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diff --git a/old/69838-0.txt b/old/69838-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c1dc318..0000000 --- a/old/69838-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8360 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Captain Chap, by Frank R. Stockton - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Captain Chap - or, The Rolling Stones - -Author: Frank R. Stockton - -Illustrator: Charles H. Stephens - -Release Date: January 19, 2023 [eBook #69838] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by The - Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN CHAP *** - - -[Illustration: The panther was now within four or five feet of the boat. - - Page 196.] - - - - - _CAPTAIN CHAP_ - - _OR_ - - _The Rolling Stones_ - - _BY_ - _FRANK R. STOCKTON_ - - _Author of “Rudder Grange,” “A Jolly Fellowship,” etc._ - - _ILLUSTRATED BY - CHARLES H. STEPHENS_ - - [Illustration] - - _PHILADELPHIA - J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - 1897_ - - - - - Copyright, 1882, by JAMES ELVERSON. - - Copyright, 1896, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. - - - ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, - U. S. A. - - - - -_CONTENTS_ - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.--“THE BEST THING YOU EVER HEARD OF” 7 - - II.--A SEA VOYAGE 16 - - III.--“A CONTINENT BEFORE US” 27 - - IV.--WITH HOOK AND LINE 38 - - V.--CHAP’S ALLIGATOR 50 - - VI.--THE ROLLING STONE 65 - - VII.--THE TWO ORPHANS 73 - - VIII.--“CAPTAIN OF HIMSELF” 83 - - IX.--FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 92 - - X.--PHIL’S UNCLE AND CHAP’S SISTER 101 - - XI.--TWO EXPEDITIONS 111 - - XII.--CHAP LEADS THE INDIANS 119 - - XIII.--ADAM LEADS HIS PARTY 127 - - XIV.--CHAP’S AMBASSADOR 140 - - XV.--THE FORCES MEET 145 - - XVI.--MARY BROWN SENDS A MESSAGE 154 - - XVII.--THE CHANNEL-BASS 163 - - XVIII.--CHAP BOARDS THE MAGGIE 172 - - XIX.--WAITING FOR A VISITOR 182 - - XX.--THE VISITOR ARRIVES 190 - - XXI.--THE METROPOLIS OF THE INDIAN RIVER 197 - - XXII.--THE COLONEL 204 - - XXIII.--A NEW EXPEDITION PLANNED 211 - - XXIV.--COOT BREWER TAKES THE HELM 219 - - XXV.--AMONG THE ALLIGATORS 224 - - XXVI.--THE MAGGIE COMES TO TOWN 234 - - XXVII.--THE RACE THROUGH THE WOODS 243 - - XXVIII.--A PLOT AGAINST CHAP 251 - - XXIX.--HOW ADAM WAS BAGGED 259 - - XXX.--THE COUNTESS 267 - - XXXI.--A POINT OF HONOR 273 - - XXXII.--CHAP IS DOWN UPON ARISTOCRACY 282 - - XXXIII.--WHICH FINISHES THE STORY 289 - - - - -_LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - - PAGE - - The panther was now within four or five - feet of the boat _Frontispiece._ - - The rescue 21 - - Adam tucking the other under his left arm 81 - - “Crouch down there, you varlets!” 177 - - “Don’t fire!” screamed Coot 226 - - “Now we’ll give it to him” 261 - - - - -[Illustration] - -_CAPTAIN CHAP_ - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -“THE BEST THING YOU EVER HEARD OF.” - - -It was the month of October, and yet for the boys who belonged to -the school of Mr. Wallace, in Boontown, the summer vacation was not -yet over. Mr. Wallace had been taken sick, and although he was now -recovering, it was not expected that he would be able to resume the -labors of his school until about the middle of November. - -Everybody liked Mr. Wallace, and very few of his patrons wished to -enter their boys at another school when it was expected he would -certainly re-open his establishment in the course of the fall. Most -of his scholars, therefore, were pursuing their studies at home, -according to methods which he recommended, and this plan was generally -considered far more satisfactory than for the boys to go for a short -time to other schools, where the systems of study were probably very -different from those of Mr. Wallace. - -It is true that some of the boys did not study very much during this -extension of the vacation, but then it must be remembered that those -who expect boys to do always everything that is right are very apt to -be disappointed. - -Philip Berkeley, who lived with his uncle, Mr. Godfrey Berkeley, at -Hyson Hall, on the banks of one of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful -rivers, had studied a good deal since the time when his vacation should -have ended, for he was a boy naturally inclined to that sort of thing, -and he had, besides, the example of his uncle--who was hard at work -studying law--continually before his eyes. But his two most particular -friends, Chapman Webster and Phineas Poole, did not subject their -school-books to any great amount of wear and tear. - -Chap Webster was a lively, energetic boy, always ready to engage in -some enterprise of work or play; and Phineas, generally called Phœnix -by his companions, was such a useful fellow on his father’s farm that -he was usually kept pretty busy at one thing or another whenever he was -at home. - -At the time our story begins, Chap Webster had, for a week, been living -in what he considered the most delightful kind of clover. He was a -great lover of the water, although he had no particular desire for a -mariner’s life, in the ordinary sense of the term. - -Accustomed since a child to the broad waters of the river, he had a -great fancy for what might be called the inland marine service, and his -highest ambition was to be captain of a tug-boat. - -To course up and down the river in one of these swift and powerful -little vessels, and to make fast to a great ship ever and ever so much -larger than the “tug,” and to tow her along against wind and tide, -appeared to Chap a most delightful thing to do. There was a sense of -power in it which pleased him. - -He was now paying a visit to a relative in the city, who was one of -the officers of a tug-boat company, and this gave Chap an opportunity -to take frequent trips on his favorite vessels. He enjoyed all this so -much that I fear he was in no hurry for his school to begin. - -It was on a Monday afternoon that Philip and Phœnix were at the -railroad station in Boontown. Each had come to town on an errand for -his family, and they were now waiting for the three o’clock train from -the city to come in. - -The first person who jumped from the cars was Chap Webster, and his -feet had scarcely touched the platform before he spied his two friends. - -“Hello, boys!” he cried, striding toward them. “I’m glad I found you -here. I want to tell you the best thing you ever heard of! I’m going -down to the Breakwater to-morrow on a tug-boat, and you two can go -along if your folks will let you. I’ve fixed the whole thing up right. -We’ll be gone two days and a night. And I tell you what it is, boys, -it will be more than glorious! We’re going down after a big steamer, -that’s broken her propeller-blades and has to be towed up to the city. -I came up to tell you fellows, and see what my people said about it. -But I know they’ll agree, and I don’t want you to let your folks put in -any objections. It’ll be just as safe as staying at home, and there’s -entirely too much fun in it for any of us to miss it.” - -Neither Phil nor Phœnix hesitated for an instant in agreeing that -Chap’s idea was a splendid one. - -Mr. Berkeley, Phil’s uncle, when the subject was laid before him about -an hour afterward, gave a hearty approval to the plan, for he was very -glad that Phil should have an opportunity to enjoy an excursion of the -kind. - -His summer vacation had been filled up much more with work and -responsibility than with recreation, and his uncle considered that a -trip of some kind was certainly his due. - -But the matter did not appear in the same light in the eyes of Mr. -Poole. Now that Phœnix was not going to school, he thought it the boy’s -duty to make himself useful about the house and farm, and there were a -great many things he wanted him to do. - -When Phœnix came over to Hyson Hall early the next morning, and told -Phil he didn’t believe his father intended to let him go on this jolly -old trip, Mr. Berkeley ordered his horse, Jouncer, to be saddled, and -rode over to the Poole farm. - -When he came back, he found Chap Webster with the other boys, and -a noisy indignation meeting going on. He put a speedy stop to the -proceedings, by informing the members of the small assemblage that Mr. -Poole had consented to let Phœnix join the tug-boat party. - -This news was received with a unanimous shout, and the boys separated -to get ready as quickly as possible for the expedition, for they were -to start for the city on the noon train. - -“Take your heavy overcoats with you,” said Mr. Berkeley, as Chap and -Phœnix were bidding him a hasty good-by; “for it may be cold on the -water at night, and you had better each take a change of linen with -you, and some underclothes.” - -“What!” cried Phil; “for a little trip like this?” - -“Yes,” said Mr. Berkeley. “I am an old traveller, and I know that a -great many things happen on these little trips. One of you may tumble -overboard, and need a dry shirt, and at any rate you ought to feel that -you may rough it as much as you please, and yet look clean and decent -when you are coming home.” - -Hyson Hall was appointed for the rendezvous of the boys, and, after -a slight luncheon, Joel drove them over to Boontown. But before they -started Mr. Berkeley gave each of them a long, stout fishing-line, -suitable for salt-water fishing. - -“You may have a chance to use these,” he said, “and I don’t believe any -of your own lines are strong enough for deep-water work.” - -He gave Phil a pocket lantern and a tin box of matches, with a paper of -extra fish-hooks and various other little articles, which might be of -use. - -“If I’d been going by myself,” said Chap, “I’d have just clapped on my -hat, and started for town.” - -“Yes,” said Phœnix, “and then, when you got a chance to fish, you’d -have growled because you hadn’t a line. I tell you what it is, Phil, -your uncle knows what he is about. I wish I knew what he said to -father.” - -“Some magic words,” said Chap; “but you needn’t think anybody is ever -going to tell them to you. You’d go round slinging spells over your -whole family, and having everything your own way. I rather think you’d -have an easy time of it.” - -“Yes,” said Phœnix, “you’re about right, and when any work turned up -that I wanted to do, I’d chuck a spell over a long-legged fellow named -Chap Webster, and make him come and help.” - -“Joel,” said Chap, “hadn’t you better touch up the noble beast? We -don’t want to be late, you know.” - -“We’ll get there soon enough,” said Joel. “I drive on time, and I never -miss trains.” - -“If you hurry up people that way, Chap,” said Phil, “you’ll have this -trip over sooner than you want it to be.” - -“You needn’t worry your mind about that,” said Chap. “When we get on -the real trip, I’m the fellow to help stretch it out as far as it will -go.” - -The trip down the river and bay was quite as enjoyable as the boys had -expected it to be. The little tug was not very commodious, and not very -clean, but there was a small after-deck, on which they could lounge -quite comfortably. - -The boys had never been far below the city, and the scenery was novel -and interesting to them. Chap would have been glad to have the tug stop -occasionally, so that they could have a chance to fish; but he had -sense enough not to propose anything of the kind to the captain. - -They reached their destination the next day, and it was then found that -the steamer with the broken propeller was not quite ready to be towed -up; and it was decided not to start with her on her trip up the river -until the following morning. - -In the course of the afternoon, however, some work appeared for the -captain of the tug-boat. Far out to sea a schooner was perceived, with -her foremast and part of her bowsprit gone, and endeavoring, against a -head-wind, to make her way to the refuge of the Breakwater. - -There was a strong wind blowing from the north, with a chance of its -getting farther to the east before long, and it was considered doubtful -whether the disabled schooner would be able to get in before a storm -came on. - -“Boys,” said the captain, coming aft to where our friends were sitting, -“I’ve made up my mind to go out and offer to tow that schooner in. I -might as well be making some money for the company as to lie here doing -nothing. But I think it’s going to be pretty rough, and, if you fellows -don’t care to go along, I’ll put you ashore.” - -The boys, who had been so much interested in everything around them -that they had not even taken out their fishing-lines, cried out at once -that they would not think of going ashore. Nothing would please them -more than a trip out to sea. - -“The rougher the better!” cried Chap. “I just want to feel what it is -like to be tossed on the ocean wave.” - -“All right!” said the captain, with a grin. “We’ll toss you.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -A SEA VOYAGE. - - -It was not long after this little conversation that the tug-boat was -bravely puffing out to sea. The wind was strong and the waves ran -pretty high, but the boat made her way over the rough water without -difficulty. - -The boys were delighted with the motion of the vessel as it plunged -over the waves, and none of them felt in the least degree sick. - -Chap wished to go out on the bow, where he could stand and see the boat -“breast the billows;” but he was not allowed to do this, for every now -and then a shower of spray came over the bows, and he would have been -drenched to the skin in ten minutes. Even where they sat in the stern, -the boys were frequently treated to a shower of spray; but this, as -they wore their overcoats, they did not mind in the least. - -It took them longer to near the schooner than they had supposed it -would, for she was making very slow headway against the wind, and in -some of her long tacks she seemed to the boys as if she were trying to -keep out of their way. - -At last, however, they reached her, and the tug steamed close enough to -her side to allow the people on board to be hailed. But, to the disgust -of the captain of the tug-boat, his offers to tow the disabled vessel -into shelter were declined. - -Her captain believed that he could work her in without any help, and he -did not wish to incur the expense of being towed. - -“All right, then!” said the captain of the tug-boat to the boys, who -stood near him. “She can run in by herself, and perhaps she’ll make -the Breakwater in a week or two. We have lost nothing but some of our -owners’ coal, and you fellows have had a sea trip. And now we will run -back again.” - -The captain made two mistakes that day. One was when he thought he was -going to make some money by towing a schooner and the other was when he -thought he was going to run in again. - -The tug-boat had not gone ten minutes on her returning course, when -suddenly her machinery stopped, and in a few moments the boat turned -about and began to roll in the trough of the sea. - -There was now a good deal of confusion in the engine-room, and there -the boys made their way, not without difficulty, for the rolling motion -of the boat made it very hard for them to keep their feet. - -In the engine-room they found the captain, the engineer, and one or two -others of the small crew. Something had broken, the boys knew not what, -for no one seemed to have time to explain the matter to them. - -Efforts were being made to repair the injury. There was a great deal of -hammering and banging and loud talking, and presently the engine let -off the steam from the boiler, which made such a noise it was almost -impossible to hear anything that was not shouted into one’s ear. - -Perceiving that they were in the way, and could find out nothing, and -were to be told nothing, the boys prudently retired into the inner -cabin. Here Phil and Chap became quite sick. They could stand the -pitching and tossing of the boat as she rose over and plunged down the -waves, but this rolling motion was too much for them. - -The two unfortunates crawled into the little bunks in which they had -slept the night before, while Phœnix, with an air of brave resignation, -braced himself against the cabin-door, and waited to see what would -happen next. - -Nothing seemed to happen next. After awhile the noise of the escaping -steam grew less, and then it stopped. The hammering and banging had -also ceased, and thinking that everything was all right now, Phœnix -went forward to see how things were going on. - -It was not easy to see much, for the engine-room was lighted only by -a hanging lantern, but he met the captain, who informed him that they -were in a bad way. One of the connecting-rods had been broken, and -as the engine was not stopped soon enough, some other parts of the -machinery had been damaged. - -“We have tried to patch her up,” said the captain, “but it is no go. -All we can do is to make everything tight, and lie here until some -vessel comes along to give us a tow in. This has been a pretty bad day -for us, for we’re not going to take any steamer up the river to-morrow.” - -“How long do you think you’ll have to stay here?” asked Phœnix. - -“Don’t know,” answered the captain. “Something may come along pretty -soon, and we may not be towed in till morning. But you needn’t be -afraid. We’ll make everything tight, and though we may roll and pitch, -we won’t take in any water.” - -“I suppose that vessel with a broken mast couldn’t help us?” said -Phœnix. - -“No,” said the captain, “it is more than she can do to take care of -herself, and she is out of sight now, although she isn’t any nearer -the Breakwater than we are.” - -“Perhaps some steamboat will come out after us when they find we don’t -come back,” suggested Phœnix. - -“That may be,” said the captain, willing to give his young passengers -as much encouragement as possible. “But you fellows had better get -something to eat, and turn in. You’ll be more comfortable in your bunks -while we are rolling about in this way.” - -But Chap and Phil did not want anything to eat. The very idea was -horrible to them. And so Phœnix ate his hard biscuit and some cold -meat, for there seemed to be no intention of even boiling a pot of -coffee, and then he crawled into his little bunk. - -“Boys,” groaned Chap, “I don’t care for a tug-boat as much as I used -to.” - -“Care for it!” said Phil, in a weak voice. “I hope I may never----” - -And here his remark ended; he was too sick to say what he hoped. - -The night was a horrible one. Occasionally the boys slept; but as they -found, whenever they dropped into a doze, they were very apt to roll -out of their bunks, they were obliged to keep awake most of the time. -As soon as daylight appeared, they were all anxious to go outside, -feeling that a breath of fresh air would be better than anything -else in the world. This the captain, who seemed to have been up all -night, would not allow. - -[Illustration: The rescue.] - -“You’d be washed overboard,” he said, “and things are bad enough as -they are, without any of you getting drowned. There’s a regular gale -off shore, and we haven’t sighted an inward-bound steamer yet.” - -In the course of an hour or two, it was evident that a vessel ought -to be sighted very soon, for the tug, which was not built for such -rough work as this, had, in spite of the efforts of the crew to make -everything tight on the decks, shipped a good deal of water, and it was -necessary to work the pumps. But this did not help matters, for it was -found that a leak had sprung somewhere, and the water came in faster -than it could be pumped out. - -The tug was now far from the land, and in the path of coastwise -steamers; and before noon the welcome sight of a line of smoke appeared -on the horizon. It was a steamer which was approaching them, but, -unfortunately, it was going southward, and not northward. - -“She’s a Savannah steamer,” said the captain, “but we’ve got to git on -board of her, no matter where she is going; for this old boat can’t -stand this sort of thing much longer. We’ve been blowing out from -shore all night, and there’s no time for anything to come out after us -now.” - -The boys looked aghast. - -“Savannah!” they cried. “We don’t want to go to Savannah!” - -“It’s a good sight better place than the bottom of the ocean,” said the -captain. - -It was a bad bargain for the boys, but they had to make the best of it. - -“What are you going to do in Savannah?” asked Phœnix, in a tone of -dismay. - -“It can’t take us more than a couple of days to get there,” said Phil, -“and then we can telegraph home. As soon as our folks know where we -are, I shall feel that everything is all right.” - -“I shan’t feel that anything is all right until we know where we are -ourselves,” said Chap, looking out of one of the little windows of the -cabin. “Did you ever see such a pokey old steamer as that is? I believe -we shall sink before she gets to us.” - -But this unfortunate event did not happen, although the tug was very -deep in the water and rolling heavily when the steamer lay to, with her -bow to the wind, a few hundred yards away from them. - -A large boat was speedily lowered and rowed to the tug. In less than -half an hour the unfortunate occupants of the sinking tug-boat had been -taken on the steamer. - -A few articles were brought away from the tug, and the boys were -allowed to carry with them their valises. - -As soon as the boat-load of people was on the steamer, and the boat -hauled up to its davits, the vessel put about, and proceeded on her way. - -As the boys looked back, they saw the little tug, with her smoke-stack -very much on one side, and but little of her hull visible, tossing and -pitching on the waves. - -“She isn’t good for another half-hour,” said the engineer, who stood by. - -The party rescued from the sinking tug-boat was very kindly received on -board the steamer, but it was quite evident, even to the hopeful and -enthusiastic Chap, that there was no intention of putting back for the -Breakwater. - -The boys had never been on an ocean steamer before, and would have been -greatly delighted with their present experience had it not been for the -feeling that every movement of the ponderous engine beneath them was -taking them farther and farther from their homes. - -It would be impossible for their friends to hear from them for at least -two days, and the news that the tug-boat had gone out to sea, and never -returned, would probably reach Boontown very soon. - -All three were very much dejected when they thought of the misery and -grief which the intelligence would cause in their families, and Phœnix -seemed more downcast than either of the others. - -“If father believes I’m drowned,” he said, “it’ll be just his way to -go about grieving that he worked me too hard. I know I made him think -that, but I didn’t do so much after all.” - -“If my folks look at the thing in that light,” said Chap, “they’ll -grieve that they didn’t get more out of me before I was drowned.” - -“I don’t believe there’ll be as much mourning as you think,” said Phil. -“Uncle will be on hand, and he’s been in so many scrapes, and pulled -through them all, that he knows just about how things will turn up. I -bet it won’t be half an hour after he hears the news before he thinks -out the whole thing, and has made all your people see that it’s as -clear as daylight that we’ve been carried out to sea, and picked up by -some steamer, and that we’ll be heard from soon after she gets to her -port. He’ll know that there wasn’t storm enough to wreck a good, stout -tug-boat, and that something must have got out of order, so that she -was carried out to sea.” - -“If that one-masted schooner ever got in,” said Phœnix, “she’d let them -know there was something wrong with us, for she must have seen or heard -us blowing off steam.” - -“I don’t know about that,” said Chap, “for before I turned into my -sick-bed, the vessel was pretty well out of sight. We were going in -opposite directions, as well as I could make out.” - -“That was because she was sailing against the wind, and had to make -long tacks,” said Phœnix. - -“Do you suppose I didn’t know that?” asked Chap, drawing himself up in -such an erect position that a great lurch of the vessel nearly threw -him off his feet. - -“We might as well make the best of it,” said Phil, “and have a good -time. In a couple of days we will be in Savannah, and when we have -telegraphed home, everybody’ll be all serene, if they are not now.” - -“Your head’s level, Phil,” said Chap. “Let’s go and explore the ship.” - -On the breezy deck of the steamer, none of the boys felt in the least -degree sea-sick, and they went about in high spirits. The purser, a -good-natured man, took them in charge, and showed them the engine-room -and various parts of the vessel, but it was not long before he gave -them a piece of information which nearly took their breath away. - -In answer to an inquiry in regard to the time at which they might -expect to reach Savannah, the purser told them that the vessel could -not stop at that port at all. The captain of the tug-boat had been -right in saying that this was a Savannah steamer, but she had been -temporarily withdrawn from that line, and was now bound for Nassau, in -the Bahamas. - -“When will we get there?” asked Chap. “Can we telegraph from Nassau?” - -“We shall reach Nassau in about four days,” said the purser, “but there -is no cable from those islands. You will have to carry the news of your -safety yourselves when we bring you back to New York.” - -“Can’t we send a letter?” asked Phil. - -“Not any sooner than you can come yourselves,” said the purser, “for we -shall bring back the mail from Nassau to the United States.” - -“And how long will it be before you get back to New York?” asked Phil. - -“I don’t know just how long we shall lie at Nassau,” said the -good-natured purser; “but I think it will be ten or twelve days before -we are in New York again.” - -“Won’t we meet some ship that will take us back or carry a letter?” -asked Phœnix. - -“I can’t say,” replied the purser. “The captain will do what he can -for you, but I don’t know that he will have a chance of putting you -on board a northern-bound steamer, or of sending news of you to your -friends.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -“A CONTINENT BEFORE US.” - - -It was very hard for the boys to get their spirits up after the news -they had just heard. - -“Ten days before our folks hear from us!” ejaculated Phœnix. “That’s -simply dreadful! They’ll give us up long before that time.” - -“We will find them all in black when we get back,” said Chap, with a -doleful face. - -But even this gloomy prospect could not long depress the spirits of our -young friends. - -By the next morning they were going about cheerfully, hoping and -believing that something would soon turn up by which they could -speedily get back to their friends, or, at least, send news of their -safety. - -The weather was now fine, although it was so cool that they were -obliged to wear their overcoats whenever they were on deck, and they -could not help enjoying this unexpected sea voyage. - -They did not see much of the tug-boat people. These men lived forward -with the crew of the steamer, while the boys ate and slept with the -passengers. - -On the morning of the third day of their steamer trip, they met one of -the tug-boat crew,--a man named Adam Guy. This man had been the only -person on board the tug-boat to whom the boys had taken any particular -fancy. He had been a sailor, had visited many parts of the world, and -had a great deal to tell of his various experiences on the sea and -land. He was a strong and wiry, but not very large, man; and, like -many sailors, he wore little gold rings in his ears. His hair was thin -and sandy, and hung in short curls at the back of his head. He had a -pleasant smile, and appeared to be an easy-going, good-tempered fellow. - -“Young men,” said Adam, “I’ve been a-wantin’ to see you and have a -little talk with you. Do you know there’s no chance of our meetin’ any -vessels, or of your bein’ sent home or gettin’ any word back, either?” - -“How is that?” asked the boy. - -“Why, it’s just this. We’re out of the way now of all craft bound -north. I did think we might a’ met a coast steamer yesterday or the -day before; but if we did, we passed them in the night, for I didn’t -see any. We are now off the coast of Florida, and as we are sailin’ -south, we keep pretty well in shore, so as to be out of the way of the -Gulf Stream, which runs northward, you know; and, as you’ve lived on a -big river, you understand what it is to sail agin a strong tide. But, -of course, every vessel bound north tries to keep in the current of -the Gulf Stream, so’s to be helped along. So, just about here, where -the Gulf Stream is near our coast, you find all vessels, goin’ south, -keepin’ pretty near shore, and them bound north, far out. It won’t be -long before we’re near enough to the coast for you to see the trees. -And we’ll run down till we git about opposite Jupiter light, and then -we’ll sail across the stream and make straight for the Bahamas. I know -all about these waters, for I’ve sailed in them often. Now, as for me, -I don’t want to go to Nassau, and I don’t believe you want to, either. -The captain of our tug and the rest of our men are all willin’ to go, -and ship on this steamer for their home trip. They’ll be short o’ hands -then, for some of the crew are to be discharged at Nassau, but I don’t -want to go to that old English town. I’ve been there, and I’ve had -enough of it.” - -“But what are we going to do?” asked Phil. “We can’t jump overboard and -swim ashore.” - -“No,” said Adam, “we can’t do that, but I’ve a plan in my head. Before -we git to Jupiter light, the water is so deep near the coast that -steamers often run in very close. Now, if the captain would lie-to -there and send you fellers and me ashore in a boat, it would be the -best thing he could do for us.” - -“What would we do when we got there?” asked the boys. - -“Do?” said Adam. “Why we’d all go North, and lose no time about it, -instead of goin’ over to the Bahamas and stayin’ there, I don’t know -how long, and then takin’ a week for the home trip. Just back of the -coast-line, down there, is the Indian River, and sometimes it’s not -much more’n a stone’s throw from the beach. If we could be landed, we -could easily git over to that, and there we’d find a craft to take us -up to Titusville, and from that place we’d easy git over to the St. -John’s River, and then you boys could telegraph home. I’ve travelled -all through that part of Florida, and I could take you along as -straight as a bee-line. There are settlements here and there on the -Indian River, and you needn’t be afraid but we’ll be taken good care of -till we git to Titusville. After that it’ll be all plain sailin’.” - -“I’d like that plan first-rate,” said Chap. - -“And so would I!” cried both of the other boys. - -“But do you think the captain would stop,” asked Phil, “and put us off?” - -“That’s what’s got to be found out,” said Adam. “If I was you fellers -I’d just go to him and ask about it. Lay the p’ints before him strong, -and let him know how much you want to send word to your friends where -you are, and then to git along home as quick as possible. Tell him I’ll -go along with you and pilot you through all straight.” - -The boys agreed that this plan was a capital one, and, after a little -consultation, they decided to go and talk to the captain about it, and -make Phil the spokesman. - -At first, the captain did not take very kindly to the proposition. He -did not wish to lose time, nor to incur the trouble and risk of sending -a boat on shore. He also knew that a great part of the coast of Florida -was nothing but a barren waste, and he did not think it would be any -great kindness to the persons he had saved from drowning to put them on -shore to suffer from exposure and privation. But, on the other hand, if -the boys were landed in Florida, they would be at least in their own -country, and ought to be able to communicate with their friends much -sooner than if he took them along with him to the foreign islands to -which he was bound. - -“You would need money,” he said, “after you get ashore, for you -couldn’t expect the people there to take care of you, and carry you -about free of charge; and, although I am willing to give you a berth -here, I can’t supply you with cash for a land trip.” - -“I have some money,” said Phil, “though not very much.” - -“And I’ve got----” said Chap, thrusting his hands into his pocket. - -“Oh, there’s plenty of money,” interrupted Phœnix. “There need be no -trouble about that.” - -“Well, then,” said the captain, who was beginning to see some sense in -the proposition of the boys, “one difficulty is removed. Suppose you go -forward and send that man you spoke of to me.” - -The captain had a long conversation with Adam, and convinced himself -that that individual knew what he was talking about when he proposed -his plan. The captain of the tug-boat was called in, and Adam’s -trustworthiness seemed well established. - -After consultation with some of the other officers, it was decided -to put the boys and Adam Guy ashore when a suitable place should be -reached. The news created considerable excitement among the passengers, -and great interest was taken in the proposed landing of the boys. - -The air in these semi-tropical waters was warm and balmy, and the sea -was smooth. Everything seemed favorable for going on shore. About four -o’clock in the afternoon the ship lay to about half a mile from a -broad, sandy beach. This locality Adam declared he knew very well. - -The Indian River, he said, lay but a short distance back, behind a -narrow forest of palmettos; and at the distance of a mile or two there -was a house on the river bank, where shelter could be obtained until -they could get transportation up the river. - -The captain, however, took care that the little party should not -suffer in case they did not reach shelter as soon as they expected. He -provided them with provisions suitable for two days, put up in four -convenient packages. Each carried a canteen of fresh water, and Adam -took charge of a large tarpaulin, rolled up into a compact bundle, -which could be used as a protection in case of rain. The weather was -so mild that their overcoats would be sufficient to keep them warm at -night. - -While the men were preparing to lower a boat, Phil took Phœnix aside, -and asked him what he meant by saying there was plenty of money. - -“Chap has only three dollars,” he said, “and I haven’t that much.” - -“I have fifty dollars,” said Phœnix, “and I guess that will take us -along till we can telegraph for more.” - -“How did you come to have that much?” asked Phil, with surprise. - -“Why, you see, our folks haven’t settled what is to be done with some -money I got for helping to run the ‘Thomas Wistar’ ashore, and father -is taking care of it. But I made up my mind that I was going to keep -hold of some of it myself. A fellow likes to feel that he has got -something of his own that he can lay hands on, no matter what is done -with the general pile. So I locked up fifty dollars in my room, and -when we started off, I didn’t want to leave it behind, for I didn’t -know but the house might burn down. So I put it in an old money-belt -father used to wear, and it’s strapped around me now.” - -“You’re a gay old fellow!” said Chap, who had come up and heard this. -“You are always turning up at the right time.” - -“And right side up,” said Phil. - -A few minutes after this, a large boat, pulled by four men, and -containing Adam Guy and our three friends, was leaving the side of the -steamer, followed by the cheers of the passengers, who had assembled on -the decks to bid the little party farewell. - -The sea was quiet, with the exception of a long and gentle swell, and -the first part of the little trip seemed like rowing on a river. But -when they neared the shore and saw the long lines of surf rolling -in front of them, the boys began to feel a little uneasy. This was -something entirely novel to them, and, although they were not exactly -afraid, they could not say that they felt altogether comfortable at the -idea of going through these roaring breakers. - -But the surf at this point was not really very high, and the boat was -a metallic one, with air compartments at each end, and the men rowed -steadily on, appearing to have no more fears of the breakers than of -the open sea. - -As the boat reached the first line of surf and was lifted up and -carried swiftly forward on its great back, and then dropped into a -watery hollow, to be raised again by another wave and carried still -farther on, our boys held tightly to the sides of the boat as if they -felt they must stick to that craft, whatever happened. But the men -pulled steadily on, keeping the boat’s head straight for the shore. - -The breakers came rolling on behind as if they would sweep over the -boat and cover her up with their dark green water, but another wave -seemed always underneath to carry her on beyond the reach of the one -which followed, and it was not long before, by the aid of oars and the -incoming surf, they gained the beach. - -Before the wave which had carried them in began to recede, Adam and -another man jumped into the water and pulled the boat well up on the -sands. - -Then the whole party disembarked, Chap jumping into water ankle-deep, -and giving a shout that might have been heard on the steamer. - -As soon as the boys’ valises and the other traps had been put ashore, -the boat was turned about, and, with Adam’s help, was launched into the -surf. - -The pull back through the breakers was harder than the coming in, but -the four men knew their business, and the stanch life-boat easily -breasted every line of surf. - -In five minutes they were out in smooth water and pulling hard for the -steamer. As soon as they reached it the boat was hauled up, the vessel -was put about, and with a farewell blast from her steam-whistle, she -proceeded on her way. - -“Hurrah!” cried Chap, waving his cap over his head. “Now I feel that we -are really our own masters, and that we’re going to have the rarest old -time we’ve ever known. Boys, the whole continent is before us!” - -“That’s the trouble of it,” said Phil. “If there wasn’t quite so much -continent before us we might expect to get home sooner.” - -“Trouble? Home?” cried Chap. “Don’t let anybody mention such things to -me. I’m gayer than the larkiest lark that ever flapped himself aloft!” - -And, with these words, he ran to the top of a little sand hillock to -see as much of the continent as he could. - -“If I were you fellers,” said Adam, “I’d make that young man captain. -You’ll never be able to manage him if you don’t let him go ahead.” - -“Good!” said Phil; “let’s make him captain, and you, Phœnix, ought to -be treasurer, for you carry the funds.” - -“And what’ll you be?” asked Phœnix. - -“You’re mixin’ up your officers,” said Adam; “but as a party of this -kind is a little out of the general run, I guess it won’t matter. -As this is a land expedition,” he said to Phil, “you might be -quartermaster, and I’ll be private.” - -“All right!” cried the boys. - -And when Chap came running down from the sand-hill he was informed of -the high position to which he had been chosen. - -“My friends,” cried Chap, drawing himself up and clapping his breast -with his hand, “you do me honor, and I’ll lead you--I’ll lead you----” - -“Into no end of scrapes,” suggested Phil. - -“Perhaps you’re right. That may be so. But you’re bound to follow,” -said Captain Chap. - -“He’ll lead you sure enough,” laughed Adam. And then he added -to himself, forgetting that this was a land, and not a nautical -expedition, “I’ll keep my hand upon the tiller.