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diff --git a/old/62027-h/62027-h.htm b/old/62027-h/62027-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 616878a..0000000 --- a/old/62027-h/62027-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10117 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - - <title> - Keeping His Course, by Ralph Henry Barbour—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -/* DACSoft styles */ - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -/* General headers */ -h1 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -/* Chapter headers */ -h2 { - text-align: center; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5em; -} - -div.chapter { - page-break-before: always; -} - -h2.nobreak { - page-break-before: avoid; -} - -/* Indented paragraph */ -p { - margin-top: .51em; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-align: justify; - text-indent: 1em; -} - -/* Unindented paragraph */ -.noi { text-indent: 0em; } - -/* Centered unindented paragraph */ -.noic { - text-indent: 0em; - text-align: center; -} - -/* Drop caps */ -p.cap { text-indent: 0em; } - -p.cap:first-letter { - float: left; - padding-right: 3px; - font-size: 250%; - line-height: 83%; -} - -/* Non-standard paragraph margins */ -.p2 { margin-top: 2em; } -.p4 { margin-top: 4em; } - -.pad4 { - margin-top: 4em; - margin-bottom: 4em; -} - -/* Horizontal rules */ -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} - -hr.r30 { - width: 30%; - margin-left: 35%; - margin-right: 35%; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; -} - -/* Lists */ -ul { list-style-type: none; } - -li { - text-indent: 0em; - padding-left: 0em; -} - -/* Tables */ -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -/* Table cell alignments */ -.tdl {text-align: left;} - -.tdrb { - text-align: right; - vertical-align: bottom; -} - -.tdrt { - text-align: right; - padding-right: 0.75em; - vertical-align: top; -} - -th { - font-weight: normal; -} - -.pr { - padding-right: .5em; -} - -/* Physical book page and line numbers */ -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - right: 3%; -/* left: 92%; */ - font-size: x-small; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; - text-align: right; - color: gray; -} /* page numbers */ - -/* Blockquotes */ -.blockquot { - margin-top: 1em; - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-bottom: 1em; -} - -/* Alignment */ -.right {text-align: right;} - -/* Text appearance */ -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap { - text-transform: lowercase; - font-variant: small-caps; - } - -/* Small fonts and lowercase small-caps */ -.smfont { - font-size: .8em; -} - -.smfontr { - font-size: .75em; - text-align: right; -} - -/* Illustration caption */ -.caption { - font-size: .75em; - font-weight: bold; -} - -/* Images */ -img { - max-width: 100%; /* no image to be wider than screen or containing div */ - height:auto; /* keep height in proportion to width */ -} - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - max-width: 100%; /* div no wider than screen, even when screen is narrow */ -} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.tnote { - background-color: #E6E6FA; - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - padding-bottom: .5em; - padding-top: .5em; - padding-left: .5em; - padding-right: .5em; -} - -.tntitle { - font-size: 1.25em; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Title page borders and content. */ -.title { - font-size: 1.75em; - font-weight: bold; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -.halftitle { - font-size: 1.5em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -.author { - font-size: 1.25em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -.works { - font-size: .75em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Advertisement formatting. */ -.adbox { - border: 2px solid black; - padding-left: 0em; - padding-right: 0em; - margin: auto; - max-width: 20em; -} - -@media handheld { - .adbox { - border: 2px solid black; - padding: 1em; - margin: auto; - max-width: 100%; - } -} - -.adauthor { - font-size: 1.25em; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* Hanging indent. */ -.hang { - text-indent: -2em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -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 - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="figcenter" id="cover" style="width: 600px;"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="600" height="693" alt="cover" title="cover" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="noi halftitle">KEEPING HIS COURSE</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="adbox"> -<p class="noic adauthor">By Ralph Henry Barbour</p> - -<p class="p2 noic">PURPLE PENNANT SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">The Lucky Seventh</li> -<li class="hang">The Secret Play</li> -<li class="hang">The Purple Pennant</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">YARDLEY HALL SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">Forward Pass</li> -<li class="hang">Double Play</li> -<li class="hang">Winning His Y</li> -<li class="hang">For Yardley</li> -<li class="hang">Around the End</li> -<li class="hang">Change Signals</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">HILTON SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">The Half-back</li> -<li class="hang">For the Honor of the School</li> -<li class="hang">Captain of the Crew</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">ERSKINE SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">Behind the Line</li> -<li class="hang">Weatherby’s Inning</li> -<li class="hang">On Your Mark</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">THE “BIG FOUR” SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">Four in Camp</li> -<li class="hang">Four Afoot</li> -<li class="hang">Four Afloat</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">THE GRAFTON SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">Rivals for the Team</li> -<li class="hang">Winning His Game</li> -<li class="hang">Hitting the Line</li> -</ul> - -<p class="noic">BOOKS NOT IN SERIES</p> - -<ul> -<li class="hang">Keeping His Course</li> -<li class="hang">The Brother of a Hero</li> -<li class="hang">Finkler’s Field</li> -<li class="hang">Danforth Plays the Game</li> -<li class="hang">Benton’s Venture</li> -<li class="hang">The Junior Trophy</li> -<li class="hang">The New Boy at Hilltop</li> -<li class="hang">The Spirit of the School</li> -<li class="hang">The Arrival of Jimpson</li> -</ul> - -<hr class="r30" /> - -<p class="noi works">D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, Publishers, New York</p> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="figcenter" id="i_frontis" style="width: 382px;"> - <img src="images/i_frontis.jpg" width="382" height="600" alt="" title="" /> - <br /> - <div class="caption"><a href="#Page_218">“Hold on! Isn’t that a sort of a light over there?”</a></div> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h1>KEEPING<br /> -HIS COURSE</h1> - -<p class="p2 noic">BY</p> - -<p class="noi author">RALPH HENRY BARBOUR</p> - -<p class="noi works">AUTHOR OF<br /> -“HITTING THE LINE,” “WINNING HIS GAME,”<br /> -“RIVALS FOR THE TEAM,” ETC.</p> - -<div class="pad4"> -<div class="figcenter" id="logo" style="width: 94px;"> - <img src="images/logo.jpg" width="94" height="115" alt="logo" title="logo" /> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="noi works">ILLUSTRATED BY</p> - -<p class="noic">WALT LOUDERBACK</p> - -<p class="p2 noic"><span class="adauthor">D. APPLETON & COMPANY</span><br /> -NEW YORK LONDON<br /> -1918</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="noic">Copyright, 1918, by<br /> -<span class="smcap">D. Appleton and Company</span></p> - -<p class="p2 noic">Copyright, 1916, by<br /> -The Commercial Advertiser Association</p> - -<p class="p4 noic">Printed in the United States of America</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<col style="width: 20%;" /> -<col style="width: 70%;" /> -<col style="width: 10%;" /> -<tr> - <th class="pr smfontr">CHAPTER</th> - <th class="tdl"></th> - <th class="smfontr">PAGE</th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">I.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Toby Resents an Insult</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">1</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">II.</td> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">The</span> <i>Turnover</i></a></td> - <td class="tdrb">13</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">III.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">Arnold Pays His Debts</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">26</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IV.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Friends Afloat</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">36</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">V.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Shots in the Dark</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">49</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VI.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">Pursuit and Capture</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">62</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">The Stolen Launch</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">75</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">VIII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">The Hidden Name</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">88</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">IX.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">“Three Hundred Dollars Reward!”</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">100</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">X.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">Toby Blocks the Plate</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">112</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XI.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Toby Makes Up His Mind</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">125</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">“T. Tucker, Prop.”</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">143</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XIII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Trick for Trick</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">155</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XIV.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Toby Is Downhearted</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">170</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XV.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Phebe Christens the Knockabout</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">181</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XVI.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Lost in the Fog</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">193</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XVII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">The Lighted Window</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">206</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XVIII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Mr. Tucker Consents</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">220</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XIX.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Toby Accepts a Challenge</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">230</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XX.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">A Close Call</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">243</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XXI.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">The Distress Signal</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">261</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdrt">XXII.</td> - <td class="tdl smcap"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">Into Port</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">273</td> -</tr> -</table> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - - -<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> -<col style="width: 90%;" /> -<col style="width: 10%;" /> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_frontis">“Hold on! Isn’t that a sort of a light -over there?”</a></td> - <td class="tdrb"><i>Frontispiece</i></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <th> </th> - <th class="smfontr"><span class="smcap">Facing Page</span></th> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp066">“We’ve gained like anything, Arn!”</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">66</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp122">Toby pegged hard to Tim</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">122</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl hang"><a href="#i_fp254">He consumed a large piece of apple pie</a></td> - <td class="tdrb">254</td> -</tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[1]</span></p> - - - - -<p class="noi title">KEEPING HIS COURSE</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I<br /> -<small>TOBY RESENTS AN INSULT</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[2]</span> -brown, but a brown that only escaped being red -by the narrowest of margins. That fact was a -sore subject with Toby Tucker.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[3]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Toby had the landing to himself. The box on -which he sat held provisions for the yacht <i>Penguin</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[4]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“<i>Frolic</i>,” 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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[5]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“Sheer off, you idiot!” cried Toby, nimbly -scrambling out of the way. “Put your wheel -over!”</p> - -<p>“Grab her!” responded the boy in the launch. -“Fend her off!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you grab her?” demanded the boy -in the launch angrily. “Couldn’t you see she was -going to hit?”</p> - -<p>“I’d look nice trying to stop her, wouldn’t I?” -countered Toby contemptuously. “Why don’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[6]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Somewhat disgruntled, the amateur navigator -proffered the end of the boat-hook and in a jiffy -the <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“You think you’re smart, don’t you?” sneered -the other.</p> - -<p>Toby made no reply to that, merely smiling in a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[7]</span> -most exasperating manner. Presently, when the -skipper of the <i>Frolic</i> had laboriously shoved the -launch out of the way, he looked questioningly -about the landing.</p> - -<p>“Where can I get gasoline?” he asked more -affably.</p> - -<p>Toby was maddeningly deliberate. “Gasoline?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How much do you want?”</p> - -<p>“What’s that got to do with it?” demanded the -other impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you want as much as ten gallons it -would pay me to get it for you.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Toby looked around the float. “I -don’t see any gasoline, though; do you?”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, where——”</p> - -<p>“You can get all you want at Tucker’s wharf -over there.”</p> - -<p>The other followed the direction of Toby’s -pointing finger. “At the boat yard you mean?”</p> - -<p>Toby nodded. “Yes; just chug over there to the -float where you see the red tank.”</p> - -<p>“Why couldn’t you tell me that before I tied -up?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[8]</span></p> - -<p>“You didn’t ask me.” The other grunted and -set about casting off again, during which operation -Toby studied him speculatively.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Penguin</i>, and jumped lightly to the <i>Frolic</i>.</p> - -<p>“I’ll go over with you and get it,” he said. -“Where’s your boat-hook? All right. Start her -up!”</p> - -<p>The other viewed him doubtfully. “What have -you got to do with it?” he asked, suspiciously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The engine started at half-speed, and the <i>Frolic</i><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[9]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“How much do you want?” he called back.</p> - -<p>“About nine, I guess. My tank holds ten, and -I think there’s almost a gallon in it.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“One ninety—— Say, how much do you charge -a gallon?” exclaimed the other, incredulously.</p> - -<p>“Twenty-two cents. This is the best there is.”</p> - -<p>“Twenty-two! Why, I only paid twenty in -New York the other day!”</p> - -<p>“You were lucky,” drawled Toby. “It’s twenty-two<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[10]</span> -here. What you got was low-grade, I -guess.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Get it out? What for? Look here, twenty -cents is enough and——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“At the town landing! You said they didn’t -keep it there!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[11]</span> -this two dollars, you—you red-headed cheat!”</p> - -<p>Toby’s grin faded instantly. “What did you -call me?” he asked very quietly after a moment’s -silence.</p> - -<p>“You heard it! Now you find twenty cents -and——”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic’s</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“Take it back!” he panted. “’Tain’t red, and -you know it!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Let me alone, you silly ass!” grunted the older -youth. “We’ll both be in the water in a -second.