Loe raamatut: «No Moss: or, The Career of a Rolling Stone», lehekülg 11

"Well, I done it, didn't I?" exclaimed the governor, triumphantly. "We're safe from Harry Green now, an' if it wasn't fur the fuss we had with them farmers, we could stay here fur a year, an' nobody would be the wiser fur it. I'll go an' see how Jed is gettin' along."

Sam jumped ashore and ran toward the cabin, and Tom, after he had seen the schooner made fast to the bank, turned to the robbers and asked:

"What do you think of it now?"

"We think we have seen quite enough of you Crusoe men," was the reply. "We shall leave you. You can go your way and we'll go ours."

"You'll talk to the governor before you go, won't you?"

"The governor! What do we want to talk to him about?"

"Why, about that money – the thousand dollars, you know."

"Guess not," answered one of the robbers, with a laugh. "Good-by, captain."

"You are not gone yet," said Tom, to himself. "If I know any thing you will be glad to come to terms before you are ten minutes older." He waited until the burglars were out of sight, and then, calling his crew about him, continued: "Those fellows are trying to cheat us out of their passage money. They can't find their way out of the cove without a guide, and if they ask any information of you, send them to me or to the governor. If one of you says a word to them about that path, we'll tie you hand and foot, and leave you here on the island. We'll show them that we are quite as smart as they are."

At this moment the governor came running from the cabin, breathless and excited, and, clambering over the rail, stormed up and down the deck, swinging his arms about his head like the shafts of a wind-mill. "Fellers," he shouted, "we're done fur now. Our cake's all dough. Jed's gone!"

"Gone!" echoed all the Crusoe men, in concert.

"Yes, gone – sloped – mizzled – cleared out – and I can't find hide nor hair of him. We'll have all them farmers down on us now."

"Well, I wonder if any living man ever heard of such luck!" drawled Tom.

"Our jig is danced at last," snarled Will Atkins. "I knew all the whole time that we'd never see our island."

There was great excitement among the Crusoe men.

CHAPTER XVI.
JOHNNY IS MISTAKEN FOR AN ENEMY

Johnny Harding was greatly discouraged by the result of his conflict with the Crusoe men. His victory had been turned into defeat; and while he was lying on his bed, bound hand and foot, the burglars were making good their retreat from the village. Every instant of time was precious; for, of course, the longer the pursuit was delayed, the more difficult would it become to effect the capture of the robbers. Johnny struggled desperately for his freedom, and shouted for help until he was too hoarse to speak; but the governor's own hands had tied the rope with which he was confined, and the only person within hearing of his calls was the watchman, who was as powerless as the clerk himself. It seemed to Johnny that he must have lain there three or four hours, although it was really not more than twenty minutes; and, during that time, the captain of the Crusoe band had made his unsuccessful attempt to destroy the yacht. Johnny heard the fire-bells, and wondered if a conflagration of the town was to be added to the excitements of the night.

There was not much sleeping done in Newport after the big bell at the military academy added its voice to the universal din. Business men thought of their property on the wharf, and ran down to assure themselves of its safety. Mr. Newcombe and the grocer met in front of the elevator. The former stumbled over his watchman, who, strangely enough, had not been discovered by the Crusoe men, and Mr. Henry, somewhat surprised that the bells had not alarmed Johnny, pounded loudly upon the front door.

"Come in, whoever you are," cried the clerk.

"Get up, and open the door," replied the grocer. "Don't you hear those bells? Is every thing right in there?"

"Not by a long way, sir. I've had visitors. You will have to come in at the side door."

Johnny knew that Mr. Henry was astonished, for he heard him talking to himself as he entered the passage. When he reached the side-door, and saw the hole that had been cut through it, he knew what had been going on as well as if his clerk had explained the matter to him. He lighted one of the lamps, and after glancing at the safe, and at the papers that were scattered about over the floor, he entered the office to look at Johnny. "I suppose they got it all?" said he, as he untied the ropes with which the prisoner was confined.

"If they didn't it was their own fault. We are short about twenty-five dollars worth of provisions, also. Tom Newcombe and his pirate crew have turned up again, and have drawn on us for supplies."

