CHAPTER XXI
ANOTHER SURPRISE
"Help! help!"
"What's all the row about?"
"Buster's fallen in again! Somebody get a rope, and lasso him!"
"There he comes up! My! what a floundering time! He may be drowned,Jack!"
But Jack knew better, and only laughed as he replied to Herb:
"You forget that he's still wearing that lovely cork life preserver. Itgives him such a manly look; and Buster thinks it adds to the admirationof a certain young lady."
Meantime there was a tremendous lot of splashing going on in that littlebasin just under the big tree, where Nick had been perched at the timeof his tumble.
Both arms were working overtime, like a couple of flails in a thrashingbee; while his chubby legs shot back and forth after the manner of anenergetic frog. All the while Buster was spouting water like a miniaturegeyser; for his mouth had happened to be wide open at the time of hisunexpected submersion.
"Throw me a rope, somebody!" he spluttered, as he continued to makemanful efforts to keep from sinking. "What d'ye stand there gaping for?Can't you see I'm in danger of drowning? Hurry up your cakes, yousillies!"
There was no doubt but that Nick believed every word he spoke; for hewas making a tremendous display of energy that would long remain a topicfor wonder among his comrades.
Herb started to scurry around to find something that would be availablein the rescue line.
"Jack, the poor fellow may be partly stunned, and unable to keep up muchlonger. Help me find a rope, won't you?" he cried, as he passed theother.
"Hold on, Herb, now watch how easy it is to save a drowning man," and asJack said this he turned to where Nick was making a young NiagaraWhirlpool Rapids of himself, and called sternly:
"Buster, stand up!"
Lo; and behold, when the imperiled fat boy proceeded to obey this commandthe water barely reached to his chest. Looking rather crest-fallen andsheepish he started to wade out of the lake; while the boys burst into aroar that must have even been heard by those on board the steamer.
Nick was in a rather pugnacious humor, for him, as he arrived drippingon the bank. Perhaps the merriment of his mates had something to do withit; but the chances are he dreaded lest a pair of laughing blue eyes onthe departing steamer may have witnessed his ridiculous upset.
"Who pushed me in?" he demanded, as he gave vent to another upheaval ofwater. "Tell me that, will you? It was a mean trick, and he ought to beducked just as bad as I was. Seems like a pity a fellow can't just situp on the limb of a tree to wave good-bye to a pretty girl without someenvious rival putting up a game on him. Who did it? I dare him to tell!"
"Rats! you're away off your base, Buster!" cried George.
"Quit raising the lake that way, can't you?" complained Josh. "Want toflood us out of our camp, do you?"
"Buster, nobody was near you when you fell," said Jack. "I don't thinkthere was one of us within ten feet of the tree. And besides, you wereup out of reach. You let go both hands and slipped. It was your ownfault. And we didn't help you out because I knew you had on that corkthing; besides, the water wasn't over your head, as I found out sometime ago. So don't accuse anybody of being mean."
"And next time you want to take the middle of the stage just let usknow. You gave us an awful jolt," remarked George.
"Why, if I'd had heart disease I'd have dropped flat," vowed Josh.
"Oh! let up on me, can't you, and don't rub it in so hard?" grumbled thedripping Nick. "Now I've got to go and get these duds off. And it'lltake a long while for 'em to dry. Nice way to use a new suit, ain't it?"
"Well, it's lucky for the trade that you've come up here." Herb put in."The clothing business will take on a boom soon. What with Canadapussies, and upsets into the lake, you can get away with more suits thanthe rest of us."
"But I haven't got another bunch of clothes along," whimpered Nick, "andit's sure too chilly to run around without anything on. Jack won't youhelp me out?"
"I guess I can lend you a pair of trousers, Buster, if you can get intothem. Don't forget that fine red sweater you possess. Josh, pull it downfrom that branch, will you? So you see, you'll get along till these dudsdry out," replied the one addressed.
"But stick to the camp while you're wearing that sweater, Buster,"warned Josh. "Perhaps there ain't any cows around here; but even a bullmoose would want to boost you up in a tree if he ever saw that rag."
"Oh! I'll hug the fire, all right; don't you worry about me, JoshPurdue," was the fat boy's reply, as he made off, the water still oozingfrom his soaked garments in streams.
Jack wisely put in the balance of the morning fishing, and with abundantsuccess, as was evidenced from the fact that they had another delightfulfish dinner that noon, Josh serving the trout in his usual temptingmanner, crisp and brown.
As his clothes had meantime dried, through the action of combined sunand camp fire, Nick gradually became himself again. It took considerableto upset his good nature; and the boys never could fully decide whetherhe had been in earnest concerning that episode of the "great splash," orsimply pretending to be indignant.
"And now, what's the programme?" asked Jack, as, having eaten until theycould no longer be tempted, they sat back to talk over the futureactivities of the motor boat club.
"Fellows," remarked George, seriously. "I've come to the conclusion thatwe're making a mistake in cruising over such big water as this."
"Hear! hear!" called Nick, clapping his hands.
"Boats as small as ours seem out of their element on an ocean,"continued the skipper of the _Wireless_, steadily. "They're all right insuch places as the Thousand Islands, where plenty of harbors are in sightall the time. But just think what might happen up here. Suppose the windhad chopped around the other night, instead of kindly holding off tillmorning. What would have happened to us?"