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -WITH HOOK AND LINE. - - -After standing for a few moments to take a last look at the steamer, -which was now rapidly making her way southward, our party prepared to -take up the shortest line of march for the Indian River. - -The boys slung their overcoats and valises over their shoulders, and -these, with their water-canteens and provisions, made for each of them -a pretty good load. But Adam had a still heavier burden, for he carried -the roll of tarpaulin in addition to his other traps. - -“I am not captain,” said Adam, addressing Chap, “but I’ll go ahead, for -I’ll be able to find my way over to the river better than you will.” - -“All right,” said Chap. “Adam was the first man, and you can take the -lead. But I am captain, for all that, and I expect to be obeyed.” - -“Expect away,” said Phil; “it’ll keep your mind busy, and stop you from -making plans for blowing us all up North in one bang.” - -“Silence!” cried Chap. “Forward, march!” - -The way from the beach back to the river was a very hard one, and a -good deal longer than Adam had expected it to be. - -For a time they walked over loose, soft sand, which was piled into -little hills by the wind, then they came to a thick growth of -palmetto-trees, the ground being covered with underbrush of the -most disagreeable kind, consisting mainly of a low bush, called the -“saw-palmetto,” which was made up of leaves three or four feet long, -with sharp teeth at each edge. - -A variety of tangled vines, concealing rotten palmetto stumps, of -all sizes, helped to make the walking exceedingly difficult. But -some man or animal had been that way before, and through the almost -undistinguishable path, which Adam seemed to scent out, rather than to -see, the party slowly made its way. - -When at last they reached the river, the boys gave a great shout, but -Adam merely grinned, and looked anxiously up and down. - -The broad, smooth waters of the Indian River spread before the -delighted eyes of our young friends. Large birds were flying through -the air. At a little distance hundreds of ducks were swimming on the -water. The low shores were green and beautiful. But what Adam looked -for was not there. - -As far as the eye could reach--and as the river here bent away from -them on either hand, they could see the bank on which they stood for a -long distance up and down--not a house, or clearing, or sign of human -habitation, could be seen, and on the river there was not a sail or -boat. - -“I haven’t struck just the place I want to get to,” said Adam, “for the -house I’m after is just above this bend where the river turns due north -agen; but then it couldn’t be expected I’d pick out the very place I -wanted when I was on board a steamer nearly a mile from shore. If I -could ’a’ seen the river, I’d been all right, but beaches is pretty -much alike.” - -“I think you did very well,” said Phil, “to get so near the place. The -end of that bend can’t be so very far away.” - -“It wouldn’t be much of a walk,” said Adam, “if there was a good beach -at the side of the river. There’s a sandy shore on the other side, as -you can see, but that’s no good to us. Along here, for pretty much the -whole bend, you see the trees and underbrush grow right down to the -water, and it would be wadin’ and sloppin’, as well as scratchin’.” - -“We might keep farther in shore,” said Chap, “where we could find dry -walking.” - -“It would be dry enough, but it would be mighty slow,” said Adam. “The -best and quickest thing we can do is to get right back to the beach. -There we’ll find good, hard walkin’, and we can tramp along lively till -we calkilate we’re about opposite John Brewer’s place, and then we can -push through agen to the river.” - -“I guess that’s about the best thing to do,” said Phil, “for it will -give us less of this horrid jungle-scratching than trying to push right -straight along through the woods.” - -“All right!” cried Chap. “Backward! March!” - -And again, with Adam at the head, the party pushed through the strip of -woods which separated the river from the ocean-beach. The march along -the sand was easy enough, but it seemed very long. - -“Why, I thought,” cried Chap, “that it was only a little way to the end -of that bend!” - -“It’s further than it looks,” said Adam. “I’ve got a pretty good notion -how fur we ought to walk before we strike across; but it won’t be long -before we try the woods agen.” - -In about ten minutes, Adam turned, and led the way toward the river. -The strip of land was much narrower here than where they had crossed -it before, and after a short season of scrambling and scratching -and pushing over ground where it seemed as if no one had ever passed -before, the river was reached. Here was a broad strip of clean sand -lying between the woods and the water’s edge, but there was no house in -sight. - -“Isn’t this the end of the bend?” asked Phœnix. - -“Yes, it’s the end of the bend,” said Adam, looking about him; “but -it’s the wrong bend. I know the place now just as well as if I’d been -born here. You see the river makes another bend up there, don’t you? -It’s a good while since I’ve been here, and I never came to the place -by the way of the sea. The house we’re after is up there. There’s no -mistake this time.” - -“But that must be ever so far away!” said Phil, dolefully. “The -beginning of that bend is more than a mile off, I should say.” - -“Yes, it’s a good piece off,” said Adam, “and I don’t believe we’d -better try to make it to-night. The best thing we can do is to camp -just here.” - -At this the boys gave a cheer. - -“That’s splendid!” said Chap. “I’d rather camp out than go to fifty -houses!” - -And, casting his traps on the ground, he called on all hands to go and -put up the tent. - -“You needn’t be in such a hurry about the tent,” said Adam. “That’s the -easiest thing we have to do. After awhile me and one of you will fix -up the tarpaulin between a couple of trees back here, and as it isn’t -likely to rain, that’ll be all the shelter we’ll want. But the first -thing to do is to get supper. Have any of you got fishin’-lines?” - -Each of the boys declared he had one, and started to get it out of his -valise. - -“Two’ll be enough,” said Adam. “One of you might stay and help me with -the fire and things, while the other two go and fish.” - -Phœnix agreed to stay and help Adam, while Phil and Chap got out their -lines. - -“I was afraid your hooks wouldn’t be big enough,” said Adam, taking up -their lines; “but this is a regular deep-sea tackle.” - -“Yes; my uncle gave us the lines,” said Phil. “He thought we might get -some fishing down at the Breakwater.” - -“Well, all you got to do,” said Adam, “is to go down to the beach and -throw out your lines as fur as they will go. We’ll have to bait at -first with a little piece of meat from the rations the captain gave us. -Of course, you needn’t fish if you don’t want to. We’ve got enough to -eat, but I thought it would seem more to you like real campin’ out if -we had a mess of nice hot fish for supper.” - -“That’s so!” cried Chap; “we wouldn’t think of eating that dry stuff -while there’s fish in the river.” - -“That is, if we can coax any of the fish out of the river,” remarked -Phil. - -“Oh, we’ll do that easy enough,” said Chap. “Get your bait, and come -along.” - -The two boys proceeded a short distance from their proposed -camping-ground, and having baited their hooks with some fat and rather -gristly beef, they proceeded to throw out their lines; but as they were -not used to this kind of fishing, neither of them succeeded in getting -his line out into deep water. - -Adam had been watching them, and seeing that they were making out -badly, he came down to give them what he called “a start.” He unwound -the whole of each line, and carefully laid it in coils on the sand. -Holding the shore end of the line firmly in his left hand, he swung the -hook and heavy lead several times above his head, and let it go. The -long line flew out its full length, and the lead and bait plunged into -deep water. When each of the lines had been thus put out, he went back -to his own work. - -It was not long before the boys began to have bites, and in a few -minutes Chap commenced hauling in his line like a house a-fire. -Hand-over-hand he grasped and jerked the cord, throwing it wildly to -each side of him as he violently pulled it in. In a moment he drew a -fish out of the water, and threw it up high on the sand. Rushing to -it, he picked it up, and held it in the air. - -“Look at that!” he cried to Phil. “A splendid fellow! It must be nearly -a foot long.” - -Phœnix and Phil were both interested in the first fish caught in -Florida waters, and they ran to look at it. Adam, also, who was picking -up driftwood near by, came to see Chap’s prize. - -“It will do for bait,” he said, as he took the fish from the hook. - -“Bait!” cried Chap, in amazement. “A big, fat fish like that for bait!” - -Adam laughed. - -“A fish like that isn’t called a big one in these parts, though I -s’pose in your waters it would be a pretty good ketch. It’s a mullet, -and good enough eatin’, though it isn’t big enough for a meal for us, -and I only want to cook one fish.” - -“All right!” said Chap. “If there are fish big enough for you in this -river, I’ll catch them.” - -The mullet was killed, and both lines baited with a large piece of -its flesh; for it was food much more attractive to the big fish they -wanted, Adam said, than the cold meat they had used before. Phil -went farther down the river, and both boys put out their own lines -this time, succeeding, after several attempts, in throwing them a -considerable distance from the shore. - -In less than two minutes Chap felt a tug at his line. He gave a pull, -and his first impression was that his hook had caught in something at -the bottom, but the jerking of his line soon let him know that there -was a fish at the other end of it. Then he began to haul in; but this -hauling in was very different from anything he had been accustomed to. - -It took all his strength to pull in the line hand-over-hand, and -although he was greatly excited, and worked as fast as he could, it -came in but slowly. Sometimes the fish pulled back so hard that Chap -thought he would be dragged into the water himself; but, digging his -heels into the sand, he tugged away manfully. - -The line was a stout one, but it cut his hands, and his arms began to -ache from the unaccustomed exercise. But he kept bravely on until the -head and back of a great fish appeared above the surface of the water. - -Wildly excited, he gave a few mad pulls, and then rushing backward, he -hauled high up in the sand a flapping, floundering fish, nearly three -feet long. It was a handsome creature, dark on the back, but bright -yellow beneath. - -For a moment Chap gazed on his prize with triumphant delight, and then -he gave a shout, which brought Phœnix, and soon after, Adam. - -Phœnix was almost as delighted as Chap himself. This was something -like fishing. He had never seen a fish like this in his life. - -“Now, then,” cried Chap to Adam, “what do you say to that? Is that -fellow big enough for you?” - -“Yes,” said Adam, “it’s big enough, and it’s too big. That’s a cavalio, -and people eat them when they can’t get anything else; but its flesh is -pretty coarse, and I couldn’t manage to cook a fish that size the way -I’m goin’ to do it.” - -“You ought to mention the exact size of fish you want,” said Chap, in -a disappointed tone, “and then, perhaps, a fellow could catch them for -you.” - -“It is a pity you didn’t get something between the two,” said Adam; -“but you can’t expect to hit anything right square the first time. -But, hello! here comes the quartermaster, and I believe he’s got a -blue-fish.” - -Phil now came running up, carrying a fish nearly as long as his arm. -As he came near, he raised the flapping fish, whose tail had been -dragging in the sand, and gave a shout; but when he saw the magnificent -creature, which was still plunging and rolling at the end of the line -which Chap held firmly in his hand, his countenance fell. - -“What a whopper!” he cried. “Why, mine is nothing to it!” - -“No,” said Adam, “but yours is a blue-fish, and we’ll have him for -supper. Don’t be cast down, captain; you’ll have plenty of chances yet -for blue-fish, bass, and lots of other good fellers. I’ll take the hook -out of this young elephant of your’n, as he might snap your fingers, -and then we’ll shove him into the water. He looks lively enough to come -to all right when he gets into salt water agen, and there’s no use in -lettin’ fish die here if you ain’t goin’ to use ’em.” - -“All right!” said Chap. “I’m captain, and it was my duty to catch the -biggest fish, and I’ve done it. And now the quicker we cook this little -fellow for supper, the better, for I’m dreadfully hungry.” - -The “little fellow,” a fish nearly two feet long, was taken in charge -by Adam, and carried to the camp-ground, where a large fire was already -blazing. - -“It was havin’ this paper along,” said Adam, “that put it into my head -to try baked fish for supper.” - -Having dressed the fish, Adam rolled it in the brown paper, and pushing -away a portion of the fire, he scooped out a place in the warm sand -and ashes, and covered up the fish therein. Then the fire was built up -again, and was allowed to blaze away until Adam thought his fish was -done. - -When the brown paper was removed, the skin of the blue-fish came off -with it, leaving the white flesh perfectly baked and temptingly hot. - -There was salt and pepper among their rations, and with the fish and -the bread and butter and biscuits, the boys and Adam made a splendid -meal, although they had nothing to drink with it but the water from -their canteens. - -“The way to make a tip-top meal off of fish,” said Chap, “is to catch -it yourself--or else let some other fellow do it.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -CHAP’S ALLIGATOR. - - -The preparations for the night were very simple. Adam, whose previous -experience in camping and rough life had made him think, before leaving -the steamer, of a good many little things that might be useful on a -journey such as the one proposed, had brought with him a long, thin -rope, something like a clothes-line. - -“There’s nothin’ like havin’ plenty of line along,” he said, as he -fastened one end of this to a low branch of a tree. “It always comes in -useful. I’m goin’ to hang the tarpaulin on this, and make a tent of it.” - -“The rope is long enough,” said Phœnix. - -“Yes,” said Adam; “but you can’t have a rope too long. The nearest tree -that ’twould do to tie it to might be a hundred feet away, don’t you -see?” - -There was a suitable tree, however, not a dozen feet from the one just -mentioned, and to a low branch of this Adam made his line fast, tying -it in a slip-knot, and coiling the slack rope on the ground. This -proceeding was made the text of another sermon from the prudent sailor. - -“Never cut a line, if you can help it,” he said. “Use what you want, -and coil away the slack. The time will come when you’ll want the -longest line you can get.” - -The tarpaulin was thrown over the low rope, and its edges held out by -cords and pegs, which Adam had prepared while the supper was being -cooked. - -“It’ll be pretty close quarters,” he said, looking into the little -tent, “but you fellers can squeeze into it, and I can sleep outside -as well as not. The sand is as dry as a chip, and if you put on your -overcoats, and take your carpet-bags for pillows, you’ll be just as -comfortable as if you was at home in your feather beds.” - -“A good deal more so, I should think,” said Phil, “in mild weather like -this.” - -The boys would not allow Adam to sleep outside. As the tarpaulin was -arranged, if there was room enough for three, there was room enough for -four. The tent was open at both ends, and they lay in pairs, with their -feet inside and their heads near the open ends, so as to get plenty of -air. - -Adam was soon asleep, but the boys did not close their eyes for -some time. The novelty of the situation as they thus lay on the soft -dry sand, with the tropical foliage all around them, the broad river -rippling but a short distance away, and the darkness of this night -in an almost foreign land, relieved only by the flashes of the dying -camp-fire and the bright stars in the clear sky, kept them awake. - -Far off in the river they heard, every now and then, a dull pounding -noise, as if some one were thumping at the door of a house. This, Adam -told them before he went to sleep, was caused by the drum-fish, who -make these loud sounds as they swim near the bottom of the river. - -Now and then they heard a distant snort or roar, but from what sort of -animal it came they did not know. They were aware that in the woods of -Florida there were panthers, bears, and wild-cats; but Adam had told -them that in this part of the country these animals were very shy and -seldom disturbed any one if not disturbed themselves. - -After a time Phil and Phœnix fell asleep, but Chap did not close his -eyes. He was an excitable fellow, and he was thinking what he should -do if a wild beast should invade their camp. There were no firearms in -the party, but he thought of several ways in which four active persons -could seize a wild-cat, for instance, and hold it so that it could harm -no one of them. - -After a time the moon rose, and then Chap, lying with his face turned -toward the river, was fascinated by the strange beauty of the scene. - -While gazing thus, he saw two small animals slowly creeping across the -sand and approaching the tent. The sight of them startled him, and he -was about to give an alarm, when he suddenly checked himself. These -could not be wild-cats, he thought; they were too little and their -movements too slow. - -As they came nearer and turned their heads toward him, he saw by the -now bright rays of the moon that they had light triangular faces, gray -bodies, and rat-like tails, and that they were opossums. He had seen -these animals in the North, and laughed quietly when he thought they -had frightened him. They were evidently after some pieces of fish -which lay near the dead ashes of the camp-fire, and were soon making a -comfortable meal. - -“I never saw such tame creatures,” thought Chap. “They must know there -are people about.” - -Then he gave a low, soft whistle. The opossums looked up, but did not -move. There was a piece of stick within reach of his hand, and picking -it up, he whirled it toward them. They looked up again, but still did -not move. - -Slowly drawing himself out of the tent so as not to disturb the others, -Chap rose to his feet and approached the opossums. One of them turned -and ambled slowly to a short distance, but the other stood still. - -Chap walked close up to him, but the creature merely arched its back -and looked at him. - -Picking up a stick which was lying near the ashes, Chap gave the stupid -creature a little punch. The opossum merely twisted itself up a little -and opened its mouth. - -“Upon my word!” said Chap; “if you are not the tamest wild beasts in -the world! I don’t believe either of you ever saw a man before, and -don’t know that you ought to be afraid of him. But I’m not going to -hurt a non-resistant. You can go ahead and eat your supper, for all I -care.” - -And so he slipped quietly back into the tent, and left the opossums to -continue their meal. - -It might have been supposed that when Chap did close his eyes, he would -sleep longer than the others, but this was not the case. Either because -he did not rest well in a new place, or because his mind was disturbed -by his responsibilities as captain of the party, he awoke before any of -the others. It was broad daylight, and again he slipped out of the tent -without disturbing any of his companions. - -The opossums were gone, and Chap walked along the water’s edge, looking -at the hosts of birds which were flying above him. There were gulls -and many others which he did not know, and near the other side of the -river was a small flock of very large birds, which he supposed must be -pelicans. - -As he walked round the little clump of trees, under which the tent was -pitched, he saw upon the sand, near the water’s edge, something which -made his heart jump. - -It was an alligator, the first Chap had ever seen out of a menagerie. -It was about eight feet long, and was lying in the sunshine, with its -head toward the water. - -Chap stood and gazed at it with mingled amazement and delight. He never -thought of fear, for he knew an alligator would not come after him. - -Slowly and gradually he came nearer and nearer the strange creature. It -did not move. Was it dead? or asleep? He felt sure it was the latter, -for it did not look dead. What a splendid thing it was to be so near -a live alligator on its native sands! If there were only some way of -catching it! That was almost too glorious to think of. If he had a -rifle he might shoot it; but that would be nothing. But to catch it -alive! The idea fired his soul. He would give anything to capture this -fellow, but how could he do it? - -He remembered the account that had so pleased him, when he was a boy, -of the English captain--Waterton, he thought his name was--who sprang -astride of an alligator, and seizing its forepaws, twisted them over -its back so that the creature could not walk, nor reach its captor -with its jaws or tail. - -At first Chap thought that he might possibly do this, but he saw it -would be a risky business. The alligator’s paws looked very strong, and -he might not be able to hold them above its back. Even if it got one -paw loose, it might turn round and make things lively. - -“If I could only get a rope round the end of his tail,” thought Chap, -“I could tie him to a tree. That would be simply splendid!” - -This plan really looked more feasible than any other. The alligator -was lying with his tail turned a little to the left, and the end of -it raised slightly from the sand. It might be possible to slip a rope -around this without waking the creature; but where was the rope? Chap -racked his brain for an instant. Had they a rope? - -Then he remembered the line that supported the tent. There was ever so -much of it coiled on the sand, it was already fastened to a tree. If -the loose length would reach the alligator, and if he could get the end -of it around his tail, and the line was strong enough to hold him, he -would have him sure. - -Wouldn’t it be glorious to wake up the other fellows and show them the -captive alligator which he had caught all by himself while they were -fast asleep? - -Slipping off his shoes, he stole softly around to the foot of the tree -by the tent where the coil of rope lay. Taking the loose end in his -hand, he turned, and slowly crept toward the alligator. - -The creature was asleep, and Chap made so little noise as he gradually -came near it, that its repose was not disturbed. To his great joy, Chap -found that the rope was long enough. When he was almost near enough -to touch the tip and of the alligator’s tail, he kneeled on one knee, -ready to spring up in an instant if the creature should awake, and -hesitated for a moment before proceeding to attach the rope. - -If he tried to tie it on, the alligator might move before he had time -to make a good knot. It would be better to prepare a slip-noose, and -put that over the end of his tail. Then when he moved or jerked, he -would pull the rope tight. - -Chap made a slip-knot and a noose, and, with quickly-beating heart, he -leaned forward, and with both hands he gently put the open noose around -the alligator’s tail. - -He did this so cautiously and carefully that the rope did not touch the -creature until it was seven or eight inches above the tip of the tail. -Then he gently pulled it so as to tighten it. - -Almost at the first moment that the rope touched the alligator it gave -its tail a little twitch. Chap sprang to his feet and ran backward -several yards. Then the alligator raised its head, looked back, and saw -him. - -Without a moment’s hesitation the creature lifted itself on its short -legs and made for the river. Chap trembled with the excitement of the -moment. Would the noose slip off? Would the rope hold? - -The noose did not slip off, it tightened; and in a moment the rope was -stretched to its utmost length. - -Chap was about to give a shout of triumph, when the alligator, feeling -a tug on his tail, became panic-stricken and bolted wildly for the -water. - -The rope, though not heavy, was a strong one, and it did not break, but -the slip-knot around the nearest tree to which it was tied was pulled -loose in an instant, and down came the tent on the sleepers beneath it. - -Then there was a tremendous jerk on the branch to which the extreme end -was tied, and in an instant it was torn from the trunk of the tree. - -This branch caught in the end of the tarpaulin, the pegs were jerked -out of the sand, and the whole tent was hauled roughly and swiftly over -the recumbent Adam and the two boys. The branch got under Phil’s head -and jerked him into a sitting position almost before it woke him up. - -Phœnix thought an earthquake had occurred. In an instant he was -enveloped in darkness; then there seemed to be a land slide over his -head, and flying bits of wood banged about his ears. - -Adam made a grab at the tarpaulin as it swept over him, and held fast -to one corner of it. He was instantly jerked about three yards along -the sand, and then the branch, to which the end of the rope was tied, -slipped under the tarpaulin, and Adam and the tent were left lying -together on the ground. - -Chap made a wild rush after the branch, but it was pulled into the -water before he could reach it. He could see it floating rapidly along -the top of the water, as the alligator swam away, and he stood sadly on -the bank, watching the disappearance of that branch and his hopes. - -Adam, with the two boys, now appeared, half awake and utterly -astounded, and anxiously demanded to know what had happened. Never had -they been awakened in such a startling style. When Chap explained the -state of affairs, Phil and Phœnix burst into a laugh, but Adam looked -rather glum. - -“You don’t mean to say,” he exclaimed, “that that ’gator has gone off -with all my rope?” - -“He’s got it all,” said Chap; “and I’m sorry now it didn’t break, so -some of it might have been left. But I tell you what we could do, if -we could only get a boat; we could run after that branch--it won’t -sink, you know--and when we got hold of the rope we might haul the -alligator in.” - -“Haul him in!” cried Adam; “I’d like to see myself hauling a live -alligator into a boat, even if we could do it, and had a boat. No, that -line is gone for good. He’s turned round and chawed it off his tail by -this time.” - -“What did you expect to do with your alligator,” asked Phil, “after you -had fastened him to a tree? We haven’t anything to kill him with, and -he would have raged around at the end of his line like a mad bull.” - -“Perhaps Chap thought he could tame it, and take it along with us,” -said Phœnix. - -“Look here, boys,” said Chap, “I don’t want any criticisms on this -alligator business. If I’d been acting as your captain, and leading you -in an alligator hunt, you might say what you pleased when the beast got -away; but I was doing this thing in my private capacity, and not as -commander of the party, and you fellows have nothing to do with it.” - -“Haven’t we?” cried Phil. “When my head was nearly jerked off, and -three or four yards of tent hauled over my face?” - -“And I was scared worse than if I had been pulled out of bed with a -rake?” said Phœnix. - -“Nothin’ to do with it!” exclaimed Adam. “When my rope was jerked out -of sight and hearin’ in a minute, and the tarpaulin would ’a’ gone with -it, if I hadn’t grabbed it? I should think we had something to do with -it.” - -“Perhaps you had,” said Chap, as he sat down on the sand to put on his -shoes. “But I tell you what it is, fellows,” he added, with sparkling -eyes, “if we could have tied a live alligator to a tree, it would have -been a splendid thing to tell when we got home.” - -“There is people,” said Adam, dryly, “who’d tell a story like that -without tyin’ a ’gator to a tree.” - -“But we are not that kind,” promptly answered Captain Chap. - -“But I guess we won’t cry over spilt milk, or lost ropes, either,” said -Adam; “and the best thing we kin do is to get along to John Brewer’s -house and see about some breakfast.” - -“We might catch some more fish,” said Chap, “and have breakfast before -we started.” - -“If you kin ketch some coffee,” said Adam, “I’ll be willin’ to talk -about breakfast here; but I don’t want to make another meal off fish -and warm water, if I can help it. John Brewer’s house is just the other -side of that bend, and we’ll be there in half an hour.” - -The tarpaulin was rolled up, each of the party picked up his -individual traps, and, headed by Chap, they were soon walking along the -shore of the river. - -When they turned the bend above, they were delighted to see that Adam -was right, and that John Brewer’s house was really there. It was not -much of a house, for it was a frame building, one story high, and -containing three or four rooms; but it had an air of human habitation -about it which was very welcome to the wanderers. It stood in a small -clearing, and John Brewer, a little man, with long, brown hair, which -looked as if the wind had been blowing it in several directions during -the night, came out of his front door to meet them. Two of his children -followed him, and the three others and his wife looked out of a -half-opened window. - -Mr. Brewer was mildly surprised to see his old acquaintance, Adam, and -the three boys, and when he had heard their story, he took a kind but -languid interest in the matter, and went into the house to see about -getting breakfast. - -It was not long before our friends were sitting down to a plentiful -meal of coffee, corn-bread, and very tough bacon, Mr. Brewer and his -family standing at the end of the table and gazing at them as they -ate. Some of them would have joined the breakfast-party had there been -plates and cups enough. - -About half an hour after breakfast, as our friends, with Mr. Brewer -and four of the children, were sitting in the shade in front of the -house, and Mrs. Brewer and the other child were looking at them behind -a half-opened window-shutter, Adam remarked,-- - -“What I want to know is what chance we have of gettin’ up the river to -Titusville?” - -“How did you expect to get up?” asked Mr. Brewer. - -“Well,” said Adam, “I thought we might get passage in a mail-boat, -if one happened to come along at the right time; and if it didn’t, I -thought there’d be some boat or other goin’ up the river to-day that -would take us.” - -“Well, if them’s your kalkerlations,” said Mr. Brewer, gently rubbing -his knees and looking out over the water, “I don’t think you’re going -to get up at all.” - -“Not get up at all!” cried the boys; and Adam looked puzzled. - -“Well, not for a week or so, anyway,” said Mr. Brewer, his eyes still -fixed upon the rippling waters. “To be sure, the mail-boat will be -along to-day, and she’ll stop if she’s hailed, but she can’t carry you -all, and as for other boats, the long and short of it is, there ain’t -none gone down, and there can’t none come up. There was a boat went up -yesterday with vegetables from Lake Worth, but she won’t be back for -a week, and then it’ll be a good while before she goes up again. Every -boat that’s been down the river this month has gone up, and they tell -me there ain’t nothin’ at Jupiter but the little sloop that belongs to -the light-house keeper, and she’s hauled up to have a new mast put in -her.” - -“Then what are we to do?” asked Phil, anxiously. - -“Dunno,” said Mr. Brewer. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE ROLLING STONE. - - -The announcement so placidly made by Mr. John Brewer that it was -impossible for our friends to get up the river until some of the -sail-boats or small sloops--the only craft which then navigated that -stream--should come down and go up again, gave rather a doleful hue to -the state of affairs. - -Mr. Brewer stated that when a boat came down that far, she generally -went all the way to Jupiter Inlet before she returned, and some of the -big ones, when they got down there, went outside, and made a trip to -Lake Worth, and they would, of course, be still longer coming back. - -The spirits of the boys were a good deal depressed, but Adam did not -give up his hope that they might get passage on the mail-boat. - -“We can stow ourselves somewhere,” he said, “and when we get to Fort -Capron, we’re likely to find a boat that’ll take us the rest of the -way.” - -But when, an hour after, the mail-boat came in sight, even Adam’s hopes -were crushed. It was not larger than a row-boat, with a small sail, and -a cabin not three feet high, and besides the young man who sailed her, -she already contained two passengers,--a sportsman who was returning -north and a negro boy. There was no room for the latter to sit in the -after-part of the vessel, and he had to make himself as comfortable as -he could on the little bit of deck in front of the mast. - -It was so obviously plain that four additional passengers could not get -on board that little boat that the subject was not even broached, Adam -confining himself to inquiries in regard to the possibilities of there -being other boats down the river of which Mr. Brewer had not heard. -But the mail-carrier assured him that there were no boats down there -that could come up inside of a week, and the sportsman declared that he -never would have squeezed himself inside this little tub if there had -been any other chance of his getting up the river. - -There was only one relief afforded by the mail-boat. The boys, -anticipating that they might not be able to go on themselves, had each -written a letter to his family, telling where he was, and giving a -brief history of the state of affairs. Each letter, written on rumpled -stationery supplied by Mr. Brewer, contained assurances of the perfect -safety of the writer, and a request for money to be forwarded to -Jacksonville, Florida, which point they hoped to reach in good time. - -These, with money for the postage, were given to the carrier, who -promised to have them properly mailed at the first post-office on the -river. - -A telegram was also written and given to the sporting gentleman, who -promised to forward it as soon as he reached Sanford, on the St. John’s -River, this being the nearest point from which telegrams could be sent. - -“There, now,” said Chap, when the little boat had sailed away, “I feel -more comfortable. The folks will know all about us just as soon as if -we had gone on ourselves, and that’s the main thing; for, as far as I’m -concerned, I’m in no particular hurry to get home.” - -“You don’t want to stay here, do you?” asked Phœnix. - -“No,” said Chap; “but we can tramp along and camp out for a while, till -a boat comes by and takes us on. I don’t want any better fun than that.” - -“We can’t tramp much farther on this beach,” said Phil. “It only -reaches about a mile above us, Mr. Brewer says, and tramping and -camping for a week or two, with no paths to walk in and nothing to eat, -would be pretty tough work.” - -“We could push back to the sea-shore,” said Chap, “and walk along -there.” - -“That might do as far as the walking is concerned,” said Phœnix; “but -how about the victuals?” - -“I’m not quartermaster,” said Chap, “I’m captain; and I’ll lead you -fellows anywhere you want to go.” - -“That’s the way to talk,” said Phil; “but it won’t do to lead us to any -place so far from this house that we can’t hear them call at mealtime. -We can’t live straight along on fish, you know.” - -A few minutes after this conversation, Adam Guy walked up to Mr. -Brewer, who was leaning on the fence of his little garden. - -“Look here, John Brewer!” he cried; “what did you mean by sayin’ that -we couldn’t get a boat to go up the river in? In that little creek back -there, there’s a boat plenty big enough for us. Don’t she belong to -you?” - -“Yes,” said Mr. Brewer, “she’s mine, but her mast’s unshipped, and her -main-sail’s in the house to be mended.” - -“Can’t we ship the mast and mend the sail?” asked Adam. - -“Yes, you might do that,” answered Mr. Brewer. - -“Well, then,” cried Adam, “we’re all right! She doesn’t leak, does -she? And you’ll hire her to us, won’t you?” - -“Her hull’s all right,” said Mr. John Brewer, “and I reckon I’d hire -her to you.” - -“And why didn’t you tell us about her before?” exclaimed Adam. - -“You didn’t say anything about my hirin’ you a boat,” said the other. -“If you’d ’a’ asked me, I’d ’a’ said you could have her.” - -Adam’s shouts soon brought the boys together, and a bargain was -speedily concluded with Mr. Brewer, who agreed to hire his boat to our -party for a dollar a day. - -“That is, till we reach Titusville,” said Adam; “but how are we goin’ -to get her back?” - -“Well,” said Mr. Brewer, “my brother went up to Enterprise last week, -and he’ll be comin’ back afore long, and it’ll suit him fust-rate if -you’ll leave the boat at Titusville, and then he can come down in her -and save payin’ his passage on the mail-boat.” - -“That’s a pretty good arrangement for you and your brother,” said Chap. -“I wonder you didn’t think of it before!” - -“I didn’t want to bother anybody to take a boat up the river jist for -my brother,” said Mr. Brewer. - -Everybody now went gayly to work, Adam mending the sail with true -sailor-like skill, and the boys, under Mr. Brewer’s direction, and -with some of his assistance, getting the mast properly shipped and the -boat cleaned out and made ready for her voyage. - -She was a well-built little craft, about twenty feet long, and with -a small cabin, which would comfortably accommodate four persons. She -carried a main-sail and a jib, and was, altogether, very suitable for -the purposes of our friends. - -By night the boat was ready for the trip, but it was decided to -postpone starting until the next morning. All the provisions which Mr. -Brewer could spare were purchased, and, although he could not let them -have enough to last the three or four days which it would require to -reach Titusville, there were places along the river where they could -replenish their stores. - -Mr. Brewer knew Adam for a good sailor, and had no hesitancy in -trusting the boat to his care. - -The boys were perfectly delighted at the prospect before them. To sail -up the river in a boat which was entirely their own during the voyage -was a piece of good fortune they had not dreamed of. - -“What is the name of your boat?” asked Chap of Mr. Brewer, as they all -sat together after supper. - -“Just now she ain’t got no name. She used to be called the Jane P., -after my first wife; but when she died I painted the name out, and -this Mrs. Brewer don’t want the boat named after her, because she’s -afraid she might die too; so, you see, she ain’t got no name.” - -“Well, then,” cried Chap, “we can name her ourselves--can’t we?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Mr. Brewer, “you can call her what you please, so long -as you don’t name her after Mrs. Brewer.” - -The boys heartily agreed to this restriction, and a variety of names -was now proposed; but after a time, the boys concluded that a title -suggested by Phœnix was the jolliest and most suitable name for their -boat, and they agreed to call her “The Rolling Stone.” - -“That’s a mighty queer name for a boat,” said Mr. Brewer. “It seems -like it would sink her.” - -“But you needn’t keep it after we’ve done with her,” said Phil. - -“I don’t think I will,” said Mr. Brewer. - -And Adam, who had declared the name decidedly un-nautical and with -something of an unlucky sound about it, said that after all he reckoned -it didn’t matter much what the boat’s name was, provided they had a -good wind. - -The next morning, after an early breakfast, provisions and a small keg -of fresh water were put aboard; the baggage of the voyagers was safely -stowed away; a double-barrelled gun, which had been hired of Mr. -Brewer, was hung on a couple of little hooks inside the cabin, with the -powder-flask and shot-pouch gracefully dangling beneath it; our party -got on board, the sails were run up, and with a parting cheer to Mr. -Brewer and three of his children, who stood on the bank of the little -creek, and to Mrs. Brewer and the other child, who looked out from -behind a half-opened shutter, The Rolling Stone was brought around to -the wind, and sailed away on a long tack up the Indian River. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE TWO ORPHANS. - - -The day was bright and beautiful, there was a fair wind, and The -Rolling Stone, bending gently away from the breeze, sailed gayly over -the rippling water. Adam was at the helm, and the boys were making -themselves comfortable in various parts of the little craft, and -enjoying to the utmost the delightful air and the bright sunshine. - -“I tell you what it is, boys!” cried Chap, who was stretched at full -length on top of the little cabin, relying on Adam to give him notice -when the boat was to be put about and the boom would swing around, “do -you know I’d be as happy as a king if I felt sure our folks wouldn’t be -worried about us?” - -“I don’t think we need worry about them,” said Phil, “for that hunting -man said he’d be at Sanford before long, and then all our folks will -hear from us just as quick as the telegraph can carry word to them.” - -“There’s a comfort in that,” said Chap. - -And Phœnix suggested that they might as well be as jolly as the law -allowed. - -Adam made no remark upon the subject. He knew very well that it might -take the sportsman a week, or perhaps longer, to reach the point -from which he was to send the telegram he carried, but he wisely -concluded that it would be of no use to dampen the spirits of his young -companions, and that it would be better for all hands that they should -be lively and cheerful. - -“Look here,” he said, “you boys can be happy as kings, if you like, but -you needn’t think you’re goin’ to be lazy. I’m goin’ to teach you how -to lend a hand to the sails, and make yourselves useful aboard ship.” - -“Lazy?” cried Chap. “Rolling stones are never lazy. Boys,” he -exclaimed, struck by a sudden inspiration, “let’s call ourselves ‘The -Rolling Stones.’ It’s as good a name for us as it is for the boat, and -we expect to roll on till we get home.” - -“Agreed!” cried Phil and Phœnix. - -And the name was adopted. - -They sailed all day, eating a slight lunch about noon, and it was -decided to anchor toward the close of the afternoon, and eat their -evening meal on shore. - -The boys were anxious to have wild duck for supper, and they shot three -or four of these birds, Adam skilfully steering the boat so close to -the floating game that it could easily be picked up. Some fish were -caught, and a fine fire was kindled on the beach. - -Cups, saucers, and a few cooking utensils had been procured from Mr. -Brewer, and with roast duck, fish, some bacon, corn-bread and biscuit, -and hot coffee, the party made an excellent meal. - -They sat round the camp-fire on the river bank until it was nearly -dark, and then they went on board The Rolling Stone, and having tied -her up securely, and made all things tight and right, they stowed -themselves away in the cabin, which was divided into two compartments -by the centre-board, and were soon asleep on the plain but sufficient -bedding with which Mr. Brewer had furnished the boat. - -The next morning there was no wind at all. The surface of the river -was as smooth as glass, and was only rippled by the water-fowl, which -rose from or settled down upon it, or by the schools of little fish, -which occasionally sprang a short distance out of the water, and fell -pattering back like a shower of gravel-stones. - -“It’s no use to set sail till the wind rises,” said Adam; “so we might -as well try to make ourselves contented on shore for a while. About -ten or eleven o’clock p’rhaps we’ll have a breeze.” - -“All right!” said Chap. “We can pole the boat out into deep water and -fish.” - -“Yes,” said Adam, “you boys can do that, if you like; but I think I’ll -take the gun and go into the woods, and see if I can’t find some game. -I noticed this mornin’ a kind o’ path back there which looked to me -like a bear track. I’ve seen bear tracks afore, and, though I ain’t -certain about this one, I think I’ll foller it up a little way.” - -“Good!” cried Phil; “and I’ll go with you.” Adam hesitated. - -“I dunno about that,” he said. “If we was to meet a bear, you wouldn’t -have any gun, and you might feel sort o’ helpless. I’d tell you to take -the gun and go by yourself, but I guess I know more about the ways of -these wild critters than you do.” - -“I don’t want to go alone,” said Phil, “and I’m not afraid to go -without a gun. There are two barrels there, and you can use one for me -and one for yourself.” - -“Very well,” said Adam, “you can come. This shot-gun isn’t the right -thing to take along if we expect to meet bears, but I’ll put half a -dozen buckshot into each barrel, and I guess that’ll do for anything we -get a crack at.” - -Phœnix would have been glad to go with Phil and Adam, but in that case -Chap would have been left alone; and, besides, it would not do to make -a bear-hunting party too large. So he got out his fishing-lines, and -helped Chap pole the boat into deeper water, where they anchored her, -and set comfortably to work to fish. The sport was not very exciting, -for the large fish are only found in certain portions of the river, but -the biting was lively, and the fish they hauled up were a good deal -larger than those they used to catch at home. - -Adam and Phil made their way slowly along a path which the former had -taken to be a bear track. Sometimes they got through the underbrush -quite easily, and then, again, it would be very difficult and -unpleasant to push through the thorny shrubbery and under low-hanging -branches of small trees. - -“If we went on all-fours, like a bear,” said Adam, “it would be easy -enough; but as we don’t, we’ve got to make the best of it.” - -They made the best of it for some time, occasionally losing the track, -and then, finding it again, or supposing they had found it, they would -bravely press forward. - -At last, to their great relief, they came to a place where the way was -much more open; the bed of a very small stream, now dry, wound before -them through the forest, and, as it was free from underbrush, it made -a very convenient pathway. - -There was nothing in the appearance of this dry bed to indicate that -a bear had been in the habit of walking in it; but, as it made a very -good passage through the forest for a man and a boy, Phil and Adam -cheerfully took their way up the stream. - -It did not matter much whether they saw a bear or not; for, if they did -catch sight of one, Adam very much doubted if he could get it within -range of a shot-gun. But they were both fond of the woods, and were -glad to explore a semi-tropical forest like this. - -Adam was a hunter, as well as a sailor, for his adventurous experiences -had been both on land and sea. - -On either side of them was a mass of vines and bushes, out of which the -shorter or cabbage palmettos arose, wherever they could find room to -spread their long and drooping leaf-stalks, which not only grew from -their crests, but sprang out of the sides of their trunks, while, high -above was the vast and impenetrable canopy of the leaves of the tall -palmettos, each umbrella-like tuft supported by a long and slender stem. - -The forest thus appeared to be covered by a roof of green, held up by -innumerable gray columns of pillars. - -Sometimes the monotony of the palmettos was broken by great live-oak -trees, which reached high into the air, and whose massive branches, -often curiously grotesque and crooked, bore not only their own bright -and glossy leaves, but were covered throughout their length with vines -and various fern-like growths, while from the lower part of these -limbs, and from the trunks and branches of many other trees, hung long -and graceful festoons of the silver-gray Spanish moss. - -The bark of many of the palmetto trunks was relieved by splotches of -bright red, and here and there, sometimes on dead trees and sometimes -on living ones, there were air-plants, their roots fastened in the dry -wood, and their long, bending leaves stretching out into the air for -the nutriment which most plants draw up from the earth. - -Phil was greatly interested in all these things, and Adam gazed about -him with much satisfaction, although he had often walked in such woods -before. He had been so long on ships and steamboats that this woodland -ramble was a pleasant change. - -Phil stopped to cut some of the red patches of bark from a palmetto -near him, hoping to be able to carry the pieces home to show as -curiosities, and thus his companion had got some distance ahead of him. - -Adam was walking quietly along, when suddenly he heard, from a clump -of thick bushes to his right, a low but very peculiar sound. It was a -series of little whimpers and sniffs, that would not have been heard at -all if the woods had not been so quiet. - -Instantly Adam stopped. He was sure he recognized that sound. Turning -to the point whence it came, he peered earnestly into the shrubbery. -Just above a low, heavy bush, not a dozen feet away from him, he saw -the top of a round, black head, and a pair of glistening eyes. - -Without hesitating for a moment, he cocked both barrels of his gun, and -taking a quick aim just above the eyes he saw before him, he pulled -both triggers. A loud report rang through the forest, and the head -disappeared. - -Phil, astounded by the discharge of the gun, started to run toward -Adam, but the latter waved him back, and retreating a short distance, -began rapidly reloading. - -When this was done, he waited a few minutes, and then, closely followed -by Phil, he approached the bush at which he had fired. - -Hearing nothing but the little whimpers which had before attracted his -attention, he cautiously made his way around the bush, his gun cocked -and ready for instant use. - -But there was no occasion to use it. Upon the ground lay a large -she-bear, dead, with twelve buckshot in her brain. In a -slightly-hollowed place in the ground behind her were two young -bears, about a foot long, round and fat, and rolling and pawing each -other, while they continually sniffed and whimpered as if they wanted -something, but did not know what it was. - -[Illustration: Adam tucking the other under his left arm.] - -Phil gave a shout of triumph when he hurried up behind Adam and saw the -dead bear. - -“Why, this is glorious!” he cried. “Who could have thought you would -have shot a real wild bear? Are you sure it’s dead?