Mr. Henry's astonishment increased as his clerk hurriedly recounted his adventures. The latter took particular pains to describe to his employer the intended movements of the robbers, as he had learned them from the captain of the Crusoe band, and, when he had finished his story, the grocer said he would ask Mr. Newcombe to send out his tugs. But Johnny was too impatient to wait for the tugs. It would be half an hour before they were ready to start, and there was no knowing what the robbers might do in that time. The clerk wanted to find them, and keep as close to them as possible; and something might happen that would put it in his power to recover the money. He knew that the grocer did not blame him for any thing that had happened – he would have been a most unreasonable man indeed, had he done so – but still Johnny felt that he was, to some extent, responsible for his employer's property, and that the only way to redeem himself, was to return the money to Mr. Henry with his own hands. He did not then decide upon any plan of action. His first hard work must be to find the robbers; and, when that had been done, he would be governed by circumstances. He left the grocer on the wharf talking to Mr. Newcombe, and ran to the end of the pier where he had seen a yawl moored the night before; but that was the one the robbers had taken at Sam Barton's suggestion, and it was then dancing about in the bay, having been turned adrift after serving the purpose of its villainous crew.

"I want a skiff," said Johnny, to himself, "and I could find plenty if I was only on the other side of the harbor. I'll have to swim over."

Johnny was a boy who never allowed himself to be daunted by any obstacles, and having made up his mind that he wanted a skiff, he was determined to secure one by some means or other. He was about to jump into the harbor and swim to the opposite side, when he happened to glance toward one of the vessels lying in front of the elevator, and saw a yawl moored at her stern. He could cross the harbor much more easily and quickly in a boat than by swimming, and he decided to borrow the yawl.

"Well, now, what do you want here?" demanded one of the watch, as Johnny leaped over the rail, and began to cast off the boat's painter.

"I want to use this yawl," replied the clerk. "I can't stop to explain, for I am in a great hurry."

"Avast there!" shouted the sailor. "If I get hold of you, I'll pitch you overboard."

But the watch did not get hold of Johnny, for by the time he reached the stern, the clerk was a boat's length from the vessel, and was sending the yawl rapidly across the harbor. He found a number of skiffs on the opposite side, and, selecting the one that suited him best, he hoisted the sail and filled away for the island. He had scarcely cleared the harbor when he discovered the Sweepstakes; but knowing that his skiff was no match for her in sailing, and being perfectly well aware of the fact that, even if he should overtake her, he could not recover the money alone and unaided, he turned his boat's head toward the foot of the island. By this maneuver he would gain on the schooner nearly a mile and a half; and, when she came out of the narrows, he would follow her and keep her in sight until one of the tugs came up, when he would board her, and assist in securing the robbers. When he reached the foot of the island, the Sweepstakes was not in sight; and while he was waiting for her, he saw the Storm King dash up the narrows. Johnny was astonished to see her there at that time of night, and he was greatly encouraged. It was plain to him that Tom had been doing something to arouse the students, and the clerk was glad indeed that it was so. His only fear had been that the Crusoe men would succeed in getting out of the harbor, and making good their escape before the tugs could get ready to start in pursuit; but now he was satisfied that the chase would soon be over. He was sure that the yacht would capture the pirate, and he wished that he was on board to assist the students; and, being ignorant of the fact that Harry knew more about what had been going on than he did, he wanted to tell him that there were two desperate characters on board the schooner, that they had robbed Mr. Henry's store of seven thousand dollars, and that they were armed with revolvers. He stood up in his skiff, and shouted at the top of his voice, to attract the attention of the students; but they were too far off to hear him. Then he filled away in pursuit of the yacht; but she ran away from him very easily, and finally disappeared in the darkness.

"The robbers will be caught, anyhow," soliloquized Johnny, "and it will make no great difference whether I am there or not. If the Sweepstakes comes down the narrows, Harry Green will cut her off; and if she goes around the head of the island, she will run against some of the tugs. Tom won't give up as long as he sees the least chance for escape, and if he finds that he is likely to be captured, he will desert his vessel and take to the woods. He can't go ashore with his schooner, on the main land, for the water is so shallow that, after his vessel grounded, he would have to swim about half a mile. Tom is too lazy to do that, and besides, if he were to attempt it, he might be picked up by the jolly-boat. His only chance will be to land on Block Island, and perhaps he will go back to that harboring place he told me about. That's the very idea!" added Johnny, excitedly, striking his knee with his clenched hand. "There is just where Tom will go if he is cornered. He will think that because he has lived there a week without being discovered, he can do it again."