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[12]</span></p> - -<p>“Take it back, then!” panted Toby. “’Tain’t -red, is it?”</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[13]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II<br /> -<small><span class="allsmcap">THE</span> <i>Turnover</i></small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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.</p> - -<p>“Now, you wild idiot,” he gasped, “you keep -away from me!”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>An expression of blank dismay came to the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[14]</span> -other’s face, and he gazed anxiously about deck -and water. “I dropped it! You made me do it, -too! Now you find it!”</p> - -<p>Toby shrugged. “I guess it’s at the bottom -now. Let me look.”</p> - -<p>“You stay where you are,” commanded the -other, threatening again with his weapon.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“How do I know? When you grabbed me, I -suppose.”</p> - -<p>“Haven’t you got any more money with you?”</p> - -<p>“No, I haven’t, and if I had I wouldn’t give it -to you,” was the ungracious reply. Toby considered. -Finally:</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“That’s twenty-two cents a gallon, though.”</p> - -<p>Toby nodded. “Sure. That’s the price.”</p> - -<p>After a moment’s consideration the other consented.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[15]</span> -“But you’ll have to trust me for it,” he -said. “That two dollars was all I had.”</p> - -<p>“All right. What’s your name?”</p> - -<p>“Deering, Arnold Deering. I live on the -Head.”</p> - -<p>“Spanish Head? Whose house have you got?”</p> - -<p>“We live in our own house. It’s called ‘Cedarcroft,’ -and it’s the big one right at the end——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“I can whistle,” answered Toby undisturbedly.</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to!” Arnold was having difficulty -with the knot he had tied. Toby looked on -quizzically.</p> - -<p>“Those square knots——” he began.</p> - -<p>“Oh, shut up!” Arnold finally cast loose and -climbed aboard. “You get off now.”</p> - -<p>“I was thinking maybe you’d drop me at the -town landing,” replied Toby calmly. “I’ve got a -box of groceries over there.”</p> - -<p>“Well, all right, but you’ll have to jump. I -don’t intend to stop for you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[16]</span></p> - -<p>“Sure. Reverse her when you start and back -out. Put your wheel hard over and——”</p> - -<p>“Say,” inquired Arnold belligerently, “who’s -running this thing?”</p> - -<p>“You are. How long have you had her?”</p> - -<p>“About a week.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Is that so? I’ll bet I can run a launch as well -as you can, you——”</p> - -<p>“Careful!” warned Toby.</p> - -<p>“You fresh kid!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you fall in,” said the other vindictively. -Toby laughed.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Frolic</i> pointed her nose down the -harbor and chugged indignantly away. Not, however, -until Toby had sent a gentle reminder floating -after her.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[17]</span></p> - -<p>“<i>Frolic</i>, ahoy!” he shouted.</p> - -<p>Arnold turned an inquiring head.</p> - -<p>“Don’t forget that ninety-nine cents! And remember -I’m still whistling!”</p> - -<p>There was no reply, and Toby, seating himself -on the box, chuckled wickedly and resumed his -onerous task.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I guess I’ll have to,” said Toby, ruefully.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[18]</span></p> - -<p>“I calculate you will,” agreed his father.</p> - -<p>“At the wholesale price, though,” added the -boy hastily; and Mr. Tucker’s eyes twinkled as he -nodded.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[19]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“We might go out in the launch,” suggested -Toby, “only I’d have to fix the wiring -first.”</p> - -<p>“Would it take long?” asked his sister.</p> - -<p>“I guess not. I couldn’t find the trouble yesterday,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[20]</span> -though. We might take a run around to -Shinnecock if I can get her started.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Toby had made most of that boat himself. It -wasn’t as grand as the <i>Frolic</i> 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 -<i>Turnover</i>. 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 <i>Turnover</i> -there and then.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[21]</span></p> - -<p>The <i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Turnover</i> had her own eccentricities -and it was necessary to humor her.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[22]</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Turnover</i> -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 <i>Turnover</i> began to nod to the quartering -waves. Toby slathered oil here and there, gave -her more gas, and seated himself across from his -sister.</p> - -<p>“She’s going fine,” he said. “I guess we could -make Robins Island if we wanted to.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too far, Toby. I’d rather go to Shinnecock.”</p> - -<p>“All right. It’s going to be dandy after we -get around the Head. There’s a peach of a swell, -isn’t there?”</p> - -<p>The launch dipped her way past Nobbs Island, -with its squatty lighthouse, and Phebe turned the -launch toward the Head.</p> - -<p>“There’s the place that fellow lives,” said Toby,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[23]</span> -nodding at a fine new stone-and-shingle house on -the point. “The fellow I had the scrap with, I -mean.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a lovely house,” said Phebe. “I suppose -they have lots of money, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“I guess you were horribly superior and nasty,” -said Phebe. “You can be, you know.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Was he nice looking?” asked Phebe.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“That was a horrid thing to do, Toby.” But -she smiled as she said it.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t do it, sis. He stumbled—sort of—and -went over backwards, and I went with him.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[24]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, we aren’t going to do anything of the -kind!” replied Phebe severely, and Toby laughed.</p> - -<p>“I was just fooling. He’ll pay it, all right. -And he’ll apologize for calling me red-headed, -too.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t. I think it’s awful.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Toby, you said once you thought Nellie’s -hair was very pretty!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Turnover</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[25]</span> -claimed the wheel now, headed the <i>Turnover</i> -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 <i>Turnover</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“They are either fishing or have broken down. -I’ve been watching them for some time.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“They’re waving at us, I think,” said Phebe a -minute later. “Look, Toby.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right.” Toby waved his hat in reply -and sent the <i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i>, -sis! And, unless I’m much mistaken, that’s Pretty -Boy waving!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[26]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<small>ARNOLD PAYS HIS DEBTS</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">Toby was not mistaken, for presently the -<i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Turnover</i> run down alongside -the <i>Frolic</i>. As he did so he vastly enjoyed the -expression of surprise and annoyance that came -into Arnold’s face when the latter recognized -him.</p> - -<p>“Hello,” said Toby as the boats bobbed side -by side. “Want some more gasoline?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Toby considered a moment, or appeared to. -Then, as the <i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Frolic’s</i> pretty heavy for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[27]</span> -us, I guess. I might send some one out to you -when I get in.”</p> - -<p>Phebe uttered a low-voiced protest. “Don’t -be horrid, Toby,” she said. “Of course we can -tow them.”</p> - -<p>But the boys in the white launch didn’t hear -that, and Arnold looked dismayed. “But, look -here, whatever-your-name-is——”</p> - -<p>“Well, you said it was Red-head this morning,” -replied Toby carelessly.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>The second occupant of the <i>Frolic</i>, 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.”</p> - -<p>“All right then, two,” amended Arnold anxiously. -“Get that half-inch rope out of the stern -locker, Frank, will you?”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Turnover</i> -into position. “Tell you what I will do,” he continued -then. “I’ll come aboard and see if I can -start her for you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[28]</span></p> - -<p>“What’s the good of that?” demanded Frank. -“We’ve been trying for nearly two hours. And -we want to get in.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe I might think of something you -haven’t,” answered Toby.</p> - -<p>“All right, come ahead,” said Arnold.</p> - -<p>Toby slid the <i>Turnover</i> 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.</p> - -<p>Arnold colored as he murmured a response and -then introduced Frank Lamson. Phebe nodded -shyly and Toby clambered aboard the <i>Frolic</i>. 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[29]</span> -at last, snapping the door of the forward locker -shut again, he faced Arnold with a satisfied nod.</p> - -<p>“Got it,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Really? What was the trouble?” asked the -<i>Frolic’s</i> skipper.</p> - -<p>“Nothing much. I can fix it in a minute.”</p> - -<p>“Go ahead, then,” said Frank Lamson, with a -scowl. “We’re in a hurry, I tell you.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a fool,” begged Arnold. “If you can -fix it——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Toby!” exclaimed Phebe, in a shocked voice.</p> - -<p>Arnold flushed and stammered. “What’s that -got to do with it?” he asked. Frank Lamson -looked bewildered.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Toby, “I thought maybe you’d -like to see if you weren’t mistaken about the color -of my hair.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30"></a>[30]</span></p> - -<p>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——”</p> - -<p>“Sure! But just you take another look; take a -good hard one now. Sort of brown, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Not the least bit red, eh?”</p> - -<p>Arnold shook his head: “Not a bit.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31"></a>[31]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Arnold did so and the engine woke promptly -to life.</p> - -<p>“What was it?” he demanded, surprise and -admiration struggling for supremacy in his face.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“But I tried the carbureter twice and it -flooded!”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32"></a>[32]</span> -that cock; make a sort of hood of it, you know, -so your line won’t get twisted in it.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know there was any shut-off there,” -grumbled Frank Lamson, “or I’d have looked -at it.”</p> - -<p>“There’s always one somewhere on the pipe,” -replied Toby dryly. “Well, you’re all right now, -I guess, eh?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Toby gravely fished up a penny and the transfer -was made.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“No, we settled that,” he said. “I don’t mind -paying half. It was worth it!”</p> - -<p>Arnold laughed. Then: “But, hold on! How -about this job?” he exclaimed. “Better let me -pay you something for it. I’d rather.”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Turnover</i>. -“So long!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33"></a>[33]</span></p> - -<p>“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 <i>Turnover</i> moved away. -Frank Lamson only nodded, but, as the <i>Turnover</i> -circled around toward the harbor, he called across -the water: “Say, we’ll race you back!”</p> - -<p>But Toby shook his head. “I’m not in racing -trim today,” he called back. “Some other -time!”</p> - -<p>The <i>Frolic</i> passed them presently, doing a good -ten miles against the turning tide, and Arnold, -standing at the wheel in the bow, waved once -more.</p> - -<p>“You ought to have been ashamed, Toby,” said -his sister severely, “to act like that!”</p> - -<p>“Act like what?” inquired the boy innocently.</p> - -<p>“You know perfectly well.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But to refuse to fix the engine until he’d -apologized!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34"></a>[34]</span></p> - -<p>“I thought he was very—very nice,” replied -Phebe, after a moment.</p> - -<p>“He isn’t so bad, I guess,” agreed Toby carelessly. -“Some one ought to show him how to run -that boat, though.”</p> - -<p>“And he is very good looking, too,” added -Phebe.</p> - -<p>Toby grinned. “You wait till you see me with -my hair slicked down flat with vaseline, sis!”</p> - -<p>“Vaseline! The idea! His hair is just naturally -shiny.”</p> - -<p>“Must be. Anyway, you’ve taken a shine to -it! Wonder where he picked up that Lantern -chap?”</p> - -<p>“Lamson, it was.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve got a pimple on the end of your nose, -but——”</p> - -<p>“Toby! I haven’t!” Phebe investigated agitatedly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35"></a>[35]</span> -“It’s just the tiniest bit of a one, then. -Does it show much?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how fighting proves anything,” objected -Phebe.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36"></a>[36]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<small>FRIENDS AFLOAT</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">Toby saw no more of Arnold for a week, -for school kept him busy, but Mr. -Tucker reported that the <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Turnover</i>, a matter of three miles from -landing to landing.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37"></a>[37]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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 <i>Turnover</i>, when from across<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38"></a>[38]</span> -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 -<i>Frolic</i> was lying beside the float there, in company -with a cedar skiff, and a brilliantly blue canoe -rested, keel up, on the planks.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Tucker!” called Arnold in friendly -fashion. “Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“Nowhere much. I took some grub to that -houseboat in there. Going out in the launch?” -Toby slid the <i>Turnover</i> up to the end of the float -and Arnold came down the sloping gangplank.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. Maybe I will.” He held the -<i>Turnover</i> to the landing with one rubber-soled -shoe on the gunwale. “Say, I met your father -the other day.”</p> - -<p>“He told me.”</p> - -<p>“He’s awfully nice, isn’t he?”</p> - -<p>Toby considered. Finally: “Yes,” he said. -“He takes after me.”</p> - -<p>Arnold laughed. “Say, you must have thought -I was an awful fresh chump the other day,” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39"></a>[39]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“I guess we were both sort of fresh,” answered -Toby. “Want to go out in a good boat?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.” Arnold leaped aboard. “Your father -said you’d made this yourself.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I should think you’d be mighty proud of it,” -said the other admiringly. “I would. How did -you happen to call her the <i>Turnover</i>?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Which way do you want to go?” asked Toby. -“Ever been over to Johnstown?”</p> - -<p>“No, Frank and I started for there last Saturday, -the day we broke down.”</p> - -<p>“How did you happen to stop the launch out -there, anyway? Were you going to fish?”</p> - -<p>Arnold nodded. “Yes, Frank said there’d be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40"></a>[40]</span> -cod there. Then after we’d got the anchor over -we found we’d forgotten to bring any bait.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“He lives on the other side over there. He goes -to school where I do.”</p> - -<p>“Do you like him?”</p> - -<p>“Like him?” Arnold had to consider that. -“N-no, not a lot, I guess. Do you?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Say, I’m sorry I said anything about—about -your hair,” said Arnold contritely. “It was -beastly rude.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“The same way you showed me?” inquired -Arnold slyly.</p> - -<p>Toby nodded, and smiled gently. “About like<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41"></a>[41]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“I see. I won’t ever say anything like that -again,” Arnold assured him.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“All the more reason I shouldn’t,” said Arnold. -“If I like a fellow I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I guess I’d rather call you by your real name,” -laughed Arnold. “I would if I was sure of it. -Is it Toby?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42"></a>[42]</span> -called him. I’m glad they didn’t tag me with -that name!”