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Adam, cautiously punching the animal with the end of -the gun; “bears don’t play ’possum. I put both loads into her head. And -I didn’t do it any too soon, either. In two seconds more she’d a’ been -out after me.” - -“Can’t we skin her?” cried Phil. “It would be a splendid thing to take -home a bear-skin that we got ourselves.” - -“I’d like well enough to have the skin,” said Adam, “but I ain’t goin’ -to stop to take it off. If the old he-bear comes home while we are -here, he’ll make it hot for us. Just you pick up one of them young -cubs, and I’ll take the other, and the quicker we’re off the better.” - -Phil had been so delighted at seeing the dead bear that he had scarcely -noticed the young ones, but he now picked up one of them, while Adam, -tucking the other under his left arm, hastily led the way to the bed -of the stream, down which they hurried as fast as they could go. - -When Phil and Adam reached the point where they left the bed of the -stream, which here turned to the south, and began to force their way -through the bushes and vines, and over the uneven ground, they went -more slowly. - -To push through and under the tangled maze on each side of the -barely-discernible track, to hold securely the struggling cub which -each of them carried, and to keep an ear open all the time for the -approach of an enraged bear, which might be in pursuit of them, was as -much as they could do. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -“CAPTAIN OF HIMSELF.” - - -Captain Chap and Treasurer Phœnix had a very good time fishing, and -before long they had caught many more fish than they thought would -be needed for that night’s supper. They were not at all sure that -everything they had taken was good to eat, but they thought that Adam -would be able to pick out of the catch enough for a meal. They had no -blue-fish or bass, for this was not a part of the river where these -were to be found, nor did Chap have an opportunity to exercise his -strength in hauling in another powerful cavalio. - -After a time Chap wound up his line. - -“It’s no use catching any more fish,” he said. “We have enough of them -now, and we might as well pole the boat ashore, and wash off this -forward deck. But before we do that, I’m going to take a swim.” - -“That would be a good idea,” said Phœnix. - -“It’s as warm down in this part of the world as if it was summer-time, -and the water looks so nice and clear I feel as if I’d like to jump -into it.” - -Both boys now began to undress, but Chap was ready first, and standing -on the top of the little cabin he made a dive into the water. He soon -rose again to the surface, and swimming around in a small circle, -returned to the boat. - -“You’d better take care how you dive,” he said to Phœnix, reaching up -as he spoke and taking hold of the side of the boat. “The bottom is -horrid. It’s all covered with oysters, and it won’t do to get any of -the water in your mouth, for it’s salt.” - -“Why, didn’t you know that?” said Phœnix, who was not quite ready to -go in. “This river is really only an arm of the sea, and all those big -fish we caught the other day came in from the ocean.” - -“Yes, I remember Adam’s telling about it,” said Chap, “but I forgot it. -I don’t believe I care to swim in such water as this. It isn’t like the -ocean, and it isn’t like the real, honest river. The water isn’t very -deep out here, but it seemed sort of scary to me when I went down.” - -“I guess that’s because of the queer things you know are in the river,” -suggested Phœnix. - -“I shouldn’t wonder if that was it,” said Chap. - -Just at this moment a sound was heard in the river that made the boys -jump. It was the noise of something rushing through the water, and, -looking around, they saw part of the back and tail of a great fish, -which was surging along at a tremendous rate toward the boat. - -Chap instinctively pulled himself up by his hands, and Phœnix made a -frenzied clutch at his arm and jerked him out of the water and over the -side of the boat before Chap knew what he intended to do. - -The fish swept within ten feet of them, and then making a turn, it -seemed to shake itself as if with disappointment and anger, and, -dashing along like a steamboat for a short distance, it raised its tail -in the air and disappeared. - -“What was that thing?” asked Chap, as soon as he could find voice to -speak. - -“Can’t say,” answered Phœnix, his face still pale, “unless it was a -shark.” - -“It couldn’t be that,” returned Chap. “It must have been a porpoise, or -something of that kind.” - -“Porpoises don’t chase people,” said Phœnix, “and that creature came -after you, Chap. He must have seen you when you made your dive, and -it’s lucky for you that he didn’t start sooner.” - -“That’s so,” said Chap. “Let’s pull up the anchor and pole her ashore. -No more swimming in these waters for me!” - -The boys quickly dressed themselves and hauled on the long anchor rope -until they had pulled the boat into water where they could reach the -bottom with their pole. Then pushing her in, they made her fast to the -shore, and went to work to gather up their fish and make things clean -and tidy. - -While they were thus engaged, Phil and Adam, hot and flushed, made -their appearance from the woods. The astonishment of Chap and Phœnix -when their companions ran to them and proudly held up the little bears -is not to be described. - -“Isn’t this something like a bear-hunt?” cried Phil. “Killed an old -one, and carried off these youngsters. To be sure, Adam did it all, but -I gave him moral support.” - -Chap and Phœnix now loudly demanded a full account of the adventures of -the others, and when these had been told and the little bears had been -admired and patted and finally stowed away in an old box, which was -lined with a blanket from one of the beds, Chap exhibited the fish he -and Phœnix had caught, and told of the big fellow they had seen in the -water. - -“You don’t mean to say you went in to swim?” exclaimed Adam. “I never -thought of your doin’ a thing like that when I left you. Why, do you -know you were in a great deal more danger than we were, even if the old -man-bear had got after us? That big fish you saw was a shark, and if -it had come along a little sooner, it would a’ taken off one of your -legs as like as not. This is a very good river, but it wasn’t made for -white folks to swim in--at least, not in these parts. There are plenty -of sharks here, and I’m not sure but what you might tempt a ’gator, if -you were very anxious to get bit.” - -“Do you know,” said Chap, in a very impressive way, “that I never -thought that there were sharks in this river, and that I totally, -absolutely, and utterly forgot alligators?” - -“Sharks!” exclaimed Adam, looking at the fish the boys had caught. -“Why, you ought to have known they were in the river, for here you’ve -got one!” - -“A shark!” cried all the boys together, as they clustered around the -pile of fish. - -“Yes,” said Adam, pointing to a fish about a foot and a half long, with -a smooth skin and a large flat-topped head; “this is a young shark.” - -“Upon my word,” cried Chap, “we hadn’t the least idea of that! We -thought the thing was a big cat-fish. We noticed it hadn’t any feelers -on its mouth, but we supposed cat-fish might be different down here -from those we’re used to. We had lots of trouble in getting the hook -out of its mouth.” - -“It’s a lucky thing you didn’t get your fingers into those jaws,” said -Adam, “for you might never have got them out again.” - -“Gentlemen,” cried Chap, throwing one arm into the air, “it’s time we -got away from this place. For all we know, there’s a savage bear raging -through the woods after some of us, and out there in the river there’s -an exasperated shark waiting till one of the party is foolish enough to -go in to swim or accidentally tumbles overboard. Let’s up sail and be -off!” - -“Well,” said Adam, “as there’s a good breeze gettin’ up from the -sou’east, that’s about the best thing we can do, even if we don’t take -into account bears and sharks.” - -As soon as they were fairly under way, Adam gave the tiller to one -of the boys, and set about taking care of his young bears. A small -quantity of condensed milk in tin cans had been purchased of Mr. -Brewer, and some of this, mixed with water, was fed to the cubs. They -were very hungry, and soon lapped it up eagerly. - -“It seems like a cruel thing,” said Chap, “to break up a family in that -manner.” - -“Well,” replied Adam, “the only way bears can be made of any good to -anybody is to kill ’em or carry ’em off for shows. If people didn’t do -that, there’d better be no bears. Now, if I kin keep these young ones -alive, and git ’em up North, I kin sell ’em to some menagerie man or -show-keeper for a nice little lot of money. Baby bears ain’t common in -shows, and these are as cute little creatures as I ever see.” - -The breeze which had arisen did not prove to be very strong, and the -progress of The Rolling Stone was slow. After a time the wind gradually -changed its direction, and there sprung up one of those sudden squalls -which were frequent on the Indian River. The wind blew a hurricane, -the surface of the river was covered with tossing waves, and The -Rolling Stone would probably have rolled entirely over if Adam had not -noticed the approach of the wind-storm and taken quick precautions. The -boat was laid with her head to the gale, and both sails were rapidly -lowered, and when the little bears had been carefully wrapped up and -tucked in, so that they would not take cold, there was nothing to do -but to lie-to till the storm had passed over. - -Then, in the afternoon, the wind got around to the northeast, which was -almost dead ahead. Adam was obliged to tack backward and forward all -the afternoon. The boys became rather tired of doing so much sailing -and making so little progress, and when the boat had gradually worked -its way about a mile above a small river, which flowed into the Indian -River from the west, everybody was glad to land at a convenient place -on the west side of the river and make the evening fire. - -The next morning, the wind blew more strongly from the north, and, what -was worse, there was not a drop of milk left for the little bears. - -“There’s a store about fifteen miles above this place,” said Adam; “but -these cubs will starve before we kin beat up there agin this wind. They -take a lot o’ feedin’, and they’re nearly famished now. But back from -the river, about a mile and a half up, there’s a man who has a little -orange-grove. I was there once, and I know he keeps a lot of supplies -on hand. I’ll walk over there and see if I can’t get some milk.” - -Soon after Adam had started, Phil said he thought he would take the -gun and go into the woods, and see if he could not find some game. He -did not intend to look for any bears, but he thought he might find -something smaller. - -“I’d like to go along,” said Phœnix, “if it wasn’t that somebody has -got to take care of the boat and things, and I don’t want to leave Chap -alone.” - -“Nobody need trouble himself about me,” said Chap; “you go along, and -I’ll stay here and fish. I made up my mind to do that as soon as Adam -said he was going.” - -“All right,” said Phil; “but mind you don’t go in to swim.” - -“You needn’t be afraid of that!” cried Chap, as his two companions -walked away. “I expect the fish here are not at all like those we -caught before,” he said to himself, as he cut up some pieces of bait. -“They seem to be different at every place we stop.” - -Chap was a strange fellow. He liked his friends, and he was fond of -company, but he was even more fond of entirely independent action. - -“Now, then,” he said to himself, “I can go ahead and fish just as I -please. I’m not quite sure that I’m always captain of this party, but -one thing is certain, I can be captain of myself.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FRIENDS AND ENEMIES. - - -Chap began his independent operations by poling The Rolling Stone to -some distance from the shore. Then dropping the anchor and letting out -the rope, he pushed his boat out as long as his pole would touch bottom. - -There was not much current, but the wind blew the boat inland, so that -Chap found that he would have to be continually pushing her out if he -wished to keep her in water deep enough for fishing. - -He was afraid to go out where he could not touch bottom with his pole, -for the wind was strong, and he did not know what would happen if he -tried to sail her. - -So, at last, he gave up fishing and poled back to shore. Putting away -his fishing tackle, he began to try to comfort the little bears, who -were whining and whimpering and tumbling over each other, showing the -greatest distress at being obliged to wait for their breakfast. - -While thus engaged, there came down the river a dirty little boat, with -a dirty little sail, in the stern of which sat two very untidy young -men. - -When it was within a hundred yards of The Rolling Stone, this boat, the -approach of which Chap had not noticed, was run ashore, and the two -untidy young men, each carrying a gun, came walking down the narrow -beach. - -When they were near the boat, Chap heard them, and looking up, was very -much surprised to see these strangers. They saluted Chap in a friendly -way, and as The Rolling Stone was near the shore, they stepped on -board, and sitting down, began to talk to him. - -The untidy young men asked Chap a great many questions, all of which he -answered freely. - -“So you’re in a great hurry to get North?” said one of them. - -“Oh, yes,” said Chap. “You see, our friends don’t know where we are, -and we wouldn’t stop anywhere, if we didn’t have to.” - -“And the rest of the party has gone off and left you here by yourself,” -said the other. “We was a-wonderin’ as we was comin’ down what you was -doin’ here on the boat.” - -“I tried to fish,” said Chap, “but I couldn’t keep her out.” - -“If you fellers want to git up the river in a hurry, you ought to have -a smaller boat that’ll sail ag’in the wind better’n this one. Now we’ve -got a little boat up there that we want to send back to Titusville, and -you’ve got one you want to send back to John Brewer. If you say so, -we’ll trade, and that’ll suit all parties.” - -“Oh, we wouldn’t think of that,” said Chap, rather contemptuously, -looking up at the craft they had left. “Your boat is entirely too small -for us, and this suits us first-rate. It’s a regular little yacht.” - -“Yes,” said the other, looking around him, “she’s a mighty comfortable -boat.” - -After examining the little bears, and asking a few more questions, the -two young men stepped ashore and walked up to their own boat. - -Chap thought they were going to re-embark, but this they did not -do. They loaded themselves with some pouches and flasks, a basket -containing canned food of various kinds, a bag of flour, and a few -articles of wearing apparel. - -These things they brought down to The Rolling Stone, and, much to -Chap’s surprise, they put them all aboard. - -“What are you about?” cried our friend, springing to his feet. - -“We’re goin’ to trade boats,” said one of the young men, as he stepped -on board. - -“No, you are not!” cried Chap, in great excitement. - -And then, at the top of his voice, he gave a wild shout, hoping that -Adam or the boys might hear him. - -“Push her off!” said the young man on board to the one on shore. - -And in a moment The Rolling Stone was floating in one or two feet of -water. - -The other young man now scrambled on deck, and, having pulled the -anchor on board, he came aft, where Chap was already engaged in -endeavoring to put his companion overboard. - -Both men now threw themselves on Chap, and, in a very short time, that -unfortunate fellow was floundering in the shallow water. - -Rising to his feet, he made a rush toward the boat, and would have -boarded her had not the muzzle of a shot-gun been pointed at his head. - -“Just you stay where you are,” said the young man with the gun, as the -other seized the pole and pushed The Rolling Stone out into deep water. -“If you hadn’t hollered for your fellers we’d ’a’ put some of your -things ashore, but we haven’t time for that now. Good-by.” - -And putting down his gun, the speaker took the tiller, while his -companion hauled up the main-sail, and in about a minute The Rolling -Stone was scudding down the river before a strong north wind. - -At first Chap stood bewildered. His mind could scarcely comprehend the -fact that there were two men in the world who would do the thing that -these young men had just done. To throw him out of his own boat, and -make off with it before his eyes! Could it all be real? - -But he did not long stand still. His active nature made it necessary -for him to do something. If he had had a gun he would have fired after -the rascals, but as it was he could do absolutely nothing by himself, -and the first thing to be thought of now was to let the others know -what had happened. - -Giving a last look at the retreating boat, he saw that one of the young -men was pouring what appeared to be milk in a tin basin. The villains -knew that the bears were hungry, and as they had milk with them, they -evidently intended to feed them and bring them up as their own. - -Was there ever such unparalleled impudence? The sight made his blood -boil, and he involuntarily shook his fist at the retreating boat. - -There was a rough path or narrow roadway which ran through the woods -in the direction in which Adam had gone, and along this path Chap now -ran at the top of his speed. The boys had also gone this way, and he -thought he must soon overtake some of his party. - -It happened, however, as it has happened so often before to many -a traveller, that Chap soon came to a point where there were two -diverging paths, and he did not know which was the one that Adam had -taken. - -He stopped for about a quarter of a minute to consider, and then, like -many another unfortunate traveller, he took the wrong path. - -Away he dashed along the track which led to the left, stopping every -now and then to shout at the top of his voice. At last his breath began -to fail him, and then he rested for a time. - -As soon as he had recovered a little, he shouted and shouted again, but -no answering shout came back to him, and then he started off again. He -did not run now, but he walked rapidly. - -If he kept on, he thought, he must soon reach the house to which Adam -had gone, but he walked and walked and walked until he felt sure he -must have gone two or three miles; but then distances are not judged -very accurately in wild places such as this, and Adam might have been -mistaken in supposing the house was only a mile and a half away. - -This path certainly led somewhere, and he would keep on a little while -longer. If he did not soon come to a house, he would turn back. - -He did not soon come to a house, and he sat down on a fallen tree to -rest. As he sat there, he felt very badly about the matter. As it had -so happened that he had not found Adam and the boys, he felt that it -would have been better if he had remained by the river. The others had -probably arrived there by this time, and when he should get back and -tell them what had happened, they would all feel that a great deal of -valuable time had been lost by his running away into the woods. He was -tired, and hungry, too, and the thought struck him that he did not know -how they were going to get anything to eat, unless they all went to the -house of which Adam had spoken. - -“I’m glad the scoundrels did not run away with Phœnix’s money,” he -thought. - -And that was the only ray of comfort that seemed to shine across his -present miserable existence. - -And yet he did not blame himself for what had happened. Perhaps he -ought not to have come so far into the woods, but he had done it for -the best. - -He now arose, and as he did so he looked along a portion of the path -which stretched in an almost straight line before him, and at the end -of the little vista which it made, he saw some blue and curling smoke. - -“Hurrah!” he cried. “A house is just ahead! Why on earth was I so -foolish as to stop here?” and so saying, he hurried along the path. - -When he arrived at the place where he saw the smoke, he found no house, -but in a little open space in the woods there was a fire on the ground, -and hanging from a branch of a tree above the fire was a covered tin -vessel, very much blackened by smoke, in which something seemed to be -simmering. - -Chap stopped and looked at the fire. As he did so two men arose from -the foot of a tree and came toward him. As soon as Chap looked at these -men he knew they were Indians. - -Chap had seen Indians before in the city near which he lived, but -these were on exhibition, and were dressed in all the paraphernalia -of blankets, leggings, feathers, and dangling ornaments, which are -generally supposed to make up the ordinary costume of the American -Indian; but he had never seen the red man in his native wilds, and the -dress of these Indians surprised him almost as much as their appearance -on the spot. They had copper-colored faces, high cheek-bones, jet-black -hair, and wore moccasins, and these were the only points of resemblance -between them and the traditional Indian. - -They each wore a blue-flannel shirt, a pair of thick cotton trousers, -and a dilapidated felt hat. One of them carried a powder-horn and a -buckskin bullet-pouch, and against the tree, beneath which they had -been sitting, there leaned a rifle. - -As the Indians approached, one of them held out his hand. Chap had not -made up his mind whether to be relieved or frightened when he saw the -Indians, but he took the tawny hand that was offered him, and gave it a -shake. There seemed to be nothing else to do. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PHIL’S UNCLE AND CHAP’S SISTER. - - -We must now return for a time to Hyson Hall and its neighborhood, where -the families of our three young friends were naturally much disturbed -at their long-continued absence. On the morning of the day which Chap -Webster had fixed for his return from the Breakwater, Mr. Godfrey -Berkeley, Phil’s uncle, rode over to the Webster place, and found -Chap’s mother already wondering what train the boys would come up in. - -“Now, Mrs. Webster,” said Mr. Godfrey, “don’t you expect them by any -train to-day. When boys start off on an expedition like that, they -cannot fix a date for their return. It is impossible for them to know -exactly how long it will take to get to the Breakwater; how many delays -will occur while there and on their return. I do not expect them until -to-morrow, or perhaps the day after.” - -These very sensible remarks comforted Mrs. Webster for the time being, -but when two more days passed, and her son did not return, she became -greatly troubled. Mr. Poole, the father of Phœnix, also sent over to -Hyson Hall to know if Mr. Berkeley had heard anything from the boys. -Mr. Godfrey himself began to think it was quite time that the young -fellows had returned, or made some report of their doings. If they had -been delayed at the Breakwater, they should have telegraphed. - -While he was considering this matter, and blaming Phil a good deal for -his negligence, a messenger came to him from the city, sent by one -of the members of the tug-boat company, with whom he was acquainted, -telling him how the boat had gone to sea and had never returned, and -begging him to break the matter as well as he could to the Webster and -Poole families. - -Poor Mr. Godfrey had grief enough of his own when he heard this -intelligence, but he did not give up hope, and hurried away to do what -he could to help and encourage his afflicted neighbors. - -The Poole family were very willing to listen to Mr. Berkeley’s hopeful -words, and promised to keep up good hearts until they could hear from -him again, and even Mrs. Webster, although terribly shocked, did not -entirely despair. There never was a man who could put a brighter side -to dreary things than Mr. Godfrey Berkeley. - -“But I shall die upon the spot,” she said, “if something is not done. -If I can know that somebody is doing something, I can wait in hope; but -if we are to sit here with our hands folded, I shall go crazy. I should -start off this minute myself if I knew what to do or where to go, and -if there were not so many things that make it almost impossible for me -to leave home just now.” - -Mr. Godfrey assured her that something was to be done instantly, for -he was going to start for the city by the very next train; thereupon, -Helen, Chap’s only sister, who was even more grieved by the dreadful -news than her mother, although she did not say so much about it, begged -that she might go with Mr. Godfrey. - -“I want to hear any news as soon as it comes,” she said. “I don’t think -I can sit still here and wait. And then, if anything is heard from -them, Mr. Godfrey may want to stay down in the city, and I can come -up and tell you. That will be ever so much better than letters and -telegrams.” - -Mr. Webster was absent in the West, and as Mrs. Webster thought it very -proper that some of the family should do something in the matter, she -gave Helen permission to accompany Mr. Berkeley, who was very glad to -have for a companion this sensible and courageous girl. - -In the city they heard the full particulars of the occurrence as far as -they were known. - -“Has nothing been heard of the vessel which the tug-boat went out to -offer to bring in?” asked Mr. Godfrey Berkeley. - -“She never came into the Breakwater at all,” was the answer. “She must -have concluded to lie-to that night, for the wind was dead against her. -She was the Cygnet, bound to Norfolk, Virginia, and we heard yesterday -that she was spoken the next day by a coasting vessel coming North. -The gale had pretty well gone down by that time, and she’d rigged up a -jury-mast, and was making her way to her port with a fair wind.” - -“Mr. Godfrey,” said Helen, who had been listening attentively, “don’t -you suppose that ship might have picked up the people on the tug-boat -if they were wrecked? Perhaps Chap and the others are on board of her -now.” - -“I am afraid there is not much hope in that direction,” said the agent -of the company, “for the tug and the disabled schooner do not appear -to have had anything to do with each other. Our belief is that the -tug-boat was driven out to sea by the storm, on account of some of her -machinery getting out of order, and that the persons on board were -probably picked up by some passing vessel, from which we may hear at -any day.” - -“But I think,” persisted Helen, “that we ought not to wait for that. -I believe that we ought to go to Norfolk and meet that one-masted -schooner. If Chap and the other boys are on board, I’d like to be there -when they come in.” - -Mr. Berkeley had been quietly thinking about the matter, and although -he was very much afraid that there was little reason for supposing that -his dear Phil and the other boys were on board the Cygnet, still he -felt that nothing should be left undone, and that even this little ray -of hope should not be abandoned, and he therefore determined to go to -Norfolk, and as Helen plead so earnestly to go with him, he agreed to -take her. - -She asserted that her valise contained everything she needed, and -he assumed the responsibility of taking her upon this trip, feeling -sure that nothing would satisfy Mrs. Webster so much as to know that -something was still being done. He therefore telegraphed to Boontown, -and he and Helen set off for Norfolk as soon as possible. - -When they reached Norfolk, the Cygnet had not yet come in. Her passage -down the coast had probably been very slow, and she might have been -also delayed by additional accidents to her sailing-gear, which, from -all accounts, must have been in a very bad condition. - -Mr. Godfrey and the young girl walked about the piers and wharves all -the afternoon, and as night approached, and no Cygnet had come in, -Helen went back to the hotel with a fear that the boys had suffered a -second shipwreck. - -But early in the morning, word was brought to Mr. Berkeley that the -disabled Cygnet lay in the Roads, and it was not long before he and -Helen were being rapidly rowed out to the schooner. - -But when they went on board, they saw no Chap, no Phil, no Phœnix. The -boys had never been on the vessel. - -Poor Helen sank down on something, she knew not what it was, and -covered her face with her hands, but in a few minutes afterward Mr. -Godfrey stood before her, and put his hand on her head. - -“Helen!” he cried, “look up. I have splendid news!” - -Helen gave a start, and looking at Mr. Berkeley, she saw that his eyes -were sparkling, and that his face was glowing with delight. - -“Just think of it, Helen!” he cried. “The captain here tells me that -the next morning after the tug-boat came out to meet him, he saw her, -with his glass, tossing about on the waves a long way off. He knew she -must have been blown out to sea by the storm, and he kept watch on her. -She was so far away that the people on board of her could not have seen -his vessel if they had not a good ship’s glass. He was sure she was -disabled, and would have gone to her assistance if he had not been -disabled himself. But now, hear this--this is the splendid part. Some -time afterward, he saw a steamship come along, and as he kept his glass -on the spot he saw the steamer lie-to and take people off the tug-boat. -Of course, she took everybody. And then she started on her way South. -He says he is quite sure she is a Savannah steamer.” - -“Oh, Mr. Godfrey,” cried Helen, clapping her hands, “this is glorious! -Let’s go straight to Savannah!” - -“Why, you madcap girl,” laughed Mr. Berkeley, “I believe you would -follow those fellows all round the world!” - -“Indeed I would,” said Helen, “if I could only be sure of meeting dear -Chap at last!” - -When they went back to the hotel, Mr. Berkeley actually considered this -plan of going to Savannah. He calculated that the steamer should have -arrived at that port some days before, and if the boys were there, they -were probably in trouble, for, otherwise, they certainly should have -been heard from. - -He could not imagine why they had not telegraphed or written. His joy, -therefore, at the news given him by the captain of the Cygnet, was -much dampened after this careful consideration of the case. At any -rate, he determined to go to Savannah. If the steamer was really bound -there, the boys ought to be looked after, and he felt, as well as Mrs. -Webster, that something ought to be doing until they were found. - -Of course, he had to take Helen with him, as he could not send her home -alone, and having telegraphed the Cygnet’s news to Boontown, the two -started for Savannah that afternoon. - -When they reached that city, Mr. Berkeley made diligent inquiries in -regard to the arrival of three shipwrecked boys, but he heard that only -two steamers had come in within a week, and that neither of these had -fallen in with a disabled tug-boat. - -When even his stout heart was beginning to despair, and poor Helen -looked as if she had been ill for a month, there came a telegram from -Boontown. It was from Mr. Welford, a banker of that place, and a friend -of Mr. Berkeley’s, to whom the telegram had been addressed which the -boys had forwarded by the sportsman they had met on the Indian River. - -Mr. Welford lived in the town, and a telegram sent to him would be -immediately delivered, and the boys knew he would lose no time in -notifying their families. - -The telegram now received from Mr. Welford informed Mr. Godfrey -Berkeley that the boys were on the Indian River, Florida, and were -coming North as fast as possible. - -This news made the world seem like a different place to Phil’s uncle -and Chap’s sister. This was something real and tangible. - -“It seems as if we knew just where the boys were,” cried Helen. - -“Yes,” said Mr. Godfrey, laughing, “we might take the map, and almost -point out the exact spot where they ought to be by this time; but, most -probably, we would make a mistake, and we won’t do it. It is enough to -know that they are in Florida, and we shall probably see them soon.” - -“Shall we wait here for them?” said Helen. - -“I have not made up my mind about that,” replied Mr. Berkeley. - -But before he made up his mind a telegram came from Mrs. Webster, which -read thus: - - “Please go and meet my boy. He has not a cent, and scarcely any - clothes.” - -“All right,” said Mr. Berkeley, when this characteristic message had -been read and considered. “I shall be very glad to take a trip into -summer land, for it is getting very bleak and cold up our way. Of -course, your mother means that I shall take you with me, Miss Helen, -and it will do you good, for if ever a girl needed to have plumpness -and rosiness brought back to her cheeks, you do. The boys are bound -to come down the St. John’s River to Jacksonville, and we can’t miss -them.” - -And so the two started for Florida. - -“Won’t they be surprised when they see us?” said Helen, when she and -Mr. Godfrey had taken their seats in the car. - -“I hope so,” said Mr. Godfrey. “Half our pleasure will be lost if we -don’t astonish them.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -TWO EXPEDITIONS. - - -“Come from the river?” said the Indian who had shaken hands with Chap. -“Been fishin’? Where’s the rest of ’em?” - -The very fair English which this Indian spoke was a new surprise to -Chap, and for an instant he wondered how the man knew there were any -more of them; but as any one might reasonably suppose that a young -fellow like himself would not come into this part of the country alone, -the question seemed sensible enough. The other Indian now came up, and, -without saying anything, seemed very anxious to hear what should be -said. - -Chap then briefly related his story. For some reason which he could not -explain he had for these Indians a feeling very different from that -with which, from the very first, he had regarded the untidy young men. -To be sure, he had answered their questions, for there seemed to be -no good reason for refusing; but he had felt all along that they were -unpleasant companions, and had hoped they would soon go away. But these -Indians seemed to have honest faces, and to take a friendly interest in -what he told them. - -When he related how the boat had been stolen from him, the Indians -looked at each other, and each of them gave a grunt. - -“Big thieves! big thieves!” said one. “Come down on river and steal -boat. Very bad thieves, them!” - -The other one nodded. - -“Bad thieves! bad thieves!” he said. - -Chap now asked the Indians where they supposed the two fellows would -take the boat. - -“Go up river back here,” said the Indian who did the most talking. -“Think you won’t find ’em and go home. Then they shoot ’gators and have -fun.” - -“But why should they take our boat?” asked Chap. “They have one of -their own.” - -“P’raps she leak. Yours good boat,” said the other. “But some men bad, -nobody knows why.” - -To this piece of philosophy the other nodded assent, and then, for a -few minutes, the two talked together in their own language. - -These men were Seminole Indians, belonging to the remnant of the -powerful tribe which once waged war against the United States and -Florida. But the Seminoles who may now occasionally be met in the lower -part of the State are generally quiet and peaceable, and glad enough to -sell some venison or other game to the sportsmen or tourists they may -meet in the forests or on the rivers in the unsettled portions of the -State. - -When the two Indians had finished their conversation, the talker made -a proposition to Chap. He told him that he and his companion, with two -others, who were now probably a mile or two away, had come into this -part of the country on a hunting expedition; but that, if he would pay -them for their trouble, they would go after these fellows and capture -the boat. - -“River bends ’round here,” said the talker, waving his hand behind him, -“and they got to sail that way. ’Fraid to keep on big river. You get -boat, go after ’em. We go straight through woods, and ketch ’em when -they go camp at night. Then bring boat back to you.” - -Chap stood and considered the matter, and a brilliant plan soon entered -his head. If he went back to confer with his companions, a great deal -of time would be lost, and there might be diversities of opinion as -to what should be done. He felt that the proper thing to do was to -follow the Indian’s advice, and go a short way through the woods and -intercept the fellows when they camped. - -They were certain to come on shore to cook their evening meal, and -these Indians seemed to know the very spot where they would be likely -to land. - -“Now,” thought Chap, “I’ve a great mind to put myself at the head of -these Indians and recapture The Rolling Stone. Instead of going and -telling the other fellows that I’ve lost the boat, I’ll bring it back -to them. They’re bound to wait for me, and they can find quarters in -that house that Adam went to.” - -Chap thereupon told the Indians that if they and their companions would -assist him in recapturing the boat, he would see that they were paid -for their time and trouble. He also made them understand that he would -lead the expedition, provided that they would show him the way. - -To all this the Indians assented, exhibiting a willingness to leave the -amount of their remuneration entirely to Chap’s generosity, and while -one of them started off to find his absent companions, the other set -about preparing for Chap a portion of the food that was cooking on the -fire, for our friend declared himself nearly famished. - -“Isn’t this a high old change in things?” said Chap to himself, as he -sat watching the Indian stirring the unknown mess in the blackened -vessel he had taken from the fire. “Just a little while ago I was -hanging about home, expecting to hear that school would begin next day, -and here I am, in the wilds of Florida, and about to lead a band of red -men through the trackless forest.” - - * * * * * - -Phil and Phœnix wandered for a good distance along the woodland path. -Except the birds which they saw flying about above the forest when they -occasionally came to an open place in the green roof over them, they -found nothing to shoot at. - -They had fired a few shots at these, without effect, much to Phil’s -disappointment, for he wished to take home some trophies of this trip, -even if they were nothing but wings and tails of strange birds, when -they met Adam returning with two small cans of milk. - -The good sailor was in a great hurry to get back to his little bears, -and he told the boys that they must come with him, for they would start -off now as soon as they could, for he had noticed, when he was up at -the house, that the wind had got round a little to the east, and that -they, therefore, would be able to make pretty good headway. - -But when the three arrived at the river-side, and found no boat and -no Chap and no bears, their astonishment was so great that they could -scarcely find words to express it. - -“Has that boy gone off with the boat?” at last exclaimed Adam. - -“I can scarcely believe it,” said Phil, “and yet there’s no knowing -what Chap would do if an idea suddenly came into his head.” - -“But Chap can’t sail a boat,” said Phœnix, “and he would never think of -going out in a wind like this. Perhaps the boat got loose accidentally.” - -“I don’t think that happened,” said Adam, who was scanning the river -with his experienced eye, “for if she’s got off, she’d ’a’ blown down -the river, and I can’t see a sign of her. Of course there’s no way of -her gettin’ up-stream ag’in such a wind as this.” - -As he spoke, Adam turned and looked up-stream, and then he caught -sight of the dirty little boat which had been run ashore by the two -untidy young men, and with a sudden “Hello!” he ran toward it, followed -closely by the boys. - -When he reached the boat, the sailor looked at it and in it and around -it, but he said not a word. - -“Whose boat can this be?” cried Phil. “It couldn’t have been here when -we came.” - -“Why, no!” exclaimed Phœnix. “We should certainly have seen it either -last night or this morning.” - -“No,” said Adam. “This boat hasn’t been here very long, and whoever -came in it has gone off in our boat. It’s my belief they didn’t intend -to come back to this little tub, for they’ve taken everything out of -her. They’ve either coaxed your pardner to go with them, or they’ve -carried him off.” - -Adam, who knew what desperate characters are occasionally found in -this part of the State, where officers of the law seldom make their -appearance, and where the few settlers and travellers are obliged -to depend in a great measure upon themselves for the preservation -of their lives and property, thought for a moment that if Chap had -offered opposition to the persons who had taken the boat, there was a -probability that he now lay at the bottom of the river. But he said -nothing of this to the boys, and he tried to dismiss from his own mind -the idea that anything so dreadful had happened. - -The people who lived and travelled on the Indian River were generally -of a peaceful disposition, although lawless characters were sometimes -to be met with, and he tried to believe that this was nothing but some -wild freak, perhaps encouraged by the conduct of Chap. - -“I tell you what it is!” cried Adam. “Our boat’s gone up that small -river we passed a mile or two below here. I don’t believe she’s had -time to get out of sight on the main stream. I haven’t been away more’n -an hour altogether, and there wasn’t any boat in sight when I left. -What we’ve got to do is to take this boat and go after her.” - -“All right,” said the boys; and with a will the dirty little craft was -pushed off, and the three scrambled in. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -CHAP LEADS THE INDIANS. - - -It was not long before the Indian who had gone after his two hunting -companions returned with them to the place where Chap and the Indian, -whom we will call “The Talker,” were eating their mid-day meal. - -The new-comers were duly introduced to Chap, and expressed their -willingness to take part in the expedition. Each of these men carried a -rifle, and the smaller and more quiet of the two Indians whom Chap had -first met was the only member of the party besides our friend who was -not armed. - -Chap would have been very glad while leading this expedition to carry a -weapon of some kind; but as there was no weapon for him, he resolved to -cut a club as soon as he found a suitable limb or sapling. - -If he could get a whack at the two fellows who pushed him out of the -boat, he felt that it would do him a great deal of good. - -The newly-arrived Indians having made a hasty meal, there was no time -lost in starting. Chap placed himself at the head of the party, but he -had not gone far before he felt obliged to relinquish that position. - -The path along which he had come, and which stretched out westwardly -through the forest, was a path worn by persons walking from a -landing-place on the tributary river to the spot on the main stream -where our friends had made their camp of the night before, which was -also a frequently used landing-place. - -But the woods now before our party were closely overgrown, and it -required eyes better accustomed to the business than those of Chap’s to -readily find the path. - -This passage through the woods was, when the size of the bend of the -tributary river was considered, a short cut between the landing-places -on the two streams; but it was, for all that, a long walk, and it was -late in the afternoon when The Talker announced to Chap that they were -approaching the bank of the other river. - -“How do we know that we are going to strike the river at the right -place to meet the rascals?” asked Chap. “They may land on the opposite -bank, and then we can’t get at them.” - -“Only one landin’-place ’long here,” said the Indian; “but just where -we are goin’ to go. Ketch ’em there. You see. Just wait.” - -The Indians now called a halt, and after a few words among themselves, -The Talker informed Chap that they had determined to remain where they -were until after nightfall, because, if the men on the boat caught -sight of any of them, they would suspect something, and would not land -at all. - -“Sit down; rest,” said The Talker. “I’ll go see if boat has come along -yit.” - -“I thought it wouldn’t do for you to show yourself,” said Chap, sitting -down on a fallen tree-trunk, while the three Indians sat upon the -ground. - -“Ain’t goin’ to look; goin’ to ask,” said The Talker, as he disappeared -into a by-path, which Chap had not noticed before. - -In about half an hour The Talker returned, and, much to Chap’s -surprise, he was accompanied by a young white girl, carrying a pail. - -“This is Mary Brown,” said The Talker. - -The three Indians then arose, and shook hands with Mary Brown, with -whom they seemed to be very well acquainted. - -The young girl offered Chap her hand, and said, as she put down her -pail,-- - -“I’ve brought you some supper; I’d had you come up to the house, but he -tells me,” pointing to The Talker, “that you don’t want to be seen.” - -“Do you live in these woods?” asked Chap, in amazement. - -“Yes,” said Mary Brown, “we live about half a mile back thar. ’Tain’t -on the river, but it’s on high ground, with a clearin’ ’round it, so -that people can be seen pretty plain from the water. He asked me if I’d -seed a boat come up to-day, but I’m jist certain none has come up yit, -for I’d been sure to see it. I’ve been watchin’ out for father. He’s -gone up Indian River. I don’t ’spect him back to-day, but I might as -well watch.” - -The girl took a piece of corn-bread from her pail, and gave it to Chap, -and offered him the first choice of a plate of cold fried bacon. Chap -was obliged to take this food in his fingers, but he was glad enough to -get it, and said nothing about the absence of plates, knives, and forks. - -“I’ll bring you down some coffee after a while,” said Mary Brown, “but -I hadn’t made any fire when that Indian came up to the house.” - -She gave the rest of the corn-bread and bacon to the Indians, and then -came and sat down by Chap. - -“He tells me,” said she, “that some fellows have stole your boat, and -that you’re goin’ to try to take it away from ’em again.” - -“That is what we started out to do,” said Chap, “but I’m very much -afraid this plan won’t work. We are not even sure that the men who -stole the boat came up this river, for I did not stay to see which way -they went; and if they did come up this way, why should they land at -the particular place where these Indians expect to find them, and to -which there is a track right through the woods from the place where -they stole the boat?” - -“You let these Indians alone,” said the girl, “for knowin’ jist what -people are goin’ to do, ’specially fellers that are huntin’ and -fishin’. I don’t reckon them boat-thieves ever heard thar was a good -campin’-place up here, but they can’t help findin’ it out, for all the -way up from the mouth of the river there’s nothin’ but reeds and swamps -and ’gators; and when they git to the bit of hard, white sand down -thar, which they can see ever so fur away, they’ll be sure to come to -it. Everybody does who goes along this river,--that is, if they come -up this fur. Of course, they may have turned ’round and gone back long -ago, but you’ve got to take your chances of that. As for this track -through the woods, I don’t suppose they know anything about it, and if -they did, they wouldn’t ’spect you to find it. And now I must go up to -the house, and look out for the boat. You and the Indians had better -keep shady till I tell you whether it’s comin’ or not.” - -Mary Brown belonged to the class of people which in Florida are called -“crackers.” These are poor whites, generally found in the half-settled -portions of the State, who make a scanty living by fishing, hunting, -and cultivating small patches of ground. They are usually uneducated. -As a rule, they are an orderly people, and many of them are by nature -intelligent and bright. - -Mary Brown had been thrown a good deal on her own resources, and she -had learned to take a very common-sense view of the things that came -under her observation. She wore a large sun-bonnet, and no shoes or -stockings, and seemed afraid of nothing in the shape of man or beast -which she might meet in the wild forest that surrounded her solitary -home, where at present she was left with her mother and an old negro -man, who acted as general helper about the place. - -When she had gone, the Indians sat talking among themselves, while Chap -folded his arms and stood leaning against a tree. - -“I don’t half like the way things are going,” he said to himself. “It -don’t seem to me that I’m exactly commanding this party, although I -regularly hired them, and took them into my service. They’re doing -everything just as they please, and I shouldn’t wonder if the whole -thing should turn out a fizzle. But if we get a chance to do anything, -I’ll soon let them know that I’m captain.” - -About fifteen minutes after this, Mary Brown came hurrying to them. She -carried a tin-cup of hot coffee, sweetened, but with no milk in it, -which she gave to Chap. - -“There’s a boat comin’ up the river,” she said, “and of course it’s -your’n. Now you fellers lie low, and she’s bound to land on the beach -down thar. I’ll go up on the high ground and keep a lookout,” and away -she ran. - -It was growing dark in the woods, but in the cleared space around the -Brown’s cabin it was light enough for the girl to see the boat come up -the river, and steer directly for the sandy beach. - -When she returned and told the waiting party that the boat was about -to make a landing, Chap, who had been much excited by the news that -there was a sail in sight, seized the club he had cut in the woods, and -addressed the Indians: - -“We must get along now to that landing-place, and the minute the boat -touches the shore, we must make a rush at her and capture her.” - -“No, no,” said The Talker; “that won’t do. If they hear us while -they’re in boat, they push off, up sail, and we never see ’em ag’in. -Wait till they come ashore, then we fix ’em. No hurry.” - -Chap was obliged to acknowledge that this was good advice, but he -contented himself with the determination that when the decisive moment -came he would not let the Indians do all the fighting. - -“We will move quietly down toward the river,” he said, “and then, when -we are sure the boat is tied up, and they are on shore, we’ll make a -rush for them.” - -“All right,” said The Talker. - -And slowly and cautiously the party, followed at a little distance by -Mary Brown, made its way in the direction of the river. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -ADAM LEADS HIS PARTY. - - -Adam and the two boys had not sailed very far in the dirty little boat, -when they found out why the persons who had been using her had left her -and taken The Rolling Stone in her place. - -This little boat, on the stern of which was painted the name “Maggie,” -was very leaky, and required continual bailing. Her sailing tackle -was out of order, and she was a very undesirable boat. But Phœnix and -Phil bailed away bravely with a couple of tin cans which they found on -board, and Adam, having steered into the mouth of the smaller river, -put the boat before the wind and sailed along at a good rate. - -The stream they were now in twisted and wound a good deal, and they -could not see very far ahead, but every moment they hoped to come in -sight of The Rolling Stone. - -“I cannot imagine,” said Phil, “why Chap should have gone off in -that boat. If it was taken away from him, or borrowed, I should have -supposed he would stay behind to tell us what had become of her.” - -“If it was took by unfair means,” said Adam, “he’d be very likely to -think he ought to stick by her to the last, and if they took her they’d -have to take him. P’raps they were only goin’ a little way up this -river, and he’s undertook to bring her back.” - -“If he does, he’ll upset her,” said Phœnix. - -“If that’s so,” said Adam, “we’ll come across her bottom up, and the -young chap sittin’ on her keel.” - -“And all our things in the river,” said Phil. - -“That’ll be about it,” quietly replied Adam, hoping from the bottom of -his heart that nothing worse than this had happened. - -About four o’clock, as they rounded a bend in the river, Phil, who was -standing by the mast, gave a shout. - -“A sail ahead!” he cried. - -And, sure enough, about a mile ahead a boat was plainly to be seen. - -“That’s her!” cried Adam. “Now, boys, load up that gun with buckshot, -six in each barrel, and we’ll keep after her as long as she’s above -water.” - -“The Rolling Stone is a great deal faster than this old thing,” said -Phœnix, “and I’m afraid we’ll never catch up with her.” - -“We’ve gained on her now,” said Adam, “for she must have been a good -deal ahead of us when we started. There isn’t much wind up here, with -these high trees on each side, and that boat needs a good breeze to -make her do her best. If the wind goes down altogether toward sunset, -and we have to pole, I’d rather have this boat than that.” - -Adam now gave his utmost attention to making the best of the breeze, -and as he was a better sailor than the men in The Rolling Stone, and -as the Maggie could make a fair headway with less wind than the larger -boat, she gradually gained upon the latter. - -“Look here,” said Phil, who, while Phœnix was still bailing away, had -been gazing earnestly ahead, “there are only two men on board that -boat, and I’m certain that neither of them is Chap.” - -Phœnix started as he heard these words, and involuntarily looked up at -Adam. The sailor said not a word, but his face seemed to have grown -hard and dark, and his hand fastened itself upon the tiller with a -nervous grip, as if he wished to animate the vessel with his own fierce -anxiety to hasten on. - -The young men in the other boat evidently knew that they were pursued, -and were doing all that they could to get away. - -If there had been a fair wind, The Rolling Stone would have left the -other boat far behind; but it soon happened that the Maggie had greatly -the advantage. - -A portion of the river was now reached where, although the stream was -very wide, the water was not over five feet deep, and the bottom, which -seemed to be made up entirely of oyster-beds, could plainly be seen. - -One of the men on The Rolling Stone was already using a pole to assist -the progress of the boat; but when Adam called Phil to the tiller and -seized the pole which lay on the deck of the Maggie, it soon became -evident that a small boat was much better than a larger one, when each -was pushed through the water by means of a pole. - -Adam was a strong man and accustomed to hard work, and his vigorous -efforts made the Maggie glide so fast through the water that she -rapidly gained upon the foremost boat. - -As the two were about a dozen yards apart Adam told Phœnix to stand -ready to lay hold of the other boat when they should touch. - -Phil held the gun, but Adam cautioned him not to be too quick in using -it. - -When the boats were quite near each other, the young man who had been -poling The Rolling Stone dropped his pole, and picking up a gun, raised -it to his shoulder. But this did not frighten the valiant Adam. - -“Put down that gun!” he roared, as the two boats touched. - -The young man who had been steering now rose to his feet. His gun was -probably not loaded, for he did not attempt to pick it up, although it -lay near him. - -The two fellows looked sullenly at the party in the other boat, but -they must have felt that it would be of no use to offer battle. - -Adam had picked up a hatchet; Phil had a double-barrelled gun, and -a glance at the strong figure of Phœnix, who stood with his sleeves -rolled up and his shirt thrown open, was enough to make any one feel -that a tussle with such a fellow was not a thing to be desired. - -Their opponents were three to their two, and looked like fellows -determined to win. It would not pay to fight, and the untidy young man -with the gun lowered his weapon. - -Instantly Adam sprang on board The Rolling Stone. - -“Where’s the boy who was on this boat?” he cried. - -“He went ashore when we traded,” was the answer. “Didn’t he tell you -so?” - -“We haven’t seen him,” said Adam. “Now, if you fellers lie to me, I’ll -split your heads open with this hatchet. I’ll have no foolin’. Where is -he?” - -The young men looked at each other. They were evidently surprised that -the boy from whom they had taken The Rolling Stone had not been seen -by his companions. They supposed, of course, that he had told them all -about the affair. - -“I tell you,” said one of them, “we’re not foolin’. He went right -ashore after we had traded boats.” - -“Traded boats!” cried Phil, who had laid down his gun. “What do you -mean by that?” - -“Why, your pardner said you folks only wanted a boat to get up the -river, and as this one is to be took back to Brewer, we traded.” - -“I don’t believe a word of it!” cried Phil and Phœnix, almost in a -breath. - -“It’s a lie on the face of it,” said Adam, stepping up to the last -speaker and lifting his hatchet. “Now, if you scoundrels don’t want to -be brained right here, you’d better speak out and tell the truth. You -stole the boat, and we know it.” - -“I didn’t say the young man was altogether willin’ to trade, but we did -trade. Didn’t we leave our boat? and haven’t you got it? We was a-goin’ -to leave all your things for you, but your pardner, as soon as he went -ashore, began a-hollerin’ for you all, and we thought you’d be firin’ -at us the next minute, and so we had to put off.” - -“You meant to steal this boat and everything in it,” said Adam, “and -you made that young man go ashore.” - -“We told him he’d better,” said the other. - -“Yes,” added his companion; “but he got mad, and the minute he set foot -on the sand, he ran into the woods a-hollerin’ for you all.” - -Phœnix had said little during this time, but his feelings were rapidly -reaching the boiling-point. At this moment he sprang on board The -Rolling Stone, and, seizing one of the young men by the collar, he -shouted,-- - -“If I hear any more of that talk, you’re going overboard. Where is the -boy that was on this boat?” - -The young man thus suddenly attacked raised his arm to defend himself, -but Adam pushed between the two. - -“Don’t fight yet,” he said to Phœnix. “We’ll see directly what’s to be -done to ’em.” - -This remark frightened the two rascals more than anything that had -been yet said or done. It seemed to indicate a determination to -inflict some sort of punishment upon them, and if these three excited -persons believed that their companion had been made away with, there -was nothing to prevent them from taking summary vengeance upon their -captives, and throwing their bodies to the alligators. On these lonely -waters they could expect no help. - -“I tell you,” said one of the young men, very earnestly, “it’s all -truth that we’ve been sayin’. The whole thing was a lark, and we -wouldn’t ’a’ done it if we hadn’t been drinkin’. We was a-sayin’ just -before we seed you comin’ after us that we was sorry we took your boat, -and if there was a good wind to-morrer, we’d overhaul you and give her -back to you. We haven’t hurt none of your things, and we’ve fed your -little bears with the milk we brought along for ourselves.” - -“Yes,” said Adam, grimly; “that’s because you wanted to raise ’em and -sell ’em.” - -“No,” said the other. “We was a-goin’ to give ’em back to you.” - -No answer was made to this palpable falsehood, and every one seemed to -hesitate before making the next move. Then Adam spoke up. - -“We’ve got to talk this thing over,” said he to Phil and Phœnix. Then, -turning to the untidy young men, he told them to get into their own -boat, and pull her out of ear-shot. “And mind you don’t try to get -away,” he added, as the fellows scrambled into the Maggie; “for if you -do I’ll put a dozen buckshot into you before you know it.” - -One of the young men poled his boat away until Adam called to him to -stop, and then our three friends sat down to talk the matter over. -There was a gentle current in the stream, and the two boats floated -slowly along without diminishing the distance between them. - -“What do you both think about it?” asked Phil, nervously. - -“I think they are a pair of scoundrels,” said Phœnix, “and they ought -to be knocked on the head.” - -“We can’t do that,” said Adam, “though I’d shoot ’em quick enough if it -had to be done to save any of us; but I feel pretty sure that Chap’s -all right, though the story of these fellers is an out-and-out lie. -They just took the boat from him, and made off with it, and that’s all -there is about it.” - -“One part of their story seemed probable,” said Phil, “and that was -that Chap got mad and bolted into the woods after us. He isn’t the -fellow to stand still and see his property taken off without making a -fuss.” - -“No, indeed!” added Phœnix, earnestly. - -“If their story is true,” said Adam, “and Chap ran into the woods after -us, he must have taken the wrong track, or we would have seen him. -There is a path which leads to the left not very far from the beach.” - -“Yes,” said Phil, “Phœnix and I noticed that, and debated a little -which way we should go, and finally concluded to keep to the right.” - -“Yes,” said Adam, “that’s what he must ’a’ done, and that’s the way we -missed him. I don’t believe them fellers did anything to him. There -couldn’t ’a’ been any need of it, for I ’spect they sneaked off with -the boat while he was on shore.” - -“And what are we going to do about it?” said Phœnix. “Let them off -scot-free while we go back after Chap?” - -“Well,” said Adam, “we can’t very well kill the rascals, and it -wouldn’t pay to hold on to ’em. The best thing we can do is to get rid -of ’em as soon as we can.” - -“And then go back after Chap,” suggested Phœnix. - -“I don’t know about that,” said Adam, a little absently. - -He was looking at Phil, and noticed that the boy was very pale and -silent, and that he sat doubled up as if he felt weak and tired. - -Not one of the party had eaten anything since breakfast. They had been -so excited and so eager to overtake the stolen boat, and find out what -had become of Chap, that the thought of food had not entered their -minds. Phœnix and Adam were both very robust, and the omission of a -single meal had not affected them; but Phil, although he was a healthy -fellow, was not so hardy and so capable of sustaining privations as his -companions, and Adam could see that he was really faint for want of -food. - -“I don’t think we’ll make anything by startin’ back now,” he said. -“It’ll be dark in an hour or two, and then we couldn’t sail on this -crooked river, and we’d have to anchor and wait for mornin’. We -couldn’t land and make a fire and have anything hot and comfortable for -supper, for there isn’t a spot we’ve passed where we could go ashore. -But I see a bit of sandy beach way up ahead there, and there we can -land and boil some coffee, and have a good meal, and I’m sure we all -need it.” - -“But what about poor Chap all this time?” asked Phil, looking up. - -“Oh, I haven’t forgot Chap!” said Adam; “and I don’t think we need -be troubled about him. When he got down to the beach he’d know that -we’d gone off in the boat that was left there, and that we’d come back -ag’in. He’d be sure to go and look for the house when he felt hungry, -and as he wouldn’t take the wrong track the second time, he’d find it -easy enough. There’s no gittin’ really lost in them woods, for there’s -no gittin’ out of the beaten tracks, and they always lead somewhere. -So it stands to reason he’s better off than we are, as far as comfort -goes. And we can’t get to him till to-morrer, no matter when we start. -So I say we’ll go up there to that beach and have our supper. I don’t -want either one of you sick on my hands, for that would be the worst -thing that could happen.” - -“But what about those two fellows?” asked Phœnix. - -“We’d better let them get out of sight just as fast as they can,” said -Adam. “If they can’t find any place to camp it’ll serve ’em right. It’s -not our business to make ’em comfortable, and they can’t stay where we -are. So I say let’s put their things on their old boat and tell them to -make themselves scarce.” - -The boys both agreed that in regard to Chap and the two untidy young -men there did not seem to be anything to do but to follow Adam’s -advice. The Maggie was, therefore, hailed and ordered to come alongside. - -“Now, look here,” said Adam to the two men; “you’ve got to get out of -this just as fast as you can, for we’ve agreed that we can’t keep our -hands off o’ you more’n half an hour longer. We’ll give you back your -dirty things, for we don’t want none of your property. But I’m not -goin’ to give you back your guns, for one of ’em is a rifle, an’ you’re -just the fellers to take a crack at us after you got out of range of -our shot-gun. I’ll leave the guns for you at Titusville, at the hotel. -You can’t have ’em while we’re on the river.” - -The young men demurred very much at being deprived of their firearms, -but Adam’s determination was not moved, and they were obliged to go -away and leave their guns on The Rolling Stone. - -The wind served them better going down the stream than coming up, and -so, with pole and sail, and the assistance of the current, they soon -put a good distance between themselves and the other boat, feeling in -their hearts that if they did not make haste enough, a ball from their -own rifle might overtake them. They were so cowardly themselves that -they expected every one else to be so. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -CHAP’S AMBASSADOR. - - -The stretch of white sand, of which Adam had spoken, was so far away -that neither of the boys had noticed it; but the practised eyes of the -sailor had singled it out as a place where a landing could be made, and -toward it The Rolling Stone was now steered, Phœnix taking the tiller, -and Adam using the pole whenever he could. - -Phil was ordered to refresh himself with some crackers and cold meat, -as it would be some time before they could have their coffee. - -“I’m not going to eat anything,” said Phœnix, “till we have cooked a -regular supper; but I tell you it’s jolly to think of getting something -good and hot when we land.” - -“That’s so,” said Adam. - -And Phil assented heartily. But not one of them imagined how hot a -thing was waiting for them. - -The Rolling Stone thus moving slowly up the river, gradually came into -sight of the keen-eyed maiden, who surveyed the water from the high -ground in the vicinity of the Browns’ cabin, and, as we have seen, she -informed Chap and his companions of its approach. - -When the boat at last touched the shore, it was still light by the -river, and Chap and the Indians were well concealed in the dusky -recesses of the forest, not far from the water; and over the underbrush -and between the trees Chap could catch sight of the little red pennant, -made from an old handkerchief which he himself had hoisted to the -topmast of The Rolling Stone. - -The sight made him furious to rush down and recapture his boat; but the -others restrained him. It was not time yet. The fellows must have no -chance to push off and get away. - -“Look here,” said Mary Brown, who had closely followed Chap’s party, “I -wish there wasn’t goin’ to be a fight. I’d hate to see people killed so -near our house. I’ve been thinkin’ of a good thing to do, and I’ll tell -you what it is. I’ll go down and talk to them fellers. They won’t be -scared off when they see a girl comin’, and then I’ll just tell ’em the -whole thing. I’ll tell ’em there are five of you here, and you’re bound -to have the boat back, and they might as well give it up first as last, -and not have nobody shot.” - -“And as soon as you began to talk that way,” said Chap, “they’d all -jump aboard and push off.” - -“No, they wouldn’t,” said the girl; “for I wouldn’t talk to ’em if they -wasn’t all ashore, and the minute any of ’em started to go aboard, I’d -give a scream, and then you all could come peltin’ down.” - -“And what would we do with them,” asked Chap, a little contemptuously, -“if they agreed to all that? Let them walk off, scot-free?” - -“There ain’t no use a-doin’ anythin’ to ’em,” said Mary Brown, “when -you’ve got your boat. That’s all you want.” - -The Indians, who understood all that Mary Brown said, and had listened -to her with great attention, now expressed themselves as well satisfied -with the plan she proposed. If the men would give up the boat without -fighting, what was the good of fighting? But this did not satisfy Chap. - -“I want the rascals punished,” he said. - -“Humph!” said The Talker. “S’pose you first one shot. Won’t do you no -good then to lick ’em.” - -“They won’t believe you,” said Chap to Mary, “when you tell them there -are five of us. They’ll think it a trick.” - -“That’s their lookout,” said the girl. “If they don’t believe me, you -can pitch into ’em; but you oughter try first to do without fightin’.” - -Finding that his companions were very unwilling to resort to violence, -if the boat could be regained peacefully, Chap was obliged to submit, -and Mary Brown started off to treat for a surrender of The Rolling -Stone. - -“Mind,” she said, as she left, “if they cut up, or try to get back into -their boat, I’ll scream, and then you all come.” - -“Oh, we’ll come quick enough!” said Chap, clutching his club. “You -needn’t be afraid of that.” - -When Mary Brown went out on the river-beach, she saw only Adam and -Phil, for Phœnix had gone up the shore to look for dry sticks for the -fire. She walked up to our two friends, who were quite surprised to see -her, not knowing that there was any habitation in the neighborhood, and -after wishing them “good-evening,” she related to them the purpose of -her mission. - -While she was speaking, Phœnix came up, and his appearance made her -quite uneasy. She had supposed there were only two persons in the -boat, but if there were three, it would make the fight a great deal -worse, if there should be one, and she therefore urged, with increased -earnestness, that they should give up the boat peaceably, before they -were set upon by the determined men in the woods. - -“Give us a moment to think this over,” said Adam, when she had finished. - -And the girl retired to a short distance, while our friends drew close -together in anxious consultation. - -“Those two rascals,” said Adam, “must have waded ashore somewhere, and -come across these Indians. And now they’re a-goin’ to try to take the -boat from us. They’ve had time enough to get around here, for we came -up very slow.” - -“Perhaps it’s all a made-up story,” said Phœnix. - -“That couldn’t be,” said Phil, “for how would that girl know that we -had taken the boat from anybody?” - -“Whether her story is true or not,” said Adam, “we’re not goin’ to give -up the boat, are we?” - -“No, indeed!” answered both of the boys. - -“I’m glad we took the guns from them fellers,” said Adam, “for now -we’ve each got one. Let’s jump aboard and get the shootin’-irons. -That’s the first thing to do.” - -The three now moved toward the boat, which had been drawn up in shallow -water. - -“Don’t go aboard yit!” exclaimed Mary, quickly stepping toward them; -but, as no attention was paid to her words, she gave a loud scream, and -ran into the woods. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE FORCES MEET. - - -It so happened that the three guns on The Rolling Stone were all -loaded, and as they sprang on board, Adam, Phil, and Phœnix each -snatched up one of them. - -“Cover yourselves and be ready!” cried Adam. - -And, at these words, Phil bounced into the little cabin and put his gun -out the landward window; Phœnix stepped on the little strip of deck on -the other side of the cabin, and crouching behind it, rested his gun -upon the roof, while Adam threw himself flat down on the bottom of the -boat and pointed his gun over the side. - -“Cock your guns,” cried Adam, “but don’t fire till I give the word. I -hear ’em comin’.” - -The moment that Mary Brown’s scream was heard, Chap sprang toward the -river, followed by the four Indians. - -“Hold back!” cried The Talker. “You take care! You be shot!” - -But Chap paid no attention to this warning. His only idea was to rush -upon the two marauders and whang them over the head with his club. - -It was now almost dark in the woods, but on the water and the -river-beach objects could be easily seen. - -The Talker thrust his gun into the hands of the unarmed Indian, and -making a dash at Chap, he seized him around the waist just as he was -about to rush out into the open. - -“That no way to fight,” he cried. “You be shot.” - -Encircling the boy with his strong arms, he held him back. Then, -speaking to one of the other Indians, he told him to peep out and see -how matters stood. - -The Indian quickly reported that the men were in the boat, and had -their guns levelled at the shore. - -“Bad rascals,” said The Talker. “Goin’ to try kill somebody and keep -boat. You hold him,” continued The Talker, giving Chap into the custody -of one of the other Indians, “and we go fix ’em.” - -Taking his gun again, The Talker and two of his companions stepped to -the edge of the woods, where each immediately slipped behind a tree. - -“Let me go!” cried Chap, while struggling with the Indian who was -holding him. “I’m captain of this party, and you’ve no right to keep me -back.” - -To this appeal the Indian made no answer, but Held on vigorously to the -wrathful boy. - -“There went three of ’em behind them trees,” said Adam. “I know they’re -Indians by the way they move, and they’ve got guns. The white fellers -are keepin’ back.” - -“That’s because we’ve got their guns,” cried Phil, from the cabin. - -“They’d do it anyhow,” said Adam,--“the cowards! These Indians’ll be -bad customers and hard to hit. Don’t fire if they don’t come out, and -keep yourselves as well covered as you kin.” - -The Talker now shouted from behind his tree,-- - -“Come ashore! Give up boat! We let you off!” - -The impudence of this demand exasperated the boys, and Phil, now -strengthened by excitement and his meal of cold meat and crackers, sent -back a shout of defiance. But Adam exclaimed,-- - -“Keep quiet! ’Tain’t no use to waste breath on ’em. Let’s see what -they’ll do next.” - -Again The Talker shouted that if they didn’t get out of that boat, and -give it up, he and his men would come down and take it. - -“All right!” said Adam to the boys. “As long as they stick behind them -trees, we couldn’t hit ’em, even if ’twas daylight, but if they rush -down on us we can fire at ’em as quick as we please, and the law’ll -stand by us, for we’ve got a right to fight for our property when -there’s nobody to do it for us. So let ’em come, if they want to.” - -But the Indians behind the trees did not seem inclined to do anything -in a hurry. - -They might have fired at the people on the boat, and, perhaps, have -hit them, for they were not perfectly protected, nor were their -defences bullet-proof; but although these Indians, in this wild -country, were, in a measure, outside the pale of the law, they knew -that to deliberately shoot human beings, who had so far offered them no -violence, would be very much like a murder. - -They had not expected to meet a party so well armed, and ready to -protect themselves, for they had expected to rush in between the -marauders and their stolen boat, and, by their superiority and numbers, -to effect a speedy victory. - -They spoke to each other from tree to tree, and it is possible that -they contemplated waiting until night had really set in, when, under -cover of the darkness, they could slip down and capture the boat -without so much danger of being shot. - -But Chap was out of all patience with this ridiculous delay. - -“What’s the good of standing there and hollerin’,” he said, “instead of -going down and doing something? The first thing you know those fellows -will push the boat off, and get away with her.” - -“Don’t be ’fraid,” said the Indian who still held him. “We keep eye on -’em. No get ’way.” - -But Chap’s active mind and body could not be content with talk like -this. With a sudden and powerful wrench he broke away from the Indian -who was holding him, and, brandishing his club, he rushed out upon the -beach. - -He would show them what to do. If he dashed down upon the boat, the -Indians were bound to follow, and the rascals would be overpowered in a -second. - -The moment he appeared upon the beach, three guns were levelled at him, -and three nervous fingers trembled upon the triggers. - -Suddenly Phil, who happened to have the rifle, dropped the muzzle -of his piece, and, raising his head, looked boldly out of the cabin -window. At the same instant Phœnix’s head popped up from behind the -cabin, and Adam sprang to his feet. - -Then from all three came the single word,-- - -“Chap!” - -On hearing his name pronounced by these familiar voices, Chap stopped -suddenly and lowered his club. Then, without reflecting that they were -exposing themselves to the aim of the ruthless red men, Phil, Adam, and -Phœnix sprang from the boat, the two boys in their excitement leaving -their guns on board, and rushing toward their stupefied companion. - -The Indians, seeing their ally thus set upon, were inclined to fire, -but, apart from the probability of their hitting Chap, there was -something so peculiar in his attitude, and in the actions of those who -had rushed upon him, that they forbore. - -Running down to the group on the beach, they reached it in time to see -Chap dancing about, and apparently shaking hands with all three of his -friends at once, while myriads of questions, without any answers to -balance them, flew wildly about in every direction. - -The Indians, amazed at this strange scene, stood silently looking on, -while Mary Brown, who had been hidden somewhere in the woods, came down -and listened with open mouth and eyes. - -It was at least five minutes before Chap or his friends could get -fairly started in an explanation of what had happened. At last, through -the rattling noise of question, answer, and exclamation, the stories -were straightened out, and everybody, even the Indians, began to -understand what had really happened, and how it had come to pass. - -“Well,” cried Phil, “you ought to be thankful, Chap, for your legs.” - -“Legs?” said Chap. - -“Yes,” answered Phil, laughing. “The moment I got a good sight of them, -I remembered that besides Chap Webster, there wasn’t another fellow of -fifteen with a thirty-year old pair of legs.” - -“I saw ’twas a boy, too,” said Adam, “and he skipped down in a way that -seemed to me mighty nat’ral to somebody.” - -“They are a good pair of legs,” said Chap, looking down at his long -extremities, “and they often come in handy.” - -“Now then,” cried Adam, “we’ll build a fire and have our supper as soon -as we can, and we’ll do the rest of our talkin’ while we are eatin’.” - -It was almost too dark now to find firewood, but everybody helped to -look for it. - -One of the Indians went to a spring near by for water. Very soon a -bright fire was blazing upon the beach, a potful of coffee was bubbling -on the coals, while a pan of bacon sizzled near by. - -There was enough for all, and everybody was invited to the repast, the -cups, saucers, and plates from The Rolling Stone being made to do as -much duty as possible. - -Mary Brown declined to stay to supper. - -“Mother’ll be a-wonderin’ what’s become of me,” she said, “and she -can’t send old Job down to see, cos she don’t want to be left by -herself. I’m mighty glad you didn’t have a fight, but I was so afeard -you was goin’ to be shot,” she said, addressing Chap, “that I jist -clapped my sun-bonnet down over my eyes, and I didn’t know nothin’ what -happened till I looked up and see you all dancin’ round and shakin’ -hands. If any of you want anything to help camp, you can come up to the -house and see if you can git it.” - -And then with a nod which seemed to be made to the party in general, -the girl ran home. - -After half an hour of talk, our friends stowed themselves away in -the cabin of The Rolling Stone, and the Indians made themselves as -comfortable as possible on the sand at the edge of the woods. - -The sand was dry, the air was mild, and these hardy red men were very -glad to have a bed so smooth and soft. - -“It is awful funny,” said Chap, before he went to sleep, “to think that -I was leading a band of Indians through the woods to pounce down on you -fellows. And yet, when I come to think of it, I wasn’t leading them so -very much, either. Seems to me the people down this way don’t have the -right idea of what a captain ought to be.” - -“Do you mean us?” said Phil, who shared the narrow bed. - -“Well, I don’t know,” answered Chap. “Your notions do seem to be a -little loose; but I guess I’ll get you better disciplined after a -while.” - -“All right,” said Phil. - -And he went to sleep. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -MARY BROWN SENDS A MESSAGE. - - -The next morning every one was up and stirring long before sunrise. The -Indians were well satisfied with a dollar apiece for their services, -which had been truly valuable, for they had conducted Chap right into -the arms of his friends, although the undertaking had been accompanied -by great danger to all concerned, and they took a hasty breakfast and -started off to continue their hunting expedition. - -While the boys and Adam were still eating their morning meal, Mary -Brown came down to the river. She had a clean sun-bonnet and wore shoes -and stockings. These seemed to interfere a good deal with her comfort -in walking; but it was quite evident that she had dressed herself in -her best for this visit, and most people are willing to sacrifice some -comfort when they wish to look very well, indeed. - -“Mother says she would have come down to see you,” said Mary Brown; -“but she’s got the rheumatism in her knee-bones, and can’t walk much. -She wanted to see you all, for there ain’t many people who come here, -and when they do come, they’re pretty rough.” - -“I think we look pretty rough,” said Phil, smiling, as he glanced -around at the blue shirts and travel-stained garments of his companions. - -“Clothes ain’t everything,” said Mary; “but if thar was a church here, -you’d do to go.” - -“Where _do_ you go to church?” asked Chap, as he rose from his -breakfast. - -“Me?” said Mary Brown, with a smile. “Why, I was never at church in my -life.” - -Chap looked surprised, and although the others were gathering up the -breakfast things and preparing to depart, he continued to talk to Mary -Brown. - -The girl had been very kind to him. Besides this, she interested him. -He had never before met with a young person of that kind. - -“Have you never been anywhere but just here?” he asked. - -“Oh, yes,” said she. “I’ve been up Indian River two or three times to -Cooper’s store with father, and once I went up to Titusville, but that -was a long time ago. I only remember that it was a great big place, -with lots of houses and ever so many people. There may have been girls -there, but I don’t remember seein’ any of ’em.” - -“It must be dreadful to live in these woods always,” said Chap. - -“There’s nothin’ dreadful about it,” replied Mary Brown. “The b’ars and -wild-cats and painters won’t trouble you if you don’t trouble ’em, and -the Indians that come along sometimes is just the same as tame white -men. But I would kind o’ like to see other places. Father’s travelled -about a good deal, and he’s telled me a lot of what he seed. He once -went up to Jacksonville, and he’s been to Tallahassee, and in some of -the places he says there are so many houses that they touch each other. -But I always thought he was makin’ fun when he told me this. Why, when -you had muddy feet, you’d either have to walk right through your house, -or else go round the whole town to get to your back door. I can’t -believe town-people is such fools as that.” - -Chap laughed. - -“I wish you could see a good big city for yourself,” said he. - -“I’d like to,” replied the girl; and then changing the conversation, -she asked, “Have you got a sister?” - -“Yes,” said Chap,--“one.” - -“What is her name?” - -“Helen,” answered Chap. - -“Can she read?” asked the girl. - -“Oh, yes,” said Chap. - -“And write, too, I s’pose?” - -“Yes,” was the reply, “she can do all that.” - -“I’d like something awfully much,” said Mary Brown, “and I don’t reckon -it ’ud be real bothersome to anybody who knows how to write already. -I wish, after you git home, you’d ask your sister to write me a small -letter. I never got a letter in all my life. I can’t read, but father’d -read it to me.” - -“She’ll do it,” said Chap, warmly. “I know she will. But where shall -she direct it? She can’t send a letter here.” - -“Oh, there’s a post-office at Cooper’s store,” said the girl, “and when -father goes thar, they tells him if there’s a letter thar for him.” - -Phœnix now called to Chap that they were nearly ready to start. - -“Good-by!” said Chap, holding out his hand. “You’ve been a real trump, -and I’ll make Helen write you a letter. She’ll tell you just how we got -home.” - -Adam and the other boys now came up, and shook hands with Mary Brown. -There had been some talk at breakfast of offering to pay her for the -provisions she had furnished the night before, but now it had been -determined not to do so for fear of offending her. She had evidently -offered what she had out of pure good will. - -As The Rolling Stone was pushed off, Mary Brown stood upon the beach -and watched the departing boat. - -“Don’t you forget the letter,” she called after Chap. - -“No, indeed!” shouted Chap, heartily. “You needn’t be afraid of that.” - -“Goin’ to write to her?” asked Adam, with a grin. - -“No, I’m not,” said Chap, his face flushing a little, “but my sister -Helen is. It’ll be a piece of out-and-out charity. That poor girl never -got a letter in her life.” - -“How are you going to send it?” asked Phœnix. “Per alligator?” - -“No,” said Chap; “per land-shark; the man who keeps the store up the -river.” - -The girl stood on the beach until the boat was nearly out of sight. She -then took off her shoes and stockings, and walked slowly homeward. - -“I wish he’d brought his sister with him,” she said to herself, as she -plodded along toward the lonely house. “If I could ’a’ had jist one -look at another girl ’twould ’a’ been something.” - -“I hope we’ll get to that store of Cooper’s early in the afternoon,” -said Adam, “for if we don’t my little bears’ll be out of milk ag’in.” - -“That will be too bad,” said Phil, “for they’ve got on splendidly so -far. No matter what happened to the boat, they’ve always had their -regular meals.” - -“Yes,” said Adam, “them rascals ’spected to make money out of these -bears, and they fed ’em up first-rate, but that’s the only good thing -they did do. They’ve made us lose pretty nigh two whole days, besides -comin’ within an inch of havin’ a reg’lar battle among ourselves. That -was about the last thing I thought could happen.” - -“I suppose that part of it was my fault,” said Chap. “I oughtn’t to -have tried to get back the boat without letting you know about it.” - -“It was just as much my fault,” said Phil. “If I hadn’t gone off, and -taken Phœnix, those fellows wouldn’t have tried to run off with the -boat.” - -“If it comes to that,” remarked Adam, “you might as well say it was my -fault; for if I hadn’t them little bears, and gone to get milk for ’em, -nothin’ would ’a’ happened. But I say it’s nobody’s fault. We all did -the best we could, and there’s the end of it.” - -When our party reached the main stream, they found a fair wind blowing -from the east. This was very favorable for them, and they reached -Cooper’s store about the middle of the afternoon. - -“By the way,” said Phil, “it’s rather curious that we didn’t overtake -that dirty little Maggie, with the two boat-thieves aboard.” - -“I reckon,” said Phœnix, “that as soon as she got out of that small -river she went down-stream, instead of going up, as we did; but she -must have made pretty good time to get out into Indian River before us; -for, of course, she couldn’t sail at night.” - -“No,” said Adam, “but they started a good deal earlier than we did. -They didn’t stop to cook breakfast and bid good-by to girls.” - -“Neither did we,” cried Chap, promptly,--“that is, we only waited for -breakfast. I didn’t keep you waiting a minute.” - -“That’s so,” said Adam; “and as to that Maggie, I am pretty sure I saw -her when we got out into this river. She was about two miles down the -stream on the other side, with her sail down, and most likely anchored.” - -“What was she doing there?” asked Phœnix. - -“My ’pinion is,” said Adam, “that she was lyin’ there waitin’ for us to -come out. I think them fellers intend to follow us up to Titusville, -keepin’ out of our way as much as they kin. You see we’ve got their -guns, and they can’t do much till they get ’em.” - -“I wish they had their old guns,” said Phil, “and were sailing down the -Indian River. I don’t think it’s very pleasant to have such fellows -sneaking after us.” - -“I wish they had their guns, too,” said Adam, “and if I was only sure -they’d sail straight down the river, I’d go in for givin’ ’em back to -’em. But I don’t trust ’em. They’re mean, cowardly scoundrels, and if -they could take a crack at us with that rifle afore they went down the -river, they’d be quick enough to do it.” - -“They haven’t anything to complain of,” said Phil, “for I’m sure we -treated them a great deal better than they deserved, or had any right -to expect.” - -“I should say so,” cried Chap, vehemently. “If I’d been along, they -wouldn’t have got off so easily. Just imagine their pushing me -slam-bang into the water right off our own boat. It makes me boil over -to think of it. If ever I get a chance, I’ll pay them up for that.” - -“I don’t suppose you ever will get a chance,” said Phœnix; “but if you -do, you’d better let them alone. You are rid of them now, and you ought -to be glad of it.” - -“It seems to me, Phœnix,” said Chap, “that you are always telling -fellows to keep peaceable, and yet, whenever there’s a chance to fight, -you are the very first one to pitch in.” - -Phœnix hesitated for a moment, and then he said,-- - -“Sometimes things are different from what they are at other times.” - -“All right,” said Chap. “Those rascals are out of sight and reach now, -and I’ll be as peaceable as anybody; but if ever I get within three -feet of them, things will be different.” - -And here the conversation on the subject closed. - -“I think you are right, Adam,” said Phil. “It wouldn’t be safe to let -those fellows have their guns till we are off this river. They were -very angry when we made them go away without them.” - -After some further conversation, it was agreed that, although it was -very desirable to rid themselves of the companionship of the Maggie -and her occupants, it would be wise to keep the guns taken from the -boat-thieves until they reached Titusville. - -They had, perhaps, no legal right to do this; but they felt that, on -general principles of justice, they had a right to protect their lives, -and that this was the way to do it. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE CHANNEL-BASS. - - -The stop at Cooper’s store was not a long one. After buying some -articles of food that they needed, not forgetting a good supply of -condensed milk for the little bears, they set sail again. - -As this was a post-office, the boys had inquired for letters. They had -no reason to expect any, and they got none; but each of them bought a -postal-card and mailed a brief message to his family. - -There was a good camping-ground, with spring water, six or seven miles -above, and this they reached about nightfall. - -The next day they started off early, and as they sailed along with -a good wind, they passed a large and comfortable-looking house on -the west bank, and saw, now and then, dwellings and clearings, which -proved that they would find the country better settled as they sailed -northward. - -They also met a very neatly-appointed yacht, with a good-sized cabin, -and among the persons on board were some ladies and children. - -“I didn’t suppose we’d meet any ladies down in this part of the world,” -said Phil. - -“Oh, yes,” said Adam. “When I was in these parts before, ladies who -were travelling in the State, and had pluck enough to get to this -river, used to come down this fur, but they never went much further -South. From here up to Titusville you can gin’rally find houses, -about a day’s sail apart, where people can stay all night. But some -of the boats you can hire up to Titusville are good big ones, with -comfortable cabins, and little stoves to cook meals on board, and -everything convenient. But I wouldn’t want to navigate one of ’em heavy -boats,’cept where the river was deep and wide; and ladies and children -haven’t no call, anyway, to go much below this. The country’s too wild -for ’em.” - -About noon, Adam said,-- - -“If we had time to fish, we might have good sport just now. This part -of the river is a first-rate place to catch channel-bass.” - -“Let’s stop, anyway,” cried Chap. “We might fish an hour without -hurting anybody. What difference will it make if we get to Boontown -an hour earlier or later? And it may be that we’ll never get another -chance to fish for channel-bass; that is, if this river is the only -place where they can be caught.” - -Phil was entirely of Chap’s opinion, and Adam had no objections to -fish for a time, if the boys cared for the sport. But Phœnix was not -altogether satisfied with the proposed stoppage. - -“If we’re trying to get home as fast as we can,” he said, “I think we -oughtn’t to stop if we can help it, especially as we’ve lost so much -time anyway.” - -“But this won’t be much time lost,” said Phil, “and as I am -quartermaster of this party, I think it is my duty to provide you with -some fresh food, and we’ve nothing on hand but salt ham and some of -those potted things we got at Cooper’s store.” - -“That sounds as if you intended to catch all the fish,” said Chap. - -“Of course, if you all want to stop,” said Phœnix, “I’ve nothing more -to say.” - -“Now,” said Chap, standing up and raising his right arm as he spoke, -“I want to make a remark. It seems to be forgotten that I’m captain of -this expedition. But I have not forgotten it, and I order a halt for an -hour’s fishing.” - -“After we’ve all agreed to it,” said Phil. - -“And as to you, Mr. Treasurer,” continued Chap, addressing Phœnix, and -paying no attention to Phil’s remark, “I wish to say that if you don’t -stop criticising and opposing your noble commander, I shall depose you -from your position.” - -“All right,” said Phœnix, with a grin. “If any other fellow has got -capital enough to run the office, I’m willing.” - -“On second thought,” said Chap, “I think we won’t request you to -resign. As the treasurer of this expedition has to furnish the money, -you are the most worthy person for the post. Consider your place secure -as long as your cash holds out. Now, Mr. Steersman, shall we anchor?” - -“Just jump forward there, cap’n,” said Adam, “and when I give the word, -let down the main-sail.” - -It took somewhat longer to make the preparations for fishing than the -boys had supposed it would, for Adam had to run the boat ashore on a -little island, and wade into the shallow water with a hand-net to catch -some small fish for bait. - -But at last the boat was put out into deep water, the sails were -lowered, and the anchor down, while the three boys, posting themselves -in convenient places in the after-part of the boat, threw out their -lines as far as they could. - -There was quite a strong current at this point, and this helped to -carry the lines out to their full length. - -Adam did not fish. In the first place he was willing to hold himself -ready to direct and assist the boys, and in the second place he had no -fishing lines. - -“What is a channel-bass?” asked Phil. “I don’t think I ever heard of -them.” - -“Well,” said Adam, “it’s a kind of bass that swims in the channel of -this river, and that’s pretty much all there is about it.” - -“Is it a large fish, or a small one?” asked Chap. - -Adam was not inclined to give the boys any information on the subject. -He wanted them to find out for themselves what a channel-bass was. - -“Whatever they are,” said Phœnix, after a time, “they seem to be pretty -scarce; I haven’t had a bite yet.” - -“Nor I either,” said both Chap and Phil. - -“They ain’t packed in the river like sardines in a box,” said Adam, -“but I reckon one of ’em will come along after a while.” - -“I thought I had a bite,” said Phœnix, after suddenly giving his line -a little jerk, “but I believe my hook has fouled on something at the -bottom.” Then, after another pull, he exclaimed, “It’s loose now, but -there’s nothing on it. Hook, sinker, and all must have gone!” - -And he began disconsolately pulling in his slackened line. - -Suddenly the cord, which seemed to be merely floating in the water, -straightened out with a jerk, and a yard or two of it ran through -Phœnix’s fingers, burning like a hot iron. - -Then, as the boy nervously grasped the cord with a tighter hold, he was -pulled forward with such force that he fell plump upon his knees. - -Adam sprang to help Phœnix, but as he did so, the boy rose to his feet. - -“Whatever it was,” said Phœnix, “it’s off again. The line is perfectly -slack.” - -“Haul in! haul in!” cried Adam; “you’ve got one. Don’t let your line be -slack, or he’ll get off.” - -Phœnix, now quite excited, rapidly pulled in his line. - -When it had become taut again, Adam said,-- - -“Pull in, but not too hard, or you’ll break your line. If he tries to -rush off, give him a little line, but if he comes this way, haul in -your slack as fast as you can, or he’ll get off the hook.” - -Phœnix worked away bravely, the other boys looking on with excited -interest. - -He pulled his line in steadily and slowly for a time; then, when the -fish seemed determined to run away from him, he let out a few yards; -and when it turned and swam toward the boat, he hauled in the slackened -line with great rapidity. - -In this way he gradually drew his fish nearer and nearer to the boat, -and at last it became tired, and he was able, with occasional stops -when the fish gave a short struggle, to pull it slowly in. - -Everybody gazed earnestly at the line, and directly they saw, rising -from the water, close to the boat, a head as big as a dinner-plate. -There was a jerk, as if the fish decidedly objected to poking its nose -into the open air, but Adam, who was leaning over the side of the boat, -ready for the work of the moment, quickly stretched out his arm and -slipped his hand under the fish’s gill. Then, with a powerful effort, -he rose to his feet, and drew out of the water a channel-bass, over -four feet long, and weighing probably forty pounds. - -The boys could not find words to express their astonishment and delight -when they viewed this prize. - -“That’s what a channel-bass is!” cried Phil. “If I’d known what -whoppers they were, I wouldn’t have supposed we could catch one with -our lines.” - -“Your lines are strong,” said Adam, “and your hooks pretty good-sized, -but if we were comin’ out o’ purpose for channel-bass, we’d have -heavier tackle. But it would be hard work to haul in a feller like this -with any line, if you didn’t play him right.” - -After being pulled into the boat, the great bass did not struggle as -long as some of the smaller fish they had caught, and he soon lay quiet -and dead. - -The boys rolled up their lines, for there were no more bites, and it -was agreed that, having found out what a channel-bass was, they ought -to be satisfied. - -“Is the fish good to eat?” said Phil. - -“Tip-top,” answered Adam. “We’ll cover him up and take him along, -and we can have steaks enough for supper to-night and to-morrow’s -breakfast, and plenty left for the birds besides.” - -“Well,” cried Chap, who had been standing in a reflective mood, “this -is the way things always happen. Here is Phœnix, who didn’t want to -stop and fish, and who grumbled and croaked, and didn’t believe there -were any fish in the river, even after he got to work; and _he_ must -catch the channel-bass, while Phil and I, who were in for the thing -from the beginning, and full of honest ardor, didn’t get a bite. Haul -up the sails and pull in the anchor, and let us away! It’s no use -struggling against blind luck. Virtue and enthusiasm don’t count.” - -This speech was received with a wild laugh, and with four merry hearts -and a big fish on board, The Rolling Stone set out again upon her -northward course. - -Adam knew exactly where he intended to camp that night, and before -dark he reached the beach of a little bay upon the eastern shore of the -river. - -After a hearty supper, of which channel-bass was the principal dish, -and a talk by the camp-fire while Adam smoked his evening pipe, our -party made everything secure for the night, and were soon asleep in -their little cabin. - -Chap, as we have said before, was a very early riser, and the next -morning he awoke and slipped quietly out of his narrow quarters without -awakening any of his companions. - -As he gazed around with great delight upon the beautiful morning scene, -he saw, scarcely a hundred feet from the spot where they were moored, a -dirty little boat anchored near the shore. - -“Upon--my--word,” said Chap to himself, “if that Maggie hasn’t put in -here in the night!” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -CHAP BOARDS THE MAGGIE. - - -When Chap Webster stood alone on the deck of The Rolling Stone in the -bright, cool air of the early morning and gazed at the dirty little -sail-boat, which lay near the shore a short distance above, his -feelings were of a very confused nature. - -At first he was simply astonished to see the Maggie lying so near them. -He had supposed that the fellows who had stolen the boat would be -afraid to come near the people they had injured. But, after all, it was -no use to be surprised at the impudence of such men. For some reason -or other they had stolen in here, either at night or very early in the -morning. - -The bow of the Maggie was toward Chap, and the little cabin prevented -him from seeing anybody who might be in the stern; but very soon it -was evident that there were persons on board of her, and that they were -awake. - -There was a slight noise of people moving about, and directly the heads -of the two men were seen above the cabin. Chap instinctively dodged -behind the cabin of his own boat, but he kept his eyes fixed on the two -fellows, one of whom presently put a water-keg upon his shoulders, and -then, with rolled-up trousers and bare feet, both of them waded ashore. - -They had anchored their boat in about a foot of water, thinking that if -they ran her on the sand, they might not be able to get off in a hurry -if occasion required them to do so. - -It was now plain enough why they had come in here. They were out of -fresh water, and this was the only place for miles where any could be -obtained. - -As he looked upon the two men who had treated him so badly and who -had been the cause of so much trouble and imminent danger to the -whole party, Chap began to feel angry. He had believed and steadily -asserted that the rascals had been let off entirely too easily, and now -his whole soul became filled with a desire to punish them for their -misdeeds. If he could meet them, one at a time, he would undertake -to give them in turn a good thrashing; but the cowards always kept -together, and he did not care to wake up his companions to assist in -the desired acts of retributive justice. - -For some reason or other Adam and the boys never seemed to enter into -his plans in that whole-souled way which he would have liked. They -dampened his enthusiasm, and, as he frequently thought, he never felt -so much like a captain as when he was captain of himself. - -When the two young men with the keg disappeared among the bushes in -the path which led to the spring--for this was one of the regular -camping-places on the river--one of those bright ideas to which Chap -was subject popped into his mind. - -Gently taking down a double-barrelled gun, loaded with buckshot, from -the hooks in the cabin on which it hung, and moving very cautiously so -as not to awaken his companions, he stepped out on the sand. - -He wore nothing but shirt and trousers, and, rolling up the latter, he -ran along the beach to the Maggie, waded out to her, and got on board. -Then, with his gun still in his hand, he slipped into the little cabin, -where he crouched on his hands and knees. - -There was a curtain at the open end of the cabin, and Chap drew this in -front of him, so as to better conceal himself, leaving open a little -crack through which he might peep. - -He had conceived the plan of remaining here until the two young men -had reappeared, and were about to come on board. Then he would suddenly -bounce out, and with loaded and cocked gun in hand, he would stop them -just where they stood, and then he would give them a piece of his mind, -and they should not move backward nor forward until he had said all he -had to say. - -They had taken possession of his boat, and he would take possession of -theirs, and they should not have it again until he chose to give it to -them. - -Not another step should they take in their sneaking and nefarious -career while it was his pleasure that they should stand and listen to -him. This would be some satisfaction for the wrong he had sustained at -their hands. - -It seemed to the waiting Chap that the young men stayed away a very -long time, but at last they reappeared, bearing the keg between them. -But they did not act exactly as Chap desired. - -One of them took the keg on his shoulder, while the other walked toward -the bow of the boat. They thus became separated, and Chap could not yet -carry out his plans. He must have them together so that he could cover -them both with his gun. He could not deliver a lecture to one while the -other was creeping up behind him. So he did not immediately rush out. - -In the mean time, the man with the keg put his burden on board, and -stepped in himself. The other one got on the bow, and pulled the boat -out toward the anchor, which was in deeper water. In doing this he -turned the Maggie around, so that the stern was toward The Rolling -Stone, the occupants of which were still sound asleep. - -The man at the bow having pulled the anchor on board, stepped aft, and -the two stood together for a moment on the stern, looking at the other -boat. As they did so, Chap heard them make some derogatory remarks -about the fellows who had taken their guns, and then one of them, with -a low, disagreeable laugh, said he wondered what had become of the -long-legged fellow they had chucked overboard. - -This remark made Chap grind his teeth with anger. He would show them -what had become of the long-legged fellow! - -A desire for immediate vengeance possessed his whole being, and a -plan of action flashed into his mind. Laying down his gun, and softly -pushing aside the curtain, he made one wild bound directly at the -two men, striking each of them in the middle of the back with his -outstretched hands. - -So sudden and tremendous was the unexpected push, that each of the -fellows bent forward, tripped over the gunwale, and went head-foremost -into the river, the boat being now in about four feet of water. - -[Illustration: “Crouch down there, you varlets!”] - -Chap sprang instantly for his gun, and by the time the two dripping and -astounded faces arose from the water, he was standing on the stern with -his double-barrelled weapon cocked and pointed at them. - -“Aha!” he cried; “now you know where that long-legged fellow is! And -now perhaps you know how it feels to be chucked into the water. Crouch -down there, you varlets!” he shouted, as one of them began to move -toward the shore. “If you stir from where you are, or lift your chins -out of water, I’ll fire into you.” - -The two fellows, pale, frightened, and trembling, crouched down, with -their mouths just above the surface of the water, while the fiery Chap -told them what he thought of them. - -“You’re a pretty couple of sneaks to come along, two to one, and pitch -into a fellow who treated you as if you were decent human beings, and -then steal everything he has, and leave him alone to starve or,”--he -was going to add, “or freeze to death,” but remembering that this would -not be possible in that climate, he said,--“or perish in any way he -thought best. You didn’t care what became of him. I’m not going to tell -you the trouble you caused the rest of the party, but if ever two wild -beasts deserve to be shot, you do.” - -Chap’s face now glowed with such righteous indignation that one of the -young men piteously begged him not to point that cocked gun at them, -for it might go off. - -“Go off!” cried Chap, without moving the weapon. “It would serve you -right if it did go off, and put an end to your lives of crime. Such -creatures as you are not needed in this world any more than snakes or -alligators.” - -This last word seemed to instinctively affect one of the men, who, -turning his eyes riverward, saw, or thought he saw, something dark -moving along in the deep water beyond. Seized by a new fear, he raised -himself and made a step toward shore. - -Without a second’s hesitation Chap pointed his gun a few feet above the -fellow’s head and fired; and at the instant of the report both heads -disappeared beneath the surface of the water. - -The sound of Chap’s voice, when he was haranguing the two men in the -water, aroused the occupants of the other boat, and Phil, Phœnix, and -Adam were soon popping up their heads to see what Chap was about. - -“Hello!” cried Phœnix, “he is on a boat over there talking like -wildfire.” - -“I believe he is preaching to a pair of turtles!” cried Phil. - -“Look here,” said Adam, with alarm in his countenance, “there’s -something up. Slip on some clothes, and let’s get over there. That’s -the Maggie, and he’s got them two fellers in the water.” - -“What on earth does it mean?” asked Phil. - -“Haven’t the least idea,” said Adam, “but we must----” - -At this moment the report of Chap’s gun rung through the air, and Adam -and the two boys, barefooted and partially dressed, did not wait for -another instant, but sprang from the boat and ran for the scene of -commotion. - -The wind had gradually blown the Maggie landward, and she was now -grounded in very shallow water. - -Chap still stood upon the stern, with his gun pointed to the two men, -who, having held their heads under water until their faces were nearly -black with suffocation, had now raised themselves, and were begging -piteously that Chap would put down that gun and let them out. But the -relentless Chap was just beginning a fresh series of denunciations, -when Adam sprang on board of the Maggie, and, seizing his arm, threw up -the muzzle of the gun. - -“What on earth are you about?” cried the astonished sailor. “Are you -goin’ to kill ’em?” - -“No,” said Chap, coolly; “I haven’t any idea of killing them. I only -wanted to soak some of the wickedness out of them.” - -“Well, I reckon they’re soaked about enough,” said Adam. - -“All right!” said Chap, with a grand air. “You have my permission -to come out now, and I have nothing more to say to you. I think you -understand by this time what sort of an opinion I have of you.” - -And, so saying, he shouldered his gun, and went ashore, where, joining -the two boys, he gave them an account of the adventure, which they -received with shouts of laughter. - -“Now, then,” said Adam to the two dripping men, who had climbed on the -deck of the Maggie, “you had better put on some dry clothes, and get -out of this as quick as you can. I don’t want to see you shot; but -you’ve done enough to that young man to warrant him in gettin’ any kind -o’ satisfaction out o’ you, short o’ killin’, and I don’t know what -he may take it into his head to do next. I s’pose you put in here for -water.” - -The young men were dragging some old trousers and shirts from under -their bunks, and while one of them surlily remarked that they had got -their water, and did not want to stay there any longer, the other made -an earnest appeal to have their guns restored to them. - -“Not much!” said Adam. “I wouldn’t trust you with ’em afore, and I -guess you’re in a worse temper now than you were when I took ’em. -We’ll leave the guns at the hotel in Titusville, and you can go there -and git ’em; and that’s all I have to say about it.” - -And, with this remark, Adam left the Maggie, which in ten minutes more -had pushed off and was sailing away. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -WAITING FOR A VISITOR. - - -During the rest of that day The Rolling Stone had a fair wind, and made -a good trip. An hour after starting she passed the Maggie, which kept -well away on the other side of the river. Evening was coming on, when -Adam ran his boat in at a point he had been very anxious to make. This -was at a solitary little house, at the edge of the woods, inhabited by -a man whom he knew. During his former life on the Indian River, Adam -had made the acquaintance of nearly all the settlers along the shores, -and he was delighted to find that his old friend, Tom Pitman, still -lived at this place. - -Pitman was a tall, wiry man, full of action, and very talkative. He had -a small house near the shore, where he lived, with his wife and two -half-grown daughters, and, back in the woods, he had cleared a field, -which he had planted with pine-apples. - -Everything about the place seemed neat and in good order. The field -and a small yard in front of the house were well fenced, and there was -a little pier running out into the water, near which a small boat was -moored, while a sail-boat was in course of repair on the beach near by. - -Pitman came out of his house as The Rolling Stone sailed up, and gave -Adam and his companions a hearty welcome; but, in spite of his cheerful -manner, Adam noticed that there seemed to be something on his mind. He -was continually looking about him, and seemed to be in a great hurry to -get the party disposed of for the night. - -“I suppose we can tie up to your pier, Tom?” said Adam. - -“I don’t know about that,” replied Pitman; “not if any of you is goin’ -to sleep on board. I’d have you all come up and sleep in the house, but -I haven’t got room enough for four of you. I’ve got a bed, though, that -two of you can have. But them that sleeps on the boat had better anchor -out a good ways from the shore, after we’ve all had our supper, and -it’s dark. You needn’t do no cookin’ for yourselves. You’ve all got to -come in-doors, and eat with us.” - -“I suppose we can tie up here till supper is over, can’t we?” asked -Adam. - -“Well, no,” said Pitman, a little nervously. “You’d better run her up -on the beach there by my boat, and bring your anchor ashore. It may be -dark afore we’ve done supper.” - -“What’s up?” asked Adam. “Anything partic’lar?” - -“Well, yes,” said Pitman, lowering his voice. “Is these young friends -o’ yourn scary?” - -“Can’t say that they are,” said Adam. “You can tell ’em anything you -can tell me.” - -“Well, then,” said Pitman, “I’ll tell just how ’tis. I didn’t want to -frighten these young men, for I s’posed, from their looks, that they’d -come down from the North, and weren’t used to the kind o’ things that -turn up in these wild parts. But if you say go ahead, all right. Last -night a big painter came out o’ the woods, and went out on that pier. -My dog seed him out there, and made for him. I didn’t know anything -about it till I heard the noise o’ the fight, and then I came out with -my gun; but afore I could git here the painter had killed the dog, and -had dragged him a good way up the shore. I got sight o’ him, and blazed -away. I reckon I didn’t hit him, but he just left the dog, and put into -the woods. Painters is cowards when there’s a man about, but they ain’t -afeard o’ no dog. Now, it’s my ’pinion that that beast’ll be back on -that pier to-night, hopin’ he’ll git hold of another dog, and I’m goin’ -to watch for him. Now, you can see for yourselves that it wouldn’t be -exactly pleasant to be sleepin’ in a boat at the foot of that pier with -a big painter standin’ and lookin’ down at you, and makin’ up his mind -whether he should go aboard or not.” - -“No, indeed!” said Adam; “not even if you were waitin’ with your rifle -ready, Tom.” - -“I reckon he’d be worse company,” said Pitman, “after I’d hit him than -before, if I didn’t kill him out and out.” - -“If you are going to watch for a panther,” cried Chap, “I’m sure none -of us will want to go to bed, either in the boat or the house. We’ve -got guns along, and why can’t we all have the fun of hunting the beast?” - -“It don’t do to have too many for that sort of thing,” said Pitman; -“but if any o’ you want to jine in the sport, I’m willin’. It’ll make -us more certain of gittin’ him. And now let’s go in and have supper -as quick as we can. Then we’ll come out and make things ready for the -varmint.” - -It was all very well for Mr. Pitman to talk about having supper soon, -but his wife and two daughters, who had to prepare the meal for four -additional persons, and all of them very hungry, found it no easy -matter to get through with their cooking as rapidly as the head of the -family desired. - -It was no use for Mr. Pitman to say that if they didn’t hurry the -painter would come for his supper before they were through with their -own. His wife only answered that she reckoned the painter could wait, -and went on with her frying and stewing. - -At last they all sat down to the usual corn-bread, coffee, and fried -ham, with the addition of a great dish of stewed oysters. - -The boys had eaten some of the oysters, which are found in vast beds in -parts of the Indian River, but had not found them much to their liking. -They seemed fresher and more insipid than those to which they had been -accustomed. But these were cooked so nicely that they ate them with -great delight, and, altogether, they made the best meal they had had -since leaving home. - -Mr. Pitman was very nervous during the meal, and thought his guests -would never be done eating. He did not begrudge them their food, but he -was full of anxiety lest the panther should come and go before they had -made themselves ready to receive his visit. - -When Phœnix and Chap had eaten their last mouthful, and Adam had -drained the third cup of coffee, Mr. Pitman put back his chair, and the -party arose. Adam greatly desired to smoke his evening pipe, but to -this his host decidedly objected. - -“There won’t be time,” he said, “and besides, the critter might smell -the smoke. Better wait till we’re through with this business, and then -you can smoke all you like.” - -Adam good-naturedly assented to this arrangement, and the male members -of the party went outside, while Mrs. Pitman and daughters were -cautioned to keep in the house, and shut the doors and lower windows, -for if the panther should be brought to bay, he might think the house a -good place of refuge. - -Mr. Pitman took upon himself the whole plan of arrangement. He first -examined the arms of the party. He himself had a rifle. - -One of the guns taken from the Maggie was a breech-loading rifle, and -it was loaded, but there were no extra cartridges to fit it, and only -one shot could be fired from it. This was given to Adam. - -The other gun, belonging to the two young men, was a small shot-gun, -one barrel of which had been discharged that morning by Chap. Both -barrels were now loaded with number two shot, but Mr. Pitman declared -the weapon altogether unserviceable for work of the kind expected. - -“It won’t carry far enough,” he said, “and the shot will scatter. A -painter wouldn’t take into no account--a gun like that.” - -The double-barrelled gun, which had been hired from Mr. Brewer, was -loaded with buckshot, and this, Pitman considered, might be of some -service, and it was given to Phil, as he was the best shot among the -boys. - -“As for you two other young men,” said Mr. Pitman, “the best thing you -can do is to get into your boat and anchor her a little way out in the -river. You can see the sport from there as well as anywhere, if you can -see it at all; and if there’s too many folks ashore, I’m afraid the -painter will smell us out, or see somebody; and besides, I wouldn’t -want to have him ranging ’round here, and two young fellows in the -bushes with no way to take care of themselves.” - -Chap and Phœnix did not like this plan very much, but they preferred -being in the boat to going into the house and peeping through a crack. - -It was lighter on the water than on the land, and Mr. Pitman assured -them that if they kept themselves pretty much out of sight, and quiet, -they could look all they liked, for the panther wouldn’t mind a boat, -for there had been boats around when he came the night before. - -So Chap and Phœnix went on board The Rolling Stone, taking the smaller -shot-gun with them, and, pushing out a couple of hundred feet from -shore, anchored and lay down to await events. - -Adam and Phil were then placed behind some low-growing bushes a little -distance up the beach; while Mr. Pitman took his position behind the -roots of a fallen palmetto, not far away. - -The panther was expected to come from the woods below the house, and -from their places of concealment each of the party could get a good -view of the little pier where the dog had been killed, and which was -still stained with his blood. - -The wind was blowing gently from the south, so that if the panther -carried out the plan as Mr. Pitman had arranged it, there would be no -danger of his catching the scent of his concealed enemies. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE VISITOR ARRIVES. - - -For a long, long time our friends behind the bushes and the uprooted -tree, as well as those in the boat, waited and waited for the -appearance of the panther. - -It was now as dark as it would be, but the stars were out, and, with -eyes accustomed to the gloom, objects could be easily seen upon the -beach or on the water. - -But, so far, nothing moved from the woods toward the little pier. - -“I might just as well have had another cup of coffee,” whispered Adam, -“for there was plenty in the pot, and have smoked my pipe. I knowed -he’d be a long time comin’.” - -“You mustn’t talk so much,” said Mr. Pitman, from his post near by, -“for painters have mighty sharp ears. And mind, I don’t want any of -you to fire till he’s out on the pier, for if you crack at him while -he’s on the beach, you might send a ball into the house. That ’ud make -it lively for mother and the girls. I put us all here close together, -so that we shouldn’t fire into one another.” - -“Who’s talking now?” thought Phil, but he said nothing. - -“Phœnix,” said Chap, after the two had watched and watched and watched, -“I don’t believe much in this panther business, after all. I move that -you and I take regular watches like the sailors on a ship. First, one -of us can take a nap for half an hour, and then he can wake up and let -the other one have a snooze for the same time. In this way each of us -can get half a night’s sleep in broken dozes. As for that panther, he’s -badly behind time; most likely switched off on a siding to let a down -train, such as a couple of bears, pass him.” - -Phœnix agreed to this proposal, and kindly allowed Chap to take the -first nap. - -At the end of what he supposed was a good half-hour, but which was, in -reality, only twenty minutes, Phœnix tried to wake up his companion; -but it was of no use. Chap slept as sound as a log, and he could not be -aroused, unless more noise and confusion were made than would be proper -on such an occasion. So Phœnix determined to watch a little longer, and -if nothing turned up, to go to sleep himself. - -Just about the time this resolution was made, Mr. Pitman remarked, in a -very audible whisper, that if he had had a puppy dog, that he did not -care much about, he would have tied it to the end of the pier, and then -its yelping would have attracted the panther’s attention, and he would -have been certain to go out there to get it. - -Phil whispered that he thought that would have been a cruel thing to do. - -“Oh, no,” replied Mr. Pitman. “There wouldn’t ’a’ been no danger to the -dog. I’d ’a’ put a ball through the painter afore he’d got to him. Stop -talking! Look thar!” - -There was no occasion to tell anybody to look, for along the beach, -not very far from the edge of the woods, a dark form, like that of an -immense cat, was moving, stealthily, but with moderate speed, toward -the house and the pier. - -Phil trembled in every fibre when he saw this creature, not with fear, -but with excitement. - -“Is that a panther?” he thought. “So near a house, and right on the -very beach where we are ourselves?” - -He raised his gun a little in imitation of Adam, who was kneeling -silently behind his bush; but his arms trembled so much that he thought -he would never be able to hit anything, no matter how near it might be. - -Phœnix also saw the approaching panther, and all idea of sleep -immediately forsook him. He endeavored to gently arouse Chap, but this -was useless, and with strained eyes he watched the scene on shore. - -The panther, as it came up the beach, passed so near to the house that -even Mr. Pitman was amazed, and thought that he would not have slept -so soundly during the many nights he had spent in that house, if he -had known that a panther would dare to prowl so near its windows. But -this beast was unusually rash or courageous, and it is seldom indeed -that a panther will venture so near a human habitation; but among wild -animals, as well as men, there are individuals who are more daring and -reckless of consequences than their fellows; and in the wilder parts of -Florida, panthers of an investigating or enterprising turn of mind have -been known to totally disregard the proximity of man. - -When nearly opposite the little gate of the house-yard, the panther -stopped, and raised its head as if listening, and then, with a -noiseless trot, it went directly toward the place where it had killed -the dog. It walked more slowly along the pier, putting down its head -occasionally to sniff, and then stopped upon the extreme end of the -little platform, its small head and long, lithe body standing out -clearly against the sky. - -At this moment the reports of two rifles, sounding almost like one, -rang out upon the night, while immediately after them the two barrels -of a heavily-loaded shot-gun were discharged with a heavier and more -resounding detonation. - -Almost at the instant of the rifle-shots, and an instant perhaps before -Phil fired, the panther sprang into the air, and came down, not upon -the pier, but into the water beyond. There was a great splash, and then -he could be plainly seen swimming away from shore. - -Phil, Adam, and Pitman sprang out of their concealment, and the latter -hastily reloaded his rifle. - -It was probable that the panther had been struck, for it was scarcely -to be supposed that the mere noise of the reports would have frightened -him so much that he would have taken to the water, but he could not -have been badly hurt, for he was swimming vigorously. - -At first it seemed as if the panther was making for the other side -of the river, but he had not swum out very far before he changed his -course, and made directly for The Polling Stone. - -At the moment he turned, Pitman’s rifle again rang out, and the ball -was seen to send up a quick jet of water a yard or two beyond the -swimming animal. - -The situation was now an alarming one. Phil was reloading, and Pitman -already had another charge in his rifle; but it was impossible now to -fire at the panther without aiming directly at the boat. Adam dropped -his rifle, and ran toward the small boat by the beach. He would have -rowed out to do what he could to help the boys, despite the danger to -himself, but there was no oars in the boat. - -“Push off! push off!” shouted Pitman to the boys in the boat. “Pull up -your anchor! Haul up your sail!” - -He evidently thought that the only means of safety was to sail away -from the panther as soon as possible. - -But there was no time for all this to be done, even if Phœnix and Chap -had been expert in the management of anchors and sails, which they were -not. The panther was evidently making for The Rolling Stone as a place -of refuge, and from the way he was swimming he would quickly reach it. -He seemed to totally disregard the presence of two boys on board, or -the fact had escaped his attention. - -The sound of the firing had, of course, awakened Chap, and he and -Phœnix were hastily discussing what they should do. Phœnix seized a -hatchet, and posted himself by the side of the boat. - -“If he comes near, I’ll brain him,” said he. - -Chap snatched up the shot-gun. It had been pronounced harmless to -panthers, but it might frighten the brute. - -The panther was now within four or five feet of the boat, and Phœnix -stood ready, with his hatchet raised. Chap kneeled down, and leaned -over the boatside, and as he did so, he involuntarily reached out his -gun toward the panther. This action seemed to irritate the beast, and -he was so near that he actually opened his mouth, and took hold of -the muzzle of the gun. At this instant Chap pulled both triggers, and -two loads of number two shot, in almost compact masses, entered the -panther’s brain. When the boys looked at the water, there was nothing -but a swirl of ripples where the angry head had just been seen. - -“You’ve settled him!” cried Phœnix; but still he stood ready with his -uplifted hatchet. - -In a moment the body of the panther reappeared, now nearer the boat, -one side uppermost, limp and motionless. - -“He’s dead!” cried Chap. “Grab him! Don’t let him sink again!” - -And, throwing down the gun, he leaned over the side of the boat. - -“Look out!” cried Phœnix. “If he isn’t dead, it won’t be much fun to -grab him.