a minute――after I get started,” was the untroubled -reply. Toby reached up and took off his hat. “You might just take -another look at my hair,” he continued pleasantly. “When the sun isn’t -on it’s quite a bit darker, I think.” - -“Toby!” exclaimed Phebe, in a shocked voice. - -Arnold flushed and stammered. “What’s that got to do with it?” he -asked. Frank Lamson looked bewildered. - -“Well,” said Toby, “I thought maybe you’d like to see if you weren’t -mistaken about the color of my hair.” - -Arnold looked at Frank and at Phebe, and finally at Toby’s gently -smiling countenance and swallowed hard. Finally: “Well, it isn’t as red -as I thought it was,” he muttered. “I suppose the sun being on it――――” - -“Sure! But just you take another look; take a good hard one now. Sort -of brown, isn’t it?” - -Arnold hesitated, cast a fleeting glance at the exposed hair, and -grinned in a sickly way. “I guess that’s so,” he allowed. “I――I’d say -it was quite brown.” - -“Not the least bit red, eh?” - -Arnold shook his head: “Not a bit.” - -“And, seeing you were mistaken this morning, maybe you’d like to sort -of apologize,” suggested Toby. Phebe was observing Arnold with an -expression that seemed to convey to him an apology for her brother’s -conduct, and perhaps her look helped him over his embarrassment. At -all events, when Frank Lamson, puzzled and resentful, broke in with: -“What’s the fuss about? Who cares whether his hair’s brown or――――” -Arnold interrupted quickly. - -“Whoa, Frank! This chap’s right.” He laughed good humoredly. “I take it -back, Tucker, and apologize. You’re all right! And――and you can stop -whistling!” - -Toby smiled sunnily and clapped his hat on his head. “Now we’ll start -her,” he said. He went back to the forward locker in which the gasoline -tank was located, thrust in a hand, withdrew it, closed the door again -and returned to the engine. “Now try her,” he said. - -Arnold did so and the engine woke promptly to life. - -“What was it?” he demanded, surprise and admiration struggling for -supremacy in his face. - -Toby laughed. “I’ll tell you so it won’t be likely to happen again,” he -replied. “You’ve got a globe cock on your gasoline supply pipe where it -leaves the tank. Usually that shut-off is down here by the engine, and -I don’t know why they put it there. But they did, and when you pulled -your anchor out of your bow locker you managed to get your cable fouled -with the cock and turned it almost square off. You weren’t getting any -gasoline, Deering.” - -“But I tried the carbureter twice and it flooded!” - -“Of course it did, because there was gasoline in the pipe. The cock -wasn’t quite closed, and enough kept running into the pipe to show in -the carbureter, but not to explode in the cylinders. If I were you I’d -take a piece of zinc and turn it over that cock; make a sort of hood -of it, you know, so your line won’t get twisted in it.” - -“I didn’t know there was any shut-off there,” grumbled Frank Lamson, -“or I’d have looked at it.” - -“There’s always one somewhere on the pipe,” replied Toby dryly. “Well, -you’re all right now, I guess, eh?” - -“Yes, thanks,” said Arnold gratefully. “And, by the way, Tucker――――” He -pulled a dollar bill from his coin purse and held it out with a smile. -“I guess I’ll pay my debt.” - -Toby gravely fished up a penny and the transfer was made. - -“I don’t know,” continued Arnold doubtfully, “but what I’d ought to pay -for all that gas.” He made a motion toward his pocket again, but Toby -waved the idea aside. - -“No, we settled that,” he said. “I don’t mind paying half. It was worth -it!” - -Arnold laughed. Then: “But, hold on! How about this job?” he exclaimed. -“Better let me pay you something for it. I’d rather.” - -“Oh, shucks, that’s all right. We don’t charge for helping friends -out of trouble around here,” answered Toby as he climbed back to the -_Turnover_. “So long!” - -“Well, I’m awfully much obliged,” responded Arnold, and his thanks -seemed to include Phebe as well. “Good-by.” He took off his cap, -something which his companion neglected to do, and waved a farewell -as the _Turnover_ moved away. Frank Lamson only nodded, but, as the -_Turnover_ circled around toward the harbor, he called across the -water: “Say, we’ll race you back!” - -But Toby shook his head. “I’m not in racing trim today,” he called -back. “Some other time!” - -The _Frolic_ passed them presently, doing a good ten miles against the -turning tide, and Arnold, standing at the wheel in the bow, waved once -more. - -“You ought to have been ashamed, Toby,” said his sister severely, “to -act like that!” - -“Act like what?” inquired the boy innocently. - -“You know perfectly well.” - -“Oh, that! Why, you see, sis, I knew he’d made a mistake, and I knew -he’d want to――to correct it. So I just gave him a chance.” - -“But to refuse to fix the engine until he’d apologized!” - -“I didn’t refuse. I’d have fixed it if he hadn’t. That was just a -bluff――and it worked!” Toby chuckled. “What did you think of him?” - -“I thought he was very――very nice,” replied Phebe, after a moment. - -“He isn’t so bad, I guess,” agreed Toby carelessly. “Some one ought to -show him how to run that boat, though.” - -“And he is very good looking, too,” added Phebe. - -Toby grinned. “You wait till you see me with my hair slicked down flat -with vaseline, sis!” - -“Vaseline! The idea! His hair is just naturally shiny.” - -“Must be. Anyway, you’ve taken a shine to it! Wonder where he picked up -that Lantern chap?” - -“Lamson, it was.” - -“Lamson, then. He’s a surly beggar.” Toby frowned. “He came mighty near -getting into trouble, too. He almost said my hair was red. If Deering -hadn’t stopped him just when he did――――” - -“Toby, you’re too silly for words about the color of your hair. You -know very well that it is――well, reddish, and I don’t see why you don’t -make up your mind to it.” - -“You’ve got a pimple on the end of your nose, but――――” - -“Toby! I haven’t!” Phebe investigated agitatedly. “It’s just the -tiniest bit of a one, then. Does it show much?” - -“Well, you couldn’t see it across the harbor,” was the unfeeling reply. -“Anyhow, it’s there, and I’ll bet you wouldn’t want folks to tell you -about it. Well, it’s like that with my hair, sis. I know it’s sort of -reddish――in the sunlight, maybe――but I don’t care to have fellows say -so. When they do they either have to fight or apologize.” - -“I don’t see how fighting proves anything,” objected Phebe. - -“It doesn’t prove anything, no, but it sort of makes you forget the -insult! Here we are. Take the wheel and I’ll fend her off. I hope -there’s something good for supper!” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -FRIENDS AFLOAT - - -Toby saw no more of Arnold for a week, for school kept him busy, but -Mr. Tucker reported that the _Frolic_ had twice been to the wharf for -gasoline and that on each occasion her skipper had inquired for him. -School came to end for the summer that Friday and Toby brought his -books home to his little slanting-walled room with a sigh of relief. -He didn’t mind studying, for he wanted to learn things, but since the -really warm weather had set in, lessons had been a task indeed. One -thing, though, that he could congratulate himself on was that he was -now through grammar school and next fall would start in at high school -over at Johnstown. As long as the weather would allow it, he meant to -make the trip back and forth in the _Turnover_, a matter of three miles -from landing to landing. - -When the ice came he would have to walk to Riverport, a good two miles, -and take the train there for Johnstown, and that wouldn’t be quite -so pleasant. Toby’s ambition, though it was as yet not very strong, -was to some day take hold of Tucker’s Boat Yard and make it as big -and busy and successful as it once had been. But Toby’s father didn’t -give him much encouragement. Boat-building at Greenhaven, he declared -pessimistically, had had its day. Launches had taken the place of -honest sailboats, and there were too many launch-makers in that part of -the world. There was no money in it any longer; just a living, and a -bare one at that. Toby thought he knew better, but he didn’t argue it. -There was time enough yet. - -In another four years, when he had learned all they had to teach him at -the Johnstown High School, and he was very, very wise, perhaps he would -take hold of the business and show his father that there was still -money to be made in it. Of course, Toby had not figured out just how he -was to do it. There was time enough for that, too! - -He and Arnold had their next meeting Saturday morning, a week almost to -the minute after their first. Toby had taken some provisions around to -a houseboat moored in Nobbs Bay, on the other side of Spanish Harbor, -and was chugging lazily back in the _Turnover_, when from across the -water a faint hail reached him. A quarter of a mile away a figure stood -on the new steel pier that extended into the bay at the end of Spanish -Head, and Toby, shading his eyes, recognized Arnold Deering. Since -his errand had been accomplished and there was no more work in sight -just then, he turned the launch toward the landing and was soon within -talking distance. The _Frolic_ was lying beside the float there, in -company with a cedar skiff, and a brilliantly blue canoe rested, keel -up, on the planks. - -“Hello, Tucker!” called Arnold in friendly fashion. “Where are you -going?” - -“Nowhere much. I took some grub to that houseboat in there. Going out -in the launch?” Toby slid the _Turnover_ up to the end of the float and -Arnold came down the sloping gangplank. - -“I don’t know. Maybe I will.” He held the _Turnover_ to the landing -with one rubber-soled shoe on the gunwale. “Say, I met your father the -other day.” - -“He told me.” - -“He’s awfully nice, isn’t he?” - -Toby considered. Finally: “Yes,” he said. “He takes after me.” - -Arnold laughed. “Say, you must have thought I was an awful fresh chump -the other day,” he said apologetically. “I’m sorry I was so peevish.” -He smiled reminiscently. “Fact is, you know, I was mad because I’d made -such a mess of that landing.” - -“I guess we were both sort of fresh,” answered Toby. “Want to go out in -a good boat?” - -“Yes.” Arnold leaped aboard. “Your father said you’d made this -yourself.” - -“Most of it. I made the hull, but dad and Long Tim――he works for -dad――helped me a lot with the lockers and so on.” - -“I should think you’d be mighty proud of it,” said the other -admiringly. “I would. How did you happen to call her the _Turnover_?” - -Toby explained as he started off, and Arnold laughed appreciatively. -“That would be a better name for my canoe,” he said. “She turned over -with me the other day about a half-mile out there and I had to swim all -the way in with her. There’s too much chop around here for canoeing.” - -“Which way do you want to go?” asked Toby. “Ever been over to -Johnstown?” - -“No, Frank and I started for there last Saturday, the day we broke -down.” - -“How did you happen to stop the launch out there, anyway? Were you -going to fish?” - -Arnold nodded. “Yes, Frank said there’d be cod there. Then after we’d -got the anchor over we found we’d forgotten to bring any bait.” - -“Cod!” laughed Toby. “I guess a sea robin or a sculpin would have been -about all you’d have caught. Who is this fellow Lamson?” - -“He lives on the other side over there. He goes to school where I do.” - -“Do you like him?” - -“Like him?” Arnold had to consider that. “N-no, not a lot, I guess. Do -you?” - -“Not so far. He looks all the time as if he’d swallowed something that -didn’t agree with him. And he pretty nearly said I had red hair!” - -“Say, I’m sorry I said anything about――about your hair,” said Arnold -contritely. “It was beastly rude.” - -“Well, I’m sort of touchy about that,” replied Toby. “Of course my hair -is――er――I mean when you look at it a certain way it does seem a little -bit inclined to be reddish. It isn’t really red, you know, but it――it -has a sort of tinge! Lots of fellows make mistakes about it. The first -year I was in grammar school I was all the time――er――showing fellows -how mistaken they were.” - -“The same way you showed me?” inquired Arnold slyly. - -Toby nodded, and smiled gently. “About like that. Of course, I don’t -mind a joke, you know. Folks I like can call me red-headed all they -want to. But I don’t seem to care for it from strangers.” - -“I see. I won’t ever say anything like that again,” Arnold assured him. - -Toby gazed intently toward the island sliding past them to port. “I -wouldn’t care if you did――now,” he murmured. “If I like a fellow”――his -voice dwindled off into silence. - -“All the more reason I shouldn’t,” said Arnold. “If I like a fellow I -don’t want to hurt his feelings.” - -“No, but――when you like a fellow you don’t mind what he says,” returned -Toby. His eyes sought Arnold’s face for an instant and then returned to -the island. “You can call me Red-head if you want to. I wouldn’t care.” - -“I guess I’d rather call you by your real name,” laughed Arnold. “I -would if I was sure of it. Is it Toby?” - -“Yes. Funny sort of a name, isn’t it? Tobias it is when it’s all there. -Dad got it out of the Bible. All the male Tuckers have Bible names. -Dad’s is Aaron. When he was a kid the boys used to call him ‘Big A, -little a, r, o, n!’ His father’s name was Jephthah; Captain Jeph, they -called him. I’m glad they didn’t tag me with that name!” - -“I think Toby’s a rather jolly name,” said Arnold reflectively. “I like -it better than Arnold.” - -“I don’t. Arnold’s got a lot of style to it; sounds like it was out of -a story. What do the fellows at school call you?” - -“Arn, usually. Say, this boat can travel, can’t she? How fast is she -going?” - -“About ten, I guess; maybe eleven.” Toby advanced the throttle as far -as it would go, listened and pushed it back a little. “She misses if I -give her too much gas.” - -“Seems to me she goes faster than the _Frolic_.” - -“She’s smaller and you’re nearer the water. That makes her seem to go -faster. There’s the landing ahead. Want to go in?” - -“No, let’s just knock around, unless you’ve got something to do.” - -“I haven’t as long as I stay away from home,” replied Toby dryly. “Say, -what school do you go to in winter?” - -“Yardley Hall.” - -“Where’s that?” - -“Wissining, Connecticut.” Arnold waved a hand vaguely toward the west. -“Over there on the other side of the Sound. Ever hear of it?” - -Toby shook his head. “I don’t know much about schools. It’s a boarding -school, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, and it’s a dandy. I wish you could see it. Where do you go, Toby?” - -“Me? Next year I’m going to high school here at Johnstown. You can -almost see the building. It’s about a mile up from the landing there, -near where you see that white steeple. I’d rather go to a boarding -school, though. It must be lots of fun. What do you do?” - -So for the next half-hour, while the _Turnover_, slowed down to a -four-mile gait, rocked and swayed over the sunlit waters of the bay, -Arnold recited the glories of Yardley Hall School and told of football -and baseball and hockey battles and of jolly times in hall. Perhaps -Arnold drew rather a one-sided picture of life at Yardley, omitting -mention of such things as study and discipline and the periodical -examinations, but that was only natural, for he was proud of Yardley -and wanted to make it as alluring as possible. Toby listened intently, -questioning now and then, because many of Arnold’s references were -quite unintelligible to him, and, when Arnold had reached the end of -his subject, sighed wistfully. - -“My, wouldn’t I like that!” he exclaimed. “Are the other fellows nice? -I suppose they’re mostly all swells like you, aren’t they?” - -“I’m not a ‘swell,’ thank you! There are all sorts of fellows at -Yardley, though. I guess the kind you call ‘swells’ are pretty few. -Lots of them are just poor fellows――――” - -“Like me,” interpolated Toby. - -“I didn’t mean that!” - -“Oh, I don’t mind. I am poor, you know. I mean dad is. We used to have -a little money, when the boat yard was more――more flourishing, but -nowadays we just sort of scrape along. That’s why I couldn’t go to -boarding school. It would cost too much money. I’d like to, though. -Say, wouldn’t I just!” Toby’s face lighted. Then he laughed. “I guess -it wouldn’t do, though, because I’d have to fight half the school for -calling me red-headed!” - -“You’d have your hands full then. We’ve got about three hundred -fellows.” - -Toby shook his head sadly. “I wouldn’t last, then, would I? The only -thing I could do would be to dye my hair black. Do you have to study -very hard?” - -“Yes, we do,” answered Arnold, frankly. “Especially in fourth and third -classes.” - -“What’s your class?” - -“I’ll be in third next year. Last year was my first. Say, wouldn’t it -be great if you could get your father to let you come to Yardley?” - -“Yes, it would be dandy,” answered Toby, smiling wryly. “And I can see -him doing it! How much does it cost, anyway? Say it slow, will you, so -it won’t sound so much?” - -“Well, the tuition’s only a hundred――――” - -“Is that all?” asked Toby carelessly. “Would they take a check for it? -Go ahead. What else do you have to pay for?” - -“Room and board, of course. That costs from two hundred to three -hundred and fifty, according to your room.” - -“Well, I’d want a nice room, of course; one with a southern exposure -and hard and soft water. How much would I have to pay for storing my -automobile?” - -“Don’t be an idiot,” laughed Arnold. “That isn’t an awful lot of money, -is it?” - -“No, indeed! Oh, no! But I suppose there’d be extras, wouldn’t there? -Maybe I’d have to tip the principal and the teachers, eh?” - -“You’d have to pay five dollars a year as an athletic assessment, and -pay for your washing and your books. Books don’t cost much. You can get -second-hand ones usually if you want to.” - -“I guess not!” exclaimed Toby indignantly. “Nothing cheap for Tobias -Tucker! Well, I’ll figure it up and think it over. But say, honest now, -do all boarding schools cost like this one of yours?” - -“I don’t know, but I guess they’re about the same. Some cost you more, -maybe.” - -“Where could I find one of those? I’d hate to get settled at your -school and then find there was a more expensive one! That would pretty -nearly break my heart, it would so! Well, maybe we’d better be getting -back. I suppose you’ve got to polish your diamonds yet.” - -“Shut up,” said Arnold, shortly. “If you talk like that I’ll――I’ll call -you ‘Carrots’!” - -“Better not,” chuckled Toby. “The last time you did it it cost you two -dollars! Calling me names is expensive!” - -“What are you going to do until lunch time?” asked the other, as Toby -headed back toward the Deerings’ landing. - -“Me? Oh, I guess I’ll go back to Perkins & Howe’s and see if they’ve -got any more jobs. I made a half-dollar taking that stuff to the -houseboat.” He pulled the coin from his pocket and exhibited it. Arnold -observed it interestedly. - -“I suppose,” he said thoughtfully, “a half-dollar seems a lot bigger if -you make it yourself.” - -“Oh, I didn’t make this,” said Toby innocently. “I just earned it. It’s -a regular half-dollar.” He flipped it in the air to let it fall on -the seat beside him in proof of his assertion, and it did just as he -intended it should, up to the point when it struck against the wood. -After that it acted most inconsiderately, for, having landed on its -edge, it flew up again and described a graceful curve over the gunwale. - -“Grab it!” yelled Arnold. Toby made a frantic clutch for it, but his -hand closed emptily and the coin disappeared into the green water of -Great Peconic Bay! - -There was a moment of deep silence during which the occupants of the -launch gazed at each other in surprised consternation. Then: - -“I’m awfully sorry,” murmured Arnold. - -A slow smile spread over Toby’s face. “So am I,” he replied, -cheerfully. “But that’s what I get for being foolish. I mean that’s -what I don’t get. Well, maybe I earned it too easily, anyhow. I guess -a quarter would have been enough for that job. It puts me back fifty -cents, though, toward getting to Yardley Hall, doesn’t it?” - -“Look here,” began Arnold shyly, “I wish you’d let me――――” His hand -moved tentatively toward his pocket. “It was partly my fault, -anyway――――” - -“Yes, you rocked the boat,” answered Toby gravely. Then he broke into -a hearty laugh. “Say, Arnold, you and I will have this old bay just -choked up with money if we keep on! They’ll have to begin and dredge -it first thing we know. There’s two and a half already, and here it is -only the first of July!” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -SHOTS IN THE DARK - - -That was the beginning of a fine friendship. Toby and Arnold became -well-nigh inseparable. They spent hours and hours together in the -_Frolic_ or the _Turnover_, swam, fished, canoed occasionally, explored -by land and sea, and spent much time curled up in a favorite corner of -the boat-yard building glorious plans for the future. Sometimes Phebe -was their companion, and sometimes, though less frequently, Frank -Lamson. Toby put up with Frank for Arnold’s sake, but never got to like -him. For his part, Frank failed to see why Arnold wanted to associate -with a fellow whose father worked “like a common laborer” and who -“slopped around in clothes you wouldn’t give to the ashman!” - -But Frank’s disapproval didn’t influence Arnold to any great extent, -and Frank soon learned to keep it to himself. He viewed Phebe more -tolerantly because she was pretty and presentable, even if her dresses -would have failed to pass muster over at the Head. But what Frank -thought of her bothered Phebe little, since she liked him no better -than Toby did, although she was a trifle more careful to disguise the -fact. - -Once and only once Toby went home with Arnold to luncheon. It happened -that a trip down the bay in the _Turnover_ had taken more time than -they had foreseen, and when the launch floated up to the Deerings’ -pier to let Arnold off it was long after Toby’s dinner hour. Toby had -resisted a while against Arnold’s pleading, but he was horribly hungry -and Arnold assured him that what he had on wouldn’t matter a bit, and -finally he had yielded. What had happened was not at all terrifying, -for Arnold’s aunt, who, since the death of the lad’s mother many -years before, had presided over the Deering establishment, was very -gracious indeed to the guest; while Mr. Deering was in New York. And -the wonderful things that were placed before Toby tasted finely and -surely filled an aching void. But for all that he wasn’t comfortable. -He had never seen so many dishes and glasses and forks and knives and -spoons, nor so many servants. Nor had he ever had his table manners put -to so severe a test. Afterwards, although Arnold for a while frequently -extended invitations to luncheon, Toby always found some excuse for -declining. He never gave the real reason, however, although possibly -Arnold guessed it. Eventually Arnold gave it up as a bad job, but that -didn’t keep him from partaking of the Tucker hospitality, and he was a -frequent guest at the dinner table in the little cottage above Harbor -Street. Every one liked Arnold, even Mr. Murphy; and Mr. Murphy was -constitutionally suspicious of strangers. - -Mr. Murphy sat on a perch in the corner of the dining-room, by -the window that looked along the winding street, an uncannily -wise-appearing old parrot with a draggled tail and a much-battered -beak. Phebe explained that he used to have a perfectly gorgeous tail, -but that he would insist on pulling the feathers out no matter how -she scolded him. Like most parrots, Mr. Murphy had his periods of -inviolate silence and his periods of invincible loquacity. During the -former all enticements failed to summon even a squawk from him, and -during the latter only banishment to a certain dark closet under the -hall stairs would stop the flow of his eloquence. It wasn’t so much -that the parrot’s repertoire was extensive as that he made the most of -it. Unlike Shakespeare, he repeated! Having spent several years of an -eventful life before the mast, he had learned a number of remarks that -brought embarrassed apologies from Phebe. On the whole, though, and in -view of his early environment, his conversation was remarkably polite. - -His usual welcome was “Hello, dearie!” followed by “Won’t you take off -your bonnet?” After that he usually laughed jeeringly, sidled across -his perch, lowered himself and gravely hung by his beak. “All hands, -stand by!” was generally delivered in a peremptory shriek that, at -first, had had a devastating effect on Mrs. Tucker’s nerves. As though -realizing the fact, Mr. Murphy thereupon chuckled wickedly and murmured -softly and crooningly: “Well, well, well! Did you ever?” Phebe had -taught him to say, “Come to breakfast,” and he had grown very partial -to the remark, making use of it at all times of the day with cheerful -disregard for appropriateness. For a while he had made the cat’s life -a burden to her by calling “Kitty, Kitty, Kitty! Come, pretty Kitty!” -and then going into peals of raucous laughter the minute the poor -cat’s head appeared around the door. Arnold won Mr. Murphy’s undying -affection by feeding him pop-corn surreptitiously, pop-corn being an -article of diet strictly forbidden by Phebe. He also spent much time -during the summer trying to induce the bird to say “Arnold,” but it -wasn’t until late in August that Toby, passing the dining-room door one -afternoon, heard Mr. Murphy croaking experimentally in a low voice: -“Say Arnold, you chump!” - -Toby still performed odd jobs and picked up an occasional quarter or -half-dollar, but it must be acknowledged that he was far less earnest -in his endeavors to find employment than he had been before Arnold’s -advent on the scene. But he was only fourteen――“going on fifteen,” as -he would have put it――and so it isn’t to be greatly wondered at that -he found his new friend’s companionship more enjoyable than running -errands or delivering groceries in out-of-the-way places for Perkins & -Howe. Mr. Tucker at first viewed Toby’s frivolity with displeasure, but -Mrs. Tucker declared that it would do him more good to play and have a -good time with a nice boy like Arnold Deering than to loiter about Main -Street on the lookout for a job. I think that struck Toby’s father as -being good sense, for he never after that taxed the boy with idleness. -Sometimes Toby had qualms of conscience and for a day or two resisted -all Arnold’s blandishments and gave himself up sternly to commerce. -Frequently at such times Arnold likewise eschewed the life of pleasure -and threw in his lot with that of Toby, and together they sat in the -back room of the grocery store awaiting orders; or canvassed the other -places of business on the chance of finding service. It was at such a -time, seated on boxes by Perkins & Howe’s back entrance, with a strong -odor of spices and coffee and cucumbers enveloping them――it happened -that Arnold was seated on the crate of cucumbers――that the plan of -the baseball series between the town boys and the summer visitors was -evolved. The sight of two youngsters passing a ball on the side street -that ran down to the fish wharf put the idea into Arnold’s head. - -“Do you play baseball, Toby?” he asked. Toby nodded. “Well, then, let’s -have a game some time.” - -“You and me?” asked Toby, with a grin. - -“No, silly! We’ll get up a couple of teams, of course. There are plenty -of fellows on the Head and around there to make up one, and you could -find enough here in town for the other, couldn’t you?” - -Toby nodded again. “Most of the fellows on the school team would play, -I guess. What would we do, draw lots?” - -“Yes; or we could have it summer visitors against town fellows. How -would that do?” - -Toby reflected. “I’d rather play on the team with you, Arn,” he said at -last. - -“So would I with you, Toby, but it would be more interesting the other -way, wouldn’t it? Where do you play?” - -“Me? Oh, most anywhere. I played third base this spring, and last year -I played center field part of the time, and part of the time I caught. -I’m what you call an all-round player, a sort of general utility man!” - -“Fine! I played first on my class team this spring. Let’s do it, eh? -Where could we play?” - -“I guess we could use the school most any day except Saturday. Does -Frank play?” - -“Yes, he’s a pretty good pitcher. I guess I’d ask him to pitch for us. -Who would you get?” - -“Tim Chrystal, probably. He’s about the best we have. I don’t know, -though, if he’d have time. He works for his father, you see. When would -we play?” - -“Today’s Wednesday, isn’t it? How about Saturday?” - -“We mightn’t be able to get the field Saturday. Besides, it’ll take -me two or three days, I guess, to find a team. Let’s say a week from -today.” - -“All right. It’ll be piles of fun. You call your nine the ‘Towners’ and -I’ll call mine the ‘Spaniards.’ Couldn’t you go after your fellows -today?” - -Toby hesitated. “Maybe. I guess there isn’t anything to do here. I -might start after dinner.” - -“Good! And I’ll beat it around the Head this afternoon and see who I -can get hold of. There are two or three fellows I don’t know very well, -but that doesn’t matter, I guess. I wish your folks had a telephone so -that I could call you up this evening and see how you’d got along.” - -“Dad says telephones waste too much time. Why don’t you come over in -the launch? It’s moonlight now.” - -“I suppose I could,” replied Arnold doubtfully. “I’ve never run her at -night, though.” - -“Better begin, then. It’s no harder than running in daylight. Easier, I -guess, because there aren’t so many boats about. Come over about eight -and I’ll meet you at the town landing. It’ll be low tide at our pier, -and you might get aground, seeing you don’t know the cove very well.” - -They talked it over further during the next half-hour, and then, as it -was dinner time, they abandoned the search for labor and went their -ways. Toby wanted Arnold to have dinner with him, but the latter was -so filled with his new scheme that he insisted on chugging back to -the Head so he might start right out after luncheon on his quest for -baseball talent. They parted with the understanding that Arnold was to -be at the town landing about eight, and that they were to meet there -and report progress. - -The moon was up, a big silver half-disk, when Toby reached the float -at a few minutes before eight, and the harbor was almost as light -as day. He had to wait some time for the _Frolic_, and, when it did -appear, heralded by tiny red and green lights, it was moving slowly and -cautiously. Presently Arnold’s hail floated across the water and Toby -answered. - -“All clear at the end of the float, Arn! Come on straight in!” - -“All right, but it’s pretty dark where you are. How far away am I?” - -“Oh, nearly a hundred yards, I guess. Pull her out and float in. Can -you see those boats at the moorings?” - -“Yes; but I can’t see the float yet. They ought to have a light there.” -The chug-chug of the _Frolic_ exhaust lessened, and the white launch -slid silently into the shadows. Presently: - -“Way enough,” called Toby. “Reverse her a couple of turns, Arn.” - -In a moment the _Frolic_ thrust her bow into Toby’s waiting hands, and -he fended her off and brought her side-to. “Want to tie up?” he asked. -“Or shall we run around awhile?” - -“If you’ll take her,” replied Arnold. “I don’t like this moonlight -business. It’s awfully confusing after you get into the harbor.” - -“All right. Swing your wheel over hard and I’ll push her off. That’s -the ticket.” Toby sprang aboard and took the wheel from Arnold and the -launch set off again. Once outside the harbor, with the engine throttle -down until it made almost no sound, the two boys compared notes. - -“I’ve got seven fellows,” Arnold reported, “and I know where I can get -four more. Frank will pitch for us and a chap named Dodson is going to -catch. Frank says he’s a dandy. All I need now is a good shortstop and -another fielder. All the fellows,” he added ruefully, “want to play the -bases――or pitch. It’s funny how many of them are wonderful pitchers, -when they tell it! How did you get on?” - -“Me? Not very well. Tim Chrystal has promised to pitch if he doesn’t -have to do any practicing, and I got three other fellows to promise -to play. The trouble is, you see, most of them are older than I am -and they don’t like the idea of my being captain. Tim said he thought -Billy Conners ought to be. What do you think?” - -“Nothing doing! You’re getting up the team, and you’re captain, of -course. If they don’t like it, get some one else.” - -“Yes, but there aren’t so awfully many, you see. I’ve still got to find -five or six more. There’s Tony George, but he has to be at the fruit -stand.” - -“At the what?” asked Arnold. - -“Fruit stand. His father’s the Italian man who has the stand next to -Chapin’s drug store. He’s a mighty good third baseman, too, Tony is, -and I wish he could play.” - -“Looks like this was going to be a sort of international affair,” -laughed Arnold. “Americans, Spaniards, and an Italian!” - -“And my second baseman’s a Portuguese, Manuel Sousa. He’s pretty good, -too. How old will your fellows be?” - -“They’ll average about sixteen, I guess. Dodson must be seventeen, but -most of them are about my age. I hope you can find the rest of the -fellows you need, Toby.” - -“I guess I can. I wish they didn’t all want to be captain, though. I -don’t mind not being, but they can’t all have it.” - -“You’re going to be captain,” replied Arnold, decisively. “If you -aren’t we won’t play you. You can tell them that, too.” - -Toby sighed. “All right. I’ll stick out for it. I guess lots of the -others would do it better, though. You see, Billy Conners captained our -school team, and――――” - -Toby stopped abruptly, and the two boys turned their heads and stared -startledly across the moonlit water of Nobbs’ Bay. - -“What was that?” asked Toby. - -“Sounded like a shot, didn’t it? Over that way. There!” - -Two tiny yellow flashes of light pricked the darkness of the further -shore, followed by as many sharp reports, and then, more faintly, a -shout. Instinctively Toby swung the launch shoreward. - -“Some one on that houseboat, I guess,” he said. “Probably shooting at a -bottle or something in the water. That’s about where she’s moored.” - -“Anyway, it was a pistol, all right,” murmured Arnold. They listened, -but heard no more shots, and Toby was straightening the _Frolic_ out -again for the run around the Head when the sound of a muffled exhaust -reached them. Toby looked intently into the shadows of the Head. - -“That’s funny,” he muttered. “There’s a launch just kiting along over -there and not a light showing. Can you make her out, Arn? She’s about -half-way to the Head, from the sound.” - -But nothing was visible in the darkness there. Only the throb of an -exhaust reached them. And then, startlingly loud, came a cry across the -bay: - -“Thieves! Thieves! Stop them!” - -Some one on the houseboat had seen the _Frolic’s_ lights and was -shouting through a megaphone. And at that moment a shadow seemed to -detach itself from the shore and slip away into the moonlight beyond -the point. The cry from the houseboat was repeated. - -“What shall we do?” cried Toby. - -“Go after them!” Arnold jumped toward the throttle and pulled it -down, and the _Frolic_, responding instantly, leaped forward as Toby -unhesitatingly swung the wheel over. