The Border Boys Along the St. Lawrence

  CHAPTER XVI. HARRY PLAYS DETECTIVE.

  It is strange upon what slender circumstances big results sometimesdepend. Had the fear of ridicule not held back Harry Ware from tellingthe others about the figure he had seen glide along the deck and vanishin the crew's quarters of the _River Swallow_, a great part of theevents of that night might have turned out differently.

  As it was, however, Harry kept his counsel, with what results we shallsee before long. The trouble with the engines once located, it did nottake Percy Simmons long to adjust matters, and within half an hour hehad the big motors whirring as evenly as if nothing had ever disturbedthe even tenor of their workings.

  As soon as he was notified that everything was all right below, Ralphrang for the reverse and the _River Swallow_ backed out from her dockinto the darkness that was falling fast. But for the delay, thoughtRalph, who had chafed impatiently over it, they might have been inCardinal by that time. But there was no help for it, and as soon as hehad room to turn he sent down a clanging signal to Persimmons for "fullspeed ahead."

  Harry Ware was on the bridge by the young captain, but after a while hesaid he thought he smelled gas, and went forward. He wanted to explorethe crew's quarters for himself. Malvin and Hansen were on the lookoutstations in the bow, and, as Harry approached the forescuttle, theformer came up to him.

  "Where are you going, sir?" he asked in a tone that struck Harry asbeing rather agitated.

  "Why, we suspect there's a leak in one of the gas tanks," was the boy'sready reply. "I'm going down there to see if I can locate it."

  "I'll go, sir," interrupted Malvin eagerly; "let me go, sir."

  "Don't bother yourself," replied Harry; "your place is forward on thelookout. Captain Stetson would be angry if he knew you had left it.You'd better go back."

  Malvin did not obey at once. Instead, he placed his head right over thescuttle, and in a loud voice announced, after a minute of sniffing, thathe could smell no fumes of gasoline.

  "It's no use your taking the trouble to go nosing around down there," hesaid, turning to Harry. "If the gas was leaking, I'd smell it sure."

  "Nevertheless, I shouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't obey RalphStetson's orders," stoutly declared Harry. "Let me pass; I'm going down.I'd recommend you to get back on your station."

  Malvin's rejoinder was peculiar. He did not, in fact, address it toHarry at all. He placed his mouth over the scuttle and in a loud voice,unnecessarily loud it sounded to Harry, he bawled out:

  "Oh, all right, sir. Go below if you want to. But--LOOK OUTBELOW--there's some low carlins there you might bump your head on."

  The last part of this speech was delivered in low and cautionary tones.Having uttered the warning, Malvin turned and, with a respectful nod,paced back to his post of duty.

  "Now I wonder why he hollered, 'Look out below,' at the top of his lungslike that?" pondered Harry.

  "Well, I'll give it up," he murmured, renewing his meditations. "Anyhow,here goes for an exploration of the forecastle."

  He dived below, having first switched on the electric light in thesailors' quarters by means of a switch at the head of the ladder leadingbelow.

  As he descended the steep rungs, not without difficulty, for the _RiverSwallow_ was being driven fast and was pitching and rollingconsiderably, he looked sharply about him. But there was nothing toindicate that anyone was in hiding there. In the men's bunks the bedswere neatly made up. In one corner were their chests and personalbelongings. Everything was shipshape, orderly and--empty.

  "It was my imagination then, after all," breathed Harry as he lookedabout him; "I'm glad I didn't say anything to the fellows."

  At precisely the same moment, Ralph was remarking to Persimmons, thelatter having come on deck to gulp down a breath of fresh air:

  "Don't say anything about the sanded carburetors to Harry, Percy. He'sscared enough as it is."

  "You can bet I won't. He'd be off on his old spook tactics again if Idid," responded the Simmons boy with alacrity.

  And thus did the lads on board the _River Swallow_ play at crosspurposes, little dreaming what mutual benefit might have resulted from acomparison of notes.

  Firmly convinced that he had been the victim of a delusion, Harry madehis way back to the deck and retraced his steps aft to join Ralph on thebridge.

  "Everything all right?" asked the latter.

  "Oh, sure."

  "Malvin at his post?"

  "Oh, yes. He and Hansen were right on the job. There with both feet."

  "Good. I didn't feel altogether sure of that Malvin fellow."

  Without further comments Ralph reverted to his duty of steering the_River Swallow_ through swiftly moving currents and eddies, for theywere bound up the river. Harry leaned against the rail beside him.

  "Whereabouts are we?" he asked as the boat sped along through thedarkness.

  "Passing Chimney Island. You can make it out off there to the left."

  "Not up to Windmill Island yet?"

  "Not yet. Anyhow, we won't go near it going up. I'll pass it on thereturn trip, though. We can make better time by striking the currentthere."

  The remainder of the journey to Cardinal, a rather sleepy, though fairlypopulous, Canadian town, was made without incident. As they came abreastof the town dock, which was brilliantly illuminated with electric arclights in expectation of the arrival of the steamer bound down the riverfor Quebec, they noticed the crowd idly gathered there. It was ready forany excitement and broke into a cheer as the fast boat came sweeping upto the dock. Then, at a signal from Ralph, the _River Swallow_ suddenlyslackened speed, churning the waters whitely with its reversingpropellers, and eventually came to a standstill with the precision of anauto being driven up to the curb.

  It was a fine bit of boat-handling that the spectators were quick torecognize and applaud.

  Malvin, bow line in hand, leaped ashore as the _River Swallow_ glidedup, and Hansen equally quick, for the man was a good sailor, hoppednimbly about, dropping fenders to prevent the racing motor boat's sheenysides being scratched or marred by contact with the timbers of the dock.

  "Good bit of work that, lad," said a grizzled old man on the dock, asthe boys came ashore, all dressed in natty yachting garments, visoredcaps, blue coats, white flannel trousers and white canvas shoes.

  "Thank you," laughed Ralph. "I guess my engineer was as much responsiblefor it as I."

  "Ah-hum," said the old man. "I used to handle a boat once, but now Iain't fit for nothing but just night watchman at the grain elevatoryonder," and he pointed to a towering structure that loomed against thedark sky.

  Malvin and Hansen had been left in charge of the _River Swallow_. Arm inarm the three boys started up the street. But after they had gone ashort way, Harry suddenly declared that he had left something he wantedin the cabin.

  "I'll go back for it. You fellows keep right on," he said.

  "Where shall we meet you? We're bound for the hospital," said Ralph.

  "Where from there?"

  "To the Western Union offices."

  "And then?"

  "Why, I guess to the police station or whatever answers to it over onthis side. I've a burning desire to lay the facts in the case before theauthorities."

  "Very well then, I'll meet you at the telegraph office."

  And so it was arranged. While Percy and Ralph hastened to the hospital,which lay at one end of the town, Harry made the best of his way backtoward the _River Swallow_. His conscience hurt him a bit for not havingtold his friends the true reason for his return to the motor craft.

  Harry was not in search of something forgotten.

  He was on the trail of the third man who, despite all evidence to thecontrary, he was still firmly convinced was concealed somewhere on boardthe _River Swallow_.