CHAPTER XXII
TO THE RESCUE
Joe Brinker was a sorry sight as he staggered forward, and fell almostat the feet of Jack. He certainly looked as though he had been through arough experience since last they saw him with Clarence aboard the_Flash_.
"Why, it's Joe!" exclaimed Nick, as though he had just recognized theintruder.
Jack had jumped forward, and was now bending over the newcomer.
"Here, Josh, any hot coffee left in the pot?" he demanded, seeing thatthe other looked utterly exhausted, as though he might not have partakenof food for many hours.
Josh immediately poured out a cup, and handed it to Jack.
"Sit up here, and swallow this, Joe," said Jack, supporting the fellowwith one arm, and holding the tin cup to his lips.
Joe eagerly gulped down the warm drink. It seemed to do him a worldof good right on the spot; for when a cup of hot tea or coffee isavailable, it is utter folly to think strong drink is necessary inreviving a chilled or exhausted person.
"Oh! that tastes fine. Got any more, boys? I'm nearly starved," heexclaimed, almost crying with weakness.
Already had Nick hurried over, and seized upon several cold flapjacksthat possibly he had placed away, against one of his little bitesbetween meals. Surely Nick ought to know what an awful thing hunger was.One of the most dreadful recollections of his life was a time when hehad been compelled to go all of eight hours without a solitary scrap offood passing his lips!
Soon Joe was devouring the flapjacks with the eagerness of a hungry dog,to the evident delight of Buster, who always found pleasure in seeingany one eat heartily.
"Now tell us what happened, Joe?" said Jack, after they had watched theother make away with the last scrap, and look around for more.
"Yes, don't you see we're just crazy to hear?" Josh exclaimed.
"Did you get caught in that storm?" demanded George, suspecting thetruth.
Joe nodded his head in the affirmative, and they could see a shudderpass over his form, as though the remembrance was anything but cheerful.
"Then the _Flash_ must have been wrecked?" George went on, horrified asthe remembrance of Clarence's face came before him.
"Gone to flinders!" muttered Joe. "Smashed on the rocks, and not a scrapleft to tell the story. Gee it was tough, all right!"
"W--was Clarence drowned?" Nick gasped, with awe-struck face; andquivering all over like a bowl full of jelly.
"Oh! no, neither of us went under," replied Joe, promptly, to thegreat relief of all the boys. "But we came mighty near it, I tellyou, fellers. I'm a duck in the water, you know, and I guess I helpedClarence get ashore. He said I did, anyway. And there we was, far awayfrom everything, with not one bite to eat, or even a gun to defendourselves against wild animals."
"Wow! that was tough!" admitted Nick, sympathetically; as he rememberedhis own exploit when the Canada lynx invaded the camp, and how usefulthe shotgun proved on that occasion.
"But it wasn't the worst, fellers! There's more acomin'!" Joe went on,shaking his head solemnly.
"My gracious! did wild animals get poor old Clarence after all?" Georgeasked.
"No," Joe went on, with set teeth, "but a couple of men did that was asbad as any wild animals you ever heard tell of. They found us trying tomake a fire to dry our wringing wet clothes; and they just treated usshameful. See this black eye I got just because I dared answer back.They kicked poor Clarence like he was a bag of oats."
"Two men, you say?" Jack asked, frowning darkly. "What sort of men couldthey be to act like that toward a pair of shipwrecked boys?"
"They looked like lumber cruisers, or prospectors that never struckit rich," Joe continued. "They had a grouch agin everybody. Firstthing they took what money we had, and Clarence's fine watch that waswater-soaked and wouldn't run. Then they found out who we was by readingsome letters he carried. I saw 'em talking it over; and then they tiedus to a couple of trees."
"Why, I never heard of such a wicked thing!" ejaculated the startledNick; whose mouth kept wide open while he listened to this thrillingstory of Joe's.
"Do you think they meant to try and force blackmail?" asked thefar-seeing George, whose father was a lawyer, it may be remembered.
"They said something about him writing home for more money to buyanother motor boat," Joe replied. "And Clarence said he never would doit, not even if they tortured him. But I'm afraid a few more kickingslike they gave us will break down his spirit."
"Then you managed to escape?" Jack went on, wishing to learn the wholething.