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -THE METROPOLIS OF THE INDIAN RIVER. - - -Phil, Adam, and Mr. Pitman had been standing on the shore, watching -with breathless anxiety the rapid course of the events recorded in the -previous chapter. As the panther neared the boat, they were almost wild -with terror, but they could offer no help, and the two boys seemed to -be doing all that could be done. - -Their eyes were now so accustomed to the obscurity of the night, and -there was so much reflected starlight from the water, that they could -plainly see the panther’s head as it swam, and Phœnix’s form was very -distinct as he stood with uplifted hatchet. - -They saw that Chap had the gun, and each in his heart hoped that he -might fire it and frighten away the beast. - -When the gun was fired, and the triumphant cries of the boys were -heard, Adam shouted across the water,-- - -“Look out! he’ll be at you again!” - -The good sailor had no idea anything had happened, but that the -panther had been frightened away by the discharge of the gun. The dark -reflection of the boat made it impossible for him to see what was going -on in the water close to its side. - -Chap, however, was not to be discouraged by Adam’s shout or Phœnix’s -warning. - -“The thing is dead!” he cried, “and I’m not going to lose it. It’ll -sink again before you know it. There’s its tail close to you. Can’t you -take hold of it?” - -Phœnix hesitated. To take hold of the tail of a wild beast which a -minute before had been full of angry life, seemed to him a risky piece -of business. The animal might be merely stunned, and, reviving, might -object to have its tail pulled. Still, Phœnix was as loath as Chap to -lose the panther, and as the body seemed about to sink again he reached -out and seized the floating tail. - -Chap was so excited that he would have gladly clutched the panther by -the back of the neck, but it was just a little out of his reach. - -Phœnix pulled the tail toward him, and Chap sprang to assist. - -“It’s dead! it’s dead!” yelled Chap, as the two boys pulled steadily -at the tail, and the motionless body of the panther was drawn close to -the boat. - -When Phil and the two men heard Chap cry that the panther was dead, -they were as much amazed as relieved. They had not supposed the shot -they had heard could have killed the beast. They were now anxious -to get to the spot as quickly as possible, and see what had really -happened. - -Pitman ran into the house, and came back with the oars, and followed by -his wife and daughters, who, now that they heard the panther was dead, -were perfectly willing to come out of doors, and stood on the beach -while Mr. Pitman, Adam, and Phil jumped into the boat, and rapidly -rowed to The Rolling Stone. - -When they reached her side, they found Phœnix and Chap each having hold -of one of the hind legs of the panther, and pulling it into the boat. - -A lantern was lighted, and the beast carefully examined. It was a -handsome, full-grown panther, as big a one, Mr. Pitman said, as he had -ever seen. - -When the manner of the killing had been fully explained, and it had -been found that the panther had been struck in the leg by one rifle -ball, although of course, it could not be determined from whose rifle -it came. Chap stood up and leaned against the cabin, the light of the -lantern shining full upon his manly form. - -“Gentlemen,” said he, affecting a portly grandeur, while his eyes -twinkled good-humoredly, “if you want to know how to kill a panther, -or any other beast, come to me, and I’ll tell you how to do it. It’s -all nonsense to double yourself up for hours behind a prickly palmetto -bush, and sit there till your back aches, and wishing you had never -heard of the thing, and were comfortable in bed. You might just as well -lie down and take a comfortable sleep, and then when the wild beast -comes up to you, just wake up and poke your gun into his mouth, and -blow his brains out. That is the easy and sensible way of doing the -thing with all the modern improvements.” - -“All very fine,” laughed Phil, “if you have somebody to wake you up at -the proper moment, and drive the panther to the place where you are -snoozing.” - -“Of course, of course!” said Chap, with a grand wave of his hand. “The -captain must have his retainers; that is understood.” - -The panther was put into the small boat, and Adam and Pitman rowed -ashore. - -There the dead beast, after having been viewed with much delight by the -female Pitmans, was hung up to the limb of a tree and carefully skinned -by the two men. - -When this job was finished Adam was glad to accept his friend’s offer -of a bed, the three boys being, by this time, fast asleep on their boat. - -After breakfast, the next morning, Mr. Pitman asked Chap for his -address, and informed him that after he had properly prepared the skin -of the panther, he intended to send it to him. - -To this Chap demurred, saying that Mr. Pitman ought to keep the skin -himself, and if he gave it to anybody, he ought to give it to some one -of the party who had had so long and weary a watch for it, and not to -the fellow who had gone to sleep and let the rest look out for the -approach of the beast. - -But Mr. Pitman would listen to nothing of the kind, insisting that the -one who shot the panther should have the skin, and Phil, Phœnix, and -Adam agreeing that this was right, the matter was so settled. - -As soon as possible our party set sail, with hearty expressions of good -will toward the Pitman family. The wind was fair, and, after a stop -that night at a place where nothing memorable occurred, they came early -the next afternoon in sight of Titusville. - -On the way much attention had been paid to the health and comfort of -the little bears, and now that they were nearing the town, Adam gave -the tiller to Phil, and began to comb the soft hair and to generally -tidy up the little cubs. One of these animals had such a wise air that -Phil named him Solomon, whereupon Chap declared that his little sister -should be called the Queen of Sheba, giving a very broad sound to the -final “a,” in imitation of the backwoods accent. - -“If there’s anybody in the town,” said Adam, “that wants ’em bad enough -to pay well for ’em, I’ll let ’em have ’em; but if no such person turns -up, I’ll lug the little creturs North as long as I’ve money enough to -buy milk.” - -“Is this what that girl in the woods considered a big place?” exclaimed -Chap, as they sailed up to the town. “What would she say if she saw -the mighty metropolis of Boontown, not to mention New York, London, or -Pekin?” - -Titusville was a settlement of about thirty or forty low wooden houses, -none of them far from the river-front, and all seeming to cluster -around and to depend upon an extensive one-story building, forming -three sides of a square, and fronted by large and well-kept grounds, -which stretched for two or three hundred feet to the river, where there -was a pretty little wharf. This house was the hotel, and the only -building of any size or pretension in the place. - -As they came up to the wharf, they saw sitting on the extreme end -of the platform a small man, with sandy hair, short trousers, no -stockings, and cowhide shoes. - -“I’ll bet the left ear of little Solomon,” said Adam, “that that’s the -brother of John Brewer. There’s a kind o’ family likeness about him.” - -The little man helped them to make the boat fast, and as he did so a -smile of recognition seemed to flicker over his face. - -“Are you John Brewer’s brother?” said Adam, when he landed. - -“Yes,” said the other. “And that’s his boat, ain’t it?” - -Adam replied that it was, and explained the arrangement that had been -made. - -“I’ve been a-waitin’ here for the mail-boat,” said the other, bringing -out his words very slowly, “but now that this one’s here, I reckon I -may as well take her.” - -“Don’t you think you’d a great sight better take her?” said Adam. “I -consider this a tip-top chance for you to get back comfortable and save -money.” - -“I reckon that’s so,” said the other. “Goin’ up to the hotel?” - -“Yes,” said Adam, “and if you’ll come along, we’ll give you the money -that we owe your brother,--that is, if the treasurer says so.” - -“All right,” said Phœnix. - -And after making the boat secure, the valises and other traps were -taken out, and the whole party walked up the broad, gravel path which -led to the hotel. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -THE COLONEL. - - -As the party approached the hotel, they saw on the wide porch which ran -along the front of the main building a man in a wheeled chair. - -“That’s the colonel,” said Adam. “He owns the hotel and pretty much the -whole town besides.” - -“He’s in an invalid’s chair,” remarked Phil; “but he don’t look very -sick.” - -“Sick!” laughed Adam. “Not much! But he’s been in that chair a long -time.” - -They now reached the porch and ascended the steps. - -The colonel, who had been steadfastly watching them as they came up the -path, was a heavy, vigorous-looking man, broad-chested, and sun-burned, -with a clear, piercing eye and a powerful voice. One of his feet was -affected by chronic rheumatism, and thus being unable to walk, he -spent all his waking time in his wheeled chair, in which he moved about -the premises, sometimes turning the wheels himself, and sometimes being -pushed by a servant. - -At meal times he was wheeled to the head of the table; when business -was to be attended to, he was rolled to the clerk’s desk, and wherever -he was needed, there he and his chair were sure to be found. - -He had been a pioneer and a soldier in his time, and had been noted for -his great energy and high spirit. - -These qualities, which had once made him conspicuous in border warfare, -and had carried him through many dangers, both by land and sea, had -now made him the master spirit of this little settlement on the Indian -River. He had projected the settlement; owned the greater part of -it; held its principal offices, and exercised a general power, which -resembled that of an ancient baron over his feudal subjects. - -“Well, Adam Guy,” said the colonel, extending his hand to the sailor, -“where did you come from? and who have you brought with you? I don’t -mean Sam Brewer. I know all I want to know about him.” - -Adam then introduced the three boys, and proposed that Phil, whom he -seemed to consider the best talker of the party, should tell how it -happened that they were there. - -Wooden chairs, which were abundant on the porch, were now drawn up, and -Phil told the story of the adventures of himself and his companions -from the time of the wreck of the tug-boat up to the present moment, -leaving out, of course, many incidents, which, although interesting, -were not necessary to be told. - -The colonel listened, fixing his keen eyes on Phil all the time that he -was telling his story. - -“Well,” said he, “you’ve had a pretty rough time of it, but you’ve got -to a safe port at last. I suppose you want to go on North as soon as -you can, hey?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Phil; “our friends must be very anxious about us, and -we want to get to them as soon as possible.” - -“No doubt of it,” said the colonel. “I’ve heard about you, and I’ve -been looking out for you for three or four days. You’ve been a precious -long time getting up the river. Doctor Walker told me about you--saw -you down at Brewer’s--and he had a message for your folks which he was -going to telegraph when he got to Sanford.” - -“I suppose he has sent the telegram by this time,” said Phil. - -“Oh, yes,” replied the colonel. “He got here the middle of the week, -caught the boat, and went right on. But you fellows will have to stay -here till Wednesday. There won’t be no boat till then.” - -The boys looked at each other in consternation. This was Saturday, and -a delay of three days in this place seemed a grievous thing to them. - -“You needn’t look so long-faced about it!” exclaimed the colonel. “You -can’t go on, and you might as well be satisfied. Here’s a good hotel, -where you can be comfortable and live well at a reasonable price. You -got safe to my place, and you’re all right. When the time comes I’ll -start you off and fix everything straight for you. You needn’t give -yourselves any more trouble about anything. You couldn’t be in a better -place than this. Here’s the finest air, the best accommodations, and -the prettiest stretch of water in all Florida. All you’ve got to do -is to enjoy yourselves. If you want to know anything, just come to -me.--Bob!” - -At this last word, which was shouted in a stentorian voice, a -well-dressed negro boy came running to the colonel. - -“Bob,” said he, “take this party to Number six and Number seven,--two -in one room and two in the other.--Now, you’d better go and fix -yourselves up. Supper will be ready in half an hour.” - -When the boys had washed and dressed themselves and put on the -white shirts they had brought in their valises, they looked quite -neat and presentable, while Adam, who shared Phœnix’s room,--for -this establishment was conducted on democratic principles,--came in -afterward, and put himself into the best order possible, combing and -curling his hair as carefully as if he had been an old-time dandy. - -When the boys went into the large central room of the hotel, they found -the colonel at his desk, for he was his own clerk, and they entered -their names on the register. - -“What are your charges, colonel?” asked Phœnix, who was the last one at -the desk. - -“Our regular charge is two dollars and a half a day,” said the colonel, -“but I’ll take you four for nine dollars a day.” - -Phœnix made no answer, but for a moment his face seemed almost as long -as Chap’s legs. Supper was now ready, and during the first part of the -meal Phœnix said but little, and seemed to have no appetite; but the -example of his companions soon had an effect upon him, and he began to -eat as heartily as anybody. - -“This is a tip-top place,” said Chap, as the three boys walked down -the gravelled path after supper. “I don’t know when I’ve eaten such a -gorgeous meal.” - -“The meal is gorgeous enough,” said Phœnix, in a doleful tone, “but -that isn’t all of it. The price is a great sight more gorgeous. What do -you say to nine dollars a day for the four of us?” - -“Nine dollars!” exclaimed Chap. “We can’t do anything like that. We -haven’t got money enough, have we? After we’ve paid for the boat, we -won’t begin to have enough.” - -“We must go to some cheaper place,” said Phil. “Of course we can’t pay -such rates as that.” - -Adam and Brewer now joined the party, and as the identity of the latter -had been established, he was paid the eight dollars that was due for -the hire of the boat and the gun. He said he did not intend to start -down the river that night, but further than this he seemed to have no -plans, and strolled down toward the river. - -“Adam,” said Phil, “we must get out of this place. It is too -expensive for us. Where shall we find the cheapest kind of a hotel or -boarding-house?” - -Adam laughed. - -“You can’t find it in this town,” he said. “If you want to stop in -Titusville, you’ve got to stop in this house. There isn’t any other -place to go to. Catch any of the people of this town takin’ boarders -away from the colonel! They know better what’s good for ’em.” - -“But what are we to do?” asked Phœnix. “We haven’t got the money to -stay here.” - -“Well,” said Adam, “I’ve very little money with me, but if I had it I’d -lend it to you. But you needn’t bother yourselves about me. I can work -my way North somehow.” - -“No, that won’t do,” said Phil. “You know we told you that if you’d -sail our boat, and show us the way, and do all those things that we -don’t know anything about, we’d pay your way North, and we’ll do it, -too, as soon as we get money from our friends. But the thing is, what -are we to do now? We’ve used more than we expected to, and we didn’t -suppose there would be hotel bills here. We thought we’d go right on.” - -“Well, now I’ll tell you,” said Adam, “what you’d better do. Just go, -all three of you, to the colonel, and tell him the fix you’re in. It’s -his business to set things right in this town, and he’ll let you know -what you have to do. If anything is to be set up or knocked down, he -wants to do it himself.” - -“I’m not particularly anxious to have him knock me down,” said Chap. - -“It’ll go easier to be knocked down now” said Adam, “than after you’ve -run up a great big bill, and I recommend you to go straight to him, and -let him know how things stand.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -A NEW EXPEDITION PLANNED. - - -The boys went up to the hotel, where they found the colonel sitting -behind his desk. - -Phil was generally expected to do the talking for the party whenever -anything important was to be said, and he, therefore, with very little -preface or hesitation, informed the big man in the chair of the -condition in which he and his friends now found themselves in regard to -finances. - -The colonel listened to what Phil told him, and then, after looking at -them all with a steady glance, he said: - -“Got no money, hey?” - -The boys wished he would not speak so loud and clear, for there were -several persons in the room, and Phœnix answered,-- - -“We’ve got some, but not enough.” - -“How much have you got?” asked the colonel. - -The treasurer then explained that, owing to their having been very long -on the way, and also having to pay more for boat-hire, food, etc., than -they had expected, and to hire Indians, they had only about seventeen -dollars left. They had hoped to have enough to take them to Enterprise -or Sanford, where Adam thought that some of the steamboat captains -would take them on board, and let them pay for their passage when they -got to Jacksonville. - -“I don’t believe they’d do it,” said the colonel. “They’re too sharp -for that sort of thing. You haven’t enough to pay your way from here -anywhere, or to stay here. Are you sure of money when you get to -Jacksonville?” - -“Oh, yes,” said Phil, promptly. “If that telegram was sent on I expect -there are funds waiting there for us now, and if there isn’t, or if -there shouldn’t be enough, we’ll telegraph, and they’ll send us all we -need.” - -The colonel rubbed his head. - -“Well,” said he, “you can stay here till Wednesday, all four of you, -for I suppose you still count Adam Guy in your party, and I’ll make out -your bill at my regular rates, and I’ll make it out to you,” pointing -to Phil; “and when you get home--you needn’t do it before--you can send -me the amount.” - -The boys all looked relieved, and each one thanked the colonel -heartily. - -“That’s all right,” said he. “You’re not the handsomest fellows I ever -see, but you look honest.” - -A slight shade of anxiety now returned to Phœnix’s face. - -“How much will it cost, sir,” he said, “to go from here to Enterprise?” - -“I charge you a dollar apiece,” said the colonel, “to carry you -over to Salt Lake. That’s seven miles away, and it’s where you take -the steamboat. Then the fare is six dollars apiece to Enterprise or -Sanford.” - -“Squelched again!” said Chap. - -The colonel looked at him with a half smile. - -“A fellow with legs like yours,” he said, “ought to be able to walk it. -The soft spots you’d have to pass over ain’t more’n a yard deep.” - -“Oh, _I_ could walk it easy enough,” said Chap; “but I couldn’t carry -three short-legged fellows. That’s where the trouble comes in.” - -“Well, then, I guess I won’t make you do it,” said the colonel. “Let -me see,” taking a pencil and a piece of paper; “four ones is four, and -four sixes is twenty-four, and then four more sixes, from Sanford to -Jacksonville, is twenty-four more, and then a couple of dollars for -extras--none of you fellows drink, do you?” - -“Not one of us,” promptly replied Chap. - -“I thought as much,” said the colonel, “and that comes to fifty-four -dollars. Take seventeen from that, and it leaves thirty-seven. That’s -the amount you are short, and, to make it even, we’ll call it forty. -Now, if one of you fellows will make out a note to me for forty -dollars, payable in thirty days, and the other two will indorse it, -I’ll let you have the money.” - -This unexpected offer almost stupefied the boys, and they could -scarcely find words with which to express their gratitude. - -“Oh, it’ll be all right enough,” said the colonel. “I know that all of -you or one of you will pay me the money, or I’ll make it hot for you, -no matter what part of the country you’re in. When a man owes me money, -he pays it.” - -“But none of us are of age,” suggested Phil. “Perhaps our -signatures----” - -“Don’t talk to me of age,” roared the colonel. “If I lend you the -money, you’ll pay it back to me. There’ll be no getting out of that. -I won’t charge you any interest. It’ll be cheaper for me to let that -money go for awhile without bringing in anything than to keep you -fellows here eating at the rate of four dollars a day a head.” - -When Adam was told of the arrangement which had been made between the -colonel and the boys, he smiled. - -“You might travel a long ways,” he said, “before you’d come across -such another man as the colonel. If you treat him square and he likes -you, he’s ready at any time to give you a friendly h’ist; but if you -get him down on you, you’ll wish you’d never been born. Nobody need -think that because the colonel is sittin’ in that chair all day and -can’t never walk a step out of it that he needn’t be afraid of him. -When I was down here afore, he used to have something to do with the -revenue service, and if he’d hear of any smugglers tryin’ to get into -the country across this river with cigars or anything else, he’d have -his chair rolled in no time aboard the boat he used to sail in, and -he put after them fellers, and I can tell you what it is, there’s no -man that ever put in along this coast with smuggled goods would want -to see the colonel comin’ after him, with his rifle in his hands, and -that black eye of his a-flashin’ out about a mile ahead. He always was -an ugly customer to run afoul of, and he’s jist as bad now as ever, -if things go crooked. I ain’t surprised a bit at what he did for you -fellers. It’s jist like him.” - -The next day was Sunday, and the boys looked so bright and fresh, with -their well-blackened boots and their clean white shirts and collars, -that they felt quite fit to mingle in general society. - -They would have gone to church, but were prevented from so doing by the -fact that the town did not yet contain a church. - -On Monday morning, after breakfast, the three boys were sitting in a -small summer-house, which was built at the end of the pier belonging to -the hotel. - -A little way out in the river, The Rolling Stone was moored, and there -were other boats anchored here and there in the river. - -A party of sportsmen who had been at the hotel had already started on a -trip down the river, and the white sails of their little yacht could be -seen several miles away over the blue and sparkling water. - -The river here was very broad, it being six miles across to the wide, -low island which separated it from the sea, but for a long way out -from the shore it was very shallow, and a party of boys with rolled-up -trousers, waded out with their cast-nets to a distance which very much -astonished our friends upon the pier. - -“Well, I tell you what it is!” cried Chap; “we’ve got to do something, -or go somewhere. We won’t leave this town till Wednesday, and that -gives us two clear days, and we don’t want to waste them. Now, the -point is, what is there to do that we can get the most fun out of?” - -“I suppose Adam might put us up to something,” said Phœnix, “but he’s -gone to work to help a man down there who is building a boat. He said -he might as well make some money while he is here as not.” - -“Well, then we’ll go ask some one else,” said Chap. “We’re bound to do -something.” - -At this moment a slow step was heard on the pier, and Mr. Brewer’s -brother directly joined the group. - -“Hello!” cried Chap. “I thought you would have been off for home long -ago.” - -“No,” said the other, languidly, taking a seat; “I ain’t in no hurry. I -reckon I’ll start after awhile, some time. You fellers have got to wait -here for the Winkyminky.” - -“What’s that?” asked Phil. - -“That’s the boat you’re goin’ in on Wednesday,” said Brewer’s brother. -“She’s a good little boat--Cap’n Root’s boat.” - -“I suppose that’s the one,” said Chap; “and we were just talking about -what we should do while we were waiting for her. Can’t you give us an -idea? Would it pay to get a boat, and go out after ducks?” - -“No,” said the other; “that ain’t much fun, and they ain’t good eatin’. -If I was you fellers, I’d go up to Lowper’s Creek, and shoot ’gators.” - -“Shoot alligators!” cried Chap. “That’s splendid! Where is that creek?” - -“It’s about ten or twelve miles above here,” said Brewer’s brother, -“and it’s jist chock full o’ ’gators. You never see so many in all your -born days. You kin hire a rifle at the hotel, and you kin git all the -teeth and hides you want.” - -The boys considered this a glorious idea. - -“But how will we get there?” asked Phil. “We might hire a boat, but -Adam is busy, and couldn’t sail us.” - -“I’ll take you up in that boat,” said Brewer, “and I kin sail you -jist as well as Adam Guy. I won’t charge you nothin’, and I’ll borrow -a little dinky, and tow it behind. We have to go up the creek in a -row-boat when we begin to hunt ’em.” - -All this promised great sport for the boys, and no time was lost in -making the necessary arrangements. - -It was planned that they should start as soon as possible, take some -provisions along, stay up at the creek all night, and come back the -next day. - -When Adam heard of the scheme he at first looked a little doubtful, but -then he smiled and said he reckoned the thing might work. - -“But you’ll have a gay time,” he added, “goin’ after ’gators with Coot -Brewer.” - -“Coot?” asked Chap. - -“Yes,” said Adam; “that’s the name he goes by along this river. I -reckon he got it because he isn’t good for much. But he ought to know -how to sail a boat, and if you keep a sharp eye on him I guess he won’t -hender you much. I’d go along, but I can’t back out of this job now.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -COOT BREWER TAKES THE HELM. - - -The boys did not start for Lowper’s Creek and the alligators as soon -as they expected. They found that a good deal of talk, and a good many -preparations were necessary before they could get off. - -The colonel did not altogether approve of the plan, but when he was -assured that the boys could all swim, he said he reckoned no harm would -come to them, and that they might as well be off on a trip of this kind -as lounging around the hotel. - -He called Bob, and gave orders than an abundance of provisions, enough -to last the party till the following afternoon, should be immediately -got ready. He also furnished them with a little oil-stove, on which to -boil their coffee on board the boat. - -“You see I’m not going to lose anything by your going up the creek,” -he said. “I’ll keep your rooms for you, and furnish your meals. It’ll -cost you just as much, whether you sleep among the ’gators or among -Christians.” - -The boys assured him that they had not the slightest idea of his making -any reduction on account of the trip. - -“I expect you fellows laugh,” he said, “at my keeping you straight up -to terms when I’m going to let you go away without paying me a red, but -I do my business on a business basis. I don’t give you anything, and I -expect to get back all that’s owing to me. Do you understand that?” - -The boys understood it perfectly. - -In the matter of hiring rifles, there was some little trouble. The -colonel had but one, and there was no other rifle in the town at that -time to be had excepting the weapon which, with a small shot-gun, had -been captured from the men on board of the Maggie, and given to the -colonel. - -The latter had heard the story of the theft of The Rolling Stone, and -had made no remark whatever on the subject, except that he would take -charge of the guns, and keep them till they were called for. - -Chap proposed that they should take this rifle, and pay the young men -for the use of it, but this the colonel positively refused to allow. -The gun had been hired in the town, and he would keep it until the -persons who had taken it should appear. - -So they were obliged to be content with but one rifle, although Brewer -said that his brother’s shot-gun, loaded with buckshot, would do as -well for a ’gator as a bear, if they could only get near enough. - -“What are you going to do with the ’gators you kill?” asked the -colonel, when the boys were about to start. - -“Oh, Mr. Brewer is going to prepare the skins and teeth of some of -them, and send them on to us,” said Phil. - -“Do you hear that?” roared the colonel, to some men on the other side -of the room. “Coot Brewer is going to polish the teeth and tan the -hides of the ’gators these young men kill, and send them on to them at -the North.” - -At this announcement there was a general laugh, during which the boys -left. - -“He thinks we can’t kill alligators,” said Chap; “but, then, all these -people suppose we’re city boys, just because we come from the North. I -believe most folks down here have an idea that the whole North is built -up solid with houses, like one great town, and it’s no use telling them -we’ve been using guns ever since we were big enough to hold them.” - -The Rolling Stone was found at the end of the pier, with Coot Brewer -in it, and the row-boat which he had borrowed made fast to the stern. -Adam was also there, having left his work to see them off. - -“Be careful you don’t shoot each other,” was his parting injunction, -“and don’t haul in any ’gator till you’re sure he’s dead.” - -The boys agreed to remember these admonitions, and everything having -been put aboard, The Rolling Stone set sail up the river, with a good -wind almost directly from the south, which, as they were sailing -northward, ought to have carried them rapidly along; but for some -reason or other, the boat did not seem to behave as well as when Adam -was at the helm. - -Coot Brewer put her directly before the wind, and sometimes she would -sail on at a good rate, and then she would begin to rock, the end of -her boom almost dipping into the water as she went over on that side. - -Phœnix had just remarked that the boat had never been so much like a -rolling stone as now, when the motion became so violent that Brewer was -a little frightened, and put her about so suddenly that the boom came -round with tremendous force, just grazing the top of Chap’s head. - -“I should think that sort of thing would upset her,” said Phil, who did -not look upon Coot Brewer as much of a sailor. - -“But it didn’t, you see,” remarked the helmsman, complacently. “She’s a -pretty stiff little boat.” - -After this, they tacked across the river for a while. Then they went -before the wind again. Then they lay to while Mr. Brewer took in some -reefs of the main-sail, which he said he would have done before had he -thought about it. - -“It’ll make it easier for your heads,” he said, “if she jibes.” - -After a sail which lasted a great deal longer than Mr. Brewer said it -would, the boat arrived at the mouth of the creek. - -“You can’t sail up the creek, you know,” said Brewer. “We go up there -in the dinky. The way to hunt the ’gators here is to row up the creek -a good long way, and then haul in oars and float down. That don’t -frighten ’em, you see, and you kin easy git near enough to shoot ’em. -But it’s too late to go up this evenin’, and so we’d better anchor the -boat, git our supper, and go to bed, so’s to be up bright and airly -to-morrow mornin’. We kin kill all the ’gators we want before noon, and -then we’ll have plenty of time to git back to town before it’s dark.” - -This plan was agreed to, although the boys had hoped to begin their -sport that afternoon, and the night was spent on the boat at the mouth -of the creek. - -“Do you hear ’em roarin’ over there?” asked Mr. Brewer, after they had -gone to bed. “I tell you we’ll have splendid times to-morrow!” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -AMONG THE ALLIGATORS. - - -Early the next morning Chap awakened the party. The coffee was soon -boiled, and after a hasty breakfast the two guns were put into the -row-boat, together with some drinking water and a small luncheon, which -Chap thought they might need, and Coot having taken the oars, they -proceeded up the creek. - -They had not gone very far before it became very evident that all that -Coot Brewer had said about the alligators in that creek was entirely -correct. The ugly creatures were seen in great numbers, appearing, -as Chap said, to come from every direction except down from the sky. -They rose up from the bottom of the creek, their great heads and backs -appearing above the water. - -The boat, which Coot rowed in an extremely gentle manner, did not seem -to disturb them at all, and they came toward it, or swam away from it, -as if it was of no consequence, some of them approaching almost within -an oar’s length. On the bank, huge monsters, who had been lying in the -reeds and mud, raised themselves on their short legs, and looked around -at the intruders, while big ones and little ones slumped into the water -on each side, some of them swimming toward the boat, and some of them -away from it. - -“I’m going to take a crack at one of them,” said Phil, picking up the -rifle. - -“No, no!” said Coot. “Don’t do that. Wait till we float down.” - -“Why, we can’t get a better chance than we have now,” said Phil. “We -don’t frighten them a bit.” - -“But that ain’t the way,” said the other. “You’ve got to hunt ’em the -right way, or it’s no good.” - -So they rowed on still farther, and the creek became a little narrower, -while the number of alligators greatly increased. Several times Coot -touched one of them with the end of the oar, and a big fellow rose -right under the boat, giving it quite a jar. - -“Look here!” said Coot, with a troubled expression. “I never see ’em as -thick as this afore. This warm weather has brought ’em out.” - -“We might as well shoot some of them,” said Chap. “We can never have a -better chance.” - -“Don’t you do it,” cried Coot. “You’ll make ’em mad, and they’ll pitch -in and clean us up in less than no time.” - -“What’s the good of coming,” said Phil, “if we can’t shoot them when we -see them.” - -“Wait till we git where there ain’t so many,” said Coot. “I reckon -they’re scarcer higher up.” - -“Queer way of hunting,” remarked Phœnix, “when you look for a place -where the game is scarce.” - -At this moment an immense alligator, with a body apparently nearly as -big around as a barrel, who had been standing on the bank intently -watching the boat as it passed, waddled hastily into the water, and -swam directly after it. Coot saw the approaching creature, and, with a -sudden exclamation, he began to tug wildly at the oars. Phil seized the -rifle, and turned toward the alligator. - -“Don’t fire!” screamed Coot. “You’ll rile him awful! You’ll rile ’em -all! Put down the gun!” - -Unwillingly Phil laid down the rifle, and Brewer rowed as hard as he -could. The alligator did not pursue them long, but soon disappeared -beneath the surface of the water; but this did not allay the fears of -the oarsman. - -“He ain’t gin up yet,” he gasped. “He’ll come up in a minnit, right -under us, and then over we’ll go!” - -[Illustration: “Don’t fire!” screamed Coot.] - -This was not a cheerful prospect, and the boys would have assisted in -the rowing had there been any spare oars. - -But although Mr. Brewer was a small man, he was very vigorous, and he -pulled away bravely. At the end of about five minutes of this violent -exercise he stopped and rested. - -The big alligator had not reappeared, and at the point where they then -were there were no alligators to be seen either in the water or on the -shore. - -Coot looked around him. On the right hand of the stream the shore was -low and marshy, but on the side nearest the town, the bank was a little -higher than it had been, and between the creek and the forest, about a -quarter of a mile away, there was a level stretch of dry land, covered -with coarse grass. - -“I tell you what we kin do,” said Coot. “There’s a road over thar in -the woods that leads straight to town. ’Taint much of a road, but it’ll -do to walk in, and it won’t be long before we kin strike it. I say, -let’s land here, and walk to town. We kin git thar easy in three or -four hours.” - -“What do you mean?” cried Phil. “Leave this boat here, and the -sail-boat in the river?” - -“Yes, sir,” said Coot. “You don’t ketch me goin’ down among all them -’gators ag’in. I wouldn’t do it for all the money in the world! We -kin come after the sail-boat to-morrow, and as for this dinky, we’ll -have to leave her. It’s a pity for Bill Hawkins to lose his dinky, -but what’s a little boat like this to being scrunched up by a lot of -’gators!” - -“It will be a mighty mean thing to leave the man’s boat here!” -exclaimed Phil, “and I’m not going to do it!” - -“Nor I either!” cried Chap and Phœnix, in a breath. - -“All right!” said Coot, pulling toward the shore. “I’m goin’ to land -and walk to town, and if you choose to run back through all them -’gators you kin do it. I ain’t got no way to hender you.” - -“What did you come for, if you’re afraid?” asked Chap. - -“I didn’t think there was so many of ’em, or I wouldn’t ’a’ come,” was -the cool reply. - -When the boat touched the bank he put down the oars and jumped ashore. - -“I’ll take the shot-gun,” he said, “’cause I don’t want to lose any -of John’s things. And you might as well give me them victuals you’ve -wrapped up, for if the ’gators don’t eat you, you’ll git to the boat -before you’re hungry; and I’m likely to want something on the way.” - -The gun and the luncheon were handed to him without a word, and he -began to make his way over the level ground toward the woods. - -Chap and Phœnix now each took an oar, and pushed off, while Phil sat in -the stern. - -“Did you ever see such a good-for-nothing, contemptible coward as that, -in all your life?” said Chap, not waiting until Coot should be entirely -out of hearing. - -“I never did,” said Phil. - -“Nor I,” added Phœnix. “But for one, I’m glad we’re rid of him. He -wasn’t a bit of good to us. And now, what are we going to do?” - -“Go back to the boat as soon as we can, I should say,” said Phil. - -“Right through the alligators?” said Chap. - -“There isn’t any other way that I know of,” replied Phil; “and we might -as well do it first as last.” - -“All right,” said Chap and Phœnix; and turning the boat, they began to -row down-stream. - -“You’d better go slowly when you get among them,” said Phil; “and of -course we won’t fire at them. I guess that Coot was right when he -thought that it wouldn’t do to rouse their angry passions when we are -among them.” - -“It is a shame to leave all those splendid teeth and hides here, but I -suppose it can’t be helped,” said Chap. - -“I’d rather leave the teeth here than to have them in me,” said Phœnix; -“and I guess I wouldn’t want to wrestle with an alligator for his -hide, either.” - -They soon reached the part of the creek where the alligators began -to be numerous, and as they rowed on, they found that the sun had -got higher, and as the day had become warmer the number of the ugly -creatures who were basking in the sunshine was much greater than before. - -The boys rowed very gently, and the alligators paid but little heed to -the boat, except as they regarded it as an object of curiosity. - -Many of them seemed engaged in crossing the stream, and Phil frequently -called out to the boys to slacken up a little or they would run into -the lazy fellows. - -On the banks some of them were lying perfectly still, as if they were -asleep, while others moved sluggishly about, occasionally turning their -heads and yawning, opening their great mouths so wide that the boys -could see half-way down their throats. - -Sometimes the boys were quite frightened, especially when the swimming -beasts came near them; and once, when an enormous fellow rose close to -the boat, and suddenly turning gave it a tremendous stroke with his -tail, the boys thought, for an instant, that it was the creature’s -intention to upset them. But the blow was not repeated, and they -breathed easier. - -It was impossible, however, to look upon the horrid heads and writhing -bodies of these great, lizard-like creatures without disgust and fear, -especially when they were so numerous and so near. - -“Nobody can say we haven’t seen alligators,” said Chap, as the boat -slowly moved on. - -“No, indeed!” said Phœnix; “but as far as I am concerned, I never want -to lay eyes on one again.” - -“Look at that wretch!” exclaimed Phil. “I really believe he was going -to take hold of your oar.” - -“I hope none of them will do that,” said Chap, looking round -apprehensively, “for I want to get out of this, and I don’t want to -trust to floating down, either.” - -Fearful as the boys were that they might at any moment run afoul of -some bad-tempered creature, they kept steadily on, and at last, in -safety, reached the mouth of the creek. - -Even here an occasional alligator showed itself, but the boys took no -notice of these, and rowed swiftly toward The Rolling Stone. - -“Hurrah, boys!” cried Chap, when they had made the small boat fast to -the other. “Now, at last, we are masters of our own vessel! This is -splendid! Nobody on board to tell us what to do!” - -“It won’t be so splendid,” said Phœnix, “if we can’t get her up to -town.” - -“But we can,” cried Phil. “I can sail a boat better than that Coot -Brewer.” - -“You’ll have to do that,” said Chap, “or I won’t go along with you. I -don’t think Coot knew anything about sailing. How he is going to get -his boat down to his brother’s is more than I know. His business in -life is to hunt alligators.” - -“Yes,” said Phil, “and to do it the way he likes he’s got to go where -game is scarce.” - -“And that’s in the woods,” said Phœnix. - -Phil had had a good many lessons in sailing a boat from his uncle, Mr. -Godfrey Berkeley, and all the boys had profited greatly by observing -Adam’s method of managing the boat, consequently they felt quite -delighted to have the opportunity of doing some sailing for themselves. - -Phil went to the helm; Chap took charge of the main-sheet line, and -Phœnix made himself generally useful at the main-sail and the jib. - -The wind had got around to the east, and this was much in their favor. -They pulled up the anchor, hauled up the sails, and set off bravely. - -Phil was a careful fellow, and watched for every flaw of wind, and Chap -was very prompt to let out the sheet as soon as ordered. - -“I want you to understand, Phil,” said Chap, “that as I am captain, I -give you orders to let me know every time you want the main-sheet let -out.” - -“All right, captain,” said Phil. “Discipline must be maintained.” - -“Boys,” remarked Phœnix, “I wish we had shot some alligators. We might -have done it after we got to the mouth of the creek.” - -“Perhaps that’s so,” said Phil; “but I was too anxious to get out -from among them to think of anything else. I’d given up the shooting -business.” - -“I’m afraid we were a little scared,” said Chap, “and that we’ll be -laughed at when we get back without having fired a shot.” - -“Let them laugh,” said Phœnix. “It won’t hurt half as much as to have -an alligator chewing at your legs.