</p> - -<p>“I think Toby’s a rather jolly name,” said -Arnold reflectively. “I like it better than Arnold.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Arn, usually. Say, this boat can travel, can’t -she? How fast is she going?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Seems to me she goes faster than the <i>Frolic</i>.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, let’s just knock around, unless you’ve got -something to do.”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t as long as I stay away from home,” -replied Toby dryly. “Say, what school do you go -to in winter?”</p> - -<p>“Yardley Hall.”</p> - -<p>“Where’s that?”</p> - -<p>“Wissining, Connecticut.” Arnold waved a hand -vaguely toward the west. “Over there on the -other side of the Sound. Ever hear of it?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43"></a>[43]</span></p> - -<p>Toby shook his head. “I don’t know much -about schools. It’s a boarding school, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and it’s a dandy. I wish you could see it. -Where do you go, Toby?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>So for the next half-hour, while the <i>Turnover</i>, -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.</p> - -<p>“My, wouldn’t I like that!” he exclaimed. -“Are the other fellows nice? I suppose<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44"></a>[44]</span> -they’re mostly all swells like you, aren’t they?”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Like me,” interpolated Toby.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean that!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“You’d have your hands full then. We’ve got -about three hundred fellows.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we do,” answered Arnold, frankly. -“Especially in fourth and third classes.”</p> - -<p>“What’s your class?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be in third next year. Last year was my<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45"></a>[45]</span> -first. Say, wouldn’t it be great if you could get -your father to let you come to Yardley?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Well, the tuition’s only a hundred——”</p> - -<p>“Is that all?” asked Toby carelessly. “Would -they take a check for it? Go ahead. What else -do you have to pay for?”</p> - -<p>“Room and board, of course. That costs from -two hundred to three hundred and fifty, according -to your room.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be an idiot,” laughed Arnold. “That -isn’t an awful lot of money, is it?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I guess not!” exclaimed Toby indignantly.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46"></a>[46]</span> -“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?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but I guess they’re about the -same. Some cost you more, maybe.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Shut up,” said Arnold, shortly. “If you talk -like that I’ll—I’ll call you ‘Carrots’!”</p> - -<p>“Better not,” chuckled Toby. “The last time -you did it it cost you two dollars! Calling me -names is expensive!”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do until lunch time?” -asked the other, as Toby headed back toward the -Deerings’ landing.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” he said thoughtfully, “a half-dollar -seems a lot bigger if you make it yourself.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47"></a>[47]</span></p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<p>There was a moment of deep silence during -which the occupants of the launch gazed at each -other in surprised consternation. Then:</p> - -<p>“I’m awfully sorry,” murmured Arnold.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“Look here,” began Arnold shyly, “I wish you’d -let me——” His hand moved tentatively toward<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48"></a>[48]</span> -his pocket. “It was partly my fault, anyway——”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49"></a>[49]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<small>SHOTS IN THE DARK</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">That was the beginning of a fine friendship. -Toby and Arnold became well-nigh -inseparable. They spent hours and -hours together in the <i>Frolic</i> or the <i>Turnover</i>, -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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50"></a>[50]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>Once and only once Toby went home with -Arnold to luncheon. It happened that a trip -down the bay in the <i>Turnover</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51"></a>[51]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52"></a>[52]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53"></a>[53]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54"></a>[54]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“Do you play baseball, Toby?” he asked. -Toby nodded. “Well, then, let’s have a game -some time.”</p> - -<p>“You and me?” asked Toby, with a grin.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Toby nodded again. “Most of the fellows on -the school team would play, I guess. What would -we do, draw lots?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; or we could have it summer visitors -against town fellows. How would that do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55"></a>[55]</span></p> - -<p>Toby reflected. “I’d rather play on the team -with you, Arn,” he said at last.</p> - -<p>“So would I with you, Toby, but it would be -more interesting the other way, wouldn’t it? -Where do you play?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Fine! I played first on my class team this -spring. Let’s do it, eh? Where could we play?”</p> - -<p>“I guess we could use the school most any day -except Saturday. Does Frank play?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he’s a pretty good pitcher. I guess I’d -ask him to pitch for us. Who would you get?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Today’s Wednesday, isn’t it? How about -Saturday?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“All right. It’ll be piles of fun. You call your -nine the ‘Towners’ and I’ll call mine the ‘Spaniards.’<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56"></a>[56]</span> -Couldn’t you go after your fellows today?”</p> - -<p>Toby hesitated. “Maybe. I guess there isn’t -anything to do here. I might start after dinner.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Dad says telephones waste too much time. -Why don’t you come over in the launch? It’s -moonlight now.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I could,” replied Arnold doubtfully. -“I’ve never run her at night, though.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57"></a>[57]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>“All clear at the end of the float, Arn! Come -on straight in!”</p> - -<p>“All right, but it’s pretty dark where you are. -How far away am I?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, nearly a hundred yards, I guess. Pull -her out and float in. Can you see those boats at -the moorings?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but I can’t see the float yet. They ought -to have a light there.” The chug-chug of the -<i>Frolic</i> exhaust lessened, and the white launch slid -silently into the shadows. Presently:</p> - -<p>“Way enough,” called Toby. “Reverse her a -couple of turns, Arn.”</p> - -<p>In a moment the <i>Frolic</i> thrust her bow into<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58"></a>[58]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“If you’ll take her,” replied Arnold. “I don’t -like this moonlight business. It’s awfully confusing -after you get into the harbor.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59"></a>[59]</span> -Conners ought to be. What do you think?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing doing! You’re getting up the team, -and you’re captain, of course. If they don’t like -it, get some one else.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“At the what?” asked Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Looks like this was going to be a sort of international -affair,” laughed Arnold. “Americans, -Spaniards, and an Italian!”</p> - -<p>“And my second baseman’s a Portuguese, -Manuel Sousa. He’s pretty good, too. How old -will your fellows be?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“You’re going to be captain,” replied Arnold,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60"></a>[60]</span> -decisively. “If you aren’t we won’t play you. -You can tell them that, too.”</p> - -<p>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——”</p> - -<p>Toby stopped abruptly, and the two boys turned -their heads and stared startledly across the moonlit -water of Nobbs’ Bay.</p> - -<p>“What was that?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>“Sounded like a shot, didn’t it? Over that -way. There!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Anyway, it was a pistol, all right,” murmured -Arnold. They listened, but heard no more shots, -and Toby was straightening the <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“That’s funny,” he muttered. “There’s a -launch just kiting along over there and not a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61"></a>[61]</span> -light showing. Can you make her out, Arn? She’s -about half-way to the Head, from the sound.”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“Thieves! Thieves! Stop them!”</p> - -<p>Some one on the houseboat had seen the <i>Frolic’s</i> -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.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” cried Toby.</p> - -<p>“Go after them!” Arnold jumped toward the -throttle and pulled it down, and the <i>Frolic</i>, responding -instantly, leaped forward as Toby unhesitatingly -swung the wheel over.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62"></a>[62]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<small>PURSUIT AND CAPTURE</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">“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.”</p> - -<p>“Who do you suppose they are?” asked Arnold, -excitedly. Toby shook his head.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know, but that launch of theirs can -certainly go. What can the <i>Frolic</i> do at her best, -Arn?”</p> - -<p>“Twelve, or a little better. How fast are they -going?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63"></a>[63]</span></p> - -<p>“She’s changed her mind,” exclaimed Toby, -“and is going down around the Head. How -much gas have you got?”</p> - -<p>“The tank’s almost three-quarters full.”</p> - -<p>“How far will that take us?”</p> - -<p>“’Most a hundred miles, I guess. She eats it -pretty fast at this pace, but seven gallons——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Are we gaining any?” asked Arnold, anxiously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Then they’ll have to go some,” said Arnold. -“Where is she?”</p> - -<p>“Dead ahead. See that black spot?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but she’s stern-to. I don’t think we’ve -lost any.” They were well past the Head now,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64"></a>[64]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>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——”</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” demanded Arnold.</p> - -<p>“We heard them.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65"></a>[65]</span></p> - -<p>“Have they gained any?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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 -<i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“I’m not sure, Arn,” he said, “but I think we’re -closing up a little. Doesn’t she look nearer than -she did?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“I—I’ll get the megaphone ready,” muttered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66"></a>[66]</span> -Arnold. “Then we can talk to them from a safe -distance.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be a chump,” begged Arnold. “Just -keep your head down and they can’t hit you.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to,” answered the other dryly. “I’m -thinking about putting it in the gasoline tank. -Hello!”</p> - -<p>The launch ahead lengthened slightly in the -uncertain light.</p> - -<p>“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 <a href="#i_fp066">we’ve gained like anything, Arn!</a> She -sees that, I guess, and is going to quit—or make -a fight for it! Call all hands, Arn, to man the -guns!”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp066" style="width: 388px;"> - <img src="images/i_fp066.jpg" width="388" height="600" alt="" title="" /> - <br /> - <div class="caption"><a href="#Page_66">“We’ve gained like anything, Arn!”</a></div> -</div> - -<p>Robins Island was off the <i>Frolic’s</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67"></a>[67]</span> -so beyond the point. There was no longer any -doubt about it: the <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68"></a>[68]</span> -before you reach Jessup’s Neck. Only—only -when we do what are we going to do with you?”</p> - -<p>“I wish my father was here,” murmured Arnold, -“with his revolver!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>She was, very perceptibly. More than that, -she had turned her nose straight for the shore!</p> - -<p>“But there’s no water there!” exclaimed Toby.</p> - -<p>“They’re going to run her aground and -escape!” cried Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps; but I guess we’ll slow down a little. -I don’t want to get too near.”</p> - -<p>Arnold throttled the <i>Frolic</i> down to half-speed. -The other launch worked cautiously in toward the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69"></a>[69]</span> -shore and floated quietly in the moonlight. It -was easy enough now to make her out and to -count her occupants.</p> - -<p>“Three of them,” whispered Toby, as the -<i>Frolic</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>Some three hundred feet of water separated the -two launches as Arnold threw the clutch out. The -<i>Frolic</i> slid slowly on to pass well astern of the -other craft and Arnold raised the megaphone to -his lips.</p> - -<p>“Launch, ahoy!” he shouted in his deepest -tones. There was silence for an instant, and then -the hail was answered:</p> - -<p>“Hello! What do you want?” floated across.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>Another silence, longer this time, and then the -voice again:</p> - -<p>“Who are you, anyway?”</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” answered Arnold sternly. -“There are six of us here and we’ve got you all -covered.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t know what you’re talking about.”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70"></a>[70]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71"></a>[71]</span></p> - -<p>Arnold hesitated and Toby prompted with a -whispered “No.”</p> - -<p>“No, you can leave the launch where she is and -hustle out of her.”</p> - -<p>“We can’t swim!” called a third voice.</p> - -<p>“Then drown,” answered Arnold gruffly. -“Your time’s up. What’s it going to be?”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>“They’re taking some of the plunder with -them,” whispered Toby, watching across the gunwale. -“Tell them to drop it, Arn!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72"></a>[72]</span> -passing his companions half-way to the beach and -tossing them a grim jest as he left them -astern.</p> - -<p>“It worked!” exulted Arnold, jubilantly, to -Toby.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Arnold threw in the clutch, advanced the throttle -and the <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“All right, now?” asked Arnold eagerly.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73"></a>[73]</span> -their launch between us and them as we go in. But -wait another minute.”</p> - -<p>“Shall we search the launch here or take her -further out?” asked Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, but we can use our painter.”</p> - -<p>“All right. She may have one; she probably -has. If not, we’ll use the <i>Frolic’s</i>. Do you suppose -they’ve gone?”</p> - -<p>“Of course! They were frightened to death.” -Arnold laughed softly. “I must have sounded -pretty fierce!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Better let me,” said Arnold. “You keep the -wheel.”</p> - -<p>“All right, then; you grab her, and I’ll look -for her painter.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74"></a>[74]</span></p> - -<p>The <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“Way enough,” he whispered presently. “Let -her run. Now, then, get her!”</p> - -<p>Arnold reached across the gunwale and seized -the side of the other launch, and Toby, dropping -the wheel, sprawled across the <i>Frolic’s</i> decking.</p> - -<p>“No line in sight,” he muttered, and with quick -hands he took the <i>Frolic’s</i> 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.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75"></a>[75]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII<br /> -<small>THE STOLEN LAUNCH</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">“Duck!” cried Arnold.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Can you start her without showing your -head?” gasped Toby.</p> - -<p>“Yes!”</p> - -<p>“Then do it, and I’ll take the side wheel. Look -out for this line when she tightens. Let her go!”</p> - -<p>Kneeling, his head still below the sides, Arnold -grasped the lever and pulled it back, and the <i>Frolic</i> -jumped away. Toby, crouched by the side wheel, -frantically lashed the free end of the painter about -the steering post.</p> - -<p>Bang!