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -PURSUIT AND CAPTURE - - -“I don’t believe we can catch them,” Toby muttered, his eyes on the -tiny dark spot half a mile away. “And if we do we’ll probably get -filled with bullets.” - -“Who do you suppose they are?” asked Arnold, excitedly. Toby shook his -head. - -“I don’t know, but that launch of theirs can certainly go. What can the -_Frolic_ do at her best, Arn?” - -“Twelve, or a little better. How fast are they going?” - -“Can’t tell. Not more than that, I guess. She’s smaller than this, and -sits pretty low. Built for speed, I’d say. I wonder if they really -swiped anything.” - -“They must have tried to, anyway. Where’s that oil can?” Arnold found -it and doused the engine liberally. Not being able to see very well, -he took no chances, and oiled everything at hand and turned down the -grease-cups. - -“She’s changed her mind,” exclaimed Toby, “and is going down around the -Head. How much gas have you got?” - -“The tank’s almost three-quarters full.” - -“How far will that take us?” - -“’Most a hundred miles, I guess. She eats it pretty fast at this pace, -but seven gallons――――” - -“Well, we’re not going any hundred miles,” responded Toby, “and I don’t -believe those fellows mean to, either. They’ll either make for the -canal and get out into Shinnecock Bay, or they’ll run straight along -toward Shelter Island.” - -“Are we gaining any?” asked Arnold, anxiously. - -“I don’t think so. It’s hard to tell. I guess they’re not going to try -the canal. If they were they’d be turning by now. Maybe they think they -can shake us off.” - -“Then they’ll have to go some,” said Arnold. “Where is she?” - -“Dead ahead. See that black spot?” - -For a moment Arnold failed to detect the fleeing launch, and when he -did he uttered a grunt of disappointment. “We’re certainly not gaining, -Toby. She looks further away than she did.” - -“Yes, but she’s stern-to. I don’t think we’ve lost any.” They were well -past the Head now, and Nobbs Island Light was falling away to port. -“What I’m wondering,” continued Toby, “is what we’re to do if we should -catch her!” - -Arnold had no answer ready, and Toby went on: “There’s probably at -least a couple of men in that launch, and they’ve got pistols――――” - -“How do you know?” demanded Arnold. - -“We heard them.” - -“I don’t think so. The shots we heard were aimed away from the -houseboat, Toby. If they hadn’t been we wouldn’t have seen the flashes. -I guess it was the folks on the houseboat who did the firing.” - -“That’s so. Still, it’s mighty likely that there’s a pistol on that -launch, just the same, even if they didn’t use it. And we haven’t any; -and wouldn’t know what to do with it if we had. So what are we to do -when we catch them?” - -“They won’t know who we are or how many there are of us,” replied -Arnold. “And they won’t know that we haven’t plenty of revolvers, -either. We’ll bluff them!” - -Toby chuckled. “I’d rather have something to back up my bluff, I guess. -I’m game if you are, though, Arn. Besides, I dare say we needn’t -trouble about what’s to happen when we get them, for I don’t believe -we’re going to.” - -“Have they gained any?” - -“No,” replied the other decisively. “They may not be any closer, but -I’m certain they haven’t gained on us. There are the lights from -Shinnecock over there. We’ve done about six miles since we left the -landing.” - -The fleeing launch was headed straight for the passage between the -southerly point of Robins Island and Cow Neck, and was now about -half-way between Spanish Head and the mile-wide passage. The lights -of Shinnecock lay three miles off to the southeast. The throb of the -scurrying _Frolic_ alone broke the silence of the moonlit night for -several minutes, and then Toby, his gaze fixed on the launch ahead, -uttered an exclamation of satisfaction. - -“I’m not sure, Arn,” he said, “but I think we’re closing up a little. -Doesn’t she look nearer than she did?” - -Arnold agreed and once more seized his oil can. A cruising launch sped -past them a quarter-mile to the north, her port light glowing wanly -in the moonlight. Toby’s eyes scarcely left the dark spot ahead and -presently he said, with conviction: “We’re overhauling her fast now, -Arn! You’d better get that bluff in working order, I guess.” - -“I――I’ll get the megaphone ready,” muttered Arnold. “Then we can talk -to them from a safe distance.” - -“The safer the better,” agreed Toby. “I wouldn’t mind if we could talk -to them by wireless. What does it feel like to get a bullet in you, -Arn?” - -“Don’t be a chump,” begged Arnold. “Just keep your head down and they -can’t hit you.” - -“I’m going to,” answered the other dryly. “I’m thinking about putting -it in the gasoline tank. Hello!” - -The launch ahead lengthened slightly in the uncertain light. - -“She’s making in toward North Sea Harbor,” muttered Toby. “Now what’s -the idea, I wonder. She can’t belong there. Maybe she’s just bluffing, -though. No, she isn’t! She’s headed right in! And we’ve gained like -anything, Arn! She sees that, I guess, and is going to quit――or make a -fight for it! Call all hands, Arn, to man the guns!” - -[Illustration: “We’ve gained like anything, Arn!”] - -Robins Island was off the _Frolic’s_ port bow now, but instead of -holding her course in the middle of the channel, the other launch had -edged in toward the shore and was presently running straight along it, -as though bent on dodging through the narrow harbor entrance a mile -or so beyond the point. There was no longer any doubt about it: -the _Frolic_ was gaining on the enemy hand over hand. Her engine was -working like a charm, with never a skip, and for the past forty-five -minutes had churned the water at better than a twelve-mile clip. -Arnold, the megaphone in one hand and the oil can in the other, watched -breathlessly. There were no shadows here to hide the launch ahead and -the two boys exulted as the distance lessened between pursued and -pursuer. - -“Now, if she’s making for the harbor she’ll have to turn,” muttered -Toby, straining his gaze. “There she goes!” There was a doubtful moment -and then: “She’s headed out again. She missed it, Arn! See, there it -is over there. I’ll bet those fellows don’t know this shore at all. -Now, she’ll have to keep on, for there’s nothing beyond except a cove -until we get to Noyack! And we’ll get them inside of ten minutes! Do -you know what I think? I think they’re short of gas, Arn. You know they -started out as if they meant to cut straight across to Johnstown or -Franklinville or some place over there. That would have been only two -or three miles. Instead we’ve chased them a good ten miles, and they’re -getting short of gas. There! She’s hitting it up a bit again! Go it, -Sal! But we’ll get you long before you reach Jessup’s Neck. Only――only -when we do what are we going to do with you?” - -“I wish my father was here,” murmured Arnold, “with his revolver!” - -“So do I! You don’t think we’d better turn around and beat it back -before they get to popping at us, do you?” - -Arnold hesitated. It seemed very much as though he wanted to say “Yes,” -but he didn’t. Instead, he took a good deep breath and answered: “I’d -rather see it through, Toby, if you aren’t scared.” - -Toby laughed shortly. “Oh, I’m scared, all right, but I’m with you, -Arn. It would be a shame to come all this way and use up all that gas -and then turn tail. No, we’ll try that bluff of yours, Arn. If we have -to run we can do it. She’s slowing down again, isn’t she?” - -She was, very perceptibly. More than that, she had turned her nose -straight for the shore! - -“But there’s no water there!” exclaimed Toby. - -“They’re going to run her aground and escape!” cried Arnold. - -“Perhaps; but I guess we’ll slow down a little. I don’t want to get too -near.” - -Arnold throttled the _Frolic_ down to half-speed. The other launch -worked cautiously in toward the shore and floated quietly in the -moonlight. It was easy enough now to make her out and to count her -occupants. - -“Three of them,” whispered Toby, as the _Frolic_ drew nearer and -nearer. “Get your megaphone, Arn, and hail them. Keep down, though. -Slide her into neutral and be ready to start up again if they try to -plug us.” - -Some three hundred feet of water separated the two launches as Arnold -threw the clutch out. The _Frolic_ slid slowly on to pass well astern -of the other craft and Arnold raised the megaphone to his lips. - -“Launch, ahoy!” he shouted in his deepest tones. There was silence for -an instant, and then the hail was answered: - -“Hello! What do you want?” floated across. - -“We want the stuff you stole from the houseboat. Hand it over and we’ll -let you go. If you don’t, we’ll begin to fire!” - -Another silence, longer this time, and then the voice again: - -“Who are you, anyway?” - -“Never mind,” answered Arnold sternly. “There are six of us here and -we’ve got you all covered.” - -“We don’t know what you’re talking about.” It was another voice this -time, a deeper one. “You start shooting and you’ll get the worst of it, -pardner! We never saw no houseboat.” - -“Pick out your men, fellows,” said Arnold in a loud aside, “and aim at -their bodies.” Then, addressing the launch again: “We’ll give you two -minutes to get out of that boat and beat it. If you’re not on shore by -that time we’ll fire on you. And any one of you taking anything ashore -will get a bullet. Now, make up your minds, quick!” - -Toby left the wheel and scuttled astern, keeping out of sight. Once -there he raised himself so that his head and shoulders showed above the -gunwale. Then he hurried back to the bow and repeated the operation. He -couldn’t be five men, he decided, but he could manage to look like two -at least. Perhaps that ruse decided the matter, for, after a moment or -two, during which the low voices of the three occupants of the other -launch muttered and growled, the first speaker spoke again. - -“I guess you’ve got us,” he said quite cheerfully, “but you wouldn’t -have caught us in a thousand years if we hadn’t run out of gas.” Toby’s -sigh of relief mingled with Arnold’s. “Can we run this tub on the beach -so’s we can get off?” - -Arnold hesitated and Toby prompted with a whispered “No.” - -“No, you can leave the launch where she is and hustle out of her.” - -“We can’t swim!” called a third voice. - -“Then drown,” answered Arnold gruffly. “Your time’s up. What’s it going -to be?” - -The answer from the launch was profane but decisive. In substance it -stated that they were going to get out and that they earnestly hoped -the occupants of the white launch would meet with a vast amount of -misfortune! - -“They’re taking some of the plunder with them,” whispered Toby, -watching across the gunwale. “Tell them to drop it, Arn!” - -“You heard what I said about taking stuff with you,” threatened Arnold, -his voice doubtless sounding quite terrifying through the megaphone. -“Drop it quick or we’ll nab the lot of you!” - -Mutters and some hesitation then, followed by a splash as one of the -men dropped into the water. A second lowered himself very cautiously -over the stern, which had swung around nearest to the shore, and the -third, pausing long enough to voice his disapproval of the whole -proceeding and of the pursuers especially, took a flying leap and -cut through the water with long, businesslike strokes, passing his -companions half-way to the beach and tossing them a grim jest as he -left them astern. - -“It worked!” exulted Arnold, jubilantly, to Toby. - -“Great! But give them time to get away from shore. That big fellow had -something in his mouth, I think; the one who dropped over so mighty -carefully. Bring her around, Arn, and be ready to take her in.” - -Arnold threw in the clutch, advanced the throttle and the _Frolic_ -swung slowly about in a wide circle, while Toby, his hands on the wheel -but his eyes on the figures nearing the shore, watched cautiously. - -Along the steep and narrow beach ran a fringe of bushes and stunted -trees, and when the three men were free of the water they drew together -on the beach, seemed to confer for a moment, and then, shouting -something unintelligible but doubtless far from complimentary, made -their way leisurely out of sight between the bushes. - -“All right, now?” asked Arnold eagerly. - -“Wait,” advised Toby. “I’m certain one of them has a pistol, and for -all we know may be drawing a bead on us from those bushes. I tell you -what, Arn. Start her up and we’ll try to keep their launch between us -and them as we go in. But wait another minute.” - -“Shall we search the launch here or take her further out?” asked Arnold. - -“Get a line to her and tow her back with us, of course,” was the reply. -“She’s contraband of war, or whatever you call it. I wouldn’t be -surprised if they’d stolen her somewhere, anyway. Have you got a spare -rope handy?” - -“No, but we can use our painter.” - -“All right. She may have one; she probably has. If not, we’ll use the -_Frolic’s_. Do you suppose they’ve gone?” - -“Of course! They were frightened to death.” Arnold laughed softly. “I -must have sounded pretty fierce!” - -“You did! You sounded as if you were about six feet tall and weighed -200 pounds! Well, I suppose we might as well take a chance. If they’re -still there, they’ll probably stay, and there’s no use trying to tire -them out. All right. Start her easy. Here we go. Keep out of sight -until we get to the launch, and then I’ll grab her.” - -“Better let me,” said Arnold. “You keep the wheel.” - -“All right, then; you grab her, and I’ll look for her painter.” - -The _Frolic_ chugged slowly in toward the abandoned launch, Toby doing -his best to keep the latter between them and the place where the -burglars had disappeared. - -“Way enough,” he whispered presently. “Let her run. Now, then, get her!” - -Arnold reached across the gunwale and seized the side of the other -launch, and Toby, dropping the wheel, sprawled across the _Frolic’s_ -decking. - -“No line in sight,” he muttered, and with quick hands he took the -_Frolic’s_ neatly coiled painter, and slipped it over the cleat on the -little forward deck. Then, squirming back, he started aft. As he did so -a bullet sang overhead and the sound of the shot awoke the silence. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE STOLEN LAUNCH - - -“Duck!” cried Arnold. - -But Toby had already dropped to the hatching, and Arnold, releasing his -grasp of the smaller launch, tumbled down beside him. Another shot rang -out and somewhere overhead a second bullet sped whistling past. - -“Can you start her without showing your head?” gasped Toby. - -“Yes!” - -“Then do it, and I’ll take the side wheel. Look out for this line when -she tightens. Let her go!” - -Kneeling, his head still below the sides, Arnold grasped the lever and -pulled it back, and the _Frolic_ jumped away. Toby, crouched by the -side wheel, frantically lashed the free end of the painter about the -steering post. - -Bang! - -There was a sound of splintering wood, and then shouts from the shore. - -“Hit us somewhere!” panted Toby, tugging at the small wheel in his -effort to swing the _Frolic_ around. “Better lie flat, Arn!” - -“Lie flat yourself, you silly fool! They’ll get you if you sit up like -that!” - -Toby crouched lower. “This line’s choked around the wheel and I can -hardly turn her,” he panted. “Is she coming, do you think?” - -“Isn’t your line taut?” - -“Yes, but――――” - -Two more shots sounded above the noise of the engine. A bullet went -harmlessly over the launch and another struck the hull somewhere with a -thud. By this time the _Frolic_ was doing her best and after a moment -Toby sent a cautious glance behind. Even if the thieves had more -cartridges, and Toby didn’t think they had, the distance was now too -great for them. Behind the _Frolic_ came the captured launch. - -“All right, Arn!” called Toby. “They couldn’t get us now with a siege -gun! Take that wheel there while I change this line to the stern, will -you?” - -Arnold stood up, surveyed the receding beach and laughed gleefully as -he took the wheel. - -“I guess we’re bad, Toby!” he exulted. “Talk about your revenue -officers! What’s the matter with us, eh?” - -Toby, fixing the towing line at the stern, laughed. “We’re a couple of -marvelous bluffers, Arn! Say, wouldn’t those chaps be peeved if they -ever found out they’d been fooled by a couple of kids?” - -“Wouldn’t they? Say, I hope they do find it out some way. Do you know -what I think, Toby? I think they thought we were just going to search -their launch and leave her! And when they saw us putting the line on -her they tumbled and got busy with that revolver. Well, we fooled them -good and plenty!” - -“That’s what! Say, what time is it? It must be near midnight.” - -“Midnight! It’s only 9.27,” answered the other, holding his watch to -the starboard lantern. “But doesn’t it seem later?” - -“I should say so! Then if everything goes all right we ought to be home -by ten-thirty. We’ll just hand this launch over to the Trainors and let -them see what’s in her.” - -“You mean the houseboat folks? Well, but they don’t get the launch, do -they?” - -“Not so you’d notice it,” answered Toby. “We’ll call around tomorrow -and get it. And then we’ll see if anybody’s lost one. If they haven’t, -we’ll sell her, eh?” - -“Or keep her ourselves. She looks pretty good, doesn’t she?” Arnold -peered back at the following launch. “Wonder what her name is?” - -“Maybe it’s painted out. She’s a jim-dandy little launch, all right, -and that makes me think those fellows stole her. Look at the lines of -her. She can’t be much over four feet wide. If she only had some gas in -her tank we could get home a lot quicker, because one of us could get -in and run her.” - -“It would be you, then,” replied Arnold promptly. “Is she holding us -back much?” - -“I guess we’re doing about nine. That’s fast enough. Only dad will give -me the dickens when I get home!” - -“He won’t when you tell him what you’ve been doing,” said the other -encouragingly. - -“Won’t he?” Toby asked grimly. “You don’t know my dad!” - -The journey back was uneventful, which was just as well, since the two -boys were surfeited with adventure for once, and a little bit tired as -well. Sleepy they were not, and Arnold declared that he didn’t believe -he would ever get to sleep before morning. But by the time Nobbs Island -Light was showing well the conversation had begun to dwindle and Toby -was yawning frankly. - -Ten o’clock struck over in Johnstown long before the Head was reached, -and it was fully a quarter past before the _Frolic_ pointed her bow -around the point and chugged past Arnold’s residence on her way up -the shore. “Give them your whistle,” said Toby as they ran cautiously -toward the darkened houseboat. Arnold obeyed and the echoes threw back -the alarming screech. “Once more,” Toby called, and again the shrill -sound went forth. Then a dim light showed aboard the shadowy hulk and, -as the _Frolic_ slowed down, a voice hailed them. - -“What do you want?” inquired a sleepy voice. - -“We’ve got your things,” answered Arnold. - -“Got what? Oh! Well, all right! Come on!” Voices sounded aboard, a -light glimmered from a window, a lantern appeared on deck, and the -houseboat awoke to activity as the launch sidled up to her. Two men, -hastily attired, deluged the boys with questions. - -“We caught them over near North Sea Harbor. They ran out of gas. We -made them leave the launch and I guess everything’s in there. We’ll -pull her up and you can have a look. If you don’t mind, we’ll leave her -here until morning. Did they steal much?” - -“Not a great deal; just some blankets and a lot of provisions,” -answered one of the men as Toby pulled the smaller launch up and handed -the painter over. “At least, that’s all we’ve missed. We were on shore -and got back before they’d had much of a chance, I suppose. My brother -fired three shots at them, but it was too dark to see much.” - -“Just blankets and grub!” said Arnold disappointedly. “Gee, I thought -they’d got away with your solid silver and jewels! Well, anyway, I -guess you’ll find the stuff there all right. We’ll call for the launch -in the morning.” - -“We’re very much obliged to you,” replied one of the men, raising the -lantern and peering at the boys. “Who was with you?” - -“With us? No one.” - -“What! You mean that you two kids chased those chaps and made them give -up the whole shooting match? Why, there were four or five of them, -weren’t they?” - -“Three,” answered Toby, with a yawn. “They couldn’t see how many we -had. Arn bluffed them finely.” - -“Well, what do you know about that?” gasped the other man. “Say, you -chaps are wonders! What are your names?” - -Arnold told him, and just then a woman’s voice spoke from behind a -darkened window. “Jim, dear, ask them if they wouldn’t like a cup of -coffee or something. They must be tired out.” - -“No, ma’am; thanks,” replied Arnold. “We’re all right. Only sleepy. If -you’ll look after their launch until morning――――” - -“We will. And, I say, how about――er――――” - -“Of course, Jack!” chimed in the woman. “They ought to have something. -I’ll find my purse.” - -“No, thanks,” said Arnold, hurriedly. “We don’t want anything. We just -did it for the fun of it. And――and we’ve got the launch, anyway. Toby -thinks they stole it, and maybe the owner’s offered a reward. I’m glad -we got your things back, ma’am.” - -“It was awfully brave of you. And I do think we ought to give you -something besides just our thanks. Why, they might have hurt you!” - -“Yes’m,” said Toby. “They did try to. They fired at us, but they didn’t -hit anything but the launch. Come on, Arn.” - -“Well, all right, fellows,” said the man called Jack. “It’s up to you. -We’d be glad enough to slip you a fiver. If you won’t take that, why, -you won’t. We’ll keep the launch safe for you. Much obliged to you -both. See you in the morning. Good-night.” - -“Good-night,” replied Arnold, and “G’night,” muttered Toby, and the -_Frolic_ backed off and headed across the bay. - -“Blankets and grub!” said Arnold disappointedly when they were out of -hearing. “Isn’t that the limit? No wonder those fellows were so willing -to give them up!” - -“Where we fooled them,” said Toby, “was in taking their boat. Look -here, Arn, supposing that launch is really theirs?” - -“But you said you thought they’d――――” - -“Yes, and maybe they did. But supposing they didn’t? Then what?” - -“Then,” answered the other after a moment’s consideration, “they’ll -have to come and get it!” - -“They’d be likely to!” jeered Toby. “I don’t see but what we may be -thieves ourselves!” - -“Well, that isn’t bothering me much,” answered Arnold. “What is -bothering me is that I’ve got to come all the way back from town alone.” - -“If you like you can leave the _Frolic_ at the landing and I’ll take -you back in the _Turnover_.” - -“No, I guess not. After chasing robbers and being fired at, I suppose -I ought to have nerve enough to run a launch! Much obliged, just the -same.” - -An hour later two very tired boys were fast asleep, and, although -nearly three miles apart, their dreams were strangely similar! - -The next morning they were at the houseboat bright and early. In fact, -the owners were still at breakfast on deck when the _Turnover_ ranged -alongside. - -Seen by daylight, the Trainors――Mr. and Mrs. Trainor and Brother -Jim――were very nice, jolly-looking folks, and very hospitable folks, -too, for they insisted on the boys joining them at breakfast, and -wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. And so, although they didn’t actually -sit at the table, which was a modest if well-laden affair, they did -partake of strawberries and cream and some delicious hot rolls and some -equally delicious coffee. And while they ate, Arnold, occasionally -prompted by Toby, gave a detailed account of the pursuit and bloodless -defeat of the thieves. Mrs. Trainor, who was small and pretty, -applauded delightedly and quite forgot her breakfast, while her husband -gravely arose and shook Arnold and Toby by the hands. - -“Boys,” he said. “You’re a brace of heroes! I take off my hat to you! -Or I will when I get it on!” - -Brother Jim echoed the sentiments, even if he didn’t stop eating for a -moment. - -“And you chaps have got a real prize in that launch, too,” said Mr. -Trainor, reseating himself at the little table. “She’s a wonder. I’ll -give you five hundred for her any time you say the word.” - -Toby and Arnold stared at each other in amazed silence. Finally: “Five -hundred!” stammered Toby. “You’re fooling, I guess!” - -“You take a look at her,” replied the man, nodding his head toward -the shoreward side of the houseboat. “We tied her around there for -safekeeping. She’s somebody’s darling, that’s what she is!” - -The boys set down their plates and hurried around the deck. There, -nestling against the rail of the houseboat, was as trim and pretty a -speed launch as either had ever seen. Mr. Trainor, who had followed -them, smiled at their amazement. “I suppose you couldn’t see much -of her last night,” he said. “Look at that engine, will you? A -six-cylinder Thurston and as light as a feather! If that launch can’t -do her twenty-two or -three miles I’m a goat! See the way she’s cut -down aft, eh? Some lines, boys! And just cast your eyes over her -fittings, will you? Everything A-1, and just about as complete as they -make them. Why, some one paid a good round thousand for that little -sixteen feet of boat! She’s dirty and her brass is tarnished, and some -idiot has daubed a coat of gray paint over a dandy mahogany hull, -but she’s a peach, just the same, and it’s dollars to doughnuts that -those thieving rascals never owned her in their lives. They swiped her -somewhere around here, I’ll bet, and I guess you’ve only to read the -papers to find her owner. When you do find him, fellows, you make him -hand over some real money.” - -“Gee, she’s sweet, ain’t she?” murmured Toby. - -“A beauty!” agreed Arnold, in awe. - -“I guess some one will claim her, all right,” mourned Toby. - -And Mr. Trainor laughed. - -“That’s the way I felt when I saw her, son. I wanted awfully to hide -her some place where you couldn’t find her! If you shouldn’t hear from -the owner, and you want to sell her, why, my offer stands for all time.” - -“If she was really mine,” said Toby, simply, “I wouldn’t sell her for -anything, Mr. Trainor!” - -“Tucker, you have the soul of an artist!” replied the man, patting him -on the shoulder. “Those are my sentiments exactly.” - -“She――she’d be pretty unsteady, though, wouldn’t she?” asked Arnold. -“She isn’t very wide across.” - -“Well, she isn’t meant for rough seas, Deering. She’s a racer, pure and -simple, and I’ll wager anything she’s won more than once. Still, maybe -not, for she can’t have been built more than a year. Everything looks -too new. Question now is, what are you going to do with her, boys? If -we had some gasoline we might try her out.” - -But Toby shook his head. “I’d rather not do that, sir. I――I’d be afraid -I wouldn’t ever want to give her up again!” - -“By Jove, I believe you’re right! You’d better tow her home with you. -If you leave her around here I might steal her. She’d be a constant -temptation to dishonesty! Take her away! Take her away!” - -Mr. Trainor gestured dramatically. - -“I’ll pull her around and get the line to the launch,” said Toby -soberly. “Wasn’t it a shame to smear that old gray paint on her, sir? -Will it ever come off again all right?” - -“Oh, yes, a painter can take that off. She’d have to be revarnished, -of course. I tried to see her name under the paint, but couldn’t.” - -Presently the boys said good-by to their hosts, receiving three very -hearty invitations to come again, and, with the stolen launch swaying -gracefully behind the _Turnover_, set off for Greenhaven. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE HIDDEN NAME - - -Toby was very silent, but the fact that he spent most of his time -looking back at the tow indicated where his thoughts were. Arnold, -less affected by the beauty of the speed launch, was eager to get the -morning papers and see whether she was advertised. - -“How much reward do you suppose we ought to ask, Toby?” he inquired. -Toby shook his head. - -“A hundred anyway, eh?” continued Arnold. “Maybe there’s a sum offered. -I know if I’d lost a boat like that I’d be glad to pay almost anything -for her!” - -“If she’s stolen property, though,” replied Toby finally, “the owner -wouldn’t really have to pay any reward; unless he wanted to, I mean.” - -“He will want to, you bet! Where’ll we take her? To your wharf?” - -“Yes, I think so. If we leave her at the town landing some one will -be messing around her all the time. She can berth where I keep -the _Turnover_. This old tub”――Toby ran a disparaging eye over his -launch――“can stay out in the harbor.” - -Once ashore, the two boys hurried up the street and bought a copy of -every morning paper that the news store had. Then they scuttled back to -the boat yard, perched themselves in the lee of a dismantled sloop, and -began a systematic search of the various “Lost and Found” columns. As -each paper was laid aside without results Toby heaved a sigh of relief -and Arnold one of disappointment. When the last paper had been perused -Arnold observed his chum blankly. - -“Not in any of those,” he said, regretfully. “Gee, that’s mean, isn’t -it?” - -Toby nodded silently. After a moment he said, “I suppose you――you -wouldn’t want to keep her if――if we didn’t find an owner, Arn?” - -“Why, no, I don’t think so. Would you? She wouldn’t do for rough -weather, you know. Mr. Trainor said so. I’d be scared to death to go -out of the harbor in her. If we don’t find her owner it would be great -to sell her to Mr. Trainor, I think.” - -Toby nodded again, but with no enthusiasm. “I suppose it would be silly -for us to keep her,” he said, “only――only she’s the most beautiful -launch I ever saw, Arn.” - -“Yes, she’s a beauty, all right, but what would we do with her? She’d -cost money, too.” After a moment’s silence he said: “Look here, Toby, -maybe she was stolen a long while ago and they’ve stopped advertising -for her. Maybe if we looked through some old papers we’d come across -something.” - -“Where would we find the old papers, though?” - -“A library would have them. Is there a library here?” - -“No, but there’s one in Johnstown. What we ought to do, I guess, is put -an advertisement in ourselves, Arn.” - -“That’s so! I never thought of that! Let’s go and write one.” - -“All right.” Toby gathered the discarded papers and arose. “You do it, -though. I――I haven’t got any heart for it!” - -But that advertisement was never written, for on the way past the shed -Toby thought of his father, and Mr. Tucker was invited to view the -prize. - -“That’s a nice little boat, Tobe,” said Mr. Tucker, as he looked down -on her from the wharf. “Made for quiet waters. Who built her?” - -“I don’t know, sir,” answered Toby. - -“That means you didn’t look,” replied his father, descending the -ladder and jumping into the launch. “There’ll be a maker’s plate on -her somewhere, unless it’s been ripped off.” He went forward and -peered amongst the instruments there, and presently gave a grunt -of satisfaction. “Here it is. ‘Built by Wells-Stotesbury Company, -Moorcett, Conn.’ Now, what’s her name, Tobe? Oh, they painted that out, -did they? Run up to the paint closet and get that can of paint-remover -and a handful of waste.” - -A few minutes later the gray paint began to dissolve from a patch on -the slanting stern and her name appeared letter by letter, faint, but -legible. “_Ollow M_” read Toby. “That’s a queer name.” - -“You wait a bit,” advised Mr. Tucker, and extended his operations with -the evil-smelling concoction in the can. “There it is,” he said at -last. “_Follow Me._ Now, all you’ve got to do is write to the builders -and ask who she belongs to. Where was your gumption, Tobe?” - -Toby shook his head sadly, but whether the sadness was caused by an -appreciation of his lamentable lack of gumption or by something else -didn’t appear. At the boys’ request Mr. Tucker indited a letter at -the littered desk in one corner of the boat shed and they bore it to -the postoffice. Toby watched it disappear through the letter slot with -emotions of despair! He spent all the rest of the day, to Arnold’s -disgust, in shining the brass on the _Follow Me_ and cleaning her up, -and Arnold, after toiling with him until noon, went off in something -very like a huff and didn’t come back that day. Probably Toby missed -him, but he didn’t seem unhappy. He rubbed and scrubbed until supper -time, whistling a tune all the while, and when Phebe, sent to fetch -him, exclaimed admiringly as she viewed the glistening brass and -immaculate varnish, Toby was fully rewarded. After supper Phebe helped -him stretch a tarpaulin over the _Follow Me_ and sympathetically -listened to Toby’s enraptured comments on her and agreed with them all. - -“Perhaps,” she said, hopefully, as they made their way across the boat -yard in the twilight, “some day you’ll have one just like her.” - -But Toby sighed and shook his head. “Probably when that time came I -wouldn’t want it so much,” he said. - -“Oh, I meant real soon,” said Phebe cheerfully. - -“If I had enough money to buy me a launch like that soon, I wouldn’t -buy it,” replied her brother. “I’d rather go to boarding school.” - -Mr. Tucker had assured them they couldn’t count on hearing from the -launch builders until the second day after they had written, and so -Arnold took up the task of forming the Spanish Head Baseball Club where -he had left off and was able the next morning to inform Toby that the -“Spaniards” were ready for the fray. But Toby hadn’t made any such -progress and reported that he was still shy two players, even if he -provided no substitutes. Arnold was severe with him. - -“You haven’t been trying,” he charged. “You’ve been monkeying around -that silly launch. You needn’t say you haven’t, for I know you have. -He has, hasn’t he, Phebe? Besides, look at your hands all grimed with -paint or something.” - -Toby obediently observed his hands, and made a grimace. “They’re as -sore as anything. I got some of that paint-remover stuff on them, and -dad says I oughtn’t to have. He says maybe the skin will all be gone by -tomorrow!” - -“That’s lye,” said Arnold. - -“What?” Toby stared. “You’d better not let dad hear you say so!” - -“Say what?” asked Arnold, in puzzlement, while Phebe laughed and Mr. -Murphy chimed in with his absurd chuckle and then hung by his beak from -the end of the perch. - -“Say what he said was a lie,” answered Toby. - -“I didn’t!” - -“What did you say, then? Didn’t you say――――?” - -“He said the paint-remover was lye,” gurgled Phebe. “L-y-e, lye; and -so it is, and it’s no wonder your hands are sore. I should think they -would be.” - -“Ought to be, too,” grumbled Arnold. “Messing around that boat all day -long! When are you going to get that nine together, I’d like to know?” - -Toby looked penitent, and then, having attempted to put his hands in -his pockets with painful results, annoyed. “I’ll find the rest of the -fellows today,” he answered. “There’s lots of time.” Then he recovered -his good humor and smiled. “Besides, we can beat you fellows with six -men any day!” - -Arnold jeered. “Yes, you can! We’ll make you Towners look like a lot of -pikers when we get at you! You’d better come and see that game, Phebe. -It’s going to be some slaughter!” - -“Yes, we’re going to treat you the way Admiral Dewey treated those -other Spaniards,” laughed Toby. “You may fire when ready, Gridley!” - -“I’m not worrying. Aren’t you fellows going to practice any before you -play us?” - -“Oh, we might get together Tuesday. We don’t want to be too good, you -know.” - -“Don’t be silly, Toby,” advised his sister. “You ought to get the boys -together and practice a lot. You know very well that you won’t be able -to play a bit well if you don’t. Why, Arnold says they’re going to -practice every day.” - -“Of course, they’ll need to,” answered Toby calmly. “Anyway, we can’t -practice until we get a team, and we’ve only got six so far. How’d you -like to play with us, Phebe?” - -“Love to!” laughed Phebe. “But I’m afraid I’d get sort of dirty sliding -to bases.” - -“Who’ll we get to umpire?” asked Arnold. - -“Mr. Murphy,” suggested Toby. “He’s quite impartial, aren’t you, you -old rascal?” - -The parrot blinked thoughtfully and sidled along his perch. Then he -shrieked. “All hands, stand by!” at the top of his raucous voice and -chuckled wickedly when Phebe put her hands to her ears. - -“There’s Mr. Gould,” said Toby. “He umpired for us this spring. Only I -don’t know if he could leave his store on a Wednesday.” - -“I was thinking that maybe Mr. Trainor would do it for us,” said -Arnold. “I mean the youngest one.” - -“Brother Jim?” Toby nodded. “He’d be all right. We might ask him. I -guess he could do it, eh?” - -“Yes. I asked Frank about him and the others, you know, and Frank said -Mr. Trainor, the one that’s married to Mrs. Trainor, is a great swell. -He’s crazy for me to take him over there and introduce him. He says the -brother goes to Yale and played on the varsity nine this spring. They -come from Philadelphia.” - -“I wouldn’t hold that against him,” replied Toby gravely, “if he did a -good job and gave the Towners all the close decisions. Let’s go over -and ask him now.” - -Arnold agreed on the condition that Toby was to come right back to town -and look up the rest of the members for his team, and so they all three -chugged around to the houseboat in the _Frolic_, were warmly welcomed -and obtained Brother Jim’s consent to act as umpire. “I’ve never tried -it,” he said, “but I’ll do my best for you. I warn you right now, -though, that if I’m struck with anything heavier than a bat I’ll throw -up the job!” - -Toby told of the discovery of the name and makers of the stolen launch -and Mr. Trainor sighed sympathetically. “I guess you’ll have to give -her up, Tucker. Unless――I say, here’s an idea! How would it do if I -went over to your wharf some dark night and took her away? We’d go -halves on her and――but, there, I forgot. Deering’s part owner, isn’t -he? We might buy him off, though; pay him hush money. Think it over, -Tucker!” - -Mrs. Trainor took greatly to Phebe and showed her through the houseboat -while the others were talking on deck. Then they embarked again and -went back to town, and Toby set off, with no great gusto, to complete -the roster of his nine, Arnold consenting to remain for dinner. - -Toby returned warm but triumphant at a little after twelve and -announced that he had filled the vacant positions. “I’ve got ten -fellows altogether,” he said, “and it’s going to be mighty hard to -decide which is the tenth! I guess we’ll have to draw lots to see which -one of us is the substitute. We’re going to practice tomorrow, if -enough fellows can get off. I guess that’s where you’ll have the best -of us, Arn. You can practice any time you like.” - -“Well, you said you didn’t need to practice.” - -“Maybe an hour or so wouldn’t hurt. There wasn’t any letter from those -folks, was there, Phebe?” - -“No. You know father said it couldn’t come before tomorrow, Toby. -Arnold and I have talked it all over. You’re to stand out for two -hundred dollars reward, Toby, and Arnold’s going to put his share into -a sailboat, and he’s going to have father build it for him!” - -“And then I’m going to get you to show me how to sail her,” added -Arnold. - -“Get Phebe,” was the reply. “She can sail a boat as well as I can. I -guess, though, the fellow who lost that launch isn’t going to pay any -two hundred dollars to us.” - -“You can’t tell,” said Phebe. “She’s worth lots more than that. Father -said he wouldn’t build her hull for less than four hundred dollars, and -that the engine――――” - -“What would you do with your share if we did get that much?” asked -Arnold. - -Toby shook his head. “I’d――I don’t know,” he acknowledged. “But I guess -I could find a use for it!” - -The next morning Toby dashed out of the house at a little after eight, -pulling his hat on as he ran, and hurried to the nearest telephone. -Over at the Head, Arnold listened to a confused message and then, -slamming the receiver on the hook, bolted down to the landing and took -a flying leap into the _Frolic_. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -“THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD!” - - -Toby and Phebe awaited him at the boat-yard wharf and as soon as he -had hastily secured the _Frolic_ to the stern of the _Follow Me_ and -climbed the ladder they pulled him in triumph to the shed. - -“Here he is, dad!” called Toby. “Where is it?” - -Mr. Tucker laid down his mallet and led the way to the desk very -leisurely. Then, while Toby and Phebe looked on with shining eyes, he -placed an envelope in Arnold’s hand. The postmark was “Moorcett, Ct.,” -and there was some printing in one corner, but Arnold didn’t stop to -read that. Instead, amidst a deep silence, he opened the envelope and -drew forth not the folded sheet of paper he expected but a roughly torn -section of newspaper. He viewed the others in bewilderment. - -“Read it!” cried Toby and Phebe in chorus. - -“‘Lost, on Fifth Avenue, between――――’” - -“No, no! Further down!” said Toby impatiently. - -“Oh, further down! ‘Three hundred dollars reward will be paid for the -return of mahogany launch _Follow Me_――――’” Arnold gasped and went back -to the beginning again. “‘Three hundred dollars’――Gee!” - -“Isn’t that corking?” demanded Toby, gleefully. - -“Just think of it!” exclaimed Phebe, dancing on her toes amidst the -shavings. “Three hundred dollars, Arnold!” - -“But――but are you sure this is the――the――――” - -“Read the whole of it, Arn!” prompted Toby, trying to see over his -shoulder. “Read it aloud!” - -“‘Three hundred dollars reward will be paid for the return of mahogany -launch _Follow Me_, stolen from my landing at Hastings, N. Y., night of -April 27, and no questions asked. Built by Wells & Stotesbury, sixteen -feet long, four feet four inches beam, engine six-cylinder Thurston, -brass trimmed, name on stern, but possibly painted out. Communicate -with Paul Langham Townsend, Hastings-on-Hudson, or Eastern Launch Club, -New York City.’ - -“What do you know about that!” gasped Arnold, and the piece of paper -slipped from his fingers to the littered floor. - -“You boys are in luck,” said Mr. Tucker. “Not that you don’t deserve -it, though; for you do. Now we’ll write to this man Townsend and tell -him to come and get her.” - -“How long will that take?” asked Arnold eagerly. - -Mr. Tucker laughed. “Well, we’ll write this minute, and I guess he’d -ought to get it this afternoon. Then, if he’s as anxious as you are, -Arnold, he’s likely to be around pretty early tomorrow.” - -“Yes, sir! And――and could you say, ‘Bring reward with you,’ or -something like that?” - -“I guess he’ll have a checkbook handy,” replied Mr. Tucker. “Now, the -question is where’ll we send the letter to? New York or Hastings?” - -“Hastings, dad,” advised Toby. “He mightn’t be at that club today.” - -“That’s so. All right. Elbow room, Phebe! Where’s that pesky pen got -to? Oh, here it is. I wonder if there’s a piece of paper here. You -don’t happen to see―――― Oh, thanks, daughter. Now, then! ‘Mr. Paul――――’ -What’s the middle part of it, Toby?” - -“Paul Langham Townsend.” - -“An awful lot of name, ’pears to me. ‘Mr. Paul Langham Townsend, -Hastings-on-Hudson, N. Y. Dear sir: This is to inform you that your -launch the _Follow Me_ is at Tucker’s boat yard, Greenhaven, L. I., and -same can be had by calling and paying reward advertised in the――――’ -Hold on! What paper’s that now?” - -“You can’t tell, sir,” said Arnold. “Better just say ‘in paper.’” - -“All right. Got to scratch out ‘the’ though. ‘Reward advertised in -paper. Respectfully yours, Aaron Tucker.’ There we are. Now where’s an -envelope?” - -They dropped the letter in the postoffice at twenty minutes after nine, -just in time for the collection, and spent the succeeding half-hour -figuring how long it would take Uncle Sam to get it across to New York -and then up the Hudson to Hastings. Arnold said they had been silly not -to telephone Mr. Townsend instead of writing to him. “Then maybe he’d -have come over here this afternoon,” he added. - -“It would cost a lot to telephone away up there,” objected Toby. - -“A lot! Shucks; it wouldn’t have been more than a dollar, I guess! And -what’s a dollar when you’re going to get three hundred?” - -“A dollar would be a lot if something happened and we didn’t get the -three hundred,” replied Toby. “That launch was stolen a long while -ago――over two months ago now――and maybe he’s given her up and has -had another one built. If he has he wouldn’t want the _Follow Me_, I -guess.” Toby’s voice sounded almost hopeful at the end, and Arnold -observed him in surprise. - -“Toby, I really believe you’d rather have that launch than the reward!” -he exclaimed. - -Toby’s gaze wandered. “I――I don’t know,” he murmured. “She’s an awfully -nice little boat!” - -“But――but think of a hundred and fifty dollars! Why, you can――you can -do almost anything with a hundred and fifty dollars, Toby!” - -“I know. It’s a lot of money. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be fine to -have it, but――――” his voice dwindled away. Arnold looked incredulously -at Phebe as he held the gate open. “Anyway,” continued Toby, “I’ll wait -until I get my hands on it before I think too much about it!” - -Practice was not a great success that afternoon. In the first place, -the older boys of the town were using the school diamond and Toby’s -team had to do the best they could in a distant corner of the field; -in the second place only eight of the ten members showed up, and in -the third place Toby’s mind wandered so far from baseball that his -companions grew sarcastic and told him frankly that if he didn’t pay -more attention to the matter in hand they’d quit. Add these drawbacks -to the fact that there was a scarcity of gloves and bats, and that the -only mask they possessed had a loose wire that threatened to put the -wearer’s eye out every minute, and it will be seen that the Towners -labored under disadvantages that Saturday afternoon! - -Arnold, although cordially invited to attend the rival aggregation’s -practice, had declined, stating his reason to be that he didn’t want -to learn the Towners’ signals! Consequently Toby saw no more of him -until the next day. When the Tucker family got back from church that -noon they found Arnold sitting on the front steps and holding a rather -one-sided conversation through the open window with Mr. Murphy. “I’ve -been trying to teach him to say, ‘Arnold,’” he explained, “but he just -stares and chuckles. I’m going to have dinner with you, if you’ll ask -me, Mrs. Tucker.” - -“Indeed I will, then! Come right in out of the hot sun, Arnold. You -might have gone in the back door and been comfortable. We never lock it -from one year’s end to the other.” - -“Heard anything yet?” whispered Arnold to Toby as Mr. Tucker unlocked -the door. - -“Not exactly. Last night they sent for dad to go to the drug store. -They said he was wanted on the telephone. But either he couldn’t -understand, or the wires were bad, or something. He came stamping back -as mad as anything. But they told him it was New York calling, and so I -wouldn’t be surprised if it was he.” - -“Must have been! I wish we knew whether he was coming today or not. -When is the next train, Toby?” - -“Gets to Riverport at 3.12. Then it takes about half an hour to drive -over. So he couldn’t get here much before 3.45. Seems to me if he was -coming he’d have come this morning. I tried to get dad to let me stay -home from church, in case he did, but he wouldn’t see it.” - -“You don’t suppose he’s been and gone away again?” gasped Arnold. “You -don’t suppose he――you don’t suppose he’s taken the launch?” - -“Of course not! He wouldn’t do that, and――――” - -But Arnold had flown down the steps and across the road and was already -hiking through the boat yard! He returned presently, perspiring and -panting, but vastly relieved, to report the prize still there. The -boys, and Phebe too, for that matter――and perhaps the older folks in -spite of their unnatural calm――were too excited to do justice to Mrs. -Tucker’s very hearty Sunday dinner. Arnold kept glancing at the old -mahogany-framed clock on the mantel, while Toby, although he tried -not to appear impatient, turned his head toward the window every time -footsteps or carriage wheels sounded in the road below. - -But when Toby had proclaimed a quarter to four as the earliest possible -moment at which Paul Langham Townsend could reach Greenhaven, he had -failed to take into account that magic chariot, the automobile, and so -when, just as Mrs. Tucker was serving one of her biggest and juiciest -rhubarb pies, a big, dust-covered car came to a stop at the gate, no -one was prepared for it. - -Less than an hour later the _Follow Me_ was out of sight around Spanish -Head, the dust-covered car was gone again, and Toby and Arnold and -Phebe were staring awedly at a marvelous slip of blue paper, which bore -the legend: “Pay to the order of Tobias Tucker and Arnold Deering Three -Hundred Dollars!” - -That little piece of paper looked far too tiny to mean what it said! - -“It’s a pile of money, isn’t it?” muttered Toby thoughtfully. “But he -seemed awfully glad to get his launch back.” - -“He’d have paid more than this, I guess,” responded Arnold. “I dare say -he’d have given us five hundred if we’d said we had to have it!” - -“Why, you’re a regular Shylock, Arnold!” exclaimed Phebe. - -“I’m not either,” answered the accused indignantly. “But we had a right -to ask more if we’d wanted to. That’s business.” - -“I don’t think it’s business,” said Toby quietly, “to make money from -people’s misfortunes. I sort of wish we’d just let him have his boat -and not said anything about the reward.” - -“That’s nonsense,” replied Arnold vigorously. “Mr. Townsend has lots of -money and it was worth three hundred dollars to him to have his launch -back. And if it hadn’t been for us he wouldn’t have got it again. He’s -satisfied, Toby. Don’t you worry.” - -“What’ll we do with this?” asked Toby. “We have to put it into a bank -or something, eh?” - -“Of course. I’ll get father to cash it, if you like. Then we’ll each -take half. We have to sign our names on the back, though. Let’s do it -now. You sign first, because he put you first.” - -But Mr. Tucker, overhearing from the window, vetoed that plan. “You -boys had better give that check to me now,” he said. “Tomorrow’s -plenty of time for indorsing it. Remember this is the Lord’s day, -Toby.” - -So they yielded up the fascinating slip of engraved paper, but -that didn’t stop them from talking about it or discussing their -plans, although, to be exact, it was Arnold only who dwelt on the -matter of expenditure. “I am going to have your father build me a -twenty-one-footer, Toby, like the _Sea Snail_ he built for Mr. Cushing. -She’s a dandy! I suppose it would cost more than a hundred and fifty -dollars, but father said yesterday he’d help me pay for it. Then you’re -going to show me how to sail it.” - -“Mr. Cushing’s _Sea Snail_ is a knockabout,” said Toby. “Wouldn’t you -rather have a boat with a cabin house?” - -“It would cost a lot more, Toby. No, I don’t think so. I guess father -wouldn’t let me do any cruising, and just for sailing around here a -boat like the _Sea Snail_ would be fine. Maybe next year I’ll have the -_Frolic_ housed in forward. I could, you know. It wouldn’t be any trick -at all. I suppose your father wouldn’t like me to ask him about the -boat today?” - -“I’m sure he wouldn’t.” This from Phebe, and very decidedly. “He never -likes to talk business on Sunday. You’d better wait until tomorrow.” - -“All right. Say, Toby, you haven’t said what you’re going to do with -your half of the money. You could fix up the _Turnover_ and get a new -engine for her, if you wanted to.” - -But Toby shook his head. “I haven’t decided――yet,” he answered slowly, -“but I think I’ll just――just keep it.” - -“Now who’s the Shylock?” demanded Arnold triumphantly. - -“That’s very different,” said Phebe. “That’s just being saving.” - -“I don’t mean that I’m going to keep it forever,” explained Toby -defensively. “But I’m going to keep it until I find out what I really -want to spend it for. If you put money in a bank they’ll pay you -interest, won’t they?” - -“Yes, but you won’t get much on a hundred and fifty dollars,” replied -Arnold carelessly. “They pay three or four per cent., and that would -only be about five or six dollars a year.” - -“Six dollars a year,” remarked Toby thoughtfully, “would be a dollar -and a half for three months, wouldn’t it? Well, a dollar and a half -will take you fifty miles on the railroad.” - -“But who wants to go fifty miles on an old railroad?” asked Arnold. - -“Well, I was thinking I might. Would you mind asking your father to -take my hundred and fifty and put it in a bank for me? He’d be likely -to know of one that was perfectly safe, wouldn’t he?” - -“Sure! He knows dozens of banks. Why, he has accounts in two or three -himself!” - -“Then you might ask him to pick out the one he knows best,” said Toby -anxiously. “I wouldn’t want to lose that money!” - - - - -CHAPTER X - -TOBY BLOCKS THE PLATE - - -The baseball game between the Towners and the Spanish Head boys came -off on the following Wednesday, strictly according to schedule. By -that time Toby and Arnold had somewhat recovered from the excitement -incident to coming into possession of so much money and were able -to give their minds to the event. Toby was the satisfied owner of a -passbook on a New York bank which showed him to have on deposit the -sum of one hundred and fifty dollars, subject to interest at four per -cent., while Arnold had that morning witnessed the laying of the keel -of his knockabout in Mr. Tucker’s shed. Of the two, perhaps it was Toby -who was able to give the most thought to playing ball that afternoon. - -Long before the contest began it became evident that they were not -to lack an audience. Mothers, brothers, sisters, and friends of the -Spanish Head fellows came to the number of nearly one hundred, and the -road along the field was well lined with automobiles and traps. The -townsfolk turned out in far fewer numbers, but some of them came, among -them Phebe, looking very pretty in a new muslin dress and accompanied -by two girl friends. The accommodations for spectators being limited to -one small tier of seats, the visitors from the Head watched the game -from their carriages and cars. Mr. Trainor, appropriately attired in an -ancient Yale sweater, officiated to every one’s satisfaction and got, -as it appeared, a whole lot of fun out of his job! - -There was a marked contrast between the rival nines when, at a few -minutes past three, they faced each other on the somewhat dusty field -of battle. The “Spaniards” to a boy wore uniforms, and although only -two of their number were dressed alike――the two being Arnold and Frank -Lamson in Yardley Hall attire,――they presented a rather more neat and -pleasing appearance than their opponents. Of the Towners fully a third -met the demands of the occasion by removing their coats, rolling up -their sleeves and turning up their trousers, another third compromised -by wearing portions of uniforms, and the rest were appropriately -attired in baseball togs of a sort. Toby, I regret to say, was of the -second class, appearing in a grammar school shirt and his everyday -khaki trousers. He had fully intended dressing the lower portion -of him in baseball pants and blue stockings, but the search for the -stockings had been only half successful. That is, he had found only one -of the pair. The idea of presenting himself before the public with one -bare leg had occurred to him, but had not appealed. - -All being in readiness, and one of six new balls philanthropically -supplied by the umpire having been shorn of its tissue and glistening -foil, Frank Lamson walked to the pitcher’s box, his team mates arranged -themselves over the field, and Mr. William Conners, better known as -Billy, stepped to the plate. And after Frank Lamson had whizzed a few -balls across by way of warming-up and George Dodson had pegged the -last in the general direction of second base, and Arnold Deering and -Hal Mason had sprinted half-way to center field to get it, Mr. Trainor -called “Play ball!” in a very umpirical voice. And, lest you look for -that word “umpirical” in the dictionary, I’ll tell you right now that -you won’t find it. I just made it up! - -I have no intention of following that very notable contest inning by -inning. You’d find it tiresome, and so would I. Besides, only four of -the nine sessions supplied real interest. The others often supplied -runs and errors――plenty of errors――but no great excitement. The Spanish -Head contingent of spectators were well-bred enough to only smile -discreetly at the sight of “Tubby” Knowles sliding to second base in -that first inning, but I’m certain that they really wanted to laugh -outright. Tubby was, as his nickname suggests, rotund, and he wore a -pair of trousers of an interesting black and brown plaid that were -very much too large for him around the waist and almost as much too -long for him in the legs. Picture Tubby, then, when, having reached -first by an error, subsequent to Billy Conners’s retirement, he saw -his chance to win glory and another base by a steal. Tubby’s run was a -series of convulsions in which every portion of his anatomy took part. -It wasn’t a fast performance, but it was earnest and whole-hearted――and -whole-bodied! Tubby’s strange plaid-attired limbs fairly twinkled -along the path, Tubby’s mouth opened itself wide, Tubby’s eyes fixed -themselves almost agonizingly on the middle sack, and Tubby stole! - -Down sped the ball from Dodson’s hand. Arnold blocked the bag. Tubby -threw his hundred and forty pounds of body recklessly forward――and -confusion ensued! Over and over rolled Tubby, in the manner and with -all the grace of a rolling barrel. Plaid trousers filled the air for -an instant; plaid trousers and dust together, that is. And then Mr. -Trainor, trotting up, spread his hands and cried “Safe!” very loudly -indeed, but with a strange break in the middle of it, and Arnold gazed -as one stricken with bewilderment while Tubby, breathing loudly, pulled -himself to the bag and sat upon it in triumph! - -I’m not accusing Mr. Trainor of partiality or blindness or any other -fault undesirable in an umpire, but it did look as though that ball met -one of Tubby’s wildly waving legs before Tubby reached his goal. Still, -Mr. Trainor was where he could see! And Mr. Trainor had a nice sense of -justice! And, out or not out, Tubby certainly deserved that base! - -And yet, in spite of Tubby Knowles’s heroic act, the Towners failed -to score in their half of the first. Tubby got no farther than that -hard-won second sack, for Tony George struck out miserably and Gus -Whelan only popped a weak fly to shortstop. Nor, for that matter, -could the Spaniards do any better. Tim Chrystal’s slants were by no -means crystal when it came to seeing through them, and both Tracey -Gay, who led off for the visitors, and Arnold himself, who followed at -the plate, fanned very promptly, and when Sam Cushing had been easily -tossed out at first the inning ended. - -In the second the Towners scored their first run on an infield error, -a hit, and a sacrifice fly, Manuel Sousa crossing the plate with the -initial tally of the game. The Head came back a few minutes later with -two runs, however, and so the Towners had but a brief enjoyment of -their lead. Two to one the score stood until the fourth. Then things -happened. - -Frank Lamson had pitched a very creditable game so far. He had a -couple of curves that broke nicely for him and he had a canny way of -mixing them in with his straight ball that made them more serviceable. -Something that he called his “fade-away” was less successful and -usually “faded away” several feet in front of the plate. But he got to -the fourth inning with only some six hits set down against him in the -scorebook, and as those six had been well scattered he had been in no -danger. But in that memorable fourth, Tony George, coming to bat for -the second time, took a sudden and unexpected liking to Frank’s very -first offering and sent it screaming away into deep right field about -three yards beyond the point that Tracey Gay reached in his frantic -effort to get to it. That hit yielded two bases on its merits and a -third when Tracey threw in wildly and the ball rolled past first base. -Tony got to third with seconds to spare. - -Toby stationed himself at first, hitched up his trousers at the knees, -and coached loudly and incessantly, while Billy Conners, back of third, -followed his example to the best of his ability. Harry Glass stepped to -the plate and seemingly dared Frank to “put ’em over!” Just what did -happen during the next ten minutes is not for me to attempt without the -scorebook to refer to. I know that Harry Glass tried to bunt and was -thrown out at first and that “Snub” Mooney took his place. You’re to -bear in mind that during these proceedings Toby’s voice was cannoning -across the diamond and that Billy Conners’s voice was flying back like -a startling echo! And this had its effect on Frank Lamson. Snub tried -hard to find something to his liking, but Frank only put one good one -over and Snub walked. Whereupon Toby’s voice arose to greater heights. - -“All right, fellows! We’re on our way! He hasn’t a thing! Watch that, -will you? Take a lead, Tony! Take a good one! Oh, more’n that! He won’t -throw it! He wouldn’t dare to! He’s tired out. O-oh, what a bluff! Come -on again, Tony! Now then, Tim, whale it! If you don’t want to hit, -wait him out! He’ll give you the base if you wait! Here we go! Here we -go! Here we go!” - -Tim, being a pitcher, was not supposed to hit, but this time he did, -and the ball went straight between Arnold, playing second, and the -shortstop, and Tony trotted home. Tim went to first and might almost -have reached second. Then Toby, batting last, whacked out a two-bagger -that scored Tim. Billy Conners put Toby on third with a scratch hit -down third base line, and Jim Lord dropped a foul and Toby scored. -After that, well things got confused. Errors multiplied and Frank gave -some two more passes and there were some more hits, one, by Gus Whelan, -a three-bagger. When the inning was at last over the Towners had -accumulated a nice lead of five runs, and the score stood 7 to 2! - -Tim Chrystal had his bad innings as well, and Toby, who was catching -him, and doing a very good job, too, spent some anxious moments. The -sixth was especially trying to Tim and the Towners, for in that inning -the visitors got to Tim for four hits with a total of six that sent -three more runs over. Meanwhile Frank Lamson had settled down again and -the Towners made no more circuits until the eighth. Then, when Harry -Glass got to first base on the third baseman’s fumbling of an easy -ball and was sacrificed to second by Snub Mooney, Tim Chrystal took it -into his head to bunt and laid the ball down in front of base. George -Dodson faked a throw to first and then wheeled and pegged down to third -to get Harry Glass. Harry, seeing a world of trouble ahead, doubled -back to second again, found Tim speeding along from first, changed his -mind as the ball passed him into Arnold’s hands, and streaked once more -for the corner sack. - -By that time about half the Spaniards had gathered along the base line -to take a hand in the festivities. Back and forth sped the ball and -back and forth dodged Harry, always escaping by a hair’s breadth. Now -and then, by way of adding an extra thrill, some one would fumble and -Harry would get a new chance of life. But in the end they got him, -though goodness knows how the official scorers scored that play, and -George Dodson, somewhat relieved, tossed the ball along the ground to -the pitcher’s box. As it happened, Frank Lamson had been taking part -in the pursuit and was as far from the ball as any one, a fact which -struck Tim Chrystal, on second now, at that instant. Tim promptly -legged it for third. Three or four dismayed Spaniards hustled for the -ball. George Dodson got to it first, scooped it up and hurled it to -third. But, as the third baseman was several yards from the bag, the -ball continued busily into the outfield and Tim continued on his way -rejoicing, bringing home the eighth run for the Towners and joy and -hilarity to his friends. - -Again, in their half of the eighth, the visitors decreased the lead. It -was Arnold who was directly responsible, for he got a two-bagger off -Tim and stole third standing up a minute later. Then Pete Lord smashed -one at Manuel Sousa that that youth couldn’t handle cleanly and Arnold -beat the throw to the plate by inches only. After that another hit, and -an error by Tony George, gave the Spaniards one more tally. And the -ninth began with the score 8 to 7, the visitors but one run behind. - -The Towners tried desperately to add to their margin of safety, but -Frank Lamson, although he passed the first man up, struck out the -next, made the third fly out to center fielder and himself tossed the -ball to first for the final out. Toby was very glad that the opponents -were down to the tail-end of their batting list when that last half of -the ninth inning commenced, for Toby felt that it would be rather too -bad to lose the game after securing the lead they had secured in the -fourth. Many of the spectators from the Head had trundled away by now, -for it was close on 5 o’clock, but the townsfolk stayed loyally on. - -Frank Lamson was first up, and Frank, who had not distinguished himself -greatly with the stick, was bent on getting at least one good whack. -Besides, he had the feeling that, on the whole, Tim Chrystal had -out-pitched him, and he wanted to do his bit to spoil that youth’s -record. And after Tim had got two nice strikes across and had only -wasted one ball in the operation Frank saw something coming that looked -good and let go at it. Toby, watching the ball streak safely into short -left field, remorsefully told himself that that was his fault, for he -had called on Tim to “sneak one over,” and Frank had outguessed him. - -Then Hal Mason, center fielder, bunted and Tim threw wide and Hal was -safe. Toby knew he would steal and watched him closely. But with Frank -Lamson on third he didn’t dare throw down to second. Instead, he pegged -hard to Tim and Tim very neatly relayed the ball to third and Frank was -caught a yard off the base. After that Toby breathed easier, for with -one out and two strikes on Catcher Dodson things looked brighter. - -[Illustration: Toby pegged hard to Tim.] - -But Tim fell down badly and Dodson walked to first and the head of -the visitors’ batting list came up. That was Tracey Gay, and Tracey had -at least two hits to his credit to the best of Toby’s recollection. -Tracey was evidently bent on sending a fly to the outfield, for he -dropped two fouls outside the base lines before Tim had had a ball -called on him. Then, with the Spaniards’ coaches howling at him, Tim -got nervous and the first thing Toby knew the bases were full with only -one out! - -“Here’s where we run away from you,” said Arnold as he stepped up and -tapped the plate with his bat. “Sorry, Toby.” - -“That’s all right, Arn.” Toby smiled, although it was an awful effort. -“I’m not worrying any. You’ve got to hit out of the infield to get a -run, so go ahead and let’s see you do it.” - -“Oh, I might stand here and let him pass me,” laughed Arnold. “I won’t, -though, if he will give me a chance to hit.” - -“You’ll get plenty of chances. Just be sure you don’t miss them, Arn! -Play for the plate, fellows! Next man now! Let’s have ’em, Tim! Right -over, you know!” - -A wide one that Mr. Trainor very properly called a ball, a drop that -went as a strike by the narrowest of margins, a high one that floated -past above Arnold’s shoulder and then―――― - -Whack! - -Toby’s hands dropped emptily. Down at second Harry Glass was leaping -into the air. From third raced Hal Mason. Every one was shouting at -once. There was a slap as Harry’s upraised hand speared the ball. Then -the sphere was speeding back to the plate. Toby straddled the base, -tossing aside his mask, and held out eager hands. On came the runner, -fast and hard, threw himself off his feet and slid in a cloud of dust. -Smack came the ball into Toby’s mitten. Toby, plucking it out with -his right hand, dropped to his knees, blocking the plate, and jabbed -forward with it. Then Toby and the runner were tossed apart, the dust -arose in a yellow cloud and somewhere above it a voice cried “He’s -out!” - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TOBY MAKES UP HIS MIND - - -“We’ll play you again next Wednesday,” said Arnold as the two nines, -victor and vanquished, trailed back to the village. - -“Yes, and beat you, too,” growled Frank Lamson. “You fellows had all -the luck today and most of the decisions!” - -“We may have had some luck,” responded Toby, “but you can’t say Mr. -Trainor didn’t umpire fairly. And I guess our fellows will be all ready -for you any time you say. If you want to play again Wednesday――――” - -“Make it a week from Wednesday,” advised George Dodson, nursing a hurt -finger solicitously. “We need more practice than we’ve had, Deering.” - -“A week from Wednesday, then,” agreed Toby. “We’re always glad to show -you chaps how to play.” And he smiled provokingly at Frank. Frank only -growled. - -Arnold was on hand bright and early Monday morning to watch the -interesting operation of fixing the ribs to the curving keel of the new -knockabout. It was all Toby could do to persuade him to leave the shed -and go fishing, and when Arnold did finally allow himself to be dragged -away he was so full of his sailboat that he fell over every obstacle in -the yard and talked incessantly about it until the _Turnover_ was well -out of the harbor. They chugged across to the flats above Johnstown and -cast their lines over. It was a good day for fishing, with a cloudy sky -and a favorable tide, but for some reason doubtless known only to them -the fish refused the invitations extended. Arnold didn’t mind much, for -he preferred talking to fishing today. With the launch tugging at her -anchor they whiled away the most of the forenoon, Arnold at last fairly -talking himself out on the subject of the knockabout. - -“What would you name her?” he asked. “How do you like _Sea Swallow_ or -_Sea Lark_?” - -“I like _Sea Cow_ better,” replied Toby, pulling up his line to look -disgustedly at the untouched bait. “Get something with more zip to it. -Like _Dart_ or _Scud_――or――or _Slap-Bang_. _Slap-Bang_ would be a good -name for a knockabout, for that’s just the way they go, slapping the -water and banging down on the waves.” - -But Arnold wasn’t very enthusiastic about that suggestion. He said -something “more――more romantic” would be better, and Toby, anxious to -oblige, suggested in rapid succession _Polly_, _Mary_, _Moonlight_, -_Lillian_, _Corsair_, _Pirate_, and _Mayflower_. But Arnold was hard to -please, and turned up his nose at all of those. After that the subject -was momentarily abandoned and Arnold reverted to the question of Toby’s -expenditure of that one hundred and fifty dollars. It seemed to hurt -Arnold to think of that magnificent sum lying idle in the bank, and he -was all for action. He had more schemes for getting rid of it than Toby -could remember. - -“How much did you say it would take to go to Yardley Hall for a year?” -Toby asked finally, putting fresh bait on his hook and absent-mindedly -wiping his hands on his trousers. - -“Yardley? I don’t remember what we figured it. Why?” - -“I was just thinking,” murmured Toby. “Seems to me we said it would be -about three hundred and fifty dollars for everything.” - -“I guess so. Let’s see. A hundred and fifty for tuition, say two -hundred for room and board, and about ten or fifteen for other things. -How much is that?” - -“Three hundred and sixty-five,” replied Toby promptly. “I’d have to -have two hundred and fifteen more, wouldn’t I?” - -“Say!” Arnold sat up very suddenly. “You’re not thinking of――of――――” - -Toby nodded. “Yes, I am thinking of it, but I guess it won’t get -beyond the thinking, Arn. Where’d I get two hundred and fifteen -more? Maybe dad could spare me fifty; say twenty-five at first and -another twenty-five in the winter, but that would leave a hundred and -sixty-five to be got somewhere. I don’t suppose a fellow could――could -earn anything there, could he?” - -“I don’t believe so,” answered Arnold dejectedly. - -“I didn’t know. You read about fellows at college cutting grass and -shoveling snow and――and things like that, you know, and helping -themselves a whole lot. I thought maybe a fellow could do something of -that sort at Yardley.” - -“Well, maybe he could,” said Arnold cautiously. “I wouldn’t say he -couldn’t, Toby. Wouldn’t your father come across with more than fifty?” - -“I don’t say he’d come across with any,” answered Toby. “He isn’t -making much money nowadays, although things look better this summer. -He’s got four orders so far, counting yours, and one of them’s a -pretty big one. But I wouldn’t want to ask him to let me have more than -fifty, anyhow. If there was only some way to earn some money around -here!” Toby gazed thoughtfully across at the near-by shore. “Running -errands doesn’t get you much. I’ve thought of about everything. -Sometimes you can do pretty well fishing and selling to the summer -folks, but when the fish don’t bite any better than they’re biting -today――――” - -His voice dwindled away into silence and for a minute only the lap-lap -of the water was heard. Then it was Arnold who began again, prefacing -his remark with a long sigh. “Gee, Toby, it would certainly be great -if you could come to Yardley,” he said wistfully. “Think of the dandy -times we could have! And playing ball like you did Saturday, I wouldn’t -be surprised if you’d make your class team right off! And then there’s -football and hockey――――!” - -Toby nodded agreement. “I’d sure like it,” he muttered. - -“Isn’t there any way to earn that much?” pursued Arnold. “Look here, -couldn’t you do anything with this launch? Couldn’t you sell her for -something?” - -Toby looked startled. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said slowly. “She -wouldn’t fetch much, though. Besides, you can buy plenty of second-hand -launches around here. They are as thick as blackberries. Maybe――maybe -I’ll think of some way, though. I――I’ve sort of made up my mind to go -to that Yardley Hall place, Arn, and when I make up my mind I most -always get what I’m after. It’s funny, but that’s the way it is.” - -“Well, then, you make up your mind hard!” laughed Arnold. “And I’ll -make up mine hard, too. And――and maybe it’ll really happen!” - -“Maybe. Sometimes it seems to me as if when you want a thing you’ve -just got to set your mind on it and――and steer right straight for it, -and you’ll get it. I don’t suppose it always happens like that, but -pretty often it does. You’ve got to sort of concentrate, Arn; forget -other things and pick up your marks and――and keep your course mighty -steady.” Toby drew up his empty hook and began reeling the line. -“Anyway, I’m going to try it.” - -For the next several days Toby had queer periods of thoughtfulness, -going off into trances without warning and quite alarming Arnold, who -feared, or professed to fear, that his chum’s mind was giving way. -“It’s having all that money to think about,” declared Arnold. “If you’d -only spend it for something it wouldn’t worry you.” - -“As long as that bank doesn’t bust,” answered the other, “I’m not -troubling about the money. Your father said it was a very safe bank, -didn’t he?” - -“Safe as any of them,” teased Arnold, “but, of course, you never can -tell when the cashier or――or some one will take it into his head to -start off to Canada!” - -“Huh! They fetch ’em back now,” said Toby. “That doesn’t scare me. Dad -says I might have put it in the postoffice, though.” - -“Buy stamps with it?” asked Arnold in a puzzled voice. - -“No, put it in the Postal Savings Bank. The government looks after it -for you then, and I guess the government would be pretty safe, eh?” - -“So’s that bank you’ve got it in. If it wasn’t safe do you suppose -father would keep money in it?” - -“N-no, I guess not. I wouldn’t want to lose that hundred and fifty -though. I――I’ve got a use for that!” - -“Have you asked your father about Yardley yet?” - -Toby shook his head. “I thought I’d better wait until I had some more. -Only thing is”――he frowned deeply――“I don’t know how to get any more! -I’ve been thinking and thinking!” - -“Oh, well, there’s lots of time yet. Come on down to the shed and see -how the boat’s getting along.” - -The knockabout was coming fast and Arnold never tired of watching Mr. -Tucker and “Long Tim” and “Shorty” at work. Long Tim’s full name was -Timothy Tenney. He stood fully six feet three inches tall when he -straightened up, but that was seldom since the bending over to his work -for some forty-odd years had put a perceptible stoop to his shoulders. -Long Tim was thin and angular and weather beaten, with a fringe of -grizzled whiskers from ear to ear, and very little in the way of hair -above the whiskers. He loved to talk, and was a mine of strange, even -unbelievable information which he was quite ready to impart in his -nasal drawl. “Shorty” was Joe Cross, a small, square chunk of a man who -had come ashore years before from a Newfoundland lumber schooner and -had forgotten to return until the schooner had sailed again. Shorty -had a family somewhere in Canada, and was forever threatening to go -back to it, but never got further than New York. Long Tim came from a -family of boat-builders, but Shorty had learned the trade under Mr. -Tucker. Both were capable workmen, although Long Tim looked on Shorty -as still merely an apprentice, and shook his head dolefully when he was -entrusted with any more particular task than driving a nail. - -If Arnold could have had his way he would have spent most of his waking -hours sitting in the boat shed with his feet in sawdust and shavings -and auger chips watching the knockabout grow and listening to the -ceaseless drawling of Long Tim. But Toby wasn’t satisfied to dawdle -like that and hailed Arnold off to various more lively occupations. -Several afternoons during the next ten days were spent by Arnold, none -too enthusiastically, in practicing ball with the Spanish Head team in -preparation for that approaching game. - -Toby, too, put in a little time in a similar way, but the trouble with -Toby’s team was that it was impossible to get all the fellows together -at the same time. Usually they were shy from one to four players and -were forced to fill up the ranks with such volunteers as were on -hand. Arnold brought stirring tales of practice over at the Head and -predicted overwhelming victory for his nine. But Toby refused to become -alarmed. The Towners had won once, and he believed they could do it -again. Even if they couldn’t there was still no harm done. Baseball -was only baseball and some one had to lose! - -It was on a Wednesday, just a week after that first contest, that Toby -stood on the town landing float and waited for Arnold to come over from -the Head in the _Frolic_. At low tide it was finicky work getting up -to the boat-yard pier, and Arnold tied up at the town float instead. -The hour was still early, for in the Tucker cottage breakfast was -at six-thirty in summer, and Toby had cleaned the spark-plug on the -_Turnover_, mended a window screen, walked to the grocery store and -back on an errand, and reached the landing, and, behind him, the clock -in the church tower showed the time to be still well short of eight. -Arnold had promised to come across early, however, since they had -planned to run up to Riverport and get some hardware for the knockabout -which was waiting for them at the freight depot. Save that Toby was -seated across the bow of a dory instead of on a box, he presented -much the same appearance as at our first meeting with him. Perhaps -his skin was a little deeper brown, and perhaps, as he gazed again -across the harbor and bay, his face was a trifle more thoughtful――or -his thoughtfulness a bit more earnest. And he was whistling a new -tune under his breath, something that Phebe had of late been playing -incessantly on the old-fashioned square piano in the cottage parlor. -The harbor was quiet and almost deserted. On a black sloop, moored well -off the landing, a man was busy with pail and swab, but, excepting -for the gulls, he was the only moving thing in sight until footsteps -sounded on the pier above and a man descended the gangplank. - -He was a middle-aged man in a suit of blue serge and square-toed shoes, -and he carried a brown leather satchel. He looked like a person in a -hurry, Toby concluded, although there was no apparent reason for his -hurry. He looked impatiently about the float and then at Toby. - -“Isn’t there a ferry here?” he demanded. - -“No, sir. Where do you want to go?” - -“Johnstown. I thought there was a ferry over there. I was told there -was.” He viewed Toby accusingly. - -Toby shook his head. “There used to be, sir, about six years ago, but -the man who ran it died, and――――” - -“Great Scott! Do you mean to tell me that I’ve got to go way around by -Riverport? Why, that’ll take me two hours! And I’ve got an appointment -there at nine! What sort of a place is this, anyway? No ferry! No place -to get any breakfast! No――no――――!” he sputtered angrily. - -“I guess it’ll take most of two hours by carriage,” agreed Toby, “but I -can put you over there by eight-thirty, sir.” - -“You’ve got a boat?” - -“Yes, sir, but――――” - -“Where is it?” The stranger’s gaze swept over the bobbing craft. “I -suppose it’s a sailboat and we’ll drift around out there half the -morning. Well, I’ll try it. Good gracious, only seventy miles from -the city and no――no accommodations of any sort! No place to eat, no -ferry――――” - -“Yes, sir, we’re sort of slow around here,” agreed Toby, calmly. - -“Slow! I should say you were slow! Well, where’s the boat? Bring it -along! There’s no time to waste, young fellow!” - -“Well, if you don’t have to be there before nine”――Toby looked over his -shoulder at the church clock――“you’ve got plenty of time to have some -breakfast before we start. It’s only three miles across and I’ve got a -launch that’ll do it in twenty minutes easy.” - -“Launch, eh? That’s better! Show me where I can get a cup of coffee -then. I haven’t had anything to eat since last night. I left -Southampton at six and there wasn’t time. Got a restaurant here -somewhere, have you?” - -“Not exactly a restaurant,” replied Toby, “but if you’ll come with me -I’ll show you where you can get some coffee and bread and butter. The -launch is over there, anyway, so it won’t take much longer.” - -“Look ahead, then,” said the man. “I’ll go most anywhere for a cup -of coffee!” The prospect of food seemed to better his humor, for all -the way up the landing and around the road to the cottage he asked -questions and conversed quite jovially. When, however, he discovered -that the boy had led him to his home he was all for backing down. - -“It’s very kind of you,” he said, “but I wouldn’t want to bother any -one to make coffee for me. I’ll wait till I get to Johnstown.” - -“It won’t be any trouble, sir, and my mother will be glad to do it. -Gee, she’d like it if I’d bring some one around to be fed every day! -Please, come right in, sir, and sit down, and mother’ll have something -ready for you in no time.” - -Hesitatingly, the stranger allowed himself to be conducted up the steps -and into the sitting room, and Toby went to the kitchen and acquainted -his mother with the needs of the occasion, producing in Mrs. Tucker -a fine flurry of excitement and an enthusiastic delight. Ten minutes -later, refreshed and grateful, the stranger――he had introduced himself -as Mr. Whitney of New York――followed Toby through the yard, down the -slippery ladder, and into the _Turnover_. If he felt dubious about -trusting himself to that craft and to Toby’s seamanship, he made no -sign. Toby cast off and then faced his passenger. - -“I guess,” he announced, “we’d ought to agree on a price before we -start, sir.” - -“Eh? Oh, yes! Well, you’ve got me where I can’t say much, young fellow. -Just be easy and there won’t be any kick from me. What’s the damage -going to be?” - -“Well, sir, it’s three miles over there, and gasoline’s worth -twenty-three cents this week, and――――” - -“Don’t frighten me to death!” laughed the man. “Will five dollars do -the trick?” - -“Five dollars!” Toby gasped. - -“Not enough? Call it seven-fifty then.” - -“It’s too much! Why, a dollar――or maybe, a dollar and a half――――” - -The stranger laughed loudly. “Go ahead, then! But you’ll never be a -millionaire if you do business that way. When any one offers you five -dollars, young fellow, it’s poor business to take less.” - -Toby smiled as he put the handle in the fly-wheel. “Seems to me, sir,” -he said, “it’s just as poor business to offer five dollars when the -job’s only worth a dollar and a half!” - -“Well, that’s right, too!” The man chuckled. “Maybe that’s why I’m not -a millionaire yet. Want me to do anything in the way of steering?” - -“No, sir, thanks. I’ll steer from here.” - -The _Turnover_ backed away from the pier, turned and crept out of the -narrow channel, across the cove and into the harbor. Half-way to the -entrance they passed a surprised Arnold at the wheel of the _Frolic_ -and Toby called across to him that he would be back about a quarter -past nine. Arnold nodded and waved and the white launch and the gray -swept past each other. The passenger came forward and made himself -comfortable opposite Toby as the _Turnover_ pointed her nose across the -bay. In the course of the conversation that ensued above the clatter of -the little engine Toby learned that Mr. Whitney was a contractor and -that he was going to Johnstown to consult with a man about building a -cottage there. - -“I’m doing some work at Southampton,” he explained, “and it’s going -to be awkward for a while getting from one place to the other. Guess -I’ll have to buy me one of these things, eh? Unless――look here, want -to arrange to take me back and forth now and then? I’ll pay you three -dollars the round trip.” - -“Yes, sir, I’d be glad to,” agreed Toby eagerly. “When would you want -to go again?” - -“I don’t know that yet. This little tub seems pretty seaworthy. Run her -a good deal, have you?” - -“Yes, sir, and others before her. She isn’t much to look at, but she’s -a good boat.” - -“What do you call her?” - -“The _Turnover_.” - -“The which?” - -“_Turnover_, sir,” repeated Toby, smiling. - -“Well, that’s a pleasant, reassuring sort of name for a launch! Does -she――does she do it――often?” - -“No, sir, she’s never done it yet,” laughed Toby. “You can’t tell much -by names, Mr. Whitney.” - -“H’m; well, I’m glad to hear it. I was thinking that maybe we’d better -call that bargain off! Is that the landing ahead there?” - -“Yes, sir. We’ll be in in a minute or two.” - -“I suppose you get mail in Greenhaven? Well, I’ll drop you a line some -day soon and tell you when I’ll be along next. Let me see, what’s your -name?” - -“Tucker, sir; T. Tucker.” - -“T? For Thomas?” - -“N-no, sir; for Tobias; Toby for short.” - -“I see! Toby Tucker, Greenhaven, Long Island.” Mr. Whitney set the -address down in a memorandum book. “All right, Toby, you’ll hear from -me.” He replaced the little book in a vest pocket and pulled out a -wallet. “Now, we’ll settle up for the present trip and start fair the -next time.” He took a five-dollar bill from the purse and handed it -across. - -“I――I can’t change that, sir,” said Toby. “You can let it go until next -time.” - -“I don’t want you to change it, Toby. I guess five isn’t too much for -that breakfast and this trip. It’s worth it to me, anyway.” - -“There isn’t any charge for breakfast,” Toby protested. - -“Well, then, we’ll call it a bonus on the contract. Stick it in your -pocket, young fellow, and don’t look as if it was poison.” - -“But it’s a lot more than it ought to be,” stammered Toby. - -“Don’t you worry about that,” laughed the man. “It’s worth ten times -five dollars to me to get here on time. Here we are! Much obliged to -you, Tobias. See you again. Good-by!” - -Mr. Whitney, bag in hand, jumped nimbly to the float, waved a hand, and -hurried away, leaving Toby the happy possessor of the magnificent sum -of five dollars, a beatific prospect of more, and a wonderful idea! - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -“T. TUCKER, PROP.” - - -The wonderful idea he explained to Arnold as, half an hour later, they -started off in the _Frolic_ for Riverport. - -“What he said about the ferry put it in my head,” said Toby. “There -used to be a ferry across to Johnstown five or six years ago. I guess -there weren’t many passengers then, but it must have paid or else old -Captain Gould wouldn’t have run it so long. And it seems to me there’d -be more folks wanting to get across now than there was then. Why, six -years ago there wasn’t a half dozen summer cottages around Greenhaven. -And the hotel at Johnstown wasn’t built, either. I guess if folks knew -there was a regular ferry across they’d use it. Don’t it seem so to -you, Arn?” - -“Sure! But would the _Turnover_ be big enough, Toby?” - -“She’ll hold eight without crowding, and I guess if I ever get eight -folks at once I’ll be pretty lucky.” - -“How much would you charge?” - -“Fifty cents,” replied Toby promptly. “Do you think that’s too much? I -could make a round trip rate of seventy-five, maybe.” - -“No, fifty cents isn’t much for a three-mile trip. How often would you -make it?” - -“Four times a day, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon. -I could leave here at nine, say, and come back at ten. Then I could -go over again at eleven, two, and four. Even if I carried only four -passengers a day it would be two dollars, and that would make twelve -dollars a week. And there’s twelve weeks yet, and that would be a -hundred and forty-four dollars!” - -“You’ve got to think about gas and oil, though, Toby.” - -“That’s so! Well, gas would cost me about twenty cents a day, and -oil――say, five, although it wouldn’t come to so much. That would make -it a dollar and seventy-five cents instead of two, wouldn’t it? How -much would I have at the end of the summer?” - -Arnold did some mental arithmetic and announced the result as a -hundred and twenty-six dollars. “But you’d ought to get more than four -passengers a day, Toby, after folks heard about it. You could put up -notices, couldn’t you?” - -“Yes, and I’d have a sign on the landing, and――――” he paused and -frowned. “I wonder if they’d make me pay for using the town landing. -They might, you know.” - -“I don’t see why. It would be a――a public accommodation!” - -“I can find out. Anyway, they couldn’t ask much, I guess.” - -“If I were you I’d change the name of your launch, though,” Arnold -advised. “Ladies might feel sort of――of nervous about going in a boat -with a name like that.” - -“What would you call her?” asked Toby, dubiously. “Changing the name -might change the luck, and my luck’s been pretty good lately.” - -“I don’t know. You could find another name all right. Say, Toby, why -couldn’t I come in on it? I wouldn’t want any of the money, of course, -but we could use the _Frolic_ any time we had a lot of passengers. -Would you mind if I helped?” - -“No, I’d be awfully glad to have you, only――do you think your father -would want you to?” - -“He wouldn’t mind. I’ll ask him tonight. I could bring this boat over -in the morning and then we could use whichever one we wanted to. Maybe -if there were ladies going over they’d rather go in the _Frolic_.” - -“I guess maybe they would,” laughed Toby. “But there wouldn’t be many -ladies, probably. I suppose if I took other folks over to Johnstown for -fifty cents I couldn’t ask Mr. Whitney to pay any more, could I?” - -“Why not? He made a bargain with you, didn’t he? If you got a dollar -and a half from him, besides what you made from other people――――” - -But Toby shook his head. “It wouldn’t be fair. I’d ask him the same -as the rest. Only, maybe there won’t be any rest. It wouldn’t do any -harm to try it for a couple of weeks, though, eh? And it might turn out -fine!” - -“It will! I’ll bet there’s lots of folks over at the Head who’d be -mighty glad to get over to Johnstown if they didn’t have to go all -around by road. Why, it must be ten or twelve miles by the road!” - -All the way up the river to the landing at Riverport, all the way to -the freight house, all the way back, laden with a forty-pound box -of yacht hardware, and all the way home again they talked over the -ferry scheme, Arnold becoming even more enthusiastic than Toby. They -developed the plan until, in their imaginations, they could see a whole -flotilla of ferryboats crossing the bay to Johnstown and Riverport -and around to Shinnecock and even as far as Mattituck! And real -ferryboats, too; fine white and gold cabin launches holding as many as -thirty persons! And Toby was to stand at the wheel and navigate while -Arnold, in a resplendent white duck suit and cap with crossed anchors -on it was to collect the fares! - -The only thing that worried Arnold was that he would be so busy helping -Toby operate the ferry line that he wouldn’t have time to use the new -knockabout. But Toby brought partial consolation by pointing out that -there’d be time, between trips, maybe, and that, anyway, they’d have -the evenings. Even baseball went to the discard for the rest of that -week, so busy were they planning and perfecting the new ferry service. -Frank Lamson, whose one desire just then was to wreak vengeance on the -town ball team, threatened mutiny, declaring that if Arnold didn’t call -practice and attend it he and the other members of the Spanish Head -team would take affairs into their own hands and elect a new captain. -Arnold managed to put him off until Monday, however, and by that time -“Tucker’s Ferry Line” was about ready for business. Toby had decided to -wait until Thursday before starting the service in order to play that -ball game on Wednesday. Arnold would have canceled it willingly, but -Toby declared that it wouldn’t be fair to the fellows who had joined -his team, and practiced more or less faithfully, to disband without at -least one more game. - -“After Wednesday I’ll tell them I can’t play any more and then they can -choose another captain and keep on if they want to. Maybe if the ferry -doesn’t succeed we can have some more games. It wouldn’t interfere -with your playing, Arn, because we wouldn’t both have to attend to the -ferry.” - -But Arnold denied that vigorously. “I’m going to do my full share of -the work,” he declared. “Besides, I can play baseball most any time. -Those fellows can find a new captain, if they like, and go on playing. -I guess Frank will be glad to take the job. He doesn’t much like the -way I’m doing it, anyway,” he concluded with a laugh. - -On Friday, Long Tim, painter as well as carpenter, planed down a -four-foot pine plank after hours, sandpapered it, braided a small -half-round along the edges, and covered the whole with a priming coat -of white paint. And then, the following evening, while Toby and Arnold -stood over him, breathless and admiring, he traced out the inscription -“Johnstown Ferry,” filled in the letters with black, put another coat -of white on the remainder of the surface, and finally finished up by -placing a black border around all. The boys viewed the result with -enthusiastic approval and sighed with regret when Long Tim turned it to -the wall to dry. They found a new name for the _Turnover_ that evening -by the simple expedient of chopping off the first and last letters, and -the launch became, for the summer at least, the _Urnove_. - -On Monday morning Toby parted with two dollars and a half of that -precious five in exchange for fifty cardboard placards which announced -startlingly: - - GREENHAVEN-JOHNSTOWN FERRY - - Commencing Thursday, July 17, launches _Frolic_ and _Urnove_ - will leave the town landing for Johnstown daily except Sunday - at 9 and 11 A. M. and 2 and 4 P. M. Returning, leave Johnstown - one-half hour later. Fare, one way, 50 cents. Round trip, 75 - cents. - - T. TUCKER, PROP. - -Armed with the placards, Toby and Arnold made the round of the -principal stores in Greenhaven and Johnstown and saw them obligingly -placed in the windows. The hotel at Johnstown was similarly honored, as -was the postoffice there and in their own town. And after that they -tacked the notices wherever they thought they would attract attention -without entailing a penalty. The final placard――no, not the final one, -either, for Arnold kept that to go up in his room at school, but the -next to the last one was tacked to the side of Hawkins’ leather store -at the corner of the alley that led to the landing, and, lest some one -might be in doubt as to the location of the town landing, Arnold added -a hand, which pointed quite dramatically down the little lane. - -Long Tim put the sign in place that evening. Mr. Hawkins was very -complaisant, perhaps thinking that some of the patrons of the ferry -might be attracted to his stock, and gave ready permission to attach -the sign to the alley side of the store so that it jutted out well over -the sidewalk and was visible a block away. The boys were certain of -that, because they hurried along the street to a position in front of -the postoffice and looked! They spent most a quarter of an hour viewing -Long Tim’s handiwork from various places at various angles, and would -have stayed longer if it hadn’t got dark. - -The question of paying for the privilege of using the landing was still -unsettled. It had been left to Mr. Tucker, who was himself one of -the selectmen, and Mr. Tucker reported that the other members of the -board were unable to reach any conclusion in the matter and proposed -postponing a decision until the next town meeting, which was scheduled -for November. Meanwhile he advised Toby to go ahead as long as no one -interfered with him, which Toby did. - -Mr. Tucker, rather to Toby’s surprise, approved of the ferry enterprise -warmly. “Likely,” he said, “you won’t make a pile of money, Toby, but -it’ll keep you out of mischief and give you something to do. And I’m -not saying it won’t pay, either. I guess there’s folks that’ll be glad -to run over to Johnstown that way instead of driving to the Port and -taking the train. What you going to do with all your wealth, Toby, -anyhow? Maybe you’d like to buy into the business, eh?” - -Toby hesitated a minute, but it seemed a very good opportunity to -tell his father of his ambition to go to Yardley Hall School, and he -did so. Mr. Tucker listened without comment until Toby had somewhat -breathlessly finished. Then he did what was very characteristic. He -pushed back an imaginary hat――the conversation took place in the -cottage one evening just before bedtime――and scratched his head -thoughtfully. At last: - -“That’s a pile of money, son, to spend for a year’s schooling. What are -you going to get out of it that you can’t get over at Johnstown? Do they -teach you more things at this school you’re telling of?” - -“N-no, sir, not more, exactly. Maybe they do, though, too. But it’s -being at a place like that that’s the fun, Dad.” - -“Fun, eh? Sure it isn’t just the fun you’re thinking of? Three or four -hundred dollars is a sight of money to spend for fun!” - -“I’m not thinking of only that, Dad. I――I guess I can’t explain very -well, but it’s meeting other fellows and――and making friendships and -learning how to――to look after myself that I’m thinking of.” - -“Seems to me you could do all that at high school, Toby. And high -school won’t cost more’n a fifth as much, fares and all. It’s your -money and I suppose you ought to have the spending of it, so long’s -you don’t spend it plumb foolishly. But what occurs to me is that this -Yardley Hall place is a mighty poor place for a boy who hasn’t plenty -of money. Mostly rich boys, ain’t they; those that go to it?” - -“No, sir, Arnold says there are lots of fellows who aren’t rich; -fellows about like me, Dad.” - -“H’m, well, I don’t know. We’ll think it over. What you going to do -next year for money? One year won’t do you much good, I guess.” - -“I don’t know. Only, somehow, I’ve got a hunch that if I can get -through the first year I’ll manage the others, Dad.” - -Mr. Tucker shook his head. “I wouldn’t put too much faith on ‘hunches,’ -as you call ’em, Toby. I’ll talk to Arnold about this school some day. -If it’s going to give you something the high school can’t give you, -son, and you’ve got the money to pay for it, why, I don’t know as I’m -going to interfere none. But you’ll have to get your ma’s consent.” - -Toby agreed, feeling fairly certain that he could obtain that without -much difficulty, although he knew that his mother would view his -absence from home with alarm and sorrow. When Phebe was told of the -plan she disappointed Toby by her lack of enthusiasm at first. - -“You mean that you’ll be away from home for months at a time?” she -asked dolorously. “Won’t you be coming home ever, Toby?” - -“Maybe, but I guess I couldn’t afford to come home very often even if -they’d let me. Of course, I’d be home at Christmas and――and Easter.” - -“Christmas is a long time from September. I suppose it’ll be perfectly -dandy for you, Toby, but――but I’ll be awfully lonesome!” - -“You wouldn’t be after awhile. I guess I’d be, too, at first. But we -don’t have to worry about that, because maybe there won’t anything come -of it.” - -But Phebe refused to be consoled so easily. She assured him that she -“just felt that he would go!” - -And Toby, although pretending to have no faith in her premonition, -secretly hoped it would prove correct. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -TRICK FOR TRICK - - -Wednesday didn’t promise very well at first for the baseball game, for -the morning dawned dark and lowery, with a thick fog rolling in from -the bay. But by noon the fog-horns had ceased bellowing, the mist had -burned off and the sun was out again. The audience was flatteringly -large when the game began at half-past three, the Head being -represented by an impressive array of cars and carriages which, after -climbing the hill by a stony and devious lane, parked along the edge of -the field. Mr. Trainor was again on hand to umpire, and his brother and -Mrs. Trainor sat on the grass back of first base under a vividly green -sunshade and poked fun at him and “rooted” enthusiastically for the -Towners. Toby’s team contained a new player in the person of “Chuck” -Morgan, who took Harry Glass’s place at shortstop, Harry being confined -at home with the mumps. The Spaniards, too, presented a stranger in -their line-up, a large youth named Phillips, who held down third base. -Toby and the other Towners viewed Phillips with misgiving and some -indignation, for he must have been nineteen years old if he was a day. -Toby sought Arnold and registered an objection vigorously. - -“We didn’t agree to play with grown-ups, Arn,” he said. “We haven’t a -fellow over sixteen on our team.” - -Arnold was apologetic. “It’s Frank’s doing, Toby,” he explained. “Sam -Cushing’s away and Frank said he knew of a fellow to take his place, -and I told him to get him. I didn’t know he was so old. If I had I -wouldn’t have let him on. But there isn’t any one else we can get now. -Still, if you say you won’t play against him, all right. Maybe we can -borrow a fellow from you.” - -“He looks like a pretty good player,” murmured Toby, mollified, but -still dubious. “Is he?” - -“I don’t know much about him. I’ll ask Frank.” - -Frank Lamson was summoned to the conference and the question put to -him. “Phillips?” replied Frank, carelessly. “No, I guess he isn’t much -at baseball. He played football at Townsend School last year, but I -never heard he was much of a baseball shark. Anyway, we’re only playing -for fun, Toby, so what does it matter?” - -“Well, he’s a heap older than us fellows,” Toby objected. “It doesn’t -seem quite fair, that’s all.” - -“You’re afraid of getting licked,” laughed Frank. “Be a sport, Toby!” - -“If Toby doesn’t want us to play Phillips,” began Arnold. - -“We haven’t any one else, though,” said Frank impatiently. “We can’t -play them with only eight men!” - -“All right,” said Toby. “Go ahead. Maybe it won’t make any difference.” - -But it did make a difference, as was soon apparent. For when Tracey -Gay had reached first on Tony George’s poor peg to Billy Conners, -and Arnold had sacrificed him neatly to second, Phillips stepped to -the plate in a knowing way, swung at Tim Chrystal’s first offering, -and slammed it into deep right for two bases, scoring Gay. One more -tally was added before the Towners succeeded in disposing of the third -Spaniard, and that two-run lead held until the fourth inning. Then -Tony George, first man up for the home team, got a scratch hit past -shortstop and Gus Whelan sent him to second on a bunt, being thrown out -at first. The next two men went out, and it was up to “Snub” Mooney -to rescue the runner on second. This Snub did by dropping a “Texas -Leaguer” behind third, Tony George getting to third on the hit and -racing home when the fielder unwisely threw to second to get Snub. Snub -slid into the bag unchallenged, and Tony got to the plate before the -ball from second baseman reached the catcher. - -But the Spaniards came back in their inning and added two more tallies, -making the score 4 to 1. In the fifth the Towners went down in one, -two, three style, for Frank Lamson was pitching a much better game -than a fortnight before and the whole team from the Head was playing -together in very snappy form. There was some improvement in the Towners -as well, but they displayed an unfortunate disposition to make errors -at critical times. Tim Chrystal was slanting them over in good shape, -but both Phillips and George Dodson found him for long hits every -time they came up. The game held more excitement than had the first -contest, and Mr. Trainor, very warm and perspiring, was forced to make -a number of close decisions at bases. Whenever he did so loud hoots of -derision came from under the green sunshade! Mr. Trainor’s office was -no sinecure that hot afternoon! - -It was the seventh that saw things happen. Manuel Sousa waited and got -his base. Morgan laid down a bunt half-way to the pitcher’s box, and -Frank juggled the ball and both runners were safe. “Snub” Mooney went -out, third baseman to first, advancing the runners. Tim Chrystal, who -had so far failed to connect, smashed a line drive into short center. -Sousa and Morgan tallied, but Tim was out in an attempt to reach second -on the throw-in. With two gone, the inning looked about over, but Toby, -next up, took advantage of Frank’s momentary let-down and pushed the -ball down the third base line just out of reach of the accomplished -Phillips, who had so far fielded his position like a veteran――which -he probably was. After that, although Frank threw to first repeatedly -in an effort to catch him, Toby stole second on the third delivery, -beating the throw by inches only,――but beating it. Billy Conners fouled -off two strikes, watched two balls go past him, fouled another for good -measure, and then landed on a drop and raised it high and far into -center field. - -Hal Mason had scarcely to move out of his tracks to take it, but -somehow he let it get away from him after it had settled into his -hands, and Toby, legging it like a jack rabbit, raced around third -and slid the last ten feet to the plate in a cloud of yellow dust and -scored without question. Then Tubby Knowles, desperate and determined, -tried his very best to bring Billy Conners in from second but only -succeeded in popping a fly to shortstop. But the score had changed to 4 -to 4, and the Towners had bright visions of another victory. - -Tim Chrystal began badly, though, by passing Frank Lamson. Then Mason -singled to left and George Dodson sent a long fly to Tubby Knowles, -which that rotund youth captured