"Yes. I worked loose, and slipped away when neither of 'em was lookin',"answered the ragged and dirty figure. "But give me some more grub,fellers. I'm starving, I tell you. They refused to give us a bite to eattill Clarence agreed to do all they wanted of him. Anything, so's I canfill up. I've got a hole down there that feels like Mammoth Cave."
Again it was Nick who hastened to procure another stock of eatables,crackers and cheese, or anything else that came handy.
"When did you escape, Joe?" asked Jack, seriously as though some planhad already started to form in his active brain.
"Don't know for sure," replied the exhausted one. "Sometime after noon,though. They was layin' down and snoozing when I got free. I wanted tofind a knife, and cut Clarence loose too; but the risk scared me. AndClarence, he told me to hurry and get off for help. You see, one of themen was sitting up, and rubbing his eyes; so I just sneaked away."
"Did they follow after you, Joe?" asked George.
"Never waited to see," replied the other, "but just cut stick, andhurried off. Oh! I've had an awful time getting along near the shore.Dassent get out of sight of the lake because you see I was that scaredI'd get lost. I tumbled a thousand times, cut my head and hands on therocks, nearly slipped into the lake twice, and was just ready to laydown and die, when night came on. Then I saw a fire over here, and justmanaged to make the riffle. Give you my word, fellers, if it'd been halfa mile more I never'd got to camp."
"Then Clarence is still in the hands of those two rascals?" Jack asked.
"I reckon he is, 'less they saw fit to let him go free; and from what Iseen of 'em, that ain't their game."
"How far do you suppose that place was away from here?" came fromcareful George.
Joe sat silent for a minute. He seemed to be trying to figure whatmanner of slow progress he may have made since effecting his freedom.
"I thought I'd gone nigh twenty miles, judgin' by the way I felt," hefinally said; "but come to figger it out I reckon it mightn't abeenmore'n five."
"Toward the west, you mean; for you came from that direction?" Jackcontinued.
"Yes, that's so, over that way," pointing as he spoke.
Jack turned to his chums.
"It's up to us, boys," he said soberly. "Clarence has never been one ofus; but he belongs to our school. We'd never forgive ourselves if wewent back to the Soo tomorrow, and left him in the hands of thesescoundrels. Do you agree with me?"
"That's right, Jack!" sang out George.
"Sure we would be cold-blooded to think of it," Josh declared.
"Them's my sentiments," Herb spoke up; and both Nick and Jimmie noddedtheir heads violently, to prove that they were in no way behind theircomrades in wishing to do a good deed toward one who had long been anopen enemy.
"Then let's consider what way we ought to go about it," Jack proceeded,with an air of business. "It's out of the question for us to try and goback the way Joe came. We couldn't make it under hours; and from hislooks none of us are hankering after the experience. But there is a wayto get there quickly."
"The boats?" George put in.
"One boat ought to carry all who will go, and let that be the _Comfort_,with five of us on board, taking the two guns to make a good show," Jackproceeded.
Nick immediately set up a whine.
"I guess I have feelings," he declared. "Don't I know you're just goingto shut me out of this rescue game? I'm ready to do my part as well asthe next one
, ain't I? What you want to leave me behind for?"
"You've got to obey orders, Buster," said George.
"And besides, with so many aboard, the bully old _Comfort_ mightfounder," Josh thought it necessary to remark.
"Besides, you are going to have your share of the work, and along a lineyou always like," Jack went on; "for while we're gone, it shall be yourduty to make a new brew of coffee, fill Joe here cram up with all he caneat, and have something ready for Clarence when we bring him back. Soyou see, Buster, your duty is as important as any of ours. Every one intheir particular line. You can't fight as well as Jimmie here; but youdo know how to provide against starvation."
Nick smiled broadly again, entirely appeased.
"Count on me, Commodore," he said, briskly. "Where's that coffeepotright now? I'll do my duty to the letter. Why, it's a pleasure to lookafter the wants of a hungry fellow. It gives me something of an appetitejust to think of the work I've got cut out for me."
Jack put Nick and Joe out of his mind, after trying to get a littleinformation from the latter, with regard to the character of the placewhere the _Flash_ had been wrecked, and the two hard looking customerswere supposed to be still stopping.
They went aboard the _Comfort_. Jack himself decided to run the boat,with the assistance of Herb and George. Above all things, silence was ofmore value to them just then than speed, if they hoped to steal up onthe captors of Clarence without being detected.
"Good luck!" called Nick, as the broad beamed motor boat started quietlyaway.