</p> - -<p>There was a sound of splintering wood, and -then shouts from the shore.</p> - -<p>“Hit us somewhere!” panted Toby, tugging<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76"></a>[76]</span> -at the small wheel in his effort to swing the -<i>Frolic</i> around. “Better lie flat, Arn!”</p> - -<p>“Lie flat yourself, you silly fool! They’ll get -you if you sit up like that!”</p> - -<p>Toby crouched lower. “This line’s choked -around the wheel and I can hardly turn her,” he -panted. “Is she coming, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t your line taut?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but——”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i> came -the captured launch.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Arnold stood up, surveyed the receding beach -and laughed gleefully as he took the wheel.</p> - -<p>“I guess we’re bad, Toby!” he exulted. “Talk -about your revenue officers! What’s the matter -with us, eh?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77"></a>[77]</span></p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“That’s what! Say, what time is it? It must -be near midnight.”</p> - -<p>“Midnight! It’s only 9.27,” answered the -other, holding his watch to the starboard lantern. -“But doesn’t it seem later?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“You mean the houseboat folks? Well, but -they don’t get the launch, do they?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78"></a>[78]</span></p> - -<p>“Or keep her ourselves. She looks pretty good, -doesn’t she?” Arnold peered back at the following -launch. “Wonder what her name is?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“It would be you, then,” replied Arnold -promptly. “Is she holding us back much?”</p> - -<p>“I guess we’re doing about nine. That’s fast -enough. Only dad will give me the dickens when -I get home!”</p> - -<p>“He won’t when you tell him what you’ve been -doing,” said the other encouragingly.</p> - -<p>“Won’t he?” Toby asked grimly. “You don’t -know my dad!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79"></a>[79]</span></p> - -<p>Ten o’clock struck over in Johnstown long before -the Head was reached, and it was fully a -quarter past before the <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i> slowed down, a -voice hailed them.</p> - -<p>“What do you want?” inquired a sleepy voice.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got your things,” answered Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Not a great deal; just some blankets and a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80"></a>[80]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“We’re very much obliged to you,” replied one -of the men, raising the lantern and peering at the -boys. “Who was with you?”</p> - -<p>“With us? No one.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Three,” answered Toby, with a yawn. “They -couldn’t see how many we had. Arn bluffed them -finely.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you know about that?” gasped -the other man. “Say, you chaps are wonders! -What are your names?”</p> - -<p>Arnold told him, and just then a woman’s voice<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81"></a>[81]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“No, ma’am; thanks,” replied Arnold. “We’re -all right. Only sleepy. If you’ll look after their -launch until morning——”</p> - -<p>“We will. And, I say, how about—er——”</p> - -<p>“Of course, Jack!” chimed in the woman. -“They ought to have something. I’ll find my -purse.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Yes’m,” said Toby. “They did try to. They -fired at us, but they didn’t hit anything but the -launch. Come on, Arn.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82"></a>[82]</span> -obliged to you both. See you in the morning. -Good-night.”</p> - -<p>“Good-night,” replied Arnold, and “G’night,” -muttered Toby, and the <i>Frolic</i> backed off and -headed across the bay.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Where we fooled them,” said Toby, “was in -taking their boat. Look here, Arn, supposing -that launch is really theirs?”</p> - -<p>“But you said you thought they’d——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and maybe they did. But supposing they -didn’t? Then what?”</p> - -<p>“Then,” answered the other after a moment’s -consideration, “they’ll have to come and get -it!”</p> - -<p>“They’d be likely to!” jeered Toby. “I don’t -see but what we may be thieves ourselves!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“If you like you can leave the <i>Frolic</i> at the landing -and I’ll take you back in the <i>Turnover</i>.”</p> - -<p>“No, I guess not. After chasing robbers and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83"></a>[83]</span> -being fired at, I suppose I ought to have nerve -enough to run a launch! Much obliged, just the -same.”</p> - -<p>An hour later two very tired boys were fast -asleep, and, although nearly three miles apart, -their dreams were strangely similar!</p> - -<p>The next morning they were at the houseboat -bright and early. In fact, the owners were still -at breakfast on deck when the <i>Turnover</i> ranged -alongside.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Boys,” he said. “You’re a brace of heroes!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84"></a>[84]</span> -I take off my hat to you! Or I will when I get -it on!”</p> - -<p>Brother Jim echoed the sentiments, even if he -didn’t stop eating for a moment.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Toby and Arnold stared at each other in -amazed silence. Finally: “Five hundred!” stammered -Toby. “You’re fooling, I guess!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85"></a>[85]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“Gee, she’s sweet, ain’t she?” murmured Toby.</p> - -<p>“A beauty!” agreed Arnold, in awe.</p> - -<p>“I guess some one will claim her, all right,” -mourned Toby.</p> - -<p>And Mr. Trainor laughed.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“If she was really mine,” said Toby, simply, -“I wouldn’t sell her for anything, Mr. -Trainor!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86"></a>[86]</span></p> - -<p>“Tucker, you have the soul of an artist!” replied -the man, patting him on the shoulder. -“Those are my sentiments exactly.”</p> - -<p>“She—she’d be pretty unsteady, though, -wouldn’t she?” asked Arnold. “She isn’t very -wide across.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Trainor gestured dramatically.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, a painter can take that off. She’d<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87"></a>[87]</span> -have to be revarnished, of course. I tried to see -her name under the paint, but couldn’t.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Turnover</i>, set off for Greenhaven.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88"></a>[88]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII<br /> -<small>THE HIDDEN NAME</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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.</p> - -<p>“How much reward do you suppose we ought -to ask, Toby?” he inquired. Toby shook his -head.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“He will want to, you bet! Where’ll we take -her? To your wharf?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think so. If we leave her at the town -landing some one will be messing around her<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89"></a>[89]</span> -all the time. She can berth where I keep the -<i>Turnover</i>. This old tub”—Toby ran a disparaging -eye over his launch—“can stay out in the harbor.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Not in any of those,” he said, regretfully. -“Gee, that’s mean, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Toby nodded again, but with no enthusiasm. -“I suppose it would be silly for us to keep her,” he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90"></a>[90]</span> -said, “only—only she’s the most beautiful launch -I ever saw, Arn.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Where would we find the old papers, though?”</p> - -<p>“A library would have them. Is there a library -here?”</p> - -<p>“No, but there’s one in Johnstown. What we -ought to do, I guess, is put an advertisement in -ourselves, Arn.”</p> - -<p>“That’s so! I never thought of that! Let’s -go and write one.”</p> - -<p>“All right.” Toby gathered the discarded papers -and arose. “You do it, though. I—I haven’t -got any heart for it!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91"></a>[91]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know, sir,” answered Toby.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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. -“<i>Ollow M</i>” read Toby. “That’s a queer -name.”</p> - -<p>“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. -“<i>Follow Me.</i> Now, all you’ve got to do is write -to the builders and ask who she belongs to. Where -was your gumption, Tobe?”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92"></a>[92]</span> -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 <i>Follow Me</i> 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 <i>Follow Me</i> and sympathetically listened -to Toby’s enraptured comments on her and agreed -with them all.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>But Toby sighed and shook his head. “Probably -when that time came I wouldn’t want it so -much,” he said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I meant real soon,” said Phebe cheerfully.</p> - -<p>“If I had enough money to buy me a launch<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93"></a>[93]</span> -like that soon, I wouldn’t buy it,” replied her -brother. “I’d rather go to boarding school.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“That’s lye,” said Arnold.</p> - -<p>“What?” Toby stared. “You’d better not let -dad hear you say so!”</p> - -<p>“Say what?” asked Arnold, in puzzlement,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94"></a>[94]</span> -while Phebe laughed and Mr. Murphy chimed in -with his absurd chuckle and then hung by his beak -from the end of the perch.</p> - -<p>“Say what he said was a lie,” answered Toby.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t!”</p> - -<p>“What did you say, then? Didn’t you -say——?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we’re going to treat you the way Admiral -Dewey treated those other Spaniards,” laughed<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95"></a>[95]</span> -Toby. “You may fire when ready, Gridley!”</p> - -<p>“I’m not worrying. Aren’t you fellows going -to practice any before you play us?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we might get together Tuesday. We -don’t want to be too good, you know.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Love to!” laughed Phebe. “But I’m afraid -I’d get sort of dirty sliding to bases.”</p> - -<p>“Who’ll we get to umpire?” asked Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Murphy,” suggested Toby. “He’s quite -impartial, aren’t you, you old rascal?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96"></a>[96]</span></p> - -<p>“I was thinking that maybe Mr. Trainor would -do it for us,” said Arnold. “I mean the youngest -one.”</p> - -<p>“Brother Jim?” Toby nodded. “He’d be all -right. We might ask him. I guess he could do -it, eh?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic</i>, -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!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97"></a>[97]</span></p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you said you didn’t need to practice.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98"></a>[98]</span></p> - -<p>“Maybe an hour or so wouldn’t hurt. There -wasn’t any letter from those folks, was there, -Phebe?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“And then I’m going to get you to show me how -to sail her,” added Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“What would you do with your share if we -did get that much?” asked Arnold.</p> - -<p>Toby shook his head. “I’d—I don’t know,” -he acknowledged. “But I guess I could find a use -for it!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99"></a>[99]</span> -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 -<i>Frolic</i>.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100"></a>[100]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX<br /> -<small>“THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD!”</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">Toby and Phebe awaited him at the boat-yard -wharf and as soon as he had hastily -secured the <i>Frolic</i> to the stern of the -<i>Follow Me</i> and climbed the ladder they pulled -him in triumph to the shed.</p> - -<p>“Here he is, dad!” called Toby. “Where -is it?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Read it!” cried Toby and Phebe in chorus.</p> - -<p>“‘Lost, on Fifth Avenue, between——’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101"></a>[101]</span></p> - -<p>“No, no! Further down!” said Toby impatiently.</p> - -<p>“Oh, further down! ‘Three hundred dollars -reward will be paid for the return of mahogany -launch <i>Follow Me</i>——’” Arnold gasped and -went back to the beginning again. “‘Three hundred -dollars’—Gee!”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that corking?” demanded Toby, gleefully.</p> - -<p>“Just think of it!” exclaimed Phebe, dancing -on her toes amidst the shavings. “Three hundred -dollars, Arnold!”</p> - -<p>“But—but are you sure this is the—the——”</p> - -<p>“Read the whole of it, Arn!” prompted Toby, -trying to see over his shoulder. “Read it -aloud!”</p> - -<p>“‘Three hundred dollars reward will be paid -for the return of mahogany launch <i>Follow Me</i>, -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.’</p> - -<p>“What do you know about that!” gasped<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102"></a>[102]</span> -Arnold, and the piece of paper slipped from his -fingers to the littered floor.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“How long will that take?” asked Arnold -eagerly.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir! And—and could you say, ‘Bring -reward with you,’ or something like that?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Hastings, dad,” advised Toby. “He mightn’t -be at that club today.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Paul Langham Townsend.”</p> - -<p>“An awful lot of name, ’pears to me. ‘Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103"></a>[103]</span> -Paul Langham Townsend, Hastings-on-Hudson, -N. Y. Dear sir: This is to inform you that your -launch the <i>Follow Me</i> 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?”</p> - -<p>“You can’t tell, sir,” said Arnold. “Better just -say ‘in paper.’”</p> - -<p>“All right. Got to scratch out ‘the’ though. -‘Reward advertised in paper. Respectfully yours, -Aaron Tucker.’ There we are. Now where’s an -envelope?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“It would cost a lot to telephone away up -there,” objected Toby.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“A dollar would be a lot if something happened<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104"></a>[104]</span> -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 <i>Follow Me</i>, I guess.” -Toby’s voice sounded almost hopeful at the end, -and Arnold observed him in surprise.</p> - -<p>“Toby, I really believe you’d rather have that -launch than the reward!” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>Toby’s gaze wandered. “I—I don’t know,” he -murmured. “She’s an awfully nice little boat!”</p> - -<p>“But—but think of a hundred and fifty dollars! -Why, you can—you can do almost anything with -a hundred and fifty dollars, Toby!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105"></a>[105]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Heard anything yet?” whispered Arnold to -Toby as Mr. Tucker unlocked the door.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106"></a>[106]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Must have been! I wish we knew whether he -was coming today or not. When is the next train, -Toby?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not! He wouldn’t do that, -and——”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107"></a>[107]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Less than an hour later the <i>Follow Me</i> 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!”</p> - -<p>That little piece of paper looked far too tiny to -mean what it said!</p> - -<p>“It’s a pile of money, isn’t it?” muttered Toby -thoughtfully. “But he seemed awfully glad to get -his launch back.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108"></a>[108]</span></p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Why, you’re a regular Shylock, Arnold!” exclaimed -Phebe.</p> - -<p>“I’m not either,” answered the accused indignantly. -“But we had a right to ask more if we’d -wanted to. That’s business.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What’ll we do with this?” asked Toby. “We -have to put it into a bank or something, eh?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109"></a>[109]</span> -of time for indorsing it. Remember this is the -Lord’s day, Toby.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Sea Snail</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Cushing’s <i>Sea Snail</i> is a knockabout,” said -Toby. “Wouldn’t you rather have a boat with a -cabin house?”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Sea Snail</i> would be fine. Maybe next year -I’ll have the <i>Frolic</i> 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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110"></a>[110]</span></p> - -<p>“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 <i>Turnover</i> and get a new -engine for her, if you wanted to.”