As these thoughts passed through Johnny's mind he came about and started for the island. When he reached it he drew the bow of his skiff upon the beach, and, clambering up the cliff, ran toward the shoals. Little dreaming how near he was to the object of his search, he stopped within a few feet of the head of the path that led into the cove, and strained his eyes through the darkness, in the hope of discovering the Storm King or the schooner. But they were nowhere to be seen, and he was about to start on again when his steps were arrested by a faint shout which seemed to come up from below. It was uttered by Jed, who, since the departure of the Crusoe band, had not ceased to call lustily for help. He had little hope, however, of bringing any one to his relief, for the roar of the breakers, although it would not have drowned the report of a cannon, as Sam Barton had declared, was still loud enough to render his being heard extremely doubtful. Johnny listened, and presently the shout was repeated. "There's certainly somebody down there," said he to himself, "and he seems to be in distress, too. Who knows but it may be one of the Crusoe men? If it is, he is just the fellow I am looking for."

As Johnny said this he walked along the cliff as near the edge as he dared to go, in the hope of finding some way to descend into the cove; but he did not long continue his search, for, as he was passing a thicket of bushes, a man suddenly sprang up and seized him by the collar.

"We've got you now, you young villain," said he, savagely, "and we'll take care to hold fast to you."

The first thought that passed through Johnny's mind was, that he had again fallen into the hands of the burglars; the second, that they could not manage him as easily as they had done before. He would fight as long as he was able to raise a finger. But the clerk did not have time to act on this resolution, for his assailant threw him down with as much ease as he had prostrated Tom Newcombe in the store, and caught him by the throat, and, at the same instant, a second man appeared, who quickly confined his hands behind his back, and gagged him by forcing a handkerchief into his mouth. His captors handled him very roughly, and Johnny would have yelled with pain, but the gag and the strong grasp on his throat rendered it impossible for him to utter a sound.

Having satisfied themselves that their prisoner was securely tied, the men jerked him to his feet, and then Johnny got his first good look at them, and was astonished to discover that they were not the burglars. They were two young farmers, whom he had often seen in the village – the same who had captured Tom Newcombe a few hours before. They were searching for Jed, and when they saw Johnny prowling about the cove, they hastened to secure him, believing him to be one of the Crusoe men. The clerk knew there was a mistake somewhere, but the gag effectually prevented him from explaining matters. If he tried to free his hands, in order to remove the gag, the farmers would think he was endeavoring to escape, and they might treat him even more harshly than they had done before. The only thing he could do was to submit quietly, and make himself known to them at the first opportunity.

"You young rascal!" said Bill, shaking his fist in Johnny's face.

"We'll show you how to rob potato-patches and cut down cellar doors," said Josh. "If you don't pay for this night's work, it will be because there is no law in the land."

The farmers grasped his arms, and Johnny walked submissively between them toward the house. He was satisfied, from what they had said, that the exciting events of the night had not been confined to the village. The people on the island had evidently come in for a share of the trouble, and Johnny, who was blessed with more than an ordinary amount of curiosity, wondered what had been going on, and grew angrier every moment, because he could not speak to his captors. He thought of the time he was wasting, too, and wished Josh and Bill had been a thousand miles from there before they attempted his capture.

Johnny was astonished at the sensation he created when he was led into the house. Every one present looked at him with curiosity, and wondered that so honest-looking a boy should belong to a band of young robbers. When he had taken the chair pointed out to him, Josh stationed himself near the door to prevent his escape, and Bill removed the gag. The rough treatment he had experienced had sadly ruffled his temper, and as soon as he was able to speak he looked fiercely at Bill, and exclaimed:

"I'd like to know what you are about!"

"Would! Well, I can soon tell you," replied Bill. "You are one of those fellows who robbed our potato-patches, aint you?"

"Do I look like a boy of that kind?" demanded Johnny, indignantly. "I never saw your potato-patch, and I don't know that you have one."

"Now, just look a here," said Bill, "what's the use of telling that?"

"It's the truth," protested the prisoner. "My name is John Harding, and I am clerk in Mr. Henry's grocery store, which has just been robbed of seven thousand dollars. I was in pursuit of the burglars when you caught me. I am not in the habit of telling lies," he added, more angrily than ever, noticing that the young farmers smiled derisively as they listened to his story. "All you have to do is to go back to the beach with me, and I will soon convince you that I am not trying to deceive you."

"You want us to take you there, so that your friends can release you, I suppose," said Josh. "We gagged you to prevent you from giving the alarm."

"You need not have put yourselves to so much trouble, for I haven't a friend on the island. I came here alone. Let me loose, can't you? I don't want to be confined here like a felon."