"Oh! well," remarked Herb; "we all know the answer to that riddle,George. Since we couldn't well make out into the open lake in the stormduring darkness, why, every boat must have been smashed against therocks. Makes me shiver to just think of it; and that's right, fellows."
"Perhaps one or more of us might have gone under." George went on. "Now,when we got permission to make this cruise we promised not to takeunnecessary risks--am I right, fellows?"
"Sure you are, George. Hit up the pace, will you? Buster here is gettingsleepy, waiting for the verdict," Josh said, after his customaryfashion.
"Then I'm going to offer a suggestion; and if Jack says so, I'll put itin the form of a motion," George continued.
"Make it a motion without all this fuss and feathers," observed Herb.
"I move, then, that we abandon our original intention of knocking alongthis north shore of Superior till we arrive at Duluth, where we couldship our boats home. It wouldn't pay us for the trouble and the danger.It's a barren country. If we had an accident there's no place to haverepairs done short of several hundred miles. In a word, fellows, this isno hunting ground for little motor boats. Besides," with a sly glancetoward Nick, "what if our grub gives out, as it's likely to do at anytime, once Buster gets to feeling himself again; why, we might starve todeath, fellows, in the midst of plenty."
"You've heard the motion, fellows--that we change our programme, andgive up this Lake Superior trip. All in favor say aye!" Jack remarked.
A chorus of assents followed.
"Contrary, no!" went on the commodore; but only silence followed.
"Motion is carried unanimously," Jack went on. "And now, let's considerwhat is to take the place of this trip. We've still got some weeks aheadof us, the fishing's fine, and we're a long way from Milwaukee. Somebodysuggest something."
George and Jack had of course talked this thing over more than oncerecently. So no one was surprised when the former immediately jumped up,and began:
"For one, I'm of the opinion we couldn't do better than return overpart of the way we came. Between the Soo and Mackinac Island there'sfine cruising ground to be expl
ored. We can take a different route partof the way back through the St. Mary's River, and perhaps find new mudbanks, with a few more strange animals on the Canada side. Besides Jacksays the bass fishing is just great in some places they told him aboutat the Soo."
"Hurrah! Me for the St. Mary's then," Nick shouted, to hide hisconfusion at mention of strange beasts, for of course he knew what thatreferred to.
"The prospect of the merry bass frizzling over the coals coaxes Buster,"declared Josh; "but on general principles, fellows, I don't see how wecould improve on that programme. Count me in on it, George."
"Any other suggestions?" asked Jack. "If there are, now is the time tospeak up, before we decide our plans. We can settle on just the day weought to leave Mackinac for the run down Michigan to Milwaukee, and soget home on the dot. How is it, fellows? Do I hear another schemeoffered?"
"Make it unanimous, Jack," said Herb. "You know we're pretty much of onemind; and we ought to get all the fun going out of that programme."
"Then we start back tomorrow?" said Jack.
"Right after breakfast," Josh added.
"Good gracious!" exclaimed Nick. "I hope none of you would be sillyenough to ever think of leaving here before breakfast!"
"Oh! that will never happen, so long as we have an alarm clock in thebunch. We depend on you, Buster, to warn us when it's time to eat ourthree meals a day," George said blandly.
"Now, I didn't expect that of you George," remarked Nick. "But if youreally mean it, thank you! I'm glad to know I'm of some use to thecrowd."
"Why, Buster, we wouldn't know how to keep house without you," remarkedJack.
"What would we be after doing with the leftovers?" ventured Jimmie.
"And how would I keep my big boat evenly balanced?" demanded Herb. "Sureyou fill a place in the circle, Buster, and a very important one. We'dmiss you if you ever gave up the ship, and took the train back home."
"Well, I promise you I won't," smiled Nick; "at least so long as youkeep up the same sort of bill of fare we've had today. Yum! yum! what'sthe use of wasting a fine piece of browned trout like that? I call it awicked shame. Here, Josh, don't you dare throw that away. Set it asideon that nice clean piece of birch bark. Somebody might get hungry lateron, and enjoy a bite."
This standing joke of Nick's clamorous appetite seemed never to lose itsedge. The rest of the boys could always enjoy seeing him make way withhis share of the meal. In fact, had a change come over the fat boy, theywould have felt anxious, believing him sick.
So Jack went back to his fishing, of which he seemed never to tire, andthe others found something to employ their time and attention while theafternoon sun dropped lower toward the western horizon.
By now the Big Lake looked like a lookingglass, so still had the wavesbecome. A haze prevented them from seeing any great distance away--oneof those mid-summer atmospheric happenings that are apt to develop atany time when the weather is exceedingly warm.
Evening came at last, and they sat as usual around the camp fire, havingenjoyed the meal Josh and his willing assistants, Jimmie and Nick, hadplaced before them. Everything looked favorable for getting off in themorning; and should the lake remain calm Jack believed they might beable to make the Soo by another night.
Suddenly, and without the slightest warning a disturbing factor wasinjected into this quiet restful camp. Jack thought he heard a soundlike a groan near by, and raised his head to listen. Yes, there wascertainly a movement at the west side of the camp, as though somethingwas advancing. And as he stared, his hand unconsciously creeping outtoward the faithful little Marlin shotgun, a figure arose and camestaggering toward the group.
Loud cries broke out as the boys scrambled to their feet. And there wasa good excuse for their consternation; for in this ragged, dirty, andaltogether disreputable figure they recognized, not a wandering hobo,but Bully Joe, the crony of Clarence Macklin!