</p> - -<p>But Toby shook his head. “I haven’t decided—yet,” -he answered slowly, “but I think I’ll just—just -keep it.”</p> - -<p>“Now who’s the Shylock?” demanded Arnold -triumphantly.</p> - -<p>“That’s very different,” said Phebe. “That’s -just being saving.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But who wants to go fifty miles on an old railroad?” -asked Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Well, I was thinking I might. Would you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111"></a>[111]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“Sure! He knows dozens of banks. Why, he -has accounts in two or three himself!”</p> - -<p>“Then you might ask him to pick out the one -he knows best,” said Toby anxiously. “I wouldn’t -want to lose that money!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112"></a>[112]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X<br /> -<small>TOBY BLOCKS THE PLATE</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113"></a>[113]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114"></a>[114]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115"></a>[115]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116"></a>[116]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117"></a>[117]</span> -had been easily tossed out at first the inning -ended.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118"></a>[118]</span> -and a third when Tracey threw in wildly and the -ball rolled past first base. Tony got to third with -seconds to spare.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119"></a>[119]</span> -want to hit, wait him out! He’ll give you the base -if you wait! Here we go! Here we go! Here -we go!”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120"></a>[120]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121"></a>[121]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122"></a>[122]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>Then Hal Mason, center fielder, bunted and -Tim threw wide and Hal was safe. <a href="#i_fp122">Toby</a> knew -he would steal and watched him closely. But with -Frank Lamson on third he didn’t dare throw down -to second. Instead, he <a href="#i_fp122">pegged hard to Tim</a> 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp122" style="width: 428px;"> - <img src="images/i_fp122.jpg" width="428" height="600" alt="a" title="a" /> - <br /> - <div class="caption"><a href="#Page_122">Toby pegged hard to Tim.</a></div> -</div> - -<p>But Tim fell down badly and Dodson walked<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123"></a>[123]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>“Here’s where we run away from you,” said -Arnold as he stepped up and tapped the plate with -his bat. “Sorry, Toby.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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——</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124"></a>[124]</span></p> - -<p>Whack!</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125"></a>[125]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI<br /> -<small>TOBY MAKES UP HIS MIND</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">“We’ll play you again next Wednesday,” -said Arnold as the two nines, -victor and vanquished, trailed back -to the village.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and beat you, too,” growled Frank Lamson. -“You fellows had all the luck today and -most of the decisions!”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Make it a week from Wednesday,” advised -George Dodson, nursing a hurt finger solicitously. -“We need more practice than we’ve had, Deering.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>Arnold was on hand bright and early Monday<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126"></a>[126]</span> -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 <i>Turnover</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“What would you name her?” he asked. “How -do you like <i>Sea Swallow</i> or <i>Sea Lark</i>?”</p> - -<p>“I like <i>Sea Cow</i> better,” replied Toby, pulling -up his line to look disgustedly at the untouched -bait. “Get something with more zip to it. Like -<i>Dart</i> or <i>Scud</i>—or—or <i>Slap-Bang</i>. <i>Slap-Bang</i> -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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127"></a>[127]</span></p> - -<p>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 <i>Polly</i>, <i>Mary</i>, -<i>Moonlight</i>, <i>Lillian</i>, <i>Corsair</i>, <i>Pirate</i>, and <i>Mayflower</i>. -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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Yardley? I don’t remember what we figured -it. Why?”</p> - -<p>“I was just thinking,” murmured Toby. -“Seems to me we said it would be about three hundred -and fifty dollars for everything.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128"></a>[128]</span></p> - -<p>“Three hundred and sixty-five,” replied Toby -promptly. “I’d have to have two hundred and -fifteen more, wouldn’t I?”</p> - -<p>“Say!” Arnold sat up very suddenly. “You’re -not thinking of—of——”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe so,” answered Arnold dejectedly.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129"></a>[129]</span> -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——”</p> - -<p>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——!”</p> - -<p>Toby nodded agreement. “I’d sure like it,” he -muttered.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Toby looked startled. “I hadn’t thought of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130"></a>[130]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131"></a>[131]</span> -spend it for something it wouldn’t worry you.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Huh! They fetch ’em back now,” said Toby. -“That doesn’t scare me. Dad says I might have -put it in the postoffice, though.”</p> - -<p>“Buy stamps with it?” asked Arnold in a puzzled -voice.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“So’s that bank you’ve got it in. If it wasn’t -safe do you suppose father would keep money in -it?”</p> - -<p>“N-no, I guess not. I wouldn’t want to lose -that hundred and fifty though. I—I’ve got a use -for that!”</p> - -<p>“Have you asked your father about Yardley -yet?”</p> - -<p>Toby shook his head. “I thought I’d better -wait until I had some more. Only thing is”—he<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132"></a>[132]</span> -frowned deeply—“I don’t know how to get any -more! I’ve been thinking and thinking!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, there’s lots of time yet. Come on -down to the shed and see how the boat’s getting -along.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133"></a>[133]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134"></a>[134]</span> -harm done. Baseball was only baseball and some -one had to lose!</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic</i>. 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 <i>Turnover</i>, 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135"></a>[135]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there a ferry here?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“No, sir. Where do you want to go?”</p> - -<p>“Johnstown. I thought there was a ferry over -there. I was told there was.” He viewed Toby -accusingly.</p> - -<p>Toby shook his head. “There used to be, sir, -about six years ago, but the man who ran it died, -and——”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136"></a>[136]</span> -any breakfast! No—no——!” he sputtered -angrily.</p> - -<p>“I guess it’ll take most of two hours by carriage,” -agreed Toby, “but I can put you over -there by eight-thirty, sir.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve got a boat?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, but——”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, we’re sort of slow around here,” -agreed Toby, calmly.</p> - -<p>“Slow! I should say you were slow! Well, -where’s the boat? Bring it along! There’s no -time to waste, young fellow!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137"></a>[137]</span> -at six and there wasn’t time. Got a restaurant here -somewhere, have you?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138"></a>[138]</span> -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 <i>Turnover</i>. 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.</p> - -<p>“I guess,” he announced, “we’d ought to agree -on a price before we start, sir.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Well, sir, it’s three miles over there, and gasoline’s -worth twenty-three cents this week, -and——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t frighten me to death!” laughed the -man. “Will five dollars do the trick?”</p> - -<p>“Five dollars!” Toby gasped.</p> - -<p>“Not enough? Call it seven-fifty then.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too much! Why, a dollar—or maybe, a -dollar and a half——”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139"></a>[139]</span> -dollars, young fellow, it’s poor business to take -less.”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, thanks. I’ll steer from here.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Turnover</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Turnover</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“I’m doing some work at Southampton,” he explained,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140"></a>[140]</span> -“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.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, I’d be glad to,” agreed Toby eagerly. -“When would you want to go again?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that yet. This little tub seems -pretty seaworthy. Run her a good deal, have -you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir, and others before her. She isn’t -much to look at, but she’s a good boat.”</p> - -<p>“What do you call her?”</p> - -<p>“The <i>Turnover</i>.”</p> - -<p>“The which?”</p> - -<p>“<i>Turnover</i>, sir,” repeated Toby, smiling.</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s a pleasant, reassuring sort of -name for a launch! Does she—does she do it—often?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, she’s never done it yet,” laughed -Toby. “You can’t tell much by names, Mr. Whitney.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. We’ll be in in a minute or two.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141"></a>[141]</span></p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Tucker, sir; T. Tucker.”</p> - -<p>“T? For Thomas?”</p> - -<p>“N-no, sir; for Tobias; Toby for short.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“I—I can’t change that, sir,” said Toby. “You -can let it go until next time.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“There isn’t any charge for breakfast,” Toby -protested.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But it’s a lot more than it ought to be,” stammered -Toby.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142"></a>[142]</span></p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143"></a>[143]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII<br /> -<small>“T. TUCKER, PROP.”</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">The wonderful idea he explained to Arnold -as, half an hour later, they started -off in the <i>Frolic</i> for Riverport.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Sure! But would the <i>Turnover</i> be big enough, -Toby?”</p> - -<p>“She’ll hold eight without crowding, and I -guess if I ever get eight folks at once I’ll be pretty -lucky.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144"></a>[144]</span></p> - -<p>“How much would you charge?”</p> - -<p>“Fifty cents,” replied Toby promptly. “Do -you think that’s too much? I could make a round -trip rate of seventy-five, maybe.”</p> - -<p>“No, fifty cents isn’t much for a three-mile trip. -How often would you make it?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve got to think about gas and oil, though, -Toby.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145"></a>[145]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why. It would be a—a public -accommodation!”</p> - -<p>“I can find out. Anyway, they couldn’t ask -much, I guess.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What would you call her?” asked Toby, dubiously. -“Changing the name might change the -luck, and my luck’s been pretty good lately.”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Frolic</i> any time we had a lot -of passengers. Would you mind if I helped?”</p> - -<p>“No, I’d be awfully glad to have you, only—do -you think your father would want you to?”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Frolic</i>.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146"></a>[146]</span></p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147"></a>[147]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148"></a>[148]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149"></a>[149]</span> -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 -<i>Turnover</i> that evening by the simple expedient of -chopping off the first and last letters, and the -launch became, for the summer at least, the -<i>Urnove</i>.</p> - -<p>On Monday morning Toby parted with two -dollars and a half of that precious five in exchange -for fifty cardboard placards which announced -startlingly:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="noic">GREENHAVEN-JOHNSTOWN FERRY</p> - -<p>Commencing Thursday, July 17, launches <i>Frolic</i> -and <i>Urnove</i> 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.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">T. Tucker, Prop.</span><br /></p> -</div> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150"></a>[150]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151"></a>[151]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>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:</p> - -<p>“That’s a pile of money, son, to spend for a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152"></a>[152]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, Arnold says there are lots of fellows -who aren’t rich; fellows about like me, -Dad.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153"></a>[153]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Christmas is a long time from September. I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154"></a>[154]</span> -suppose it’ll be perfectly dandy for you, Toby, -but—but I’ll be awfully lonesome!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>But Phebe refused to be consoled so easily. -She assured him that she “just felt that he would -go!”</p> - -<p>And Toby, although pretending to have no -faith in her premonition, secretly hoped it would -prove correct.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155"></a>[155]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII<br /> -<small>TRICK FOR TRICK</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156"></a>[156]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“We didn’t agree to play with grown-ups, Arn,” -he said. “We haven’t a fellow over sixteen on -our team.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“He looks like a pretty good player,” murmured -Toby, mollified, but still dubious. “Is he?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know much about him. I’ll ask -Frank.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“Well, he’s a heap older than us fellows,” Toby<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157"></a>[157]</span> -objected. “It doesn’t seem quite fair, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“You’re afraid of getting licked,” laughed -Frank. “Be a sport, Toby!”</p> - -<p>“If Toby doesn’t want us to play Phillips,” began -Arnold.</p> - -<p>“We haven’t any one else, though,” said Frank -impatiently. “We can’t play them with only -eight men!”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Toby. “Go ahead. Maybe -it won’t make any difference.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158"></a>[158]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159"></a>[159]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160"></a>[160]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Towners came back in the eighth with another -tally, making the score 6 to 5, when Manuel<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161"></a>[161]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162"></a>[162]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Beat it, Tubby!” said Tim. “Go ahead -down! You’ve tied the score!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163"></a>[163]</span></p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164"></a>[164]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“That’s a kid trick,” he said to Phillips, contemptuously.</p> - -<p>“Bush league stuff,” supplemented Snub. “Why -don’t you play the game fairly?”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“He’s out,” replied Mr. Trainor, calmly. Gus -and the others sputtered, but Toby sent them back.</p> - -<p>“There’s no rule against the hidden-ball trick,” -he told them. “It was my fault. I ought to have<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165"></a>[165]</span> -seen it. It’s all right, though, fellows. We only -want one run. Let’s have it. Hit it out, -Tony!”</p> - -<p>But Tony swung helplessly under one of Frank’s -fast ones and let the third delivery go by and -heard it called a strike.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Frank tried the batter with a wide one that -didn’t fool him, and it was two and two.</p> - -<p>“It only takes one, Tony!” called Toby. “Pick -out a good one!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166"></a>[166]</span></p> - -<p>“I could have made it!” gasped Billy, disappointedly.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“Two gone, fellows!” called Arnold. “Play -for the batter!