The farmers had been so nicely outwitted by the Crusoe men that they were very suspicious, and, believing that Johnny's story had been invented for the occasion, they did not put the least faith in it. They had caught him prowling about in the vicinity of the potato-patch, and that, in their eyes, was evidence strong enough to condemn him. Johnny said every thing he could to induce them to believe that he was really what he represented himself to be. He told how the burglars had effected an entrance into the store, described the operation of blowing open the safe, and even mentioned the fact of having heard somebody shouting for help while he was standing on the cliff. Then the farmers, for the first time, became interested.

"Perhaps it's Jed," said Bill. "He is our brother," he added, in answer to an inquiring look from Johnny. "He went out with us after the fellows who cut down the cellar door, and he hasn't come back yet. We had better go down there, for he may have fallen over the cliff."

"You will take me with you, will you not?" inquired Johnny.

"No, I guess not; we don't think it would be safe. You see, the way you fellows got those two prisoners out of the cellar makes us think we can't be too careful of you. We'll leave you here, and for fear that you might escape, or be rescued while we are gone, we'll take you up stairs and tie you fast to something."

Johnny protested loudly against this arrangement, but his words fell upon deaf ears, and he was obliged to submit to his captors, who conducted him into the garret and bound him to the chimney, which came up through the middle of the floor.

"There," said Josh, "I'd like to see your friends find you now. You'll be likely to stay here until we come back, unless you can pull the chimney down, and I don't think you are strong enough to do that."

Johnny was astonished at the care exhibited by the farmers in providing for his safe-keeping, and it led him to the conclusion that Tom and his band had been doing something desperate. He was impatient to learn the full particulars of the robbery of the potato-patch, and the rescue of the prisoners, but he was much more anxious to regain his liberty, and continue the pursuit of the burglars. He did not doubt that the students would capture them, and, as that would be a big feather in their caps, Johnny wanted to assist in the work, in order that he also might enjoy the honors of the exploit.

Josh and Bill were gone fully half an hour, and during every moment of that time Johnny's impatience increased, until at last it seemed to him that he could not possibly endure his captivity an instant longer. Of course he tried hard to free himself, but his captors, remembering the prisoners who had escaped from the cellar, had taken especial pains to make his bonds secure, and Johnny finally abandoned his attempts in despair, and awaited his release with all the fortitude he could command. At last, to his immense relief, he heard footsteps on the porch, and after a few minutes' delay Josh and Bill came up the stairs, accompanied by Jed. They all seemed to be very angry about something, and if Johnny had known what Jed had experienced at the hands of the Crusoe men, he would not have been at all surprised thereat. When Jed's eyes rested on the prisoner, his countenance fell, and he seemed to be very much disappointed. He took the candle from Bill's hand, held it close to Johnny's face, examined his clothing, and finally shook his head. "You'll know me the next time you see me, won't you?" asked Johnny.

"Yes, and I would know you now, if I had ever seen you before. He don't belong to the crowd," he added, turning to his brothers. "I took a good look at every one of them, and I can't be mistaken. You had better let him go."

"I think so too," said the prisoner.

"It's lucky for you that you aint one of the robbers," continued Jed, shaking his head in a threatening manner, "for I had made up my mind to give you a good drubbing. Let's return to the cove and watch for them. Perhaps they will come back."

"Do you mean the Crusoe men?" asked Johnny. "I know they will come back. They are blockaded, and they can't get out of the bay."

Josh and Bill were quite ready to go back to the cove, but they were not willing to release their captive. They could not be made to believe that he was not in some way connected with those who had plundered their potato-patch, and Johnny began to think them the most unreasonable men he had seen for many a day. There was Jed, who had had some adventure with the Crusoe men, and who repeatedly affirmed that he had never met Johnny before, but still Josh and Bill would not be convinced. "You see," said the former, "it does not follow that you ain't one of the robbers because we did not see you with them. If you had nothing to do with what has been going on here for the last week, what were you sneaking around the farm for? That's what I want to know."

"I wasn't sneaking around at all," replied Johnny, impatiently. "I was going about my business openly and above board, and I didn't care who saw me. I was looking for the men who stole Mr. Henry's money."

"Now, that's a funny story, aint it? A boy like you wouldn't be in any hurry to put himself in the way of two robbers, armed with revolvers. We are going back to the cove, and we shall take you with us. The men folks are all out looking for Jed, and we are too sharp to leave you long in the house with nobody but women to watch you."