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -THE MAGGIE COMES TO TOWN. - - -Had Adam Guy been at the helm of The Rolling Stone, it would probably -have reached the pier at Titusville a couple of hours sooner than it -did under the guidance of the three boys. But it reached there finally, -and our young friends were too glad to have made a safe passage to -grumble about the slowness of it. - -When the story about the alligators and the desertion of Coot was told -at the hotel, it created a good deal of merriment and also some hearty -condemnation of Brewer, who had not yet arrived in town. - -Adam came up to the hotel, having seen the boat come in, and when he -heard the story he was very indignant. - -“I never oughter let you go with such a miserable good-for-nothin’ -feller. He thought of nothin’ but savin’ his own wretched skin, and -I’ve a great mind to thrash it all off of him as soon as I ketch sight -of him.” - -“Don’t do that,” shouted the colonel, “for then he can’t get away, and -we don’t want him here. This is the last time Coot Brewer ever takes -anybody in a boat from this town.” - -Adam was just about to leave the house, being anxious to finish that -day the job of work he had undertaken, when he stopped on the piazza, -and called out,-- - -“Hello! Here comes the dirty Maggie.” - -At this everybody came out. The story of the boat-thieves had been -told, and had excited a good deal of interest. The young men had come -from parts unknown, and had been regarded with disfavor in the town -before they started on their river trip. They had hired a boat of a -negro, no one else being willing to trust them with one. - -“They’ve been a long time getting here,” said Phil. - -“I shouldn’t wonder,” said Adam, “if they’d been a-hangin’ back till we -got away.” - -“That’s so,” said the colonel. “And now you fellows make yourselves -scarce, and keep out of the way till they come up, and then we’ll hear -what they have to say for themselves. If they see you, I shouldn’t -wonder if they put off again.” - -Our friends then retired into the dining-room, where, with doors shut -and shutters partly closed, they watched the approach of the Maggie. - -The dirty little boat sailed slowly toward the town, and when it -reached The Rolling Stone, which was moored some little distance out -in the river, it stopped, and the two young men seemed to be carefully -examining her. Apparently satisfied that everything belonging to our -friends had been taken out, and that they had probably gone on their -way, they came up to the pier, and soon reached the hotel. The colonel -was sitting on the piazza, not far from the dining-room window. - -“Well,” said he, as the two fellows, now more untidy than ever, -ascended the steps, “you’ve got back, have you?” - -“Yes,” said one of them, “here we are.” - -“Did you shoot much?” asked the colonel, gazing at them steadfastly. - -“Shoot!” cried the one who did the talking. “We didn’t do none at all. -Our guns was stole. The fellers that took ’em said they’d leave ’em -with you, and I hope you’ve got ’em.” - -A number of persons had now collected on the piazza, and the three boys -and Adam were listening intently in the dining-room. - -“Your guns stolen!” shouted the colonel. “You must be a pretty couple -of fellows to let your guns be taken from you.” - -“There was four of ’em that took ’em,” said the other, “and they was -too many for us.” - -“I should think half a good man would be too many for you two,” said -the colonel, who was beginning to talk louder and louder. “How did they -come to steal them?” - -“They just wanted ’em, and they took ’em,” was the answer. - -The other young man now considered it necessary to put in a word: - -“We wasn’t just about when they took ’em. If we had been, they -wouldn’t----” - -“Shut up!” roared the colonel. “I can’t stand any more such lying. I -know all about you, and I know your guns were not stolen from you, and -that you stole John Brewer’s sail-boat, with everything in it.” - -“We didn’t steal no boat,” was the surly reply. “That was a lie them -fellers made up.” - -“You didn’t, eh?” cried the colonel. “I’ve some witnesses on hand -that’ll say something about that.” - -Then, turning to the dining-room window, he shouted, “Come out here!” -and immediately Adam and the three boys appeared. - -“Now, then,” said the colonel, “will you say before these persons that -you did not steal a boat from them?” - -At first the two young men seemed utterly dismayed at the sight of the -three boys and the man from whom they had stolen the boat, and whom -they supposed were now far away. But as one of them fixed his eyes on -Chap his dismay seemed to change into anger. His face grew very red, -and he shook his fist at our long-legged young friend. - -“There’s the feller,” he cried, “who tried to kill me! He fired a gun -straight at me, and not a dozen feet away, and I a-doin’ nothin’. It’s -all very well to talk about a little trick we played on ’em about the -boat, but here’s a feller who tried to murder me. If there’s any law in -this land I’ll have it on him!” - -The colonel turned to Chap. - -“Is that so?” he said. - -Chap admitted that the main facts were true, and then explained how it -had all happened, but the colonel interrupted him, and leaning forward -in his chair, as if he would jump out of it, he shouted at him,-- - -“I wouldn’t have believed it of you! If there was a court sitting in -this town, I’d have you brought before it this very day. I’m ashamed -to have you in my house. If ever there was a boy who deserved being -clapped into jail, it would be the one who fired at that fellow and -didn’t hit him! If I had my way I’d put you into prison till you -learned to shoot.” - -At this there was a great roar of laughter from everybody except the -two young men, and to these the colonel now addressed himself. - -“There’s been a good many scoundrels in these parts, since I’ve lived -here, but I never see any to beat you two. You steal other people’s -property, and then you come here, and, right to my face, charge honest -men with taking your things. I don’t believe you ever owned anything in -your lives. And you want your guns, do you? Well, you hired them of Jim -Randall,--I know all about it,--and you’ll pay for them from the day -you took them till this minute.” - -One of the men attempted to say here that he hadn’t had them for ever -so long. - -“Shut up!” roared the colonel. “You don’t suppose I’m going to let Jim -be cheated out of his money, do you, just because other people had to -take care of the guns to keep you from doing mischief?--Bob!” - -In a moment the negro boy appeared, and the colonel said to him,-- - -“Go tell Jim Randall to come right here.--As soon as you’ve paid him,” -he continued, turning to the young men, “you get out of this place. -If the court sat this month, I’d have you up before it, but we’re not -going to keep you here at the public expense, and you’ve got to make -yourselves scarce. And I want every man, woman, and child in this -town to understand,” he said, looking around at the people, “that not -one of them is to harbor these fellows for a minute, or to speak to -them, or to have anything to do with them. Here, Jim,” he said, as that -individual approached, “what do these scamps owe you for your guns up -to to-day?” - -Jim mentioned the sum. - -“Pay it!” was the command of the colonel to the young men. “Now pay for -your boat. Here’s the man you hired it of. Now go!” roared the colonel, -when this last order had been obeyed. - -The young men had brought a couple of knapsacks with them from the -boat, and picking these up, they went. They had sense enough to see -that there was nothing for them to do but to obey the autocrat of -Titusville. - -These two miscreants had not been gone more than half an hour before -Coot Brewer wandered into the town. He was very tired, and looked warm. - -When he entered the hotel, he was greeted with shouts of derision, and -the colonel at once began to storm at him. - -“Coot Brewer!” he cried, “if ever you take anybody in a boat again from -this place, I’ll have you horsewhipped!” - -Coot sat down, and smiled a languid smile. - -“You don’t ketch me takin’ out city chaps like them,” he said. “They -draws ’gators.” - -At this another shout of laughter arose. - -“You dunderhead!” cried the colonel. “Don’t you know that if you’d -fired at them, every ’gator would have skedaddled?” - -“Yes,” said Coot, “a-carryin’ off us fellers in their jaws.” - -Scolding and derision had very little effect on the brother of John -Brewer. The colonel roared out his strongest condemnation of Coot’s -conduct in deserting the boys, and everybody laughed at him for being -afraid of the alligators, but the placid Coot smiled through it all. He -had got safely away from the ’gators in Lowper’s Creek, and he did not -care what happened now. - -Just before supper, there was another arrival in the town. This was the -yacht containing the family-party which the boys had seen on Indian -River. - -They came up to the hotel in a little procession, with their bundles, -their valises, their baskets, their umbrellas, their fishing-rods, -their canes they had cut, the little alligators they were carrying home -in boxes, the shells they had picked up, and all the curious things -they had gathered on their trip. - -The colonel sat, with an austere countenance, and watched them -approaching. They had not stopped in Titusville when they passed -through before, having gone directly on board the boat, which they had -engaged by letter, and it soon appeared that they did not intend to -stop now. - -The Winkyminky was to start early the next morning from Salt Lake, -about seven miles away, and the head of the party considered it wise -for them to go on that night to a house some three miles nearer the -lake, so that they could the more easily reach the steamboat in the -morning. - -“All right,” said the colonel. “Take the wagon and go along. I don’t -want anybody here that don’t want to stop.” - -After supper, the colonel called Adam and the boys to him. - -“Look here,” he said. “You fellows have got to be sharp, or you won’t -get off in the Winkyminky to-morrow. She’s a little tub, and don’t hold -many people, and there’s a party down at the lake now, camping out, -waiting for her. If this caravan, with their baskets, and bundles, and -boxes of shells, get aboard first, there’ll be no room for you, and -you’ll have to wait over a week. They hadn’t any right to come back -before they said they were going to. I know Captain Root like a book, -and if you get there first with a note from me, he’ll take you in, no -matter who comes after you.” - -“We can’t stay here another week!” cried the boys, in consternation. - -“All right,” said the colonel. “You be up early, and I’ll put you -through.” - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -THE RACE THROUGH THE WOODS. - - -The boys and Adam were awakened very early on Wednesday morning by Bob, -and the colonel gave them scarcely time enough to eat their breakfast. - -A wagon and two mules were at the back entrance to the hotel, and the -colonel, bidding them a hasty good-by, told them to tumble in and be -off. - -“You’ve got to go lively,” he cried, “to get ahead of those caravaners. -And now, you Pete,” he shouted to the negro driver, “you make them -mules git!” - -Pete whipped up, and away went our party along the sandy road that led -out of Titusville. For a great part of the way the road lay through -vast pine woods, where but few signs of life of any kind could be seen. - -Before very long, they came in sight of the lonely house where the -“caravaners” had stopped, and Pete whipped up his mules, hoping to pass -the house before the party started; but this hope was vain; for, before -they got to the gate, two carts, each drawn by one horse, came hurrying -out, and immediately took the narrow road, on which there was but room -enough for a single vehicle. - -The two carts were piled high with people and baggage; but the horses -were put to a gallop, and away they went, jogging and jolting over the -rough road. Pete whipped up and galloped after them. - -“If we’d started three minutes sooner,” said Adam, “we’d been ahead of -’em, and been aboard long afore they got there. Them horses can’t keep -up that runnin’; but they can block the road for us, and that’s just as -bad. A lot o’ people like that, just cruisin’ round for pleasure, ain’t -got no right to swoop down without givin’ any notice, and swamp other -folks that’s got no time to lose.” - -“Never mind,” said Pete, who was keeping his mules close to the tail of -the hindmost cart. “There’s a place up here where I can pass ’em, and -then you’ll see me cut ahead.” - -In a few minutes an open place in the woods was reached, where, for a -short distance, there were two wagon tracks side by side, the road -having been changed, the original track being in a soft place, and full -of ruts and mud-holes. - -The moment he reached this old road, Pete dashed into it, whipping his -mules into their wildest gallop. The wagon bumped and jolted over the -rough places, the valises nearly bouncing out, while the boys were -obliged to hold fast to their seats. - -The horses and the carts were put to the top of their speed, and having -the best road, seemed likely to keep ahead of the wagon. But Pete -was not to be defeated. He had waited patiently for this opportunity -of passing, and he was bound to pass. The tough muscles of his mules -seemed able to pull the wagon at full speed over any road, without a -thought of tiring, while the horses and the heavily-laden carts were -beginning to flag. - -With a crack of his heavy whip and a yell of triumph, Pete plunged -ahead, and dashed into the other road a dozen yards in advance of the -foremost cart. - -“Hurrah!” cried Adam. “Now we can cut right along for the boat.” - -“Dat’s so,” said Pete, his eyes sparkling and his mouth in a broad -grin. “We’s done beat ’em! Dere ain’t no other place where they can -pass, even if they could kitch up.” - -“Which they can’t do,” said Adam. “There ain’t no more run in them -horses.” - -The three boys looked back. In the front cart was an old gentleman and -an elderly lady, apparently his wife. These sat on one seat, while -another lady, holding a little girl, sat on some luggage, and the -driver, a negro boy, perched himself on a trunk in the front of the -cart. - -In the second cart were two ladies, a short gentleman, in blue-flannel -shirt and high boots, and a number of children, apparently all girls. -These were piled upon valises and various articles of baggage, and -altogether made a pretty heavy load for one horse. - -The hindmost cart now stopped, and the gentleman and two or three of -the girls got out and walked to ease the poor horse. Both carts then -came on at a slow pace, the party evidently having given up the hope of -reaching the steamboat in time to be well accommodated. - -The boys now looked at each other. - -“Look here!” said Phil. - -“Fellows!” exclaimed Chap, at the same moment. - -“That’s so!” said Phœnix, as if he had known what the others were -thinking of. - -“Stop!” cried Phil to Pete. - -The astonished negro drew up his mules, and Adam looked around. - -“Let’s take some of those children in here,” said Phil. - -“That’s so,” said Chap. “That’s just what I was going to say.” - -“Plenty of room here,” said Phœnix. “A big wagon, and no baggage to -speak of.” - -“Yes,” said Phil, “and I think it would be a mean thing for us to go -ahead, and get good rooms on the boat, and cut out all these ladies and -children.” - -“Mean!” said Chap. “It made me feel like a boat-thief when we passed -them. Let’s have them come along and get the best accommodations they -can. We can stow ourselves away anywhere. Overcoats will do for beds, -and our bags for pillows. It’s only a three-days’ trip. What do you -say?” - -“I say do it, of course,” answered Phil. - -“So do I!” said Phœnix, emphatically. - -Adam listened to all this, and then, with a smile, he said,-- - -“All right, if you all say so; but you’ll find pretty hard quarters if -the boat is crowded and you’ve got no beds.” - -“Oh, we’ll get along,” said Chap. “Let’s go tell them.” - -And the three boys jumped out of the wagon, while Pete was heard to -make some remarks which seemed to indicate that, without knowing it, -he had undertaken to drive a load of idiots to the Winkyminky. - -The party in the carts seemed much surprised when the wagon stopped, -but when the boys came back and made their offer to carry some of the -children in the wagon, they were as much pleased as astonished, for -they were feeling very much discouraged, having an idea that they were -now going to have a pretty bad time on board the steamboat, and that -she might even start off without them when the wagon reached her, and -all her spare room was occupied. - -“Much obliged to you,” said the gentleman in the blue shirt, who was -the father of the children. “It will help us ever so much if you will -take a couple of these girls into your wagon. I’m afraid our horses -will give out. We were talking about turning back, for I don’t believe -the Winkyminky has got more than two vacant state-rooms.” - -“Oh, I guess we can all crowd aboard!” said Phil, cheerfully. “At any -rate, we’ll try. We did think of going on ahead, but afterward made up -our minds it would be better for all of us to go on together.” - -“It is very kind of you,” said the gentleman, looking steadfastly at -the boys. “It is necessary for us to travel on as fast as possible. -This outdoor life does not suit my father,” pointing to the old -gentleman ahead, “as we hoped it would, and we want to get him to -Jacksonville, where he can have more comfortable quarters.” - -“Why don’t the old gentleman and the ladies get into the wagon?” said -Chap. “We can pile into the carts, or walk. I think it is better to -walk than to ride over these roads.” - -This proposition was demurred to, but the boys insisted, and although -the old gentleman and his wife declined to leave their seats in the -cart, it being difficult for them to get in and out of vehicles, the -three ladies and the girls were induced to get into the wagon, which -Adam cheerfully vacated to give them more room. - -The procession now moved on, the gentleman with the blue shirt, who -carried a gun, walking with Phil, while Adam and Phœnix walked close -behind the wagon, to pick up any of the little girls who might fall out. - -Chap strode ahead of all. He liked to walk alone, and look about, -and make observations for himself, and besides this, he happened to -remember that he was captain of the Rolling Stones, and that, whenever -it was practicable, it was proper for him to be in advance. - -When they reached Salt Lake they found the little steamer lying about a -quarter of a mile from the shore, on which there was no sign of pier or -landing-place. - -The wagons and carts drove directly into the lake, the bottom being -hard sand, and splashed along to the Winkyminky. When they reached -it, the water was a little over the hubs of the wheels, and when the -vehicles in turn drove up to the side of the boat it was easy, even for -the old gentleman and his wife, to step directly on to the lower deck. -There was a small flat-boat near the shore, into which the pedestrians -got, and a negro boy poled them to the steamboat. - -The little Winkyminky was very much crowded, there being a dozen -passengers on board when our friends arrived, but the old couple and -the ladies were accommodated with beds, the captain giving up his room; -the children were to be stowed into various corners, while the men and -boys cheerfully undertook to find places to sleep when night came. - -At first the boys wondered that larger steamboats were not put upon -this line, so that passengers could be more comfortably accommodated, -but they had not gone very far before they found why the Winkyminky was -so small. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -A PLOT AGAINST CHAP. - - -When everybody who was going had leisurely gone on board the little -steamboat, and the two or three negroes who were not going had -deliberately got off into the flat-boat, and the engineer and fireman -had followed the example of everybody else on board, and had gone to -take a look at Adam’s little bears, which he had brought with great -care from Titusville, stowed away in the front part of the wagon, and -when there really seemed to be no reason why a start should not be -made, the anchor was hauled up and the engineer signalled to go ahead. - -Among the passengers were the two young men who had stolen the boat; -but they kept as much out of the way as possible, appearing especially -anxious to avoid Adam and the boys. They spent most of the time in the -engine-room and lived with the crew, probably hoping that by so doing -the story of their misdemeanors and banishment from Titusville might -not be told on board. - -The boys, however, knew that they were on the boat; but, as they had -not the slightest desire either to speak to them or look at them, the -two miscreants were avoided quite as much as they wished to be. - -After leaving the lake, which is a small body of water, the boat -entered a narrow stream, which twisted and turned and bent back upon -itself in such curious loops and curves, that few persons would have -supposed it navigable by a steamer, until they had seen the Winkyminky -perform the feat. - -Sometimes the turn was so sudden that the bow of the boat almost -touched the back, while the stern barely swept clear of it at the other -end of the curve. In such cases the engine was stopped, and the boat -pushed around the curve by the negro hands with long poles, which they -thrust against the bank. - -Often when they had just pushed the boat around one curve, they had to -run to the other side of the deck to pole her around another, which -bent in an opposite direction. None but a very small vessel would have -made the necessary turns, and the boys were not surprised at her size -when they saw the peculiar work she had to do. Anything larger than -that could not have got along that stream at all. Even after they at -last got into the upper waters of the St. John’s, the river was, at -some points, very narrow. - -The country they passed through was almost entirely uninhabited, -although they sometimes stopped at a lonely wharf to take on vegetables -or fruits, which were brought from the hummock farms, generally lying a -little back from the river. - -Alligators were plentiful along the banks. Water-fowl and other birds -were in great numbers everywhere, and the boys had a very good time -fishing for black bass from the stern of the little steamer. They -caught enough to supply everybody on board with fresh fish during the -entire trip, and many of the passengers, including the gentleman in the -blue shirt, spent most of their time shooting at the alligators and -birds. - -The captain was a pleasant man, and talked a good deal with the boys. - -“It seems pretty hard,” he once said to them, “to get a boat along -this narrow and crooked stream, but there are times in the year when I -have no trouble at all. When the waters are high all this flat country -is overflowed, and, as my boat only draws two feet of water, I sail -right straight along over all this land that you see here, and pay no -attention at all to the bed of the stream, wherever it may happen to -be.” - -After a slow passage of two nights and parts of three days, they -entered a broad lake, on one side of which was situated the town of -Enterprise, and on the other that of Sanford. - -Without stopping at the first, they proceeded to the last-named place, -and the boys had scarcely scrambled upon the long pier when they were -met by a portly gentleman, in a white necktie and broad straw hat, who, -after asking their names, handed Phil a telegram. Phil hastily tore -open the envelope, and read the following message: - - “To Philip Berkeley, Sanford, Florida: Telegraph to Inman House, - Jacksonville, by what boat you leave Sanford. Call there on arrival. - - “JOHN ROBINSON.” - -This was a message sent by Mr. Godfrey Berkeley, and put in charge of a -gentleman with whom Mr. Berkeley had an acquaintance, and who resided -at Sanford. Mr. Berkeley knew that the boys must stop at this place in -coming from the Indian River, and there had been time to write to the -gentleman, as well as to telegraph. He and Helen did not wish the boys -to know that they would meet them at Jacksonville, and the message was -sent so as to make it sure that the boys would not be missed when they -arrived at that place. - -Phil and his two friends were very much surprised when they read the -message, for they could not imagine who John Robinson might be. When -they made inquiries in regard to this point of the stately gentleman, -that individual waved his hand and raised his eyebrows. - -“It is not to be supposed,” he said, “that I should be cognizant of -the personality of the gentleman who sent this message. All I have -undertaken to do was to meet every boat which arrived from the locality -from which you set forth, and when I should have the honor of meeting -you to deliver you the message. If there is anything more I can do for -you, I hope you will command my services.” - -“I suppose,” said Phil, “that this John Robinson is somebody in -Jacksonville to whom our money has been sent, and he has telegraphed -here so that we can go to him and get it.” - -The stately gentleman was further interrogated, but he dismissed all -remarks relating to John Robinson with a majestic wave of his hand, and -proceeded to other topics. He was very kind, however; took them all, -including Adam, to his house to supper, and gave them a great deal of -information in regard to their trip to Jacksonville. - -After going over to Enterprise for some freight, the Winkyminky -intended to proceed to Jacksonville, but they had been told at -Titusville that it would be better to take a larger and faster boat, -if they could do so. The William Von Glode, the stately gentleman -informed them, would, by a fortunate concatenation of circumstances, -leave Sanford at about eight o’clock that evening, and he advised them -to take passage in her. - -Some hours would elapse before the Von Glode started, and there was -time enough for the boys to walk about the place. - -Before supper, Adam, who knew people here, and had heard where he could -get a good job of work in repairing and refitting a boat,--for he was a -boat-builder as well as a sailor,--had gone to see about this business, -and was returning, when he noticed the two boat-thieves sitting under a -tree by the side of the road. - -He did not wish to speak to these fellows, nor did he care to pass them -without a word. They had their faces turned away from him, and as there -was a high board fence behind them, Adam went through a gate into the -lot enclosed by this fence, so that he might altogether avoid these two -fellows. - -The board fence was not a very tight one, and as in passing the place -where they sat he was but a short distance from them, he heard some -words which made him stop. - -“The long-legged fellow is always keeping to himself,” were the words -that he heard. - -Now, as Chap was pre-eminently a long-legged fellow, this remark -instantly recalled to Adam’s mind the captain of The Rolling Stone, -and this suggestion was made stronger by the fact that Adam had noticed -that Chap was very fond of separating himself from the company, and -doing something on his own account. - -If these men were talking about Chap, it could bode no good to that -young man, and Adam wanted to hear what should be said. So he stopped. - -“If I can git a hold of him,” was the next remark, “I’ll pay him off -square.” - -“Yes,” said the other one, “and I’d like to pay off that no-account -sea-rat. If it hadn’t been for him we’d ’a’ had our guns.” - -“That’s so,” said the other; “but it won’t do to tackle the whole lot -of ’em. If we can git hold of the feller that knocked us into the water -and fired at me, we can give him his share and the sailor’s too.” - -“I’m bound to bag some kind of game,” said the other, “and he suits me -better than any. What we’ve got to do is to keep a sharp eye on him -and we’re pretty sure to git a chance. The boat don’t start till after -dark.” - -Adam did not care to hear any more. It was plain enough that the two -men intended to be revenged on Chap, and, as usually happens, they were -the more determined on vengeance because they had deserved all they had -suffered. - -The point now was, what could he do to prevent this piece of rascality? -for something must be done instantly, and the important thing was to -warn Chap. - -If the boys could be kept together until they went on board the -steamboat, there would be no further trouble, for he was certain that -the two rascals did not intend to take passage on the Von Glode. - -Having settled these points in his mind, he set off for the house of -the stately gentleman, which was on the main street of the town. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -HOW ADAM WAS BAGGED. - - -When Adam reached the house, the family had just sat down to supper, -and that meal had been prepared for him in another room. He did not -think it necessary to disturb the little company. - -He asked one of the servants to give him notice as soon as the supper -should be over, and then he sat down to his own meal. - -Before very long he heard the sound of chairs pushed back from the -table, and then the colored woman informed him that “the folks had done -finished.” - -Instantly Adam arose and hurried to the front of the house. There upon -the porch he saw Phil and Phœnix, and calling them to him, he hurriedly -asked where Chap was. - -“Oh,” said Phœnix, “it don’t take him long to eat. He got through -before any of us, and asked to be excused. I suppose there is something -in the town that he wants to investigate.” - -Adam almost turned pale when he heard this. - -Quickly informing the boys of the plot against their companion, he told -them that no time must be lost in finding Chap and keeping him with -them. - -No one had observed which way he had gone, but from his habits and his -love of the water, it was probable that he had strolled either up or -down the shore of the lake. - -“You run along that way,” said Adam, “and mind you keep together, for -if them chaps get hold of one of you alone, they may make it bad for -him. I’ll go down-shore. I ain’t afraid of ’em.” - -And with this, the party separated. - -On their different ways through the town they met several persons, but -nobody had seen Chap. - -Adam soon found himself in the woods, where there were open spaces -among the trees near the water, which allowed him to hurry along quite -rapidly and to see to a considerable distance. He was certain he was -on the right track, for in the sand near the water he saw the print of -shoes, with a peculiar crack across the sole of one of them, which he -had often noticed when Chap was stretched at full length on board The -Rolling Stone. - -[Illustration: “Now we’ll give it to him.”] - -Greatly encouraged by this, he followed the track, and just as he -vaulted over the trunk of a fallen palmetto, he caught sight of Chap -some distance head. He was crouched down, examining something at the -water’s edge. - -Adam was just about to call to him, when he was suddenly enveloped in -darkness. Something had fallen over his head, which blinded and almost -choked him. - -Then, through the coarse bag which had been thrown over him, he heard -the words, spoken close to his ear,-- - -“Now we’ll give it to him.” - -And almost at the same moment a tremendous blow from a club fell upon -his back and shoulder. - -The two boat-thieves had been following Chap, intending to throw the -bag over his head, and then punish him to their hearts’ content; but, -perceiving the approach of Adam, they had hidden themselves behind the -roots of a fallen tree, and when the sailor had jumped over the trunk -and stood close to them, with his back toward them, they determined to -give him the first taste of their revenge. - -The instant that Adam felt the blow, he turned upon the fellow who held -the bag over his head, and twisted him around in the direction from -which the blow had come. But the man with the club skipped around and -dealt the sailor another blow. Thereupon, Adam, feeling that he was at -a great disadvantage in being blinded, and having an assailant free to -whang him with a club, instantly clutched the man he held with a firmer -grip, and tripped him up, both falling heavily to the ground. - -Adam was a good wrestler, and could easily have thrown himself on his -antagonist had he so chosen, but, instead of doing this, he rolled over -so that the man he held in his strong arms was above him. In this way -it was not easy to strike him without hitting the other fellow. - -It is possible that the man who held the bag around Adam’s neck thought -that he had, by his own skill, put himself above the sailor. At any -rate, he raised his head, and said to his companion,-- - -“I can hold him here, and you run down and whang that long-legs. He -hasn’t heard us, and you can slip up behind him. Be quick, now!” - -The other fellow then left, and, being barefooted, he moved silently -down toward Chap. - -As soon as there had been time for him to get a little distance away, -Adam, who had been lying on the ground, as if thoroughly exhausted by -his brief struggle, suddenly revived, and, giving himself a vigorous -twist, turned the other fellow under him, and grasping him by the -throat, tore the bag off his own head with a jerk. Then Adam, giving -a great shout, which echoed through the woods, proceeded to pound the -miscreant under him as if he desired to punish him not only for the -crimes he had done, but for those he intended to commit. - -Chap, who was busily examining a curious little sulphur spring, which -was bubbling up near the edge of the lake, lifting the wet sand as if -some living creature was buried beneath and trying to get out, raised -himself up when he heard Adam shout, and turned around just in time to -see the boat-thief close upon him with his club in the air. - -Chap was not as strong a boy as Phœnix, but he was long-limbed, and -very excitable, and his fiery energy gave him much advantage for a -brief struggle. Without the slightest hesitation he made a dash at the -man with the club, and springing to one side as the blow fell, he threw -his long arms around the fellow’s waist. The club, of course, was of no -use in such a close encounter, and dropping it, the man made a grasp -with one hand at Chap’s neck and throat. But Chap, as Phil had often -said, was a fellow full of hinges, and jerking himself back to avoid -this clutch, he did so with such suddenness that the man he held was -pulled violently forward, while one of Chap’s feet went down into the -soft, bubbling sand he had been watching. Thus, losing his footing, -Chap went over backward, and the man with him, and both were instantly -rolling in the water and soft sand. - -Chap was almost choked by the sand and water, but, throwing himself -around like a wild cuttlefish, he managed to get upon his knees and -raise his head and body out of the water, which was not more than a -foot deep, although he seemed to be sinking at least that far into the -soft sand. - -The man, who had loosened himself from Chap’s grasp, was near him, and -struggling to rise, his dripping face full of rage and astonishment. -But Chap gave him no opportunity to do this. Throwing himself upon him -he pushed the fellow backward till his head went down again under the -water, but, not wishing to drown him, he jerked his head up again, and -sitting astride of him began to harangue him. - -The man was half lying down, with the water up to his chin, and vainly -endeavoring to raise himself by his arms. - -“So you were going to sneak up behind me and hit me with a club, were -you, you cowardly scoundrel?” said Chap. “It would serve you right if I -were to push you back and drown you.” - -“Let me up!” cried the man. “I’m sinking down into this sand. There’s -quicksands here, don’t you know? Let me up! We’ll both sink into ’em!” - -“Let you up? Not I!” said Chap. “There’s a bubbling sulphur spring -right under you, and I’ve a great mind to push you down into it. I -believe you’d go slam-bang to the centre of the earth. I’m all right. -I can feel solid ground on each side of you. I can just put my foot on -you, and cram you down.” - -“Don’t you do it! Don’t you do it!” yelled the man, who was frightened -almost out of his senses. - -At this moment Adam appeared upon the scene. He had sufficiently -punished his antagonist, and, having torn the bag into two strips, had -tied him hand and foot with masterly sailor-knots. He had then hastened -to Chap’s assistance, but when he reached him he found that young man -getting on very well without his aid. - -He laughed when he saw the state of affairs, and then he stepped into -the water, and helped Chap to his feet. The other fellow attempted to -rise, but he was so embedded in the soft sand that he was unable to do -so, and Chap and Adam reached into the water, and, each seizing him by -one leg, pulled him out. Adam picked up the club the fellow had dropped -in his struggle with Chap, and, seizing the man by the collar, made him -rise to his feet. - -“Now,” said the sailor, “you come along with me, and if you give me any -trouble I’ll break your head.” - -The three then proceeded rapidly to the place where the other rascal -was lying, and, his feet being untied, Chap took him in charge, and the -party set off at a good pace for the town, Adam relating to Chap by the -way what he had heard and what had happened. - -The stately gentleman was a magistrate, and before him the two fellows -were taken, and when their attempted crime was told it created great -excitement in the place. The men were committed to stand their trial at -the next term of the court, which would be held in about a week. - -Phil and Phœnix had returned while the examination was going on, and -were as much astonished as Adam and Chap were to hear the magistrate -say that the sailor and the young man who had been attacked must remain -in the town to appear in the court as witnesses; otherwise, no charge -could be proved. - -“This is a bad piece of business,” said Phil, as he stepped out on the -porch. - -“That’s so,” said Phœnix; “but none of us could have got off to-night, -for the Von Glode has gone. She started before we got back to town.” - -“But we could have got off in a day or two,” said Phil, “and now we may -have to wait ten days or more. It is not likely this case will be the -first one taken up. What do you think of it, Chap?” - -But Chap was not there. He had vanished somewhere into the darkness. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -THE COUNTESS. - - -Phil, Phœnix, and Adam were naturally much amazed by this second -disappearance of Chap, which took place immediately after the -magistrate’s examination; but all conjectures and surmises were soon -put to an end by the arrival of a note from Chap, which was brought by -a negro boy. It was written on the back of a business card, and read -thus: - - “DEAR BOYS: I can’t stay to any court. Let Adam testify. You can go - away by the first boat that stops at Sanford. I am going to catch the - Winkyminky. She starts from Enterprise to-night. I’ll wait for you in - Jacksonville. Good-by. - “CHAP.” - -The three gazed at each other in astonishment, as they read this note -by a light in their host’s hall, and when that gentleman came out to -invite them to make their home in his house while they stayed in the -town, they were obliged to tell him of their friend’s disappearance. He -was very much surprised at the information. - -“He cannot take the Winkyminky,” he said, “for that boat will not stop -at this town to-night. Your young friend has been mistaken in his -plans, and will probably return to the shelter of my roof ere long.” - -The boys knew Chap, and did not believe one word of this. They were -greatly disturbed, and searched and inquired everywhere for news of -him. They heard nothing, however, until about twelve o’clock, when a -small boat, containing two negroes, came in from the lake, and the men -reported that they had taken Chap out to meet the Winkyminky, and that -when that boat had come along she had stopped and taken him on board. - -“That’s just like Chap,” said Phil. - -And Phœnix and Adam agreed that it was. - -There was nothing for them to do but to wait till another boat should -go down the river, and then to follow their captain, who, it must be -admitted, had a rather curious way of leading his men. - -As soon as Chap had heard what the magistrate said about his remaining -as a witness, he felt that if he stayed in that room an instant longer -he would be compelled, by some legal process, to appear at the next -term of court, and he, therefore, slipped out of a side door and ran -down to the river. The Von Glode was gone, but he felt he must get away -from that town. Adam intended to stay there, anyway, and he could give -all the testimony that would be needed; and as for Phil and Phœnix, -they had seen nothing of the assault in the woods, and, therefore, -would be free to leave by the first boat that came along. He was the -only one that would be put to any trouble, and he must get away. - -He remembered that the Winkyminky was going to Jacksonville, and he -wondered if she had yet left Enterprise. If not, there might be some -way of his getting across the lake, and taking passage in her. The -money that had been advanced by the colonel had been divided, as Phœnix -declined to be treasurer when he did not supply the funds, and Chap had -enough with him to pay his passage. - -At this moment a small boat, rowed by two negroes, came in from the -lake, and Chap found that they had just come across from Enterprise. - -The Winkyminky, they informed him, was preparing to start when they -left, but she had not passed this point yet, and they could row him out -to meet her. Chap then hastily wrote a note by the light of a lantern -on the pier, and sending it to the boys, was taken out to meet the -Winkyminky. - -When that little steamboat came along the captain stopped and took -Chap on board. His advent occasioned a great deal of surprise, but a -comfortable state-room was given him, for all the Winkyminky’s Indian -River passengers had left her at Sanford. - -But the next morning he found that there were three passengers who had -come on board at Enterprise. One of these was an old gentleman, another -was a very respectable negro woman, and the third was a lady. - -The old gentleman was tall and thin, with a high shirt collar, and -military bearing. He was a communicative person, and soon made friends -with Chap, giving him a great deal of information on various subjects. - -“Do you see that lady sitting over there by herself?” he said. “Well, -sir, you don’t often see anybody like that in this country, sir.” - -“What’s the matter with her, sir?” asked Chap. - -“Well, sir, she is a countess. Did you ever see one before?” - -“Never, to know it,” said Chap, “except in pictures.” - -“Well, that is one, sir. She is a republican by birth, from some -place in the North, but she married a Spanish count, and they have an -orange-grove in the back country here.” - -“Is it necessary for her to hold herself aloof?” asked Chap. - -“Aloof!” said the old gentleman. - -“Yes,” said Chap; “she has been alone since I first saw her. I should -think she’d be glad to have somebody to talk to.” - -“She might,” said the other, “if she could meet with persons of her -own rank and station. But, otherwise, she would probably prefer to be -aloof, as you call it, sir.” - -About half an hour after this, Chap borrowed a fishing-line from the -cook, for all his traps had been left at Sanford, and went to the stern -of the boat, where the countess sat with a novel in her hand. Taking -a position not far from her, he threw out his line, and let it troll -behind the boat. - -After a while she raised her eyes from her book and, looking at Chap, -asked,-- - -“What are you fishing for?” - -“Good!” said Chap to himself. “She has broken through her feudal bonds, -and speaks to the masses.” - -And then, aloud, he answered,-- - -“Anything I can get. Did your grace ever try trolling from a steamboat?” - -“No,” said the lady, with a laugh. “My grace never did. Why do you call -me that?” - -“It was the nearest I could come to it,” said Chap. “I should be glad -to know just what to say.” - -“So long as we are not in Spain, madam will do very well,” said the -countess. “And now tell me, how did you come to get on board here, at -night, all by yourself?” - -Chap freely related the reasons for his coming on board the Winkyminky, -which greatly interested the countess; and then, working backward with -his story, he told what had happened since he left home. This account -took a long time, and was only interrupted by the hauling in of one -large cat-fish, which greatly horrified the countess, and induced her -to ask Chap to put up his line and confine himself to his story, which -she found more entertaining than her novel. - -In spite of the fact that Chap did not belong to an aristocratic -circle, the countess was very glad to talk to him, for he was the only -person on board in whom she could take the slightest interest, and they -soon became very well acquainted. - -She was going, with her negro servant, to join her husband in -Jacksonville, and had intended to take passage from Enterprise in the -Von Glode; but she was too late for that boat, and was obliged to take -the Winkyminky. This inconvenient little boat did not suit her taste at -all; but she had to make the best of it, and was very glad to have on -board such an original and pleasant boy as Chap. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -A POINT OF HONOR. - - -Nearly all that day the Winkyminky paddled bravely on her way, and -then, all of a sudden, she stopped. A large cog-wheel, which was a -part of her machinery, had broken. The engineer had known this wheel -was going to break; but he hoped it would last till they got to -Jacksonville. - -Everybody was greatly disturbed at this accident, especially when the -captain told them it could not have occurred in a worse place. - -The Winkyminky drew but little water, and thus was sometimes enabled to -make short cuts that a larger boat would not attempt, and, being a very -slow craft, she saved distance whenever she could. - -To avoid a long curve, she had gone inside of a wooded island, and here -the accident had taken place. No large steamboat could come to her -assistance here; but the captain said that the Rosa, the only small -boat that would leave Jacksonville that week, would probably be along -in a day or two, and would, most likely, pass inside the island. Then, -he said, he would see what he could do to prevail upon her to turn back -and tow his boat to the city. - -This was poor comfort to the passengers, and they grumbled greatly; but -nothing came of the grumbling, and they went to bed that night with the -steamboat anchored near a small island, which shut it out from view of -the body of the river, while the main shore, a hundred or more yards -away, was wild and uninhabited. - -In the morning it was found that they were out of fresh water, but the -captain said that about half a mile down-stream, on the main shore, -there was a spring, and having put a barrel on board a small boat, he -sent two of his hands to fill it with water. - -Of course, Chap instantly demanded permission to go in the boat, and -much to everybody’s surprise, the countess also said that she would -like to go. It would be a relief from the monotony of sitting in the -anchored steamboat. - -The promise of a small compensation made the two men very willing to -row an extra load, and the countess and Chap, in company with the -water-barrel, were pulled to the mainland. Here the two men set to -work to fill the barrel, carrying the water in pails from the spring to -the boat, and taking a good deal of time to do it, while Chap and the -countess walked along the shore to survey the scene, the lady keeping -a sharp lookout for any alligators that might be basking beneath the -trees. - -The countess was very much disturbed at the interruption to her journey. - -“It is too bad,” she said, “that we are obliged to stay in this horrid -place, and on that wretched little boat. There is no knowing how long -we will have to wait here. The next thing will be that we will have to -send ashore for something to eat as well as water to drink, and what -they’ll find I’m sure I don’t know.” - -“I should think they’d send to the city for relief,” said Chap. - -“I suppose they will eventually,” the lady replied, “but they’ll have -to wait for a steamboat to come along to do that. I don’t suppose they -could row there.” - -At this moment she made an exclamation. They were now below the end of -the island, and could see far down the river, which was here very wide. -Two or three miles away was a large steamboat coming from the city. - -“Oh!” cried the countess; “do you see that? If I could only stop her, -and get on board, I would go as far as she is going, and then come -back in her to the city. Anything would be better than staying on that -cramped-up little Winkyminky, with nothing to eat. I believe that would -be the quickest way of getting to Jacksonville, and we would stop -somewhere where I could telegraph to my husband. Oh! can’t we signal -her?” - -“I’ll row out to her!” cried Chap. “I’ll stop her!” - -And turning, he ran as fast as he could to the place where the boat was -hauled up. - -The men had just come down with a couple of pails of water, but when -Chap promised them a dollar apiece to row him out to the approaching -steamboat, they lifted out the barrel, half-filled with water, and -attempted to push off the boat, but they found it stuck in the mud so -tightly that it was almost impossible, and Chap raved and stamped at -the fruitless result of their ill-managed efforts. - -The countess was now walking rapidly toward them, but Chap, hoping -in his heart that nothing in the rules of aristocratic circles would -prevent a fellow from wading in the mud in a good cause, pulled off his -shoes and stockings, rolled up his trousers, and plunged in. - -By the united strength of the three the boat was soon afloat, and all -jumped in. The negroes seized the oars, and Chap shouted to the lady -that they would be back in no time. - -“Don’t fail to stop her!” cried the countess. “Tell them I’ll pay them -for all the time they lose. It is the Humphrey Giles. The captain knows -me.” - -The boat left the shore so rapidly that Chap scarcely caught the last -of these words. He suddenly remembered that he was leaving a lady alone -on the shore. - -“I never thought,” he said, “that she would be there all by herself.” - -“Dar’s nuffin’ dar to hurt her,” said one of the negroes, who was -afraid Chap might change his mind and turn back, and so make them lose -their money; “and we ain’t got no time to take her on if ye want to -ketch that boat.” - -“That’s so,” said Chap; “and now give way, my hearties!” - -Chap had read tales of man-of-war life and of whaling voyages, and he -knew that the way to make men row hard and fast was to yell and shout -at them like mad, and for work of this kind no one was better adapted -than the captain of the Rolling Stones. - -The negroes became so excited that they made the boat spin over the -water. It stopped directly in the course of the Humphrey Giles, when -that boat was a quarter of a mile away. - -Chap stood up in the stern, and frantically waved his hat, and -shouted,-- - -“Stop!” - -Perceiving that something was the matter, the captain of the great -steamboat gave orders to slow up and back water, and as soon as she -was stopped Chap was pulled to her side, and gave the news of the -Winkyminky’s disaster, and the message of the countess. - -The countess was well known along the river, and apart from his -willingness to assist the passengers of a disabled boat, the captain -knew that he would be paid for any loss he might sustain by stopping. - -He asked Chap where the Winkyminky lay, and then told him that he would -go up to the other end of the island, and if the countess and other -passengers who might want to go on board the Giles could be brought to -him without delay, he would wait for them, but that not a moment of -time must be lost. - -At this instant a cry was heard from the upper deck. - -When Chap heard that cry, he sprang to his feet, and nearly fell -backward out of the boat. Well he knew the voice, especially when it -called his own name. - -“Helen!” he exclaimed. - -And sure enough, there was Helen leaning over the railing of the upper -deck, and by her side was Mr. Godfrey Berkeley. - -When Chap saw his sister, he was at first utterly astounded. He simply -stood and looked at her. Then he made a step forward to climb on board -the steamboat. Then, at the same instant, he remembered the countess -left on the lonely shore. A brief but sharp struggle took place within -him. - -The captain again called out that no time must be lost, and that he -could not wait long, and one of the hands ordered his negroes to back -away from the steamboat. - -As far as he was concerned, there was no reason why he should not jump -on board and rush to his sister, who was saying all sorts of things to -him from above. But there was that countess! Oh, how he wished that he -had brought her along with him! It would not do to trust those negroes -to go back after her. They would bungle everything, and never get to -the Giles in time. He had come on the lady’s errand, and was bound in -honor to go back to her. - -The bell in the engine-room tinkled, and the negroes backed out of the -way of the moving wheels. - -“I’ll come back directly, Helen!” screamed Chap. “I’ve got to fetch -a countess! And now you fellows lay yourselves out! Another dollar -apiece if you get us on board the Giles in time.” - -Chap exhorted and urged, occasionally turning to wave his hat to Helen, -who shook her handkerchief at him until the island shut them out of -sight of each other. - -When Mr. Berkeley had received, in Jacksonville, a telegram directed to -John Robinson, stating that the boys would leave Sanford in the William -Von Glode, he and Helen had kept a sharp lookout for that boat, and -when she arrived they were at her pier, and were greatly troubled at -finding no boys on board. - -Phil and Phœnix had never thought of telegraphing to Mr. Robinson that -they had missed the Von Glode, and Mr. Berkeley could not imagine why -they had not come. - -The gentleman with the blue shirt and the large family, who had come -from Titusville, was on board, and he told Mr. Berkeley that the boys -had certainly intended to come down on this boat, but just before she -started he had heard something of a disturbance in the town, and as -some disreputable characters were there, between whom and the boys -there was an ill-feeling, he was afraid the young fellows had got into -trouble, which had detained them. - -Mr. Berkeley immediately telegraphed to his friend in Sanford, but as -that gentleman happened to be out of town that afternoon, his wife put -the telegram away, as she was accustomed to do with his letters, until -he should return. - -Receiving no answer, Mr. Berkeley and Helen took passage early the -next morning on board the Humphrey Giles for Sanford. When they saw -Chap in the stern of the little boat which had stopped the Giles, -their astonishment was as great as they imagined it could be, but when -he rowed frantically away to fetch a countess, their amazement was -actually increased. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -CHAP IS DOWN UPON ARISTOCRACY. - - -When Chap reached the spot where he left the water-barrel and the -countess, he found the former sticking up in the mud, but there were -no signs of the latter. Chap sprang into the mud, and struggled to -shore. Where was she? He hoped she was waiting somewhere in the shade, -but he could not find her. He called and shouted for her, but there -was no reply. He was just giving himself up to despair, when one of -the negroes cried out, “Dar she!” and pointed in the direction of the -Winkyminky. - -And there, sure enough, was the countess and her colored servant in a -boat, just pushing off from the Winkyminky, while the whistle of the -Humphrey Giles could be heard from the other side of the island. - -The countess was a woman of action. As soon as Chap had left her, she -had run along the shore, until she was opposite the Winkyminky, and -shouted for some one to come over for her. If the Giles should consent -to stop for her, she wanted to take her maid and some of her baggage -with her, and there was no time to be lost. There was another boat on -the Winkyminky, and it had been sent for her, and it was now about to -take her and her maid around the upper end of the island to the Giles, -whose whistle gave sufficient signal that she was there, and waiting. - -“Upon my word!” ejaculated Chap, as he gazed upon this scene. -“Aristocrats and countesses, indeed! Give me a republican form of -government!” - -And he dashed through the mud, and into the boat. - -“Never mind the water-barrel,” he cried. “Row after that boat. Another -dollar if you catch it.” - -The negroes’ arms already ached from the violent rowing they had done, -and Chap’s throat was sore from his continuous shouting; but the men -bent again to their oars, and Chap’s former yells were nothing to what -he uttered now. He felt sure that if the countess’s boat reached the -Giles before he did, that steamboat would start off without him, and -his sister, whose appearance on board was such an astounding mystery, -would be carried away from him. The captain would not wait for anybody -after the countess was on board. His soul was fired with rage at that -treacherous woman, for whom he had taken so much trouble to return, and -for whom he had probably lost his chance of joining his dear sister. If -he could catch up with her, he would tell her a thing or two. - -“Tug at her! tug at her!” he shouted to the oarsmen. “Crack your backs! -Break your bones! Give way, boys, give way! Why _don’t_ you pull? Jerk -her out, boys! jerk her out!” - -And the two negroes, with bare heads, perspiration rolling down their -cheeks, and their eyes and teeth glistening, as they rose in their -seats with every wild pull at the oars, did almost jerk the boat out of -the water in their frantic efforts to earn the money Chap had promised -them. - -There was no rudder to the boat; but Chap sat in the stern, and by -gestures and commands directed the oarsmen. He did not row toward the -Winkyminky, but kept directly after the boat containing the countess. - -There was nearly half a mile distance between them when they started, -and the upper point of the island was certainly less than a quarter of -a mile above the foremost boat. So Chap had great odds against him as -far as regards distance, and there seemed much reason to fear that the -countess’s boat would round the point and reach the Humphrey Giles -before Chap could be seen or heard; but the odds in other respects were -somewhat in Chap’s favor. - -His men were now so thoroughly warmed up to their work that they forgot -their arms had ached a little while before, and they pulled like -tireless machines. - -The other boat had two strong oarsmen; but it carried two passengers -and some baggage, and there was no wildly excited fellow in the stern -to urge, with ringing battle-cry, his men to deeds of valor. - -Chap’s boat steadily gained upon the other, and the few people who were -left on board the Winkyminky cheered and clapped him as he passed. They -did not know whether he wanted to go on board the other steamboat or -not; but they saw plainly enough that he had some reason for catching -up with the countess. - -“I wish I knew how to make those fellows work like that,” said the -captain of the Winkyminky, as he watched Chap’s boat. “They never -pulled with such good will for me.” - -“Perhaps you could do it,” said the old gentleman who was standing by -him, “if you would make yourself a raving lunatic like that boy. I -believe he has scared those black fellows out of their wits, and that -they are trying to get away from him.” - -The countess did not perceive the boat that was following them, and she -knew nothing about the Giles, except that it was on the other side of -the island, where it was certainly stopping, and occasionally blowing -its whistle. - -The trees and high reeds prevented the countess’s boat from being -seen from the Giles, and, as the captain might not know that a boat -was coming to him, he might start off at any moment. Therefore, the -countess was anxious to get in sight of the Giles as soon as possible, -and urged her men to row as fast as they could, her words, however, -having nothing like the same effect as the yells of Chap. - -When she went to the Winkyminky and then started for the Giles, she had -no idea that she was behaving in a manner which Chap would consider -treacherous. She did not know that he thought of going on board the -Giles, and indeed he had said to her, when they were talking together, -that he supposed he would have to stay by the Winkyminky until she was -towed to the city. Of course the lady could not be supposed to imagine -that the whole current of the boy’s feelings and intentions had been -changed by his finding his only sister on board the Giles. - -There was a point of reeds which grew out into the water for ten -or a dozen yards from the end of the island, and around these the -countess’s men rowed their boat as rapidly as they could. - -The moment they were on the other side of them, and within sight of the -waiting Giles, the countess waved her handkerchief above her head to -attract attention to her approach. - -The people on the steamboat had, of course, been expecting a boat to -come to them, and they were looking for it to come around the end of -the island. And we may be quite certain that no one watched for it with -greater eagerness than Helen and Mr. Berkeley. Their grief and dismay, -therefore, when they saw two women in the stern of the boat and no -Chap, need not be described. Was he not coming? - -If they could have looked through the reeds and bushes to the other -side of the island they would have known that Chap was coming! - -The moment that the foremost boat turned the point of reeds, Chap’s -frenzy doubled. - -“Wake up!” he screamed. “Are you going to sleep, and have me left? Ten -more pulls, and we’ve got her! Give way now! Give way! Tear at it, I -tell you! Tear at it!” - -They had now reached the reeds, but Chap had no intention of going -around them. They were growing in the water, and the water would -certainly float his boat. - -“Pull around, you Bill,” he cried. “Smash right through them! Drive -her through, boys! Drive her through!” - -The tall reeds bent beneath the sudden dash of the boat and the wild -sweep of the oars; and in a few seconds Chap’s little craft was out in -the open water beyond. - -Just ahead of her, and not twenty feet away, was the countess’s boat. -Chap’s men were rowing as madly as ever, and in a few strokes they -would be upon it. - -“Stop!” yelled Chap. “Back water!” - -But these words had no effect on his two negroes. He had been shouting -and yelling to them ever since they started, and they did not now -notice what he said. They were so filled with savage excitement that -they paid no attention to mere words. - -The men in the other boat tried to pull out of the way, but they were -not quick enough. Chap’s boat crashed into that of the countess, -smashing in one side, and nearly turning it over with the violence of -the shock. - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -WHICH FINISHES THE STORY. - - -When Chap’s boat dashed into that of the countess, it struck the latter -craft on one side, near the stern, crashing into her as if she had -been an earthen pot. The water would have instantly rushed in had not -this broken side been lifted in the air by the violence of the shock, -turning the countess and her woman into the water as neatly as if they -had been slipped out of a ladle. - -One of the oarsmen also went overboard, but the other one sprang to his -feet at the moment of collision, and jumped on Chap’s boat. - -The two negroes who had been rowing Chap looked around, utterly dazed -by the shock, while our hero, as pale as a sheet, sat speechless in the -stern. He could scarcely believe that this dreadful thing had happened; -but in an instant his face flushed, and he was on his feet. - -About a yard from him, the face and arms of the countess appeared above -the water. Chap’s first impulse was to jump in after her; but, instead -of doing that, he threw himself down flat in the boat, and stretching -himself out from its side like an opening telescope, he seized the lady -just as she was going down again. He was leaning so far out of the -boat, that not only did he have no power to hold her up, but his head -and shoulders went down also, their weight assisting her to sink. He -would have gone entirely out of the boat if he had not hooked his toes -into the boards at the bottom. - -It is probable, however, that both he and the countess would have been -drowned, for a boy might as well have his whole body under water as to -have his head there, had not the man who had jumped from the other boat -perceived the danger, and, slipping by the astonished oarsmen, who were -looking behind them in the vain attempt to make out what had happened, -seized Chap by the legs, and drew him in, bringing also the countess to -the surface. The other men now sprang to the rescue, and the lady was -lifted into the boat. - -The moment she found herself in the air, she gave a great gasp and sank -upon a seat, breathing hard and fast. - -“All right?” anxiously cried Chap, his face and hair dripping with -water. - -The lady nodded and went on with her panting. She had been taught -by her husband that if she ever fell into the water, the important -thing to do was to hold her breath, and this she had done during the -very short time she had been beneath the surface. But if she had not -entirely forgotten to do anything else, she might have had a more -comfortable time. The spot where she fell in was not over four feet -deep, and if she had stood upon the bottom, her head would have been -above the water; but her whole soul was possessed with the one idea of -holding her breath, and she never thought of such a thing as trying to -stand on her feet. - -The negro woman and the man who had fallen overboard had speedily found -a foothold, and had stood up, and, with dripping heads and faces, were -now wading toward Chap’s boat. - -Into this they were helped, for the other boat had filled with water, -and sunk. - -The two valises of the countess were fished up from the bottom by -one of the men, and deposited in the boat. The floating oars of the -sunken boat were picked up, and the negroes proceeded to row Chap’s -heavily-laden craft toward the Giles. - -All the condemnation of aristocratic institutions which Chap intended -hurling at the head of the countess was entirely forgotten. He felt -that her misfortunes had sufficiently established the fact that even -the highest rank and the proudest lineage must sometimes give way -before the rapid advance of republican vengeance. - -As for the countess, she said never a word. She was entirely occupied -in getting back her breath, and in trying, with the help of her woman, -to put her hat and hair into decent order. - -On board of the Humphrey Giles, there had been a great deal of -excitement and anxiety. - -When the boat containing the shouting Chap and his frantic oarsmen -rushed out of the reeds, and sprang like a wild beast on the other -boat, the people on board the Giles, who witnessed the occurrence, gave -a cry of horror. - -The captain ordered a boat to be lowered to go to the rescue, but -before it could be got ready, all the capsized people were in Chap’s -boat, and it was being rowed toward the steamboat. - -Helen, with great delight, recognized her brother, but Mr. Berkeley was -much troubled. Where was his boy--his Phil? and where was young Poole? - -The Humphrey Giles was detained much longer than her captain expected -she would be. Everybody on board wanted to know all about what had -happened, but no one except Chap seemed able to tell anything, and he -was so busily engaged hugging and kissing a girl in a straw hat, that -he paid no attention to the questions of anybody. - -Mr. Berkeley, however, presently succeeded in getting the information -that the two other boys were safe at Sanford. Then Chap’s two oarsmen -had to be paid, which took every cent he had, and then one of the men -who had rowed the countess said his captain would want to be paid for -the boat that was smashed. - -This matter was soon settled by Mr. Berkeley agreeing to make -compensation when they should get back to Jacksonville, and then, after -a message had been delivered from the captain of the Winkyminky to the -captain of the Humphrey Giles, requesting the latter to telegraph to -the city the condition of the disabled steamboat, the Winkyminky’s men -rowed away in their boat, and the Giles proceeded on her way. - -Chap’s story was a long one, and had many eager listeners, but he did -not begin it until he had fully satisfied himself how Helen and Mr. -Berkeley happened to be there. - -“I feel like another man,” said Mr. Berkeley, when all had been told, -“now that I know where Phil and Phœnix are.” - -“It would be just our luck,” said Chap, “if those fellows should take -some other boat and pass us, and go on to Jacksonville.” - -“You need not try to frighten me that way,” said Mr. Berkeley. “No -boat has passed us yet, and I have made arrangements with our captain -to stop and hail any boat we may meet, night or day, until we reach -Sanford. So I don’t think we shall miss them that way.” - -“My gracious, Chap!” exclaimed Helen, when she had sufficiently -recovered from her excitement to notice something more than the face -of her dear brother; “do you wear knickerbockers? And what kind of -stockings have you got on?” - -“Why,” said Chap, looking down below his rolled-up trousers, “those are -not stockings. That is St. John’s River mud. You see I’ve been wading, -and, as for my shoes and stockings, I left them over on the bank, where -I have been getting water. I don’t cut a very handsome figure, do I?” - -Mr. Berkeley and Helen gazed at the long-legged boy, who had lost his -hat, and whose wet hair was sticking out in all directions, and they -burst into a laugh, in which Chap unhesitatingly joined. - -“I expect the people must have wondered,” said Helen, “when they saw -me kiss such an awful-looking boy, but I was glad enough to get the -chance.” - -“We could all see that,” said Mr. Berkeley; “and now I’ll take him down -below, and see what can be done for him.” - -When Chap returned on deck, washed, combed, and dressed in a complete -suit, which had been loaned him by the purser, he was a well-dressed -and very gentlemanly-looking person. He did not see the countess that -day, as she did not come out from her state-room, but both he and -Mr. Berkeley made inquiries about her, and ascertained that she had -sustained no injury. But early the next morning, just before the boat -reached Sanford, Chap saw the countess on the deck. He went up to her, -but she looked at him coldly, and made no sign of recognition; but when -he spoke she opened her eyes. - -“Are you the boy,” she exclaimed, “who stopped this steamboat for me?” - -“And who afterward upset you in the river,” said Chap. “Yes; all of me -that isn’t purser of this boat is that boy.” - -“But how did you come to run into us that way?” she asked. - -Chap then explained how he thought he had been deserted by her, and -how, in his anxiety to overtake her, the accident had occurred. - -“Well,” said she, when she had asserted that she had no idea of -treating him in that dreadful way, “you gave me a bad wetting and a -great fright, but you also helped and amused me very much, and, on the -whole, I am glad I met you.” - -And she cordially shook hands with him. - -“And now,” said Chap, as he rejoined Helen, “I’m done with the -aristocracy. It will do very well in certain quarters, but republican -institutions for me.” - -Phil and Phœnix were on the pier when the Humphrey Giles arrived at -Sanford. They had received a telegram from John Robinson the day -before, sent from a point below on the river, telling them to wait at -Sanford for the Giles. They had wondered at the message, and would have -waited anyway, as there had been no chance for them to leave. But when -Chap, handsomely dressed, appeared on the gang-plank, conducting Helen -and Mr. Berkeley, Phil and Phœnix could not have been more astonished -had they seen an alligator stand up on its tail and sing “The Last Rose -of Summer.” - -“What grates on me,” said Phil, laughing, as they sat on the porch of -Mr. Berkeley’s friend, the magistrate, “is to see Chap dressed up in -that fine fashion, while Phœnix and I are going about in these old -flannel clothes.” - -“You forget,” said Chap, sitting up as straight as possible in his -chair; “that I am your captain, and, therefore, ought to be better -dressed. There is nothing that makes fellows knuckle down to rank and -dignity like appropriate costume.” - -“Well,” said Phœnix, “as we haven’t knuckled down much so far, I -suppose we might as well do it until the purser makes you take off his -clothes.” - -“And when we get to Jacksonville,” said Mr. Berkeley; “I will have you -all refitted.” - -That afternoon, when the Humphrey Giles started northward, or down the -St. John’s River to Jacksonville, our friends were on board of her. - -After some persuasion from Mr. Berkeley the worthy magistrate consented -to let Chap go, and depend upon the testimony of Adam for the -conviction of the two young men who had committed the assault. - -That individual had sold his little bears to a man who was going North, -and, having a good job of work, he did not wish to leave Sanford. He -came down to the pier to see his former companions depart, and bade -them a hearty good-by. - -“It is a great pity, boys,” said Helen, when they were all in the hotel -at Jacksonville, getting ready to start homeward,--“it is a great pity -that you brought nothing with you from your Indian River trip, not a -shell, nor a sea-bean, nor even any of that beautiful Spanish moss -which hangs from the trees.” - -“Helen,” cried Chap, “what are you talking about? Don’t you know that -rolling stones gather no moss?” - -And, majestically waving his hand, he walked away. - -The homeward trip, though marked by no exciting incidents, was a -delightful one for all the party; and the mail from Boontown, which -carried to the colonel in Titusville a cheque for the amount due him by -the Rolling Stones, also carried a full account of this journey in a -letter from Helen to Mary Brown, the girl who could not remember ever -having seen another girl. - - -THE END. - - - - -Books for Boys by Popular Authors. - -Illustrated. Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.50 per volume. - -THE ORACLE OF BAAL. - - A Narrative of some Curious Events in the Life of Professor Horatio - Carmichael, M.A. Edited by J. PROVAND WEBSTER. With numerous - illustrations by Warwick Goble. - -THE YOUNG CASTELLAN. - - A Tale of the English Civil War. By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. Illustrated. - -TROOPER ROSS AND SIGNAL BUTTE. - - By CAPTAIN CHARLES KING, U.S.A. Illustrated by Charles H. Stephens. - -CHUMLEY’S POST. - - A Story of the Pawnee Trail. By WILLIAM O. STODDARD. Illustrated by - Charles H. Stephens. - -CAPTAIN CHAP; - - Or, THE ROLLING STONES. By FRANK R. STOCKTON. Illustrated by Charles - H. Stephens. - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -By CAPTAIN CHARLES KING, U. S. A. - - -Trooper Ross and Signal Butte. - -Illustrated by Charles S. Stephens. - -Crown, 8vo. Cloth, $1.50. - - When Captain King sets his hand to a boy’s story he is sure to be an - ideal creator of heroes. Redskins and blue-jackets, and lovely girls - and daring youngsters are in his dramatic company; camp-fires, blazing - villages, rifle-reports, and narrow escapes. He is never coarse nor - sensational, but with his sweeping style carries you on from start to - finish like a stiff and wholesome breeze. - - “They are just the stories to captivate the young - reader.”--_Philadelphia Evening Bulletin._ - - “Captain Charles King has never written more captivating stories of - frontier life than the two that are embraced in this neat volume just - issued.”--_San Francisco Bulletin._ - - “Captain King has done many good things, but perhaps none better - than these animated tales, which are full of Indians, good and bad, - scouts, cowboys, and everything needful to keep a restless boy quiet - on an evening.”--_Philadelphia Evening Telegraph._ - - “The list of Captain King’s books for boys is in itself calculated to - excite youthful imaginations and hold their attention unrelaxed to - the close. These two latest stories contain all the striking features - of its predecessors, the excitement, the fire, the geniality, - the rapidity that have long delighted his large community of boy - readers.”--_Boston Courier._ - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -The Mystery of the Island. - -By HENRY KINGSLEY. - - A Tale of Bush and Pampas, Wreck, and Treasure Trove. By the author - of “Geoffrey Hamlyn,” “Ravenshoe,” etc., etc. A new edition, with - illustrations by Warne Browne. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. - -The Wizard King. - -By DAVID KER. - -Crown 8vo. Cloth, $1.50. - - “It is based upon careful study of history, is written graphically - and even brilliantly, is absorbing from cover to cover, and has an - excellent moral tone. It deserves to be a lasting favorite with the - young people.”--_Boston Congregationalist._ - -Hugh Melville’s Quest. - -By F. M. HOLMES. - -Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. - - “Well written volumes that describe ancient history in an interesting - manner are to be always welcomed. This volume will serve a good - purpose by recalling days that were of prime importance in the making - of the English nation.”--_New York School Journal._ - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -An Affair of Honor. - -By Alice Weber. - -Small 4to. Cloth, gilt, $1.25. - - “A delightful book for little folks. It is the story of a little child - who is given the mission of exerting a life influence over an elder. - The mission is one that every child can well seek, and the story - unfolded so delightfully between these covers will suggest a way of - doing this.”--_Cincinnati Commercial Gazette._ - - “The little heroine, Alicia, has been taken by her brother in London - to her grandmother in the country to stay and get the roses in her - cheeks, while he, who is her next of kin, is away. There she makes - the acquaintance of a little boy, and they become fast friends and - co-workers in an affair of honor; and the story with rare beauty - proceeds to illustrate the following exquisite thought by George - Eliot: ‘In old days there were angels who came and took men by the - hand and led them away from the city of destruction. We see no - white-winged angels now. But yet men are led away from threatening - destruction; a hand is put into theirs, which leads them forth gently - towards a calm and bright land, so that they look no more backward; - and the hand may be a little child’s.’”--_Boston Home Journal._ - - “Robin and Alicia, the hero and heroine of the story, are two - delightful creations, and the story of their child-life and the secret - with which they find themselves burdened is charmingly told. There are - other interesting characters in the book, which has a well-constructed - and developed plot.”--_Philadelphia Record._ - -Uncle Bill’s Children. - -By Helen Milman. - -With illustrations by the author. Small 4to. Cloth, $1.00. - - “Mamie and Jack of this volume, in their clever games and - merrymakings, are two as delightful children as can be found within - the covers of a book. The author does not attempt a difficult theme, - but in her portrayal of child-life she meets with a success that is - the outgrowth of a simple and healthy interpretation of the ways of - the little ones.”--_Boston Herald._ - - “Helen Milman will captivate the boys and girls by her really - beautiful story of ‘Uncle Bill’s Children.’ The adventures and - exclamations of little Mamie and Jack are as natural as childhood - itself, and the wee hero and heroine as entertaining. There is an - element of sly humor in the book that will appeal to older - readers.”--_Minneapolis Tribune._ - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -Axel Ebersen, - -The Graduate of Upsula. By A. Laurie. - -12mo. Cloth, $1.50. - - “It is a suggestive as well as an interesting story.”--_Boston - Literary World._ - - “Aside from the beauty of the story itself, which has the charm of a - boyish character, nobly natural and naturally noble, the book is an - able exposition of the Lingg system of medical gymnastics, and - presents some authenticated cases of relief and permanent cure - effected by a persistent and intelligent use of gymnastic - exercises.”--_Minneapolis Tribune._ - -Charlie Lucken at School and College. - -By the Rev. H. C. Adams, M.A. - -With eight full-page illustrations by J. Finnemore. 12mo. Extra cloth, -$1.50. - - Mr. Adams has long distinguished himself as a writer of books for - boys. In the present instance he has drawn a hero of the type which - all boys love. Charlie Lucken, both at school and college, was forever - getting into trouble, and forever getting out of it again by what - seemed wonderful good fortune; but it was always his kind heart, his - high principle, or his manly temper that first involved him in - difficulties and afterwards brought him safely through them. - -Maid Marian and Robin Hood. - -By J. E. Muddock. - -12mo. Cloth, $1.25. With twelve full-page illustrations by Stanley L. -Wood. - - “The personal courage, skill in archery, boldness of enterprise, and - generous disposition of this famous outlaw of the twelfth century, - have made him a favorite hero, especially with young people, through - all the centuries. Robin Hood was a Saxon of noble descent, and was - unjustly outlawed through the hatred of the Norman conquerers, after - having been condemned to death and made his escape from the dungeon in - which he was confined. He gathered around him in Sherwood Forest a - band of more than a hundred men as bold as himself, and for many years - baffled all attempts to capture him. He robbed the rich and gave to - the poor, and suffered no woman to be oppressed, or otherwise - molested. Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet, and others of the - leaders of the merry men, figure in Mr. Muddock’s romance, and many of - their daring deeds and exciting adventures are recounted. But the main - interest centres around Robin Hood and the beautiful and brave Maid - Marian.”--_Boston Home Journal._ - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -The Boys’ Own Book of In-Door Games and Recreations. - - A POPULAR ENCYCLOPÆDIA FOR BOYS. - Edited by G. A. Hutchinson. - With over 700 illustrations. 528 pages. $1.75. - - It is especially a boy’s book, calculated to afford both pleasure - and profit, treating of those topics in which boys take particular - interest. There are chapters on gymnastic exercises, games, and - sports of all kinds; the boy’s workshop; how to build boats, etc.; - musical instruments; toys; conjurers and conjuring; ventriloquism; - and pleasant and profitable occupation for spare hours. - - “It gives the boys such instruction as they like, and will keep many - an active boy employed in his workshop and away from a companionship - that is hurtful. It is both a useful and a beautiful book.”--_Chicago - Inter-Ocean._ - -Boys’ Own Book of Out-Door Sports. - -UNIFORM WITH BOYS’ OWN BOOK OF IN-DOOR SPORTS. - -Illustrated. 1 vol. 4to. Cloth, gilt, $1.75. - - Containing articles on swimming, boating, cycling, hare and hounds, - skating, lawn-tennis, foot-ball, etc. In short, an encyclopædia of - just those things which boys want to know about. - - “This is a capital book,” says the _New York Independent_. “The - illustrations, diagrams, and drawings are very numerous and excellent; - and the subject is treated in every aspect and variety by competent - writers, who describe well and have the art of lending a charm to - their dullest details.” - - -J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAPTAIN CHAP *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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