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Hi, Frank!” he called. “That ball’s ripped! -We want another one!”</p> - -<p>Frank looked the ball over. “No, it isn’t. It’s -perfectly all right.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you it is ripped! Let’s see it!”</p> - -<p>“Go on and play the game,” shouted Phillips.</p> - -<p>“I want to see that ball,” demanded Toby, advancing -into the diamond.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, I tell you,” replied Frank impatiently. -“Get off the field, Toby.”</p> - -<p>“If it’s all right show it to me then.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167"></a>[167]</span></p> - -<p>Frank muttered, stepped out of the box and -tossed the ball to Toby. “Have a look, then, and -hurry up,” he growled.</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“One trick,” murmured Toby pleasantly, “calls -for another.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168"></a>[168]</span> -out of the field and the runners scored, as they -had a perfect right to do.”</p> - -<p>“But Tucker called for the ball!” exclaimed -Frank. “It was a trick! He hadn’t any -right——”</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing in the rules forbidding that,” -answered the umpire gently. “You didn’t have -to throw it to him, you know.”</p> - -<p>“You call that fair playing?” demanded Phillips -bitterly.</p> - -<p>“According to the rules of the game it’s fair,” -was the response. “I can’t go back of the rules.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a low-down, measley trick!” declared -Frank hotly. “Those runners ought to be sent -back, Mr. Trainor.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169"></a>[169]</span></p> - -<p>“Cheating,” he said grumpily, “is the only -way you fellows could win.”</p> - -<p>“Keep your eyes open,” replied Toby sweetly.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>The Spaniards’ cheer for the victors was noticeably -faint.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170"></a>[170]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV<br /> -<small>TOBY IS DOWNHEARTED</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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 -<i>Urnove</i> 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!”</p> - -<p>When it was evident that there was to be no<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171"></a>[171]</span> -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——”</p> - -<p>“As mustard,” interjected Toby helpfully.</p> - -<p>Arnold accepted the simile doubtfully. “Well, -he was some peeved, anyhow. He says you didn’t -play fair, but I told him——”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t,” responded Toby.</p> - -<p>“Well, no more did we.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172"></a>[172]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“If he keeps at it long enough,” observed Toby -dryly, “he’s bound to beat us. What time is it?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Turnover</i>? Knock -off the first and last letters, I mean.”</p> - -<p>Arnold stared blankly. “Knock off—— But -we haven’t got any letters yet, you idiot!”</p> - -<p>“That’s so,” replied Toby demurely. “Let’s -go to the postoffice.”</p> - -<p>Arnold swung about obediently before he -thought to ask, “What for?”</p> - -<p>“To get some letters,” said Toby.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173"></a>[173]</span> -was a yawl I knew once called <i>Saucy Sal</i>,” observed -Arnold presently.</p> - -<p>“How well did you know her?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know you wanted one. I can think -of several,” said Toby significantly, “but you -mightn’t like them.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“All right, Arn, I’ll put my giant intellect at -work tonight. I always think better after I’m in -bed, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t. When I get to bed I go to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“So do I after a while, but I always think things -over first.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“There’s one thing I don’t forget,” chuckled -Arnold, “and that’s dinner!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174"></a>[174]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” agreed Snub cheerfully. “I guess -we won’t ever want to go again! Anybody else -coming?”</p> - -<p>Toby looked at the town clock and shook his -head, trying not to appear disappointed. “I guess -not this trip,” he replied.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175"></a>[175]</span></p> - -<p>“Better wait five minutes more,” said Arnold, -“in case some one’s late, you know.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>And so, after all, the <i>Urnove</i> 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 <i>Urnove</i> 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!</p> - -<p>But when he got home for dinner—Arnold had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176"></a>[176]</span> -resisted the temptation to accept Toby’s invitation -and had chugged back to the Head in the <i>Frolic</i>—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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177"></a>[177]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“There aren’t any more names, I guess,” he -said. “Not unless you get a city directory and -go through it. I think <i>Slap-Dash</i> is the best. -Don’t you, Phebe?”</p> - -<p>“I like <i>Foam</i> better. It’s prettier.”</p> - -<p>“Girls,” said Toby sententiously, “always want -something pretty. Gee, I’ll bet there are eighty-eleven -million boats called <i>Foam</i>!”</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t matter, does it?” asked Phebe. -“I suppose there are lots of boats called <i>Slap-Dash</i>, -too.”</p> - -<p>“Not near so many. Besides——”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like either of those names much,” said -Arnold apologetically. There was a discouraged -silence then until Phebe observed:</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why you don’t call it the <i>Arnold</i>. -<i>Arnold’s</i> a pretty name——”</p> - -<p>“Wow!” jeered Toby. “There’s one for you, -Arn. A pretty name for a pretty boy, eh?”</p> - -<p>Arnold threw a chip at him. “A fellow -wouldn’t want to name a boat after himself,” he -demurred.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178"></a>[178]</span></p> - -<p>“There was a man around here a couple of -years ago,” said Toby, “who had a sloop he called -the <i>A. L.</i> We used to say it stood for always -last, but it was really just his initials. You might -call yours the <i>A. D.</i>”</p> - -<p>Arnold considered. “<i>A. D.</i>,” he murmured. -“Say, that isn’t so bad, is it? It—it’s sort of short -and—and neat, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and you could call it <i>Anno Domini</i> for -long,” laughed Toby.</p> - -<p>Arnold’s face clouded. “Yes, I suppose fellows -would get up all sorts of silly meanings for -it. If it wasn’t for that——”</p> - -<p>Phebe clapped her hands. “I’ve got it!” she -cried. “Call it the <i>Aydee</i>!”</p> - -<p>“That’s what we said,” began Toby.</p> - -<p>“No, not the letters, Toby,” explained Phebe. -“‘A-y-d-e-e,’ <i>Aydee</i>! I think that would be -lovely!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179"></a>[179]</span></p> - -<p>“<i>Aydee</i> it is, then,” declared Toby. “Funny, -but I was just going to suggest that myself!”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Root beer,” suggested Toby.</p> - -<p>“Well, something over her bow as she glides—glides——”</p> - -<p>“And I’ll recite ‘The Launching of the Ship,’” -said Toby, “and you’ll wave a couple of flags -and——”</p> - -<p>“And Mr. Murphy will scream ‘All hands!’” -laughed Phebe. “It will be a perfectly wonderful -affair, Arnold!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Brass letters. Gold-leaf comes off too easily. -You two go ahead. I’m going back to the landing. -It’s almost four.”</p> - -<p>After the <i>Urnove</i> had returned from her last -trip and was tied to the boat-yard pier again, and -Arnold had slipped out of sight in the <i>Frolic</i>, -Toby and Phebe walked across the yard and the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180"></a>[180]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“I’m awfully sorry,” murmured Phebe. “But -you won’t give up after just one day, will you?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Maybe they don’t know about it yet,” said -Phebe encouragingly. “It takes time to—to get -things started, you know.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Toby, I’m just as sure as anything that you’ll -do better tomorrow!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I couldn’t do much worse,” Toby answered -ruefully. “Let’s go in.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181"></a>[181]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV<br /> -<small>PHEBE CHRISTENS THE KNOCKABOUT</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">Mr. Whitney was prompt the next -morning, and the trip across was made -in record time, the little <i>Urnove</i> 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!”</p> - -<p>Mr. Whitney refused to compromise on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182"></a>[182]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>Toby grinned. “It doesn’t seem quite fair, -though. When will you be coming back, sir?”</p> - -<p>“Let me see, now. When’s the last regular -sailing?”</p> - -<p>“Four-thirty, sir, from this side.”</p> - -<p>“Too early. How about five-fifteen or five-thirty? -Can you come over for me then?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, sir. Only, of course, if you could -get the four-thirty it would be cheaper.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>Arnold was waiting at the town landing when -the <i>Urnove</i> nosed up to it again, a good twenty -minutes before nine. He was all excitement. -“Say, Toby, what do you think? There was a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183"></a>[183]</span> -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 <i>Frolic</i>. He said he’d be -back.”</p> - -<p>Toby laughed. “That means we’ll have to run -the <i>Frolic</i> then. He might not go if we asked -him into this tub! Are you—do you think he will -come back?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then we’ll tie this old lady up and use -the <i>Frolic</i>. Got plenty of gas?”</p> - -<p>“Full up! Gee, Toby, I hope he comes back!”</p> - -<p>“So do I,” agreed Toby.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Frolic</i> cast off and headed for -Johnstown. The passenger seemed greatly delighted -with the <i>Frolic</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184"></a>[184]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185"></a>[185]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>No one appeared to go back on the <i>Frolic</i>, -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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186"></a>[186]</span> -a week! And then there’s the three dollars from -Mr. Whitney!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>But Phebe shook her head, and she and Arnold -got into the <i>Frolic</i>, 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 <i>Frolic</i>, and -after a while the white launch came around, Phebe -and Arnold waving their hands as they passed the -<i>Urnove</i> 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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187"></a>[187]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188"></a>[188]</span> -Long Tim put the first coat of paint on the -<i>Aydee</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189"></a>[189]</span> -o’clock the <i>Frolic</i> 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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190"></a>[190]</span> -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 <i>Frolic</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>However, he didn’t, because at about that time<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191"></a>[191]</span> -the <i>Aydee</i> 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!</p> - -<p>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 <i>Aydee</i>!” -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 <i>Aydee</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>The rest of that day and all of the next was -devoted to stepping the mast and adjusting the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192"></a>[192]</span> -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.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193"></a>[193]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI<br /> -<small>LOST IN THE FOG</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">The <i>Aydee</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194"></a>[194]</span> -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 <i>Aydee</i> 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.</p> - -<p>The lessons continued that day between ferry -trips and for many days after, until Arnold could -be trusted to sail the <i>Aydee</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195"></a>[195]</span> -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 -<i>Aydee</i> 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 -<i>Aydee</i> 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 <i>Frolic</i> -was only used to take Arnold back and forth from -the Head, except when Toby infrequently took -her to Johnstown in place of the <i>Urnove</i>. That -was only when the passengers were numerous, and -happened far too seldom!</p> - -<p>It was on a Sunday afternoon, some three weeks -after the <i>Aydee</i> went into commission, by which -time she boasted a silk yacht ensign and an owner’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196"></a>[196]</span> -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 <i>Aydee</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197"></a>[197]</span></p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“Looks like it, doesn’t it? It’s only about seven -miles.”</p> - -<p>“Seven mi—say, are you fooling?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit. You needn’t look at me as if it was -my fault, Arn. I didn’t swipe the breeze, you -know.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you didn’t, but say, seven miles—we -couldn’t do it!”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Phebe.</p> - -<p>Toby pointed. “Fog,” he said.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198"></a>[198]</span> -world was cut off from vision by a gray pall.</p> - -<p>“Get those oars out,” said Toby briskly. “We’d -better start along home, I guess. We were idiots -to come so far, anyway.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take a turn, too,” Phebe volunteered.</p> - -<p>“Well, I guess not!” said Arnold indignantly. -“If Toby and I can’t get this boat in we’ll stay -out all night!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199"></a>[199]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, fine,” grunted the other, pushing heroically -at his oar. “How far do you suppose we’ve -gone?”</p> - -<p>Toby laughed. “About two hundred yards, I -guess,” he answered. “We haven’t begun yet.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“That breeze,” answered Toby, “isn’t strong -enough to move us a mile an hour, Arn. Keep -her the way she heads, Phebe.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Aydee’s</i> horn -out and, turning the handle now and then, evoked -a most excruciatingly horrible wail.</p> - -<p>“There isn’t much danger of being run into,”<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200"></a>[200]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“No, and we ought to have it, too, eh?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>Toby tossed his own oar down and, seizing the -boat-hook, jumped to Arnold’s assistance. But<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201"></a>[201]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, shucks, that’s nothing. Cheer up!”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t you scull over the stern, Toby?” -asked his sister. “I believe we’d go just as fast.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a puff of wind,” said Phebe hopefully. -“Perhaps the breeze is coming up again.”</p> - -<p>“I wish it would,” said Arnold. “What is it -you do when you want a breeze? Whistle, isn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“Sure,” laughed Toby. “Try it!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what to whistle, though.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, anything light and breezy,” was the facetious<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202"></a>[202]</span> -retort. “You might whistle, ‘Where, oh -where, is my little oar gone?’ Say, Arn, I’ve just -thought!”</p> - -<p>“What?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203"></a>[203]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m glad it isn’t a storm,” said Phebe -philosophically. “A fog is horrid enough, but -we’re not in any danger.”</p> - -<p>“We’re in danger of starving to death,” muttered -Arnold dispiritedly. “I don’t see what I -ever wanted a sailboat for, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“Ten minutes to six,” answered Arnold. -“How’ll you have your steak, Toby? Rare or -just medium?”</p> - -<p>“Medium, please. I’m glad it’s Sunday, folks. -If it wasn’t we’d be hungrier than we are.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“You might try to catch a fish,” said Phebe.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like them raw, thanks. What’s that -row over there, Toby?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204"></a>[204]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“But the breeze is coming from the same direction,” -protested Phebe, “and I haven’t moved the -tiller a bit.