"Wouldn't it be a good plan to obtain a little more assistance?" asked Johnny. "If you will collect half a dozen men, you can capture every one of those fellows if they come back."

"That's just what we intend to do," replied Josh, "but I think we three can manage them, and watch you besides."

"But you forget the robbers."

Josh smiled and shrugged his shoulders, intimating very plainly that he was not yet prepared to believe that the robbers existed, only in Johnny's imagination. "If you will agree not to make any fuss we won't gag you," said he.

That was something gained, and Johnny readily gave the required promise. Although his hands were still bound behind his back, his captors seemed to be very much afraid of him, and during the walk to the cove they kept a firm hold of his arms, and looked about them suspiciously, as if they every instant expected to be called upon to resist an attempt on the part of the Crusoe men to rescue their prisoner.

But Johnny was released; not by the governor and his band, however, but by the crew of the Storm King, and Josh and Bill never once thought of offering any resistance to them.

It did not take Harry Green long to come to some conclusion respecting the mysterious disappearance of the pirate vessel, and, after his conversation with the boatswain's mate, he astonished his second lieutenant with an order to call away a company of small-armed men. While the jolly-boat was being lowered, the plucky midshipman Richardson, who commanded the company, reported for orders, and was instructed to go ashore and explore every nook and corner of the bluffs on that side of the island. He left the vessel as fully determined to effect the capture of Tom Newcombe as he had been before, and, when the party from the farm-house came up, he had stopped with his company on the cliffs above the cove to reconnoiter. When he heard them approaching, he ordered his men to conceal themselves. Of course he was not sure that they were the ones he had been sent out to capture, but he argued, as did Josh and Bill in regard to Johnny, that if they were honest people they would not be roaming about the island at that time of night.

"Halt!" shouted Richardson, when the farmers, with their prisoner, had advanced fairly within his ambush. "Close up around them, men, and punch the first one that tries to escape."

Bill and Josh were so astonished that they did not think of flight or resistance until it was too late. The young tars arose from their concealments on all sides of them, and they suddenly found themselves surrounded by a wall of gleaming bayonets, every one of which was held so close to them that the least forward or backward movement on their part would have brought them in contact with the cold steel.

"Well, look here! I swan to man!" said Jed, shrinking away from the bayonets in front of him, only to receive a slight prick from three or four behind.

"I say, fellows," stammered Bill, "you've made a mistake."

"Is that you, Richardson?" asked Johnny.

"Harding!" exclaimed the midshipman, excitedly, "and a prisoner, too. We've got the burglars. Put your hands above your heads," he added, sternly, addressing himself to Josh and Bill; "quick, or you'll feel the points of those bayonets."

"Hold on, Dave," cried Johnny, when he saw that the bayonets were drawn back for a thrust. "These men are not the robbers."

"They are not? How does it come, then, that you are a prisoner?" demanded the young officer.

"Untie my hands, somebody, and I'll tell you all about it."

"See here, fellows," exclaimed Jed, who seemed greatly annoyed by the close proximity of the muskets, "just turn them stickers the other way, will you?"

None of the young tars, however, paid the least attention to his words, and, indeed, he might as well have spoken to the wind; but Richardson heard the appeal, and, turning to Johnny, inquired:

"Are you sure these men are all right?"

"Certainly I am," was the reply.

"Fall back!" commanded the midshipman. The wall of bayonets was removed, and Jed was immensely relieved. The prisoner was quickly released, and in a few words told the story of his adventures. Bill and Josh were compelled to believe him now, and they apologized so freely that Johnny readily forgave them.

"I suppose it's all right," said the midshipman, "but, to tell the truth, I am disappointed. When I saw you a prisoner, Harding, I was sure that these men were the ones we were looking for. If they had been, we could have captured them easily enough, couldn't we? Now, what's to be done? I have ten good fellows with me, and if we can get Tom Newcombe and his band in as tight a place as we had you a minute ago, they won't stand much chance of escape."

A council of war was held on the spot, and, after Johnny had repeated the conversation he had had with Tom Newcombe in the store, Richardson was satisfied that he knew what had become of the Sweepstakes. He decided to go into the cove at once, and Jed volunteered to act as guide. They would approach as close to the pirates as they could without giving the alarm, and then they would charge upon them and overpower them. The sailors would attack the robbers, and leave the Crusoe men to the care of Johnny and his three friends, all except Tom Newcombe, whom the midshipman regarded as his own especial property. When all the details of their plan had been discussed, Richardson gave the signal to Jed, who led the way down the path.