after a breath-taking sprint, almost -to the foul line. Frank took third and Mason reached second. - -Tracey Gay rolled one toward third. Frank scored and Tracey was safe -at first on a wide peg by Tony George. Tracey stole and a moment later -Arnold worked Tim for a pass and filled the bases with but one down. -Things looked bad then for the Towners, and no better when the renowned -Phillips, after a conference between Toby and Tim, was purposely -passed, forcing in another tally. Then, however, Pete Lord struck out -and the Spaniard’s shortstop, after knocking two screeching fouls in -among the carriages and automobiles and almost producing heart failure -in the Towners, popped a weak fly to Billy Conners at first, and Toby -drew a deep breath of relief. - -The Towners came back in the eighth with another tally, making the -score 6 to 5, when Manuel Sousa, with one down and Gus Whelan on -second, landed on one of Frank’s fast ones and drove it far out into -right field. Tracey Gay got under it and made a spectacular catch, but -his throw-in was short, and by the time Arnold had got it and relayed -it to the plate Gus Whelan had tallied. Try as they might, however, the -Towners could not even up the score, for Chuck Morgan, after beating -out a slow bunt, was caught going down to second. - -The Spaniards went to bat with the evident intention of putting the -game on ice there and then, for First Baseman Lord connected with the -first ball Tim offered him and slammed it so hard at Chuck Morgan that -Chuck had to drop it and hunt around before he could get his stinging -hands on it once more. Then Frank tried to bunt twice and failed, and, -with two strikes and one ball on him, rolled one down to third. - -Tony George threw to second too late and both runners were safe. Then, -however, Tim struck out Hal Mason and Dodson, and, swinging fearsomely, -only succeeded in sending a foul to Tony George which that youth -juggled but eventually saved. Tracy Gay got a safety past third, but -Lord decided not to try for the plate, since Tubby Knowles had come in -fast and had scooped up the ball before Lord was well around third. -With the bases full, Arnold went to bat looking very determined. But -there were two down and, as Tim refused to send him anything he could -line out, he finally brought the inning to an end by flying out to -center fielder. - -Snub Mooney, first up for the Towners in the ninth, drew a base on -balls, but was out when Tim Chrystal hit to shortstop. Tim went on -second when Toby placed a short fly behind first base that no one -could reach. Then Billy Conners hit down the alley between shortstop -and third, and suddenly the bases were full with only one out, and -the Towners on the bench and their friends in the stand were shouting -joyfully. Perhaps it was the noise and the vociferous coaching of the -opponents that affected Frank Lamson’s command of the ball. At all -events, after pitching two into the dirt and one over Tubby Knowles’s -head, he worked a drop over for a strike and then plugged Tubby -in the ribs. Tubby very promptly sat down on the plate and stared -speechlessly, breathlessly, and accusingly at the pitcher until Tim -trotted in from third and prodded him into activity with his toe. - -“Beat it, Tubby!” said Tim. “Go ahead down! You’ve tied the score!” - -Tubby, amidst laughter and wild acclaim, got to his feet groaning -loudly and, a hand pressed anxiously to his side, limped to first. The -Towners whooped joyously. The score was 6–6, the bases were still full, -and there was but one out! - -Frank Lamson and Catcher Dodson met and talked it over, and then Arnold -walked in from second and they talked it over some more. And the enemy -hooted and gibed and demanded action. Frank went back to the mound -and Arnold to his position. On the bases the runners, encouraged by -shrill shouts from the coachers, took long leads. Toby, at third, ran -half-way to the plate on Frank’s first wind-up, with the result that -the delivery was wild and Dodson only prevented a tally by blocking the -ball with his body. Then Frank threw to third quickly and unexpectedly -and Toby had a narrow escape. Once more Frank tried it, but this time -Toby was watchful. Then Frank walked out of the box and signaled to -Phillips, and the third baseman advanced some ten feet from base to -meet him. Frank kept an eye on Toby while he and Phillips conferred, -and although Snub Mooney raised a wonderful racket back of base and -Toby threatened dashes to the plate, the latter had no chance to get -home. Frank and Phillips whispered with heads very close and then -Phillips returned to the bag, Frank walked back to the box, apparently -rubbing the ball with his hands, and Toby danced along the path again. -And then――well, then Phillips took the ball from under his arm, stepped -after Toby and dug him none too gently in the ribs with it! And Mr. -Trainor waved his hand and said, “Out at third!” in a rather disgusted -tone of voice. And Toby, surprised, dismayed and, it must be confessed, -decidedly peeved, dropped his head and joined Snub on the coaching line. - -“That’s a kid trick,” he said to Phillips, contemptuously. - -“Bush league stuff,” supplemented Snub. “Why don’t you play the game -fairly?” - -The big third baseman grinned mockingly as he turned after throwing the -ball back to Frank. “Keep your eyes open, fellows,” he replied. “You’re -easy!” - -By that time the Towners had flocked across from the bench, protesting -angrily. “Hiding the ball’s forbidden,” declared Gus Whelan. “How about -that, Mr. Umpire?” - -“He’s out,” replied Mr. Trainor, calmly. Gus and the others sputtered, -but Toby sent them back. - -“There’s no rule against the hidden-ball trick,” he told them. “It was -my fault. I ought to have seen it. It’s all right, though, fellows. We -only want one run. Let’s have it. Hit it out, Tony!” - -But Tony swung helplessly under one of Frank’s fast ones and let the -third delivery go by and heard it called a strike. - -“Gee, I wish he could hit it,” muttered Toby to Snub. “If we can only -get Billy to third we can get him in. I’ll coach here. You beat it down -to first, Snub, and take it there. Manuel’s up after Gus.” - -Frank tried the batter with a wide one that didn’t fool him, and it was -two and two. - -“It only takes one, Tony!” called Toby. “Pick out a good one!” - -And Tony did that very thing the next instant when Frank tried to -sneak one over in the groove. Tony met it not quite squarely, but he -met it and the ball shot across the infield and for the first moment -looked like a safe hit. But Arnold dashed to the right and, although -he couldn’t make the catch, knocked the ball down. Billy Conners was -turning third, but Toby seized him and shoved him back by main force, -for Arnold had recovered the ball and finding that he was too late to -get the runner at second or first, was pegging to the plate. - -“I could have made it!” gasped Billy, disappointedly. - -“You didn’t have a chance,” answered Toby. “Now listen. Hug your base -until I shout ‘GO!’ and then don’t stop to look or anything. Just beat -it! Understand?” - -“All right.” Billy got his foot on the base while Frank received the -ball back from the catcher and glanced around the field. The bases -were filled once more and at the plate Gus Whelan was tapping his bat -eagerly. - -“Two gone, fellows!” called Arnold. “Play for the batter!” - -Frank folded his fingers around the ball and settled for the wind-up. -And at that instant Toby stepped across the base path and held up his -hand. - -“Hi, Frank!” he called. “That ball’s ripped! We want another one!” - -Frank looked the ball over. “No, it isn’t. It’s perfectly all right.” - -“I tell you it is ripped! Let’s see it!” - -“Go on and play the game,” shouted Phillips. - -“I want to see that ball,” demanded Toby, advancing into the diamond. - -“It’s all right, I tell you,” replied Frank impatiently. “Get off the -field, Toby.” - -“If it’s all right show it to me then.” - -Frank muttered, stepped out of the box and tossed the ball to Toby. -“Have a look, then, and hurry up,” he growled. - -“Go!” yelled Toby. Instantly Billy Conners streaked for the plate, Toby -stepped to one side and the ball went bounding across the base line. -Pandemonium reigned. From second came Tubby, galloping for all he was -worth, from first raced Tony. Phillips, after an instant of surprise, -scurried after the ball. Billy swept across the plate. Toby waved Tubby -on. Over near the fringe of the autos and traps Phillips was scooping -up the ball. But by the time he had rescued it Tubby was rolling over -and over in a cloud of dust across the plate and Tony was sliding, more -scientifically but no less effectually, into third! - -The entire infield flocked about the umpire. Six voices shouted -together. At first Toby smiled gently and winked at Tony George. And -Tony, breathless but delighted, sat on the bag and winked back. - -“One trick,” murmured Toby pleasantly, “calls for another.” - -All the protests failed to aid the Spaniards and Mr. Trainor patiently -explained that as time had not been asked for or called, the ball was -still in play. “Your pitcher,” he said, “threw the ball out of the -field and the runners scored, as they had a perfect right to do.” - -“But Tucker called for the ball!” exclaimed Frank. “It was a trick! He -hadn’t any right――――” - -“There’s nothing in the rules forbidding that,” answered the umpire -gently. “You didn’t have to throw it to him, you know.” - -“You call that fair playing?” demanded Phillips bitterly. - -“According to the rules of the game it’s fair,” was the response. “I -can’t go back of the rules.” - -“It’s a low-down, measley trick!” declared Frank hotly. “Those runners -ought to be sent back, Mr. Trainor.” - -“It was a trick, of course,” was the reply. “But so is hiding the ball, -don’t you think? One isn’t any worse than the other and the rules don’t -prohibit either, Lamson. Play ball, please.” - -But it was several minutes later before the Spaniards accepted the -inevitable with bad grace and went back to their positions. As for -Arnold, though, it is only fair to say that he made little protest, -for he was possessed both of a sense of humor and a sense of justice. -Phillips, however, scowled darkly at Toby and Tony as he returned to -his base. - -“Cheating,” he said grumpily, “is the only way you fellows could win.” - -“Keep your eyes open,” replied Toby sweetly. - -Then the game went on. But the Spaniards had lost their grip, and -Frank Lamson, too angry to care much what happened, passed Gus Whelan -and allowed Manuel Sousa to land against a straight ball and send it -speeding over shortstop’s head. Tony trotted home unhurriedly and Gus -took second. Chuck Morgan brought the inning to an end by fouling out -to the catcher. - -After that, with the score 9 to 6, the Towners had only to hold their -opponents for the last of the ninth, and, although Tim Chrystal -threatened to make trouble for himself by passing the first man up, he -soon settled down again, and by the time the runner had stolen second -and reached third on a put-out at first there were two down, and Frank -Lamson ended the contest by ignominiously striking out. - -The Spaniards’ cheer for the victors was noticeably faint. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -TOBY IS DOWNHEARTED - - -The next morning the Johnstown ferry began operations, at least -theoretically. As a matter of fact, no one had appeared by nine -o’clock, and, after pondering the matter, the boys decided to omit -the first trip, arguing that if there were no passengers at this end -there’d be none at the other, or, if there were, it wouldn’t hurt them -to wait until 11.30! Toby was disappointed and showed it. He hadn’t -expected that the capacity of the _Urnove_ would be taxed on its maiden -voyage as a ferryboat, but he had looked forward to having at least one -passenger. Sitting idly there in the hot sun on the hard seats of the -little gray launch made one feel decidedly flat! Arnold, though, was -not in the least downcast. He had more perfectly plausible reasons for -the lack of patronage than Toby, in an unnaturally pessimistic frame of -mind, could counter. “You wait until eleven,” said Arnold cheerfully. -“Bet you we’ll have three or four then!” - -When it was evident that there was to be no excuse for making the -nine o’clock trip they went up the gangplank and found seats in the -shade of a shed at the end of the wharf, and presently Toby forgot -his disappointment. They talked of yesterday’s ball game and Arnold, -who had gone off the field a little bit peeved, today laughed at his -grouch. “You surely turned the trick on us, Toby! Frank was as mad -as――as――――” - -“As mustard,” interjected Toby helpfully. - -Arnold accepted the simile doubtfully. “Well, he was some peeved, -anyhow. He says you didn’t play fair, but I told him――――” - -“I didn’t,” responded Toby. - -“Well, no more did we.” - -“That wasn’t any reason for my pulling that raw trick, though. The -trouble was that I got mad at being caught off third like that, and -wanted to get square.” - -“Well, I don’t blame you. That hide-the-ball business was got up by -Frank and Phillips. I didn’t know anything about it until they pulled -it. I don’t like that sort of piffle. Toby, I say if you’re going to -play ball, why, play ball!” - -“Yes, we both――both teams, I mean――played baby. I wished afterward I -hadn’t done it. Even when you win like that you don’t really feel right -about it. Anyway, I don’t.” - -“Shucks, what’s the odds! I’ll own I was sort of sore yesterday, but -now I’m glad you did it. It was only what we deserved. Besides, it’s -made Frank so grouchy he can’t see straight. He’s going to keep the -team going and try to get you fellows to play again. He called me a -quitter and got quite nasty about it.” - -“If he keeps at it long enough,” observed Toby dryly, “he’s bound to -beat us. What time is it?” - -“Twenty-five to ten,” answered Arnold. “We don’t have to sit here, so -let’s go over and see how the boat’s getting on. Say, I wish we could -think of a name for her.” - -“All names I like you don’t,” said Toby as they ascended the lane to -Harbor Street. “Why don’t you do the way we did with the _Turnover_? -Knock off the first and last letters, I mean.” - -Arnold stared blankly. “Knock off―――― But we haven’t got any letters -yet, you idiot!” - -“That’s so,” replied Toby demurely. “Let’s go to the postoffice.” - -Arnold swung about obediently before he thought to ask, “What for?” - -“To get some letters,” said Toby. - -Arnold tried to reach him with the toe of one water-stained white -buckskin shoe, but was foiled by Toby’s agility, and they went on -again. “There was a yawl I knew once called _Saucy Sal_,” observed -Arnold presently. - -“How well did you know her?” asked Toby. - -“You’re too bright for anything today!” said the other, in a grieved -tone. “If you’re so smart why don’t you think of a name for me?” - -“I didn’t know you wanted one. I can think of several,” said Toby -significantly, “but you mightn’t like them.” - -“I mean for the boat, you chump! It’ll be ready to launch before we -know it, and you just can’t launch a boat without a name!” - -“All right, Arn, I’ll put my giant intellect at work tonight. I always -think better after I’m in bed, don’t you?” - -“No, I don’t. When I get to bed I go to sleep.” - -“So do I after a while, but I always think things over first.” - -“Now don’t forget that we ought to be back at the landing at a quarter -to eleven. The trouble with you is that when you get in there looking -at that knockabout you forget everything.” - -“There’s one thing I don’t forget,” chuckled Arnold, “and that’s -dinner!” - -They were back on the float at a little past the half-hour and Toby -seized a rag and performed a lot of quite unnecessary polishing during -the ensuing wait. Perhaps it relieved his nervousness. At a quarter -to eleven Chuck Morgan and Snub Mooney descended the gangplank. Chuck -had thirty-five cents and Snub twenty-two, and they tried to engineer -a deal whereby they were to be taken across to Johnstown and back for -fifty-seven cents in cash and a promise of eighteen cents more at some -future date. Snub said he thought Toby ought to make a special rate to -his friends. - -“I will,” said Toby. “I’ll take one of you over and back for -fifty-seven or I’ll take you both one way for it. Which do you choose?” - -“Oh, go on, Toby! Have a heart! Honest, we’ll pay you the other -eighteen, won’t we, Chuck? I’ll give it to you tomorrow, or maybe next -day.” - -“This is business, Snub,” answered Toby emphatically. “If you fellows -want to make the trip over and back I’ll take you this once for -nothing. But the next time you’ll have to pay full fare, friends or no -friends.” - -“All right,” agreed Snub cheerfully. “I guess we won’t ever want to go -again! Anybody else coming?” - -Toby looked at the town clock and shook his head, trying not to appear -disappointed. “I guess not this trip,” he replied. - -“Better wait five minutes more,” said Arnold, “in case some one’s late, -you know.” - -But Toby shook his head resolutely. “They’ve got to be on time if -they’re coming with me. This ferry sails right on the hour. Cast off -that line, Arn, will you?” - -And so, after all, the _Urnove_ made its first trip, if not without -passengers, at least without profit. But when she was out of the -harbor, with the waves slapping at her bow and the fresh breeze -ruffling damp hair, both boys forgot to be downcast and they had a very -merry sail across the smiling blue water. They tied up at the little -spindly pier at Johnstown promptly at eleven-twenty and waited. Now and -then, ostensibly to get the cooler breeze above, Toby climbed to the -pier. The approach to it was in sight for a couple of hundred yards and -always, before returning to the float, Toby’s gaze wandered anxiously -and longingly up the road. But eleven-thirty came without a passenger -and the _Urnove_ cast off again and began her homeward voyage. By that -time Toby was frankly despondent, and he had little to say on the way -back. It was becoming painfully evident that the Johnstown ferry was -not to be a financial success! - -But when he got home for dinner――Arnold had resisted the temptation -to accept Toby’s invitation and had chugged back to the Head in the -_Frolic_――the gloom was slightly illumined by a letter which Phebe put -in his hand. Toby had almost forgotten Mr. Whitney, but the letter -corrected that, for it announced that the contractor would be at the -landing the next morning at eight to be carried over to Johnstown. -Toby’s face brightened. Mr. Whitney would pay three dollars! Then he -recalled the fact that he had decided that Mr. Whitney was to pay -the same as others, and his countenance fell again. Still, if the -contractor arrived at eight it would mean a special trip, and a special -trip was a different matter! He determined to lay the question before -Arnold after dinner, being, of course, quite certain of Arnold’s -decision! But that letter cheered him up and he had no difficulty in -eating a very satisfactory meal, and felt a whole lot better after it. - -Phebe made the trip across with them at two, and again at four, and if -it hadn’t been that Toby was horribly disappointed over the absence -of patronage they’d have had a pretty good time. Even as it was they -enjoyed it. Between trips they sat, the three of them, in a shady and -breezy corner of the boat yard, from where, by craning their necks a -bit, they could see the town landing, and tried to decide on a name -for the knockabout. They canvassed every name they had ever heard of or -could think of, but none seemed to please Arnold. Toby at last told him -he was too hard to suit. - -“There aren’t any more names, I guess,” he said. “Not unless you get -a city directory and go through it. I think _Slap-Dash_ is the best. -Don’t you, Phebe?” - -“I like _Foam_ better. It’s prettier.” - -“Girls,” said Toby sententiously, “always want something pretty. Gee, -I’ll bet there are eighty-eleven million boats called _Foam_!” - -“That doesn’t matter, does it?” asked Phebe. “I suppose there are lots -of boats called _Slap-Dash_, too.” - -“Not near so many. Besides――――” - -“I don’t like either of those names much,” said Arnold apologetically. -There was a discouraged silence then until Phebe observed: - -“I don’t see why you don’t call it the _Arnold_. _Arnold’s_ a pretty -name――――” - -“Wow!” jeered Toby. “There’s one for you, Arn. A pretty name for a -pretty boy, eh?” - -Arnold threw a chip at him. “A fellow wouldn’t want to name a boat -after himself,” he demurred. - -“There was a man around here a couple of years ago,” said Toby, “who -had a sloop he called the _A. L._ We used to say it stood for always -last, but it was really just his initials. You might call yours the _A. -D._” - -Arnold considered. “_A. D._,” he murmured. “Say, that isn’t so bad, is -it? It――it’s sort of short and――and neat, eh?” - -“Yes, and you could call it _Anno Domini_ for long,” laughed Toby. - -Arnold’s face clouded. “Yes, I suppose fellows would get up all sorts -of silly meanings for it. If it wasn’t for that――――” - -Phebe clapped her hands. “I’ve got it!” she cried. “Call it the -_Aydee_!” - -“That’s what we said,” began Toby. - -“No, not the letters, Toby,” explained Phebe. “‘A-y-d-e-e,’ _Aydee_! I -think that would be lovely!” - -“That’s not so worse,” commented Arnold, reaching for a chip and his -pencil. “Let’s see what it would look like.” He printed it in capital -letters, viewed it, and passed it around. “I think it’s clever, Toby. -Folks wouldn’t know it stood for anything, would they? It sounds -like――like a name out of the ‘Arabian Nights,’ or――or something.” - -“_Aydee_ it is, then,” declared Toby. “Funny, but I was just going to -suggest that myself!” - -“Yes, you were!” Arnold jeered. “Like fun! That’s Phebe’s name, and -Phebe will have to christen her! We’ll have a regular christening -ceremony, folks, and break a bottle of――of――――” - -“Root beer,” suggested Toby. - -“Well, something over her bow as she glides――glides――――” - -“And I’ll recite ‘The Launching of the Ship,’” said Toby, “and you’ll -wave a couple of flags and――――” - -“And Mr. Murphy will scream ‘All hands!’” laughed Phebe. “It will be a -perfectly wonderful affair, Arnold!” - -“Well, it will. You wait and see.” Arnold jumped up. “Come on and we’ll -go and tell Long Tim what her name is. Would you have it painted on in -gold, Toby, or would you put brass letters on?” - -“Brass letters. Gold-leaf comes off too easily. You two go ahead. I’m -going back to the landing. It’s almost four.” - -After the _Urnove_ had returned from her last trip and was tied to -the boat-yard pier again, and Arnold had slipped out of sight in the -_Frolic_, Toby and Phebe walked across the yard and the road and -perched themselves on the stone steps of the cottage. “I guess,” said -Toby after a little silence, “it isn’t going to go.” - -“I’m awfully sorry,” murmured Phebe. “But you won’t give up after just -one day, will you?” - -“N-no, I guess I’ll finish out the week. There’s just tomorrow and -Saturday. If something doesn’t happen by then I’ll call it off. It’s -funny, too, sis, for I’ll just bet you anything lots of folks went over -to Johnstown today by road. Why couldn’t they let me take ’em over? It -wouldn’t have cost any more. Not so much!” - -“Maybe they don’t know about it yet,” said Phebe encouragingly. “It -takes time to――to get things started, you know.” - -“Some one ought to know about it by this time,” replied the boy -disconsolately. “If we’d only had one passenger it wouldn’t have been -so bad, but not to have had any――――” - -“Toby, I’m just as sure as anything that you’ll do better tomorrow!” - -“Well, I couldn’t do much worse,” Toby answered ruefully. “Let’s go -in.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -PHEBE CHRISTENS THE KNOCKABOUT - - -Mr. Whitney was prompt the next morning, and the trip across was made -in record time, the little _Urnove_ doing a good twelve miles an -hour. On the way Toby told about the ferry line, and Mr. Whitney was -interested and sympathetic. “Better give it a fair trial before you -decide that you’re beaten,” he advised. “Holding on is a wonderful -thing, my boy. I know, for I’ve tried it. If I’d given up every time -I seemed to have been beaten I’d be――well, I guess I’d be back at -the bench where I started. Lots of times I wanted to let go, but -didn’t, and won through just holding on. Remember the story of the two -flies――or was it frogs?――that fell in the pan of milk? One gave up and -drowned――couldn’t have been a frog, I guess!――and the other kept on -swimming and churned the milk into butter and climbed out! You’d better -keep on swimming a bit longer, T. Tucker!” - -Mr. Whitney refused to compromise on the price of the fare. Toby, -conferring with Arnold, had decided that a dollar would be about right -for passage one way and a dollar and a half for the round trip. But the -passenger insisted on sticking to the agreement. “If I go over with -you on a regularly scheduled sailing,” he said, smiling, “I’ll pay the -regular ferry price, but if it’s a special trip you’ll have to take a -dollar and a half each way. Sorry to have to refuse you, son!” - -Toby grinned. “It doesn’t seem quite fair, though. When will you be -coming back, sir?” - -“Let me see, now. When’s the last regular sailing?” - -“Four-thirty, sir, from this side.” - -“Too early. How about five-fifteen or five-thirty? Can you come over -for me then?” - -“Oh, yes, sir. Only, of course, if you could get the four-thirty it -would be cheaper.” - -“T. Tucker, I can do enough work in that hour to make up the -difference!” Mr. Whitney’s eyes twinkled. “There are two kinds of -economy, my boy, good and bad. When you lose twenty dollars to save one -it’s bad. Five-thirty, then!” - -Arnold was waiting at the town landing when the _Urnove_ nosed up to it -again, a good twenty minutes before nine. He was all excitement. “Say, -Toby, what do you think? There was a man down here a bit ago asking -about the ferry! He――he wanted to know what boat ran over there and I -showed him the _Frolic_. He said he’d be back.” - -Toby laughed. “That means we’ll have to run the _Frolic_ then. He might -not go if we asked him into this tub! Are you――do you think he will -come back?” - -“Yes, he said he was just going up to the store and would be back -before nine. I tried to get him to stay, but he edged off.” - -“Well, then we’ll tie this old lady up and use the _Frolic_. Got plenty -of gas?” - -“Full up! Gee, Toby, I hope he comes back!” - -“So do I,” agreed Toby. - -And he did! He came shuffling down the gangplank at five minutes to -nine, carrying so many bundles that Toby wondered whether he ought to -charge him freight! No one else appeared and the _Frolic_ cast off and -headed for Johnstown. The passenger seemed greatly delighted with the -_Frolic_ and the method of transportation, and vowed he was going to -tell his neighbors about them. “I generally come over here a couple -of times a month,” he explained. “I traded a horse last winter to Job -Trasker, the feller that has the store up near the church, and I’m -takin’ it out in groceries and things. I’m right pleased to get over -and back this way, boys, because it used to take me most half the day -to make the trip by train. I ain’t got any horse now, so I can’t drive -over. Why, I had to get up close to five o’clock this mornin’ to get -the early train and be back by ten!” - -“The next time,” said Toby, “you could take the nine-thirty ferry from -Johnstown and get the eleven o’clock back, I guess. You’d have more -than an hour in Greenhaven.” - -“That’s what I’ll do. I ain’t so fond of pilin’ out o’ bed at five -o’clock as I used to be. I’m getting on now.” - -Perhaps he was, but he didn’t look it, for he was straight and tall and -wiry, and, save for the wrinkles on his leathery face and the grizzled -hair above, he might have been mistaken for a man of not over fifty. -But he owned proudly to seventy-one! “Sensible livin’ did it,” he -declared. “Plenty o’ work in the fresh air, good victuals and not too -much of ’em, and bed every night at nine o’clock.” - -Arnold said he didn’t think he’d like the last feature, which set Mr. -Griscom――Artemus Griscom was his whole name, he told them――off on a -homily regarding the benefits of “early to bed and early to rise” -that brought them to the landing. Toby bade Mr. Griscom good-by with -sentiments of gratitude, and the old gentleman went off assuring them -that he had had “a right nice ride in your boat.” - -No one appeared to go back on the _Frolic_, although they watched -the road anxiously until the last moment. But Mr. Griscom had, as it -proved, broken the ice, for two passengers were on hand for the eleven -o’clock trip, a lady and a little girl of about eight. Toby was so -pleased that he readily acceded to the lady’s request that the little -girl be charged only half-price! “That’s what I pay on the railroad -for her,” she explained, “and on the trolley I don’t pay anything, -but I guess you wouldn’t want to carry her for nothing,” she added -apologetically. Toby acknowledged that he wouldn’t and declared himself -satisfied with half-fare. The lady was rather nervous during the trip, -but the child had a fine time and would undoubtedly have been over the -side into the water if Arnold hadn’t detailed himself to restrain her -antics! - -There were no more passengers that day, but Toby was encouraged. “We -took in a dollar and a quarter,” he said, “and if we did that every day -it would be――it would be seven dollars and a half a week! And then -there’s the three dollars from Mr. Whitney!” - -“It’s too bad he doesn’t have to go across every day,” said Phebe, who -had joined the boys on the wharf in time for the final trip. “I should -think he’d need to.” - -“You might suggest it to him,” laughed Toby as he prepared to return -to Johnstown to keep his five-thirty appointment. “You get in and come -over with me, and you can tell him about it on the way back.” - -But Phebe shook her head, and she and Arnold got into the _Frolic_, and -the two launches raced out of the harbor and half-way across the bay. -But Toby’s little boat was no match for the _Frolic_, and after a while -the white launch came around, Phebe and Arnold waving their hands as -they passed the _Urnove_ on their way back. Mr. Whitney was waiting at -the landing, and as he seated himself in the boat he took his hat off -and laid it beside him. “It’s been a hot day, T. Tucker,” he said with -a sigh. “Take all the time you want going back. This breeze is fine!” - -So Toby not only let the engine idle but stood straight across to the -Head and then turned back along the shore, lengthening the trip, to Mr. -Whitney’s pleasure and his own satisfaction, for he felt that he was -coming nearer to earning that three dollars! “I ought to pay more this -time,” said the passenger, as he disembarked at the town float. “You -didn’t bargain to take me on a pleasure cruise!” - -But Toby smiled and said that part was a present, and Mr. Whitney went -off to find a carriage to take him over to the railroad after arranging -for another trip to Johnstown on Monday morning. Toby chugged across -the cove and tied up at the home dock and then hurried to supper, -jingling the coins in his pocket in time to the tune he was whistling. -Four dollars and a quarter! Toby had visions of opulence! And, better -still, he had visions of Yardley Hall School! - -The next day he realized that he should have added the words “Weather -permitting” to his notice, for there was a south-east gale blowing and, -although Toby would willingly have made the trip if necessary, he knew -that no one would think of trusting themselves to the launch today. He -begrudged the possible loss of income, but was well enough satisfied -to stay on land. It rained at times, but never enough to flatten out -the waves that piled themselves up outside the harbor. Arnold came over -on foot after dinner, clothed in oilskins, and they spent the rest of -the day watching Long Tim put the first coat of paint on the _Aydee_, -now almost ready to take the water, and in putting away most of a pan -of fudge which Phebe made. They also tried to add to Mr. Murphy’s -education, but with no success. The parrot was in a most unreceptive -mood today and only eyed them morosely from his perch. Arnold’s -attempts to make him say “Toby is a chump” met with no response except -sober winks. - -The gale held most of Sunday, but Monday was fair again, the wind -having shifted around to the west over night. Mr. Whitney went over -to Johnstown at eight and returned again at two-thirty. Toby brought -his first passenger from the other side on that trip, a wizened little -man who explained that Art Griscom had told him about the ferry. -Apparently, like the stranger at the funeral, he “only just went for -the ride,” for after getting to Greenhaven he remained safely in the -launch and went back in it at four, paying his seventy-five cents quite -enthusiastically and promising to come again soon and bring his wife -with him. - -But no one else took advantage of the ferry that day, and Toby began -to have doubts again. On Tuesday, however, business looked up with a -vengeance, for Arnold had been talking of the ferry to his friends -at the Head, and at nine o’clock the _Frolic_ set sail with eight -passengers, most of them members of the ball team. Frank Lamson was -with them, and Frank, just at first, was inclined to be stand-offish -with Toby. But by the time that last game had been talked over and -threshed out, and George Dodson and Tracey Gay and Arnold had declared -that Toby’s trick had been no more than they deserved, and others had -agreed, amity was restored, and Frank thawed out. The crowd explored -Johnstown and returned again at eleven-thirty and Toby pocketed the -munificent sum of six dollars! - -That, as it proved, was the turning point. From that time on the -success of the ferry line was never in doubt. You couldn’t have -called its success phenomenal, for there were plenty of days when -two passengers were all that patronized the launch, and when, as -infrequently happened, a storm kicked up the waters of the bay there -weren’t any! But at the end of a fortnight of operation Toby discovered -that he had actually averaged the four passengers a day that, when -planning the project, had seemed quite fabulous. Now, though, he was -far less satisfied with that scanty number and set his heart on seeing -it doubled. He never did, but there was a gradual increase of patronage -as the summer advanced and folks learned that they could visit the -neighboring town quickly, comfortably and safely. There is no denying -that many a passenger viewed Toby doubtfully on the first trip, but -never afterward, for the boy, in spite of his youthfulness, could -manage a motorboat as well as any man in Greenhaven. Arnold usually -made the trips with his chum, but now and then, as the novelty wore -off, he “turned up missing.” The _Frolic_ was used only infrequently -for the reason that Toby held himself to strict account for gasoline -and oil and it was something of a bother measuring out pints and ounces -to replace what had been used. - -Meanwhile the ball games between Towners and Spaniards went on and -the boys from the Head at last achieved a victory, defeating the team -captained by Billy Conners by the, to them, satisfactory score of 12 -to 4. After that, in the four contests that occurred, the two teams -split even. But it was an ironical circumstance that the particular -one of those later contests in which Arnold took part, playing his old -position at second base, was the one in which the Spaniards were most -conclusively worsted! After it was over Arnold confided to Toby that he -guessed he would stick to being a ferryman! - -However, he didn’t, because at about that time the _Aydee_ was -launched with much pomp and ceremony and Arnold bought himself a very -nautical outfit of white duck and whistled “A Life on the Ocean Wave,” -much out of tune but with a fine persistence! - -The launching took place bright and early one Friday morning. Long Tim -declared that “a boat launched on a Friday would never have no luck,” -but Arnold was too impatient to wait another day. Phebe, standing on a -board――it lacked an hour of high tide and the mud at the foot of the -little railway was particularly soft and black and clinging――broke a -bottle of spring water against the bow and declaimed “I christen thee -_Aydee_!” Whereupon Mr. Tucker eased on the tackle, the knockabout slid -down the ways, and, amidst the cheers of Toby and Arnold and Long Tim -and Shorty, floated out on the cove. The reason that Phebe didn’t join -her voice with the others in exultant acclaim was that the _Aydee_, on -its way to the water, had impolitely pushed against her and for the -ensuing minute she was very busy waving the neck of a broken bottle, -adorned with a light blue hair ribbon, in an effort to maintain her -balance on the plank. - -The rest of that day and all of the next was devoted to stepping the -mast and adjusting the rigging. And then Long Tim got busy with his -paint-pots again, and so it was Monday before the proud skipper could -slip his mooring and put to sea on the trial trip. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -LOST IN THE FOG - - -The _Aydee_ conformed to the limitations of the nearby yacht clubs and -was along the lines of many similar boats that Mr. Tucker had built. -She was twenty-one feet load water-line by seven feet and three inches -beam, with a free board of twenty-two inches. She was half-decked, -had no bowsprit, and carried some five hundred square feet of canvas -in her mainsail and working jib. She was painted white, with a single -gold line, and bore her name on the stern in brass letters. When, that -Monday morning, Arnold and Toby hoisted the creamy-white mainsail and -jib and the knockabout, catching the little puffs of air that wandered -down over the village hill, moved slowly out of the cove, she presented -a sight to gladden the heart of even the veriest landlubber. - -Arnold had his first lesson in seamanship that morning. Toby started -him at the bottom and made him learn every part of the yacht by -name――hull, sails, spars, and rigging――and not until Arnold could tell -him instantly which was the peak and which was the clew, and so on, -would he advance his pupil. Then Arnold committed to memory the names -and purposes of halyards and stays and tackles and sheet, or tried to, -very impatient all the time to graduate from such kindergarten lore -to the more advanced courses of beating and reaching and tacking. But -Toby was a stern master and that morning all the _Aydee_ did in the -hour that they were out in her was to float slowly out of the harbor, -bob around for a time outside, and then demurely return to moorings -at the boat yard. Arnold stayed aboard while Toby made the first trip -over to Johnstown with an Armenian peddler as passenger and, sprawled -across the stern, rubbed the brass letters to a condition of painful -brilliancy. - -The lessons continued that day between ferry trips and for many days -after, until Arnold could be trusted to sail the _Aydee_ in and out -of the harbor without bumping anchored craft or running ashore at the -point. I’m not going to tell you that Arnold was an apt pupil, for he -wasn’t. Sailing a boat isn’t the most difficult science in the world, -but it is a science, and one that Arnold found it hard to master. -There were several narrow escapes during that first week, one from -capsizing out beyond the Head when a sudden flurry of wind, a squall -in miniature, found Arnold, to use his own phrase, “asleep at the -switch”! And it was always an interesting moment when Arnold picked -up his moorings. Sometimes he did it the first try, but more often he -spent five or ten minutes jockeying around, with a hard-hearted and -critical Toby sitting idly by with the boat-hook. Once the _Aydee_ ran -plumb on top of the town float, and Arnold, gazing disgustedly about -and wiping the perspiration from his streaming face, gave it as his -opinion that the knockabout was trying to get up to the drug store for -a glass of soda! Save that a little lead was scraped from her stem, the -_Aydee_ was not damaged. Phebe frequently accompanied them on their -short voyages, which so far never extended beyond the inner bay, but -she refused, politely enough but very firmly, to set foot on the boat -when Toby was absent. The _Frolic_ was only used to take Arnold back -and forth from the Head, except when Toby infrequently took her to -Johnstown in place of the _Urnove_. That was only when the passengers -were numerous, and happened far too seldom! - -It was on a Sunday afternoon, some three weeks after the _Aydee_ went -into commission, by which time she boasted a silk yacht ensign and an -owner’s pennant and flew them gaudily irrespective of all rules and -regulations, that the knockabout met with her first adventure. Perhaps, -though, misadventure would be better. Arnold, Toby and Phebe embarked -about half-past four for a sail down the bay before supper. The breeze -was fair but fluky and Toby counseled the skipper to stay near port -in case they were becalmed. But Arnold was too fond of sailing the -boat to be satisfied with tacking about the harbor mouth, and so set -off on a long reach toward the north shore of the bay. It was a fine -afternoon with the glare of the sun intensified by haze. The _Aydee_ -slipped along nicely under mainsail and jib and the three occupants -of the shallow cockpit made themselves comfortable. There were a good -many boats out and Arnold, at the tiller, had just enough to do to keep -him busy. The breeze lessened when they were off Franklinville and, at -Toby’s suggestion, they came about and stood away toward the end of -Robins Island. Five minutes later the breeze died down completely and -the sails hung limp. - -“It’ll be wooden sails for us, I guess,” said Toby, “if we want to get -in before midnight. The tide’s coming and that’ll help some, but if the -breeze doesn’t freshen again pretty quick you and I’d better get the -oars out, Arn.” - -Arnold viewed the flat sea anxiously. “What did it do that for?” he -asked. “Just when we were going along so nicely. You don’t mean that -we’ll have to row all the way back, Toby?” - -“Looks like it, doesn’t it? It’s only about seven miles.” - -“Seven mi――say, are you fooling?” - -“Not a bit. You needn’t look at me as if it was my fault, Arn. I didn’t -swipe the breeze, you know.” - -“Of course you didn’t, but say, seven miles――we couldn’t do it!” - -“Oh, yes, we could if we took it easy. We’ll have the tide with us. -Maybe we can find a tow. If a motorboat comes around we’ll try to get -them to pull us a bit. Of course, the breeze may come back. It often -does about sunset. But with this haze, I don’t think――――” Toby paused -and stared across the water toward the south shore. “That’s nice,” he -muttered softly. - -“What is it?” asked Phebe. - -Toby pointed. “Fog,” he said. - -The south shore of the bay was fading from sight as a fog bank crept -in from the ocean. Even as they looked the last glimpse of land -disappeared and, although westward the sun was shining warmly through -the haze in the southeast, the world was cut off from vision by a gray -pall. - -“Get those oars out,” said Toby briskly. “We’d better start along home, -I guess. We were idiots to come so far, anyway.” - -“A little fog won’t hurt us,” said Arnold cheerfully, as he pulled the -two long sweeps from under the seat. “Besides, there’s a breeze, isn’t -there?” - -Toby glanced at the mainsail and nodded. “A little one, but it won’t -amount to much. Put your boom over, Arn, and we’ll try to get what -there is of it. You take that side and I’ll take this. Slow and easy, -now. Don’t try to do it all at first or you’ll get tired for fair.” - -“I’ll take a turn, too,” Phebe volunteered. - -“Well, I guess not!” said Arnold indignantly. “If Toby and I can’t get -this boat in we’ll stay out all night!” - -“Yes, but I don’t want to stay out all night,” laughed Phebe. “And you -needn’t think I can’t row. I’ve done it plenty of times. Once Toby and -I had to row all the way home from Riverport Neck, and the boat was -lots heavier than this one, too.” - -“Yes, Phebe can swing an oar all right,” agreed Toby. “Wonder what’s -become of all the launches that were in sight half an hour ago. -They’ve all cleaned out for home, I guess. Well, they wouldn’t want to -tow us much anyway. There comes the fog. We’ll be in it in a minute. I -hate fog. It makes you feel so damp and soggy. How’s it coming, Arn?” - -“Oh, fine,” grunted the other, pushing heroically at his oar. “How far -do you suppose we’ve gone?” - -Toby laughed. “About two hundred yards, I guess,” he answered. “We -haven’t begun yet.” - -“Is that all? Look here, that breeze is pushing us a little. So why not -wait until the breeze stops before rowing? Maybe we won’t have to row -at all!” - -“That breeze,” answered Toby, “isn’t strong enough to move us a mile an -hour, Arn. Keep her the way she heads, Phebe.” - -Then the fog rolled over them and the last glimpse of the land was lost -to view. For a few minutes the sunlight crept through the bank of haze, -tinging it amber. Then the amber turned to gray as the fog thickened. -From here and there, at intervals, fog-horns sounded and, at Toby’s -suggestion, Phebe got the _Aydee’s_ horn out and, turning the handle -now and then, evoked a most excruciatingly horrible wail. - -“There isn’t much danger of being run into,” said Toby, “for the -launches have all hiked for port, but the law says you’ve got to sound -your horn. Say, Arn, did you ever get that compass you sent for?” - -“No, and we ought to have it, too, eh?” - -“Well, it might help, but I guess we won’t need it. Those folks in New -York take their time, don’t they? You’d better have bought one here. -That breeze is a goner, folks.” - -It was. The sails hung motionless. The deck and the oars were damp -and slippery now and their clothing was beaded with moisture. Arnold -was breathing heavily as he labored at his sweep. The trying feature -of it was that, with nothing to measure progress by, they seemed not -to be moving at all! The boys became silent at their task. Now and -then Phebe, between lugubrious winds of the patent fog-horn, offered -a comment, but she seldom got a reply. A quarter of an hour passed, -during which time the fog grew thicker, heavier and more depressing, -and then there was a sudden exclamation of dismay from Arnold, his feet -pattered on the wet planks and they saw him throw himself across the -gunwale and clutch desperately for his disappearing oar! - -Toby tossed his own oar down and, seizing the boat-hook, jumped to -Arnold’s assistance. But already the escaped oar had floated away -into the surrounding grayness. Toby silently returned the boat-hook to -its place. Then, catching sight of Arnold’s despairing countenance, he -broke into a laugh. “Never mind, Arn,” he said comfortingly, “we’ve -still got one left, and there’s the boat-hook, too. How did you happen -to lose it?” - -“It was wet and slippery and――and I guess I was tired,” replied Arnold -contritely. “The first thing I knew it was sliding over the side. Gee, -but I’m a chump!” - -“Oh, shucks, that’s nothing. Cheer up!” - -“Couldn’t you scull over the stern, Toby?” asked his sister. “I believe -we’d go just as fast.” - -“I’ll try it,” answered Toby. “Find a length of rope, Arnold, and I’ll -make a lashing. I’ve got to rest a bit first, though.” He sank to the -wet seat with a tired sigh. “Running a launch is too easy, sis. It -makes you soft.” - -“There’s a puff of wind,” said Phebe hopefully. “Perhaps the breeze is -coming up again.” - -“I wish it would,” said Arnold. “What is it you do when you want a -breeze? Whistle, isn’t it?” - -“Sure,” laughed Toby. “Try it!” - -“I don’t know what to whistle, though.” - -“Oh, anything light and breezy,” was the facetious retort. “You might -whistle, ‘Where, oh where, is my little oar gone?’ Say, Arn, I’ve just -thought!” - -“What?” - -“Why, how you happened to lose it. You were tired and thought that if -you could get rid of it you wouldn’t have to row any more! Didn’t it -look to you, sis, as if he sort of pushed it overboard?” - -But Arnold was too sore to joke about it yet. The breeze puffed -half-heartedly at the sails now and then and swirled the gray -fog-wraiths about them, but Toby had little faith in it and soon rigged -a lashing for his oar across the stern and tried sculling. It was a -difficult and awkward task, for the deck was slippery to even rubber -soles, and there wasn’t room to work in. Every time Toby pushed the -handle of the oar Phebe, at the tiller, had to duck her head. Finally -Toby was forced to give up. - -“I’m sorry,” he said, “but that’s too much like work, and it isn’t -doing any good, anyhow. You take this, Arn, and I’ll try the boat-hook.” - -“If you do that you’ll swing the boat off her course,” warned Phebe. -“We’ll just have to let the tide and what breeze there is look after -us, Toby. I guess we’ll get in, finally.” - -“That’s about the size of it,” agreed Toby, sitting down again with -a grimace at the dampness of the seat. “We’re at the mercy of the -elements, folks.” - -“Well, I’m glad it isn’t a storm,” said Phebe philosophically. “A fog -is horrid enough, but we’re not in any danger.” - -“We’re in danger of starving to death,” muttered Arnold dispiritedly. -“I don’t see what I ever wanted a sailboat for, anyhow.” - -The others laughed. “Oh, you’ll be as much in love with her as ever -tomorrow morning,” Phebe assured him. Then, after a moment’s silence, -she asked wistfully: “What time is it, please?” - -“Ten minutes to six,” answered Arnold. “How’ll you have your steak, -Toby? Rare or just medium?” - -“Medium, please. I’m glad it’s Sunday, folks. If it wasn’t we’d be -hungrier than we are.” - -“That’s all well enough for you,” replied Arnold sadly. “You two had a -fine big dinner at two o’clock, but we just have a skimpy little lunch -at my house on Sundays, and dinner at seven. I’m――I’m starved!” - -“You might try to catch a fish,” said Phebe. - -“I don’t like them raw, thanks. What’s that row over there, Toby?” - -“Fog-horn over at Ponquogue, I guess. I can’t tell, though, for this -boat’s turned around for all we know. That may be Robins Island in that -direction.” - -“But the breeze is coming from the same direction,” protested Phebe, -“and I haven’t moved the tiller a bit.” - -“Yes, but the breeze feels different to me. It was dry before and now -it’s damp. I wouldn’t risk a nickel on the points of the compass at -this moment.” - -“Then――then how do we know we’re sailing――I mean drifting toward home?” -demanded Arnold anxiously. - -“We don’t know it. Only thing we know is that the tide is running -toward the head of the bay and that we’re going with it. We may fetch -up anywhere between Johnstown and the Head. Or we may fetch up on the -outer shore of the Head. We’ll get somewhere, though, for the tide -isn’t full until nearly ten o’clock tonight. Don’t forget that horn, -Phebe. Here, give me a whack at it.” - -“I’m getting wet to the skin,” grumbled Arnold when Toby’s effort on -the fog-horn had died away. “After this I’m going to be prepared, I can -tell you that. I’m going to have a compass, and half a dozen extra -oars, and three oilskins, and――――” - -“How about a gasoline engine with a cunning little propeller stuck out -behind?” asked Toby. - -“Huh! I wish I had one!” - -“If you could wish for just one thing, Arnold, what would it be?” asked -Phebe. - -Arnold considered for a long moment. Then he answered decisively and -with feeling. - -“A steak and a baked potato!” said Arnold. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE LIGHTED WINDOW - - -It was after eight o’clock, as dark as Egypt and a great deal damper -on board the _Aydee_. Phebe’s teeth insisted on chattering whenever -she spoke, in spite of her efforts. Arnold had draped the one spare -sail the boat afforded, a storm jib, about her, but it didn’t seem to -keep the dampness out very well. Arnold and Toby were chilled through. -The lanterns were lighted, although they couldn’t have seen a boat’s -length away. Arnold had long since stopped talking about food, or about -anything else, for that matter. Conversation had died away more than -an hour since, save for a hopeful prediction from Toby a minute or two -ago to the effect that he thought he heard surf. The others, however, -had failed to hear anything except the dismal tooting of the fog-horns, -one somewhere within a few miles, as it seemed, and one far off in the -distance. They were, in short, three very damp, chilly and depressed -persons, and didn’t care who knew it. - -Arnold broke the silence that ensued after he had turned the handle of -the horn for the fiftieth time. (He declared that it was just a waste -of labor to bother with the old thing, but Toby insisted.) “If the tide -is high at ten,” he said, “and we don’t hit land before that, what’ll -happen then?” - -“We’re pretty likely to start back again,” said Toby listlessly. “If -only the fog would lift――――” - -“I wouldn’t mind a bit if only I wasn’t so cold,” said Phebe, with an -attempt at cheerfulness. They had abandoned the tiller long ago, and -all three were huddled on the floor of the cockpit as close together as -they could get. “Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we could have a fire?” - -“I’ve got plenty of matches,” said Arnold. “We might cut down the mast -and burn it,” he added with an effort at humor. “Only I dare say it -would be too damp. That’s another thing I’m going to have on board -after this.” - -“What?” asked Toby. - -“Well, either steam heat or open fireplaces. If we only had a radiator -back of us now――――” - -“Listen!” Toby sat up suddenly and put his head above the coaming. They -listened as hard as they could. “Hear it?” Toby demanded intensely. -“Waves on the shore!” - -“Right you are,” agreed Arnold joyfully. “But which way is it?” - -“Over there, I think.” Toby pointed in the darkness. “I’m not sure, -though. Listen again.” - -It wasn’t a very loud sound that came to them, just a soft, lazy -swi-i-ish such as the tiniest of waves might make against a pebbled -beach. “It must be the head,” muttered Toby, scrambling to his feet. -“Or else――――” - -But he didn’t continue just then. Instead he sat down more quickly than -he had got up, and sat down in Arnold’s lap, too, a proceeding which -elicited a howl of surprise and pain from that youth. The _Aydee_ had -reached land! - -“Struck something!” cried Toby, finding his feet again and disappearing -toward the bow. The others jumped up too and listened and stared all -ways into the gloom of fog and darkness. - -“See anything?” called Arnold. - -“No, but there’s surf right ahead here. Bring the oar along and we’ll -see how deep it is. I guess we’ve run smack up on a beach.” - -The knockabout jarred again, and Arnold clutched the boom as he -groped about for the oar. Then the boat performed a number of little -courtesies, the boom swung slowly to port and the _Aydee_ settled down -for the night with her port rail just out of water! - -For the next ten minutes they were extremely busy. The oar showed some -three feet of water at the bow and they decided with an enthusiastic -unanimity that three feet of salt water would leave them no wetter than -they already were. The anchor cable was made fast at the bow and Toby, -dropping breast high into the water, bore the anchor ashore. - -“It isn’t a beach,” he announced presently. “Not exactly a beach, -anyhow. There are some rocks here and――Ouch! That was one of them!” -He laughed and the others on the yacht joined him. No one had laughed -before for a good three hours! - -“Is it real, sure-enough dry land?” asked Arnold. - -“It’s real, all right, but it doesn’t feel awfully dry,” was the -answer. “I’m coming back. The water’s as warm as anything!” - -“I’ll bet it’s a lot warmer than I am,” said Arnold. “Say, I’m going to -hold my match-box in my mouth so it won’t get wet. Maybe we can have a -fire and get dry. Where do you think we are, Toby?” - -“I’m sure I don’t know.” Toby’s voice was plainly puzzled as he waded -back to the boat. “I don’t recognize the place at all. If there was a -sand beach I’d think it was the Head, but I don’t remember these rocks. -Where are you? Oh, all right! You come on in, Arn, and we’ll lug Phebe -across. There’s no use in her getting soaked.” - -Two minutes later, having furled the sails, the three shipwrecked -mariners stood huddled together beyond the lapping waves on a tiny -stretch of coarse sand and pebbles in a darkness that they could -almost feel. For sound there was the swish and trickle of the surf, -the lapping of the water against the _Aydee_, the regular, monotonous -wail of the fog-horns, and, once, the far-off shriek of a locomotive. -Unfortunately that locomotive was in one direction, according to Toby, -and in two entirely different directions, according to Arnold and -Phebe, and therefore didn’t help much in determining their whereabouts. -Two paces to the left was a low ledge that apparently ran well into -the water at high tide and some three paces to the right were a number -of huge rocks, weather-smoothed boulders, bedded in the steep beach. -Doubtless it was possible to climb over them, but Toby’s experiment had -not been successful. Behind them the sand and pebbles shelved abruptly -to a bed of shingle, and beyond that beach-grass and a tangle of weeds -and bushes climbed the side of a high bank. Although Toby thought and -thought, he could not for the life of him recall any such place in the -neighborhood of Greenhaven. Nor, when called on for aid, could Phebe. - -“I don’t know where we are,” acknowledged Toby at last. “Light one of -your matches, Arn, and let’s see if we can tell.” - -“I hope they’re dry,” muttered Arnold. They heard him fumbling at the -little silver box and then came an exclamation of disappointment. -“Gee,” said Arnold. “I’ve only got three! I thought I had a lot of ’em!” - -“Hold on, then,” said Toby sharply. “Don’t waste any. Let’s see if we -can find some twigs and driftwood to start a blaze. Got any paper?” - -Arnold hadn’t, but Toby himself finally came across a tiny piece -crumpled up in the bottom of a pocket. It wasn’t exactly wet, but it -certainly wasn’t dry, and he had doubts of its usefulness. Meanwhile -they felt and fumbled about on the shingle and among the bushes for dry -twigs and of wood, Phebe adding to the joy of the occasion by reminding -them that there was probably poison ivy there. However, as no one was -poisoned, she was undoubtedly unnecessarily pessimistic. At the end -of five minutes or so they had a collection of fairly dry sticks and -chips and wave-worn bits of wood piled on the shelf of smooth, round -stones, and very carefully Toby introduced his precious bit of paper -at the base of the little pile and Arnold anxiously scraped a match on -the box. Nothing happened, for the box was damp, and one of the three -matches was put out of commission. - -“Give me one,” said Toby. When he had it he poked around among the -stones until he found one that seemed dry on the under side and then -lightly scraped the match against it. There was a tiny yellow flare -in the darkness and, after another moment, a breath-seizing, anxious -moment, the scrap of paper burst into flame, the dry twigs caught and -a little red glare lighted the immediate scene. They scurried for more -fuel, aided in their search by the flickering light, and Toby fed the -fire with care and science. There was one doubtful moment when the -flames died away to glowing embers, but Toby dropped to his hands and -puffed his cheeks and blew mightily and the fire started afresh. Once -well under way they were obliged to use less care in the selection of -fuel, and larger pieces of driftwood, dampened by water or fog, soon -dried out and took fire. And presently they were able to look about -them. - -Some ten yards out lay the _Aydee_, side-on, barely visible in the -enveloping fog. Right and left, boulders and low ledges showed, and -shoreward, the radius of orange light reached half-way up a sandy -bluff. The fog made everything look spectral and unreal. Toby again -shook his head. - -“You can search me,” he muttered helplessly. - -“Perhaps if we climbed that bluff,” suggested Arnold, “we might find a -road or something.” - -“Yes, we could try that, or we could keep along the shore. First of -all, though, I’m for getting sort of dried out.” - -Phebe had already seated herself as near the fire as she dared, and, -shielding her face with her hands, was sighing luxuriously. The boys -followed her example, but although the flames gave out a pleasant -heat and their damp garments steamed in it, the warmth didn’t seem to -penetrate to their chilled bodies, and, as Arnold said, while you were -toasting on one side you were shivering on the other. But by dint of -revolving, like a roast on a spit, they did finally get some of the -chill out of their bodies, and while they did it they discussed ways -and means. - -“Climbing that bluff in the dark doesn’t look good to me,” said Toby. -“I guess it would be hard enough to do it in the daytime. The best -thing we can do is hike along the shore. We’re bound to find a house or -a road or something after a while.” - -“Well, which way shall we hike?” asked Arnold. - -Toby pointed to the left――he had his back to the bluff then――and -replied: “That way, of course, if we want to get home. The other way -would take us down the island toward Shinnecock.” - -But Arnold had got completely turned around and couldn’t see it, at -all, and it took Toby and Phebe many minutes to convince him. Even then -he was not so much convinced as he was silenced by numbers. - -“Will the boat be all right, do you think?” he asked. - -“Yes, she can’t get away, and we’ll come around at high tide tomorrow -with the _Frolic_ and pull her off. I guess she’ll come easily enough -if she doesn’t settle in the sand any more, and she won’t unless a sea -gets up.” - -“What do you suppose our folks are thinking?” asked Phebe in a troubled -voice. - -“That’s so!” cried Arnold. “Gee, I’ll bet father is fit to be tied by -now!” - -“I don’t believe they’ll be very much worried,” said Toby. “Dad will -figure it out we got lost in the fog and that we’ve had to land -wherever we could. What time is it, now, I wonder?” - -“Nearly half-past nine,” answered Arnold holding the dial of his watch -to the light of the dying fire. “We’d better make a start, eh?” - -“I think so. We can probably get back by midnight. All ready, sis?” - -They turned their backs on the fire and began a difficult scramble over -or between the piled-up boulders. It was hard going, for, once away -from the radiance, the darkness seemed blacker than ever and they had -to feel their way with hands and feet. Presently, though, they gained -another stretch of coarse sand and this proved of some extent. They -kept just above the water’s edge, or tried to, for they had only the -sense of hearing to depend on, and the surf was too gentle to make much -sound. Once Toby found to his surprise that he was ankle deep in the -water and, when he turned to get back to the beach, plunged down to his -knees in a hole. His involuntary cry of dismay brought Arnold hurrying -blindly to his assistance, with the result that both got nicely soaked -again before they found their way back to the land. - -They went slowly and cautiously after that, Toby leading with hands -outstretched in front of him, Arnold following with a hand on his -shoulder and Phebe bringing up the rear holding to Arnold’s coat-tail! -They climbed a smooth ledge, crossed some uncomfortably quaky sand, -scrambled up and down another ledge, and then, having unconsciously -borne inland, discovered themselves in a thicket of waist-high bushes. -Toby stopped disgustedly. - -“Now what?” he asked. - -“Let’s keep on,” said Arnold. “If we can get through the bushes we may -find a road. Anyhow, we won’t walk into the bay again!” - -“All right――here we go then!” - -So they rustled and tripped and crashed their way through the -vegetation, their hands suffering in the conflict, and finally won -through and found their steps leading them up a steep ascent carpeted -with coarse grass and blackberry brambles. The brambles caught at their -feet and scratched their ankles, but they kept on until Phebe declared -breathlessly that she just had to stop and rest a minute. So they all -sat down on the ground――and, incidentally, the blackberry vines――and -got their breath back. - -“I’d give a hundred dollars if I had it,” said Toby, “to know where -the dickens we are. This is a pretty steep hill, and the only one I -can think of is the Head, and we know it can’t be the Head because the -shore isn’t right.” - -“Things look different at night,” said Phebe wisely. “Maybe it is the -Head, after all, Toby.” - -“I don’t believe it. If it is, though, we’ll soon find out, because -there’s a road runs along this side. But it can’t be, sis. Where are -there any rocks, like those back there, on the outer shore of the Head? -It’s all clean beach except at the point.” - -“I know,” acknowledged Phebe. “It is awfully puzzling, isn’t it? There -are some rocks like those on the other side, though, Toby.” - -“Of course there are, but we couldn’t be on the other side. At -least――――” He paused. - -“We might possibly have drifted around the Head and into Nobbs’ Bay,” -suggested Phebe. - -“That’s likely!” derided Toby. “Well, come on and let’s find out. We -must be somewhere!” - -They went on again, still climbing steadily upwards. After a few -minutes there was a cry from Toby and the procession came to a sudden -stop. “What is it?” demanded Arnold anxiously. - -“Tree! I ran smash into it and nearly broke my nose! Here’s another -one. Look out for it. This way. Gee, that hurt!” - -“Listen!” said Phebe. Obediently they stopped and were silent. From -somewhere in the distance came the faint sound of a voice singing. -They couldn’t make out the words, nor even the tune; that the man was -singing was evidenced merely by the rise and fall of the far-away -voice. But it was a voice, and it cheered them immensely, and they -went on up the hill through the darkness and the fog, picking their -way between the trees, with new courage. And quite suddenly their feet -crunched on the gravel of a roadway! - -“Hooray!” yelled Arnold. “Now we know where we are!” - -“Fine!” laughed Toby. “Where are we?” - -“Well, I mean we know that――that we’re――somewhere!” - -“That’s about all we do know! Which way shall we go?” - -“Right,” said Arnold. - -“Left,” said Phebe. - -“Much obliged! Suppose, though, we cross this road and keep on. That -fellow who was singing――――” - -“Hold on!” interrupted Arnold. “Isn’t that a sort of a light over there -to the left?” - -“It is!” exclaimed Phebe joyfully. “Isn’t it?” she added less -certainly. “I don’t see it now.” - -“Yes, it is,” agreed Toby, and sighed with vast relief. “Come on!” - -The light proved surprisingly near at hand, for a dozen strides brought -them to it. It shone from a square window and illumined a gravel drive -lined with trees and shrubs, a drive that evidently connected with the -road they had just left. The window was too high up to be seen through -and the light that came from it was faint, but it was at once apparent -that the building was not a residence. Toby stared perplexedly at the -gray stucco wall visible through the fog. - -“I never saw this place before,” he muttered. “It must be――――!” - -But Arnold interrupted him with a chuckle. “I have!” he said. “It’s our -garage!” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MR. TUCKER CONSENTS - - -Their troubles were soon over, and, seated in front of a fine, big fire -in the Deerings’ living room, they recounted their adventures while -they sipped from steaming cups of beef tea and voraciously devoured -bread and butter sandwiches. Later the car was brought around and Toby -and Phebe, warm and sleepy, were whisked away to the little house in -Harbor Street, to the accompaniment of incessant shrill warnings, -which, in their somnolent state, became confused with fog-horns. After -that came slumber, deep and undisturbed. - -The fog vanished in the morning, and shortly before noon the two boys -stretched a line from the _Frolic_ to the _Aydee_ and pulled the latter -easily enough into deep water. Then Toby produced a chart, and they -tried to trace their wanderings of the evening before. The knockabout -had, it appeared, covered some three and a half miles with the tide and -what little breeze had aided, and, instead of grounding on the outer -shore of the Head, had drifted around the point, and then, by some -freak of the currents, turned into Nobbs’ Bay and settled her nose in -the sand a half-mile beyond the Deerings’ landing. She must have passed -within a hundred feet of the Trainors’ houseboat, they concluded, on -the way. Arnold somewhat triumphantly pointed out that he had, after -all, been right as to direction, and that if they had set off along -the shore as he had advised they’d have reached home much sooner and -without struggling through thickets and briers. All of which Toby was -forced to acknowledge. - -“I thought we were along here somewhere,” he defended, putting a finger -on the outer shore. “And if we’d gone to the right we’d have traveled -toward Shinnecock. How that boat ever got around the point and turned -in here I can’t see!” - -“Huh!” returned Arnold in superior tones. “That boat knows enough to go -home, Toby. I’ve got it trained!” - -Arnold spent most of that afternoon stocking the yacht with things -which, he predicted, would make shipwreck a positive pleasure! He -replaced the lost oar, tucked two suits of oilskins into a cubby, -invested in a square of canvas which, if necessity required, could be -pulled across the cockpit, and would, doubtless have installed that -heating system had it been in any way possible. The compass, a very -elaborate one in a mahogany box, arrived that day from New York, and -was put in place. And then Arnold set out to find a tender. - -“If we’d had a tender,” he explained, “we could have dropped anchor -most anywhere and rowed ourselves ashore. Besides, every yacht ought to -have a tender.” - -They looked at three or four the next morning, but none was in good -enough condition to please Arnold. “I want a tender,” he said, “but I -don’t want it so tender it’ll fall to pieces!” In the end Mr. Tucker -was commissioned to build one, a tiny cedar affair that would barely -hold four persons without sinking. When it was finished, which was not -until the middle of August, since Mr. Tucker was busy on another order, -Arnold viewed it delightedly. “That’s fine,” he declared. “In the -winter we can bring it into the house and put it on the mantel for an -ornament!” - -There were no more shipwrecks, now that the _Aydee_ was prepared for -them, and I think that her skipper was slightly disappointed. But the -knockabout provided a lot of fun and by the time the summer was nearing -its end Arnold had become quite a proficient navigator and had acquired -a coat of tan that was the envy of his friends at the Head. Toby said -it was more than a coat, it was a regular ulster! The _Aydee_ sailed in -two races in August, one a handicap affair in which her time allowance -of a minute and forty seconds enabled her to almost but not quite win, -and the other a contest for twenty-one-footers in which she was badly -outdistanced. Perhaps the fact that Toby sailed the _Aydee_ in the -first race and that Arnold and Frank Lamson manned her in the second -may have had something to do with the results. Once imbued with the -racing mania, Arnold liked nothing better than putting out into the -bay and trying conclusions with any sailing craft that hove in sight. -He didn’t much care how big the opponent might be or how much sail she -carried. He was always ready and eager for a brush. Usually he was -outsailed or outmaneuvered, but now and then he came home victor and -was extremely proud until some craft unkindly beat him the next day. - -But life wasn’t all racing, for the _Aydee_ was frequently put to more -humdrum uses, as when, one fine day toward the last of the month, -Arnold, Toby, Frank and Phebe embarked with many baskets and bundles -and sailed away to a pleasant spot far down on the south shore of -the bay and picnicked. Confidentially, both Toby and Frank favored -using the _Frolic_ for the expedition, but Arnold nowadays considered -motorboating poor sport and wouldn’t listen to any such proposal. -Fortunately, they had a good breeze all day and the _Aydee_ performed -beautifully. The boys took bathing suits along and as soon as the -anchor was dropped they rowed ashore, converted a clump of bushes into -a bath-house, and got ready for the water. Then they returned to the -yacht and dived off the deck to their hearts’ content, while Phebe, -more practical, placed the baskets in the tender and went ashore to -“set the table.” They lunched on a grassy knoll between the bay and a -winding inlet. Every one had provided a share of the provender and, -while there was some duplication, the result included a marvelous -variety of viands. Frank pretended to think picnics a great bore, but -it was observed by the others that he did his full share of eating. On -the whole, Frank was fairly good company that day, and Toby and Phebe -liked him better than they ever had before. Possibly Arnold, whose -guest he was, had cautioned him to make himself agreeable. - -They tried bathing in the inlet after their repast, but voted the water -too warm, and so went for a long walk up the shore, in the course of -which Arnold managed to cut his foot rather deeply on a shell. Phebe -applied first-aid by sacrificing a handkerchief and they returned to -the scene of the luncheon, packed up and embarked once more. They -sailed home with the sun slanting at them across the quiet water and -reached harbor just as twilight was stealing down through the little -village. They all voted the excursion a huge success and promised -themselves another, but it didn’t take place that summer for the season -was fast nearing its close and there were so many, many other things to -be done. - -About that time Toby balanced his books, so to speak, and found himself -in possession of a sum of money slightly in excess of two hundred -and seventy-five dollars, or, to be more exact, in possession of a -bank book crediting him with that amount. He could reckon on another -three weeks or so of ferrying, and that, he believed ought to add some -forty-five dollars more to his fund, leaving him with a final grand -total of three hundred and twenty dollars. He and Arnold had figured -that three hundred and fifty would see him through the first year at -Yardley Hall School, but Toby realized that an expenditure of something -like forty dollars would be necessary for clothes. What he had was all -well enough for Greenhaven, but not quite good enough for Yardley. A -new suit of clothes would cost him twenty-five dollars, he supposed, -leaving fifteen for other supplies. Consequently, he would be about -seventy dollars shy of the required sum by the middle of September, and -where to get that seventy dollars worried Toby considerably. - -Of course it wasn’t absolutely settled that he was to go to Yardley, -even if he found the necessary amount of money, but he was pretty sure -that his father meant to consent finally, and as for his mother, why -she had already promised her support, although that was still a secret -between her and the boy. It was time, Toby told himself, to have the -question settled, and so that evening he broached the matter again to -his father, with the result that the next evening Arnold was on hand -with the school catalogue and a large fund of enthusiasm, both of which -doubtless influenced Mr. Tucker in his ultimate decision. The catalogue -was gone through very thoroughly, Arnold explaining. The pictures were -viewed, the study courses discussed, and the matter of expense gravely -considered. Toby let his father and Arnold do the talking, maintaining -for the most part a discreet and anxious silence. - -“Well, I don’t know,” said Mr. Tucker at last. “I suppose if Toby wants -to try it for a year there’s no harm done except the spending of a -considerable amount of money. You say he’s got to go there three years -anyway, and maybe four, to finish up, eh?” - -“Probably four, sir,” answered Arnold. “He might get into the fourth -class, but I guess it would be the third. Of course, some fellows do -the four years in three, and maybe Toby could.” - -“H’m. Well, Toby, one year will use all your money up. What’ll you do -next year?” - -“I’ll make more before that,” replied Toby with a fine assurance. -“There’s the ferry, dad, you know. I ought to do better with that next -summer, don’t you think?” - -“Likely you ought. But where do you expect to get the seventy dollars -you need for this year, son? If you’re counting on me――!” Mr. Tucker -shook his head. “I might be able to help you a little: say twenty-five -or thirty; but seventy’s too much for me.” - -“If you’ll let me have twenty-five I’ll get hold of the rest somewhere, -sir. You see I don’t have to pay it all now. I can pay it in three lots -if I like, fifty dollars now, fifty dollars in January and twenty-five -in April. Arnold doesn’t seem to think there’d be much chance of -earning a little at school, but you――you read about fellows doing it.” - -“I guess you read a lot in stories that ain’t just so,” replied his -father, dryly. “Well, all right, son. It’s your money. If you want -to spend it this way I’m willing. I hope you’ll get enough learning -to come out even, though. If I was you I’d make up my mind to get my -money’s worth, I think. Money ain’t so easy come by these days!” - -“Hooray!” shouted Arnold. “That’s fine, Mr. Tucker! Toby, you sit down -there this minute and write your application!” - -“What application?” asked Toby. - -“Why, you’ve got to apply for admission, of course! And the sooner you -do it the better chance you’ll have. For all we know the enrollment may -be already filled for this fall.” - -“Oh!” said Toby blankly. “I didn’t know that. I thought all I had to do -was just――just go! Suppose they’ve got all they want! Wouldn’t that be -the dickens? Here, where’s the pen and ink, sis? Why didn’t you tell me -about this application business, Arn? I’d have done it two months ago!” - -“Goodness me,” sighed Mrs. Tucker, “I do hope you ain’t too late, Toby! -That would be an awful disappointment, now, wouldn’t it? You don’t -think he is, do you, Arnold?” - -“No, ma’am, I don’t think so. Lots of fellows have joined school just -before it has opened. But I guess it’ll be safer to write now.” - -“What’ll I say?” demanded Toby. “Who do I write to? Hadn’t dad ought to -do it instead of me?” - -“Just as you like, Toby. I guess it doesn’t matter who writes it. -You’ll have to give your parents’ names and the names of two other -residents of your town. It’s a good idea to have one of them your -minister. They like that,” added Arnold, wisely. - -That application was posted inside of an hour, Toby dropping it into -the box at the postoffice after saying good-night to Arnold at the -landing, and for the next week he was on tenter-hooks of anxiety. But -the answer came in due time, and Toby slit the envelope with trembling -fingers. - -The school secretary acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Tobias Tucker’s -letter, enclosed a form for him to fill out and sign and instructed him -to mail form and remittance for fifty-five dollars before the beginning -of the Fall Term. Toby clapped his cap on his head and tore out of the -house in search of Arnold. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -TOBY ACCEPTS A CHALLENGE - - -Of course Arnold was quite as pleased as Toby, and they spent the rest -of that forenoon in laying glorious plans for the school year and in -discussing the manners and customs of Yardley Hall. Arnold proudly -reiterated that it was the best school in the country, and Toby gravely -and unhesitatingly agreed. He already felt a certain proprietorship in -that institution and was every bit as ready as his chum to fight in -defense of its honor and fame! Fortunately for them, the ferry business -was slack today, otherwise they would never have been able to talk all -they wanted to on such an engrossing subject. - -Passengers were “queer birds, anyway,” to quote Arnold. One day they -would appear in numbers, and the next day, as like as not, only two or -three would turn up. But, passengers or no passengers, the trip across -to Johnstown was a pleasant diversion, saving when the weather was bad, -and both boys enjoyed it. And so did Phebe as often as she went with -them, which was likely to be at least once a day. They never failed to -enjoy the leisurely journey back and forth, for there was always plenty -to talk about and always plenty to see. Launches and sailboats dotted -the bay in fair weather, and now and then a rusty-sided oilboat or -collier was passed, or a fussy, whistling tug rolled by with a tandem -of scows in tow. Several times Frank Lamson joined them, and, since he -invariably insisted on paying his way, could not very well be refused -a seat in the launch. Frank, however, was less objectionable to Toby -by now, whether he really strove to behave himself or because Toby was -growing used to him. In any case, Frank could be very good company when -he chose, just as he could be most intolerably offensive when in the -mood. - -He was in the mood one fine, crisp afternoon when, having loitered down -to the landing, hands in pockets and a somewhat discontented look on -his face, he decided at the last instant to make the trip. Toby gravely -accepted the passage money and silently wished Frank anywhere but in -the launch. On the way across Arnold railed Frank on a defeat suffered -a few days before by the Spanish Head baseball team, which did not in -the least improve the latter’s disposition. However, the Johnstown -landing was made without unpleasantness and the lone passenger, a -little dark-visaged peddler who in some miraculous manner carried two -huge, bursting valises, was set ashore. No one appeared for the return -trip and the launch presently turned her nose homeward with Toby at the -engine and Arnold and Frank in the stern, the former steering. It was -Arnold who introduced the subject of bathing with a careless remark -to the effect that the water looked dandy and he wished he had his -bathing-suit along. - -“You don’t need a bathing-suit out here,” said Toby, testing the -commutator with the point of a screw-driver and mentally deciding to -put a new spring on before the next trip. “Go ahead in if you like. -I’ll slow down and tow you.” - -“You don’t need to slow down,” answered Arnold. “I can swim as fast as -you’re going now.” Which, as the launch was making a fair six miles, -was a slight exaggeration. - -“What’s the fastest any one ever swam a mile, anyway?” inquired Toby. - -“About twenty-four minutes, I think,” answered Arnold. - -“Twenty-three and about sixteen seconds,” corrected Frank in a superior -tone. “That’s professional, I guess. Some Australian chap. It takes -those fellows to swim. We don’t know anything about it in this country.” - -“Don’t we? What’s the matter with that Honolulu chap, Duke Somebody? -He’s a corker.” - -“He’s a Hawaiian. I said in this country.” - -“Well, he’s an American, just the same,” insisted Arnold. “And there -was a chap who swam from the Battery in New York to Sandy Hook just -the other day in just over seven hours. That’s about twenty miles. So -he made almost three miles an hour. Lots of the fancy records you hear -about are made in tanks. Swimming in open water, with waves and tides -and――and――――” - -“Sharks,” offered Toby. - -“And wind is another thing entirely.” - -“I know that,” granted Frank. “I’ve swum two hundred and twenty yards -in a tank in three minutes myself. It isn’t hard.” - -“Three minutes!” exclaimed Arnold. “Why, you couldn’t have! That would -mean twenty-four minutes for a mile, and――――” - -“No, it wouldn’t,” denied Frank. “You can do a short distance without -getting tired. It’s like sprinting. According to your talk, any one who -could do the two-twenty in twenty-two and three-fifths could run the -mile in about three minutes! And the best time for the mile is four -minutes and something.” - -“Well, just the same,” demurred Arnold, “three minutes is mighty fast -time for two hundred and twenty yards, even in still water. I guess -your watch must have been wrong.” - -“It wasn’t my watch and it wasn’t wrong,” answered Frank, huffily. -“Besides, lots of fellows have done two-twenty in a good deal less than -three minutes.” - -“All right. I don’t say they haven’t. All I know is that I never saw -you swim in any such style, Frank. You’ll have to show us, won’t he, -Toby?” - -“Well, seeing’s believing,” said Toby. “How big are these tanks you -fellows talk about? Seems to me if they’re an eighth of a mile long -they must look like rivers. Where do you find them?” - -“They aren’t an eighth of a mile long,” grunted Frank. “You swim the -length of the tank enough times to make the distance. You could do it -quicker if you didn’t have to turn all the time. If you don’t believe I -can do it in three minutes I’ll show you when we get back to school.” - -“Well, I wouldn’t care so much about being able to make time in a -tank,” said Toby, judicially. “What a fellow wants to do is to be able -to swim like the dickens in real water, I guess. And swimming fast -isn’t half so necessary as being able to swim far. If you fell off a -steamer away out to sea――――” - -“If you were silly enough to fall off a steamer you’d deserve to -drown,” growled Frank. - -“And I guess I should,” laughed Toby, “unless I had a life-belt on. -Anyway, you might find yourself in the water without exactly falling -off the boat. You might be shipwrecked or blown up by a torpedo or the -ship might get on fire. In a case like that you want to be able to keep -afloat a good, long while. Being a fast swimmer wouldn’t count much. -How far have you ever swum, Arn?” - -“Me? Oh, not far. Maybe a half-mile. And I guess I rested plenty of -times doing it. I’m a punk swimmer.” - -“You can dive finely, though,” said Toby. - -“Not so well as you can. Say, let’s go in this afternoon over at the -beach.” - -“What’s the matter with going in now?” asked Frank. “You fellows afraid -of deep water?” - -“I’m not,” answered Toby. “I can drown just as easily in six feet as -sixty. If you like we’ll drop anchor off the end of the island and have -a swim. I wouldn’t object a bit. How about you, Arn?” - -“I don’t know. Isn’t the water awfully cold out here?” - -“Not so very. About sixty, I guess. That isn’t bad. I suppose these -tanks you tell about are nice and warm, eh?” - -“Too warm,” said Arnold. “I’ll go in if you fellows will. Maybe Frank -will give us an exhibition.” - -“I’ll race either of you any distance you like,” replied Frank, -nettled. “And I’ll give you a start.” - -“You give Toby a start,” laughed Arnold, “and you’ll never catch him.” - -“Bet you I can give you a quarter of the way to the lighthouse landing -and beat you to it,” said Frank to Toby. - -Toby, who had already disengaged the clutch, looked musingly toward -the island which lay nearly a quarter-mile away to starboard. “Maybe -you can,” he replied finally, “and then again maybe you can’t. I don’t -believe I ever swam an eighth of a mile in three minutes, but I guess I -can reach the landing ahead of you, Frank. And I don’t need any start, -either.” - -Frank was pulling off his clothes and folding them neatly on the seat. -“You fellows who live along the water always think you can swim and -sail boats and all that,” he sneered, “but I notice that the city -fellows can generally beat you at it when they come along.” - -“Oh, sometimes,” agreed Toby. “Throw that anchor over, Arn, will you?” -Toby shut off the engine and began to disrobe. “Wish we had a couple -of towels aboard. This breeze is going to be sort of cold when we get -back.” - -“I’m not in this race,” said Arnold, as he kicked off his shoes. “You -two fellows would leave me away behind. I’ll meet you at the landing.” - -“How shall we start?” asked Frank. “Dive from the rail or――――” - -“Yes, I guess so. Arn can give us the word if he isn’t going to race -himself. All ready?” - -“All ready,” answered Frank. - -The two boys stood on the seat, side by side, and poised themselves for -the plunge. Arnold, only half undressed, gave the signal and over they -went. - -Toby reappeared a good two yards ahead of Frank and then began a -battle royal. Frank was a far prettier swimmer, as Arnold, watching -from the launch, readily saw, but there was something extremely -businesslike in the way in which Toby dug his head in and shot his arms -forward in swift, powerful strokes. While both boys used the crawl, -Frank’s performance was far more finished, and his strokes longer -and slower. He breathed after every stroke, while Toby used the more -obsolete method of holding his breath and keeping his head down until -endurance was exhausted and then throwing his head up for another long -inhalation. For a time the contestants held the same relative positions -as at the start when Toby’s shallower dive had gained him the advantage -of a full length, but as the half-way distance was reached, Arnold, -discarding the last of his attire without taking his eyes from the -race, saw that Frank had practically pulled himself even. From that -time on the boys were too far away for him to judge their progress, but -he waited in the launch until, after many minutes, they reached the end -of the lighthouse landing. To him it seemed that Toby flung an arm over -the edge of the float at least a second before Frank, but he was too -far away to be certain. He saw the contestants clamber out and fling -themselves down in the sunlight and then he, too, sprang over the side -into the green depths. - -Toby had predicted that the temperature of the water would be about -sixty, but Arnold, coming to the surface with a gasp, was certain that -fifty was far nearer the fact. The water was most decidedly cold, and -he swam hard for a few minutes to get warm. Then, looking back at the -launch to find that he had made far less progress than he had supposed, -he turned over on his back and went leisurely on toward the distant -landing. - -On the float meanwhile Toby and Frank were pantingly arguing over the -result of their contest. Toby declared warmly that he had finished -a full length ahead of his opponent, while Frank with equal warmth -proclaimed the race a tie. “You may have got hold of the float before -I did,” he said, “but I was right there. You finished your stroke -ahead of me, that’s all. I couldn’t grab the float until my stroke was -finished, could I?” - -“When I touched the float you were a length behind me,” replied the -other positively. “I had my arm over the edge there before you got -where you could touch it.” - -“You did not! You flung your hand out at the finish and I didn’t. It -was a dead-heat, that’s what it was, and if the water hadn’t been so -cold I’d have beaten you easily.” - -“The water wasn’t any colder where you were than it was where I was, -was it?” asked Toby indignantly. - -“I don’t say it was, but you’re more used to sea bathing than I am. In -the tanks――――” - -“Oh, bother your tanks!” said Toby in disgust. “You said you could beat -me to this landing, and you didn’t, and that’s all there is to it.” - -“You said the water would be sixty, and it isn’t more than forty-six -or -eight, I’ll bet! If I’d known it was so cold――――” - -“Well, great Scott, I can’t fix the water for you, can I? It was just -as fair for you as it was for me, and there’s no use in making a fuss -about it.” - -“_I’m_ not making any fuss; it’s you. I say it was a tie――――” - -“And I say it wasn’t. I won by more than a yard.” - -“Your saying so doesn’t make it so,” sneered Frank. “I wish there had -been some one here to prove it.” - -“Sure! So do I. But there wasn’t.” - -“If you’ll come in nearer shore I’ll race you again and show you,” said -Frank. “Cold water always slows me up.” - -“You ought to do your swimming in a bath-tub,” replied Toby ungraciously. -“What’s the good of knowing how to swim if you have to have the water -fixed just right for you beforehand?” - -“That’s all right, Mr. Smart Aleck, but any one will tell you that -forty-four――――” - -“You said forty-six a minute ago!” - -“Or forty-six, is too cold for fast swimming. You ask any one.” - -“How about the fellow that Arn told about who swam to Sandy Hook? I -suppose some one went ahead of him in a boat and dragged a hot water -bag, eh? Like fun! Look here, Frank, I’ll race you back to the launch -and settle it. What do you say to that?” - -“I say no. I’m tuckered out, and the water’s too cold――――” - -A cry of appeal interrupted him. Toby scrambled to his feet and gazed -toward the launch. - -“What is it?” asked Frank. - -“Some one yelled. I thought it might be Arn.” - -Toby gazed frowningly across the sunlit water, his eyes for the moment -defeated by the dancing rays. Frank climbed to his feet and joined him -at the edge of the float. - -“I don’t see him on the launch,” he muttered uneasily. “And I don’t -see――――” - -“I do! There he is!” Toby shot a swift arm outward, pointing, just as -a second cry came across the water. “He’s in trouble! Come on now! -Here’s you chance to show what you can do! If you don’t like to take my -wash, _swim_!” - -The last words were spoken in mid-air, for Toby’s gleaming body was -plunging outward and downward in a long shallow dive. The fraction of a -second later, Frank, too, clove the green water. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -A CLOSE CALL - - -“Talk about your ice-water,” said Arnold to himself, as he paddled -slowly along on his back. “This has it beat a mile. I guess I stood -around on the launch too long and got chilled.” - -He rolled over and threw an anxious look at the far-distant island, and -then, after a brief moment of indecision, turned back toward the launch. - -“It’s too cold for _me_,” he murmured. “I’m going to beat it!” - -For a few dozen strokes he managed to fight off the numbness that had -seized on his limbs. His teeth chattered unless he held them tightly -shut and a fear began to clutch at his rapidly beating heart. He had -never felt just like this in the water, never felt so numb and weak. He -recalled stories he had heard of folks who had been seized with cramp -and had drowned before help could reach them, and fear became panic. He -forgot all skill and science and thrashed arms and legs wildly in the -endeavor to reach the launch, a good hundred yards away. Of course he -got his head under water and swallowed more than was pleasant, and of -course he made little progress. A sudden swift, sharp pain in one thigh -brought a cry from him. It seemed to pull the muscles taut, and, in -obedience, his left leg doubled up helplessly. - -Strangely enough, the sudden knowledge that what he had feared had -actually come to pass calmed him. Instead of the unreasoning panic, -a grim determination to fight took possession of him. The pain was -intolerable if he so much as moved that up-bent leg, but fortunately -one could swim without legs if one had to. “Keep your head! Swim slow!” -said Arnold to himself. “You’re all right if you don’t get rattled! I -guess it’s getting rattled that makes folks drown. Maybe if you turn -over on your back you can do better.” But the attempt to turn produced -such a horrible pain in thigh and leg that he gave it up and, faint -with agony, was content for the moment to keep himself barely afloat. -When the faintness had passed he remembered Toby and Frank and, calling -on his tired lungs for all the breath that was in them, sent that first -hail. - -“_He-e-elp!_” he shouted. - -If any one answered him he didn’t hear. Only the swish-swash of the -dancing waves and the slap of his wearied arms reached him. He sent -an agonized glance ahead. The launch was gone! No, there it was, but -he was swimming off his course. Carefully, trailing that useless, -pain-racked leg behind him, he changed his direction. His goal looked -leagues away and discouragement fell on him. He would never make it, -he groaned. Despair drove out determination. He wondered what it was -like to drown. Perhaps it wasn’t so dreadful. He prayed incoherently, -unconsciously slackening his efforts. The water closed over his head -and there was a queer rushing sound in his ears. The next moment, with -wide-open eyes looking into a yellow-green void, he was struggling -frantically, up and up―――― - -The sunlight burst on him again. Choking, gasping, he drew a long -breath of air into his bursting lungs and sent a second wild appeal to -the cloudless blue sky above. Fighting against fear, he swam doggedly, -urging his tired arms forward and back, using as best he could his -right leg, even though every movement of it brought a gasp of pain. He -had the horrid, haunting impression that clutching arms were dragging -at him from the green depths below him. He tried to tell himself that -it was only imagination, but he was beyond conviction. The pain grew. -It reached to his left foot now, to the uttermost tips of his toes, -dragging and pulling, pinching and twisting excruciatingly. He had lost -all sense of direction. His sole effort was to keep afloat, and that -was by now half unconscious. Time and again he found himself going -under and, opening closed eyes, fought in terror to the surface. At -such times he cried out, or thought he did, for the sounds he made were -scarcely to be heard above the lap of the waves. He no longer realized -either where he was or what he was doing. He struggled instinctively. A -dozen yards distant the launch swayed lazily and tugged at her anchor -rope, but he didn’t see it. Or, if he saw it, it meant nothing to him. -To keep his head above water was all. - -And when his futile struggles were interrupted and fingers closed -tightly about his wrist he was too far gone to realize it. A few -minutes before Toby might have found him, in his fright, a difficult -bargain, but now, when the rescuer had drawn one arm over his shoulder, -Arnold dragged supinely behind, an easy burden. Allowing himself -the luxury of a dozen long-drawn breaths, Toby swam slowly toward -the launch, using right arm and legs, his left hand firmly grasping -Arnold’s wrist. He had so far outdistanced Frank that the latter -was still a good dozen yards away, and it wasn’t until Toby and his -unconscious burden were under the shadow of the _Urnove_ that Frank -reached them. - -“Is he――all right?” he gasped. - -“Guess so. About half drowned, though. Climb in and give me a hand with -him.” - -A minute later Arnold was stretched, face downward, on the seat of -the launch and Toby was using all the knowledge he possessed of -resuscitation. Fortunately, Arnold’s trouble was exhaustion rather than -suffocation, and he was breathing naturally if painfully. Pressure -relieved him of a good deal of salt water, and after that his eyelids -flickered and he sighed heavily and groaned. And Toby, who, since he -had first sighted Arnold’s predicament, had been in a condition of -anxiety that was just short of panic, echoed the sigh. His troubled -frown cleared away and, hastily covering Arnold with all the clothing -he could lay hands on, much of it his own and Frank’s, he turned -quickly to the fly-wheel. - -“Yank up that anchor, Frank,” he said. “We’ll beat it for the Head. I -guess he’s all right now, but he won’t feel much like running races -for awhile.” He turned the switch on, fixed his throttle and swung the -fly-wheel over, and the _Urnove_ responded with a gasp and a choke -and, finally, a nice, steady chug, chug-a-chug. With the dripping -anchor inboard, Toby swung the wheel and pointed the bow for the -Deerings’ landing; a good two miles away across the sparkling water. -That done, he requisitioned his clothing, piece by piece, from Arnold -and pulled it on his still damp body, and Frank, whose teeth were -chattering like castanets, followed his example. A square of sail-cloth -that Toby used to cover the engine at night took the place of their -garments. By the time they were presentable again Arnold’s cheeks held -a faint flush of color and he showed symptoms of reawakened interest in -existence. Finally he raised his head from the improvised pillow and -gazed across at Toby in faint surprise. - -“Hello,” he said. - -“How do you do?” responded the other. - -Arnold considered that for a long moment. Then a perplexed frown -gathered on his forehead and he asked, weakly and irritated: “But――but -what am I doing here?” - -“You’re lying on your back asking silly questions,” answered Toby a -trifle gruffly. “Shut up and go to sleep.” - -“Don’t you remember what happened?” asked Frank. - -Arnold scowled deeply and then an expression of mingled comprehension -and fear came over his face, and he started up from the seat. But Toby -reached across and thrust him back. - -“Don’t do that!” he commanded. “Lie still. We’re taking you home.” - -“How――how did I get here?” asked Arnold in a low voice. - -“Frank and I pulled you in, of course. How do you feel?” - -“All right――I guess.” He seemed to gain reassurance from the feel of -the gunwale on which one hand was clasped tightly, and the look of -alarm left his face. “I don’t remember much after I called to you -fellows,” he said with a shudder. “I thought I was a goner.” - -“What was the trouble?” asked Toby. “Did you get tired?” - -“Cramp.” Arnold stretched a leg experimentally and winced. “It’s pretty -nearly gone now. It was fierce, though. I couldn’t use my left leg at -all. And I guess I got frightened. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help -it. I was trying to get back to the launch.” - -“You were headed out to sea when I――when we got to you,” said Toby -dryly. “Feel strong enough to get some clothes on if we help you?” - -“Of course. I’m all right now.” To prove it he swung his legs from -the seat and sat up a trifle unsteadily――and was instantly very sick -at his stomach. But after the nausea had passed the color came back -to his cheeks and he managed to get into his clothes with very little -help from Frank. “I suppose I’d have drowned if you fellows hadn’t come -along when you did,” he said presently. “I guess I was just about all -in.” - -“Yes, you were,” agreed Toby. “You had me scared good and plenty.” - -“Me, too,” said Frank. “Toby beat me to you by a long ways. I swam as -hard as I knew how, too. He fairly flew through the water. He had you -alongside the launch here when I came up.” - -“Thanks.” Arnold looked briefly at Toby and then gave all his attention -to a shoe lace. “I don’t know,” he grunted, pulling with unnecessary -violence at the lace, “how you thank a fellow for――saving your life, -but――I guess you fellows understand――――” - -“Of course you’ll bust the lace if you pull at it like that,” said Toby -indignantly. “What do you think it is? An anchor cable?” - -Arnold laughed, relieved. “Anyway, I hope I’ll be able to do something -for you some time――――” - -“You can do it right now,” interrupted Toby gruffly. “You can shut up!” - -“Who won the race?” inquired Arnold, glad to change the subject. - -“It was a tie,” answered Toby promptly. - -“Toby did,” said Frank with as little hesitation. “By about a yard.” - -Toby glanced up in surprise and then turned his gaze toward the -landing, now but a short distance away. “The water was too cold for -Frank,” he said. “It must have been about forty-four, I guess. Too cold -for swimming, anyway.” - -“It didn’t seem to trouble you much,” remarked Arnold. - -“Oh, I’m used to it. Frank isn’t. Some one be ready with the boat-hook. -We’re almost in.” - -Arnold patted his damp hair down and drew on his cap. “I say, you -fellows,” he began awkwardly, “there isn’t any reason for――for -mentioning this, I guess. It would only give my aunt hysterics, you -know. And dad might feel sort of――sort of uneasy, too. There’s no use -in troubling folks about things they can’t help, is there? See what I -mean?” - -“We won’t say anything about it,” replied Toby, laughing. “It’s bully -of you, Arn, not to want to worry your folks.” - -Arnold smiled sheepishly. “Well, you know how it is,” he muttered. -“Grown folks are awfully nervous about such things. Dad might forbid me -from sailing, you know. And that would be the very dickens.” - -“If I were you,” said Frank, with a return to his pompous manner once -more, “I’d stay out of the water unless it was pretty warm. I guess if -a fellow has cramps once he might have them any time. I’d be afraid to -take chances if I were you.” - -“I never had a cramp before in my life,” responded Arnold. “And I’ve -been in water colder than that, too. What I did, I guess, was get -cold watching you fellows race to the landing. Anyway, I’ll be mighty -careful the rest of the summer, you can bet! Pass me that boat-hook, -Frank.” - -Toby watched Arnold and Frank disappear up the bluff and then chugged -his way thoughtfully back to the town landing. Now that it was over, he -found that the morning’s misadventure had left him feeling a little bit -like a rag. He had swum very nearly a half-mile at top speed, although, -to be sure, a brief rest had halved the performance, and that was no -slight task for a boy of his years. But the result of the exertion had -told on him less, perhaps, than those minutes of fear and anxiety -when, plunging from the lighthouse landing, he had raced to Arnold’s -rescue. He didn’t feel the least bit in the world like making that -eleven o’clock trip to Johnstown. - -When he had tied up at the landing he had still more than fifteen -minutes to wait, and, after a reference to the contents of his pocket -and a minute of consideration, he climbed the lane and made his way -to a little lunch room nearby. There, seated on a high stool at the -counter, he consumed a large piece of apple pie and drank a cup of hot -coffee. Pie and coffee as a remedy for physical and nervous exhaustion -may sound queer, but they did the trick in Toby’s case, for he went -whistling back to the launch and a few minutes later ferried two -passengers across the bay in the best of spirits. - -[Illustration: He consumed a large piece of apple pie.] - -Two days later Arnold came over from the Head in the morning wearing an -expression that informed Toby that something of moment had occurred. He -looked at once subdued and important. When they were in the launch he -asked: “I suppose you didn’t say anything to any one, did you, Toby?” - -“About what?” asked the other. - -“About my trying to drown myself the other day.” - -“No, I didn’t. Why?” - -“Well, some one must have. Dad found out about it.” - -“Gee! Did he? What did he say?” - -“Not much. I mean――oh, he read me a lecture, of course. Said I was old -enough to know better than to do such things. I thought maybe you’d -told Phebe.” - -“I didn’t. Even if I had, though, no one else would have heard. Phebe’s -a wonder at keeping a secret. She’s almost like a boy. If you tell her -not to tell you can’t drag it out of her!” - -“Then it must have been Frank,” said Arnold, “but he swears he hasn’t -opened his mouth about it.” - -“Maybe some one saw us from the Head. They might have, you know. With a -pair of glasses――――” - -“There weren’t any boats around, were there?” - -“Nowhere near. Did your father tell you not to sail the _Aydee_ any -more?” - -“No, but I was scared he was going to. He said I must not go in the -water again this summer, though.” - -“Well, you should worry,” laughed Toby. “Who wants to bathe much now, -anyway?” - -“Aunt was the worst,” said Arnold. “She got all worked up about it and -I was afraid she’d make dad forbid my sailing any more. It’s funny -how he found out.” - -“Frank might have told some one in confidence,” Toby suggested. “Still, -if he says he didn’t――――” - -“I don’t believe he did.” Arnold stepped out and held the launch to the -float while Toby found the line. “He wants to see you, Toby.” - -“Frank? What for?” - -“No, dad. He said I was to ask you to come over this evening. I guess -he wants to thank you for pulling me out of the water. I’m sorry,” he -added apologetically. - -“You can tell him you forgot to give me the message,” said Toby with a -laugh. - -“What doing?” - -“Oh, lots of things. I ought to study, I guess.” - -Arnold grinned. “That’s sort of sudden, isn’t it? I haven’t heard you -mention studying all summer. You’d better come and have it over with. -He will just insist on doing it, Toby. Dad always does what he makes -up his mind to do. He’s like you that way. Besides, I wouldn’t want to -tell him I’d forgotten to tell you.” - -“I don’t want any thanks,” grumbled Toby. “I didn’t do anything to make -a fuss over. Gee, I almost wish I’d left you there!” - -“I’m sorry,” said Arnold again, “but you know the way fathers and -relatives are. They think they have to make a speech about such things. -It’s a beastly bore, I know, but I rather wish you’d come, Toby.” - -“Oh, all right. I suppose I’ll have to. But the next time you try to -drown yourself you’ll have to find some one else to pull you out!” - -The ordeal wasn’t very bad, however, after all. Mr. Deering was very -earnest, and shook hands with Toby twice and patted him once on the -back, but he evidently appreciated the fact that the boy was unhappily -embarrassed and so made his expression of gratitude mercifully brief. -But later, when Toby was toasting his shins in front of the library -fire, he traitorously returned to the subject in a roundabout way. - -“Toby,” he said, “Arnold tells me you are going to Yardley Hall School -this fall.” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“That’s fine. It will be nice for Arnold, too. You boys will have -a very jolly time there, I’ll wager. Neither of you should forget, -though, that having a good time isn’t the sole reason for being there. -Last year Arnold rather――ah――rather neglected work, I fear. You must -set him a good example of diligence, Toby.” - -“I studied a lot more than I needed to,” said Arnold defensively. “Gee, -you ought to see how some of the fellows loaf!” - -“Well, perhaps you didn’t do so badly, son. I wouldn’t want you to -hurt yourself studying.” He winked gravely at Toby. “Any time you feel -brain-fever coming on you’d better let up awhile, eh? Now, Toby, what I -started out to say is this: Arnold says you haven’t really got enough -money to take you through the school year. How about that?” - -“No, sir, not quite enough, but I guess I’ll make it somehow. I don’t -have to pay it all at once, sir.” - -“Still, you’d feel easier in your mind, I suppose, if you had it all -in sight. It would give me a great deal of pleasure, my boy, if you -would let me help you just a little. I don’t want you to consider that -I am paying you for saving my son’s life. I couldn’t put a valuation -on that, anyway. What happened two days ago doesn’t enter into this -little affair, except that, naturally, it has made me feel a good deal -more――more kindly toward you, Toby. To be quite frank, it’s probable -that the idea of investing a small sum in your education wouldn’t have -occurred to me if you hadn’t made a draft on my gratitude. But I’d -rather you viewed my contribution as merely a token of admiration -and――ah――affection. Now how much money do you lack, Toby?” - -“Why――why, I figure that I’ll be shy about forty-five dollars, sir, -but――――” - -“Is that all? But surely, you’ll need more than that! Well, never mind. -I’m going to hand you a check for two hundred, Toby. That ought to -provide for everything, eh?” - -“Yes, sir, it would,” answered Toby, shuffling his feet on the thick -rug and staring hard at the fire. “But――but I’d rather not, Mr. -Deering. I’m awfully much obliged to you, sir, but I guess I won’t.” - -“What? But why not? Now don’t be proud, my boy. This isn’t charity I’m -offering. I――look here, then. We’ll make it a loan. How’s that?” - -Toby shook his head, smiling a little. “It wouldn’t be a loan, sir, -because I wouldn’t ever be able to pay it back, I guess. Anyway, not -for years. I don’t want you to think I ain’t――am not――appreciating it, -sir, but I’ll come out all right. I’ve got almost enough now, and I can -make the rest before I need it. I’m awfully much obliged――――” - -“Oh, go on, Toby!” begged Arnold. “Take it, won’t you? Dad’s got lots -of money. He won’t mind if you don’t pay him back for a long, long -time, will you, Dad? But I don’t see why he need ever pay it back, do -you?” - -“But I don’t need it, you see,” protested Toby, embarrassed. “I――I’d so -much rather not take it, Arn! I would really!” - -“Oh, shucks! There’s no sense in being so touchy!” - -“I’m not touchy, Arn. I――I guess I can’t just explain how I feel about -it. If――if there was real need of the money――――” - -“All right, Toby,” said Mr. Deering, coming to his rescue. “You know -best, perhaps. There’s no doubt that money you earn yourself goes a lot -farther than money that’s come by easily. But just remember that if you -ever need it it’s here waiting for you, and it’s yours as a loan or a -gift as you please. That will do, Arnold. Toby is quite right about it. -We won’t say any more.” Mr. Deering, who had arisen from his armchair -a minute before, stepped forward and shook Toby’s hand again. “I’ve -got some letters to write, and so I’ll say good-night to you. And good -luck, too, Toby.” - -Later, on the landing, Toby asked: “Did you find out how your father -knew about it, Arn?” - -“Yes, the lighthouse keeper saw it and he told the man who brings us -fish. And he told the cook and――――” - -“Well, that lets Frank out, doesn’t it? I’m sort of glad. He――he was -pretty decent the other day, Frank was. About owning up that I beat -him, you know. And say, Arn, I guess he can swim as fast as he said. I -know I never had to work so hard before in my life!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE DISTRESS SIGNAL - - -One Sunday morning, a few days later, Toby, dressed for church, -sauntered across the road and, skirting the boat shed, went on down to -the wharf where the _Urnove_ lay snuggled against the spiles. It was a -sparkling-blue morning with a perceptible tinge of autumn in the crisp -air, and from the end of the stone pier he could see quite plainly -the shore for miles to the northward. But he didn’t look abroad very -long, for a sound below caused him to drop his eyes to the boat. In the -stern, leaning over with his gaze seemingly intent on the muddy bottom -of the shallow cove, puffing lazily at his old briar pipe, sat Long Tim. - -Long Tim was attired in his Sunday best, which included a very high -collar――which he called a “choker”――and a flaming red tie. Also, -Sunday meant a pair of shiny and extremely tight boots to Long Tim, -boots which, as Toby well knew, squeaked remonstrance all the way down -the church aisle. Long Tim was so intent on his task of apparently -studying the water that he had no knowledge of Toby’s presence until a -chip struck lightly on the brim of his carefully brushed, but ancient -derby. Then he looked up slowly and winked. - -“What are you looking for?” asked Toby. - -Long Tim shifted his position, felt solicitously of one boot and -smiled. “Money,” he answered. - -“Money? In the water?” - -“Well, I’ll tell you, Toby. I calculate it looks funny to you, because -you wouldn’t ordinarily expect to find money floating around in this -cove, now would you?” - -“I never have,” replied the boy. - -“Well, now I have.” Long Tim watched for Toby’s expression of surprise -and then went on with a chuckle. “Yes, sir, ’long about two months ago, -or maybe a little more, I was standin’ just about where you be now, and -I looked down in the water and see something green a-floatin’ round. -Well, sir, it looked mighty like a piece o’ money; paper, o’ course. -Says I, ‘It can’t be an’ so it ain’t, but if it is you might as well -have it as the fishes.’ So I reached me a pole and pulled it out. And -what do you suppose it was?” - -“A two-dollar bill,” said Toby rather faintly. - -Long Tim nodded. “Ezactly, though I don’t know how you guessed at the -de-nom-ination o’ it. Yes, sir, a nice, new two-dollar bill. Queer, -wa’n’t it? So since then I sometimes comes down and takes a look. If -there’s one two-dollar bill a-floatin’ around this here cove, like -enough there’s another, and like enough some day I’ll find it! Anyway, -it ain’t what you’d call hard work, now, is it?” - -To Long Tim’s surprise, Toby burst into laughter. His first impulse to -claim the money for Arnold lasted only a second. It would be a great -pity to spoil Long Tim’s romance for the sake of two dollars! But the -funny side of it struck him forcibly. Neither he nor Arnold had thought -to look for the lost bill. They had both taken it for granted that it -had sunk, whereas, had they reasoned a little, they would have known -that a piece of paper would float until saturated with water. They had -really deserved to lose it! - -“I calculate you don’t believe it,” said Long Tim mildly. - -“Oh, yes, I do,” answered Toby, conquering his laughter. - -“Oh! Then what was you laughin’ at, may I ask?” - -“Just――just something I remembered,” chuckled Toby. “I――I hope you find -some more, Tim!” - -“Well, I ain’t yet, but there’s no tellin’ when I will. I’m sort of -hopin’ that the next time it’ll be a five or a ten. I calculate there -ain’t no law limitin’ the de-nom-ination of flotsam money!” - -When Toby told Arnold about Long Tim’s find, later in the day, Arnold -was as much amused as Toby had been. “Say,” he gasped, “wouldn’t it be -funny to drop a dollar over the side of the wharf some day when he was -looking? Wouldn’t he be surprised?” - -“I guess he would,” Tony agreed, “but I guess it would be pretty funny. -When do you want to do it?” - -Arnold sobered. “Huh,” he answered, “I guess it wouldn’t be so funny -after all! Dollars are sort of scarce these days.” - -The last fortnight of vacation time fairly rushed by. All sorts of -things which they had planned to do and had never done arose to haunt -them, and they made heroic efforts to bring them to pass with but scant -success. Toby’s ferry business, which had begun to dwindle perceptibly, -kept him busy so much of the time that there was little opportunity -for large adventures. The Deerings were to return to the city on the -twelfth of September, about a week before Arnold’s school began, and -that date was drawing perilously near. Already Toby experienced qualms -of loneliness when Arnold was not with him, and he hated to think what -it would be like when the other had actually departed from Greenhaven. -Of course, if all went well they would meet again at Yardley Hall the -last of the month, but there were times when Toby feared that that -radiant dream would never come true. So many things might happen in a -fortnight or three weeks! Suppose that bank where his money was should -be robbed! One was always reading of such things! Frequently Toby -wished he had spurned the slight interest offered by the trust company -and hoarded his wealth in the bottom of the old sea-chest in his room. -Toward the last he feared to look in the newspaper lest he read that -robbers had blown up the safe of the bank or that a dishonest official -had decamped for South America or some such inaccessible place with his -savings! - -The two boys managed to see a trifle more than ever of each other -during those last two weeks, and that’s saying a good deal. Arnold -seldom lunched at home, preferring to have dinner at Toby’s, since the -trip back and forth to the Head ate up a lot of time which could be -used to better advantage. Their conversations nowadays dwelt largely -with Yardley Hall School and with the wonderful things they were to do -there. They never tired of those subjects. Generally Phebe shared the -confidences, saying little, but, like Mr. Murphy, speaking to the point -when moved to speech. Once when the two boys, seated on the stone steps -in front of the cottage between ferry trips, had expatiated long and -enthusiastically on the fun that awaited them at Yardley Hall, Phebe -observed wisely: - -“You mustn’t forget, Toby, what father said about getting your money’s -worth at school. It will be nice to have such a good time, but you -ought to learn a great deal, I think, because you’re going to pay a -great deal of money, aren’t you?” - -“Oh, he’ll learn,” said Arnold carelessly. But Toby was silent a -moment. Then he said soberly: “You’re right, sis. It won’t do to think -too much about play. A fellow ought to get his money’s worth, whatever -he goes into. And I intend to. You wait and see if I don’t, sis.” - -“I think you will,” she answered, smiling. “Folks who waste money are -very silly, and you’re not silly, Toby.” - -“I’ll see that he doesn’t, Phebe,” Arnold assured her gravely. - -“I’m afraid you don’t know much about it,” laughed the girl. - -“Arn doesn’t know what a dollar is,” said Toby. - -“Oh, don’t I? You throw one down there on the grass and I’ll show you!” - -“Well, you don’t know the value of a dollar, then. You’ve always had -all you wanted and――――” - -“Oh, that’s so, I suppose,” Arnold granted. “I guess I have wasted -a good deal of perfectly good money on silly things, Toby, but I’m -getting onto myself now. What you say about getting the worth of your -money is just about right. After this I’m going to, too. You keep your -eye on your Uncle Dudley. Some of the fellows at school think it’s -smart to throw money away, but I guess it’s just silly, like Phebe -says. Gee, if I know you much longer I’ll be as wise as――as Solomon――or -Mr. Murphy!” - -The _Frolic_ was hauled out one morning and set up on a cradle in the -boat yard and nicely canvassed over for the winter, and that ceremony -somehow seemed to bring the summer to an official close even though -three days still intervened before Arnold’s departure. The _Aydee_ was -to remain in commission until the last, for Arnold couldn’t bear to -give her up. Frequently he sailed across to Johnstown in the knockabout -when Toby made the trip in the launch, but toward the last he -abandoned the yacht and joined his chum in the _Urnove_. - -Arnold was to leave for the city on Thursday, and on Tuesday he -attached himself to Toby early in the morning and remained at his side -all the day. It was when they were on their way across to Johnstown at -four o’clock, minus passengers this trip, that he became reminiscent. -“Funny about us, isn’t it, Toby?” he began, smiling across at the other -as the boat dipped and rocked in a choppy sea. It had been cloudy -and squally all day, and within the last half-hour the wind had been -steadily rising. Toby had questioned the advisability of that last trip -but Arnold had laughed at his temerity. - -“How do you mean?” asked Toby, leaving the engine and seating himself -beside the other. - -“Oh, the way we happened to meet, you know, and all. If I hadn’t gone -over for gasoline that morning just when I did we wouldn’t have had the -row and got acquainted.” - -“And lost that money,” added Toby, grinning. “We might have run across -each other some other time, though, I guess.” - -Arnold shook his head. “I don’t believe so. I guess it was――was fated! -Well, say, we’ve had a dandy time, haven’t we? And we’re going to have -lots more. Say, honest, Toby, if you weren’t coming to Yardley I’d――I’d -hate like anything to go back!” - -“Uh-huh,” responded Toby, glancing away. “So would I. I mean――――” - -Arnold laughed. “I know! It’s jolly having a real chum!” - -Toby only nodded, but Arnold seemed satisfied, and by actual consent -the subject was abandoned. - -Fortunately for them, they had donned the oilskins before starting -across, for the spray was showering in at every dip of the boat’s bow -and things were getting pretty moist. Now and then, as she quartered -the waves, the _Urnove_ playfully put her nose under one and deposited -a good share of it inside. By the time they had covered half the -distance the well was full and the water was splashing up between the -gratings. - -“We’ll have to bail her out before we come back,” said Arnold. - -“Yes, and I guess we’d better come back pretty quick,” was the reply. -“I don’t like the weather much. This wind’s swinging around into the -southeast and there’ll be quite a sea before long.” - -“It won’t bother this little boat,” laughed Arnold. “And I guess we -don’t mind getting wet, do we?” - -“I don’t if you don’t. Just the same, I guess we’ll beat it back -without waiting until half-past.” - -“There’s a launch over there,” said Arnold, peering under his hand to -keep the spray from his eyes, “that seems to be making hard weather of -it. Look at the way she’s tossing! She’s a big one, too, isn’t she? A -trunk-cabin boat. What’s the signal she’s flying, Toby?” - -“I can’t see. Looks to me as though she were anchored. Queer place to -drop her mud-hook, though. Look out for this sea, Arn! It’s coming in!” - -It did come in and with a vengeance, and although they ducked their -heads to it it managed to get down their necks and up their sleeves -and left them drenched and laughing. They forgot the cabin cruiser -then and brought the _Urnove’s_ head around a bit and scuttled for -the landing. The wind was whistling loudly by that time and a sullen -wrack of clouds was scudding fast overhead. They made the lee side of -the little landing and found themselves partly out of the wind and in -fairly calm water. They dried their faces as best they could with their -handkerchiefs and then set about bailing the water from the bottom -of the launch. By the time they had finished it was so nearly the -half-hour that Toby felt no hesitancy in starting back. No one was in -sight on the road to the landing and so, starting the engine again and -casting off, they slipped out of their haven and faced the elements -once more. At the worst, as Toby said, there was no danger, but they -could ship a good deal of water and get pretty wet, and since the motor -was exposed the water frequently caused a short-circuit and slowed -down the engine. To obviate those drawbacks, they headed the launch -out so that she took the seas on her port bow, meaning to presently -swing around and run before them. That the latter intention was not -carried out was due to the fact that their first course took them in -the direction of the big cruising launch which they had noticed on the -way over, and that Toby, discerning something queer in the way in which -she tumbled and wallowed about, looked more closely and gave vent to a -grunt of surprise. - -“She’s not anchored at all,” he shouted across to Arnold. “She’s -drifting side-on. And――hello!” - -“What?” asked the other. - -“What do you make of those pennants she’s flying?” - -Arnold, crouching at the side wheel, screened his eyes and gazed at the -bits of colored bunting flapping from the little signal mast. “One’s -white and the other’s――the other’s blue-and-white, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, that’s J. But can you see if the white pennant’s got a red disk?” - -“I think so. Yes, it has! What’s it mean?” - -“C. J.; disabled and need assistance,” answered Toby. “Run over, and -see what’s up. Engine’s broken down, I suspect. There’s some one waving -to us.” - -The _Urnove_ turned her length to the seas and, rocking and pitching, -headed for the launch in distress. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -INTO PORT - - -As they drew closer to the other boat the boys saw that she was a fine -big cruiser with a lot of beam and a length of probably forty feet. Her -cabin extended almost the length of the hull and in the small cockpit -at the stern two men were to be seen. One was apparently engaged in -some task that hid all but his head and shoulders, and the other, -clinging to a railing, held a megaphone to his mouth as the _Urnove_ -came up to leeward. - -“We’ve broken our shaft,” came the voice across the water. “Can you -give us a tow?” - -“Yes,” called Toby in answer, “if you’ve got a line that’ll hold. I’ll -come about and run in close to you. Have your line ready.” - -The other waved his megaphone in assent and the _Urnove_, plunging -past, made a wide turn and once more approached. “Stand by with the -boat-hook, Arn,” said Toby, “in case we don’t catch it. Don’t fall -overboard, though! Ready, now!” - -The little launch again drew close to the cruiser, Toby steering her -to the leeward and as near as he dared venture. The second occupant -of the big boat had given up his task and was bracing himself in the -cockpit with a coil of rope in his hands. - -“Heave it!” called Toby. - -The coil shot across the few yards of water straight for the _Urnove’s_ -bow, but the wind seized and deflected it and, although Arnold did his -best with the boat-hook, they missed it. - -Coming around again was wet business, and plugging back in the teeth of -the wind and water was none too easy. Those on the cruiser were ready -for another attempt and as the _Urnove_ plunged slowly past the coil -was again thrown and this time Arnold got it and in a moment had made -it fast to the stern cleat. On the other boat――the name on the bow was -_Sinbad_――one of the crew crept forward along the heaving, slippery -deck and secured the cable at the bow. Meanwhile the second occupant of -the boat was speaking through cupped hands. - -“Much obliged, you fellows! Can you make Cutchogue Harbor?” - -“No,” called Toby. “We’ll tow you to Johnstown, over there, or into -Greenhaven. Which do you say?” - -“That won’t do, thanks. We’ve got to get to Cutchogue. This boat’ll -tow easily,” insisted the man. “Name your own price, like a good -fellow. It’s mighty important that we get to Cutchogue. Come on now! -Can’t you do it for us? Any figure you say and we’ll pay you the minute -we get there!” - -Toby, keeping the _Urnove’s_ bows to the sea, reflected a moment. Then -he turned questioningly to Arnold. - -“What do you say?” he asked. - -“Let’s try it!” said Arnold eagerly. “It’ll be a lark!” - -“If we don’t founder doing it,” replied Toby grimly. “All right. I’m -game.” He shouted across to the cruiser then. “Glad to take you to -Greenhaven or anywhere down here for nothing,” he called. “But if you -want to go to Cutchogue I’ll have to charge you something. I won’t -promise to get you there, either, but I’ll do my best.” - -“Good boy!” was the response. “What’s your figure?” - -Toby turned quickly to Arnold. “What’s twenty-five from seventy?” he -demanded. - -“What?” gasped Arnold blankly. - -But Toby had solved the problem himself. “Forty-five dollars,” he -shouted. - -“Go to it, feller!” The man waved his hand gayly. “You’re a sportsman!” - -“All right,” answered Toby. “Give me plenty of cable. Here goes!” - -Toby speeded up the engine, the cable tightened, the _Urnove’s_ -propeller thrashed and churned as the weight of the bigger boat was -felt, and for a moment, while the stout rope strained and dripped -water, the outcome appeared in doubt. Then, however, the _Sinbad’s_ bow -swung slowly around, the line slackened a little, tautened again and -the _Urnove_, with her engine chugging madly and the waves tossing her -about, moved ahead. - -Once under way, Toby slowed the engine down and headed straight into -the seas. With that load astern the little launch shipped water at -every plunge and Toby knew that his safest course was to make dead -into the weather until he had reached the lee of Robins Island. There -he could run northwest and, once around the end of the island, find -smoother seas off New Suffolk where Nassau Point would break the force -of wind and tide. But it was a good five miles to the southernmost end -of the island and his course took him down the very middle of the bay. -There was no longer any question of keeping dry, for the spray flew -over the bows at every dip and now and then a full-sized wave rushed -in, cascading over the seat and running astern to where Arnold was -busy, bailer in hand. Toby steered with the starboard wheel, where he -had the engine within arm’s reach, but steering the _Urnove_ with tons -of weight holding her stern down was a different matter from steering -her under ordinary conditions, and Toby had his hands full. Behind -them, at the end of the dipping line, came the _Sinbad_, swaying and -plunging about, and looking, in the fast-gathering dusk, like some -wounded and helpless sea-monster. Arnold, abandoning his bailer for a -moment, crept forward to Toby’s side. - -“What are we making?” he asked. - -Toby looked back at the running water. “About four miles, I guess,” he -answered. - -“It’ll take us two hours, then. How about lights?” - -“Better try, Arn. Maybe if you squeeze down and get your match inside -the locker you can do it. If you can’t we’ll just have to risk it. -They’ll light up on the cruiser pretty quick, I guess. Got matches?” - -Arnold nodded and set about his task. Lying flat on the wet flooring, -lantern and matches held under a seat locker, he finally met with -success. Darkness came early that September evening, and long before -the lights on Robins Island appeared ahead the _Sinbad_ was lost to -sight save for her lanterns. Arnold, too, had to fight, for water -entered the _Urnove_ not only over the gunwale but up through opening -seams in her hull, and from the time darkness fell and the distant -lights on shore twinkled through the night he had to bail incessantly -to keep the water from gaining. Both boys were wet to their skins -now and the searching wind, straight from the northeast, set them -shivering. Arnold envied the occupants of the _Sinbad_, who, at least, -had the protection of their cabin. He and Toby swapped jobs after -awhile, Arnold taking the wheel and Toby the wooden bailer. They set -the roughest seas about a half-hour after their start, by which time -the bay had widened out and the wind, sweeping wildly down from Little -Peconic, tumbled the water into a sea that might have daunted the -skipper of a larger craft than the tiny _Urnove_. More than once, if -truth is told, Arnold’s heart scampered up into his throat as some more -than ordinarily ugly wave smashed at the launch, lifted it sickeningly, -dropped it with a contemptuous bang and rushed madly astern. He was -secretly relieved when darkness settled down. Probably conditions were -just as bad, but they were hidden from sight. - -It was about six o’clock when Toby’s longing gaze was rewarded by the -flicker of a distant light which told him that they were drawing near -to Robins Island. A few minutes later there was a barely perceptible -decrease in the pitching of the launch and the wind blew with less -force. Toby ran on until within what he believed to be a quarter of a -mile from the shore and then swung the _Urnove_ to port and, in calmer -water now, ran toward the northern end of the island. Presently Arnold, -who had gone back to bailing at the approach to land, shouted from the -stern. - -“Lights, Toby! Is that Cutchogue?” - -“New Suffolk. Cutchogue’s beyond.” - -“How much further is it?” - -“The harbor’s about a mile around this point. I’m swinging around now.” - -“Hooray!” yelled Arnold. “Oh, you harbor!” - -Nassau Point, which stretches far into Little Peconic Bay beyond the -harbor south, broke the force of wind and tide and after they left the -lights along the water-front at New Suffolk behind they had smooth -sailing. They towed the _Sinbad_ well up into the harbor and at last -Toby took the megaphone and hailed the cruiser. - -“All right here?” he asked. “I don’t know this place very well.” - -“All right, thanks,” came the answer. “Cast off when you’re ready.” - -Simultaneously the boys heard the splash of the _Sinbad’s_ anchor. Toby -threw off the line from the stern and, picking his way carefully, swung -around and approached the anchored boat. - -“Pass us a line,” called one of the men, “and come aboard, boys.” - -A moment later, murmuring apologies for their dripping clothes and -blinking at the light, they stepped down into the snug cabin. - -“Throw your oilskins off and get warmed up,” instructed one of their -hosts. “I’d offer you some dry things if I had them. We’ll have some -hot coffee ready in a shake, and that’ll do you a lot of good, I guess.” - -Toby viewed the magnificence of that cabin with awed interest, but -Arnold was gazing at the younger of the two men before them. He was not -more than twenty-one, it appeared, while his companion was probably -three years older. Both were fine, gentlemanly looking chaps in spite -of their old sweaters and khaki trousers and generally dilapidated -appearance. The older one was already busying himself at the little -stove up forward, but it was he who took up the tale again. - -“We’re awfully grateful to you chaps,” he said earnestly. “And you -did a mighty plucky stunt. Frankly, I didn’t believe we’d get here. We -broke our propeller shaft about three o’clock and drifted all the way -down from Franklinville to where you found us. We thought for a while -we’d be able to collar around the break and limp home, but it was no -go. I dare say you thought we were a bit fussy in insisting on getting -up here, but the fact is we’ve got to light out the first thing in the -morning and there’s a chap we know who’ll tinker us up tonight. You -fellows won’t want to go back, I guess, until the traveling’s better. -We can bunk you down here just as well as not.” - -“I guess we’d better go home, thanks,” said Toby. “Our folks don’t know -where we are, you see.” - -“How about telephoning from the village?” asked the other man. “You -live in Greenhaven, don’t you?” - -“I do,” replied Toby. “Deering lives on Spanish Head. I guess we’d -better go back. It won’t be bad with the wind astern.” - -“Well, you’re a plucky pair,” replied the other admiringly. “I wouldn’t -make that trip again in that boat of yours for a lot of money. That -reminds me, by the way.” He went to a locker and brought forth a purse. -“We’d better settle while we think of it. There’s one thing, though, I -would like to know,” he went on, smiling at Toby as he counted out the -money. “Why did you ask forty-five dollars instead of fifty? Just how -did you arrive at that figure? It’s puzzled me ever since.” - -Toby hesitated. Then: “I needed forty-five, sir, and I thought it -wouldn’t be too much to ask.” - -“It wasn’t! Not a cent! All right. Here you are then, but I’d just as -leave make it fifty――er――what’s your name, by the way?” - -“Mine’s Tucker, and his is Deering.” - -“Good names, both. My friend’s name there is Loring, and mine――――” - -“Is Pennimore,” supplied Arnold. - -“Yes, but how did you know?” asked the other in surprise. - -“I’ve seen you a good many times, sir, around Yardley.” - -“Oh, you’re a Yardley Hall fellow, eh? Well met, Deering! So am I. That -is, I used to be. Loring’s another. Funny to meet you chaps like this. -Hear that, Alf? These fellows are Yardley chaps! Or one of them is. How -about you, Tucker?” - -“I’m entering this year, sir.” - -“Good stuff! Now listen, you fellows. You know where I live, Deering. -Come and see me when you get there. I’ll be back pretty nearly as soon -as you are. Bring Tucker with you. Don’t forget, eh?” - -“No, thanks, I’ll be glad to,” said Arnold. “Is――is Mr. Loring the one -who used to play quarterback on the team?” - -“I am,” laughed Mr. Loring. “Don’t tell me that my fame still survives, -Deering!” - -“Yes, sir. Besides, I’ve seen your picture in the gym lots of times.” - -“And you’ve been gone――how long is it, Alf? Six years, eh? That’s fame -as is fame!” - -“Shut up,” replied the other, laughing, “and drink this. Find another -cup, Gerald, will you? Sorry we can’t offer you anything better than -canned cow, fellows. Dig into those biscuits, will you? If you’re half -as hungry as I am, you’re starved! I wish to goodness we had some dry -clothes for you. Look here, why not get those things off and wrap a -couple of blankets around you? There are towels in there and you can -rub yourselves dry, you know. Great scheme! Why didn’t you think of -that, Gerald? What good are you, anyway, in a crisis?” - -“I don’t mind wet clothes,” answered Toby. “And it wouldn’t be much -good to get dry and then put our clothes on again.” - -“All right, but pull this blanket around you until you get ready to -start back. It’ll keep you warm meanwhile. Have some more sugar, -Deering?” - -In spite of their wet garments that was a very jolly half-hour that the -two boys spent in the cabin of the _Sinbad_. They each had two cups of -really excellent coffee and as many biscuits as they could eat. And -they had a fine time talking about Yardley Hall, and listening to the -reminiscences of their hosts. They learned that the _Sinbad_ belonged -to Mr. Loring and that the two had spent a month cruising along the -coast from Maine to Long Island without a mishap until that afternoon. -It was nearly nine when they donned their oilskins again and climbed -back into the _Urnove_. The _Sinbad’s_ crew once more expressed their -gratitude, shook hands and wished them a safe voyage, Mr. Pennimore -reminding them that they were to come and see him when they got to -Yardley. Then the _Urnove_ chugged off again in the darkness, picking -her way between anchored craft, and the lights on the cruiser dwindled -away astern. - -Arnold found plenty of bailing to do for awhile, but it didn’t keep -him from talking a streak until they were out of the protection of -the land and the wind drowned his voice. The return trip was far less -strenuous. Free of her tow, the little launch held her head well out -of water and, since the sea was following instead of charging at their -bow, they kept fairly dry. It was well short of ten when, at last, the -launch reached the smoother water of Greenhaven Harbor and still lacked -five minutes of the hour when, tired and wet but happy, they entered -Toby’s house to the great relief of his folks. Arnold had stopped at -the drug store and telephoned to the Head and before they had ended -their story of the rescue of the _Sinbad_ the automobile was waiting to -whisk him home. Toby went to the car with him and after Arnold had said -good-night and was moving off he called to the driver. - -“Wait a minute, Peter! I say, Toby, why did you ask him forty-five -dollars instead of fifty? I didn’t get that any more than he did!” - -“Why, because I was shy seventy dollars of enough to go to school,” -answered Toby calmly. “Dad promised me twenty-five, you know, and that -left forty-five. Now I’ve got enough. Good-night!” - -Two days later Toby and Phebe stood on the station platform at -Riverport saying good-by to Arnold. Arnold’s father had left for New -York earlier in the day in the automobile, Arnold’s aunt was safely -ensconced in the parlor car and Arnold himself was waving from the -last platform as the bell clanged and the train slowly moved away. - -“Good-by, Phebe! I’ve had a fine old time! Say good-by to your father -and mother again for me. Good-by, Toby, old scout! See you in a week or -so. Don’t forget to write.” Arnold had to shout now at the top of his -lungs. “And don’t――forget――to come!” - -“I’ll be there!” called Toby. “I’ll be there if I have to walk!” - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate. - - ――Obvious printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were - silently corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - ――Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Keeping His Course, by Ralph Henry Barbour - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KEEPING HIS COURSE *** - -***** This file should be named 62027-0.txt or 62027-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/0/2/62027/ - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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