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Then—then how do we know we’re sailing—I -mean drifting toward home?” demanded Arnold -anxiously.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205"></a>[205]</span> -dozen extra oars, and three oilskins, and——”</p> - -<p>“How about a gasoline engine with a cunning -little propeller stuck out behind?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>“Huh! I wish I had one!”</p> - -<p>“If you could wish for just one thing, Arnold, -what would it be?” asked Phebe.</p> - -<p>Arnold considered for a long moment. Then -he answered decisively and with feeling.</p> - -<p>“A steak and a baked potato!” said Arnold.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206"></a>[206]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII<br /> -<small>THE LIGHTED WINDOW</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">It was after eight o’clock, as dark as Egypt -and a great deal damper on board the <i>Aydee</i>. -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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207"></a>[207]</span></p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“We’re pretty likely to start back again,” said -Toby listlessly. “If only the fog would lift——”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>“Well, either steam heat or open fireplaces. If -we only had a radiator back of us now——”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208"></a>[208]</span></p> - -<p>“Right you are,” agreed Arnold joyfully. “But -which way is it?”</p> - -<p>“Over there, I think.” Toby pointed in the -darkness. “I’m not sure, though. Listen -again.”</p> - -<p>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——”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Aydee</i> had reached land!</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“See anything?” called Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209"></a>[209]</span> -<i>Aydee</i> settled down for the night with her port -rail just out of water!</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<p>“Is it real, sure-enough dry land?” asked -Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure I don’t know.” Toby’s voice was<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210"></a>[210]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Aydee</i>, 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211"></a>[211]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212"></a>[212]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213"></a>[213]</span></p> - -<p>Some ten yards out lay the <i>Aydee</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>“You can search me,” he muttered helplessly.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps if we climbed that bluff,” suggested -Arnold, “we might find a road or something.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we could try that, or we could keep along -the shore. First of all, though, I’m for getting -sort of dried out.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Climbing that bluff in the dark doesn’t look -good to me,” said Toby. “I guess it would be<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214"></a>[214]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“Well, which way shall we hike?” asked -Arnold.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Will the boat be all right, do you think?” he -asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, she can’t get away, and we’ll come around -at high tide tomorrow with the <i>Frolic</i> 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.”</p> - -<p>“What do you suppose our folks are thinking?” -asked Phebe in a troubled voice.</p> - -<p>“That’s so!” cried Arnold. “Gee, I’ll bet -father is fit to be tied by now!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215"></a>[215]</span></p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I think so. We can probably get back by -midnight. All ready, sis?”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216"></a>[216]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Now what?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“All right—here we go then!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I’d give a hundred dollars if I had it,” said<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217"></a>[217]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“Things look different at night,” said Phebe -wisely. “Maybe it is the Head, after all, -Toby.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I know,” acknowledged Phebe. “It is awfully -puzzling, isn’t it? There are some rocks like those -on the other side, though, Toby.”</p> - -<p>“Of course there are, but we couldn’t be on the -other side. At least——” He paused.</p> - -<p>“We might possibly have drifted around the -Head and into Nobbs’ Bay,” suggested Phebe.</p> - -<p>“That’s likely!” derided Toby. “Well, come -on and let’s find out. We must be somewhere!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Tree! I ran smash into it and nearly broke<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218"></a>[218]</span> -my nose! Here’s another one. Look out for it. -This way. Gee, that hurt!”</p> - -<p>“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!</p> - -<p>“Hooray!” yelled Arnold. “Now we know -where we are!”</p> - -<p>“Fine!” laughed Toby. “Where are we?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I mean we know that—that we’re—somewhere!”</p> - -<p>“That’s about all we do know! Which way -shall we go?”</p> - -<p>“Right,” said Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Left,” said Phebe.</p> - -<p>“Much obliged! Suppose, though, we cross this -road and keep on. That fellow who was singing——”</p> - -<p>“<a href="#i_frontis">Hold on!</a>” interrupted Arnold. “<a href="#i_frontis">Isn’t that a -sort of a light over there</a> to the left?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219"></a>[219]</span></p> - -<p>“It is!” exclaimed Phebe joyfully. “Isn’t it?” -she added less certainly. “I don’t see it now.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, it is,” agreed Toby, and sighed with vast -relief. “Come on!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I never saw this place before,” he muttered. -“It must be——!”</p> - -<p>But Arnold interrupted him with a chuckle. “I -have!” he said. “It’s our garage!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220"></a>[220]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII<br /> -<small>MR. TUCKER CONSENTS</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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.</p> - -<p>The fog vanished in the morning, and shortly -before noon the two boys stretched a line from -the <i>Frolic</i> to the <i>Aydee</i> 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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221"></a>[221]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” returned Arnold in superior tones. -“That boat knows enough to go home, Toby. I’ve -got it trained!”</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222"></a>[222]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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!”</p> - -<p>There were no more shipwrecks, now that the -<i>Aydee</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223"></a>[223]</span> -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 <i>Aydee</i> 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 <i>Aydee</i> 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.</p> - -<p>But life wasn’t all racing, for the <i>Aydee</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224"></a>[224]</span> -favored using the <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Aydee</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225"></a>[225]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226"></a>[226]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t know,” said Mr. Tucker at last. -“I suppose if Toby wants to try it for a year<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227"></a>[227]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“H’m. Well, Toby, one year will use all your -money up. What’ll you do next year?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228"></a>[228]</span></p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Hooray!” shouted Arnold. “That’s fine, Mr. -Tucker! Toby, you sit down there this minute -and write your application!”</p> - -<p>“What application?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, ma’am, I don’t think so. Lots of fellows<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229"></a>[229]</span> -have joined school just before it has opened. But -I guess it’ll be safer to write now.”</p> - -<p>“What’ll I say?” demanded Toby. “Who do I -write to? Hadn’t dad ought to do it instead of -me?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230"></a>[230]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX<br /> -<small>TOBY ACCEPTS A CHALLENGE</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231"></a>[231]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232"></a>[232]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“What’s the fastest any one ever swam a mile, -anyway?” inquired Toby.</p> - -<p>“About twenty-four minutes, I think,” answered -Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Twenty-three and about sixteen seconds,” corrected -Frank in a superior tone. “That’s professional, -I guess. Some Australian chap. It takes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233"></a>[233]</span> -those fellows to swim. We don’t know anything -about it in this country.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t we? What’s the matter with that -Honolulu chap, Duke Somebody? He’s a -corker.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a Hawaiian. I said in this country.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“Sharks,” offered Toby.</p> - -<p>“And wind is another thing entirely.”</p> - -<p>“I know that,” granted Frank. “I’ve swum -two hundred and twenty yards in a tank in three -minutes myself. It isn’t hard.”</p> - -<p>“Three minutes!” exclaimed Arnold. “Why, -you couldn’t have! That would mean twenty-four -minutes for a mile, and——”</p> - -<p>“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!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234"></a>[234]</span> -And the best time for the mile is four minutes and -something.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235"></a>[235]</span> -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——”</p> - -<p>“If you were silly enough to fall off a steamer -you’d deserve to drown,” growled Frank.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Me? Oh, not far. Maybe a half-mile. And -I guess I rested plenty of times doing it. I’m a -punk swimmer.”</p> - -<p>“You can dive finely, though,” said Toby.</p> - -<p>“Not so well as you can. Say, let’s go in this -afternoon over at the beach.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with going in now?” asked -Frank. “You fellows afraid of deep water?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236"></a>[236]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t know. Isn’t the water awfully cold -out here?”</p> - -<p>“Not so very. About sixty, I guess. That isn’t -bad. I suppose these tanks you tell about are nice -and warm, eh?”</p> - -<p>“Too warm,” said Arnold. “I’ll go in if you -fellows will. Maybe Frank will give us an exhibition.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll race either of you any distance you like,” -replied Frank, nettled. “And I’ll give you a -start.”</p> - -<p>“You give Toby a start,” laughed Arnold, -“and you’ll never catch him.”</p> - -<p>“Bet you I can give you a quarter of the way -to the lighthouse landing and beat you to it,” said -Frank to Toby.</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237"></a>[237]</span> -sail boats and all that,” he sneered, “but I notice -that the city fellows can generally beat you at it -when they come along.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“How shall we start?” asked Frank. “Dive -from the rail or——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I guess so. Arn can give us the word -if he isn’t going to race himself. All ready?”</p> - -<p>“All ready,” answered Frank.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238"></a>[238]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239"></a>[239]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“The water wasn’t any colder where you were -than it was where I was, was it?” asked Toby indignantly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240"></a>[240]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t say it was, but you’re more used to sea -bathing than I am. In the tanks——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“<em>I’m</em> not making any fuss; it’s you. I say it -was a tie——”</p> - -<p>“And I say it wasn’t. I won by more than a -yard.”</p> - -<p>“Your saying so doesn’t make it so,” sneered -Frank. “I wish there had been some one here to -prove it.”</p> - -<p>“Sure! So do I. But there wasn’t.”</p> - -<p>“If you’ll come in nearer shore I’ll race you -again and show you,” said Frank. “Cold water -always slows me up.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241"></a>[241]</span></p> - -<p>“That’s all right, Mr. Smart Aleck, but any -one will tell you that forty-four——”</p> - -<p>“You said forty-six a minute ago!”</p> - -<p>“Or forty-six, is too cold for fast swimming. -You ask any one.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I say no. I’m tuckered out, and the water’s -too cold——”</p> - -<p>A cry of appeal interrupted him. Toby scrambled -to his feet and gazed toward the launch.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Frank.</p> - -<p>“Some one yelled. I thought it might be -Arn.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see him on the launch,” he muttered -uneasily. “And I don’t see——”</p> - -<p>“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!<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242"></a>[242]</span> -Here’s you chance to show what you can do! If -you don’t like to take my wash, <em>swim</em>!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243"></a>[243]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX<br /> -<small>A CLOSE CALL</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“It’s too cold for <em>me</em>,” he murmured. “I’m -going to beat it!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244"></a>[244]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“<em>He-e-elp!</em>” he shouted.</p> - -<p>If any one answered him he didn’t hear. Only<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245"></a>[245]</span> -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——</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246"></a>[246]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247"></a>[247]</span> -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 <i>Urnove</i> that -Frank reached them.</p> - -<p>“Is he—all right?” he gasped.</p> - -<p>“Guess so. About half drowned, though. -Climb in and give me a hand with him.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“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 <i>Urnove</i><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a>[248]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“Hello,” he said.</p> - -<p>“How do you do?” responded the other.</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“You’re lying on your back asking silly questions,” -answered Toby a trifle gruffly. “Shut up -and go to sleep.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you remember what happened?” asked -Frank.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249"></a>[249]</span></p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Don’t do that!” he commanded. “Lie still. -We’re taking you home.”</p> - -<p>“How—how did I get here?” asked Arnold in -a low voice.</p> - -<p>“Frank and I pulled you in, of course. How -do you feel?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“What was the trouble?” asked Toby. “Did -you get tired?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250"></a>[250]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you were,” agreed Toby. “You had me -scared good and plenty.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>Arnold laughed, relieved. “Anyway, I hope -I’ll be able to do something for you some -time——”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251"></a>[251]</span></p> - -<p>“You can do it right now,” interrupted Toby -gruffly. “You can shut up!”</p> - -<p>“Who won the race?” inquired Arnold, glad to -change the subject.</p> - -<p>“It was a tie,” answered Toby promptly.</p> - -<p>“Toby did,” said Frank with as little hesitation. -“By about a yard.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“It didn’t seem to trouble you much,” remarked -Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m used to it. Frank isn’t. Some one -be ready with the boat-hook. We’re almost in.”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“We won’t say anything about it,” replied -Toby, laughing. “It’s bully of you, Arn, not to -want to worry your folks.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252"></a>[252]</span></p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253"></a>[253]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>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, <a href="#i_fp254">he consumed -a large piece of apple pie</a> 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.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" id="i_fp254" style="width: 381px;"> - <img src="images/i_fp254.jpg" width="381" height="600" alt="" title="" /> - <br /> - <div class="caption"><a href="#Page_253">He consumed a large piece of apple pie.</a></div> -</div> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“About what?” asked the other.</p> - -<p>“About my trying to drown myself the other -day.”</p> - -<p>“No, I didn’t. Why?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254"></a>[254]</span></p> - -<p>“Well, some one must have. Dad found out -about it.”</p> - -<p>“Gee! Did he? What did he say?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“Then it must have been Frank,” said Arnold, -“but he swears he hasn’t opened his mouth about -it.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe some one saw us from the Head. -They might have, you know. With a pair of -glasses——”</p> - -<p>“There weren’t any boats around, were there?”</p> - -<p>“Nowhere near. Did your father tell you not -to sail the <i>Aydee</i> any more?”</p> - -<p>“No, but I was scared he was going to. He -said I must not go in the water again this summer, -though.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you should worry,” laughed Toby. -“Who wants to bathe much now, anyway?”</p> - -<p>“Aunt was the worst,” said Arnold. “She got -all worked up about it and I was afraid she’d<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255"></a>[255]</span> -make dad forbid my sailing any more. It’s funny -how he found out.”</p> - -<p>“Frank might have told some one in confidence,” -Toby suggested. “Still, if he says he -didn’t——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Frank? What for?”</p> - -<p>“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.</p> - -<p>“You can tell him you forgot to give me the -message,” said Toby with a laugh.</p> - -<p>“What doing?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, lots of things. I ought to study, I guess.”</p> - -<p>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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256"></a>[256]</span></p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“Toby,” he said, “Arnold tells me you are going -to Yardley Hall School this fall.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257"></a>[257]</span></p> - -<p>“I studied a lot more than I needed to,” said -Arnold defensively. “Gee, you ought to see how -some of the fellows loaf!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir, not quite enough, but I guess I’ll make -it somehow. I don’t have to pay it all at once, -sir.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258"></a>[258]</span> -viewed my contribution as merely a token of admiration -and—ah—affection. Now how much -money do you lack, Toby?”</p> - -<p>“Why—why, I figure that I’ll be shy about -forty-five dollars, sir, but——”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, go on, Toby!” begged Arnold. “Take it,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259"></a>[259]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>“But I don’t need it, you see,” protested Toby, -embarrassed. “I—I’d so much rather not take -it, Arn! I would really!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, shucks! There’s no sense in being so -touchy!”</p> - -<p>“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——”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>Later, on the landing, Toby asked: “Did you -find out how your father knew about it, Arn?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260"></a>[260]</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, the lighthouse keeper saw it and he told -the man who brings us fish. And he told the cook -and——”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261"></a>[261]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">CHAPTER XXI<br /> -<small>THE DISTRESS SIGNAL</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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 -<i>Urnove</i> 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.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262"></a>[262]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“What are you looking for?” asked Toby.</p> - -<p>Long Tim shifted his position, felt solicitously -of one boot and smiled. “Money,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“Money? In the water?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I never have,” replied the boy.</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“A two-dollar bill,” said Toby rather faintly.</p> - -<p>Long Tim nodded. “Ezactly, though I don’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263"></a>[263]</span> -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?”</p> - -<p>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!</p> - -<p>“I calculate you don’t believe it,” said Long -Tim mildly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I do,” answered Toby, conquering -his laughter.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Then what was you laughin’ at, may I -ask?”</p> - -<p>“Just—just something I remembered,” chuckled -Toby. “I—I hope you find some more, Tim!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264"></a>[264]</span></p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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?”</p> - -<p>“I guess he would,” Tony agreed, “but I guess -it would be pretty funny. When do you want to -do it?”</p> - -<p>Arnold sobered. “Huh,” he answered, “I guess -it wouldn’t be so funny after all! Dollars are sort -of scarce these days.”</p> - -<p>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.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265"></a>[265]</span> -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!</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266"></a>[266]</span> -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:</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“I think you will,” she answered, smiling. -“Folks who waste money are very silly, and you’re -not silly, Toby.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll see that he doesn’t, Phebe,” Arnold assured -her gravely.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you don’t know much about it,” -laughed the girl.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267"></a>[267]</span></p> - -<p>“Arn doesn’t know what a dollar is,” said Toby.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t I? You throw one down there on -the grass and I’ll show you!”</p> - -<p>“Well, you don’t know the value of a dollar, -then. You’ve always had all you wanted -and——”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>The <i>Frolic</i> 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 <i>Aydee</i> 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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268"></a>[268]</span> -he abandoned the yacht and joined his chum in the -<i>Urnove</i>.</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“How do you mean?” asked Toby, leaving the -engine and seating himself beside the other.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“And lost that money,” added Toby, grinning. -“We might have run across each other some other -time, though, I guess.”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269"></a>[269]</span> -lots more. Say, honest, Toby, if you weren’t coming -to Yardley I’d—I’d hate like anything to go -back!”</p> - -<p>“Uh-huh,” responded Toby, glancing away. -“So would I. I mean——”</p> - -<p>Arnold laughed. “I know! It’s jolly having -a real chum!”</p> - -<p>Toby only nodded, but Arnold seemed satisfied, -and by actual consent the subject was abandoned.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Urnove</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to bail her out before we come -back,” said Arnold.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“It won’t bother this little boat,” laughed Arnold. -“And I guess we don’t mind getting wet, -do we?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270"></a>[270]</span></p> - -<p>“I don’t if you don’t. Just the same, I guess -we’ll beat it back without waiting until half-past.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Urnove’s</i> -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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271"></a>[271]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“She’s not anchored at all,” he shouted across -to Arnold. “She’s drifting side-on. And—hello!”</p> - -<p>“What?” asked the other.</p> - -<p>“What do you make of those pennants she’s -flying?”</p> - -<p>Arnold, crouching at the side wheel, screened -his eyes and gazed at the bits of colored bunting<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272"></a>[272]</span> -flapping from the little signal mast. “One’s white -and the other’s—the other’s blue-and-white, isn’t -it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s J. But can you see if the white -pennant’s got a red disk?”</p> - -<p>“I think so. Yes, it has! What’s it mean?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Urnove</i> turned her length to the seas and, -rocking and pitching, headed for the launch in distress.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273"></a>[273]</span></p> - -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">CHAPTER XXII<br /> -<small>INTO PORT</small></h2> -</div> - - -<p class="cap">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 <i>Urnove</i> came up to leeward.</p> - -<p>“We’ve broken our shaft,” came the voice -across the water. “Can you give us a tow?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>The other waved his megaphone in assent and -the <i>Urnove</i>, 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!”</p> - -<p>The little launch again drew close to the cruiser,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274"></a>[274]</span> -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.</p> - -<p>“Heave it!” called Toby.</p> - -<p>The coil shot across the few yards of water -straight for the <i>Urnove’s</i> bow, but the wind seized -and deflected it and, although Arnold did his best -with the boat-hook, they missed it.</p> - -<p>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 <i>Urnove</i> -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 <i>Sinbad</i>—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.</p> - -<p>“Much obliged, you fellows! Can you make -Cutchogue Harbor?”</p> - -<p>“No,” called Toby. “We’ll tow you to Johnstown, -over there, or into Greenhaven. Which do -you say?”</p> - -<p>“That won’t do, thanks. We’ve got to get to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275"></a>[275]</span> -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!”</p> - -<p>Toby, keeping the <i>Urnove’s</i> bows to the sea, reflected -a moment. Then he turned questioningly -to Arnold.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Let’s try it!” said Arnold eagerly. “It’ll be -a lark!”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“Good boy!” was the response. “What’s your -figure?”</p> - -<p>Toby turned quickly to Arnold. “What’s -twenty-five from seventy?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“What?” gasped Arnold blankly.</p> - -<p>But Toby had solved the problem himself. -“Forty-five dollars,” he shouted.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276"></a>[276]</span></p> - -<p>“Go to it, feller!” The man waved his hand -gayly. “You’re a sportsman!”</p> - -<p>“All right,” answered Toby. “Give me plenty -of cable. Here goes!”</p> - -<p>Toby speeded up the engine, the cable tightened, -the <i>Urnove’s</i> 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 <i>Sinbad’s</i> bow swung slowly around, -the line slackened a little, tautened again and the -<i>Urnove</i>, with her engine chugging madly and the -waves tossing her about, moved ahead.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277"></a>[277]</span> -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 <i>Urnove</i> 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 <i>Sinbad</i>, 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.</p> - -<p>“What are we making?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Toby looked back at the running water. -“About four miles, I guess,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“It’ll take us two hours, then. How about -lights?”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278"></a>[278]</span> -long before the lights on Robins Island appeared -ahead the <i>Sinbad</i> was lost to sight save for her -lanterns. Arnold, too, had to fight, for water entered -the <i>Urnove</i> 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 -<i>Sinbad</i>, 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 <i>Urnove</i>. 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.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279"></a>[279]</span></p> - -<p>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 -<i>Urnove</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“Lights, Toby! Is that Cutchogue?”</p> - -<p>“New Suffolk. Cutchogue’s beyond.”</p> - -<p>“How much further is it?”</p> - -<p>“The harbor’s about a mile around this point. -I’m swinging around now.”</p> - -<p>“Hooray!” yelled Arnold. “Oh, you harbor!”</p> - -<p>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 <i>Sinbad</i> well up -into the harbor and at last Toby took the megaphone -and hailed the cruiser.</p> - -<p>“All right here?” he asked. “I don’t know this -place very well.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280"></a>[280]</span></p> - -<p>“All right, thanks,” came the answer. “Cast -off when you’re ready.”</p> - -<p>Simultaneously the boys heard the splash of the -<i>Sinbad’s</i> anchor. Toby threw off the line from the -stern and, picking his way carefully, swung around -and approached the anchored boat.</p> - -<p>“Pass us a line,” called one of the men, “and -come aboard, boys.”</p> - -<p>A moment later, murmuring apologies for their -dripping clothes and blinking at the light, they stepped -down into the snug cabin.</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>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.</p> - -<p>“We’re awfully grateful to you chaps,” he said<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281"></a>[281]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>“I guess we’d better go home, thanks,” said -Toby. “Our folks don’t know where we are, you -see.”</p> - -<p>“How about telephoning from the village?” -asked the other man. “You live in Greenhaven, -don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p>“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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282"></a>[282]</span> -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.”</p> - -<p>Toby hesitated. Then: “I needed forty-five, -sir, and I thought it wouldn’t be too much to ask.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“Mine’s Tucker, and his is Deering.”</p> - -<p>“Good names, both. My friend’s name there is -Loring, and mine——”</p> - -<p>“Is Pennimore,” supplied Arnold.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but how did you know?” asked the other -in surprise.</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen you a good many times, sir, around -Yardley.”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“I’m entering this year, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Good stuff! Now listen, you fellows. You -know where I live, Deering. Come and see me<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283"></a>[283]</span> -when you get there. I’ll be back pretty nearly -as soon as you are. Bring Tucker with you. -Don’t forget, eh?”</p> - -<p>“No, thanks, I’ll be glad to,” said Arnold. -“Is—is Mr. Loring the one who used to play -quarterback on the team?”</p> - -<p>“I am,” laughed Mr. Loring. “Don’t tell me -that my fame still survives, Deering!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. Besides, I’ve seen your picture in the -gym lots of times.”</p> - -<p>“And you’ve been gone—how long is it, Alf? -Six years, eh? That’s fame as is fame!”</p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>“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.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284"></a>[284]</span></p> - -<p>“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?”</p> - -<p>In spite of their wet garments that was a very -jolly half-hour that the two boys spent in the cabin -of the <i>Sinbad</i>. 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 <i>Sinbad</i> 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 <i>Urnove</i>. -The <i>Sinbad’s</i> 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 <i>Urnove</i> chugged off again in the -darkness, picking her way between anchored craft, -and the lights on the cruiser dwindled away astern.</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285"></a>[285]</span> -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 <i>Sinbad</i> 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.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>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<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286"></a>[286]</span> -himself was waving from the last platform as the -bell clanged and the train slowly moved away.</p> - -<p>“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!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be there!” called Toby. “I’ll be there if -I have to walk!”</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="tnote"> -<p class="noi tntitle">Transcriber’s Notes:</p> - -<p class="smfont">Except for the frontispiece, illustrations have been moved to - follow the text that they illustrate, so the page number of the - illustration may not match the page number in the List of - Illustrations.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Obvious printer’s, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were - silently corrected.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.</p> - -<p class="smfont">Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -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-h.htm or 62027-h.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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